Heat Flux Controlled Pool Boiling of Zirconia–Water and Silver–Water Nanofluids on a Flat Plate: A Coupled Map Lattice Simulation

In the present work, the characteristic atmospheric saturated heat flux controlled pool boiling curves for zirconia–water and silver–water nanofluids have been reproduced by the coupled map lattice (CML) method using a two-dimensional (2D) boiling field model. The heater is a long horizontal flat plate of thickness 0.44 mm. The pool height is 0.7 mm. The stirring action of the bubbles is modeled by increasing the fluid thermal diffusivity by an enhancement factor. The thermal conduction in the plate is also incorporated into the model. The basic advantage of CML is that individual bubbles are not tracked, and yet the effects of bubbles are reflected qualitatively in the final solution. In the simulation of atmospheric saturated pool boiling of water minimum cavity diameter taken is 0.8 μm based on which a random distribution of cavity sizes has been specified. In the boiling of ZrO₂–water nanofluid there is a deposition of nanoparticles in the cavities on the heated surface resulting in reduction of surface roughness. This feature is taken care of by proportionate decrease in minimum cavity diameter. The CML model predicts decrease in heat transfer coefficient and increase in critical heat flux (CHF) with increase in zirconia nanoparticle concentration. In the case of Ag–water nanofluid no such deposition of nanoparticles has been reported; rather surface oxidation occurs which increases the surface roughness. This is simulated by proportionately increasing the minimum cavity diameter with weight fractions of nanoparticles. The present CML model predicts increase in the heat transfer coefficient and decrease in CHF with increase in silver nanoparticle concentration. Thus, the CML results for the boiling of the aforesaid two nanofluids match qualitatively with the published experimental works.