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Design and test of a compact optics system for the pool boiling experimentThe experiment described seeks to improve the understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that constitute nucleate pool boiling. The vehicle for accomplishing this is an investigation, including tests to be conducted in microgravity and coupled with appropriate analyses, of the heat transfer and vapor bubble dynamics associated with nucleation, bubble growth/collapse and subsequent motion, considering the interrelations between buoyancy, momentum and surface tension which will govern the motion of the vapor and surrounding liquid, as a function of the heating rate at the heat transfer surface and the temperature level and distribution in the bulk liquid. The experiment is designed to be contained within the confines of a Get-Away-Special Canister (GAS Can) installed in the bay of the space shuttle. When the shuttle reaches orbit, the experiment will be turned on and testing will proceed automatically. In the proposed Pool Boiling Experiment a pool of liquid, initially at a precisely defined pressure and temperature, will be subjected to a step imposed heat flux from a semitransparent thin-film heater forming part of one wall of the container such that boiling is initiated and maintained for a defined period of time at a constant pressure level. Transient measurements of the heater surface and fluid temperatures near the surface will be made, noting especially the conditions at the onset of boiling, along with motion photography of the boiling process in two simultaneous views, from beneath the heating surface and from the side. The conduct of the experiment and the data acquisition will be completely automated and self-contained. For the initial flight, a total of nine tests are proposed, with three levels of heat flux and three levels of subcooling. The design process used in the development and check-out of the compact photographic/optics system for the Pool Boiling Experiment is documented.
Document ID
19900010937
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Technical Memorandum (TM)
Authors
Ling, Jerri S.
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Laubenthal, James R.
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
March 1, 1990
Subject Category
Materials Processing
Report/Patent Number
NAS 1.15:102530
E-5339
NASA-TM-102530
Accession Number
90N20253
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 694-03-03
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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