Abstract
Thermal bubble formation is a fundamental process in nucleate boiling heat transfer and in many microelectromechanical thermal systems. Here, we report an experimental study of the dynamic and thermal behavior of bubbles generated at a single site, that is, a microcavity filled with alumina particles. The thermal process associated with the bubble departure from the isolated cavity, in particular, was shown to be different from that of macroscale boiling. The bubble departure diameter remains constant in a low superheat (or Jakob number) regime which is solely determined by the balance of interfacial tension and buoyancy. In addition, the bubble departure frequency increases along the bubble size as the substrate temperature rises. The further-increased frequency of bubbles emerging from the cavity causes multiple bubbles to coalesce before the preceding bubble completely detaches from the substrate, thus, leading to the decrease of apparent departure frequency with the increase of substrate temperature.
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This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Dongsik Kim
Young Soo Chang received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Seoul National University in 1991, 1993, and 1997, respectively. Dr. Chang is currently a principal research scientist at Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul, Korea. His research interests include boiling heat transfer and refrigeration.
Kwang-Hun Jeong received his B.S. degree from Pusan National University in 2005 and his M.S. degree from Seoul National University in 2007. He currently works as an engineer in Doosan Heavy Industry.
Heon Ju Lee received his B.S. degree from Korea University in 2001 and his M.S. degree from Texas A & M University in 2003. He is currently on leave from his job at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul, and is doing his Ph.D. program at MIT. His research interests are design and fabrication of MEMS.
Ho-Young Kim received his B.S. degree from Seoul National University in 1994, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from MIT in 1996 and 1999, respectively. He is currently an associate professor of Mechanical Engineering in Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea. His research interests include microscale and biological fluid mechanics.
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Chang, Y.S., Jeong, KH., Lee, H.J. et al. Behavior of thermal bubbles formed from a single nucleation site. J Mech Sci Technol 24, 415–420 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-009-1112-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-009-1112-y