Effect of superheat and electric field on saturated film boiling

Abstract

The objective of this investigation is to study the influence of superheat temperature and applied uniform electric field across the liquid-vapor interface during film boiling using a coupled level set and volume of fluid algorithm. The hydrodynamics of bubble growth, detachment, and its morphological variation with electrohydrodynamic forces are studied considering the medium to be incompressible, viscous, and perfectly dielectric at near critical pressure. The transition in interfacial instability behavior occurs with increase in superheat, the bubble release being periodic both in space and time. Discrete bubble growth occurs at a smaller superheat whereas vapor columns form at the higher superheat values. Destabilization of interfacial motion due to applied electric field results in decrease in bubble separation distance and increase in bubble release rate culminating in enhanced heat transfer rate. A comparison of maximum bubble height owing to application of different intensities of electric field is performed at a smaller superheat. The change in dynamics of bubble growth due to increasing superheat at a high intensity of electric field is studied. The effect of increasing intensity of electric field on the heat transfer rate at different superheats is determined. The boiling characteristic is found to be influenced significantly only above a minimum critical intensity of the electric field.