A numerical investigation of the effect of heating methods on saturated nucleate pool boiling

Using a numerical model, the effect of heating methods on saturated nucleate pool boiling is investigated parametrically for smooth and rough nickel and copper heater plates. The boiling curve moved right with decreasing thickness for the smooth and rough nickel and copper heaters in the constant-heat-flux heating method. This trend was reversed in the constant-temperature heating method; the boiling curved shifted left with decreasing heater thickness. However, the later trend was not affected by the heater material and thickness and the surface roughness (mean cavity radius). The boiling curves were identical for the constant internal generation rate and the constant-heat-flux heating method. The use of ac instead of dc resistive heating caused the boiling curve generally to move left. This behavior was not linear with the heat flux, heater material, or surface conditions. No hysterisis was found when the heat flux was increased and then decreased gradually to original values.     

The effect of Helmholtz instability on the macrolayer thickness in vapor mushroom region of nucleate pool boiling

In the previously postulated relationship between the macrolayer thickness in saturated pool boiling and the Helmholtz instability wavelength is further investigated in the ligth of experimental data that recently appeared in the open literature. The study shows that the Helmholtz wavelength in the vapor stems is strongly dependent on parameters affected by surface chemistry. These parameters same order of magnitude as the ones reported in the literature, the Helmholtz instability model was able to successfully predict the macrolayer thickness data. This result suggests that the Helmholtz instability model must not be ruled out, unless further experimental research proves otherwise.     

Direct numerical simulation of thermal conductivity of nanofluids: The effect of temperature two-way coupling and coagulation of particles

An Eulerian–Lagrangian based direct numerical simulations (DNS) model was developed to investigate the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids. A two-way coupling term to resolve the temperature interactions between the solid particles and fluid field was considered. The model also considered various forces acting on the nanoparticles. Cu/water nanofluids with 100 nm particles and Al₂O₃/water nanofluids with 80 nm particles were simulated at different volume fractions and the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids was calculated. The present results suggest that the particle conductivity and forces acting on nanoparticle are necessary while predicting the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids.     

The effect of surfactants on bubble growth,wall thermal patterns and heat transfer in pool boiling

During nucleate pool boiling of pure water and water with cationic surfactant, the motion of bubbles and the temperature of the heated surface were recorded by a high-speed video camera and an infrared radiometer. All experiments were performed at saturated boiling conditions. The boiling curves for various concentrations were obtained and compared. The results show that the bubble behavior and the heat transfer mechanism for the surfactant solution are quite different from those of pure water. The heat transfer dependence on the relative changes of both the surface tension and the kinematic viscosity was discussed.     

Burnout in pool boiling the stability of boiling mechanisms

In pool boiling, when the burnout heat flux is approached, a large number of areas are observed where the heating surface is dry for short intervals. The mechanism of formation of these dry areas is different for atmosphere and low-pressure conditions. The majority of dry areas do not lead to burnout. but the odd one is suddenly fatal when it grows to cover the entire heating surface. This suddenly different behaviour can be explained qualitatively by considering the conduction of heat along the heating surface, for which a modified interpretation of the boiling curve must be used. A critical size is found beyond which dry areas keep growing. The stability properties of both nucleate and film boiling are found to depend on the imposed heat flux and explain the familiar form of the boiling curve.     

Experimental investigation of the effect of particle deposition on pool boiling of nanofluids

Research on pool boiling of nanofluids has shown contradicting trends in the heat transfer coefficient (HTC). Such trends have been attributed, in part, to nanoparticle deposition on the heater surface. An experimental investigation of the transient nature of nanoparticle deposition and its effect on the HTC of pool boiling of nanofluids at various concentrations has been carried out. Pool boiling experiments have been conducted on a horizontal flat copper surface for alumina (40–50 nm) water based nanofluids at concentrations of 0.01, 0.1 and 0.5 vol.%. Nanofluids boiling experiments have been followed by pure water boiling experiments on the same nanoparticle-deposited (NPD) surfaces. This technique has been employed in order to separate the effect of nanoparticle deposition from the effect of nanofluids properties on the HTC. Contrary to what was expected, boiling of pure water on the NPD surface produced using the highest concentration nanofluid resulted in the highest HTC. A closer look at the nature of the NPD surfaces explained such trend. A new approach using a transient surface factor in Rohsenow correlation has been proposed to account for the transient nature of nanoparticle deposition. The applicability of such approach at different concentrations has been investigated.     

Critical heat flux in pool boiling under the effect of adverse dielectrophoretic forces

We study the effects of externally applied electric fields on the critical heat flux in pool boiling for the case of dielectrophoretic forces over the bubbles pointing towards the heater. Experimental tests have been performed for cylindrical heaters with an axial wire as electrode. The results show substantial reductions in the value of the critical heat flux when the adverse dielectrophoretic forces over the bubbles are on the order of magnitude of the buoyancy forces. After that point, an increase in the strength of the applied field does not have an impact in the critical heat flux. In addition, the effects are smaller at saturation temperature than in subcooled conditions.     

