The effect of surface roughness on the pool boiling of water is studied. Five aluminum surfaces of varying roughness were prepared: one polished (0.062 μm RMS) and four roughened by electrical discharge machining (EDM) with surface roughness of 1.37, 2.81, 7.37, and 12.53 μm RMS. All experiments were performed in water at atmospheric pressure and saturation temperature. The roughest EDM surface showed up to a 100% improvement in the heat transfer coefficient compared to the polished surface. The other EDM surfaces (1.37, 2.81, and 7.37 μm) showed up to a 60% enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient compared to the polished surface. Constants are proposed for prediction of pool boiling in water from the polished and rough aluminum surfaces studied using the Rohsenow pool boiling correlation.

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