Effect of pulse heating parameters on the microscale bubble dynamics at a microheater surface

Abstract

We study the effects of pulse heating parameters on the micro bubble behavior of a platinum microheater (100 μm×20 μm) immersed in a methanol pool. The experiment covers the heat fluxes of 10–37 MW/m 2 and pulse frequencies of 25–500 Hz. The boiling incipience is initiated at the superheat limit of methanol, corresponding to the homogeneous nucleation. Three types of micro boiling patterns are identified. The first type is named as the bubble explosion and regrowth, consisting of a violent explosive boiling and shrinking, followed by a slower bubble regrowth and subsequent shrinking, occurring at lower heat fluxes. The second type, named as the bubble breakup and attraction, consists of the violent explosive boiling, bubble breakup and emission, bubble attraction and coalescence process, occurring at higher heat fluxes than those of the first type. The third type, named as the bubble size oscillation and large bubble formation, involves the initial explosive boiling, followed by a short periodic bubble growth and shrinking. Then the bubble continues to increase its size, until a constant bubble size is reached which is larger than the microheater length.