High-pressure Flow Research Articles

Effects of Laser Irradiation in High-Speed Gas Flow for Surface Treatments of Copper

In this study, the impacts of laser irradiation on the surface morphology and hardness of copper (Cu) are investigated under various environments, including air, vacuum, and high-pressure gas flow through a supersonic nozzle. After irradiating Cu targets with laser pulses with energy of 30, 60, and 90 mJ/pulse, the surface structures of the targets are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The SEM analysis reveals diverse surface morphologies, including micro-cones, cavities, droplets, ripples, and island-like structures, depending on laser energy and environments. The XRD analysis provides insights into the structural changes induced by laser irradiation. The results indicate a significant enhancement in microhardness by a factor of 2.77, which is attributed to the surface and structural modifications incurred under various environments. In addition, the XRD analysis reveals a shift in the residual stress in the surface layers of copper from tensile before laser irradiation to compressive afterwards, highlighting the effectiveness of laser surface treatment in inducing favorable mechanical properties.

Numerical investigation of dual‐source gas explosion dynamics in h‐type tunnels under varied enclosed situations

AbstractTo further investigate the propagation characteristics of shock waves and flame waves in H‐type tunnel gas explosions, numerical simulation studies were conducted on a dual‐source gas explosion model using Fluent software. Three distinct operational conditions were designed and modeled, leading to the following outcomes. The shock wave flow field parameters from dual sources (with equal source energy) are symmetrically distributed in the H‐type tunnel, with high pressure and low flow velocity in the connecting roadway between the two shock waves. Under different conditions, the pressure is generally higher in closed tunnels (fully closed greater than semi‐closed) and lower in open tunnels. The largest overpressure in non‐explosion areas occurs at the closed ends and in the connecting roadway, while the areas bearing the greatest impulse are the shock wave reflection zones and pressure coupling regions. In closed conditions, the flame wave first moves forward and then propagates backward after the explosion, influenced by reflected waves and pressure differences between the ends and the tunnel. In open conditions, the pressure in the flame zone is lower than at both ends, inhibiting the forward propagation of the flame wave.

Proper orthogonal decomposition of wall-bounded high-pressure transcritical fluids

This study explores the principal modes of high-pressure transcritical channel flow from direct numerical simulation data. The four cases investigated correspond to CO2 at high-pressure conditions (P/Pc=1.5) confined between a cold/bottom wall (T/Tc=0.8−0.95) and a hot/top wall (T/Tc=1.1−1.4); Pc and Tc correspond, respectively, to the pressure and temperature of the critical point. The bulk velocity ranges between Ub=0.5−1.0 m/s with corresponding bulk Reynolds numbers of Reb≈1000−2500. The four cases considered are first characterized into laminar and turbulent regimes, followed by an analysis of energy decay using singular value decomposition. This method allows us to identify the most energetic modes of velocity, temperature, and specific isobaric heat capacity for the laminar and turbulent cases considered. The results reveal that fewer modes are needed to represent the hydrodynamics compared to the thermodynamics of the system. The findings also highlight that the pseudo-boiling region, prevalent in high-pressure transcritical systems, disrupts the coherent structures formed (especially) in the hotter region of the flow. Finally, a correlation analysis between the most energetic modes shows an interdependence between velocity and specific isobaric heat capacity modes when conditioned to focus solely on the pseudo-boiling affected regions. This correlation underscores the complex interplay between hydrodynamic and thermodynamic variables in such high-pressure transcritical environments.

Modeling of high-pressure transient gas-liquid flow in M-shaped jumpers of subsea gas production systems

Two-phase flow with low liquid loads is common in high-pressure natural gas offshore gathering and transmission pipelines. During gas production slowdowns or shutdowns, an accumulation of liquid in the lower sections of subsea pipelines may occur. This phenomenon is observed in jumpers that connect different units in deep-water subsea gas production facilities. The displacement of the accumulated liquid during production ramp-up induces temporal variations in pressure drop across the jumper and forces on its elbows, resulting in flow-induced vibrations (FIV) that pose potential risks to the structural integrity of the jumper. To bridge the gap between laboratory experiments and field conditions, transient 3D numerical simulations were conducted using the OpenFOAM software. These simulations facilitated the development of a mechanistic model to elucidate the factors contributing to increased pressure and forces during the liquid purging process. The study examined the influence of gas pressure level, pipe diameter, initially accumulated liquid amount, liquid properties, and gas mass flow rate on the transient pressure drop and the forces acting on the jumper's elbows. The critical gas production rate required for complete liquid removal of the accumulated liquid was determined, and scaling rules were proposed to predict the effects of gas pressure and pipe diameter on this critical value. The dominant frequencies of pressure and force fluctuations were identified, with low-pressure systems exhibiting frequencies associated with two-phase flow phenomena and high-pressure systems showing frequencies attributed to acoustic waves.

