Hope this helps.

Liquid flashing phenomena holds an interest in many areas of science and engineering. As examples one can
mention: a) the accidental release of flammable and toxic pressure-liquefied gases in chemical and nuclear
industry; the failure of a vessel or pipe in the form of a small hole results in the formation of a two-phase jet
containing a mixture of liquid droplets and vapor, b) fuel atomization for improvement of fuel injector
technology, c) flashing mechanism occurrence in expansion devices of refrigerator cycles etc. Violent boiling
and aerodynamic fragmentation control the two-phase behavior of flashing flows. The initial, flashing stage of
the jet, where the system is furthest from equilibrium is least understood. To investigate theoretically these
source processes, knowledge of accurate and reliable data such as distribution of droplet size, velocity and
temperature is mandatory. These models are needed in design and safety assessment. This PhD study focuses on
the understanding of the source processes with emphasis on flashing release of flammable pressurized liquids,
characterize the two-phase jet after the release and the effects of initial conditions such as initial storage
pressure, temperature, geometrical effects of the release points.
The flashing phenomenon occurs when a liquid is out of thermodynamic equilibrium such as sudden changes in
the pressure or temperature of a liquid system. In the case of rapid depressurization, the liquid keeps its initial
temperature constant, so that, because of thermal inertia, the internal temperature finds itself above the saturation
temperature in the final condition. The meta-stable liquid will return violently to its equilibrium condition
through evaporation (i.e. consuming its superheat as latent heat). Evaporation will occur within the liquid
through bubble growth. This process can be extremely sudden and explosive. Because a maximum surface
exchange is crucial for evaporation, the jet will disintegrate into small droplets. Equilibrium will be reached
when partial vapor pressure at the interface equals to that far a way from the droplets.

See more at www.vki.ac.be/ea-dept/phd/04-05/yildiz.pdf