Sub-Atmospheric Pressure Pool Boiling of Water on a Screen-Laminate Enhanced Surface

Saturated pool-boiling experiments at one atmosphere and sub-atmospheric pressure assess the utility of fine filament screen-laminate enhanced surfaces as effective bubble nucleation sites and bubble generators. Experiments were conducted on vertically oriented 4cm(2) copper test surfaces in saturated distilled water at pressures of 0.2 atm., 0.3 atm., 0.5 atm., and I atm. Boiling performance characteristics are documented. It is found that boiling performance can be significantly improved by application of a multiple layer fine filament screen laminate to the heat transfer surface. In the present work, enhancement of up to 22 times that of the unenhanced surface was obtained at a superheat of 8K and a pressure of 0.2 atm.