Enhancement of heat transfer between two horizontal liquid layers by gas injection at the bottom

In connection with investigations concerning the core melt/concrete interaction, the enhancement of heat transfer between two horizontal liquid layers by gas injection has been studied using two systems--oil over water and oil over Wood's metal--with very different density ratios. For the largest gas injection rate (superficial gas velocity 6.3 X 10/sup -3/ m/s), the heat transfer coefficient is increased by a factor of nearly 400 for oil over water and by a factor of about 10 for oil over Wood's metal. In the core melt/concrete interaction, the superficial gas velocities might be even higher; therefore, the gas-induced enhancement of interfacial heat transfer should be taken into account.