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Bubbles Transient Growth in Saturation Boiling of PF-5060 Dielectric Liquid

on Dimpled Cu Surfaces

Article  in  Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications · December 2015

DOI: 10.1115/1.4032367

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 Bubbles Transient Growth
in Saturation Boiling of PF-5060
Arthur Suszko Dielectric Liquid on Dimpled
Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies,
University of New Mexico,
Albuquerque, NM 87131;
Cu Surfaces
Mechanical Engineering Department,
University of New Mexico,
Investigated is the transient growth of vapor bubbles in saturation boiling of PF-5060
Albuquerque, NM 87131
dielectric liquid on 10  10 mm, uniformly heated Cu surfaces with circular dimples, at
an applied heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2. At such low heat flux, the surfaces are populated with
Mohamed S. El-Genk1 growing discrete bubbles, emanating mostly from the manufactured dimples. The 300,
400, and 500 lm diameter and 200 lm deep dimples are manufactured in a triangular lat-
Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies,
tice with a pitch-to-diameter ratio of 2.0; thus, the total number of dimples increases with
University of New Mexico,
decreasing the dimple diameter. Captured video images of growing discrete bubbles at a
Albuquerque, NM 87131;
speed of 210 frames per second (fps) confirm that the bubble diameter increases propor-
Nuclear Engineering Department, tional to the square root of the growth time, and the bubble departure diameter and
University of New Mexico, detachment frequency increase with increasing the dimple diameter. The total volumetric
Albuquerque, NM 87131; growth rate and diameter of the bubbles at departure increase with increasing the dimple
Mechanical Engineering Department, diameter, 1.81, 4.75, and 8.2 mm3/s and 738 lm, 963 lm, and 1051 lm for the
University of New Mexico, 300, 400, and 500 lm diameter dimples, respectively. The corresponding bubble detach-
Albuquerque, NM 87131; ment frequency is 8.6 Hz, 10.2 Hz, and 13.5 Hz, respectively. The fraction of the
Chemical and Biological Engineering active dimples for bubble nucleation on the surfaces with 300, 400, and 500 lm dimples,
Department, at an applied heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2, is 0.85, 0.64, and 0.53, respectively. On these
University of New Mexico, surfaces, the estimated bubble volume at departure is 0.21 mm3, 0.47 mm3, and
Albuquerque, NM 87131 0.61 mm3, and the corresponding rate of energy removed by a single bubble is 1.99
e-mail: mgenk@unm.edu mW, 5.24 mW, and 9.02 mW, respectively. These results help explain the measured
enhancements in nucleate boiling and the critical heat flux (CHF) on the dimpled Cu
surfaces. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4032367]

Keywords: dimpled surfaces, PF-5060 dielectric liquid, nucleate boiling, bubble

transient growth, bubble departure diameter and detachment frequency

1 Introduction another study [5] on saturation nucleate boiling of FC-72 on Si

surfaces at applied heat fluxes of 1.0–9.0 W/cm2, the bubble de-
The transient bubble growth plays a primary role in nucleate
parture diameter varied from 260 to 450 lm and the detachment
boiling and depends on the liquid properties and subcooling, the
frequency varied from 55 to 68 Hz. In this study [5], both the bub-
surface properties and microstructure, the applied heat flux, and
ble departure diameter and detachment frequency increased with
the system pressure. Many visualization studies have investigated
increasing the applied heat flux.
the effects of surface microstructure and the applied heat flux on
In saturated boiling of FC-72 on indium tin oxide surfaces with
the bubbles transient growth, departure diameter, Dd, and detach-
average roughness, Ra ¼ 0.263–7.51 lm, the measured bubble
ment frequency, fd, in nucleate boiling of dielectric liquids, at or
departure diameters ranging from 400 to 600 lm were little
near atmospheric pressure [1–14]. Most of the reported results are
affected by surface roughness [7,10]. The reported bubble depar-
for saturation boiling of FC-72 liquid on different surfaces. On
ture diameter in 5 K subcooled nucleate boiling of FC-72 on a
surfaces of different preparations and properties, the reported bub-
quartz wafer was 500 lm and 350–400 lm at 16 K subcool-
ble departure diameters in nucleate boiling of FC-72 vary from as
ing [4]. In saturation nucleate boiling of FC-72 on silicon surfaces
low at 200 lm to as much as 700 lm, with corresponding detach-
with artificial cavities, the measured bubble departure diameters
ment frequencies of 40–200 Hz [1,2,5–7,10].
and detachment frequencies were 200–500 lm and 40–80 Hz,
In saturation nucleate boiling of FC-72 liquid on synthetic dia-
respectively, depending on the size of the cavity and the wall
mond at applied heat fluxes of 4–10 W/cm2, the reported bubble
superheat.
departure diameters vary from 400–500 lm and were not strongly
The performed experiments of saturation boiling of PF-5060
dependent on the applied heat flux [1]. In saturation nucleate boil-
dielectric liquid on 1.68 mm thick and uniformly heated dimpled
ing of the same dielectric liquid on Si with interconnected micro-
Cu surfaces (Figs. 1(a)–1(d)) showed enhancements in nucleate
channels, the reported bubble departure diameters were
boiling, Figs. 2(a) and 2(b) [13]. Description of the experimental
500–700 lm, with detachment frequencies of 170–200 Hz [2]. In
facility used and the instrumentation of the test section are
detailed in Refs. [3] and [11–14].The results presented in these
figures indicate notable increases in the values of the nucleate
1
Corresponding author. boiling heat transfer coefficient (hNB) and the CHF, indicated by
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of ASME for publication in the
JOURNAL OF THERMAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS. Manuscript received
solid square symbols, with increasing the dimple diameter, com-
August 16, 2015; final manuscript received November 29, 2015; published online pared to those on plain smooth Cu (average roughness
February 3, 2016. Assoc. Editor: Wei Li. 0.039 lm) of the same surface area. The largest increases in hNB

Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications JUNE 2016, Vol. 8 / 021016-1
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 Fig. 1 (a) Plane and (b) cross-sectional views of the assembled test section; and images of a dimpled Cu surface: (c) a
section of a Cu surface with 500 lm diameter dimples, 503 and (d) test section with circular dimples

Fig. 2 Enhancements of saturation nucleate boiling and CHF of PF-5060 dielectric liquid on dimpled surfaces

and CHF are measured on the surface with the 400 lm diameter
dimples, followed closely by the surface with 500 lm diameter
dimples. The maximum nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficient,
hMNB, indicated in Figs. 2(a) and 2(b) with solid circular symbols,
occurs near the end of the fully developed nucleate boiling region,
where all potential bubble nucleation sites are active. The results
in Figs. 2(a) and 2(b) show that hMNB increases with increasing
the dimple diameter. It is 1.03, 1.0, and 0.71 W/cm2 K on the
surfaces with 400, 500, and 300 lm diameter dimples, respec-
tively, compared to 0.56 W/cm2 K on plain Cu. The corresponding
wall superheats of 16.46 K, 17.8 K, and 21.4 K, respectively,
are lower than that on the plain Cu of 22.1 K. The CHF on the
surfaces with 300, 400, and 500 mm diameter dimples is 18.1,
19.3, and 18.7 W/cm2, and the corresponding surface superheat is

