Entropy Minimization in an Evaporating Thin Liquid Film in Capillary Tubes

An analysis has been provided for the entropy generated for the micro/nano scale heat and mass transfer in a capillary tube in terms of the gradients of velocity, temperature and concentration as well as the physical properties of the fluid. The heat and mass transfer rates are assumed to be uniform on the surface of the capillary tube. The optimum tube diameter that corresponds to the minimization of entropy generated and minimization of fluid flow resistance is about one millimeter. We have applied the method of thermodynamic optimization to capillary driven systems.