Forced convection boiling in a stator–rotor–stator spinning disc reactor

Boiling of a pure fluid inside the rotor–stator cavities of a stator–rotor–stator spinning disc reactor (srs‐SDR) is studied, as a function of rotational velocity ω, average temperature driving force Δ T and mass flow rateϕ m . The average boiling heat transfer coefficient h b increases a factor 3 by increasing ω up to 105 rad s −1 , independently of Δ T andϕ m . The performance of the srs‐SDR, in terms of h b vs. specific energy input ϵ, is similar to tubular boiling, where pressure drop provides the energy input. The srs‐SDR enables operation at ϵ > 10 5WmR − 3, yielding values of h b not practically obtainable in passive evaporators, due to prohibitively high pressure drops required. Since h b is increased independently of the superficial vapor velocity, h b is not a function ofϕ mand the local vapor fraction. Therefore, the srs‐SDR enables a higher degree of control and flexibility of the boiling process, compared to passive flow boiling. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 62: 3763–3773, 2016