Thermal effects of the substrate on water droplet evaporation

Abstract

We experimentally investigate the behavior of a pinned water droplet evaporating into air. The influence of the substrate temperature and substrate thermal properties on the evaporation process are studied in both hydrophilic and hydrophobic conditions. Our objective is to understand the effect of thermal mechanisms on the droplet evaporation process. The experimental results are compared with the quasisteady, diffusion-driven evaporation model, which is implemented under the influence of the temperature; the model assumes the isothermia of the droplet at the substrate temperature. The results highlight a favorable correlation between the model and the experimental data at ambient temperatures for most situations considered here. The model works to qualitatively describe the influence of the substrate temperature on the evaporation process. However, with an increase in the substrate temperature, the role of the thermal-linked mechanisms becomes increasingly important; this experiment highlights the need for more accurate models to account for the buoyant convection in vapor transport and the evaporative cooling and heat conduction between the droplet and the substrate. Finally, the experimental data reveal the modification of contact angle evolution as the temperature increases and the crucial role played by the nature of the substrate in the evaporation of a sessile droplet. The influence of the substrate thermal properties on the global evaporation rate is explained by the parallel thermal effusivity of the liquid and solid phases.