Novel solid-infused durable nonwetting surfaces for sustained condensation heat transfer enhancement

Abstract

• Presents novel nonwetting solid-infused surfaces for condensation enhancement. • Solid-infused surfaces demonstrate four-fold larger condensation heat transfer. • Solid-infused surfaces are durable than conventional nonwetting surface. • Solid-infused surfaces overcome the challenges of conventional nonwetting surfaces. In this article, we report novel nonwetting solid-infused surfaces that are easily fabricated using industrially widely adopted methods such as chemical etching or electrodeposition and demonstrate sustained dropwise condensation performance durably than superhydrophobic and lubricant-infused surfaces. Solid-infused surfaces demonstrate four-fold larger condensation heat transfer coefficient and 25% better condensation effectiveness when compared to superhydrophobic surface and conventional filmwise condensation. Although the condensation heat transfer coefficient of lubricant-infused surface initially matches that of solid-infused surface, it is shown through durability studies that the wettability characteristic that underpins the performance of lubricant-infused surfaces degrades quickly with time as the lubricant depletes and lubricant-infused surface transitions to superhydrophobic surface. Solid-infused surface, on the other hand, retains its steadfast superior dropwise condensation effectiveness in the long run, overcoming the challenges of droplet pinning, surface inundation, cloaking, and lubricant depletion that eventually deteriorate condensation on conventional nonwetting superhydrophobic and lubricant-infused surfaces.