1-s2.0-S0017931024010093-main

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 235 (2024) 126179
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhmt
Simulating film boiling with sharp interface and direct calculation of mass
transfer to investigate the hydrodynamic and thermal transport phenomena
near the interface
Divyprakash Pal a , Isaac Perez-Raya b,*
a
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, United States of America
b
Mechanical Engineering Department, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, United States of America
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: The current study presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for film boiling using two fluids,
Volume-of-fluid including liquid nitrogen. Ansys Fluent was customized using user-defined functions (UDFs) to accurately model
Sharp interface thermal and fluid dynamic interactions. The UDFs accommodate mass transfer at the liquid-vapor interface,
Mass transfer
maintaining a sharp interface by accounting for the saturation temperature. Direct heat and mass transfer cal
Film boiling
Ansys fluent
culations are implemented rather than relying on empirical correlations. Mesh analysis was performed with grid
Interface tracking sizes of 615, 410, 307, and 123 μm, with the 307 μm grid selected for its agreement with average Nusselt number
Multiphase flow values and accurate bubble shape and height. Verification using the Stefan problem showed a maximum error of
0.45 % for interface displacement and 0.1 % for temperature distribution. Validation against the Berenson
correlation demonstrated good agreement in Nusselt number values. Qualitative validation of the developed
method is performed using the shapes of the growing bubble. The results obtained show that the sharp interface
is preserved throughout the simulation, with temperature contours showing significant variations during bubble
growth and departure. Local heat transfer coefficient analysis identified peak values of 2170 W/m2-K at locations
of minimal film thickness. Velocity vector analysis revealed velocities of 2 m/s in the vapor phase, influencing
bubble shape during growth and departure. The study highlights the impact of thermal film thickness on heat
transfer, with the highest Nusselt number of 5.69 observed at a film thickness of 0.5 mm. The results demonstrate
the application of VOF sharp interface tracking and direct calculation of interfacial conditions utilizing
customized Ansys Fluent in the modeling of film boiling as a way to understand the fundamental aspects of the
fluid and thermal behavior.
can lead to surface dry-out and create hotspots on the surface, leading to
localized overheating and potential damage to the surface or equipment
1. Introduction and major accidents, especially in nuclear reactors. This makes the study
of film boiling crucial, particularly with the advent of numerical
Boiling has emerged as an excellent solution in phase-change-based methods that can reproduce experimental work, mitigating the risk of
thermal management systems due to its ability to store and transfer large system burnout or meltdown. Computer simulations are a powerful tool
amounts of thermal energy in the form of latent heat. However, we that has helped study boiling mechanisms through the study of the
observe film boiling in high-temperature applications, such as the microlayer, bubble shape, isotherms, heat transfer and bubble behavior
hardening of metal in a liquid, the cooling system of a chemical fuel and influenced by the thermal and fluid properties [13–22].
biological species, cryogenic fuel tanks, space propulsion systems, and The computational studies related to boiling involve identifying a
nuclear reactor cooling mechanisms [1–12]. During film boiling, a stable distinct interface along the bubble edge undergoing mass transfer. Mass
vapor film forms between a superheated solid surface and the liquid at transfer at the interface directly impacts the bubble life cycle and plays a
temperatures significantly above the boiling point of the liquid. This is significant role in convective heat transfer. The calculation of mass
characterized by reduced heat transfer coefficients because of the low transfer relies on the local temperature gradients at the phase change
thermal conductivity of the vapor phase. The formation of the vapor film
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (D. Pal), [email protected] (I. Perez-Raya).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2024.126179
Received 30 July 2024; Received in revised form 4 September 2024; Accepted 6 September 2024
Available online 11 September 2024
0017-9310/© 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
D. Pal and I. Perez-Raya International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 235 (2024) 126179
Nomenclature ∇ Gradient operator

u
→ Velocity vector (m/s)
Ai Interface surface area μ Dynamic viscosity (Pa.s)
α Volume fraction K Thermal diffusivity (m2/s)
σ Surface tension (N/m) kl Thermal conductivity (W/m.K)
̅→
Sm Surface tension force (N/m) λo Taylor instability wavelength
→g Gravity (m/s2)
Subscripts
hfg Latent heat of evaporation (kJ/kg)
c Cell
h Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)
g Gas phase
K Interface curvature
l Liquid phase
Nu Averaged Nusselt number sat Saturation
Vc Cell volume v Vapor phase
T Temperature (K) w Wall
t Time (s)
ρ Density (kg/m3)
interface between liquid and vapor. Prominent mass transfer models Noh [63]. These methods can be categorized based on their advection
include the kinetic theory model [23–28], the Lee model [29–31], and reconstruction scheme [64]. In the algebraic VOF method, the
models incorporating energy jump conditions, and those integrating volume fraction is modeled as a function, while in the geometric VOF
source terms at the two-phase interface using Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) method; it is depicted through geometric representation at the interface.
and Level Set (LS) schemes [23,24,32,33]. Although these models have The sudden variation in volume fraction across interfaces leads to error
proven to be effective and easy to implement, some of the shortcomings and inconsistent representation of the interface. The Simple Line Inter
include indirect estimation of mass transfer [34–36], computing the face Calculation (SLIC) approximates the interface as straight lines
temperature gradient at a certain distance from the interface, and aligned with the grid. However, it often leads to inaccuracies, such as
inaccurate estimations for interfaces far from the neighboring-cell center fragmentation of the fluid front. The Piecewise Linear Interface Calcu
[34–40]. Perez-Raya and Kandlikar [41] developed a one-cell algorithm lation (PLIC) [65,66], offers a more precise reconstruction by allowing
for sharp interface and mass transfer (OCASIMAT) to calculate mass the interface to be oriented in any direction. Further advancements, like
transfer without interpolation functions. The algorithm captured inter the Least Squares Volume-of-Fluid Interface Reconstruction Algorithm
face displacements provided precise temperature distribution with a (LVIRA) [67] and its efficient variant (ELVIRA) [68], achieve
sharp interface, and defined mass transfer only at the interface. second-order accuracy by minimizing errors in interface reconstruction.
Furthermore, they used a second-order approximation to compute The LVIRA algorithm minimizes the difference between the volume
interfacial temperature gradients, achieving a better approximation to below the prolonged interface into the nearest neighboring cells and the
experimental results in the simulation of nucleate boiling [42]. Addi actual α in the cells suited for arbitrary meshes. Moreover, improve
tionally, to achieve precise interface displacements, Piecewise Linear ments in the accuracy of interfacial curvature and surface tension force
Interface Calculations (PLIC) with Analytic Size Based (ASB) were used estimation have been achieved by incorporating methods such as the
to reduce the error in the computation of the interface size by one order level set (LS) function [69], the parabolic reconstruction of the surface
of magnitude (3 % relative error against 13 % with VOF gradient) [43]. tension (PROST) [70]. Using smoothing algorithm such as the radially
Along with mass transfer models, some of the most significant nu symmetric kernel proposed by William et al. [71] further improves the
merical works advancing film boiling research have been based on estimates of the interface. In the eight-degree polynomial kernel
interface tracking techniques using Level-set (LS) method [18,33, smoothing algorithm the convolved interface normal are computed
44–48], interface front tracking (FT) [34,49–52], and Volume-of-Fluid using the kernel K8 having a larger effective smoothing radius. The
(VOF) method [1–3,53–56]. One of the very first simulations on film convolution of not only the volume fraction but also the derivative of a
boiling was carried out by Dhir and group using the LS method [18,33, kernel function is performed and mollified volume fractions are ob
47,57], accurately predicting bubble characteristics such as bubble size, tained. Perez-Raya and Kandlikar [42] proposed a segregation algorithm
detachment diameter and achieving good agreement with experiments that restricts mass transfer to interface cells sharing a face with a vapor
in terms of interface shape, temporal position of interface, interface cell. This method is compatible with the VOF piecewise-linear approach,
growth rate, and wall heat flux. Tryggvason and group [34,51,52,58] preventing the advection of large mass fluxes to interface cells with
extensively used the FT method for phase-field formulation to explore small interfaces and enabling sharp interface simulations.
film boiling on a horizontal surface. They accurately calculated the There exist only a few studies related to film boiling using software
curvature during film boiling and the evolution of the Nusselt number such as OpenFOAM [72–74], COMSOL [10,75], and Ansys Fluent [1–3,
and bubble release period as a function of unit cell size. The VOF method 54,76–80]. Simulations for film boiling were carried out using COMSOL
uses a field that contains information about the volume fraction of one of by Sedaghatkish et al. [75] and Ebrahim et al. [10]. The results of
the phases in a numerical cell, which is transported with the Eulerian Ebrahim et al. helped visualize the vapor layer thickness and its impact
velocity fields. Welch and group [32,59] used the VOF method for the on heat transfer. Only a few works have been published in the field of
numerical study of film boiling on a horizontal surface for constant wall film boiling using Ansys Fluent. Ahammad et al. [1–3] used Ansys Fluent
superheat conditions, achieving quasi-steady periodic bubble release to simulate film boiling for cryogenics to estimate the vapor generation
pattern obtained in the earlier study of Juric and Tryggvason [58] and rate during an accidental spill. They used the VOF method for interface
the Nusselt numbers reasonably matching with Berenson correlation tracking, carrying out simulations for wall superheats of 32, 73, and 103
[60]. K using liquid nitrogen and methane as cryogenic fluids. Arevalo et al.
The Volume of Fluid (VOF) method is a widely used technique for [54,80] used Ansys-Fluent and VOF methods to conduct spherical and
simulating multiphase flows, particularly within an Eulerian framework vertical short cylinder geometry film boiling studies. For the sphere, the
developed by Hirt and Nichols [61], Debar [62], and Woodward and results showed that saturated vapor at the interface merged with the
2
D. Pal and I. Perez-Raya
Table 1
Summary of prior studies related to film boiling in comparison with the present study. (N/A is not available).
Author Year Software The equation to calculate mass flux The equation to calculate mass source term Thermal condition at Capture film Calculated local heat Calculation of
kg kg the interface cells development with a transfer coefficient average Nusselt
( 2 ) ( 3 )
m s m s sharp interface number
Ahammad et al. 2015 Ansys N/A αl ρl Cp,l (Tl − Tsat ) N/A No No No

