Vapor Flux on Bumpy Surfaces: Condensation and Transpiration on Leaves

Abstract

Drop condensation and evaporation as a result of the gradient in vapor concentration are important in both engineering and natural systems. One of the interesting natural examples is transpiration on plant leaves. Most of the water in the inner space of the leaves escapes through stomata, whose rate depends on the surface topography and a difference in vapor concentrations inside and just outside of the leaves. Previous research on the vapor flux on various surfaces has focused on numerically solving the vapor diffusion equation or using scaling arguments based on a simple solution with a flat surface. In this present work, we present and discuss simple analytical solutions on various 2D surface shapes (e.g., semicylinder, semiellipse, hair). The method of solving the diffusion equation is to use the complex potential theory, which provides analytical solutions for vapor concentration and flux. We find that a high mass flux of vapor is formed near the top of the microstructures while a low mass flux is developed near the stomata at the leaf surface. Such a low vapor flux near the stomata may affect transpiration in two ways. First, condensed droplets on the stomata will not grow due to a low mass flux of vapor, which will not inhibit the gas exchange through the stomatal opening. Second, the low mass flux from the atmosphere will facilitate the release of highly concentrated vapor from the substomatal space.