Effect of Interaction Between Nucleation Sites on Bubble Release Frequency in Subcooled Flow Boiling

Abstract

Although many studies have been performed on the bubble release frequency and bubble diameter in subcooled flow boiling, sufficiently accurate prediction methods have not yet been established for these fundamental parameters. In this study, bubble nucleation process was visualized using the high-speed camera and the IR camera to measure the bubble release frequency and the bubble size in subcooled flow boiling. It was confirmed that the bubble release frequency at each nucleation site tends to decrease with an increase in the bubble size. Furthermore, it was found that the bubble release frequency is lower for the nucleation sites where the wall temperature drops due to bubble nucleation at a neighboring nucleation site. Based on the present finding, a new prediction strategy was proposed to incorporate the effect of the interaction between the neighboring nucleation sites in estimating the bubble release frequency in subcooled flow boiling.