Explosive boiling of argon on a copper surface coated with graphene/CNT/Cu nanowire; a molecular dynamics study

Abstract

Recent advances in nanoscience have improved surface properties as an important factor in heat transfer, leading to increased heat transfer. In this study, molecular dynamics is employed to study the explosive boiling of liquid argon on various Cu-based substrates. The smooth Cu surface is considered as the reference surface, and modified Cu-based surfaces coated with graphene sheet, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and Cu-Nanowire-embedded-CNTs are investigated to find how the nanostructured coatings affect the heat transfer characteristics of the base surface. Different numbers of CNTs and CNT-Nanowires with various heights (10 Å, 20 Å, and 30 Å) are placed on the substrate. Liquid to vapor phase transition, density distribution of argon, temperature variations, and liquid argon cluster dynamics are studied. Heat transfer on the copper surface coated with graphene platelet is improved compared with the reference surface. Moreover, the results show enhanced heat transfer performance of the copper plate in presence of CNTs and CNT-Nanowires. According to the simulation results, increasing the number and height of CNTs and CNT-Nanowires on the surface improves the heat transfer performance. It is also found that the time taken for liquid argon to equilibrate with the temperature of the solid surface decreases in presence of CNTs and CNT-Nanowires.