A Unified Three-Dimensional Numerical Model for Boiling Curve in a Temperature Controlled Mode1

Abstract

In the present study, level set method is used to simulate the entire boiling curve in a temperature-controlled mode spanning all the three regimes viz., nucleate, transition, and film boiling with a unified numerical model supplemented with correlations specifying nucleation site density and waiting time between successive nucleations. In order to improve the performance of the code, parallel computing has also been implemented. Vapor evolution process along with temporal- and spatial-averaged wall heat flux and wall void fraction are computed for a uniform wall superheat case. Wall void fraction is found to increase with increase in wall superheat nonlinearly as different regimes of boiling were traversed. Energy partitioning from wall into liquid, interface, and microlayer has also been examined where it is found that as the wall void fraction increases, the percent energy going into liquid decreases while the microlayer contribution peaks around critical heat flux (CHF). Numerical simulations are carried out in 3D with water as test liquid and contact angle of 38 deg.