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Fig. 3 Recorded photographs of growing bubbles in
saturation nucleate boiling of PF-5060 dielectric liquid on uni-
formly heated dimpled Cu surfaces at applied heat fluxes
0.5–1.0 W/cm2: (a) Cu with 500 lm diameter dimples, (b) Cu
with 400 lm diameter dimples, and (c) Cu with 300 lm diameter
dimples
25 K, 20.3 K, and 20 K, respectively, compared to 15.7 W/cm2 and
25.5 K on plain Cu (Fig. 2).
The objective of this paper is to present the experimental results
of the effect of the dimple size on the transient growth, departure
diameter, and detachment frequency of discrete bubbles in satura-
tion nucleate boiling of PF-5060 dielectric liquid at an applied
heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2 (Figs. 2(a) and 3). At this heat flux, there
are a large number of discrete bubbles on the surface, whose tran-
sient growth is not influenced by the bubbles at nearby sites. Thus,
consistent results of the transient bubble growth are easily
recorded using a video camera at a speed of 210 fps. The present
results of the transient bubble growth are compared to those
reported for saturation nucleate boiling of PF-5060 on smooth and
rough Cu surfaces, of the same footprint, and at the same applied
heat flux [14,15].
2 Dimple Bubbles Growth and Detachment
In nucleate boiling on smooth and rough Cu surfaces [7,10,14],
discrete embryos or tiny bubbles nucleate at randomly distributed
active sites or crevices and continue to grow until departure. The
bubbles departure diameter, Dd, and detachment frequency, fd, are
generally consistent for each surface [14]. On surfaces with artifi-
cial cavities, nucleated bubbles emanate from the cavities and
grow continuously until departure [9], and the bubble departure
diameter and detachment frequency depend on the cavity size.
This section analyzes the captured images, using a high-speed
video camera at 210 fps, of the transient growth of the vapor
bubbles on the dimpled Cu surfaces. Sequential images of the
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growing bubbles are used to estimate the growth rate, departure
diameter, Dd*, and detachment frequency, fd*, in saturation nucleate
boiling of PF-5060 dielectric liquid on dimpled surfaces.
Figures 3–6 present examples of the captured images of the grow-
ing discrete bubbles on the Cu surfaces with 300, 400, and 500 lm
diameter dimples.
The vapor embryos ensue at active sites on the inside surface of
the dimples and then coalesce into larger bubbles, termed herein
“dimple bubbles.” These bubbles emerge from the dimples and
continue to grow, while attached to the surface along the perime-
ter of the dimples (Figs. 2–5). They depart with much larger diam-
eters and at lower detachment frequencies than reported for
smooth and rough Cu and other microstructured surfaces [14].
The bubble departure diameter increases with increasing the
diameter of the dimples (Figs. 4–6). These figures show that very
few small bubbles nucleate on the flat portion of the Cu surface
between the dimples, because of insufficient surface superheat,
compared to that on the inside surfaces of the dimples, which are
closer to the underlying heating element. The effective heat
removed by the nucleating and growing vapor embryos within the
dimples decreases the surface temperature of the flat portions of
the Cu surface to initiate bubble nucleation.
2.1 Images of Growing Dimple Bubbles. Figures 3(a)–3(c)
present images of saturation nucleate boiling of PF-5060 on the
dimpled Cu surfaces at low heat fluxes  1 W/cm2. As shown in
these figures, the growing bubbles are mostly associated with the
dimples, and their size at departure, which is largest on the Cu
surface with 500 lm dimples, decreases with decreasing the dim-
ple diameter (Figs. 3(a)–3(c)). On the same dimpled surface, the
population of the growing bubbles increases with increasing the
applied heat flux (0.5–1.0 W/cm2). At a heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2
(Figs. 2(a)–3), it was possible to record sufficient number of
sequential images (Figs. 3–5) for documenting and analyzing the
transient growth of the discrete dimpled bubbles. For the detailed
analyses of the transient bubble growth on the various dimpled Cu
surfaces, the recorded sequences of images of selected bubbles
(Figs. 4–6) are examined to quantify the effects on the growth
rate, departure diameter, Dd*, and detachment frequency, fd*. The
transient volume and diameter are determined from the recorded
sequential images of the discrete bubbles in a number of growth
and departure cycles.
2.2 Bubble Transient Growth. Figures 4–6 present sequen-
tial photographs of a dimple bubble growth in saturation nucleate
boiling of PF-5060 on the Cu surfaces with 300 lm, 400 lm, and
500 lm diameter dimples. These, and other similar sets of cap-
tured photographs of the bubbles on the same surfaces, are used to
measure the transient dimple bubble volume from the captured
images in sequential frames separated by a period of 4.76 ms. In
Figs. 4–6, the zero time (tb ¼ 0), or t0, is when the emerging bub-
bles from the dimples are first captured by the video camera.
During the early stage of growth (tb  t0 þ 38.09 ms), the dimple
bubbles are spherical, and the diameter is measured directly
from the recorded images. In the later stage of growth
(tb > t0 þ 38.09 ms), the dimple bubbles acquire a pear or an ellip-
soid shape (Figs. 3–6). In that stage of growth, the dimple bubble
diameter, Db*, is that of a sphere having the same volume as that
determined from the recorded images of the symmetrical bubble
ellipsoid.
The aspect ratio of the ellipsoidal dimpled bubbles increases
with growth time and peaks slightly at 1.2, before bubble depar-
ture. This is at tb  (t0 þ 80.94 ms) and  (t0 þ 95.22 ms) in Figs. 4
and 5, respectively. On the surface with 300 lm diameter dimples,
the growth rate of the bubbles (Fig. 6) is smaller and the growth
time is much longer (tb > (t0 þ 114.26 ms)) than on the other
dimpled surfaces (Figs. 4 and 5). Owing to the slow growth of the
bubbles (Figs. 4–6), the systematic uncertainty in the determined
departure bubble diameter is 648 lm, 657 lm, and 651 lm on
JUNE 2016, Vol. 8 / 021016-3
 Fig. 4 A captured sequence of transient growth of single vapor bubble on the Cu surface with 500 lm dimples

Fig. 5 A captured sequence of images of transient bubble growth on the surface with 400 lm diameter dimples

the Cu surfaces with the 300, 400, and 500 lm diameter dimples,
receptively. These uncertainties depend on the focusing distance
of the camera and the image pixel resolution. To improve the sta-
tistics of the measurements and reduce the random uncertainty,
the bubble growth rate and the estimates of the departure diameter
and detachment frequency are based on obtained measurements
for five sets of sequential images of the bubbles (Figs. 7(a)–7(c)).
2.3 Transient Dimple Bubble Volume. Figures 7(a)–7(c)
present the measured volumes, Vb , in mm3, of the growing dimple

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 Fig. 6 Sequential images of a growing single vapor bubble on the Cu surface with 300 lm diameter dimples