Sg,2 =
[2] Fluent Lv τ
Sg,2 =
[3] Fluent Lv τ
Sg,2 =
[1] Fluent Lv τ
Arevalo et al. [80] 2016 Ansys N/A N/A N/A No No No
Fluent
Bahreini et al. 2016 OpenFOAM ṁʹʹ = ṁʹʹʹ = N/A No No Yes
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
[73] 2χ M ρL ρG Tsat − T 2χ M ρL ρG Tsat − T
ΔH Ai ΔH
2− χ 2πRTsat (ρL − ρG ) Tsat 2− χ 2πRTsat (ρL − ρG ) Tsat
Ebrahim et al. 2017 COMSOL N/A N/A N/A No No No
[10]
An and Kim [77] 2020 Ansys 2kv (∇α⋅∇T) N/A ṁ˙L No No Yes
ṁ˙ =
3
Fluent L
Sedaghatkish 2020 COMSOL T − Tsat N/A mδ
˙ ˙h No No Yes
ṁ˙ = Rρl fg
et al. [75] Tsat
Koncar and Ursic 2021 Ansys TL − Tsat N/A ṁ˙hfg No No No
ṁ˙LV = r⋅(1 − αv )ρL
[79] Fluent Tsat
Wang et al. [76] 2021 Ansys N/A TL − Tsat Sm hfg No No No
Sg = − Sl = ri .αl ρl
Fluent Tsat
Senthilkumar 2022 Ansys (λl αl + λv αv )(∇T⋅∇αl ) N/A ṁ˙V hfg No No No
ṁ˙v = − ṁ˙l =
et al. [78] Fluent hfg
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 235 (2024) 126179