Investigation on the Dynamic Characteristics of a New High-Pressure Water Hydraulic Flow Control Valve

Investigation on the Dynamic Characteristics of a New High-Pressure Water Hydraulic Flow Control Valve

Microconfined High-Pressure Transcritical Channel Flow Database: Laminar, Transitional & Turbulent Regimes

The potential of comprehending and managing microscale flows to enhance energy processes, especially in heat transfer and propulsion applications, remains largely untapped particularly for supercritical fluids, which have gained increased interest over the past years due to the higher power and thermodynamic efficiencies they provide. This work, therefore, presents the first comprehensive, open-source dataset carefully curated and structured for studying microconfined high-pressure transcritical fluid channel flows under various regimes. Particularly, the dataset contains 18 direct numerical simulations of carbon dioxide at different bulk pressures and velocities confined between differentially-heated walls. For all cases, the thermodynamic conditions selected impose the fluid to undergo a transcritical trajectory across the pseudo-boiling region. The data collection comprises an array of physical quantities that enable comprehensive parametric analyses spanning laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow regimes. This data repository is poised to provide access to the detailed study and modeling of the complex flow physics observed in high-pressure transcritical fluids, especially those closely linked to improving microfluidics performance.

Unveiling the inhibition of high-pressure CO2 flow accelerated corrosion at gradual contraction and gradual expansion tubings

The different inhibition behavior of imidazoline quaternary ammonium salt for high-pressure CO2 flow accelerated corrosion of carbon steel gradual contraction and gradual expansion tubings was unveiled combing high pressure dynamic in situ electrochemical methods and microstructure characteristics analysis. It is manifested that there is no noticeable inhibition effect in high CO2 partial pressure environments at extremely low inhibitor concentration. At low inhibitor concentration, the polarization resistance and inhibition efficiency increase firstly and then decrease along the flowing direction of gradual contraction tubing. However, the polarization resistance generally drops along the gradual expansion tubing. As the inhibitor concentration of the corrosion inhibitor is further increased, the polarization resistance and inhibition efficiency are reduced in a whole along the gradual contraction tubing. Nevertheless, the polarization resistance is raised, followed by a fall along the flowing direction of gradual expansion tubing. The inhibition effect at the top and the bottom of gradual contraction tubing exhibits symmetry while it is asymmetrical at the top and the bottom of inclination section in gradual expansion tubing. The distinct inhibition effect at different inhibitor concentration is relevant to flow characteristics of fluid at gradual contraction tubing and gradual expansion tubing. The findings could provide valuable guidance for the protection of flow accelerated corrosion at gradual contraction tubing and gradual expansion tubing under high CO2 partial pressure conditions.

Experimental study on flow and heat transfer of High-Pressure helium flow in compact helical tube heat exchanger in HTGR

In this study, experiments were conducted on helium flow within a compact helical tube heat exchanger. High-temperature helium and deionized cooling water, flowing in opposite directions, were allocated to the shell side and tube side, respectively. The Reynolds number of helium ranged from 3 × 103 to 1.6 × 104 under an operational pressure of 2.1 MPa. Measurements were taken for helium temperature, tube outer-surface temperature distribution, pressure, and mass flow rate to illustrate the flow and heat transfer characteristics. Sensitivity analysis of thermal–hydraulic parameters, including heat transfer power and efficiency under various operational conditions, was performed. The convective heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop were calculated. The transition point (Re = 9000) between laminar and turbulent flow of helium on the shell side was identified, and empirical correlations for the Nusselt number and friction coefficient were proposed. The experimental results indicate that the heat transfer performance of helium in the compact helical tube heat exchanger exceeds that of water in large-scale helical tube heat exchanger by approximately 20.75 % under fully developed turbulence, while the flow resistance characteristics remain essentially consistent.

