Planar Simulation of Bubble Growth in Film Boiling in Near-Critical Water Using a Variant of the VOF Method

A planar simulation of film boiling and bubble formation in water at 373°C, 219 bar on an isothermal horizontal surface was performed by using a volume of fluid (VOF) based interface tracking method. The complete Navier-Stokes equations and thermal energy equations were solved in conjunction with a interface mass transfer model. The numerical method takes into account the effect of temperature on the transportive thermal properties (thermal conductivity and specific heat) of vapor, effects of surface tension, the interface mass transfer and the corresponding latent heat. The computations provided a good insight into film boiling yielding quantitative information on unsteady periodic bubble release patterns and on the spatially and temporally varying film thickness. The computations also predicted the transport coefficients on the horizontal surface, which were greatly influenced by the variations in fluid properties, compared to calculations with constant properties.