Amy Rachel Betz

Do surfaces with mixed hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas enhance pool boiling

We demonstrate that smooth and flat surfaces combining hydrophilic and hydrophobic patterns improve pool boiling performance. Compared to a hydrophilic surface with 7° wetting angle, the measured critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficients of the enhanced surfaces are, up to respectively, 65% and 100% higher. Different networks combining hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions are characterized. While all tested networks enhance the heat transfer coefficient, large enhancements of critical heat flux are typically found for hydrophilic networks featuring hydrophobic islands. Hydrophilic networks indeed are shown to prevent the formation of an insulating vapor layer.

Surface Engineering for Phase Change Heat Transfer: A Review

Owing to advances in micro- and nanofabrication methods over the last two decades, the degree of sophistication with which solid surfaces can be engineered today has caused a resurgence of interest in the topic of engineering surfaces for phase change heat transfer. This review aims at bridging the gap between the material sciences and heat transfer communities. It makes the argument that optimum surfaces need to address the specifi cities of phase change heat transfer in the way that a key matches its lock. This calls for the design and fabrication of adaptive surfaces with multiscale textures and non-uniform wettability. Among numerous challenges to meet the rising global energy demand in a sustainable manner, improving phase change heat transfer has been at the forefront of engineering research for decades. The high heat transfer rates associated with phase change heat transfer are essential to energy and industry applications; but phase change is also inherently associated with poor thermodynamic effi ciency at low heat fl ux, and violent instabilities at high heat fl ux. Engineers have tried since the 1930s to fabricate solid surfaces that improve phase change heat transfer. The development of micro and nanotechnologies has made feasible the high-resolution control of surface texture and chemistry over length scales ranging from molecular levels to centimeters. This paper reviews the fabrication techniques available for metallic and silicon-based surfaces, considering sintered and polymeric coatings. The infl uence of such surfaces in multiphase processes of high practical interest, e.g., boiling, condensation, freezing, and the associated physical phenomena are reviewed. The case is made that while engineers are in principle able to manufacture surfaces with optimum nucleation or thermofl uid transport characteristics, more theoretical and experimental efforts are needed to guide the design and cost-effective fabrication of surfaces that not only satisfy the existing technological needs, but also catalyze new discoveries.

Droplet Coalescence and Freezing on Hydrophilic, Hydrophobic, and Biphilic Surfaces

Frost and ice formation can have severe negative consequences, such as aircraft safety and reliability. At atmospheric pressure, water heterogeneously condenses and then freezes at low temperatures. To alter this freezing process, this research examines the effects of biphilic surfaces (surfaces which combine hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions) on heterogeneous water nucleation, growth, and freezing. Silicon wafers were coated with a self-assembled monolayer and patterned to create biphilic surfaces. Samples were placed on a freezing stage in an environmental chamber at atmospheric pressure, at a temperature of 295 K, and relative humidities of 30%, 60%, and 75%. Biphilic surfaces had a significant effect on droplet dynamics and freezing behavior. The addition of biphilic patterns decreased the temperature required for freezing by 6 K. Biphilic surfaces also changed the size and number of droplets on a surface at freezing and delayed the time required for a surface to freeze. The main mechanism affecting freezing characteristics was the coalescence behavior.

Significant boiling enhancement with surfaces combining superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic patterns

In this work we describe the manufacturing and characterization of patterned surfaces with large spatial contrast in wettability. We find drastic enhancement of pool boiling performance in water. In comparison to a hydrophilic SiO2 surface with a wetting angle of 7°, surfaces combining superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic patterns can quadruple the heat transfer coefficient (HTC). Superhydrophilic surface with hydrophobic islands can increase the critical heat flux (CHF) by 80%. This performance enhancement is important for applications such as electronics cooling, because the increased HTC allows a greater amount of heat to be removed at a lower wall superheat.