√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
Kushwaha and 2022 OpenFOAM N/A 2γ M ρG(T − Tsat )HLG ṁʹʹʹHLG No No No
Kumar [72] ṁʹʹʹ =
2 − γ 2π R 3/2
Tsat
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
Dixit et al. [74] 2022 OpenFOAM 2C M ρv L(T − Tsat ) S = ṁʹʹ∇α
m 1 Sm L No No No
ṁʹʹ =
2− C 2πR 3/2
Tsat
( )
Kumar and Das 2022 Ansys (kl αl + kv )(∇T⋅∇αl ) T − Ts Sm L Yes No No
Sm1 = Sm2 = rαl ρl
[84] Fluent L Tsat
( )
Present work – Ansys kl ∂T Aint ∂T Yes Yes Yes
mʹʹe = ṁe = mʹʹe Tic = dn +
Fluent hfg ∂nint Vcell ∂nint
Tsat
vapor film, making it thicker and reducing the mean vapor temperature, normal direction. Furthermore, the current work uses a sharp interface
and for the vertical short cylinder, a wavy liquid-vapor interface was throughout film development and presents the heat transfer analysis
observed, similar to experiments. Recently, Senthilkumar et al. [78] using the Nusselt number as well as local heat transfer coefficients.
numerically investigated the influence of the wall superheat and surface The present work demonstrates the simulation of film boiling by
area on the heat transfer during film boiling using the VOF continuum customizing the software Ansys Fluent. The mass transfer is calculated
surface force (CSF) phase change model. It was observed that with an directly from the temperature distribution and gradients at the interface.
increased surface area and a higher degree of superheat, the heat Also, an interpolation function is used to calculate the temperature of
transfer should increase. Another numerical study was performed by An the interface cells, and it is embedded into the numerical solver using the
and Kim [77] to investigate the effect of system oscillation on film large coefficients method. To better quantify the heat and mass transfer
boiling heat transfer. Using a coupled LS-VOF method, they observed mechanisms, algorithms were developed to have effective adaptive
that the averaged heat transfer decreased with increasing frequency for mesh refinement with finer cells near the heated surface and the inter
a fixed amplitude and varying frequency. Similarly, the averaged heat face. Two different fluids have been used to conduct the film boiling
transfer decreased with increasing amplitude for a fixed frequency and study. The first fluid is referenced as the “phantom” fluid. The thermo
varying amplitude. The mentioned simulations using Ansys Fluent have physical properties of the two-phase phantom fluid are based on the
been performed mainly for cryogenic spilling shapes such as spheres or fluid properties that were used extensively in the existing literature to
cylinders or using the VOFCSF phase change model. The current work carry out film boiling simulation [32,73,75,77,78,85–90]. However, we
focuses on modeling film boiling for horizontal surfaces using VOF understand that other research have been performed using cryogenic
interface tracking in Ansys Fluent; different from previous works, the liquid [1,3,84] or water at critical pressure [45,46] to study film boiling
simulation calculates mass transfer directly from the temperature gra that occurs in different settings. Hence, liquid nitrogen (LN2) was used
dients at the interface without using empirical coefficients. In addition, as the second fluid to simulate film boiling using cryogenic fluids. The
the simulation accounts for the saturation temperature at the sharp Taylor instability determines the instability for film boiling over a hor
interface. Algorithms were also developed to effectively utilize adaptive izontal surface by predicting the maximum and minimum heat fluxes in
mesh refinement to have finer cells near the heated surface and the pool boiling. To accommodate that, the Berenson correlation [60] is
interface. used to calculate the Taylor wavelength (λo ). Ansys Fluent is customized
Table 1 highlights the gap that exists in the literature for film boiling. with user-defined functions (UDFs) accounting for interfacial heat and
It considers the calculation of mass flux, mass source terms, and tem mass transport, including a sharp interface and direct calculation of
perature at the interface while maintaining a sharp interface during the mass transfer with temperature gradients. The models for interfacial
development of the film. The works published so far have used empirical mass flux calculation, interface surface area calculation for sharp
correlations, as evident in the respective columns. The table shows that interface, and modeling of sharp interface with saturation temperature
previous works have relied on the use of empirical coefficients in the have been described in the paper. The results are analyzed using tem
calculation of mass transfer at the interface, for instance, using the Lee perature contours, local heat transfer coefficients, velocity vectors, local
phase change model [81] by Koncar and Ursic [65] and Sedaghatkish shear stress, averaged Nusselt number variation over the width of the
et al. [75]. Similarly, Dixit et al. [74] used the Hertz-Knudsen-Schrage wall, and multiple bubble formation over the heated surface. The results
model [82], where the accommodation coefficient (C) is tuned based show that the sharp interface is preserved for film boiling simulation.
on surface characteristics and conditions, thus requiring experimental The literature lacks an exhaustive analysis of the temperature profile
data for accurate determination. Moreover, the Tanasawa model [83], within the superheated vapor film for different stages of bubble growth
which is a modification of the Hertz-Knudsen-Schrage model, was used of film boiling using Ansys Fluent, which has been addressed in this
by Kushwaha and Kumar [72]. These coefficients are often determined work. Similarly, the impact of bubble growth and film thickness on the
by trial and error by looking at the experimental data. Similar to mass heat transfer coefficient and shear stress has been analyzed, which
transfer calculation almost all the simulations impose the condition of matches well with the thermal and velocity vector analysis results. In
saturation temperature at the interface cells, but the current work esti addition, the influence of the film thickness on the heat transfer has been
mates the temperature of the interface cells (Tic) based on the interfacial analyzed for multiple bubble growth and departure.
temperature gradient (∂T/∂nint), and the distance from the interface to
the interface-cell center (dn) along the normal direction. The use of 2. Methods
empirical coefficients and imposing the condition of saturation tem
perature at the interface cells comes from adopting commercial software The film boiling numerical simulation was conducted with custom
such as OpenFOAM and COMSOL for simulations. Using Ansys Fluent ized Ansys Fluent using user-defined functions (UDFs). Two fluids, (i)
provides an opportunity to use UDFs, which can help overcome the phantom and (ii) liquid nitrogen, were considered. The phantom two-
limitations of the need for empirical coefficients or equations dependent phase fluid has a surface tension of 0.1 N/m, latent heat of 10 kJ/kg,
on experimental data to carry out simulations. Only one work has used a a saturation temperature and pressure of 500 K, and a heated wall at 505
sharp interface during film development, but none of the works have K. The thermophysical properties of the phantom fluid have been taken
calculated local heat transfer coefficients, while only a few have used the from the literature [32,73,75,77,78,85–90]. The liquid nitrogen (LN2)
Nusselt number to analyze heat transfer during film growth and de has a surface tension of 0.008878 N/m, latent heat of 200 kJ/kg, a
parture of the bubble. The average Nusselt number has been used by saturation temperature of 77.22 K, and a heated wall at 103 K. The
Bahreini et al. [73] and Sedaghatkish et al. [75] to evaluate heat transfer initial vapor for both liquids is patched based on the cosine function. The
effects using OpenFOAM and COMSOL. An and Kim [77] used Ansys simulation is run for multiple bubble growth and departure, analyzing
Fluent without empirical correlation to simulate film boiling but did not the bubble shapes, velocity vectors, temperature gradients, and the
use sharp interface or local heat transfer coefficients for analysis and Nusselt number. A sharp VOF interface tracking method is used to track
mainly focused on the effect of system oscillations on heat transfer. the interface during phase change to accurately model film growth
Kumar and Das [84] used a sharp interface for film development, but the based on temperature gradients, determining the interfacial heat flux,
interface is assigned saturation temperature and does not analyze their interfacial mass flux, and temperature of the interface cell. The
work based on local heat transfer coefficients and Nusselt numbers. The following sections describe the computational domain, the boundary
present study uses Ansys Fluent and addresses all the gaps that exist conditions, the simulation parameters, governing equations, and Ansys
while using direct calculation of heat and mass transfer instead of Fluent customization.
