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Visualization of cryogenic bubble growth in liquid oxygen during nucleate pool boiling

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  • Xiao, Mingkun
  • Huang, Yonghua
  • Yang, Guang
  • Li, Chunyu
  • Cai, Aifeng
  • Wu, Jingyi

Abstract

Unexpected thermal leakage can bring about the generation of successive bubbles in stored cryogenic liquids. The formation of cryogenic bubbles has a direct impact on the duration or even the safety of storage systems. But existing experimental data and correlations can hardly provide accurate prediction for the nucleation and growth of cryogenic bubbles. In this study, a cryogenic testing apparatus was established to investigate the bubble growth of liquid oxygen during nucleate pool boiling under the effects of wall superheat, liquid subcooling, and operation pressure. A periscope-like system was designed for visualization, and a homemade heating base with an etched surface was fabricated for the production of bubbles. It was found that a dramatic transition appears in the waiting and growth periods of oxygen bubbles as the pressure increases from 0.15 MPa to 0.2 MPa, attributed to the competition between the superheat of liquids replenishing the nucleation cavity and the equilibrium superheat within it. Moreover, high-precision dimensionless correlations were developed to predict the growth rate and detachment frequency of cryogenic bubbles. The results provide a more efficient way to predict the growth and detachment parameters of bubbles in cryogenic liquids, benefiting the design of cryogenic liquid storage tanks.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiao, Mingkun & Huang, Yonghua & Yang, Guang & Li, Chunyu & Cai, Aifeng & Wu, Jingyi, 2025. "Visualization of cryogenic bubble growth in liquid oxygen during nucleate pool boiling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:314:y:2025:i:c:s0360544224038799
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2024.134101
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wang, Chen & Akkurt, Nevzat & Zhang, Xiaosong & Luo, Yimo & She, Xiaohui, 2020. "Techno-economic analyses of multi-functional liquid air energy storage for power generation, oxygen production and heating," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
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    1. Hou, Jiaxin & Li, Xueli & Zeng, Wang & Xie, Junlong & Chen, Jianye, 2025. "Experimental investigation of spontaneously condensed nitrogen droplets in a Laval nozzle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    2. Li, Yuzhe & Ni, Song & Li, Sina & He, Sihong & Cheng, Chung Ki & Dong, Kejian & Zhao, Jiyun, 2026. "A mechanistic wall heat flux partitioning model for the CRUD-affected surface flow boiling under PWR conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 347(C).
    3. Yang, Shihao & Li, Xiaoling & Ren, Bo & Yang, Lixin & Shan, Jianqiang & Chen, Chong & Lu, Qi & Wei, Zonglan, 2026. "Self-attention networks for interpretable and transferable critical heat flux modeling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 344(C).
    4. Guo, Songyuan & Xiao, Mingkun & Yue, Li & Cao, Qingtai & Du, Wangfang & Chen, Laifu & Zhao, Jianfu & Dai, Wei & Yang, Guang & Wu, Jingyi, 2026. "On the liquid layer formation and thermodynamic behavior of liquid oxygen during interface reorientation: A combined drop tower experiment and simulation study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).
    5. Du, Hongxian & Liang, Xuan & Yang, Wei & Vujanović, Milan & Wang, Jin & He, Yongqing, 2025. "Effect of surface modification with copper nanowire arrays on nucleate boiling in a liquid cooler," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).

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