The Effect of Mixed Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces on Frost Nucleation and Growth

The purpose of this research is to test hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and mixed hydrophobic and hydrophilic (biphilic) surfaces to see how theses surfaces affect frost nucleation and growth. Frost forms when humid air comes into contact with a surface that is below the dew point and freezing temperature of water. Many engineering systems are hindered by frost, such as aeronautics, refrigeration, and electrical transmission wires. Most recent research on frost formation has looked at making superhydrophobic materials, which lower the freezing point and increase the frost formation time. These materials are very dependent on operating conditions and surface roughness, which fluctuate often. A hydrophobic surface delays frost growth more than a hydrophilic surface and also creates a taller, less dense frost layer than the hydrophilic surface. Our hypothesis is that a biphilic surface will be better at slowing the frost formation process as well as creating a less dense frost layer. The water in the air will preferentially condense on the hydrophilic areas, thus controlling where the nucleation will first occur. This could help to control the size, shape, and location of the frost nucleation.Copyright

Droplet Growth Dynamics during Atmospheric Condensation on Nanopillar Surfaces

ABSTRACT The Gibbs free energy barrier for heterogeneous nucleation of a condensed droplet on a rough surface changes significantly with changes of humidity content in the condensing environment. The influence of environmental factors (ambient temperature and relative humidity) and substrate characteristics (topology, surface chemistry, and substrate temperature) on atmospheric condensation phenomenon is very important to elucidate the condensed droplet wetting state and condensate harvesting applications. Condensation from the humid air has been reported for plain silicon and fabricated nanopillar surfaces to facilitate condensate harvesting. Droplet growth and size distributions were recorded for 90 min. Spherical droplets condensed on the silicon surfaces and irregular-shaped droplets were observed on the nanopillar surfaces due to the pinning effect of the pillars. The effect of droplet pinning on coalescence events has been described based on the energy balance for the condensed droplets. A mathematical model reveals that certain dimensional combinations (pillar pitch, pillar diameter, and pillar height) of the nanopillar geometry are required to exhibit the pinning mechanism for condensed droplets. Regeneration of droplets was observed at void spaces generated from coalescence events. The growth of individual droplets was tracked over multiple time and length scales, starting from nucleation to get further insight into the direct growth and coalescence mechanisms. Abbreviation: ESEM: Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope; HCP: Hexagonal Closed-Packed; MPL: Microsphere Photolithography; RH: Relative Humidity

Fabrication of Circular Obelisk-Type Multilayer Microneedles Using Micro-Milling and Spray Deposition

In this study we present the fabrication of multilayer microneedles with circular obelisk and beveled-circular obelisk geometries, which have potential applications in implantable drug delivery devices. Micro-milling was adopted as an environmental-friendly and cost-effective way to fabricate primary metal microneedle masters. Polylactic acid (PLA) microneedles with sharp tips were then obtained by micromolding followed by oxygen plasma etching and used for preparing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microneedle molds. A spray deposition process was employed for microneedle fabrication to facilitate the formation of multilayer microneedles while helping in maintenance of drug stability. Multilayer microneedles were successfully formed by sequential spraying of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) solutions into the mold. The fabricated PLGA-PVP multilayer microneedles penetrated the pig cadaver skin without breakage and released dyes in the skin at different rates, which reveals the potential for implantable microneedles enabling controlled release. Mechanical testing demonstrated that the obelisk-shaped microneedles were mechanically stronger than a pyramid-shaped microneedle and suggested that strong adhesion between PLGA and PVP layers was achieved as well. Structural stability and functionality of a model drug, horseradish peroxidase (HRP), upon spray deposition was examined using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and enzyme activity assay. HRP retained its secondary structure and activity in PVP, whereas HRP in PLGA showed structural changes and reduced activity. Combination of micro-milling and spray deposition would be an attractive way of fabricating drug-containing polymer microneedles with various geometries while reducing prototyping time and process-induced drug instability.

