Modeling of void fraction and liquid temperature profile evolution in vertical subcooled nucleate boiling flow

A three-dimensional bubble-tracking model, which simulates subcooled nucleate boiling in a heated vertical cylindrical tube, is presented. The behavior of the liquid-vapor system results from motion, interaction and heat transfer mechanisms prescribed mostly at the level of individually-tracked vapor bubbles. The model takes into account bubble nucleation and liquid heating caused by wall heat flux, bubble sliding on the tube wall. bubble departure from the tube wall, bubble condensation in the low-temperature tube core region, bubble interaction through wake drift, bubble collisions and coalescence. bubble radial migration towards the tube core region, and turbulent dispersion in the liquid phase. Simulated void fraction and liquid temperature radial profiles on different axial locations of a heated channel are compared with experimental results from other authors.