Condensation on surface energy gradient shifts drop size distribution toward small drops

During dropwise condensation from vapor onto a cooled surface, distributions of drops evolve by nucleation, growth, and coalescence. Drop surface coverage dictates the heat transfer characteristics and depends on both drop size and number of drops present on the surface at any given time. Thus, manipulating drop distributions is crucial to maximizing heat transfer. On earth, manipulation is achieved with gravity. However, in applications with small length scales or in low gravity environments, other methods of removal, such as a surface energy gradient, are required. This study examines how chemical modification of a cooled surface affects drop growth and coalescence, which in turn influences how a population of drops evolves. Steam is condensed onto a horizontally oriented surface that has been treated by silanization to deliver either a spatially uniform contact angle (hydrophilic, hydrophobic) or a continuous radial gradient of contact angles (hydrophobic to hydrophilic). The time evolution of number density and associated drop size distributions are measured. For a uniform surface, the shape of the drop size distribution is unique and can be used to identify the progress of condensation. In contrast, the drop size distribution for a gradient surface, relative to a uniform surface, shifts toward a population of small drops. The frequent sweeping of drops truncates maturation of the first generation of large drops and locks the distribution shape at the initial distribution. The absence of a shape change indicates that dropwise condensation has reached a steady state. Previous reports of heat transfer enhancement on chemical gradient surfaces can be explained by this shift toward smaller drops, from which the high heat transfer coefficients in dropwise condensation are attributed to. Terrestrial applications using gravity as the primary removal mechanism also stand to benefit from inclusion of gradient surfaces because the critical threshold size required for drop movement is reduced.