empirical correlations for film boiling study. The temperature is directly
calculated using the temperature gradient at the interface along the
4
Fig. 1. Schematic of the computational domains for (a) phantom fluid and (b) liquid nitrogen, with boundary conditions and different phases of film growth.
Fig. 2. (a) Adaptive mesh on the left and volume-of-fluid contour on the right for reference for phantom fluid, (b) adaptive mesh on the left and volume-of-fluid
contour on the right for reference for liquid nitrogen fluid. For the volume-of-fluid contour the red color is liquid, and the blue is vapor. (For interpretation of
the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
2.1. Computational domain and boundary conditions for phantom fluid for the dominant wavelength. For instance, Panzarella et al. [91] pre
√̅̅̅
dicted a wavelength λc = 2λo using a linear stability analysis under
During bubble formation the distance between the nucleating sites the lubrication approximation. As the film thickness decreases, the most
on a heated surface is dependent on the critical wavelength (λo = dominant wavelength gradually converges to the Rayleigh–Taylor
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
( ) ̅
2π σ / ρl − ρg gy ). In film boiling, the development of the film results mode, while for thicker films, it asymptotically settles at a slightly
higher wavelength than that predicted by the inviscid approximation
from flow physics, where the Taylor–Helmholtz instability applies to
[92]. Pandey et al. [93] used the most dangerous wavelength, λc =
inviscid flow, and the Rayleigh–Taylor instability is used for viscous √̅̅̅
√̅̅̅ 3λo , for film boiling using water at near critical pressure to study the
flows. The most dangerous wavelength, λc = 3λo , is associated with
effect of superheat and the effect of electric field. For the phantom fluid
the Taylor–Helmholtz instability, as demonstrated by Berenson analysis √̅̅̅
of inviscid flows. However, different models offer varying predictions case, the most dangerous wavelength selected is 3λo and hence the
5
Taylor-Helmholtz instability would dominate. But it is to be noted that gauss node-based method, while the QUICK scheme approximated the
further studies need to be carried out to analyze film boiling for a momentum terms in the governing equation. A multiphase model with
√̅̅̅
wavelength of 2λo highlighting Rayleigh-Taylor instability with an adaptive time advancement was used while the Courant number was
multimode bubble growth in a larger domain. The computational fixed and maintained around 0.1 to ensure a correct time step size. A
domain for phantom fluid is created using the Berenson correlation, Courant number below 0.25 allows the interface to remain within a
where the Taylor wavelength (λc ) is calculated using Eq. (12) [60]. The computational cell for at least four steps before moving to the next
height of the domain is 0.118 m (h = 3λ2c ), and the width is 0.0393 m (w computational cell, which helps to avoid numerical instabilities.
= λ2c ) [32]. The vertical walls have axis symmetry and symmetry
boundaries, the horizontal bottom surface is a stationary wall with 2.5. Governing equations
no-slip shear condition, and the top is a pressure outlet. Fig. 1(a) shows
the boundary conditions and the different stages of vapor film developed The conservation of mass equation is:
from the initial patch to bubble departure for a wall superheat of 5 K.
∂αρ
Based on Welch and Wilson [32], the vapor patch initializes the fifth row u ) = ṁ˙
+ ∇(αρ⋅→ (1)
∂t
of the cells with half cosine wave void profile β = 0.5 + 0.4 cos (2λπox ). It is
important to highlight that previous works have used a multi-mode where, α is the volume fraction of vapor or liquid phases for each
approach for film boiling. Multi-mode bubble growth has been studied computational cell, ρ and → u are the density and the velocity of the
exclusively by Tryggvason et al. [51], Tomar et al. [92,94], Kumar and respective phases, ṁ = m e Ai , ṁ characterizes the mass transfer, mʹʹ is
ʹʹ
Vc e
Das [84], Pandey et al. [93] where the Rayleigh-Taylor instability is
the evaporative mass flux at each interface cell, Ai is the interface sur
dominant for a bigger domain having a heated surface that is 3 to 10
face area within each interface-cell, and Vc the cell volume
times the critical wavelength.
The conservation of momentum equation is:
2.2. Computational domain and boundary conditions for liquid nitrogen ∂(αρ→ u) { [
T
]}
u→
+ ∇⋅(αρ→ u ) = − α∇p + ∇⋅ μ ∇→u + (∇→
u)
fluid ∂t
̅→
+ ṁ˙→
u + Sm + αρ→g (2)
Similar to the previous section, the computational domain for the
liquid nitrogen fluid is created using the Berenson correlation, where the ̅→
where Sm corresponds to the surface tension force applied to the cells
height of the domain is 0.01737 m and the width is 0.00579 m. The
vertical walls have symmetry boundaries similar to Kumar and Das [84]; that have an interface. In addition, ṁ˙→
u accounts for the effect of the
the horizontal bottom surface is a stationary wall with no-slip shear evaporative mass flux at each interface cell.
conditions, and the top is a pressure outlet. Fig. 1(b) shows the boundary The VOF interface tracking equation is:
conditions and the different stages of vapor film developed from the ( )
∂αv mʹʹe Ai
initial patch to bubble departure for a wall superheat of 103 K. Based on + ∇⋅ αv ⋅→
uv = (3)
∂t ρv Vc
Welch and Wilson [32], the vapor patch initializes the fifth row of the
cells with half cosine wave void profile β = 0.5 + 0.4 cos (2λπox ) and the where αv is the vapor volume fraction for each computational cell, ρv is
thermo-physical properties of the two-phase fluid has been taken from the vapor density, →u v is the vapor velocity, mʹʹe is the evaporative mass
Kumar and Das [84]. flux at each interface cell, Ai is the interface surface area within each
interface-cell, and Vc the cell volume. Different from previous works
2.3. Mesh generation utilizing Ansys Fluent [1–3,76,78–80,84], the mass source term in Eq.
(3) considers the interface surface area to accurately account for the
A quadrilateral mesh is used to conduct the simulation. In the case of total mass entering the vapor in a cell containing a section of the
phantom fluid, an adaptive mesh of 123 μm is generated by level 1 interface. The interface surface area in the present work is calculated
refinement only for the grid cell size 246 μm. As seen in Fig. 2(a), the using the method developed by Shipkowski and Perez-Raya [43].
adaptive mesh is created with the condition that it refines the cells at the
αl + αv = 1 (4)
liquid side of the interface, and the mesh on the vapor side stays as it is
so that the data obtained closer to the heater surface is more accurate. This constraint is used to solve for the primary phase since Eq. (3)
For the entire simulation of the liquid nitrogen, an adaptive mesh of does not account for the volume of fractions in the primary phase.
level 1 refinement is used at the bottom surface and around the inter The density and viscosity of the gas and liquid phases are estimated
face. Fig. 2(b) shows the adaptive mesh at a height of 0.9 mm from the with the volume fractions. The following expressions show the adopted
bottom surface so that we can capture the heat transfer closer to the formulation:
bottom surface with better accuracy. The grid cell size of level 1 refined
x , t) = αv (→
ρ(→ x , t)ρv + [1 − αv (→
x , t)]ρl (5)
mesh for liquid nitrogen is 22.59 μm.
x , t) = αv (→
μ(→ x , t)μv + [1 − αv (→
x , t)]μl (6)
2.4. Initial condition and simulation settings
where ρ is density and μ is dynamic viscosity.
The entire fluid domain is initially filled with liquid, and the flow
Surface tension force is included in the momentum equation using
velocity is set to zero everywhere. We initialize the liquid to be at the
the VOF values that balance the forces at the interface of the two fluids.
saturation state T = Tsat. The vapor temperature increases linearly from
Eq. (7) gives the surface tension force.
the solid wall to the interface between vapor and liquid using a user-
defined function (UDF), and a custom field function is used to patch ̅→ ρK∇α
Sm = σ ( ) (7)
the temperature profile for the vapor film. Ansys Fluent solves the 0.5 ρg + ρl
governing equations for continuity, momentum, energy, and volume-of-
fluid (VOF). The simulation software solves the VOF interface tracking where K is the interface curvature
equation and uses the sharp interface VOF model. The SIMPLE algorithm
K = ∇⋅ ̂
n (8)
was employed to handle the pressure velocity coupling for the current
study. The gradient of all flow variables was calculated using the green-
6
Fig. 3. (a) Axis-Symmetric view of the isotherms from the heated surface to the saturated liquid for a bubble along with the mesh grid cells, (b) augmented view of
the cells near the interface and the reference points along the interface normal direction. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader
is referred to the web version of this article.)
∇αv normal direction. An equation for direct computation of mass transfer is

