Visualization of film wavelike characteristics and measurement of film thickness in spray cooling

An experimental investigation was performed to study the heat transfer in an eight-nozzle spray cooling system with de-ionized water as the working fluid. Visualization of the liquid-solid contact area and the flow near the heated surface was made using a microscopic lens system in conjunction with an advanced high-speed camera. The film thickness and film wavelike characteristics under liquid volume flow rates ranged from 2.78×10^?6 m³/s to 1.39×10^?5 m³/s and surface temperatures between 22°C and 78.2°C were examined respectively. The development process of the liquid film on the heated surface was observed. The local mean film thickness, the film wavelike characteristics and the behavior of the bubbles appeared in the liquid film were captured using an image processing technique. It is discovered that there exists a climax of local mean film thickness during the starting process of spray cooling. When the liquid film reaches the dynamic stable state, the dimensionless mean film thickness decreases with the increase of the liquid volume flow rate, and increases with the increase of surface temperature generally. Besides, the volume flow rate has a more significant impact on the wavelength and amplitude of the liquid film compared to the surface temperature.