Single bubble growth in saturated pool boiling on a constant wall temperature surface

Abstract

Nucleate pool boiling experiments with constant wall temperatures were performed using R 11 and R 113 for saturated pool boiling conditions. A microscale heater array and Wheatstone bridge circuits were used to maintain a constant wall temperature condition and to obtain measurements with high temporal and spatial resolution. Accurate heat flow rate data were obtained from microscale heater array by controlling the surface conditions at a high temporal resolution. Images of the bubble growth were captured using a high-speed CCD camera synchronized with the heat flow rate measurements. The geometry of the bubble was obtained from the images. In the asymptotic growth region, the bubble showed a growth rate that was proportional to t(1/5), which was slower than the growth rate proposed in previous analytical analyses. The bubble growth behavior was analyzed using a new dimensionless parameter to permit comparisons with previous results at the same scale. The comparisons showed good agreement in the asymptotic growth region. A non-dimensional correlation for the bubble radius that can predict the bubble growth and the heat flow rate simultaneously, was suggested. The required heat flow rate for the volume change of the observed bubble was estimated to be larger than the instantaneous heat flow rate measured from the wall. Heat, other than the instantaneous heat supplied from the wall, is estimated to be transferred through the interface between bubble and liquid, even with saturated pool conditions. This phenomenon under a saturated pool condition needs to be analyzed and the data from this study can supply the good experimental data with the precise boundary condition (constant wall temperature). (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.