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Updated: Nov 7, 2025
07:32
Pool-Boiling Heat-Transfer Enhancement on Cylindrical Surfaces with Hybrid Wettable Patterns
Published on: April 10, 2017
9.2K
Surface Topography Effects on Pool Boiling via Non-equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Simulations.
Alessio D Lavino1, Edward Smith2, Mirco Magnini3
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|April 29, 2021
Summary
Nano-structured surfaces significantly impact nucleate pool boiling. Surface topography controls bubble nucleation and heat transfer, offering insights for optimizing surfaces in thermal management.
Area of Science:
- Thermodynamics
- Surface Science
- Computational Physics
Background:
- Nucleate pool boiling is critical for heat transfer applications.
- Understanding nanoscale surface effects is key to enhancing boiling performance.
- Molecular dynamics simulations offer atomic-level insights into phase transitions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of nano-structured surface topography on nucleate pool boiling.
- To analyze how cavity aspect ratio, wall superheat, and wettability influence nucleation and film boiling.
- To rationalize the interplay of these factors using a classical nucleation theory-based model.
Main Methods:
- Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations using a Lennard-Jones system.
- Systematic parametric analysis of cavity aspect ratio, wall superheat, and wettability.
- Analysis of temperature and heat flux profiles within cavities.
Main Results:
- Nanoscale surface heterogeneity critically determines pool boiling heat transfer performance.
- Cavity size plays a crucial role in vapor embryo formation, dependent on other parameters.
- A phase diagram summarizes the dependence of nucleation on investigated parameters.
Conclusions:
- Nano-structured surfaces offer a promising approach for optimizing heat transfer.
- Tailoring surface topography can enhance energy and thermal management applications.
- Molecular-scale insights guide the design of advanced heat exchangers and cooling systems.
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