Nucleate Boiling

Nucleate boiling is a type of boiling that takes place when the surface temperature is hotter than the saturated fluid temperature by a certain amount but where the heat flux is below the critical heat flux. For water, as shown in the graph below, nucleate boiling occurs when the surface temperature is higher than the saturation temperature (T_S) by between 4 °C (7.2 °F) to 30 °C (54 °F). The critical heat flux is the peak on the curve between nucleate boiling and transition boiling.