Computational fluid dynamics assessment of subcooled flow boiling in internal-combustion engine-like conditions at low flow velocities with a volume-of-fluid model and a two-fluid model

Abstract

The use of subcooled flow boiling is a convenient option for the thermal management of downsized engines, but proper control of the phenomenon requires the accurate prediction of heat transfer at the coolant side, for which the use of computational fluid dynamics is a suitable alternative. While in most of the applications to engine cooling a single-fluid equivalent method is used, in this paper the performance of a two-fluid method is evaluated in engine-like conditions with special interest in the low-velocity range. The results indicate that the description of the process at low velocities provided by the two-fluid method is better than that given by a single-fluid model, while model calibration is simpler and more robust and the computational cost is substantially reduced.