1987 Volume 13 Issue 5 Pages 685-690
To verify the authors' previous numerical analysis of bubble growth in a uniformly superheated solution containing a non-volatile solute, new experimental data on bubble growth rates in aqueous solutions of NaCl under completely constant and uniform superheat conditions have been obtained by using a unique experimental technique.
The ranges of experimental variables include : bulk temperatures of solution of 40 and 80°C, mass fractions of solute of 0.05 and 0.20 and superheats up to 16.5°C.
In the present experiments, the superheated condition was obtained by slowly decompressing a heated pool of solution, and a bubble nucleus was generated on the top of the cathode wire by electrolyzing the superheated solution.
Experimental observations of the growth of a vapor bubble of solvent initiated from the artificially generated bubble nucleus were made by using a high-speed motion picture camera.
The experimental data on bubble growth rates have been shown to compare favorably with the previous numerical analysis with the combined effects of heat and mass diffusions included, confirming the theory.
