Visualization of a Single Boiling Bubble in a DC Electric Field

The application of electric field has been demonstrated as an effective way to enhance pool boiling heat transfer. In past studies, adiabatic experiments were often conducted to simulate the dynamics of nucleate bubbles in the presence of an electric field, where gas bubbles were injected from an orifice, to avoid complexities involved in the nucleate boiling experiments. While adiabatic studies yield useful information of the bubble dynamics, further studies about bubble dynamics during nucleate boiling heat transfer are still necessary for a full understanding of the effects of applied electric field on the liquid-vapor phase change heat transfer. In this paper, the dynamics of a single boiling bubble in a direct current (DC) electric field was studied experimentally employing R113 as the working fluid. The life cycle of the boiling bubble was visualized using high-speed photography and was compared with that of an injected nitrogen bubble. Under the same electric field, a more appreciable elongation along the field direction was observed for the boiling bubble. A modified relationship between the bubble deformation and the electrical Weber number was proposed for the boiling bubble. As the electric field strength increases, it was found that, although the growth time of the boiling bubble increases, the waiting period decreases. However, it was also found that, the change of the whole life cycle with electric field strength increasing is relevant to the wall temperature. In this work, the wall temperature measured in the vicinity of the nucleation site upon the bubble departure decreases when the electric field is applied.