Electric Field Effects on Pool Boiling Heat Transfer

Pool boiling is a highly effective mode of heat transfer allowing high heat flux levels driven by relatively small temperature differences between the heated wall and the liquid. In spite of its efficiency, cooling based on liquid-vapor phase change processes has not yet found wide application in aerospace engineering due to specific process uncertainties and related reliability problems associated with the low gravity environment. Even less is known about the impact of electric fields on heat transfer in boiling in microgravity and their potential for heat transfer enhancement under such conditions. The primary objective of the experiment is to determine the effect of electric fields on pool boiling in low-g. University of Maryland: Press Release of prior flight testing

Paper: Pool Boiling Heat Transfer on the International Space Station: Experimental Results and Model Verification

Two-Phase Flow Research on the ISS for Thermal Control Applications

NASA/Glenn Research Center website on boiling in microgravity: https://issresearchproject.grc.nasa.gov/MSG/BXF/

• Single phase heat exchangers are currently used for cooling on ISS and other space platforms. • Pool boiling can provide much higher heat transfer than single phase in low-g, but the amount of heat that can be transported is limited by the lack of buoyancy

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