Interfacial Heat Transfer During Droplet Impact on a Solid Surface: Comparison of High-Resolution Laser Measurements With Finite-Element Simulations

The objective of this work is to understand the coupling of fluid dynamics and heat transfer during the impact of a millimeter-size water droplet on a flat, solid glass substrate. In this work, a finite-element model is presented which simulates the transient fluid dynamics and heat transfer during the droplet deposition process, considering Laplace forces on the liquid-gas boundary, and the dynamics of wetting. A novel, experimental laser-based method is used to measure temperatures at the solid-liquid interface. This method is based on a thermoreflectance technique and provides unprecedented temporal and spatial resolutions of 1 microsecond and 20 micrometer, respectively. Matching between simulations, temperature measurements and high-speed visualization allows the determination of the interfacial heat transfer coefficient.