Measurement of wetted area fraction in subcooled pool boiling of water using infrared thermography

The wetted area fraction in subcooled pool boiling of water at atmospheric pressure is measured using the DEPIcT (DEtection of Phase by Infrared Thermography) technique. DEPIcT exploits the contrast in infrared (IR) light emissions between wet and dry areas on the surface of an IR-transparent heater to visualize the instantaneous distribution of the liquid and gas phases in contact with the heater surface. In this paper time-averaged wetted area fraction data in nucleate boiling are reported as functions of heat flux (from 30% up to 100% of the Critical Heat Flux) and subcooling (ΔTsub = 0, 5, 10, 30 and 50 °C). The results show that the wetted area fraction monotonically decreases with increasing heat flux and increases with increasing subcooling: both trends are expected. The range of time-averaged wetted area fractions is from 90%, at low heat flux and high subcooling, to 50% at high heat flux (right before CHF) and low subcooling. It is also shown that the dry areas are periodically rewetted by liquid sloshing on the surface at any subcooling and heat flux; however, the dry areas expand irreversibly at CHF.