IMPROVED EQUATIONS FOR THE CALCULATION OF NONEQUILIBRIUM TEMPERATURE LOSS IN MSF

Non-equilibrium losses in flash evaporation account for the superheati ng of the brine at the flash-chamber exit in relation to the state of the vapor phase. For a proper MSF design, these non-equilibrium losses must be known. A number of correlations are proposed in the literatur e differing with respect to the considered (implemented) physical para meters and, unfortunately, leading to different results for a given or ifice configuration. It is shown, that six of nine correlations from l iterature give physically wrong results. Based on a discussion of the relevant parameters and the analysis of experimental data reported in literature an improved semi-empirical correlation is derived for 2 ori fice configurations - the simple ''rectangular'' orifice and the combi nation orifice/weir.