An Analytic Study of Microlayer Evaporation and Related Bubble Growth Effects in Nucleate Boiling

Introduction: Nucleate boiling heat transfer is of technical interest since it allows a high heat flux with only a relatively small temperature difference. The demand for a better understanding of the behavior of a liquid as it exceeds its saturation temperature and changes to vapor has been the result of design problems in liquid cooled rocket nozzles and nuclear reactor cores. Moreover, to improve the performance of these high heat flux systems an understanding and control of the phenomena of boiling must be achieved. This dissertation is an attempt to establish the criteria for the heat and mass transfer processes which take place during bubble formation in nucleate boiling heat transfer.