Manipulation of droplets and bubbles for thermal applications

Abstract

Liquid–vapor phase change including evaporation, boiling, and condensation is a ubiquitous process found in power generation, desalination, thermal management, building heating and cooling, and additive manufacturing. The dynamics of droplets and bubbles during phase change including nucleation, growth, and departure critically influence the thermal transport performance and system efficiency. This review will highlight recent advancements using static and dynamic strategies to manipulate droplets and bubbles for phase change applications and beyond.

Fluid manipulationviamultifunctional lubricant infused slippery surfaces: principle, design and applications

“…Superhydrophobic surfaces as effective gas carriers facilitate multiphase reactions containing gases. [88][89][90][91] Nevertheless, superhydrophobic properties will be ineffective in humid, petroleum, and high-pressure environments due to the suppression or deterioration of air among micro/nanostructures. When SHB surfaces are underwater for a long time, there is an irreversible Cassie to Wenzel state transition on its surface, i.e., a gradual replacement of the gas by water in the micronano structure, which will make the SHB surface no longer attractive to the gas and lose the ability to manipulate bubbles.…”

Ultrasonic tweezer for multifunctional droplet manipulation

“…Controllable droplet manipulation is valuable in various practical applications, such as biological detection (1,2), chemical reactions (3,4), water harvesting (5)(6)(7), and heat management (8)(9)(10). Various external stimuli including magnetism (11)(12)(13)(14)(15), electricity (16)(17)(18)(19), and light (20)(21)(22) are introduced to achieve more flexible and precise droplet manipulation on superhydrophobic surfaces.…”

Out-of-Plane Biphilic Surface Structuring for Enhanced Capillary-Driven Dropwise Condensation

“…On the other hand, hydrophobic surfaces usually enable dropwise condensation wherein water droplets nucleate, grow, coalesce, and depart periodically. This leads to a significantly higher overall heat-transfer coefficient. − For this reason, several works in recent years have investigated surface characteristics enabling passive, controlled droplet departure during dropwise condensation on metallic surfaces. − …”

“…This leads to a significantly higher overall heat-transfer coefficient. 3 − 5 For this reason, several works in recent years have investigated surface characteristics enabling passive, controlled droplet departure during dropwise condensation on metallic surfaces. 6 − 10 …”