Variable Gravity Research Laboratory

Research area:  Pool and flow boiling in microgravity and variable gravity, including nucleation, bubble and interfacial dynamics, and  dryout/rewetting

Papers

Pool Boiling Curve in Microgravity
(click here for information about experiment)

Origin of the Dynamic Growth of Vapor Bubbles Associated with Vapor Explosions
(click here for information about experiment)

Links

For more information on Pool boiling in microgravity, check out NASA's Pool Boiling Experiment Brochure or Pooling Boiling Experiment Description.

Publications

H. Merte, Jr., "Combined Roles of Buoyancy and Orientation in Nucleate Pool Boiling," Collected Papers in Heat Transfer, 1988, Vol. 2, ASME HTD-0104, pp. 179-186.

H. Merte, Jr., "Nucleate Pool Boiling in Variable Gravity," in Low-Gravity Fluid Dynamics and Transport Phenomena, Progress in Low-Gravity Fluid Dynamics and Transport Phenomena-AIAA, Edited by Jean N. Koster and Robert L. Sani, 1990.

J. S. Ervin, H. Merte, Jr., R. B. Keller and K. Kirk, "Transient Pool Boiling in Microgravity," International Journal of Heat Mass Transfer, 35, March 1992, pp. 659-674.

J. Straub, J. Winters, G. Picker, H. Merte, Jr. and A. Kono, "Study of Vapor Bubble Growth in a Superheated Liquid," Proceedings of VIII European Symposium on Materials and Fluid Sciences in Microgravity, Brussels, Belgium, April 12-16, 1992.

J. Ervin and H. Merte, Jr., "Boiling Nucleation and Propagation in Microgravity," Proceedings of symposium Heat Transfer in Microgravity, ASME HTD - Vol. 269, New Orleans, LA., 1993, pp. 131 - 138.

H. Merte, Jr., "Measurement of Transient/Steady Heat Transfer with Simultaneous Photography of Flow Processes from Beneath the Heater Surface," in Experiments in Heat Transfer and Thermodynamics, Edited by Prof. Robert Granger, Cambridge University Press, 1994.

H. Merte, Jr., H. S. Lee, and J. S. Ervin, "Transient Nucleate Pool Building in Microgravity - Some Initial Results," International Journal of Microgravity Science and Technology, VII, 2, July 1994, pp. 173-179.

H. Merte, Jr., Ho Sung Lee, "Homogeneous Nucleation in Microgravity at Low Heat Flux: Experiments and Theory," ASME paper 95-WA/HT-41, presented at Symposium "Heat Transfer in Microgravity Systems, 1995 International Mechanical Engineering Congree and Exposition", November 13-17, 1995, San Francisco, CA., submitted Jan. 8, 1996 for publication in Journal of Heat Transfer, 1995.

Ho Sung Lee, H. Merte, Jr., "Spherical Vapor Bubble Growth in Uniformly Superheated Liquids," International Journal of Heat Mass Transfer,Vol.39, No.12, pp.2427-2447, 1996.

Ho Sung Lee, H. Merte, Jr., "Hemispherical Vapor Bubble Growth in Microgravity: Experiments and Model," International Journal of Heat MassTransfer", Vol.39, No.12,pp.2449-2461, 1996.

Ho Sung Lee, H. Merte, Jr., & F. Chiaramonte, "The Pool Boiling Curve in Microgravity," AIAA Paper 96-0499, presented at 10th Annual Symposium on Microgravity Science and Space Processing, AIAA 34th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, January 15-18, 1996, Reno, NV. Submitted for publication in AIAA Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, 1996.

H. Merte, Jr., et. al., "An Overview of the Microgravity Environment and its Effects on Science," AIAA Paper 96-0401. Presented at AIAA 34th Aerospace Sciences Meeting, January 15-18, 1996, Reno, NV., 1996.

H. S. Lee, H. Merte, Jr., "The Origin of the Dynamic Growth of Vapor Bubbles Associated with Vapor Explosions," Abstract submitted for 1996 ASME International Congress and Exposition, November 17-22, 1996 in Atlanta, GA. for session "Heat Transfer in Microgravity Systems", 1996.

H. Merte, Jr., H. S. Lee, & R. B. Keller, "Report on Pool Boiling Experiment Flown on STS-47 (PBE-1A), STS-57 (PBE-1B), and STS-60 (PBE-1C)," NASA Contractor Report 198465, March 1996