Advances in the study of bubbles in boiling and their application to electrolytic hydrogen production

Abstract

Boiling heat transfer is an efficient and green heat transfer method that is widely used in industrial production. Single bubble pool boiling is a specific case of pool boiling, which helps to observe the microscopic changes of bubbles and further study the heat transfer mechanism of bubbles in boiling heat transfer. This paper outlines a variety of approaches to single bubble generation. This review summarizes thermocouple, optical and acoustic techniques for quantitative or qualitative measurements of bubble parameters and their surrounding temperature fields during boiling. The geometrical structure and motion variations of microlayers, three phase lines and dry points in bubbles are described. This helps to further investigate the mechanism of heat and mass transfer in bubbles during boiling. To further improve the efficiency of boiling heat transfer, the effects of electric, magnetic and acoustic fields on bubble motion and heat transfer are presented. Because of the similar bubble phenomenon in boiling heat transfer and electrolytic hydrogen production, this paper outlines the application of single bubble enhancement technology in electrolytic hydrogen production. In addition, this paper reviews the advances in the study of single bubbles which are important for a deeper understanding and optimization of the boiling heat transfer process.