Analysis of interfacial instability and multimode bubble formation in saturated boiling using coupled level set and volume-of-fluid approach

The dynamics of vapor-liquid interface are important because interfacial instability determines bubble growth, detachment frequency, waiting time, shape of bubbles, and the interrelationship between bubble formation sites. In this study, a detailed numerical simulation has been performed to understand the transition in bubble release pattern and multimode bubble formation in saturated pool boiling. The interfaces drop down alternatively at the nodes and antinodes of the wavelengths dictated by Rayleigh-Taylor instability and Taylor-Helmholtz instability. Due to higher degrees of superheat, vapor jets emanate from nodes and antinodes. An attempt has been made to predict the maximum and minimum heat fluxes during saturated pool boiling.