Length Of Three-phase Contact Line Research Articles

Pore network simulation of loop heat pipe evaporator with different pore size distribution

To investigate the relationship between the loop heat pipe evaporator heat-transfer coefficient and wick pore size distribution, this work simulated the two−phase thermal hydraulics in the evaporator by pore network model in three dimensions. The simulation considered a liquid–vapor (L–V) two-phase state in the wick, which is induced by nucleate boiling and local pore-scale fluid dynamics. Some wick samples, while having the same macroscopic porous characteristics such as permeability, were created with different pore size distributions. Heat transfer and fluid flow of the evaporator were solved with ammonia and R134a as working fluids, along with stainless-steel and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) porous materials. Each evaporator showed a different evaporator heat-transfer coefficient and maximum applied heat flux. Some characteristics with respect to the L–V phase distribution in the wick were selected to investigate their correlation with heat-transfer coefficients. As a result, the correlation coefficients with the three-phase contact line (TPCL) length ranged from 0.70 to 0.91. Only the TPCL showed a correlation with the heat-transfer coefficients in all conditions, as opposed to the vapor pocket maximum depth and liquid saturation. It was discovered that the TPCL length is proportional to the heat-transfer coefficients. In all cases, the TPCL length and heat-transfer coefficients reached a maximum at moderate pore size dispersion. In addition, The heat-transfer coefficients of the PTFE wick were more sensitive to the TPCL length than that of the stainless-steel one. The discovery helps enhance the thermal performance of the evaporator porous structural design by additive manufacturing.

Enhanced lignite flotation using interfacial nanobubbles based on temperature difference method

Froth flotation is the primary method for the separation and upgrading of fine coal particles. However, this method is ineffective for lignite which is more hydrophilic than other types of coal due to the abundant oxygenated functional groups, cracks, and micropores on its surface. This study develops a new method that introduces interfacial nanobubbles (INBs) based on the temperature difference method for enhancing lignite flotation. The mechanism of lignite flotation enhanced by INBs is systematically explained through the induction time and bubble-particle collision-attachment behavior. The experimental results show that the lignite flotation efficiency is evidently improved using the temperature difference method. AFM imaging of the changes on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surface due to temperature difference demonstrate the production of INBs. In the presence of INBs, the induction time of lignite can be reduced from 400 ms to 27.21 ms, the number of bubble-particle collisions from 4 to 3, and the attachment time from 208 ms to 128 ms. When a macroscopic air bubble approaches to a lignite surface with INBs, the air bubble first merges with the INBs, not only decreasing the induction time but also increasing the apparent contact angle and length of three-phase contact line.

Crystallization of Femtoliter Surface Droplet Arrays Revealed by Synchrotron Small-Angle X-ray Scattering.

The crystallization of oil droplets is critical in the processing and storage of lipid-based food and pharmaceutical products. Arrays of femtoliter droplets on a surface offer a unique opportunity to study surfactant-free colloidlike systems. In this work, the crystal growth process in these confined droplets was followed by cooling a model lipid (trimyristin) from a liquid state utilizing synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The measurements by SAXS demonstrated a reduced crystallization rate and a greater degree of supercooling required to trigger lipid crystallization in droplets compared to those of bulk lipids. These results suggest that surface droplets crystallize in a stochastic manner. Interestingly, the crystallization rate is slower for larger femtoliter droplets, which may be explained by the onset of crystallization from the three-phase contact line. The larger surface nanodroplets exhibit a smaller ratio of droplet volume to the length of three-phase contact line and hence a slower crystallization rate.

Optimization of wick shape in a loop heat pipe for high heat transfer

This paper presents a method to optimize wick shape in the capillary evaporator of loop heat pipes and capillary pumped loops. The evaporator heat-transfer coefficient is maximized using only the length of a three-phase contact line (TPCL) within the case, wick, and grooves as a variable wick dimension. The heat-transfer coefficient is formulated taking the following two particular aspects into account. The heat-transfer coefficient initially increases with TPCL length. However, when TPCL becomes too long, the heat-transfer coefficient decreases because of a large pressure loss in the grooves. The proposed model is validated experimentally. Both the model and experiment show the heat-transfer coefficient reached a local maximum in terms of the TPCL length. It is concluded that wick shape can be optimized by just using the TPCL length. The effects of the material of an evaporator’s case, wick, and working fluid are also discussed.

