Pool boiling simulation using an interface tracking method: From nucleate boiling to film boiling regime through critical heat flux

A series of pool boiling simulations has been performed using an interface tracking method in the framework of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The boiling regime simulated in this work covers from the nucleate boiling to the film boiling through Critical Heat Flux (CHF). The numerical method previously developed by the authors (Sato, Niceno, Int. J. Heat Mass Trans., 105, 505-524) is used; the liquid-vapor interface is resolved by a color function, and conjugate heat transfer between the wall and the fluid is included. The micro-layer, which is the thin liquid film existing beneath a growing bubble, is taken into account using a specialized model. The validation case is the experiment by Gaertner: the boiling of water from a heated, horizontal plate under atmospheric pressure. The applied heat flux ranges from 50 to 1500 kW/m2. The computed heat transfer coefficient agrees well with the measured value, demonstrating the capability of the described simulation method to predict boiling heat transfer for the wide range of boiling regimes.