Nucleation Phenomena in Flowing High-Pressure Steam Part 2: Theoretical Analysis

Abstract

The paper is the second of a set and gives the theoretical part of an investigation into limiting supersaturation inflowing high-pressure steam. The treatment is one dimensional but includes refinements gradually developed in earlier studies; the complete final version is presented in summary form. Applications are to the authors' own experimental results and others available in the literature and the agreement with the measured pressure distributions is very good. The quality of agreement with the few measured droplet sizes is less good, the theory generally underestimating the observed mean droplet diameters. The summaries presented give variations of limiting supersaturation and resulting droplet sizes with the Wilson point pressure and the rate of expansion.