Boiling heat transfer of nitrogen in a thermosyphon condenser-reboiler

An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the boiling heat-transfer characteristics in a thermosyphon condenser-reboiler of air-separation plants. The test section was a plate-fin heat exchanger of practical size of 0.106 m width and 2.56 m length. The testing fluid was nitrogen. Experiments were carried out within a range of pressure from 150 to 300 kPa, submergence from 1.95 to 2.80 m, and heat flux up to II kW/m(2) under constant wall-temperature condition. The liquid superheat at the onset of boiling was rather significant. The boiling heat-transfer coefficients obtained agreed well with Chen's correlation modified by Colburn's J factor within a mean deviation of 9.3%.