n =
̂ (9)
|∇αv | derived from an energy balance at the interface. Eq. (14) shows the
equation to directly calculate the mass flux, m˝e , where kl is the liquid
The surface tension effect, which acts along with the interface be
thermal conductivity, hfg is the latent heat, and ∂T/∂nint is the temper
tween the phases, is included. The surface tension is constant.
ature gradient normal to the interface. Perez-Raya and Kandlikar [42]
The energy conservation equation that provides the temperature for
developed a method to compute the temperature at reference points in
both liquid and vapor phases is given by:
the normal direction by interpolating from the temperature of the sur
∂T rounding cells with a second-order backward approximation.
u T = ∇⋅K∇T + ST
+ ∇⋅→ (10)
∂t
kl ∂T
mʹʹe = (14)
where K is the thermal diffusivity, and ST is a source term. The source hfg ∂nint
term fixes the temperature of the interface cells to properly account for
the sharp interface. The sharp interface model applies the ghost fluid where kl is the liquid thermal conductivity, hfg is the latent heat of
method and the large coefficients technique to impose the interface evaporation, and ∂T/∂nint is the temperature gradient at the interface
thermal condition [85,95]. along the normal direction.
The local heat transfer coefficient is given by: ( )
∂T − 3Tsat − 4Tref,i + Tref,i+1
/ = (15)
− kl ∂T ∂y|y=0 ∂nint 2dref
h= (11)
Tw − Ts
2.7. Interface surface area calculation in a sharp interface
where, Tw wall temperature, Ts saturation temperature, and kl wall
thermal conductivity. The volumetric mass source term, ṁ˙e , where Aint is the area of the
Most dangerous Taylor instability wavelength (λo ) and Berenson interface, Vcell is the volume of the cell, is computed using Eq. (16). The
correlation Nusselt number (NuBerenson ) volumetric mass source term goes to the VOF interface tracking equation
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ that moves the interface at each time step in the simulation. An
3σ analytical based model for precise computation of the interface surface
λc = 2π ( ) (12)
ρl − ρg gy area Aint was derived and used. Comparing the developed approach
with other commonly adopted methods (e.g., calculation of VOF gra
( ( ) )1 dients) showed that the proposed approach is more precise, which helps
ρg ρl − ρg gy hlg 4 3
eliminate parasitic velocities and achieve better accuracy compared to
NuBerenson = 0.425 (λo )4 (13)
kg μg [Twall − Tsat ] theoretical solutions.
Aint
ṁe = mʹʹe (16)
2.6. Model for interfacial mass flux calculation in a sharp interface Vcell
Fig. 3(a) shows the temperature distribution and interface location in 2.8. Sharp interface modeling with saturation temperature
a simulation of film boiling for a growing bubble over a heated wall
(Twall = 505 K) and saturated liquid (Twall = 500 K) for the phantom fluid Perez-Raya and Kandlikar [41,42] developed a method to compute
case and same is being done for the liquid nitrogen simulation for 103 K the temperature of the cells partially filled with vapor and liquid
wall superheat. Fig. 3(b) shows an augmented view of the cells near the (interface cells). The method calculates the temperature of the interface
interface and the temperature and reference points along the interface cells from the location of the interface and reference points, and the
7
Fig. 4. Procedure followed in Ansys Fluent for the entire simulation process. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred
to the web version of this article.)
temperaturesTsat , Tref,i and Tref,i+1 utilizing linear interpolation. In nucleate boiling [42,43] and boiling in a tapered micro gap [98,99].
Ansys Fluent, the interpolated temperature is fixed at each interface cell
utilizing the large coefficients method proposed by Patankar [95]. The 2.9. Ansys fluent customization
simulation accounting for the saturation temperature enables a correct
thermal development near the bubble interface and heated wall, Ansys Fluent was customized with user-defined functions (UDFs) to
capturing heat transfer mechanisms (e.g., transient conduction and cold accommodate mass transfer in the simulation. Fig. 4 shows a flow dia
liquid rewetting near bubble departure). gram indicating the steps followed by the customized software to
The developed method by Perez-Raya and Kandlikar [41,42] avoids conduct the film boiling simulations. The initial conditions are executed
interface breakup or deformations in sharp interface modeling by using UDF to define the vapor film and fix the temperature of the
declaring mass transfer at interface cells that meet the condition of mixture cells. The software then solves the governing equations for
sharing a face with a vapor cell. The proposed techniques were validated continuity, momentum, and energy conservation. The UDF "Define-
against eight proposed theoretical cases of planar interface evaporation Adjust" was employed to perform several tasks, including identifying the
[41,96,97], theoretical models of spherical bubble growth [41,43], and mixture, estimating mass transfer, and setting the temperature of the
available experimental data on bubble growth over a heated surface [42, mixture cells. Source terms in the energy equation were declared by the
43]. The methods were successfully applied to conduct simulations of UDF "Define-Source" to account for the interface saturation temperature.
8
Fig. 5. Mesh analysis for wall superheat of 5 K, (i) Average Nusselt number v/s time for the growth of first bubble before departure, (ii) (a, b) Interface of the film
with grid cell size of 615 μm before and after it breaks and simulation diverges, (ii) (c, d) Interface of film with grid cell size of 410 μm before and after it breaks
causing divergence, (iii) Shape and height comparison for the bubbles of mesh sizes 307 and 123 μm.
Fig. 6. Verification between theory and simulation for planar interface using 1D Stefan problem for (a) interface displacement, (b) temperature distribution at 0.1 s.
(For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
The present work uses MATLAB to interpolate temperatures at reference input of the total count of cells present, improvements were made to
points for estimating interfacial gradients. Fig. 3(b) the interpolation automatically update the cell count changing with the adaptive mesh
points where MATLAB calculates the temperatures. As shown in the refinement at the end of each time-step within Ansys Fluent. As shown
figure, the interpolation points are not necessarily aligned with the cell by Perez-Raya and Kandlikar [41], inaccuracies in the interfacial heat
center. MATLAB processes temperature data from Ansys Fluent, per flux calculation to compute mass transfer lead to significant errors of the
forms interpolations, computes temperature gradients, and generates an order of 20 % that propagate generating errors in the interface dis
output file for Ansys Fluent to determine mass transfer. The UDF placements. Utilizing MATLAB for interpolation allows a precise
"Execute-at-the-End" implements the algorithms developed to have computation of the interfacial heat flux.
effective adaptive mesh refinement with finer cells near the interface
and the heated surface and performs a cleaning operation on the vari 3. Results
ables. Five parallel cores were used to achieve better accuracy using the
second-order backward approximation, Eq. (15), but modifications were The results for the two fluids, (i) phantom and (ii) liquid nitrogen
needed as the number of cells changed with each iteration due to (cryogenic), have been discussed in this section. The mesh sensitivity is
adaptive mesh refinement. To make the UDF independent of manual carried out using the phantom liquid for the first bubble growth and
9
of the developed model is performed using the shape of bubble growth

