Experimental Study of Critical Heat Flux and Heat Transfer Coefficient Enhancements in Pool Boiling Heat Transfer With Nanostructure Modified Active Nucleation Site and Contact Angle

An experimental study of nanostructure modified nucleation site density and contact angle that significantly enhances the Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) and the Critical Heat Flux (CHF) in pool boiling heat transfer of water on copper surfaces has been conducted. The nanostructures on copper surfaces have been created by an electrodeposition technique. It has been found that the nanostructured copper surfaces show an increase in CHF of up to 142% and an increase in HTC of 33% over that of a mirror-finished plain copper surface. Calculations for nucleation site density and active nucleation site diameter reveal a direct correlation between these factors and the HTC, as well as the CHF. More interestingly, a contact angle study on the tested surfaces shows that there is a connection between the contact angle reduction and CHF enhancement, which confirms the contact angle mechanism of CHF with experimental evidence.