UNS: Collaborative Research: Numerical and Experimental Study of the Instability Mechanisms and Bubble Growth due to Explosive Boiling

Southern Illinois University At Carbondale, Carbondale IL

Investigators

Abstract

1512093 / 1511152 Esmaeeli, Asghar / Hermanson, James C. The proposal aims to provide much needed insight of the very rapid, explosive vapor bubble growth much like those in boiling water but even faster. This can occur by properly providing and focusing energy on liquids. One potential application of this knowledge is that, since the bubble comes into existence and grows fast while at micro-scales, it can help design micro-scale actuators commonly used in small devices. Both undergraduate and graduate will be involved in, while K-12 students and their teachers will also be exposed to, the research. The PIs propose a combined experimental and modeling approach to (1) determine the range of parameters over which explosive boiling in quiescent flows will occur and, under this condition, (2) to gain fundamental understanding of the dynamic growth of a single vapor nucleus, and (3) to explore the dynamics of multi-nuclei growth. Current research in the field is almost exclusively experimental in nature, and many crucial aspects cannot be probed quantitatively due to the complexity of experimentation. The numerical modeling will facilitate interpreting experimental results, which will be acquired using high-speed imaging, yielding much-needed quantitative insights and helping to solve problems over a broader range of engineering problems involving rapid evaporation. If the bubble growth dynamics is captured, it can be used as an actuator by properly focusing energy onto its initial growth that occurs at micro-scales. The results can improve understanding of energy focusing phenomena at the micro-scale involving bubbles as actuators if successful. Similarly, it will help to improve the design of flash-boiling atomizers and the processes involving transport and storage of volatile liquids or large scale energy generation.