Thermal dynamics of growing bubble and heat transfer in microgravity pool boiling

Abstract

Boiling heat transfer realizes the high-performance heat exchange due to latent heat transportation, and then there are extensive industrial applications on Earth and many potential applications in space. Microgravity experiments offer a unique opportunity to study the complex interactions without external forces, and can also provide a means to study the actual influence of gravity on the pool boiling by comparing the results obtained from microgravity experiments with their counterparts in normal gravity. It will be conductive to revealing of the mechanism underlying the phenomenon, and then developing of more mechanistic models for the related applications both on Earth and in space. The present chapter summarize the up-to-date progress on the understanding of pool boiling phenomenon based on the knowledge obtained from microgravity experiments, focusing particularly on the thermal dynamics of growing bubble and heat transfer in microgravity pool boiling. The gravity scaling behavior, as well as the passive enhancement of heat transfer performance of nucleate pool boiling on flat plates by using micro-pin-finned surface, is presented and discussed in detail. Based on the outcome of the current trends in pool boiling research, some recommendations for future work are also proposed.