Boiling heat transfer provides a means of removing high heat fluxes at low temperature differences in many applications in the power and process industries. A strong interest has been also developed for the cooling of silicon-based devices, such as electronic chips. However, a complete model to describe the processes involved has not been developed as yet. This PhD project focused on the study of nucleate pool boiling via numerical simulations for a solid plate horizontally immersed in a saturated liquid with a large number of potential nucleation sites. The simulations were developed by a FORTRAN code based on a hybrid approach, combining the 3-dimensional time-dependent solution for the temperature field on the substrate with semi-empirical models for phenomena occurring on the liquid side. The starting point of the project was the modification of a previous version of the code in order to reduce the computational time (in collaboration with Dr. Nelson at Los Alamos National Laboratory) and improve the modelling of the physics of the processes. One of the key features of the code is the flexibility in adapting to different conditions. In fact the code was used to study bubble growth, site activation frequency and superheat variations, as well as the interactions between nucleation sites. The differences in behaviour between very thin metal foils immersed in water and thicker silicon substrates in FC-72 were studied. The results were compared with experimental results produced at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Ljubljana, both partners of this project. Both the numerical and physical modifications introduced made it possible to have simulations for a large number of sites, of the order of 100, in reasonable times, of the order of days, so that the code can be now used as a tool for the design of new test sections.

Thesis (M.S. in Mechanical Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Ashok Gopinath. Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-32). Also available online.

Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND SCIENCE. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Paul William Bordley. / B.S.

Recent studies have shown that thermophotovoltaic (TPV) technology is a promising source of high power density generation. Enhanced TPV systems can theoretically provide power densities of up to 100 W/cm2. The inherent ineffiencies in the system dictate that up to 90% of that energy is not converted to electrical power, and must be removed as waste heat to ensure that the components are maintained at a reasonable operating temperature. The present study addresses this issue by investigating the suitability of using spray cooling techniques to remove heat generated by power densities of up to 100 W/cm2. A simple, scaleable experiment was designed using low-cost commercially available components to study the effects that spray mass flux and droplet size have on the heat removal capacity of the system. A series of nozzles were used so that mass flux and droplet size could be studied independently, giving high resolution to the data so that predictive correlations could be developed over the range of parameters varied in the study. / US Naval Reserve (USNR) author.

Thesis. 1975. Sc.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 82-84. / Sc.D.

No description available.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.145-152).

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1993. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-90).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1977.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2008. / "December, 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-57). Online version available on the World Wide Web.