Numerical simulation of bubble behavior in subcooled flow boiling under velocity and temperature gradient

Abstract

In this paper, numerical simulation of the bubble condensation in the subcooled boiling flow is performed. The interface between two-phase is tracked via the volume of fluid (VOF) method with continuous surface force (CSF) model, implemented in the open source OpenFOAM CFD package. In order to simulate the condensing bubble with the OpenFOAM code, the original energy equation and mass transfer model for phase change have been modified and a new solver is developed. The Newtonian flow is solved using the finite volume scheme based on the pressure implicit with splitting of operators (PISO) algorithm. Comparison of the simulation results with previous experimental data revealed that the model predicted well the behavior of the actual condensing bubble. The bubble lifetime is almost proportional to bubble initial size and is prolonged by increasing the system pressure. In addition, the initial bubble size, subcooling of liquid and velocity gradient play an important role in the bubble deformation behavior. Velocity gradient makes the bubble move to the higher velocity region and the subcooling rate makes it to move back to the lower velocity region.