Nucleation of Steam Bubbles in a Proposed Ocean Thermal Gradient Hydraulic Power Plant

Abstract

This is a study of the nucleation of steam bubbles generated by cavitation in seawater and the ways of utilizing the resultant steam in a steam-driven version of the air lift pump. A method is described wherein micronuclei consisting primarily of microscopic particles with adsorbed gas layers are activated in a cavitating venturi then grown to a useful size by evaporation in a subsequent section of the pump tube. A small laboratory demonstration is described and various conditions of flow observed are reported. A rational explanation for the activation nuclei is given. The bubble growth observed is as predicted, and is given.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1976
Accession Number
AD1092920

Entities

People

  • E. J. Beck

Organizations

  • Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundary Layer
  • Civil Engineering
  • Critical Temperature
  • Dissolved Gases
  • Efficiency
  • Engineers
  • Flow Rate
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Gases
  • Heat Energy
  • Heat Transfer
  • Latent Heat
  • Liquids
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Pressure Distribution
  • Tensile Strength
  • Water

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Combustion and Flow Dynamics.
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.