Numerical simulation and modeling of liquid film evaporation inside axisymmetric reentrant cavities

Abstract

Abstract. Evaporation of thin liquid films inside reentrant cavities occurs in several boiling processes where enhanced surfaces are utilized. In this work, evaporation from a single reentrant cavity with an additional thin channel is studied. The channel allows the backflow of liquid from the pool into the cavity during bubble growth. Direct numerical simulations were performed, showing a strong relation between flow to the film inside the cavity and bubble growth at the pore. Additionally, a model was created with a novel modeling approach which is based on solving the Young-Laplace equation. From the model characteristic nondimensional parameters can be obtained and the influence of geometry variations on hydrodynamics can be studied.