Electrophoretic deposition surfaces to enhance HFE-7200 pool boiling heat transfer and critical heat flux

Abstract

Modulated nanoparticle-coating surfaces were fabricated by an improved electrophoretic deposition technique in this study. Pool boiling experiments were studied for HFE-7200 on the modulated nanoparticle-coating surfaces, with a smooth surface and uniform coating surfaces as comparison. It was found that the present modulated coating surfaces can enhance the heat transfer coefficient and the critical heat flux by 60% and 20%–40%, respectively, in comparison to the smooth surface, while the uniform coating surface can improve heat transfer coefficients by maximum 100%, but cannot enhance critical heat fluxes. Heat transfer on the modulated nanoparticle-coating surfaces was theoretically analyzed by a mechanistic model which considered free convection, transient conduction and microlayer evaporation. The heat transfer can be predicted by the model, especially at low-to-moderate heat fluxes. Additionally, referring to the bubble visualization at critical heat fluxes, possible mechanisms to trigger critical heat fluxes were discussed. Afterwards, a critical heat flux model originating from the Zuber hydrodynamic instability model, was employed to predict the experimental results, showing a good prediction ability.