Explosive vaporization of a water layer on a flat microheater

Explosion vaporization of a water layer of different thickness, induced by pulse heating in an inhomogeneous temperature field on the surface of a flat microheater coated with a submicron silicon-carbide layer, is experimentally studied. An optical method is used for recording the vaporization time history and dynamics of the steam blanket. Pulsed laser irradiation is applied for high-time-resolution photography of the vaporization process. The dynamics of filling the heater surface with the vapor phase and the lifetime of the main vapor bubble and the satellite bubble are estimated. Dependences of the vaporization temperature on the heater temperature growth are obtained. The initial temperature is 30°C; the temperature growth rate on the heater surfaces is about 180 MK/s.