The effects of orientation angle, subcooling, heat flux, mass flux, and pressure on bubble growth and detachment in subcooled flow boiling

Abstract

The effects of orientation angle, subcooling, heat flux, mass flux, and pressure on bubble growth and detachment in subcooled flow boiling were studied using a high-speed video camera in conjunction with a two-phase flow loop that can accommodate a wide range of flow conditions. Specifically, orientation angles of 0' (downward-facing horizontal), 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° (vertical); mass flux values of 250, 300, 350, and 400 kg/m²s, with corresponding Froude numbers in the range of 0.42 to 1.06; pressures of 101 (atmospheric), 202, and 505 kPa; two values of subcooling (10°C to 20°C); and two heat fluxes (0.05 to 0.10 MW/m²) were explored. The combination of the test section design, high-speed video camera, and LED lighting results in high accuracy (order of 20 microns) in the determination of bubble departure diameter. The data indicate that bubble departure diameter increases with increasing heat flux, decreasing mass flux, decreasing levels of subcooling, and decreasing pressure. Also, bubble departure diameter increases with decreasing orientation angle, i.e. the largest bubbles are found to detach from a downward-facing horizontal surface. The mechanistic bubble departure model of Klausner et al. and its recent modification by Yun et al. were found to correctly predict all the observed parametric trends, but with large average errors and standard deviation: 35.7+/-24.3% for Klausner's and 16.6±11.6% for Yun's. Since the cube of the bubble departure diameter is used in subcooled flow boiling heat transfer models, such large errors are clearly unacceptable, and underscore the need for more accurate bubble departure diameter models to be used in CFD.