Effects of external electric field on pool boiling: Comparison of terrestrial and microgravity data in the ARIEL experiment

Pool boiling in microgravity, in the presence of an electric field or less, was investigated in ARIEL test setup, integrated in Fluidpac facility, on Foton-M2 orbital mission. The nucleate boiling curve with FC-72 was measured in terrestrial and reduced gravity conditions, on a heated surface whose size was relevant from a technical point of view, for various degrees of fluid subcooling and high heat rates. An external electrostatic field was also added to investigate its use as a possible replacement of buoyancy. Counterpart tests were carried out in the same apparatus in normal gravity, before the mission. The present paper deals in particular with the comparison between boiling performance in normal and reduced gravity in the entire experimental range.