Velocity field measurement in micro-bubble emission boiling

Abstract

Liquid inlet behavior to a heat surface in micro-bubble emission boiling (MEB) was investigated by flow measurement using particle image velocimetry (PIV). Subcooled pool boiling experiments under atmospheric pressure were carried out using a heat surface with a diameter of 10 mm. An upper end of a heater block made of copper was used as the heat surface. Working fluid was the deionized water and the subcooling was varied from 40 K to 70 K. Three K-type thermocouples were installed in the copper block to measure the temperature gradient, and the heat flux and wall superheat were estimated from these temperature data to make a boiling curve. The flow visualization around the heat surface was carried out using a high-speed video camera and a light sheet. The microbubbles generated in the MEB were used as tracer particles and the velocity field was obtained by PIV analysis of the acquired image sequence. As a result, the higher heat fluxes than the critical heat flux could be obtained in the MEB region. In addition, the distribution characteristics of the velocity in MEB region were studied using the PIV results and the location of the stagnation point in the velocity fields was discussed.