The subject of this paper is the implementation and validation of a nucleate boiling model in the OpenFOAM software package. In order to simulate nucleate boiling accurately the model must take into account the strong evaporation at the contact line where the liquid-vapor interface meets the solid wall. The phenomena in this region typically happen on a length scale which is much smaller than the grid size. Therefore, they are treated by a contact line model and by taking into account the conjugate heat transfer between solid and fluid. In vicinity of the wall, the vapor bubble is surrounded by superheated liquid. Due to the high temperature gradient from the bulk liquid to the liquid-vapor interface, a high grid resolution is required for the simulations. A Volume-of-Fluid approach is used to simulate boiling flows. Several tests were performed to validate the model. In a first test case the sucking interface problem was solved with high accuracy. The growth of a bubble in a superheated liquid has been successfully simulated for different fluids. In order to validate the contact line model and the conjugate heat transfer, the growth and detachment of a bubble from a heated steel foil has been calculated.
展开▼