Numerical simulation of nucleate boiling in shallow liquid

This paper presents a numerical investigation on nucleate boiling in a condition of low liquid level, where the liquid height is comparable with the bubble departure diameter. A coupled volume-of-fluid and level-set method (VOSET) was used to deal with the moving liquid-vapor interface, and a microlayer model was adopted for the thin liquid film around the three-phase contact line. The heat flux obtained by numerical simulation was compared with those calculated by experimental correlations, and the outcomes matched. The numerical results provide a reasonable explanation for the augment of heat transfer coefficient of nucleate boiling as the liquid level decreases to a certain value.