Numerical models to simulate heat and mass transfer at sharp interfaces in nucleate boiling

Abstract

This work describes a simulation technique for nucleate boiling that considers mass transfer with interfacial temperature gradients and a sharp interface. Interpolation functions estimate the temperature at points located in a direction normal to the interface. A linear temperature profile at the interface interpolates the temperature of the interface-cells. An interface-cells segregation algorithm avoids the interface smearing. Simulations with water at 6.2 K wall superheat show good agreement with the available experimental data on bubble growth rate. Results reveal large heat transfer coefficients over a 200 μm region near the interface. Analysis of the wall shear stress indicates an influence region around the bubble base of two-times the departure bubble diameter.

Acknowledgments

The work was performed in the Thermal Analysis, Microfluidics, and Fuel Cell Laboratory in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology, NY.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant CBET-1511314 (Dynamic Contact Line Region Heat Transfer and Interface Behavior at High Heat Fluxes Through a Controlled Oscillating Meniscus).