Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Nanofilm Boiling on Graphene-Coated Surface

YZ Tang and XG Zhang and Y Lin and J Xue and Y He and LX Ma, ADVANCED THEORY AND SIMULATIONS, 2, 1900065 (2019).

DOI: 10.1002/adts.201900065

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are conducted to investigate the effect of graphene coating on nanofilm boiling on an atomically smooth surface. Transition of boiling modes from normal evaporation to explosive boiling is observed on both bare and graphene-coated surfaces. The onset temperature of explosive boiling on the graphene-coated surface is approximately 170 K, which is extremely close to the value of approximately 160 K on the bare surface. A hydrophobic surface is also artificially fabricated to verify the effect of surface wettability on nanofilm boiling and the significance of graphene coating. The onset temperature of explosive boiling on the hydrophobic surface is much higher than that on the hydrophilic and graphene-coated surfaces. Additionally, the critical heat flux of the nanofilm boiling on the graphene-coated surface is slightly lower than that on the bare hydrophilic surface. Results confirm that graphene coating is almost useless, and even harmful to the heat transfer enhancement of the nanofilm boiling.

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