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 Fig. 7 Estimates of the transient volumes of the growing bub-
ble in saturation nucleate boiling of PF-5060 on dimpled Cu
surfaces at an applied heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2
Fig. 8 Comparison of the volumetric growth rates of vapor
bubbles in saturation boiling of PF-5060 dielectric liquid on
dimpled Cu surfaces
bubbles in saturation boiling of PF-5060 dielectric liquid versus
the transient growth time, tb, in milliseconds (ms), at an applied
heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2. The results presented in these figures are
for different bubbles at five different dimples on each surface. The
recorded sequential images of the growing dimple before depar-
ture are used to correlate the bubble transient volume growth in
terms of the growth time, tb. The actual bubble departure, though
not captured by the video camera, occurs within a single frame, or
an additional 4.76 ms, after the last captured image of the growing
bubble.
The volume of the departing bubble is determined from the
measured bubble transient volume growth rates (Figs. 7(a)–7(c)),
at 2.38 ms (or half a frame) beyond that of the last recorded
images of the growing bubbles on the different dimpled Cu surfa-
ces. The estimates of the bubble departure volume, Vd , are indi-
cated by solid circle symbols in Figs. 7(a)–7(d). These figures
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Fig. 9 Transient growth of vapor bubbles in saturation boiling
of PF-5060 liquid on dimpled Cu surfaces
show that not only the volumetric growth rate but also the depar-
ture volume of the bubbles increases with increasing the dimple
diameter. The volumetric growth rate of the bubbles on the Cu
surfaces with the 300 lm diameter dimples is the lowest, and the
departure bubble volume is the smallest (Figs. 7(c) and 7(d)),
compared to those from the 400 and 500 lm dimpled surfaces. In
addition, the total bubble growth time on the surface with 300 lm
diameter dimples is much longer than on the other dimpled surfa-
ces (Figs. 7(a), 7(b), and 7(d)). Conversely, the growth rate and
residence time of the bubbles on the Cu surface with 500 lm
diameter dimples are the highest and shortest, respectively.
Figure 8 compares the volumetric growth rates of the bubbles
on the different dimpled Cu surfaces. When bubbles are first seen
emerging from the surface dimples, the growth rate is relatively
high, in excess of 1.0 mm3/ms (or cm3/s). It quickly drops to
<0.02 mm3/ms within a single frame, or 4.76 ms, and continues to
decrease, but more slowly, as the growing bubbles approach their
departure volumes. The results in Fig. 7 show that the volumetric
growth rate of the bubbles increases and the growth time to depar-
ture decreases, with increasing the dimple diameter.
2.4 Bubble Departure Diameter and Detachment
Frequency. The data presented in Figs. 7(a)–7(c) are used to cal-
culate the average diameters p offfiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
spherical bubbles of the same
measured total volume (Dd ¼ 3 pVd =6). The departure diameters
and the detachment frequencies of the bubbles are calculated from
the determined volumetric growth rates (Fig. 8). The slight incon-
sistency in determining the sizes of the growing bubbles when first
emerge from the surface dimples causes some variances in the
measured volumetric growth rates of the bubbles at different dim-
ples on the same heated surface (Figs. 7(a)–7(c)). This explains
Transactions of the ASME
 Table 1 Dimple bubble departure diameter and detachment frequency in saturated boiling of PF-5060 dielectric liquid on dimpled
Cu surfaces

Ud, Nd, and P/D cd Vd (mm3) V_ d (mm3/s) Qd (mW)
300 lm, 295, 2.0 0.85 0.21 1.81 1.99
400 lm, 149, 2.0 0.64 0.47 4.75 5.24
500 lm, 105, 2.0 0.53 0.61 8.2 9.02
the small spread in the determined values for the transient bubble
diameter, Db*, and detachment time, on the various dimpled surfa-
ces (Figs. 9(a)–9(c)). These figures present the obtained data of
the growing dimple bubbles from five sequential sets of recorded
images in saturation nucleate boiling of PF-5060, on each of the
three dimpled Cu surfaces at an applied heat flux 0.5 W/cm2. In
these figures, the solid black circle symbols indicate the estimated
bubble departure diameter and detachment time.
Based on the data delineated in Figs. 9(a)–9(c) of the transient
growth of the bubbles on the Cu surfaces with 300 lm, 400 lm,
and 500 lm diameter dimples, the bubble transient diameter, Db*,
is empirically correlated in terms of the square root of growth
time, tb0.5, as
pffiffiffiffi
Db ðlmÞ ¼ 273 þ 43 tb ; on dimpled Cu ðUd ¼ 300 lmÞ (1a)
pffiffiffiffi
Db ðlmÞ ¼ 321 þ 65 tb ; on dimpled Cu ðUd ¼ 400 lmÞ (1b)
pffiffiffiffi
Db ðlmÞ ¼ 361 þ 80 tb ; on dimpled Cu ðUd ¼ 500 lmÞ (1c)
These correlations, in which the bubble growth time, tb, is in milli-
seconds (ms), are in good agreement with the present data for the
300 lm, 400 lm, and 500 lm dimpled Cu surfaces, to within
65% (Figs. 9(a)–9(c)). These figures and Eqs. (1a)–(1c) confirm
that the bubble growth rate, departure diameter, and detachment
frequency on the 500 lm dimpled Cu surface are the highest, fol-
lowed by those on the surface with 400 lm diameter dimples, and
the lowest on the surface with 300 lm dimples (Table 1).
Equations (1a)–(1c) also confirm that the transient growth of the
vapor bubble on the dimpled surfaces is the thermal controlled

