Molecular Insight into Bubble Nucleation on the Surface with Wettability Transition at Controlled Temperatures

Bai, Pu; Zhou, Leping; Huang, Xiaonuo; Du, Xiaoze

doi:10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01121

Cited by 15 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(114 reference statements)

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“…Studies range from enhancements based on boiling fluid modification, [ 9,10 ] such as with the addition of nanoparticles (i.e., nanofluids) [ 11,12 ] or with mixtures of different surface tensions, [ 13,14 ] to studies focusing on surface modification, [ 15,16 ] with an emphasis on changing the surface topography [ 17,18 ] and morphology [ 19,20 ] alongside with its wetting behavior. [ 21,22 ]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superbiphilic Laser‐Microengineered Surfaces with A Self‐Assembled Monolayer Coating for Exceptional Boiling Performance

Hadžić,

Može,

Zupančič

et al. 2023

Adv Funct Materials

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The rapid advancement of engineering systems has spurred the search for innovative thermal management solutions. Boiling, as a phase‐change heat transfer method, has shown promise in heat dissipation, but non‐functionalized surfaces struggle with increasing cooling demands. To improve heat dissipation efficiency across different heat loads, functionalized surfaces with tailored wettability have been proposed. Separately, superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic surfaces each offer benefits and drawbacks in boiling applications but combining them on a single “biphilic” surface simultaneously harnesses their advantages. In this study, laser‐functionalized copper surfaces with spatially tailored wettability are developed by combining two‐step laser texturing with a self‐assembled monolayer coating, while focus is placed on the impact of the size and pitch of superhydrophobic spots. The developed functionalized surfaces exhibit exceptional boiling performance with heat transfer coefficients up to 299 kW m−2 K−1, a 434% enhancement over untreated surfaces. Optimal ratios of superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic areas and optimal spot pitch are identified. Additionally, varying behavior at different heat flux levels is observed, emphasizing the importance of considering thermal loads when determining the optimal surface pattern. This advancement in performance, along with the rapid and cost‐effective functionalization process, represents a significant breakthrough for enhanced thermal management applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superbiphilic Laser‐Microengineered Surfaces with A Self‐Assembled Monolayer Coating for Exceptional Boiling Performance

Hadžić,

Može,

Zupančič

et al. 2023

Adv Funct Materials

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“…To understand the physical mechanism of bubble nucleation from a molecular view, we computed the intensity I of solid–liquid interaction energy (simulation details are in Section S3 of the Supporting Information), which represents an energy per unit area , to separate a group of particles into two parts and can be used to evaluate the energy barrier of bubble nucleation. As shown in Figure a, the value of I is manipulated by the surface wettability and structures; rough surfaces have a lower interaction energy intensity than corresponding smooth surfaces (i.e., R o < S o , R i < S i , R io < S io , and R oi < S oi ), with decreases of 58.35%, 21.03%, 21.40%, and 19.47%, respectively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure shows that bubble nuclei first originate at the base corner of nanopillars on the surface R o . To analyze the behaviors of bubble nucleation, we computed the potential energy , U of one single water molecule at the solid–liquid interface. Taking the surface R o for example, as shown in Figure b, we chose a structural unit (one single pillar) and calculated the potential energy between one single water molecule and all solid atoms according to the 12-6 LJ potential function.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A molecular-scale understanding of the dynamics, the controlling factors, and the mechanisms of boiling bubbles is crucial to design rapid and efficient boiling processes. Although some numerical studies on boiling have been conducted through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in the past decade, − the intuitive visualization and observation of bubble nucleation and growth are lacking, and the mechanism of the initial bubble behaviors merits an in-depth interpretation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nanoscale Thin-Film Boiling Processes on Heterogeneous Surfaces

Gao

Liu

et al. 2022

Langmuir

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Acquiring rapid and efficient boiling processes has been the focus of industry as they have the potential to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon emissions of production processes. Here, we report nanoscale thin-film boiling on different heterogeneous surfaces. Through nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulation, we captured the triple-phase interface details, visualized the bubble nucleation, and recorded the internal fluid flow and thermal characteristics. It is found that nanoscale thin-film boiling without the occurrence of bubble nucleation shows excellent heat and mass transfer performance, which differs from macroscale boiling. In general, rough structures advance the onset time of stable boiling and improve the efficiency. The heat transfer coefficient and heat flux on a rough hydrophilic surface respectively reach to 7.43 × 104 kW/(m2·K) and 1.3 × 106 kW/m2 at a surface temperature of 500 K, which are 100-fold higher than those of micrometer-scale thin-film boiling. However, due to the resultant vapor film trapped between the liquid and the surface, the rough hydrophobic surface leads to heat transfer deterioration instead. It is revealed that the underlying mechanism of regulatory effects resulting from surface physicochemical properties is originated from the variation of interfacial thermal resistance. It is available to reduce the overall interfacial resistance and further improve the heat and mass transfer efficiency through increasing surface roughness, enhancing surface wettability, and increasing the area proportion of the hydrophilic region. This work provides guidelines to achieve rapid and efficient thin-liquid-film boiling and serves as a reference for the optimized design of surfaces utilized for high-heat flux removal through vaporization processes.

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“…They explained the difference in heat transfer enhancement efficiency caused by various nanostructure types from the perspective of interfacial thermal resistance. Bai et al 15 simulated the bubble nucleation process on surfaces of temperature-dependent wettability. The incipient nucleation time was found to be shorter compared to surfaces of mixed wettability or with hydrophilic nanostructures.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Dynamics Study on the Combined Effects of the Nanostructure and Wettability of Solid Surfaces on Bubble Nucleation

Zhou

Wei

2022

Langmuir

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In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are conducted to investigate the bubble nucleation process of liquid argon on surfaces with a nanostructure of different wettabilities. To account for the combined effects of the nanostructure and surface wettability on bubble nucleation, the variation of the bubble volume, the nucleation starting time, as well as the heat flux between the solid surface and fluid are examined. It is found that the position of bubble nucleation depends on the pillar wettability. Bubble nucleation occurs in the bulk of fluid when the pillar is hydrophilic, while it occurs on the pillar surface when the pillar is hydrophobic. Under an integrated influence of the free-energy barrier of nucleation and heat transfer, the nucleation occurs later as the wettability of the pillar gets weaker over surfaces with the hydrophilic pillar, while it occurs earlier as the wettability of the pillar gets weaker over surfaces with the hydrophobic pillar. Moreover, the peak heat flux decreases with the decrease of the pillar wettability over surfaces with the hydrophilic pillar, while it increases with the decrease of the pillar wettability over surfaces with the hydrophobic pillar, which can be explained from the perspective of the heat transfer efficiency and the timing of phase change occurrence. Finally, a new surface with mixed-wettable pillars is proposed, which is verified to be conducive to both bubble nucleation and heat transfer.

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Molecular Insight into Bubble Nucleation on the Surface with Wettability Transition at Controlled Temperatures

Cited by 15 publications

References 51 publications

Superbiphilic Laser‐Microengineered Surfaces with A Self‐Assembled Monolayer Coating for Exceptional Boiling Performance

Superbiphilic Laser‐Microengineered Surfaces with A Self‐Assembled Monolayer Coating for Exceptional Boiling Performance

Nanoscale Thin-Film Boiling Processes on Heterogeneous Surfaces

Molecular Dynamics Study on the Combined Effects of the Nanostructure and Wettability of Solid Surfaces on Bubble Nucleation

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