Bubble Growth and Condensation in Narrow Channel of Subcooled Flow Boiling

Bubble growth and condensation in narrow channel under subcooled flow condition was experimentally studied in this paper. Two types of bubbles with totally different growth and condensation characteristics were observed, denoted as the first type bubble and the second type bubble. The growth rate of the first bubble is rather faster and the bubble disappears after condensation once the bubble departure the nucleation site. While a smaller growth rate could be observed for the second type bubble and the lifetime is much longer. The condensation effect could not cause the collapse of the second type bubble even for the longer sliding distance. The growth of the two types bubbles could be predicated by different correlations. Strongly random characteristics of the growth and condensation of bubble were observed in the present experiment, which is caused by the small variation of the local conditions of the subcooled boiling.