Nucleate Boiling

This chapter consists of six sections in which distinctive experimental works to explore the mechanisms of nucleate boiling are described. Sections 2.1 and 2.2 discuss the detailed heat transfer mechanisms during the bubble nucleation process. A sophisticated MEMS sensor is used to measure the surface temperature in Section 2.1 and the microlayer structure is investigated using laser techniques in Section 2.2. Section 2.3 discusses the heat transfer characteristics of mini/microchannel boiling systems that receive increasing attention in various applications. Sections 2.4 and 2.5 deal with nucleate boiling heat transfer of mixtures. Section 2.4 reports the surface tension and the critical heat flux of high-carbon alcohol solutions. In Section 2.5, mixture effect is investigated from various standpoints; the heat transfer characteristics of immiscible mixtures are also discussed. In the last section (2.6), to elucidate the heat transfer mechanisms and the void development in subcooled flow boiling, bubble dynamics is explored based on the visualization results using a high-speed camera.