Direct numerical simulations of a planar jet laden with evaporating droplets

A direct numerical simulation (DNS) study is conducted on the various aspects of phase interactions in a planar turbulent gas-jet laden with non-evaporative and evaporative liquid droplets. A compressible computational model utilizing a finite difference scheme for the carrier gas and a Lagrangian solver for the droplet phase is used to conduct the numerical experiments. The effects of droplet time constant, mass-loading and mass/momentum/energy coupling between phases on droplet and gas-jet fields are investigated. Significant changes in velocity, temperature, density and turbulence production on account of the coupling between the liquid and gas phases are observed in non-isothermal jets with evaporating droplets. Most of these changes are attributed to the density stratification in the carrier gas that is caused by droplet momentum and heat transfer.     

Analysis of pool boiling heat transfer: effect of bubbles sliding on the heating surface

Pool boiling on surfaces where sliding bubble mechanism plays an important role has been studied. The heat transfer phenomenon for such cases has been analysed. The model considers different mechanisms such as latent heat transfer due to microlayer evaporation, transient conduction due to thermal boundary layer reformation, natural convection and heat transfer due to the sliding bubbles. Both microlayer evaporation and transient conduction take place during the sliding of bubbles, which occurs in geometries such as inclined surfaces and horizontal tubes. The model has been validated against experimental results from literature for water, refrigerant R134a and propane. The model was found to agree well for these fluids over a wide range of pressures. The model shows the importance of the contributions of the different mechanisms for different fluids, wall superheats and pressures.     

Molecular dynamics simulation on the effect of nanoparticles on the heat transfer characteristics of pool boiling

Molecular dynamics simulation was performed to investigate pool boiling of nanofluids on the metal wall. Nanoparticles were placed near the wall. Results showed that with the addition of nanoparticles the fluid temperature, net evaporation number and heat flux were increased, indicating that the boiling heat transfer was enhanced. In addition, the nanoparticles were able to move around the wall disorderly but did not move with the fluid. The effects of heated temperature and nanoparticle size on the boiling heat transfer were also investigated. By increasing heated temperature and nanoparticle size, the boiling heat transfer enhancement increased.     

Convection in modulated thermal gradients and gravity: experimental measurements and numerical simulations

This paper presents an investigation on natural convection in a cavity with imposed modulated thermal gradients or modulated gravity forces. Numerical computations are presented, which are based on the finite element solution of the transient Navier-Stokes and energy balance equations, along with appropriate thermal boundary conditions or time-varying gravity forces. In parallel with numerical development, an experimental system is setup where oscillating wall temperatures are prescribed to produce modulated temperature gradients and the velocity fields are measured by a laser-based particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. Computed results compare well with experimental measurements for various conditions. With the mathematical model, so verified by experimental measurements, numerical simulations are carried out to study the effects of modulation frequency and Prandtl number on the fluid flow. Results show strong non-linear interaction in a fluid with a relative high Prandtl number within the intermediate range of modulated frequency. It is also found that for a fluid with a small Prandtl number typical of molten metals and semiconductor melts, modulated gravity and thermal gradients produce almost the same flow field both in structure and in magnitude.     

Surface wettability change during pool boiling of nanofluids and its effect on critical heat flux

The pool boiling characteristics of dilute dispersions of alumina, zirconia and silica nanoparticles in water were studied. Consistently with other nanofluid studies, it was found that a significant enhancement in critical heat flux (CHF) can be achieved at modest nanoparticle concentrations (<0.1% by volume). Buildup of a porous layer of nanoparticles on the heater surface occurred during nucleate boiling. This layer significantly improves the surface wettability, as shown by a reduction of the static contact angle on the nanofluid-boiled surfaces compared with the pure-water-boiled surfaces. A review of the prevalent CHF theories has established the nexus between CHF enhancement and surface wettability changes caused by nanoparticle deposition. This represents a first important step towards identification of a plausible mechanism for boiling CHF enhancement in nanofluids.     

Numerical simulation of a heat sink embedded with a vapor chamber and calculation of effective thermal conductivity of a vapor chamber

This study presents a numerical investigation of a whole set of thermal module, including a plate-fin heat sink embedded with a vapor chamber, subject to the influence of concentrated heat sources. Within the vapor chamber, the internal vapor is assumed as a common heat-transfer interface between the wicks. CFD simulations of the integrated heat sink are carried out with this assumption. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experiments, and show a maximum difference of 6.3% for the hotspot temperature rises. It is found that the area of the heat source has an important influence to the performance of the vapor chamber. The major spreading resistance of the vapor chamber comes from the bottom wall, where a concentrated heat source is applied. In addition, the isotropic and orthotropic approaches are proposed to calculate the effective thermal conductivities of the vapor chamber. By approximating the vapor chamber as a conduction plate, the effective conductivity can be obtained from the analytical solutions of the spreading resistances. The vapor chamber can reduce the spreading resistances sufficiently by its excellent lateral thermal spreading effect, which can be interpreted by the orthotropic approach.     

