Abstract

A summary of important theoretical models available for bubble growth and departure behavior in flow boiling is presented. Experimental bubble growth rate curves under sub-cooled flow boiling conditions are obtained in the Thermal Analysis Laboratory in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology utilizing high-speed photography. The effects of flow rate, sub-cooling, heater surface temperature, and cavity size are investigated, and specific trends observed in the bubble growth rate behavior are discussed. The growth rates in flow boiling are compared with the ones for pool boiling, and a need for an improved model for predicting bubble growth rates in flow boiling is established. The new model based on a control volume approach for the front and rear halves of a bubble developed earlier in the Thermal Analysis Lab at RIT is extended to include the inertia forces acting on a growing bubble. The predictions from the model are compared to the experimental data and are found to agree within an average absolute error of 7.45 %. The mechanism of the actual bubble departure from the heater surface is discussed, and suggestions for future work in the area are outlined.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Ebullition--Research; Nucleate boiling--Research; Heat--Transmission--Research; Photography, High-speed

Publication Date

5-1-1995

Document Type

Thesis

Department, Program, or Center

Mechanical Engineering (KGCOE)

Advisor

Kandlikar, Satish

Advisor/Committee Member

Hefner, R.

Advisor/Committee Member

Nye, Alan

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works. Physical copy available through RIT's The Wallace Library at: QC304.M596 1995

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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