Development of a Transparent Heater to Measure Surface Temperature Fluctuations Under Spray Cooling Conditions

Abstract

A heater designed to monitor surface temperature fluctuations during pool boiling and spray cooling experiments while the bubbles are simultaneously being observed has been fabricated and tested. The heat source was a transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) layer commercially deposited on a fused quartz substrate. Four copper-nickel thin film thermocouples (TFTCs) on the heater surface measured the surface temperature, while a thin layer of sapphire or synthetic fused silica provided electrical insulation between the TFTCs and the ITO. The TFTCs were microfabricated using the lift-off process to deposit the nickel and copper metal films. The TFTC elements were 50μm wide and overlapped to form a 25×25μm2 junction. A DAQ program recorded the TFTC voltages at a sampling rate of 50kHz and sent a trigger to a high-speed camera to synchronize bubble images with the surface temperature data. As the bubbles and their contact rings grew over the TFTC junction, correlations between bubble behavior and surface temperature changes were demonstrated.