Droplet ejection and sliding on a flapping film

Water recovery and subsequent reuse are required for human consumption as well as industrial, and agriculture applications. Moist air streams, such as cooling tower plumes and fog, represent opportunities for water harvesting. In this work, we investigate a flapping mechanism to increase droplet shedding on thin, hydrophobic films for two vibrational cases (e.g., ± 9 mm and 11 Hz; ± 2 mm and 100 Hz). Two main mechanisms removed water droplets from the flapping film: vibrational-induced coalescence/sliding and droplet ejection from the surface. Vibrations mobilized droplets on the flapping film, increasing the probability of coalescence with neighboring droplets leading to faster droplet growth. Droplet departure sizes of 1–2 mm were observed for flapping films, compared to 3–4 mm on stationary films, which solely relied on gravity for droplet removal. Additionally, flapping films exhibited lower percentage area coverage by water after a few seconds. The second removal mechanism, droplet ejection was analy...

Critical Heat Flux of Graphene Coated Copper Surface at High Pressures

Boiling is an efficient way to transfer heat due to the latent heat of vaporization. Many variables, such as surface properties, fluid properties, and system pressure, will affect the performance of pool boiling. Enhanced pool boiling has extensive applications in chemical, microelectronics, and power industries. Previous research has shown that micro- or nanostructured surfaces and coated surfaces will increase heat transfer coefficients up to one order of magnitude at atmospheric pressure. Graphene as a very good material with superb mechanical and electrical properties also has potential to enhance pool boiling performance. The purpose of this research is to investigate heat transfer enhancement on a graphene coated surface compared to a plane copper surface at atmospheric pressure and increased pressures with deionized water. The effect of the graphene coating on the critical heat flux is also investigated. To carry out the experiments, we designed and fabricated a special experimental facility that will withstand the high pressures (up to 20 bar) and high temperatures. Graphene is coated on a 1 cm2 copper surface using spray coating. The boiling vessel is pressurized with nitrogen and the system pressure is controlled by a back pressure regulator. The test fluid is preheated to saturation temperature by two 500 W cartridge heaters. Multiple 150 W cartridge heaters are inserted in a copper cylinder to provide wall superheat for bubbles to nucleate on the studied surface. When the system reaches steady state, a process controller controls these cartridge heaters to increase the heat flux gradually from 0 kW/m2 to the critical heat flux. The copper cylinder is insulated with PTFE to minimize heat loss from the side. The gap between the copper cylinder and the insulation surface is carefully sealed with high temperature epoxy to reduce undesired nucleation sites. The wall superheat corresponding to each heat flux is extrapolated using Fourier’s law from three thermocouple readings. The heat transfer coefficient can thus be calculated at each heat flux for the every test fluid at its corresponding pressure. A camera with 3.2 cm field of view at a working distance of 12 cm to 15 cm is used to visualize the bubble formation on the heated surface.Copyright

Design and Fabrication of an Experimental Facility for High-Pressure Pool Boiling

In this work, we present the design and fabrication a high-pressure pool boiling facility to conduct pool boiling experiments on horizontal heated surfaces under elevated pressures, up to 20 bar. Previous research has shown that micro- and/or nano-structured surfaces and coated surfaces will increase heat transfer coefficients up to one order of magnitude at atmospheric pressure. However, most boiling applications are subjected to high pressure, especially in the power industry. Pressure inside a boiling water reactor in a nuclear power plant will reach as high as 75 atm (75.99 bar). In order to determine how heat transfer is enhanced at increased pressures, with deionized water and refrigerants, on modified surfaces, a special experimental setup needs to be designed and fabricated. Difficulties in making such an experimental setup come from stabilizing the system pressure, sealing the test setup and visualizing the boiling conditions in the vessel. Both advantages and disadvantages of this design will be discussed and possible methods for improvements will be proposed. Preliminary test results on a plane copper surface are also included. Future research will be focusing on boiling of water and refrigerants on micro-structured copper surfaces, graphene coated, and Teflon© coated surfaces under high pressure.Copyright