An Experimental Study on Flashing Phenomenon of Liquid Nitrogen

The aim of this study is to clarify the fundamental features of the flashing phenomenon of cryogenic liquid nitrogen under rapid depressurization. Liquid nitrogen flashing experiments have been carried out using a cryostat with windows. From these experimental results, it is shown that a pressure recovery process after rapid depressurization occurs when bubbles generated in the lowtemperature region grow and rise in liquid nitrogen. Furthermore, local minimum pressure and pressure recovery within the vessel are predicted by saturated pressure corresponding to initial liquid temperature. The local minimum pressure depends strongly on initial temperature rather than on the rate of depressurization.