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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Thermocapillary Convection Space Experiment on the SJ-10 Recoverable Satellite
Published on: March 11, 2020
Energy transport by thermocapillary convection during Sessile-Water-droplet evaporation
1Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Thermodynamics and Kinetics Laboratory, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Abstract:
The energy transport mechanisms of a sessile-water droplet evaporating steadily while maintained on a Cu substrate are compared. Buoyancy-driven convection is eliminated, but thermal conduction and thermocapillary convection are active. The dominant mode varies along the interface. Although neglected in previous studies, near the three-phase line, thermocapillary convection is by far the larger mode of energy transport, and this is the region where most of the droplet evaporation occurs.
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