An assessment and analysis of phase change models for the simulation of vapor bubble condensation

Abstract

In this study, the assessment of five phase change models (Lee model, temperature recovery model, phase field model, heat flux balance model, and empirical correlation model) on the simulation of bubble condensation was investigated using the volume of fluid (VOF) method. The results show that the simulation accuracy of bubble condensation relates to the difference between the interfacial temperature and the saturation temperature. A comparison with the Stefan problem further reveals that the convection heat transfer near the vapor-liquid interface may prevent the convergence of the interfacial temperature to the saturation temperature. The quantitative expressions of interfacial temperature for different phase change models are derived and compared with the simulation results. Furthermore, a recommendation method for rough evaluation of the relaxation coefficient and mesh size in simulations of bubble condensation with the Lee model, phase field model and heat flux balance model is proposed.