for liquid nitrogen. The rest of the results have been analyzed using
temperature contours, local heat transfer coefficient, velocity contours,
local shear stress, and multiple bubble growth and departure.
3.1. Mesh sensitivity analysis
To obtain a grid-independent solution, four quadrilateral meshes of

grid cell sizes 615, 410, 307, and 123 μm were used to assess the mesh
sensitivity of the film boiling model. The mesh of grid cell size 123 μm is
obtained by adaptive level 1 refinement of the mesh of grid cell size 246
μm. To conduct the analysis, the wall superheat is set at 5 K for a liquid
saturation temperature of 500 K. A single bubble growth is used, and the
comparative study is performed using bubble shape, height, and average
Nusselt number. Fig. 5(i) shows the value of averaged Nusselt number
variation over the width of the wall during the growth of the first bubble
for each grid cell size. It is observed that the curves for mesh grid cell
sizes 307 and 123 μm have a good agreement for the average Nusselt
number values with an average difference of <0.4 % over the period of
0.323 s. The average Nusselt number curves for the meshes 615 and 410
μm could not be plotted beyond 0.22 and 0.244 s, respectively. Fig. 5(ii)
(a - d) provides a visual reason for the issue. During the simulation of
both cases, the grid cell sizes are not refined enough, and as they become
thinner closer to the bottom of the heated surface, the film breaks. For
Fig. 7. Nusselt number for simulation compared with Berenson correlation for the mesh size of 615 μm ((ii) a, b), the edges of the bubble can be seen
film boiling simulation. (For interpretation of the references to color in this becoming thinner at 0.215 s, and at 0.220 s, the film has moved away
figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) from the horizontal boundaries and touches the bottom wall, leading to
divergence in the simulation. A similar occurrence is observed for the
departure. The results are first discussed for the phantom fluids and then case of 410 μm, where the film moves away from the horizontal wall and
for the liquid nitrogen in two separate sections. A quantitative verifi touches the bottom wall at 0.244 s, causing divergence. The shape and
cation and validation of the developed model is performed using the height of a fully grown and departing bubble were compared for the
Stefan problem and the Berensson correlation. A qualitative validation mesh grid cell sizes of 307 and 123 μm as it detaches from the vapor film
Fig. 8. Preservation of sharp interface during bubble growth from the initial patch for the phantom fluid case. The red color is liquid, and the blue is vapor. (For
interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
10
Fig. 9. Velocity vectors on the right side of the axis-symmetric view for the liquid and the vapor phase during the bubble growth for the phantom fluid case. (For
interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
on the bottom surface. The shape of the two bubbles (Fig. 5(iii)) overlaps 3.2.1. Verification and validation
along the heated surface and varies only for a small section along the To ensure that the developed method is in good agreement with the
neck and the top of the bubble. The difference in the height of the two existing literature, the current model has been tested quantitatively
bubbles is <3 %. Thus, with a height difference of <3 %, an average using the 1D Stefan problem and empirical correlation of Berenson.
Nusselt number difference of <0.4 %, and good agreement with the Moreover, the present model has been validated against other type of
shape of the bubble, the mesh resolution of 307 μm was chosen, taking Stefan problem (saturate vapor and superheated liquid, and superheated
into account the computational time and power for further simulations. vapor and subcooled liquid) for planar interface evaporation [100–104,
72,105]. The numerical framework has been validated against theoret
3.2. Results with phantom fluid ical model for planar interface evaporation and spherical bubble growth
[42,97,41], and available experimental data of nucleate boiling [42,43,
The following sections discuss the results obtained from the simu 106]. Simulations of boiling in a tapered microgap [98,99] were suc
lation for the phantom fluid. First, we verify and validate the developed cessfully conducted using a similar numerical framework.
model using the Stefan problem and the Berensson correlation. This is
followed by an analysis of the sharp interface, velocity vectors, shear 3.2.1.1. Verification using the Stefan problem. The current numerical
stress, temperature profile, heat transfer coefficients, Nusselt number, framework has previously been verified against theoretical models of
and multiple bubble growth and departure. spherical bubble growth [41,43], eight proposed theoretical cases of
planar interface evaporation [41,96,97], and spherical bubble growth in
superheated liquid [41]. Similar to recent works for film boiling
11
0.327 s), which grows under the influence of the initial conditions, has a
Nusselt number much lower than the correlation predicts it to be; this
could be because initially, there is less mixing of the liquid around the
bubble because of which the convective heat transfer is not as dominant
as conductive heat transfer compared to the subsequent bubbles. The
temporal variation of the Nusselt number is nearly periodic after the
effect of the initial condition fades. Once the simulation becomes inde
pendent of the initial conditions and continues to run, it starts to agree
well with the Berenson correlation for the Nusselt number, which has a
maxima of approximately 5.69 and a minima of approximately 2.09. The
maxima on the graph correspond to the point where the film thickness is
minimum at the heated surface and minima when the average film
thickness is relatively high.
Furthermore, such temporal periodic variation (maxima and
minima) can be attributed to potential fluctuations at the vapor-liquid
interface with light fluid forming upward bubbles and heavy fluid
creating downward spikes. Wei Li [107] showed that such oscillatory
perturbations at the interfaces arise due to potential fluctuations gov
erned by the continuity relation. These fluctuations, influenced by fluid
densities and velocities, are present before visible instabilities develop
Fig. 10. Variation of local shear stress at different times on the right side of the and act as the "inner gene" of instability. In the current study the
axis-symmetry for film boiling simulation of the phantom fluid case. phantom fluid densities are 200 and 5 kg/m3 for the liquid and the gas in
a pool boiling environment. Thus, the fluid densities would contribute
simulations [72,73,100,102,104,105], the developed method was veri the most towards the fluctuations at the interface of the superheated
fied using the 1D Stefan problem. Superheated vapor at 505 K and a vapor and the saturated liquid. The stability of the fluid interface is
saturated liquid at 500 K have been used. A domain length of 30 mm and contingent upon the direction of applied forces. The interface remains
heights of 10, 30, and 60 μm were utilized based on corresponding grid stable if the heavy fluid pushes the light fluid. Conversely, if the light
cell sizes. At 0.1 s, Fig. 6 (a, b), results showed excellent agreement with fluid pushes the heavy fluid, the interface becomes unstable, particularly
the theory for interface displacement and temperature distribution. The with acceleration directed towards the denser fluid. An analysis taking
maximum error in the interface displacement is 0.45 % at 0.1 s. In into consideration the potential fluctuation can further improve the
addition, the maximum error in the temperature distribution is <0.1 % studies related to film boiling that deal with Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities
at 0.1 s. The results highlight the accuracy in computing mass flux and or Taylor-Helmholtz instabilities.
mixture cell temperature at the interface without empirical coefficients In summary, the developed model was verified using the Stefan
using the developed numerical model. problem and showed a maximum error of <0.45 % and 0.1 % for
interface displacement and temperature distribution. The quantitative
3.2.1.2. Validation using Berenson correlation. Film boiling simulations validation for the Berensson correlation showed good agreement.
have been validated using the Berenson correlation [60] in the existing
literature [1,3,32,72,73,80]. A wall superheat of 5 K is maintained 3.2.2. Preservation of sharp interface
throughout the simulation for a liquid saturation temperature of 500 K. The current model has successfully created and maintained a sharp
Fig. 7 shows the averaged Nusselt number variation of the vapor film interface for spherical bubble growth [41,43] and bubble growth in a
cycle for the simulation from growth to departure for multiple bubbles tapered micro gap [98,99]. It is thus, crucial to verify the same for film
with the Berenson correlation. It is observed that the first bubble (0 to boiling conditions. A sharp interface is preserved when mass transfer is
Fig. 11. Variation of the temperature within the vapor film as the film develops into a bubble for a wall superheat of 5 K for the phantom fluid case. (For inter
pretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
12
Fig. 12. The local heat transfer coefficient varies at different times for one-half of the axis-symmetric side of the film boiling simulation. On the top of each curve, the
alphabets a—e are used for the corresponding locations visualized on the right of the plot where the film has the minimum thickness.
declared only at interface cells that share a face with vapor cells. Fig. 8 neck region causes the liquid from the upper region to flow towards the
(a-h) depicts the axis-symmetric film growth from the initial patch to a neck region, Fig. 9(e) and (f). As the liquid flows towards the neck re
fully developed bubble just before departure for the phantom fluid. gion, the squeezing of the bubble at the neck further increases the
Fig. 8(a) shows the initial film patch, with the vapor patch initializing magnitude of the velocities in the vapor phase (5.79 m/s), which can be
the fifth row of cells in a half-cosine wave void profile, and Fig. 8(b) seen in Fig. 9(f). Although the liquid velocity vectors are comparatively
shows that the film starts to curve closer to the axis center. As the film of lower magnitudes compared to the vapor velocity vectors, it is seen in
grows, buoyancy forces move the top surface of the bubble away from Fig. 9(d) that the volume of liquid has started creating a circular motion
the heated surface while the edges move radially inward at the bottom, in the neck of the bubble, which in turn pulls more liquid towards the
as seen in Fig. 8(c) to (h). Fig. 8(h) shows the fully developed tail of the bubble, squeezing the thermal layer at the bottom towards the
mushroom-shaped bubble just before it pinches off from the film at the heated surface.
bottom. It is observed that the sharp interface is preserved for the entire When a bubble is present in a liquid, it disrupts the flow field around
cycle and is independent of the changes in the shape of the film. These it, creating a difference in velocity between the liquid near the bubble
results indicate that the developed method maintains a sharp interface surface and the bulk of the liquid. Due to these velocity gradients, local
by fixing the temperature of the mixture cells throughout the bubble shear stress is created, which has been reported in Fig. 10 for different
cycle. Although previous studies have addressed film boiling, less time instances of the current study. For time, t = 0.264 s, the maximum
attention has been focused on interface sharpness, a critical aspect of shear stress of 0.3 Pa is observed at a distance of 0. 029 m. This distance
analyzing the boiling phenomenon. By declaring mass transfer only at corresponds to the bubble edge (Fig. 9. (b)), which is being pulled in
interface cells that share a face with vapor cells, interface smearing is ward due to high-velocity vectors within the bubble towards the center.
