A Volume of Fluid Based Model for the Simulation of Bubble Growth Over a Heated Surface

Nucleate boiling simulations uncover the dynamic and thermal behavior near the bubble-edge for different fluids and operating conditions. This information is essential to optimize boiling systems and to propose more effective heat and mass transport mechanisms. Some of the main challenges simulating boiling are preserve interface sharpness, compute mass transfer, and include interface effects. The present work analyzes the role of mass transfer estimation, sharp interface model, and surface tension computation on interface deformations in the simulation of bubble growth over a heated surface. The simulation accounts for the saturation temperature of the bubble-edge and computes mass transfer with interfacial temperature gradients. Volume-of-fluid tracks the interface and defines interfacial gradients. Results provide evidence of a stable and more realistic simulation that declares mass transfer only on mixture cells and that defines a sharp interface. In addition, results show that surface tension effects play a primary role on interface deformations. Numerical results reveal the formation of a thin thermal film near the bubble edge and liquid moving away from the interface due to vapor expansion.