Mechanisms of steady-state nucleate pool boiling in microgravity

Research on nucleate pool boiling in microgravity using R-113 as a working fluid was conducted using a five-second drop tower and five space flights at a/g approximately 10(-4). A 19 x 38-mm flat gold film heater was used that allowed cine camera viewing both from the side and the bottom of the heater. It was concluded that for both subcooled and saturated liquids long-term steady-state pool boiling can take place in reduced gravity, but the effectiveness of the boiling heat transfer appears to depend on the heater geometry and on the size and the properties of fluids. Heat transfer is enhanced at lower heat flux levels and the CHF increases as the subcooling increases. It was found that several mechanisms are responsible for the steady-state nucleate pool boiling in the absence of buoyancy. The mechanisms considered here are defined and summarized as bubble removal, bubble coalescence, thermocapillary flow, bubble migration, and latent heat transport.