The nature of bubble growth under different system pressures in a narrow channel

Bubble growth in a vertical narrow channel under different system pressures (1-10 bar) was photographically studied. It was found that bubble growth rates and bubble sizes decrease with increasing system pressures. It was also found that bubbles grow at nucleate sites and begin to shrink due to condensation after departing from nucleate sites under lower system pressures (1-3 bar). However, bubbles keep growing along the heating wall under higher system pressures (6-10 bar). All bubble growth curves under different system pressures can be predicted by power curve model in the present study. A theoretical analysis on the effect of system pressure on bubble growth shows that the latent heat needed for a bubble with unit volume and the heat transfer on the heating wall are quite different under different system pressures, which results in distinct difference in bubble growth under different system pressure. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.