Contact line characteristics of liquid–gas interfaces over grooved surfaces

Surface wetting is an important phenomenon in many industrial processes including micro- and nanofluidics. The wetting characteristics depend on the surface tension forces at the three-phase contact line and can be altered by introducing patterned groove structures. This study investigates the effect of the grooves on the transition in the wetting behavior between the Cassie to Wenzel regimes. The experiments demonstrate that the wettability on a patterned surface depends on the spacing factor (S = channel depth/channel width). The spacing factor influences the contact angle, contact angle hysteresis, and the transition characteristics between the Cassie and Wenzel states. It was noted that under certain conditions (S > 1) the droplet behaved as a Cassie droplet, while exhibiting Wenzel wetting the rest of the time on the silicon microchannels tested. This criterion was used to design the groove structures on the sidewall of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell gas channel to remove the water effectively. The water coming from the land region into the gas channel is pulled by the grooves to the top wall where the airflow aided in its removal. Also, the contact angles measured on the surfaces were compared with the classical models that use wetted area, and the contact line model that uses the three-phase contact line length. It was found in our experiments that the contact line model predicts the contact angle on the patterned groove surfaces more accurately than the classical models.

Water Collection Behavior and Hanging Ability of Bioinspired Fiber

Since the water-collecting ability of the wetted cribellate spider capture silk is the result of a unique fiber structure, bioinspired fibers have been researched significantly so as to expose a new water-acquiring route in fogging-collection projects. However, the design of the geometry of bioinspired fiber is related to the ability of hanging drops, which has not been investigated in depth so far. Here, we fabricate bioinspired fibers to investigate the water collection behavior and the influence of geometry (i.e., periodicity of spindle knot) on the hanging-drop ability. We especially discuss water collection related to the periodicity of geometry on the bioinspired fiber. We reveal the length of the three phase contact line (TCL) at threshold conditions in conjunction with the maximal volume of a hanging drop at different modes. The study demonstrates that the geometrical structure of bioinspired fiber induces much stronger water hanging ability than that of uniform fiber, attributed to such special geometry that offers effectively an increasing TCL length or limits the contact length to be shorted. In addition, the geometry also improves the fog-collection efficiency by controlling tiny water drops to be collected in the large water drops at a given location.

Single nozzle spray cooling heat transfer mechanisms

An investigation into single nozzle spray cooling heat transfer mechanisms with varying amounts of dissolved gas was performed using two powerful techniques. Time and space resolved heat transfer distributions produced by a single nozzle were measured using an array of individually controlled microheaters, while visualization and measurements of the liquid–solid contact area and the three-phase contact line length were made using a total internal reflectance technique. The presence of dissolved gas increased the effective subcooling of the liquid, and shifted the spray cooling curves to higher wall temperatures, but CHF was also increased. The phase-change heat transfer contribution was found to correlate directly with the contact line length for the experimental conditions tested.

Spray Cooling Using Multiple Nozzles: Visualization and Wall Heat Transfer Measurements

Time- and space-resolved heat transfer data on a nominally isothermal surface, cooled by two spray nozzles, were obtained using an array of individually controlled microheaters. Visualization and measurements of the liquid-solid contact area and three-phase contact line length were made using a total internal reflectance technique. The spacing between the nozzles and the heated surface was varied between 7 and 17 mm. Little interaction between the two sprays was observed for the tested conditions, with the heat flux due to a single nozzle remaining comparable to that due to two nozzles, provided the areas considered were limited to the regions impacted by the sprays. Variations in the heat transfer across the surface, however, increased significantly with decreasing nozzle-to-heater spacing. The phase change heat transfer was strongly correlated with the length of the three-phase contact line and was not correlated with the wetted area.