Electric field effects on boiling heat transfer of liquid nitrogen

This paper describes an experimental study into the influence of a d.c. uniform electric field on boiling heat transfer characteristics of liquid nitrogen. The electric field effect on the onset of boiling, nucleate boiling curve, hysteresis phenomenon and critical heat transfer were quantitatively investigated using a mesh-plane electrode system. For this purpose, a novel copper block electrode with temperature measurement and vacuum heat insulation was designed and manufactured. Moreover, a heat transfer model based on this electrode geometry has been developed in order to provide some useful data for the electrode design and assist temperature calculations. Detailed heat transfer processes appearing on the copper surface were observed and monitored using a high-speed camera. The experimental results show that electric fields have an obvious effect on boiling heat transfer of liquid nitrogen. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.