Bubble Dynamics for Nucleate Pool Boiling of Electrolyte Solutions

Abstract

Bubble dynamics is the most important subphenomenon, which basically affects the nucleate pool boiling heat transfer coefficient. Previous investigations state that the effect of physical properties of liquid and vapor phases on bubble departure diameter are often conflicting. In this article, extensive new experimental data are presented for the bubble departure diameter for various electrolyte aqueous solutions over a wide range of heat fluxes and concentrations. Experimental results show that the bubble detachment diameter increase with increasing either boiling heat flux or electrolyte concentration. Experimental results also present a close relation between the dimensionless capillary and bond numbers. A new model for the prediction of vapor bubble departure diameter in nucleate boiling for the electrolyte solutions is proposed, which predicts the experimental data with a satisfactory accuracy.