BUBBLE NUCLEATION OF R134A REFRIGERANT IN A PRESSURIZED FLOW BOILING SYSTEM

摘要

The effect of heat flux and pressure on bubble nucleation of R134a refrigerant in a flow boiling system is experimentally studied. An experimental facility was built and an innovative concept of thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) technique was introduced for the high resolution and accurate measurement of the overall heater surface temperature. The visualization and image recording process is performed by employing two synchronized high resolution and high speed cameras which simultaneously capture colored TLC images as well as bubble nucleation activities at high frame rates. Experiments were conducted at different high pressures ranging from 690 to 830 kPa and at different heat flux conditions in order to identify their influence on flow boiling performance specially bubbling event. Present results demonstrate that both the heat flux and pressure influence the bubble generation rate and size. For example, bubble generation frequency and size are found to increase with heat flux. An increase in pressure of 137 kPa (from 690 to 827 kPa) increased the bubble frequency and size about 32 Hz and 20 (mu)m, respectively.