Critical boiling phenomena observed in microgravity
Language
en
Article de revue
This item was published in
Journal de Chimie Physique et de Physico-Chimie Biologique. 1999, vol. 96, n° 6, p. 1066-1073
EDP Sciences
English Abstract
We report experimental observations of the critical boiling when co-existing gas and liquid phases of pure fluid are heated under weigthlessness through the critical point. We find that when the system's temperature T is ...Read more >
We report experimental observations of the critical boiling when co-existing gas and liquid phases of pure fluid are heated under weigthlessness through the critical point. We find that when the system's temperature T is being increased to the critical temperature Tc so that it's slightly out of equilibrium, the apparent contact angle becomes very large (up to 110 ○). The gas appears to "web" the solid surface. In addition, we detect large temperature gradients between the (hot) gas phase and the (cold) liquid phase in the interferometric cell. These unexpected results are robust: they are observed either under continuous heating (ramping) or stepping by positive temperature quenches, for various morphologies of the gas bubble and in different fluids (SF6 and CO2). The difference in isentropic thermal responses of gas and liquid during heating, due to the adiabatic heating by the "Piston Effect", is responsible for the temperature non-homogeneities. The vapour recoil force due to liquid evaporation, which is involved in the boiling crisis in heat exchangers, is presumably at the origin of the interface deformation.Read less <
Origin
Hal imported