LAUSR

Abstract In this paper, we study the bubble dynamics and heat transfer during a growing and departing bubble of FC-72 on horizontal silicon surfaces experimentally and numerically. In the numerical method, the dynamical interface is captured by the three-dimensional coupled volume of fluid and level set (VOSET) method. The Navier-Stokes equations for the incompressible two-phase flows with surface tension and gravity, along with the continuity and energy equations are solved using the 3D-IDEAL algorithm. The three dimensional solid wall is also coupled into the solver to study the response of a heated solid surface during nucleate boiling. An experiment with working fluid FC-72 was set up to investigate the bubble behavior and heat transfer during the nucleate boiling process. Good agreement is observed between the simulation results and experimental data in prediction of bubble shape during the growth time. It is also found that the departure diameter of saturated FC-72 predicted by the proposed method matches very well with Phan’s correlation. The temperature distribution near the bubble and the spatial averaged heat flux are obtained and analyzed.