A Leidenfrost Point Model for Impinging Droplets and Sprays

Abstract

This study presents, for impinging droplets and sprays, a model of the Leidenfrost point (LFP); the minimum liquid/solid interface temperature required to support film boiling on a smooth surface. The present model is an extension of a previously developed sessile drop model, based on bubble nucleation, growth, and merging criteria, as well as surface cavity size characterization [3]. The basic concept of the model is that for liquid/solid interface temperatures at and above the LFP, a sufficient number of cavities are activated and the bubble growth rates are sufficiently fast that a continuous vapor layer is established nearly instantaneously between the liquid and the solid. For impinging droplets, the influence of the rise in interfacial pressure created by the impact of the droplet with the surface, must be accounted for in determining fluid properties at the liquid-solid interface. The effect of droplet impact velocity on the LFP predicted by the model is verified for single impinging droplets, streams of droplets, as well as sprays. While the model was developed for smooth surfaces on which the roughness asperities are of the same magnitude as the cavity radii (0.1–1.0 μm), it is capable of predicting the boundary or limiting Leidenfrost temperature for rougher surfaces with good accuracy.