Photographic study of bubble behaviors in forced convection subcooled boiling

Forced convection subcooled water boiling experiments were conducted in a vertical annular channel. A high-speed digital video camera was applied to record the dynamics of the subcooled boiling process. The flow visualization results show that the bubble departure frequency generally increases as the heat flux increases. For some cases, the departure frequency may reach a limit around 1000 bubbles/s. In addition, bubble lift-off diameter, bubble growth rate and bubble velocity after bubble lift-off were determined by analyzing the images. The experimental data obtained from this study can be used in modeling the bubble departure frequency, bubble lift-off diameter, and bubble dynamics in forced convection subcooled boiling.