How will we fix this problem?
The first thought would be to create a mechanical vibration to "shake" the bubbles loose from the heating element. Remember we are in microgravity, this solution might work on Earth because of the buoyancy force. In microgravity a mechanical vibration could remove the bubbles from the heating element, but where will the bubbles go? If mechanical vibration can manage to move the bubbles 5cm from the heating element, it would only be a matter of time before enough bubbles would attract that first bubble to the heating element. Also mechanical vibration could cause unwanted vibration for sensitive equipment, literally shaking an experiment apart.

The SCCC Microgravity Team has proposed using ultra sound to move bubbles off of heating elements. In giving the bubbles an initial velocity, it is possible to move the bubbles a further distance into another device. That device could cool the bubble and create a phase change to return it to a liquid state. The use a ultra sound has many exciting possibilities to explore. Using ultra sound, a fully automated system could be created to detect the bubbles and remove them automatically. Ultra sound can be low power, and does not have any unwanted bi-products like mechanical vibration.

We hope to create an efficient model to remove bubbles from heating elements in a microgravity environment. We will be studying the effects of varied duty cycle, frequency, and amplitude of ultra sound on bubbles.