It is very important to study the bubble dynamics in order to understand the physical process of boiling heat transfer in a narrow channel. Experimental and theoretical studies on bubble dynamics in a narrow rectangular channel are proposed. The cross section of the narrow rectangular channel is 2 mm × 8 mm. A high speed digital camera is applied to capture bubble behaviors from the narrow side and wide side of the narrow rectangular channel. Bubble growth rate, bubble departure diameter, bubble interface parameter and others are obtained according to the observation. A force balance analysis on a growing bubble is proposed to predict the bubble departure diameter and sliding bubble velocity, and the predicted results agree with the experimental data. Thus, the mechanism of bubble departure, slide and lift-off behavior in a narrow rectangular channel can be explained by the analysis of forces.
Part of the book: Principles and Applications in Nuclear Engineering