Prediction of the thermal conductivity anisotropy of Si nanofilms. Results of several numerical methods

The purpose of this work is to predict the in-plane and cross-plane thermal properties of crystalline silicon films. Several thicknesses from 20 nm to 6 μm and mean temperatures between 20 and 500 K have been investigated. Heat transport properties in silicon films have been studied through three different techniques: a semi-analytical method based upon the Kinetic Theory, a deterministic solution of the Boltzmann Transfer Equation (BTE) through the Discrete Ordinate Method and a statistical handling of the BTE by means of Monte Carlo Method. Each technique requires a model for the bulk material dispersion curves and the collision times of the different scattering processes. The three techniques have been validated through their correct prediction of silicon bulk thermal conductivity. Comparisons with in-plane thermal conductivity calculations and measurements have been also discussed. Thus, the cross-plane thermal conduction properties have been predicted. The expected temperature and thickness variations of the thermal conduction properties have been observed: the cross-plane thermal conduction appears to be less efficient than the in-plane thermal conduction, which proves that a significant anisotropy exists.     

Direct numerical simulations of auto-igniting mixing layers in ammonia and ammonia-hydrogen combustion under engine-relevant conditions

This study investigated auto-ignition characteristics of ammonia-air and ammonia-hydrogen-air laminar and turbulent mixing layers by means of direct numerical simulations (DNS) under elevated pressure conditions. The results show that elevated pressure and hydrogen addition accelerate the auto-ignition process, reducing the auto-ignition delay time. Analysis of the heat release rate revealed that the first peak of the heat release rate corresponds to the increment of appearance in temperature (induction stage) and the second peak of the heat release rate corresponds to the steady maximum temperature regime (thermal runaway stage). The results found that both induction and thermal runaway stages are affected by turbulence for pure ammonia-air mixing layers, while only the thermal runaway stage is affected by turbulence for ammonia-hydrogen-air mixing layers. The auto-ignition occurs along the most reactive mixture fraction with lower scalar dissipation rate, being further reduced by elevated pressure and hydrogen addition. Three radicals (NH_2, OH, HNO) distinguish the entire auto-ignition process very well for all cases.     

The impact of thermal conductivity and diffusion rates on water vapor transport through gas diffusion layers

Proper water management in a hydrogen-fueled polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell is critical for performance and durability. A mathematical model has been developed to elucidate the effect of thermal conductivity and water vapor diffusion coefficient in the gas diffusion layers (GDLs). The fraction of product water removed in the vapor phase through the GDL as a function of GDL properties/set of material and component parameters and operating conditions has been calculated. The current model enables identification of conditions wherein condensation occurs in each GDL component. The model predicts the temperature gradient across various components of a PEM fuel cell, providing insight into the overall mechanism of water transport in a given cell design. The water condensation conditions and transport mode in the GDL components depend on the combination of water vapor diffusion coefficients and thermal conductivities of the GDL components. Different types of GDLs and water transport scenarios are defined in this work, based on water condensation in the GDL and fraction of water that the GDL removes through the vapor phase, respectively.     

A numerical study on the effective thermal conductivity of biological fluids containing single-walled carbon nanotubes

Thermal death of cancerous cells may be induced by radiating single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) selectively attached via functionalization to the targeted cells. A distribution of SWNTs inside cancerous cells, on their surface, or in the inter-cellular fluid may occur during this treatment process. This work applies a random walk algorithm to calculate the effective thermal conductivity of an idealized biological fluid containing SWNTs. The thermal resistance at the interface between the SWNTs and their surroundings is incorporated to make predictions that are required for developing an overall approach to cancerous cell targeting.     

A numerical model for heat sinks with phase change materials and thermal conductivity enhancers

The effectiveness of thermal conductivity enhancers (TCEs) in improving the overall thermal conductance of phase change materials (PCMs) used in cooling of electronics is investigated numerically. With respect to the distribution of TCE and PCM materials, the heat sink designs are classified into two types. The first type of heat sink has the PCM distributed uniformly in a porous TCE matrix, and the second kind has PCM with fins made of TCE material. A transient finite volume method is used to model the heat transfer; phase change and fluid flow in both cases. A generalized enthalpy based formulation and numerical model are used for simulating phase change processes in the two cases. The performance of heat sinks with various volume fractions of TCE for different configurations is studied with respect to the variation of heat source (or chip) temperature with time; melt fraction and dimensionless temperature difference within the PCM. Results illustrate significant effect of the thermal conductivity enhancer on the performance of heat sinks.