Bubble nucleation in microchannels: statistical mechanics approach

摘要

Microscale boiling display quite some unusual characteristics, like the occurrence of the so-called "fictitious boiling". This paper modeled the bubble embryos occurring during microchanne boiling using a statistical mechanics approach. The bubble nucleation temperature of working liquid heated in a microchannel was theoretically derived. Experimental efforts were conducted to measure the nucleation temperatures for four working fluids (water, methanol, Ethanol and carbon tetrachloride) boiled on a platinum wire confined in a capillary tubes. Both theoretical and exper- imental findings demonstrated that the bubble nucleation temperature markedly increased as the size of mcirochannel Went done. Regression analysis of experimental results estimated the process parameters in the theoretical predic- Tion.