Dynamics of the Liquid Microlayer Underneath a Vapor Bubble Growing at a Heated Wall

Evaporation of the liquid microlayer developing underneath a bubble in the initial (inertia controlled) phase of its growth can be a significant vapor source in the later (heat-diffusion controlled) phase of bubble growth. In the literature, representation of this microlayer is typically limited to a very short (order of microns) region near the apparent Triple Phase Line (TPL) between the bubble and the wall. However, experimental observations show that the microlayer may actually extend hundreds of microns beyond the TPL region. Guided by this observation, we develop a simple model to predict the time evolution of the extended microlayer, and the associated corresponding evaporation rate and heat flux underneath a bubble. The model is derived as a special case of the complete governing equations, which account for the complicated effects of disjoining pressure, capillarity, vapor recoil and interfacial resistance. The predictions of the model are in reasonable quantitative agreement with the experimentally observed behavior of the microlayer.