avoided, allowing for the simulation of film boiling with a sharp The liquid closer to the bubble surface also starts to move inwards to
interface. ward the center of the bubble, while the liquid bulk away from the
surface is not influenced. This sudden change in the velocity vectors
3.2.3. Analysis of velocity vector and local shear stress within the film and the liquid causes shear stress at the edges, consistent
Fig. 9(a)-(f) shows one-half of the axis-symmetric view of the ve with the velocity vector analysis in the previous section. Also, it is
locity vectors in the liquid and vapor phases for the phantom fluid case. observed that the starting area of influence decreases from 0.01 m at
As the film develops, the bubble can be seen evolving into a mushroom 0.264 s to 0.003 m at 0.325 s. This is due to liquid mixing caused by the
shape under the influence of the velocity vectors around the interface. movement of the edge of the bubble towards the central axis. The shape
Due to phase change, the velocity vectors in the vapor phase have a of the bubble is another factor that affects the shear stress; hence, it can
higher magnitude than the liquid phase. These velocity vectors of higher be observed that while the bubble is growing (t = 0.246, and 0.278 s),
magnitude within the vapor film influence the bubble edges to move the area of influence is higher, but as soon as the bubble develops a
radially inwards, Fig. 9(a), (b), and (c). The interface closer to the heated smooth curve along the interface (t = 0.304, and 0.317 s), the shear
surface changes shape at a comparatively slower rate than the interface stress curves follow a similar trend. The maximum shear stress value at
away from the bottom surface, causing circular motion within the 0.325 s is 0.145 Pa, which is comparatively lower than that of the other
bubble and pulling the edges inward at the lower section, Fig. 9(b) and stages of bubble growth. It can be reasoned that as the bubble grows,
(c). The circular motion of the vapor is then translated into upward buoyancy forces lift the bubble upwards with minimal resistance from
movement due to buoyancy forces acting at the top of the bubble, as seen the surrounding liquid. The study of shear stress further strengthens the
in Fig. 9(d-f). Furthermore, the stagnant liquid above the superheated velocity vector analysis by providing good agreement regarding the
vapor film gets disturbed as the film grows and moves along the inter liquid influence region for each time frame. The published literature
face, undergoing circular motion as the lower interface starts moving studies have mostly provided velocity analysis using streamlines, but
closer to the axis. The radial inward movement of the interface at the shear stress analysis has not been reported. Shear stress analysis explains
13
Fig. 13. Average Nusselt number variation for varying film thickness. The top half shows the higher values, and the bottom half shows the lower values for the
growth and departure of the first three bubbles.
liquid influence during bubble growth, leading to liquid mixing and which enhances heat transfer and increases the Nusselt number, as
eventually impacting heat transfer at the heated surface. Hence, the illustrated in Fig. 11(b)-(g). This suppression is further amplified as the
current work focused on analyzing the bubble behavior using velocity liquid surrounding the top half of the bubble is directed toward the
vectors and local shear stress for different periods of bubble growth. bottom. The sudden necking of the vapor bubble increases the temper
ature gradient between the top and bottom of the bubble, driving the
3.2.4. Analysis of temperature profile and local heat transfer coefficients saturated liquid towards the bottom surface. Previous research on film
Fig. 11(a)-(h) displays the temperature contours of a film tran boiling using Ansys Fluent has noted variations in wall superheats but
sitioning into a bubble using the phantom fluid. At the start of the did not include detailed temperature contours, with exceptions being
simulation, the vapor film has a linear temperature profile from the the works by Ahammad et al. [1] and Senthilkumar et al. [78]. These
heated surface at 505 K to the saturated liquid at 500 K, as shown in studies provide single-temperature contours for fully developed bubbles.
Fig. 11(a). Thermal energy from the wall facilitates vapor generation In contrast, the current work offers a comprehensive analysis with
and superheating at the interface, causing a non-uniform temperature temperature contours that capture the entire progression from the initial
profile within the film, as seen in Fig. 11(b) and (c). As the film evolves bubble formation to its full development. The current analysis of the
into a bubble, a notable temperature difference develops in the neck of temperature profile for each stage of the development of the bubble
the bubble, depicted in Fig. 11(e)-(g). This temperature gradient is due further enhances the understanding of the role of vapor film in the
to the top half of the bubble having a larger area in contact with the overall heat transfer.
liquid at saturation temperature. Consequently, the vapor in this upper To investigate the heat transfer mechanisms during bubble growth,
region exchanges heat with the cooler liquid, resulting in a reduced the current study analyzes the local heat transfer coefficient (HTC)
temperature compared to the vapor film closer to the heated surface. plotted against specific time instances of the temperature profile, as
The growth and neck formation of the bubble leads to the suppression of shown in Fig. 12. The analysis highlights how changes in film thickness
the thermal film around the edge of the vapor on the heated surface, influences heat transfer efficiency. Peaks in the local HTCs correspond to
14
Fig. 14. Growth and departure of the first and the second bubble. The top half shows the curving of the first bubble, and the bottom half shows the growth and
pinching off of the second bubble from the bottom surface. The red color is liquid, and the blue is vapor. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure
legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
locations with minimal film thickness at each time point. This is due to 3.2.5. Impact of film thickness on Nusselt number
the lower thermal conductivity of the vapor phase compared to the The growth and departure of bubbles from the heated surface
liquid phase, which means that thinner films facilitate more efficient significantly impact the film thickness. The average film thickness
heat transfer. The film thicknesses were lowest at distances of approxi initially increases as the film grows and then decreases along the two
mately 0.03, 0.026, 0.019, 0.013, and 0.009 m from the center at times sides of the bubble as the bubble starts to curve along the edges towards
0.264 s, 0.278 s, 0.304 s, 0.317 s, and 0.325 s, respectively, where high the center. In the fully developed bubble, since the buoyancy forces
HTC values are observed. A sharp interface further improves heat inside the bubble cannot be compensated by surface tension and gravity,
transfer compared to a smeared interface. A decreasing trend in the HTC the bubble detaches from the film and departs. The top half of Fig. 13
is observed because the heat transfer generally decreases as a vapor film shows the higher values of the average Nusselt number, and the bottom
forms and grows at the surface. This is because the thermal conductivity half shows the lower average Nusselt number values observed during the
of the vapor film is significantly lower than that of the liquid. This vapor film boiling simulation for the first three bubble departures. It can be
layer acts as an insulating barrier, reducing heat transfer efficiency from seen in Fig. 13(a-c) that the film thickness on both sides of the bubble is
the heated surface to the liquid. This detailed analysis, utilizing Ansys minimum, leading to maximum Nusselt number values of 5.69, 5.57,
Fluent to study film boiling and heat transfer coefficients, provides new and 5.51. The lowest film thickness value reported was 0.5 mm for the
insights into the thermal behavior of film boiling, thereby advancing the highest Nusselt number value of 5.69. This is because a thinner film
understanding of numerical simulations in this area. The impact of the allows for more direct contact between the hot surface and the liquid,
insulating vapor layer on the Nusselt number has been analyzed in the reducing thermal resistance and an increased convective heat transfer
next section. coefficient, leading to an enhanced heat transfer. The average Nusselt
15
Fig. 15. Growth and departure of the third bubble. The top half shows the expansion and contraction of the second bubble, and the bottom half shows the growth of
the third bubble and pinching off from the bottom surface. The red color is liquid, and the blue is vapor. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure
legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
number starts to decrease beyond this as the film thickness on both sides momentum forces at the center. When the bubble detaches from the
of the bubble starts to grow until the bubble departs. Once the bubble initial volume of vapor film, velocity vectors of higher magnitude in the
departs, the film left behind at the bottom surface grows again. The vapor phase at the top of the bubble push it upwards, while the liquid
growth in the film thickness is almost uniform throughout the length of surrounding the bubble is drawn towards the bottom due to the curving
the film. The maximum film thickness on the bottom surface is observed at the bottom of the bubble. Fig. 14(e-h) shows the growth and
at 0.199, 0.384, and 0.577 s, beyond which the film starts to grow at the detachment of the second bubble at the bottom surface and the elon
center in a curved shape, and the edges on the two sides of the bubble gation of the first bubble above the second bubble. It is observed that the
start to shrink. Based on the explanation, Fig. 13(d-f) shows the corre second bubble does not form a mushroom shape and grows into a
sponding Nusselt numbers 1.20, 2.09, and 2.16 for the maximum film triangular shape as it detaches due to liquid pulled radially inward from
thickness of 12, 8.5, and 9.2 mm at the center of the growing film. the departure of the first bubble, preventing the bubble from growing
spherically along the length. At the same time, the ends of the elongated
3.2.6. Multiple bubble growth and departure bubble at the top break into smaller spherical bubbles. This occurs
For multiple bubble growth and departure in film boiling, it was because the liquid around the ends of the elongated bubble undergoes
observed that the momentum in the vapor and the liquid phases have a circular motion, moving from the top towards the bottom. This motion
substantial effect on the subsequent bubbles. The growth and departure helps break the bubble as it becomes thinner at the two ends.
of 3 subsequent bubbles for film boiling using the phantom fluid have Fig. 15 (a-d) shows the second bubble in the center and the vapor
been analyzed. Fig. 14 (a-d) shows the departure of the first bubble from film undergoing wave-like motion at the bottom for a third bubble
the heated surface and forming a curve at the center due to high growing at the heated surface. For the second bubble, high momentum
16
Fig. 16. (a–h) Numerical results of Kumar and Das [84], (1–4) numerical results of Ahammad et al. [3], and (i-viii) results obtained for the current simulation using
the same conditions for film boiling of liquid nitrogen at a wall-superheat of 103 K. The red is the vapor, and the blue is the liquid. (For interpretation of the
references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
at the center forces the vapor particles to move away from the center and the developing film. Fig. 16 (a - h) shows the results published by Kumar
towards the edges, which is already under the influence of the liquid and Das, (1–4) are results published by Ahammad et al. [3], and (i - viii)
being pulled inward. The two ends of the separated bubble, as seen at are the results obtained from the current numerical simulation, where
