A Simultaneous Observation of Bubble Growth and Microlayer Behavior for an Isolated Boiling Regime of Saturated Water

Abstract

The bubble growth rate and microlayer behavior were simultaneously visualized for an isolated boiling regime of saturated water. The increase rate of the bubble volume dropped sharply when the microlayer was totally depleted. However, the contribution of the superheated liquid layer evaporation to the bubble volume increase was comparable to or even higher than that of the microlayer evaporation during the time when the microlayer evaporation was active. The microlayer under the coalesced bubble was much thicker than that under single isolated bubble.