Novel Numerical Method for Studying Water Freezing on Surfaces Texturized by Laser

Area of Science:

• Surface Science
• Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Heat Transfer

Background:

• Understanding droplet freezing on surfaces is crucial for various applications, including anti-icing and microfluidics.
• Surface texturization is a known method to control wetting and freezing phenomena.
• Existing numerical models often struggle to accurately capture the complexities of freezing on micro-patterned surfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a numerical methodology for simulating water droplet freezing on micrometer-scale texturized surfaces.
• To investigate the influence of different surface texturization patterns (linear, triangular) on droplet freezing behavior.
• To compare the predictive capabilities of the numerical model against experimental freezing delay data.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the finite volume method for numerical simulations of droplet behavior.
• The simulation process involved two stages: droplet stabilization and freezing.
• Incorporated energy equations and temperature boundary conditions for the freezing phase.
• Generated numerical models based on laser-texturized polyurethane-coated metal substrates.

Main Results:

• The numerical methodology successfully simulated droplet stabilization and freezing processes.
• The model demonstrated an ability to compare the freezing delay capabilities of different texturized patterns.
• Accurate prediction of absolute freezing delay time was not achieved, but relative comparisons were valid.

Conclusions:

• The proposed numerical methodology is valuable for comparative analysis of surface texturization effects on droplet freezing.
• The model provides insights into wetting and freezing dynamics on rough surfaces, aiding fundamental understanding.
• Further refinement may enhance the accuracy of predicting absolute freezing delay times.