Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026

Trapping of Micro Particles in Nanoplasmonic Optical Lattice
Published on: September 5, 2017
Inverse-Leidenfrost phenomenon on nanofiber mats on hot surfaces
Christina M Weickgenannt1, Yiyun Zhang, Suman Sinha-Ray
1Institute of Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics, Technische Universität Darmstadt, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany.
Abstract:
The Leidenfrost effect is a technically and industrially important phenomenon that severely restricts heat removal from high-heat-flux surfaces. A simple remedy to the Leidenfrost effect is provided by polymer nanofiber mats created and deposited by electrospinning on stainless steel surfaces. The influence of nanofiber mats on hydrodynamics and cooling efficiency of single drop impact onto hot surfaces has been investigated experimentally. The evolution of the drops has been recorded by a high-speed complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor camera, whereas the cooling temperature was measured by a thermocouple. A remarkable phenomenon was discovered: a mat of polymer nanofibers electrospun onto a heater surface can completely suppress the Leidenfrost effect, thereby increasing the rate of heat removal from the surface to the liquid drops significantly. The "inverse-Leidenfrost" effect is described qualitatively and quantitatively, providing clear physical reasons for the observed behavior.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II
Mechanism of heat transfer
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I
Mechanisms of Heat Transfer
Conduction, accounting for approximately 3% of body heat loss at rest, is the process of exchanging heat between molecules of two materials in direct contact. This can result in both heat loss and gain. For instance, when the body is submerged in water, which conducts heat 20 times more effectively than air, it can either lose or gain significant heat.
Frost Action on Concrete
This freeze-thaw cycle primarily causes surface scaling, where...
Heating and Cooling Curves
For instance, the addition of heat raises the temperature of a solid; the amount of heat absorbed depends on the heat capacity of the solid (q = mcsolidΔT). According to thermochemistry, the relation between the amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance, q, and its...