growth stage, wherepD ffiffiffiffib increases proportional to the square root
of the growth time, tb [16,17].
Similarly, in saturation boiling of PF-5060 liquid on plain
smooth and rough Cu surfaces, the measured transient bubble
diameter was correlated, respectively, as [14]
pffiffiffiffi
Db ðlmÞ ¼ 234 þ 81 tb ; on plain smooth Cu (2a)
pffiffiffiffi
Db ðlmÞ ¼ 206 þ 48 tb ; on rough Cu surfaces (2b)
The first term in Eqs. (1a)–(1c), (2a), and (2b) indicates the
approximate size of the bubble when first recorded by the
high-speed camera. The coefficients in the second term of
Eqs. (1a)–(1c), (2a), and (2b) reflect the transient growth rate of
the bubbles. A higher coefficient indicates a higher growth rate
and vice versa (Figs. 9(a)–9(c)). The growth rate of the bubbles
on the Cu surface with 500 lm diameter dimples is close to that
on plain smooth Cu (Eqs. (1c) and (2a)). The bubble transient
growth rate on the surface with 300 lm diameter dimples
(Eq. (1a)) is only slightly smaller than that on the rough Cu surfa-
ces (Eq. (2b)), but much smaller than those of the bubbles on the
other two dimpled Cu surfaces (Eqs. (1b) and (1c)).
Figure 9(d) compares the transient bubble diameters on the dif-
ferent dimpled Cu surfaces with those reported recently for satura-
tion boiling of PF-5060 dielectric liquid on smooth and rough Cu
surfaces [14]. The growth rates of the bubbles on the different
dimpled Cu surfaces are close (Figs. 7 and 9). The departure
diameter of the bubbles, Dd , and the detachment frequencies, fd ,
are much larger than those (Dd and fd) on plain–smooth and rough
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m_ g;d (lg/s) qs;d (W/cm2) D*d (lm) fd* (Hz)
21 1.01 738 6 61 8.6 6 0.7
54 2.08 963 6 75 10.2 6 1.0
94 2.8 1051 6 73 13.5 6 1.8
Cu surfaces [14], at the same applied heat flux (Fig. 9(d) and
Table 1).
The determined values of Dd and fd for saturation boiling of
PF-5060 dielectric liquid on the Cu surface with 300 lm diameter
dimples are 738 6 61 lm and 8.6 6 0.7 Hz, respectively. These
are smaller than the values of 963 lm 6 75 lm and 10.2 6 1.0 Hz
on the Cu surface with the 400 lm diameter dimples, and
1051 6 73 lm and 13.5 6 1.8 Hz, on the surface with the 500 lm
diameter dimples (Table 1). These detachment frequencies
are much smaller than those reported for the same dielectric
liquid of PF-5060 on smooth (31 Hz) and rough Cu (38 Hz)
surfaces [14].
Based on the experimental observations and detailed analysis
and examination of the recorded images of the growing bubbles,
only a fraction, cd, of the total dimples, Nd, on the Cu surfaces
(Table 1) apparently contributed to the bubbles nucleation and
growth at the applied heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2 (Fig. 2(a)). This
fraction depends on the diameter of the dimples, whose total num-
ber decreases with increasing the dimple diameter (Table 1). The
fraction of the active dimples, determined from the present experi-
mental results, is expressed as
cd ¼ ðq A=Qd Nd Þ (3)
In this equation, q is the applied heat flux (0.5 W/cm2) and A is
the footprint area of the heated Cu surfaces (1.0 cm2). The amount
of thermal power removed from the surface by a single departing
bubble is given as
Qd ¼ ðp=6Þ Dd 3 fd qg hf g (4)
On the surface with the 300 lm diameter dimples, the active frac-
tion of the dimples of 0.85 is the highest. It is 0.64 and 0.53 for
the Cu surfaces with 400 and 500 lm diameter dimples, respec-
tively (Table 1). These fractions are consistent with the recorded
images of the bubble nucleation on the dimpled surfaces, such as
the ones shown in Figs. 10(a) and 10(b). The Cu surface with
300 lm diameter dimples surface has far more nucleating and
growing bubbles (Fig. 10(a)) than on the surface with 500 lm
diameter dimples (Fig. 10(b)), at the same applied heat flux of
0.5 W/cm2. Conversely, the amount of thermal power removed
(9.02 mW) by a single detached bubble from the surface with
500 lm diameter dimples is 72% higher than that removed by a
Fig. 10 Images of growing vapor bubbles at dimple cavities in
saturation nucleate boiling of PF-5060 on uniformly heated Cu
surfaces with (a) 300 lm and (b) 500 lm diameter dimples, at a
heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2
JUNE 2016, Vol. 8 / 021016-7
 detached bubble from the surface with 400 lm diameter dimples
(5.24 mW), and as much as 4.5 times that removed by a single
detached bubble from the surface with 300 lm diameter dimples
(1.99 mW). In addition, the volumetric growth rate of the bub-
bles, V_ b , and the departing bubble diameter from the 500 lm
dimpled surface are also much higher than on the 300 and 400 lm
dimpled surfaces (Figs. 8 and 9 and Table 1). These results
explain why the volume of the detached bubbles, Vd , from the
500 lm dimpled Cu surface is much larger than those detaching
from both the 400 and 300 lm dimpled surfaces (Figs. 4–6 and
Table 1), and the enactments in nucleate boiling, despite the
smaller fractions of the active dimples at the applied heat flux of
0.5 W/cm2.
Figure 8 compares the transient volumetric growth of the bub-
bles on the three dimpled Cu surfaces investigated in this work
(e.g., Fig. 1). Beyond the first four frames recorded (>19 ms), and
for the majority of the growth cycle, the transient bubble volumet-
ric growth rate decreases very little. Thus, the volumetric growth
rate of the dimple bubble volume may be assumed constant and
equal to that at bubble departure, thus
 