Ammonia two-phase flow patterns and condensation in the inclined smooth tubes

The paper reports the experimental study of the two-phase ammonia flow patterns and condensation in the upward and downward inclined tubes. The two-phase patterns have been studied by the photography method in the transparent quartz tube of ID 7.5 mm at the inclination of −90 to 90°, saturation temperature of 35–65 °C, mass velocity of 40–160 kg m−2 s−1 and vapour quality of 0.1–0.8. The Hewitt and Roberts (1969) [19] upward pattern map in interfacial momentum flux coordinates compiled for the high-pressure steam water flows was compared with the obtained ammonia patterns, showing satisfactory qualitative correspondence. However, the transition lines quantitatively are not accurate for ammonia, especially in churn-to-slug cases. Matching the two-phase patterns and ammonia condensation HTC identified in the prior study for the smooth tubes of ID 8 and 11 mm, a so-called forced convective condensation (flow velocity dependent) domination line has been clearly shown for the upward and downward flows. This line splits the boundary conditions, providing similar condensation HTC for the horizontal and upward/downward flows independently on the expected pattern and with the essentially reduced HTC at the upward/downward configuration. The existence of the HTC maximum for the ammonia flow at the inclination of −30° was proved and quantified experimentally for the broad range of boundary conditions in the ID 8 and 11 mm tubes. Matching the identified condensation HTC and the observed flow patterns allows us to conclude that the condensation HTC maximum is mainly determined by the change of stratified-wavy pattern on a smooth stratified one.

Data-informed characterization of spatio-temporal scales in experiments of microconfined high-pressure transcritical turbulence

The spatio-temporal scales of microconfined high-pressure transcritical turbulence are characterized in relation to the resolution capabilities of present time-resolved two-dimensional μPIV technology. Utilizing CO2 as the working fluid, the physical scales are examined by considering the main dimensionless groups of the problem, which correspond to the Reynolds, Brinkman, and Stokes numbers and the mass fraction of particles in the fluid. In detail, the methodology employed leverages direct numerical simulation data to inform the estimation of hydrodynamic, thermophysical, and particle-related scales, and selects a state-of-the-art μPIV setup to describe the optical performance of the current technology. The results indicate that the temporal scales can be experimentally captured for a wide range of operating conditions. However, the scenario becomes much more complex when trying to capture the spatial scales of microconfined high-pressure transcritical turbulent flow. Particularly, the Kolmogorov and Batchelor spatial scales can be captured for bulk Reynolds numbers below O(103). Otherwise, the spatial scales can only be partially captured and/or remain completely masked due to insufficient resolution, like for example in the case of boundary layer viscous scales and fluid density variations. This limitation is not imposed by the tracer behavior of microparticles, as the Stokes number remains significantly low for all the system configurations studied. Instead, the limitation is mainly a result of the optical capabilities of present μPIV systems. Finally, given the generalizable properties of dimensionless numbers, the results and insight obtained can be extended to other experiments of μPIV-based visualization/quantification of microconfined multiscale flows involving large thermophysical variations.

Artificial neural network aided vapor–liquid equilibrium model for multi-component high-pressure transcritical flows with phase change

In this work, an artificial neural network (ANN) aided vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) model is developed and coupled with a fully compressible computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver to simulate the transcritical processes occurring in high-pressure liquid-fueled propulsion systems. The ANN is trained in Python using TensorFlow, optimized for inference using Open Neural Network Exchange Runtime, and coupled with a C++ based CFD solver. This plug-and-play model/methodology can be used to convert any multi-component CFD solver to simulate transcritical processes using only open-source packages, without the need of in-house VLE model development. The solver is then used to study high-pressure transcritical shock-droplet interaction in both two- and four-component systems and a turbulent temporal mixing layer (TML), where both qualitative and quantitative agreement (maximum relative error less than 5%) is shown with respect to results based on both direct evaluation and the state-of-the-art in situ adaptive tabulation (ISAT) method. The ANN method showed a 6 times speed-up over the direct evaluation and a 2.2-time speed-up over the ISAT method for the two-component shock-droplet interaction case. The ANN method is faster than the ISAT method by 12 times for the four-component shock-droplet interaction. A 7 times speed-up is observed for the TML case for the ANN method compared to the ISAT method while achieving a data compression factor of 2881. The ANN method also shows intrinsic load balancing, unlike traditional VLE solvers. A strong parallel scalability of this ANN method with the number of processors was observed for all the three test cases. Code repository for 0D VLE solvers, and C++ ANN interface—https://github.com/UMN-CRFEL/ANN_VLE.git.

