Enhanced condensation heat transfer for water and low surface tension fluids

Abstract

Vapor condensation is routinely used as an effective means of transferring heat or separating fluids for applications ranging from personal electronic device thermal management to natural gas processing and electric power generation. Filmwise condensation, where the condensed fluid forms a liquid film, is prevalent in typical industrial-scale systems. Conversely, dropwise condensation, where the condensate forms discrete liquid droplets, results in an improvement in heat transfer performance of up to an order of magnitude compared to filmwise condensation. We explored rare earth oxides (REOs) as a potential coating to induce dropwise condensation of water; specifically, we experimentally demonstrated that the mechanism for REO hydrophobicity results from adsorption of contaminants from the atmosphere. We also used graphene, which is hydrophobic in nature, as a coating to achieve robust dropwise water condensation. With a graphene coating, we demonstrated a 4x improvement in water condensation heat transfer compared to filmwise condensation with robustness superior to state-of-the-art hydrophobic monolayer coatings. Meanwhile, low surface tension condensates pose a unique challenge since they often form a film, even on hydrophobic coatings. Lubricant infused surfaces (LIS) represent a potential solution, where a lubricant immiscible with the low surface tension condensate is infused into a rough structure on the condenser surface to repel the condensate. We developed a detailed surface-energy-based model to provide design guidelines for any arbitrary LIS system. We then characterized heat transfer coefficients during condensation of low surface tension fluids on LIS in a controlled environmental chamber for the first time, where a 5x improvement was demonstrated compared to filmwise condensation. The improved condensation heat transfer coefficients realized by LIS for low surface tension fluids and by REOs and graphene for water present opportunities for significant energy savings in device thermal management, heating and cooling, and power generation.