V_ b  V_ d ¼ ðp=6Þ Dd 3 fd ¼ ðm_ g;d =qg Þ
The vapor generation rate in this equation for supporting the
growth of a dimple bubble is given as
m_ g;d ¼ ðp=6Þ Dd 3 fd qg
The average heat flux on the inside surface of an active dimple is
given as
qs;d ¼ ðm_ g hf g =Ad Þ ¼ ðp=6Þ Dd 3 fd qg hf g =As;d
The results listed in Table 1 show that the volumetric 
growth
and vapor generation rates for a single dimple bubble, V_ b and m_ g;d ,
respectively, are the highest for the Cu surface with the 500 lm di-
ameter dimples and decrease with decreasing the dimple diameter.
Conversely, the estimated average heat flux on the inside surface,
qs,d, of the dimples decreases from 2.8 W/cm2, for the 500 lm
diameter dimple, to 2.08 and 1.01 W/cm2, for the 400 lm and
300 lm diameter dimples, respectively (Table 1).
3 Discussion
The visualization of saturation nucleate boiling of PF-5060
dielectric liquid on the three dimpled Cu surfaces investigated in
this work (Table 1), at an applied heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2, shows
that the majority of the growing and detached discrete bubbles are
associated with the dimples (Figs. 3 and 10). Results also show
that the bubble growth rate, departure diameter, and detachment
frequency strongly depend on the dimples diameter.
Very few bubbles nucleate on the flat potions of the heated Cu
surfaces between the dimples (Figs. 1, 3–6, and 11) due to insuffi-
(5) cient surface superheat to initiate bubble nucleation. The applied
heat to the dimpled Cu surface (1.68 mm thick, Figs. 1(a) and
1(b)) diverts away from the flat portion of the surface to the dim-
ples, where active nucleation takes place (Fig. 11). This is because
the inside surface of the dimples is closer to the underlying heat-
(6) ing element (Fig. 1(b)), and thus achieve high enough tempera-
tures to initiate nucleation of vapor embryos (Fig. 11(a)). The
growing embryos inside the dimples coalesce into larger bubbles
that emerge from the dimples, but remains attached along the
perimeter of the dimples (Figs. 11(b)–11(d)). Theses bubbles con-
tinue to grow and eventually detach when the buoyant force lifting
(7) the bubble overcomes those due to liquid drag at the bubble

Fig. 11 Illustrations depicting nucleation and growth of vapor embryos on the inside surface of a dimple, then the
coalescence into a large dimple bubble that emerges and continues to growth to eventual detachment, followed by
a complete flooding of the dimple: (a) nucleating embryos, (b) growing embryos, (c) coalescing embryos, (d) dim-
ple bubble, (e) growing bubble, (f) bubble necking, (g) detached bubble, and (h) nucleating embryo. These images
are based on close examinations of the nucleate boiling process and transient bubble growth on the dimpled surfa-
ces (Figs. 3–6 and 10).

