Yuki Fukatani

Thermal Patterns and Hydrothermal Waves (HTWs) in Volatile Drops

Experimental measurements of temperature and heat flux at the liquid-wall interface during the evaporation of sessile FC-72 droplets have been reported for the first time using infrared (IR) thermography. Simultaneous high-speed imaging of the evaporating drop was carried out to monitor the drop profile. The study demonstrates that recently evidenced hydrothermal waves are actually bulk waves that extend across the entire droplet volume. More importantly, thermal patterns occurring in the bulk of the drop affect the temperature and heat-flux distributions on the solid substrate and ultimately influence the droplet evaporation rate. These effects were found to be increasingly pronounced as the substrate temperature was raised. The implications for heat-transfer mechanisms and energy transport are discussed.

Effect of ambient temperature and relative humidity on interfacial temperature during early stages of drop evaporation

Understanding drop evaporation mechanisms is important for many industrial, biological, and other applications. Drops of organic solvents undergoing evaporation have been found to display distinct thermal patterns, which in turn depend on the physical properties of the liquid, the substrate, and ambient conditions. These patterns have been reported previously to be bulk patterns from the solid-liquid to the liquid-gas drop interface. In the present work the effect of ambient temperature and humidity during the first stage of evaporation, i.e., pinned contact line, is studied paying special attention to the thermal information retrieved at the liquid-gas interface through IR thermography. This is coupled with drop profile monitoring to experimentally investigate the effect of ambient temperature and relative humidity on the drop interfacial thermal patterns and the evaporation rate. Results indicate that self-generated thermal patterns are enhanced by an increase in ambient temperature and/or a decrease in humidity. The more active thermal patterns observed at high ambient temperatures are explained in light of a greater temperature difference generated between the apex and the edge of the drop due to greater evaporative cooling. On the other hand, the presence of water humidity in the atmosphere is found to decrease the temperature difference along the drop interface due to the heat of adsorption, absorption and/or that of condensation of water onto the ethanol drops. The control, i.e., enhancement or suppression, of these thermal patterns at the drop interface by means of ambient temperature and relative humidity is quantified and reported.

Effect of Hydrothermal Waves on Evaporation Distribution During Drop Evaporation

The objective of this study is to clarify physical mechanisms involved in the evaporation of small (a few microliters) sessile drops. We aim to understand the relation between local thermal information at the solid–liquid interface and overall evaporation. An infrared (IR) camera and a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera were used to determine the temperature and heat flux distribution at the solid–liquid interface and the profile of the evaporating drop, respectively. The temperature distribution at the solid–liquid interface was determined using a multilayer substrate consisting of a silicon wafer coated with a thin thermal insulator that is partially transparent to IR. The liquids used were water and FC-72. The evaporation rate of water drops was found to occur mostly at the contact line. However, the heat transfer distribution at the liquid–solid interface was relatively uniform, indicating the heat transferred from the wall must be transported within the drop to the contact line. The mechanisms by which this occurs have yet to be determined. In contrast, the evaporation rate of FC-72 drops where hydrothermal waves were present was found to be proportional to the liquid–vapor interface area rather than the circumference of the drop, indicating a more uniform distribution of evaporation.