0.552 s, eventually merge together, forming a single body of vapor. The the red color is for vapor, and the blue color is for the liquid. A good
merged bubble consists of high-intensity vapor pushing outwards along agreement can be observed between the published results and the cur
the edges away from the center. This causes the bubble to expand along rent simulation results for horizontal shape at the bottom surface,
the two bottom ends and shrink in the center. Fig. 15(e-h) shows the transition from horizontal film into a curve, growth at the center, and
growth and detachment of the third bubble at the bottom surface. The eventual departure. There exists a difference in the times for each frame
vapor phase experiences high momentum, creating a ripple effect, mainly for three reasons. First, the inconsistent calculation of surface
bringing more vapor volume at the center to grow faster than before, tension forces and the associated pressure jump can lead to errors,
decreasing bubble growth times. The third bubble shows a similar resulting in an unrealistic representation of the interface and thus the
growth to the first bubble, which has a mushroom shape, as the second time of bubble growth. These errors can be addressed by enhancing the
bubble absorbs the most impact from the high momentum of the liquid estimation accuracy of interfacial curvature and surface tension forces
around it. through the application of smoothing algorithms having high-order
accurate approximation proposed by Williams et al. [71]. This is an
3.3. Results with liquid nitrogen area that needs to be studied further to better understand the discrep
ancies in the bubble growth and departure time of the vapor bubbles.
The following sections discuss the results obtained from the simu Second, we did not conduct trial and error experiments to find the right
lation using liquid nitrogen as a fluid. First, we discuss the qualitative value of the accommodation coefficient; instead, everything was
validation of the developed model using the shape of bubble growth for calculated directly from the thermal conditions near the interface. Third,
liquid nitrogen. It is then followed by the analysis of the velocity vectors results reveal that the use of the empirical coefficient still introduces a
and the temperature profile. slight error in the interface displacement with time. The direct calcu
lation method predicts a slower or faster bubble departure relative to the
3.3.1. Validation using liquid nitrogen use of empirical coefficients. This is further highlighted by the difference
To qualitatively analyze the developed numerical model, a simula in bubble departure time for Kumar and Das [84] (0.11 s), the current
tion of film boiling using liquid nitrogen (LN2) was performed for a wall work (0.141 s), and Ahammad et al. [3] (0.19 s) for simulation of LN2
superheat of 103 K and compared with the numerical results of Kumar with a similar wall superheat of 103 K.
and Das [84]. The fluid properties of liquid nitrogen are similar to those
of Kumar and Das [84]. An adaptive mesh is used along the interface of
17
Fig. 17. Velocity vectors on the right side of the symmetry for the liquid and the vapor phase during the growth of the liquid nitrogen bubble case. (For interpretation
of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
3.3.2. Velocity vector analysis of liquid nitrogen 3.3.3. Analysis of the temperature profile of liquid nitrogen
Fig. 17(a)-(f) shows one-half of the axis-symmetric view of the ve The liquid nitrogen film boiling was carried out using a linear tem
locity vectors for the liquid as well as the vapor phase during the growth perature profile for a wall superheat of 103 K based on the half cosine
of the liquid nitrogen film. Adaptive mesh was used along the bubble wave void profile β = 0.5 + 0.4 cos (2λπox ). Fig. 18 (a – h) shows the
interface and for a height of 0.9 mm at the bottom surface to capture thermal film at the bottom of the domain as the vapor film grows and
heat transfer more accurately. Thus, more vectors can be seen at the develops into a bubble. As the vapor film grows in size, Fig. 18(a-c), the
bottom and along the interface of the bubble. Throughout the devel thermal film can be seen expanding to the top of the film interface before
opment of the vapor film, velocity vectors of higher magnitude in the the film starts to curve. As the film curves, Fig. 18(d-h), the gradient
vapor are observed where the film has minimum thickness. This is due to within the bubble top and the bottom surface is higher. This shows that
the necking effect, where the vapor velocity must increase to maintain the influence of the temperature within the bubble is more prominent
the same mass flow rate. These velocity vectors of higher magnitude closer to the heated surface and decreases as the bubble attains higher
within the vapor film influence the bubble edges to move radially in heights in the saturated liquid. Furthermore, we observed in velocity
wards, Fig. 17(a), (b), and (c). As the edges move inward, the liquid vector analysis that during the bubble growth, the edges of the bubble
around the bubble is influenced, resulting in velocity vectors pointing in move radially inwards and have the lowest thickness. The temperature
the same direction in the liquid region near the bubble interface. In profile is squeezed at such low thicknesses, creating zones of high-
Fig. 17(d to f), it can be seen that as the bubble grows in height and temperature gradients within small horizontal distances close to the
curves along the sides, the liquid at the top of the bubble is directed bottom surface, enhancing convective heat transfer. Such zones of high-
towards the bottom and the neck. This liquid movement and velocity temperature concentration increase the heat transfer and should have
vectors of high intensity of the vapor within the bubble create a zone of higher Nusselt numbers and heat transfer coefficients. Although film
high velocity (2.148 m/s) in the neck of the bubble just before depar boiling is a less desired condition, such improvement in heat transfer
ture. The analysis above shows that the liquid and vapor motion during due to bubble growth and thermal film squeezing can help shorten the
film development affects shape and thickness. Although the analysis is effects of thermal failure of a system. Furthermore, Kumar and Das [84]
for the liquid nitrogen case, it follows a similar trend as the phantom expanded their work using three fluids (i) water, (ii) liquid nitrogen, and
fluid bubble velocity vector analysis. (iii) nitrogen to study the effects of film collapse. The finding reveal that
the thinning of vapor film thickness is slower than inviscid theory of
18
Fig. 18. Variation of the temperature within the vapor film as the film develops into a bubble for a wall superheat of 103 K of the liquid nitrogen bubble case. The
white boundaries show the interface of the bubble. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of
this article.)
liquid/gas (h~t2/3) due to continuous phase change at the liquid-liquid thicknesses as low as 0.5 mm. The methods used to calculate interfacial
interface and viscous liquids surrounding the vapor film. There is sudden mass flux and interface surface area for sharp interfaces, along with
increase in the heat flux post the collapse of the vapor film from the modeling saturation temperature and dynamic sharp interfaces, have
water surface. Further numerical studies can be performed to study the been described in detail.
interaction of liquid-liquid film growth and collapse. Velocity vector analysis revealed that higher velocity magnitudes (2
m/s) in the vapor phase significantly influenced bubble shape during
4. Conclusion growth and impact the surrounding liquid motion. The local shear stress
analysis for the phantom fluid matches well with the velocity vector
A numerical simulation of film boiling was conducted using a findings where the bubble growth influences the liquid around it, and at
phantom fluid and liquid nitrogen in Ansys Fluent. The software was higher time periods, the liquid surrounding the bubble moves towards
customized with user-defined functions (UDFs) to manage mass transfer the bottom. The Nusselt number values due to heat-transfer change
at the liquid-vapor interface, ensuring a sharp interface and accurate periodically between maxima and minima due to the cyclic thinning of
modeling of thermal interactions. Direct heat and mass transfer calcu the thermal film influenced by the detachment of the bubble from the
lation at the sharp interface is performed instead of empirical correla film at the surface.
tions for the present film boiling study. A sharp VOF interface tracking Temperature profile analysis for both the phantom fluid and liquid
method is used to track the interface during phase change to accurately nitrogen showed temperature variations from the initial film at the
model film growth based on temperature gradients. The analysis focused heated surface to bubble departure. The linear thermal film was dis
on temperature gradients within the vapor film, velocity vectors in the rupted by phase changes, creating high-temperature differences in the
vapor and liquid phases, and the behavior of multiple bubbles during bubble neck. The thermal film near the surface thinned as the bubble
growth and departure. Results indicated that bubble growth and de prepared to depart, resulting in higher Nusselt number values. Local
parture significantly influence film thickness and heat transfer from the heat transfer coefficient analysis identified peak values of 2170 W/m2-K
heated surface. at locations of minimal film thickness, emphasizing the impact of tem
Mesh sensitivity analysis was performed using quadrilateral mesh perature variations on heat transfer within the thermal film.
with and without adaptive meshing, employing grid cell sizes of 615, Finally, the study highlights the capabilities of the numerical model
410, 307, and 123 μm. The 307 μm mesh was selected due to its height in capturing the bubble life cycle for film boiling for cryogenic fluid like
difference of <3 %, an average Nusselt number deviation of under 0.4 %, liquid nitrogen. The results provide insights into the fluid dynamic
and agreement with the bubble shape achieved by the 123 μm mesh. behavior of the film and factors influencing heat transfer based on
Verification against the Stefan problem revealed a maximum error of interfacial mass transfer, which depends on thermal conditions near the
<0.45 % for interface displacement and 0.1 % for temperature distri interface. The findings align with existing literature and contribute to it
bution. Quantitative validation using the Berenson correlation also by offering improved methods for simulating sharp film interfaces,
showed good agreement. Additionally, the bubble shapes for liquid ni analyzing temperature variations, and understanding heat transfer co
trogen were consistent with the numerical results, supporting the efficient fluctuations and liquid-vapor interactions during phase
qualitative validation of the model. This validation and verification changes and film development.
demonstrate the effectiveness of the model in analyzing film boiling
without empirical coefficients. CRediT authorship contribution statement
The sharp interface was preserved throughout the simulation,
effectively capturing the thermal film development, even for film Divyprakash Pal: Writing – original draft, Validation, Software,
19
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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 235 (2024) 126179

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

Nomenclature ∇ Gradient operator

Ahammad et al. 2015 Ansys N/A αl ρl Cp,l (Tl − Tsat ) N/A No No No

International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 235 (2024) 126179

∇αv normal direction. An equation for direct computation of mass transfer is

of the developed model is performed using the shape of bubble growth

3.1. Mesh sensitivity analysis

To obtain a grid-independent solution, four quadrilateral meshes of

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