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Fig. 12 An Illustration of the growing bubble from a circular
dimple
surface and the surface tension at triple interface along the perim-
eter of the circular dimple (Figs. 11(e)–11(g)).
Before departure, the growing bubbles develop a narrow neck
with a convex liquid–vapor interface. The net force, acting inward
on the convex interface, eventually pinches the narrow neck and
frees the growing bubble (Fig. 11(f)). As the present results show,
the bubbles transient growth rate, departure diameter, and detach-
ment frequency depend on the diameter of the dimples. Following
the detachment of the bubbles, liquid from the surrounding pool
rushes in and floods the dimples (Fig. 11(g)). After a short waiting
period to redevelop the thermal boundary, bubble embryos nucle-
ate at active sites on the inside of the dimples (Fig. 11(h)), staring
a new cycle of embryos coalescence, bubble growth, and depar-
ture (Figs. 11(a)–11(h)). Longer growth time of the bubbles and
waiting time to reestablish the boundary layer after the bubbles
departure (Figs. 12(a) and 12(f)) decrease the bubble detachment
frequency (Table 1).
The bubbles emerging from the dimples grow by the evapora-
tion at the bubble surface, and most importantly at the
solid–vapor–liquid triple interface along the perimeter of the dim-
ples, at the extension of the liquid microlayer (Fig. 12). Another
contributor to the growth of the bubbles is the evaporation of the
thin liquid film on the inside of the dimples (Fig. 12). The liquid
is drawn from the surrounding pool into the dimples, by the wick-
ing action of the inside of the dimples. This replenishes the thin
liquid film, whose evaporation contributes to the growth of the
dimple bubbles (Fig. 12).
All fabricated dimples in this work are of the same depth,
200 lm, but have diameters of 300, 400, and 500 lm [13]. The
rate of growth, departure diameter, and detachment frequency of
the dimple bubbles are different and depend on the dimple diame-
ter. In addition, the CHF and the surface average nucleate boiling
heat transfer coefficient, hNB, also increase with increasing the
diameter of dimples. The highest values are for the surface with
Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications
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400 lm diameter dimples (Figs. 2(a) and 2(b)). The results pre-
sented in these figures show that CHF and hNB for saturation boil-
ing of PF-5060 dielectric liquid on the Cu surfaces with 400 lm
and 500 lm dimples are close, but much higher than on the sur-
face with the 300 lm diameter dimples. The CHF is reached when
the thickness of the thin liquid film on the inside of the active dim-
ples decreases, restricting its replenishment with liquid from the
surrounding pool (Fig. 12), causing surface dry out. The liquid
replenishment would also depend on the depth and the perimeter,
or the diameter of the dimple. The results show that the CHF is
the lowest for the Cu surface with the smallest (300 lm) diameter
dimples that have a diameter-to-depth ratio of 1.5. This ratio is
2.0 and 2.5 for the dimples with diameters of 400 lm and 500 lm,
for which the CHF values are the highest, but very close
(Figs. 2(a) and 2(b)).
The rates of vapor generation at the triple interface along
the perimeter, and on inside of the active dimples (Fig. 12 and
Table 1), increase proportional to the diameter of the dimple. The
experimental data, depicted in Figs. 7 and 8, confirm this depend-
ency. The volumetric growth rate of the bubble, V_ d , relates
directly to the total vapor generation rate, m_ g;d , for growth of
dimple bubbles (Fig. 12). The present results (Figs. 7 and 8 and
Table 1) show that the total vapor generation rate and the volu-
metric rate of growth of the dimple bubbles increase with increas-
ing the dimple diameter. They are highest, at 94 lg/s and 8.2
mm3/s, respectively, for the 500 lm diameter dimples, and lowest,
at 21 lg/s and 1.81 mm3/s, respectively, for the 300 lm diame-
ter dimples.
These results suggest that the major contributors to the growth
of the dimple bubbles are likely the evaporation at the triple inter-
face, along the perimeter of the dimples, and of the thin liquid
film on the inside surface of the dimples (Fig. 12). The estimated
average heat flux on the inside of a 500 lm diameter active
dimple is the highest, at 2.8 W/cm2, compared to an average of
0.5 W/cm2 for the entire heated surface, and the triple interface
along its perimeter is the longest. The combined contribution
provides the highest vapor generation rate, m_ g;d .
The inertia force exerted on the inside of the top portion of the
growing bubbles directly relates to the rates of evaporation, m_ g;d ,
which are highest from the larger diameter dimples (Table 1),
causing the bubbles to grow faster to larger sizes in shorter times
before departure. This explains the results listed in Table 1 and
presented in Figs. 7–9. These figures show the departure diameter
and detachment frequency of the dimple bubbles, as well as the
growth rate increases and the time to departure decreases with
increasing the diameter of the dimples (Table 1). In addition, the
amount of heat removed from the heated Cu surface by a single
departing bubble, Qd , increases with increasing the dimple diame-
ter (Eq. (4) and Table 1); it is 1.99, 5.24, and 9.02 mW for
the 300, 400, and 500 lm diameter dimples, respectively.
4 Summary and Conclusions
This paper presented and discussed the results of a visualization
study of the transient bubble growth in saturation nucleate
boiling of PF-5060 dielectric liquid on uniformly heated,
10  10 mm Cu surfaces with circular dimples of different diame-
ters. At an applied heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2, sequential images of
