Bubble nucleation in response to a step change in heat flux

An experimental investigation of dichloromethane boiling on a transparent glass heater surface is reported in which the appearance of bubbles in response to a step change in heat flux at various levels of system pressure was observed and recorded by means of a high-speed video camera. The results of the investigation established that Classical nucleation theory is not valid and that the Hsu and Han & Griffith nucleation models, which are based upon it, are unable to predict the conditions under which nucleation will occur. However, the Madejski nucleation theory, proposed over 40 years ago but never tested experimentally, appears to be able to reliably predict the conditions under which a bubble will appear on a surface undergoing nucleate pool boiling.