The effect of substrate wettability on the breakdown of a locally heated fluid film

Abstract

The effect of the equilibrium contact angle of wetting on the dynamics of the dry patch propagation and on the critical heat flux upon the breakdown of a water film that is heated locally from the substrate side is studied experimentally. The equilibrium contact angle is varied from 27° ± 6° to 74° ± 9° (with no changes in the thermophysical properties of the system) through the use of different types of surface grinding. The studies are performed for three flow modes: (a) a fluid film that freely flows down along a substrate with an inclination of 5° to the horizon, (b) a film that moves along a horizontal substrate under the influence of hydrostatic pressure, and (c) a static film on a horizontal substrate. It is found that the substrate wettability has a significant effect on the dry patch propagation rate and its final size in all these cases, but has almost no effect on the threshold heat flux at which the breakdown of a film occurs.