the growing bubbles are captured using a video camera at a speed
of 210 fps. Dimples of the same depth (200 lm), but diameters of
300 lm, 400 lm, and 500 lm, are manufactured in the 1.68 mm
thick and 10  10 mm Cu surfaces. The dimples are arranged in a
triangular lattice with a pitch–diameter ratio of 2.0. Thus, the total
number of the dimples on the Cu surface decreases from 295 to
105 with increasing the dimple diameter from 300 to 500 lm.
However, the wetted geometrical surface area with the 300, 400,
and 500 lm diameter dimples increases by 35%, 19%, and 13%,
respectively, compared to that of the footprint (10  10 mm).
Despite these increases in the wetted surface area, the nucleate
boiling heat transfer coefficient, hNB, and CHF on the surface with
JUNE 2016, Vol. 8 / 021016-9
 the smallest diameter dimples are higher than on a plain smooth Future work may consider investigating the effect of the
Cu surface, but much lower than on the surfaces with the larger dimples lattice (square versus triangle) and the pitch on nucleate
400 and 500 lm diameter dimples. boiling enhancement and the transient growth of the bubbles. In
The captured images of the transient growth of the bubbles are addition, investigating the effect of roughing the inside surface of
analyzed to quantify the effect of the dimple diameter on the the dimples on enhancing nucleate boiling and CHF as well as on
volumetric growth rate, departure diameter, and detachment fre- the departure diameter and detachment frequency of the bubbles
quency. The growing bubbles are typically associated with the would be a worthy contribution.
dimples, and their departure diameter and detachment frequency
increase with increasing the dimple diameter. Bubble nucleation Acknowledgment
on the flat potion of the heated Cu surfaces between dimple cav-
ities is rare, due to insufficient surface superheat at the applied heat The Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies at University
flux of 0.5 W/cm2. The higher temperature on the inside of the of New Mexico funded this research. We acknowledge the valua-
dimples that are closer to the underlying heating element promotes ble contributions by Professor Krishna Kota and Mr. Stephen
nucleation of vapor embryos. The growing embryos coalesce into Wootton of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Depart-
larger bubbles, which emerge from the dimples and continue to ment at the New Mexico State University (NMSU), Las Cruses,
grow until detached. The recorded sequential images of the bub- NM, for preparing the drawing and machining and polishing the
bles on the different dimpled surfaces span the period from when dimpled Cu surfaces used in the present work.
the bubble is first seen emerging from the dimple until departure.
The estimated bubble volumetric growth rate, departure diame- Nomenclature
ter, and detachment frequency increase, but the growth time
A¼ footprint, dimple surface area (cm2, mm2)
decreases with increasing the dimple diameter. The volumetric
CHF ¼ critical heat flux (W/cm2)
growth rate of the bubble at departure is 1.81, 4.75, and
Cu ¼ copper
8.2 mm3/s for the 300, 400, and 500 lm diameter dimples,
D¼ bubble diameter (lm)
respectively. The corresponding total vapor generation rate is
f¼ bubble frequency (Hz)
21, 54, and 94 lg/s per dimple bubble, respectively. The
h¼ heat transfer coefficient (W/cm2 K)
major contributions to the bubbles growth after emerging from the
hfg ¼ latent heat of vaporization (kJ/kg)
dimples are the evaporation at the triple interface along the perim-
m_ g ¼ vapor generation rate (lg/s)
eter of the dimples and of a thin liquid film on the inside surface
N¼ total number
of the dimples. This film is replenished with liquid from the sur-
q¼ heat flux (W/cm2)
rounding pool by the wicking action of the inside surface of the
Q¼ heat removed by dimple bubble (mW)
dimples. Increasing the dimple diameter also increases both the
t¼ time (ms)
departure diameter and detachment frequency of the bubbles. The
tb ¼ bubble growth time (t0 þ t) (ms)
determined departure bubble diameter is 738 lm, 963 lm, and
V_ ¼ volumetric growth rate (mm3/s)
1051 lm on the surfaces with 300 lm, 400 lm, and 500 lm
V* ¼ dimple bubble volume
diameter dimples, and the corresponding detachment frequency is
8.6 Hz, 10.2 Hz, and 13.5 Hz, respectively.
At the applied heat flux of 0.5 W/cm2, the active fraction of Greek Symbols
the dimples for bubble growth decreases, but the volume of the c ¼ fraction of active dimples
bubbles at departure increases with increasing the dimple diame- q ¼ density (kg/m3)
ter. The estimated fraction of the active dimples is 0.85, 0.64, U ¼ diameter (lm)
and 0.53 for the Cu surfaces with 300 lm, 400 lm, and 500 lm
diameter dimples, respectively. The bubble volume at departure
on these surfaces is 0.21 mm3, 0.47 mm3, and 0.61 mm3, Subscripts
and the amount of thermal energy removed by a single departing b¼ liquid bulk bubble
bubble is 1.99 mW, 5.24 mW, and 9.02 mW, respectively. d¼ dimples, or departure
The CHF occurs when the thickness of the thin liquid film on the g¼ vapor
inside of the active dimples decreases, restricting the replenishment nb ¼ nucleate boiling
of the inside surface with liquid from the surrounding pool, causing s¼ dimple inside surface
a dry out. Since the rate for liquid replenishment depends on the 0¼ initial time for capturing a dimple bubble image
depth and the perimeter, or the diameter, of the dimple, the measured
CHF for saturation boiling of PF-5060 dielectric liquid is the lowest
for the Cu surface with the smallest diameter (300 lm) dimples,
Superscript
with a diameter-to-depth ratio of 1.5. This ratio increases to 2.0 and * ¼ dimple bubble
2.5 for the 400 lm and 500 lm dimples, for which CHF values are
the highest, but very close. References
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