Dynamic Model of Enhanced Boiling Heat Transfer on Porous Surfaces—Part I: Experimental Investigation

Abstract

Enhancement of nucleate boiling heat transfer has been studied with the structured surfaces composed of interconnected internal cavities in the form of tunnels and small pores connecting the pool liquid and the tunnels. The boiling curves of R-11, water and nitrogen show 80 to 90 percent reduction of wall superheat required to transfer the same heat flux as that on plain surfaces, when the pore diameter is set around 0.1 mm. The experimental data on bubble formation showed a significant contribution of latent heat transport to the enhancement. A visualization study made with a transparent structured model suggested that the liquid suction into the tunnel is triggered by the bubble growth at active pores and subsequent evaporation inside the tunnel plays a vital role in driving the bubble formation cycle. This observation led to a conception of the dynamic model expounded in Part II.