A regularized-interface method as a unified formulation for simulations of high-pressure multiphase flows

The injection of multi-species fluids into high-pressure and high-temperature environments beyond the species' critical points is commonly found in engineering applications. At these conditions, for immiscible species, both subcritical interfacial dynamics and supercritical mixing can coexist due to variations in temperature around the mixture critical point. The modeling of these complex transcritical phenomena for large-scale configurations is so far not possible. To address this issue, we propose the Regularized-Interface Method (RIM) as a unified formulation that can describe both sub- and supercritical processes as well as the transition between them. The proposed method is derived via filtering of the nanoscale interface-resolving formulation based on van der Waals' linear gradient theory. Thus, this approach allows for the consistent modeling of interfacial dynamics that vanishes at supercritical conditions, while significantly reducing the temporal and spatial resolution constraints of the original nanoscale formulation. The resulting RIM formulation is examined in interface-capturing simulations of sub-, trans-, and supercritical fuel injection processes, involving droplets and jets. These results highlight the importance of resolving spatio-temporal transitions from subcritical interfacial dynamics to supercritical mixing in high-pressure multiphase simulations, in contrast to commonly employed diffused-interface methods, where interfacial dynamics are often neglected.

The Growth Mechanism of Layered Hexagonal Boron Nitride Crystal on Copper Foil

Abstract2D hexagonal boron nitride (h‐BN), which has a similar honeycomb lattice structure to graphene, is a promising dielectric material for a wide variety of applications. Herein, the growth of high‐quality and large‐size multilayer h‐BN crystals on Cu foils is reported by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at atmospheric pressure. The size of an individual isolated hexagonal crystal of h‐BN is about 20 µm, and the thickness is 3 nm. This paper studies the variables that affect h‐BN growth during the process and the microstructure changes during the growth. Through analysis of the thermal and dynamic processes of chemical vapor deposition, relationships are derived between the mass of h‐BN grown in the gas phase and various temperature and pressure factors. This information is used to develop appropriate parameters for commercial copper foil growth. Finally, using optimized conditions, high‐quality h‐BN at high pressure and low gas flow conditions are grown.

Investigating Internal Heat Exchanger Performance in a VCR System with a CO2 and LPG Refrigerant Mixture

In this study, an attempt was made to develop a cooling system with an internal heat exchanger using a mixture of carbon dioxide (CO2) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as refrigerants to help eliminate the global warming potential and other harmful environmental effects caused by conventional refrigerants'. The CO2 and LPG refrigeration experimental setup was constructed with varying sizes of capillary tubes, a pressure controller, an evaporator, and a gas hob. The working ranges were initially confirmed through exploratory experiments with low-pressure and high-pressure flow circuits, using and without an internal heat exchanger (IHE). The evaporator temperature helped to determine the proportional changes in the coefficient of performance (COP). The REFPROP software design was used to conduct experiments and determine the important process parameters. A confirmation test was performed to validate the expected results of the REFPROP software technique. The results showed that the experiments conducted using IHE had a COP with greater performance levels as follows: mean of 1.398 and SD of 0.367 which is greater than the value of the experiments undertaken without IHE which had a COP performance levels as follows: mean of 0.67 and SD of 0.19. The Paired Samples T-test found these differences to be significant, at p-value < 0.033. The null hypothesis was rejected, hence there is evidence to suggest that the COP of the experiment with IHE is statistically greater than the COP of the experiment without IHE, with a 95% confidence interval of -1.357 and -0.099

Experimental investigation of a transcritical CO2 refrigeration system incorporating rotary gas pressure exchanger and low lift ejectors

