Study on Flow Heat Transfer and Particle Deposition Characteristics in a Kettle Reboiler

A kettle reboiler uses the latent heat from the condensation of high-temperature and high-pressure steam in the tube to produce low-pressure saturated steam in the outer shell. The deposition of particles on the tube may change the boiling heat transfer mode from nucleate boiling to natural convection, thereby deteriorating the heat transfer performance of the kettle reboiler. Therefore, it is very important to explore the deposition characteristics of particles in the kettle reboiler. In this study, the RPI boiling model based on the Euler–Euler method is used to analyze the water boiling process on the surface of the tube bundle. The DRW model and critical adhesion velocity model based on the Euler–Lagrangian method are used to calculate the motion of particles during the boiling process and the deposition (rebound) behavior. The results show that the boiling of liquid water enhances the local flow velocity of the fluid, so that the maximum flow velocity appears around the near-wall region. The local high-speed flow disperses the particles in the wake flow of the tube bundle, which inhibits the impact of particles on the wall. As the particle size increases, the wall adhesion and fluid drag on the particles are weakened, and the gravity effect gradually becomes dominant, increasing the residence time of the particles in the tube bundle and the frequency of particle impact on the wall. The particle deposition ratio first decreases and then increases. Ultimately, most particles will be deposited in the low-speed area at the end of the tube bundle.