Ultrathin liquid film nucleate boiling on grooved surfaces with variational aspect ratio

ZR Li and ZY Wang and W Shao and Q Cao and Z Cui, THERMAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROGRESS, 43, 102023 (2023).

DOI: 10.1016/j.tsep.2023.102023

The nanostructured surface plays a significant role in enhancing nucleate boiling heat transfer. The nucleate boiling process on rectangular grooved surfaces with constant groove area and varying aspect ratio is studied through molecular dynamics simulation. The results show that rectangular grooves can significantly accelerate the initial bubble nucleation time and delay the transition from bubble nucleation to film boiling. The maximum advancement in nucleation time is 2200 ps, and the delay in the transition time from bubble nucleation to film boiling can reach a maximum of 800 ps. In addition, with the increase in aspect ratio, the bubble nucleation time in rectangular grooves is first shortened and then increased. From the analysis of kinetic and potential energy, it can be seen that the liquid argon atom in the groove can obtain heat from both sides of the wall simultaneously. As the groove width decreases, the heat accumulation from both sides of the wall becomes more pronounced. However, when the width is extremely narrow, bubbles cannot be generated first in the groove due to the limitation of geometric structure and low potential energy solid-like region inside the groove.

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