Natural refrigerants like CO2 are playing a significant role in making refrigeration and heat pump systems climate-friendly by slowly phasing out the high global warming refrigerants like hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). However, the efficiency of a transcritical CO2 refrigeration system declines significantly when the ambient temperature increases, primarily attributed to the high-pressure lift and the losses incurred during expansion. To remedy this issue, this paper presents a novel rotary gas pressure exchanger (PXG) device, which simultaneously achieves high differential pressure expansion work recovery and the “free compression” of the portion of the flash gas in a compact, rotary machine. For this, a PXG device is designed, fabricated, and tested to achieve free compression of CO2 over the entire differential pressure of approximately 70 bar between a receiver and a gas cooler. This is one of the highest free-pressure lift provided by any device to date in CO2 refrigeration. However, there is a small pressure loss of approximately 1–2 bar in the system due to viscous and inertia losses in the piping and in the PXG itself, which needs to be overcome by an external booster device. Results on a baseline PXG integrated system with two low lift booster compressors are presented, which show up to 60 bar free pressure lift and up to 18.2 % COP improvement provided by PXG. Additionally, key performance characteristics of the PXG, like the expansion work recovery, the mass boost ratio, direct fluid-to-fluid contact, and no pass-through operation are experimentally quantified. This work also presents a novel method to integrate two low lift ejectors with PXG to eliminate the need for separate low lift compressors. The low lift ejectors are designed, fabricated, and tested in-house, followed by their integration with the PXG device. A new type of transcritical CO2 refrigeration system is designed to integrate these low lift ejectors with PXG, and experiments are conducted at various evaporator thermal duties and gas cooler exit temperatures, simulating varying ambient temperature conditions. A novel control system to control the gas cooler pressure to optimal thermodynamic levels using PXG rotational speed is demonstrated experimentally. Further, automated control of high-pressure low lift ejector mass flow using an in-built needle design has been successfully demonstrated to optimise PXG mass boost performance. The LP low lift ejector achieved a successful pressure lift of 3.8 bar, and the HP low lift ejector showed a lift of 5.7 bar on the top of 42 bar free pressure lift provided by PXG for up to 5.8 kg/min mass flow delivered by free PXG compression. The results from this study demonstrate that the PXG device provides a significant energy efficiency improvement to the transcritical CO2 refrigeration system, and the novel low lift ejectors, when integrated with PXG, provide a successful method to maximise PXG’s thermodynamic potential.

Improvement of macroscopic turbulence model for subchannel analysis in the rod bundle array

The PRIUS program was established to generate an experimental database for the 6 × 4 and 12 × 6 rod bundle geometry. The database will be used to address the subchannel and CFD code analysis required for modeling and validation. This is necessary because Small Break Loss of Coolant Accident (SBLOCA) and Intermediate Break Loss of Coolant Accident (IBLOCA) present three-dimensional phenomena in the core due to the radial power profile, crossflow, and diffusion-dispersion. Therefore, specific experimental programs are required, especially during core reflooding, to investigate the large-scale three-dimensional effects. However, validating each sensitive model of the code separately in the presence of 3D effects is not possible due to the inability to implement instrumentation at high pressure and temperature steam-water flow conditions. The PRIUS test program uses a single-phase flow test to simulate a non-homogeneous velocity distribution and provide information on crossflow with radial mixing effects between subchannels. The CUPID code, which uses a macroscopic turbulence model, has been validated using the PRIUS-II experimental database. Existing macroscopic turbulence models were also validated for their prediction capabilities with different inlet flow conditions. However, the validation revealed significant errors in the shear region between subchannels. An improved macroscopic turbulence model showed promising results in predicting turbulence kinetic energy in porous media analysis.

Pressure dependence of electrochemical CO2 reduction to ethanol in flow cell

The electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2RR) to ethanol is an ideal approach for using released CO2 and producing fuel. The impact of CO2 partial pressure (PCO2) on ethanol synthesis was significant but was not well understood. The present study investigates the pressure dependence of ethanol formation from 0.25 bar to 15 bar in a high-pressure flow cell. It displayed a volcano type. The PCO2 associated with the peak Faradaic efficiency (FE) of ethanol increased as the current density increased. The pressure peak values were 0.5 bar, 0.75 bar at 100, 200, and 300 mA cm−2, respectively. Ethanol formation kinetics was affected by adsorbate-adsorbate interactions and the physical blocking of active sites on catalysts with excess CO2. Besides, ethanol synthesis using the configured flue gas, i.e., low-concentration CO2 (VCO2 = 5–30%), was realized via system pressurization from 5 to 20 bar at 200 mA cm−2. By optimizing the combination of CO2 concentration and total pressure (Ptot), the fuel efficiency (FE) of ethanol was maximized to 26.5%. This study uncovers the ideal CO2 partial pressure for ethanol synthesis under industrial current densities, hence presenting potential industrial applications for utilizing flue gas directly in ethanol production.

