Heat and Mass Transfer in the Corner Flow Region of Vertical Microgrooves

Evaporation of the thin film formed in microgrooves is associated with high heat transfer rates. One of the factors that limits this heat transfer is the capacity of the microgroove to drive fluid into the thin film. The mass flow rate and mass flux in the corner flow region of a microgroove is experimentally and theoretically investigated in this work. The experiments yield the speed at which wetting occurs in vertical microgrooves. The wetting speed reflects the balance between the gravitational, viscous and capillary forces acting on the film. A force balance is also conducted on the liquid in the corner flow region of the microgrooves. This analysis allows a calculation of the maximum amount of liquid that the microgrooves can drive to the evaporating surface in the corner flow region, which in turn determines the maximum evaporation rate in this localized area.