Evaporation and Fluid Flow in Thin Film Regions

University Of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO

Investigators

Abstract

The proposal is for an experimental and analytical investigation to improve the understanding of evaporation mechanisms and the effects of individual forces on fluid flow and heat transfer in thin films under high heat flux conditions. The PI will develop an analytical model for thin film evaporation that includes thermocapillary force, surface tension, friction, wetting, and disjoining pressure. He will also develop an experimental system to measure film thickness, interface velocity and film profile under high heat flux conditions. The effects of electrostatic fields on the disjoining pressure and the effects of surface microstructures on the thin film evaporation will also be addressed. The results would help advance applications in a variety of emerging technologies in which microchannel evaporative flows occur.