Convection and evaporation of microlayer underneath bubbles under microgravity

Abstract

The multidimensional heat transfer and fluid flow in the microlayer region below a vapor bubble formed during boiling in microgravity are investigated by numerically solving the Navier-Stokes equations with the energy equation. The flow is driven by Marangoni flow due to the surface tension gradient along the bubble surface that results from the temperature gradient. The model also includes condensation and evaporation at the bubble surface.The flow field and heat transfer are calculated for microlayer thicknesses from 0.01 mm to 10 mm to investigate the effect of microlayer thickness. The results show that the velocities are small and have only a small effect on the temperature distribution as compared to the solution for pure conduction in the liquid. Natural convection is shown to have a negligible effect on heat transfer. For less than ideal evaporative heat transfer at the bubble interface, Marangoni convection caused the heat transfer to increase several percent. The flow in the microlayer is shown to agree with the lubrication analogy only for thin, relatively flat interfaces.