Effect of fracturing on transient pressure fluctuation of tubing in ultra-deep well

The tubing is prone to failure during the fracturing process because of the high pressure and massive flow of the fracturing fluid. The fast change in pressure and velocity inside the tubing caused by an instantaneous shift in the flow boundary of the fracturing fluid can lead to tubing failure or possibly fracture, which poses a major risk to the integrity of the wellbore. In the process of high pump pressure and large displacement fracturing in ultra-deep wells, the calculation model of fluid hammer in the fracturing string is constructed in this article in accordance with the instantaneous pump stop condition. The quasi-dynamic boundary conditions of fracturing fluid are also considered. It is discovered how wellhead pressure is affected by pump stop time and fracturing fluid displacement. In this paper, the model is verified based on the field fracturing data of an ultra-deep well and the error between the calculated value and the field value is 1.04%. The simulation results show that the wellhead pressure declines once the pump is turned off, fluctuates close to the equilibrium pressure value, and the magnitude of the fluctuation steadily shrinks until it reaches the equilibrium pressure. The difference between the peak pressure and the stable value is within 5 MPa, and the difference is 2.61 MPa under the fracturing condition of the example well in this paper. The shorter the pump shutdown time, the earlier the inflection point appears, and the greater the pressure mutation value. In the five groups of pump stop time set in this paper, when the stop time is 2.5 s, the peak pressure can reach 80.35 MPa, which is 24.77 MPa higher than the peak pressure when the pump stops for 12.5 s. Proppant content combined with appropriate wellhead pump pressure can reduce the wellhead pump stop pressure under the premise of supporting the formation fracture is not closed. In addition, when the proppant content in the fracturing fluid is high, the additional axial force on the tubing is large and the fluctuation is advanced.

Computational boundary improvement and performance optimization of the flue gas waste heat cascade utilization system of the ultra-supercritical 1000 MW generator set

Abstract There is no uniform performance test rule and standard calculation method for efficiency improvement of a system that utilizes waste heat from flue gas and it is mainly carried out through turbine parameters, without considering boiler system performance. Given the above problem, in this paper, the steam turbine, boiler and waste heat from the flue gas step-up utilization system are calculated by establishing a thermal model of ultra-supercritical secondary reheating 1000 MW unit. At the same time, unit design data and field performance test results are used for verification. Analysis comparing simulation outcomes with experimental data revealed that the discrepancies in the heat consumption rate per unit, the efficiency of the boiler, and the rate of coal consumption for power generation peaked at a marginal variance of 0.2%. The optimum operating parameters of the system for low-grade flue gas recovery in a cascading manner are obtained through variable operating condition calculations. The optimum value of high-pressure bypass feed-water flow rate is 52 kg/s at 970 MW operating condition. At the same time, the difference between high-pressure bypass effluent and high plus effluent temperatures should be controlled to be close to 0°C, and the optimal value of low-pressure bypass condensate flow rate is 53 kg/s. As the flow of flue gas in the bypass increases, the efficiency of heat exchange in the bypass economizer also increases, resulting in greater absorption of heat in the utilization apparatus for flue gas waste heat, leading to a more effective energy-saving outcome. However, it is necessary to regulate the temperature of both the primary and secondary air to levels that exceed the minimum requirements for the safe functioning of the coal mill.

Bubble departure and sliding in high-pressure flow boiling of water

Bubble growth, departure and sliding in low-pressure flow boiling has received considerable attention in the past. However, most applications of boiling heat transfer rely on high-pressure flow boiling, for which very little is known, as experimental data are scarce and very difficult to obtain. In this work, we conduct an experiment using high-resolution optical techniques. By combining backlit shadowgraphy and phase-detection imaging, we track bubble shape and physical footprint with high spatial ( $6\,\mathrm {\mu }{\rm m}$ ) and temporal ( $33\,\mathrm {\mu }{\rm s}$ ) resolutions, as well as bubble size and position as bubbles nucleate and slide on top of the heated surface. We show that at pressures above 1 MPa bubbles retain a spherical shape throughout the growth and sliding process. We analytically derive non-dimensional numbers to correlate bubble velocity and liquid velocity throughout the turbulent boundary layer and predict the sliding of bubbles on the surface, solely from physical properties and the bubble growth rate. We also show that these non-dimensional solutions can be leveraged to formulate elementary criteria that predict the effect of pressure and flow rate on bubble departure diameter and growth time.