A study of the evaporation of heterogeneous water droplets under active heating

Using high-speed video registration tools with a sample rate of 10$^{\mathrm{2}}$--10$^{\mathrm{4}}$ frames per second (fps), we studied the patterns in the evaporation of water droplets containing 1 and 2 mm individual metallic inclusions in a high-temperature gas environment. The materials of choice for the inclusions were steels (AISI 1080 carbon steel and AISI type 316L stainless steel) and pure nickel. We established the lifetimes $\tau_{\mathrm{h}}$ of the liquid droplets under study with a controlled increase in the gas environment temperature up to 900 K. We also considered the physical aspects behind the $\tau_{\mathrm{h\thinspace }}$distribution in the experiments conducted and specified the conditions for more effective cooling of metallic inclusions. Following the experimental research findings, a method was devised for effective reactor vessel cooling to avoid a meltdown at a nuclear power plant.