RT Journal Article ID 3b9ea47f0f409514 A1 Buyevich, Yu. A. T1 Towards a Unified Theory of Pool Boiling - the Case of Ideally Smooth Heated Wall JF International Journal of Fluid Mechanics Research JO FMR YR 1999 FD 1999-04-01 VO 26 IS 2 SP 189 OP 223 AB The paper focuses on developing a unified model for nucleate and transition boiling for which purpose a number of complementary subproblems are considered in a more or less systematic way. These are: 1) activation of potential nucle-ation sites, 2) detachment of hydrodynamically interacting vapor bubbles that evolve at activated nucleation sites, 3) merging of neighboring bubbles with formation of vapor film patterns, and 4) the effect of constraints imposed on the boiling system by two-phase flow in the bulk. Transition pool boiling is interpreted as a natural continuation of the discrete bubble boiling regime into a parametric region where coalescence of bubbles is essential. As a result, the heated surface becomes covered with fluctuating intermittent vapor patches, and the mean surface-liquid contact area fraction decreases fast as surface superheat increases under otherwise identical conditions. Although this paper addresses an ideal case of boiling on a molecularly smooth wall where vapor nuclei may originate only at the molecular level in conformity with the Boltzman - Arrhenius kinetics, a way to generalize the model to boiling on real rough surfaces is straightforward. PB Begell House LK https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/71cb29ca5b40f8f8,58ceb60f40e9dc7e,3b9ea47f0f409514.html