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The rapid advancement of engineering systems has spurred the search for innovative thermal management solutions. Boiling, as a phase‐change heat transfer method, has shown promise in heat dissipation, but non‐functionalized surfaces struggle with increasing cooling demands. To improve heat dissipation efficiency across different heat loads, functionalized surfaces with tailored wettability have been proposed. Separately, superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic surfaces each offer benefits and drawbacks in boiling applications but combining them on a single "biphilic" surface simultaneously harnesses their advantages. In this study, laser‐functionalized copper surfaces with spatially tailored wettability are developed by combining two‐step laser texturing with a self‐assembled monolayer coating, while focus is placed on the impact of the size and pitch of superhydrophobic spots. The developed functionalized surfaces exhibit exceptional boiling performance with heat transfer coefficients up to 299 kW m−2 K−1, a 434% enhancement over untreated surfaces. Optimal ratios of superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic areas and optimal spot pitch are identified. Additionally, varying behavior at different heat flux levels is observed, emphasizing the importance of considering thermal loads when determining the optimal surface pattern. This advancement in performance, along with the rapid and cost‐effective functionalization process, represents a significant breakthrough for enhanced thermal management applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat transfer coefficient (HTC) was experimentally measured for saturated and subcooled pool boiling of binary mixtures of water and glycerin. Saturated boiling was studied for mixtures with water mass fractions ω w from 100 % to 60 % on horizontal flat nickel-plated surfaces at heat fluxes from 50 to 650 k W m − 2 at atmospheric pressure. Subcooled boiling was investigated in the range of subcooling from 0 to 30 K at heat fluxes of approximately 250, 450 and 650 k W m − 2 . It was found that mixture effects have a significant impact on saturated boiling HTC even for mixtures with very low content of glycerin as significant drops of HTC were observed for subtle changes in composition for mixtures of high ω w . Measured HTC was successfully correlated with the combination of Yagov (1999) and Inoue and Monde (2009) correlations with a mean relative error of 12 %. A simple empirical HTC correlation is also proposed. For subcooled boiling, developed subcooled boiling regime was reached for all investigated heat fluxes. For this regime, correlations, which were able to predict HTC for saturated boiling, were employed to predict subcooled boiling HTCs for all investigated concentrations, heat fluxes and subcoolings. Effect of subcooling and effect of liquid composition on total HTC were of the same importance for mixtures with higher water content. With the increase in concentration of glycerin in the mixture, decrease in total HTC with increasing subcooling became more significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating boiling heat transfer enhancement depends on reliable reference values in the form of boiling curves and critical heat flux (CHF) values. Typically, the evaluation is performed in pool boiling conditions with water at atmospheric pressure. Literature includes a wide scatter in reference values, prompting this study to comprehensively evaluate boiling performance and CHF on reference surfaces to investigate the scatter's origin and set a definitive reference value. The study recorded 125 boiling curves and CHF values on nominally identical bare copper surfaces, establishing an average boiling curve and mean CHF value. Despite consistent experimental conditions, the recorded CHF values displayed significant variability with a mean CHF of 1112 ± 102 kW m−2 and a scatter from 902 kW m−2 (−19 % of average CHF) to 1339 kW m−2 (+25 % of average CHF). Using Rohsenow's correlation on the average boiling curve, a C sf factor of 0.0151 was obtained. The acquired CHF data is proposed to serve as a foundational benchmark for future research in enhancing pool boiling heat transfer. [Display omitted] • Measurement of 125 boiling curves on nominally identical copper samples. • Average CHF determined as 1112 kW m−2 ± 102 kW/m−2. • Determination of the average boiling curve for water boiling on bare copper. • Fitting of Rohsenow's correlation, yielding average C sf = 0.0151. • Compilation of a CHF database as a foundational benchmark for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cavity- and spear-type TiO 2 nanostructures are prepared by hydrothermal treatment. • Nucleation-promoting cavity morphology is superior to spear-like microstructure. • Hydrophobic surface with microcavities (CTH) provides HTC enhancement of over 200%. • High nucleation site density on CHT surface narrows surface temperature distribution. • ONB at 2.5 K and D b of 0.55 mm are observed on hydrophobic microcavity surface. Surface engineering aimed at tuning the wettability and morphology of the boiling surface is a facile approach to moderate and enhance the nucleate boiling process. Key issues include control over the active nucleation site density, bubble departure frequency and liquid replenishment of active nucleation sites while simultaneously reducing the bubble nucleation temperature. In this study, we fabricated spear-type (ST) and cavity-type (CT) TiO 2 nanostructures on 25 μm titanium foils via hydrothermal etching in an alkaline solution. High-speed IR and video cameras were used to detect local phenomena in terms of temperature and heat flux fluctuations and observe the bubble dynamics during saturated pool boiling of water. Intrinsically hydrophilic ST and CT surfaces provided a moderate overall enhancement of the heat transfer coefficient compared to an untreated surface due to increased nucleation site density and bubble frequency. The CT surface also decreased the bubble nucleation temperature due to effective vapor-entrapping and nucleation-promoting cavities. In a further step, both surfaces were hydrophobized through chemical vapor deposition of a fluorinated silane to tailor the wettability of the surface into a superhydrophobic state. This further reduced the average surface superheat by at least 40%, while the nucleation frequencies exceeded 200 Hz on the hydrophobized CT surface. In comparison with the untreated reference surface, the heat transfer coefficient on hydrophobized ST and CT surfaces was enhanced by 89% and 237% at 100 kW m−2, respectively. Moreover, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) value of the surface temperature distribution was reduced by 73% and 95% at the same heat flux, respectively. The study confirms that hydrophobic surface treatment can significantly enhance the nucleate boiling process when combined with an appropriate surface structure. Despite the affinity between the vapor and the hydrophobic layer, the cavity-type and spear-type TiO 2 structures are able to maintain active nucleation sites well-separated, which prevents the undesirable vapor spreading that possibly leads to an early onset of critical heat flux. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boiling is a prevalent phase-change process that plays a vital role in facilitating efficient heat transfer from a heating surface. While this heat transfer mechanism is generally effective, a rapid increase in surface temperature can lead to hydrodynamic instabilities, resulting in a boiling crisis. Previous studies have shown that surfactants often improve boiling performance and change the boiling crisis behavior. Conventional wisdom in this field attributes that these changes in boiling behavior are tied to the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the particular surfactant. However, our work reveals that these changes in boiling behavior are independent of the CMC for three nonionic surfactants across a wide range of molar concentrations. In addition, visual snapshots of the bubbling behavior indicate changes in bubble formation, such as bubble size and nucleation site density, influenced by the molar concentration-dependent diffusion timescale of surfactants. Hence, these findings offer compelling evidence that boiling behavior, encompassing both boiling performance and boiling crisis, is governed by the dynamic adsorption of surfactants rather than dictated by the CMC. This becomes evident when quantifying the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and critical heat flux (CHF) using the logarithm of molar concentration, as predicted by theory. Building upon these findings, we propose insights for controlling when CHF modification occurs in specific scenarios involving any surfactants. These insights hold significant potential for optimizing heat transfer processes and leveraging surfactants in energy-related applications to maximize boiling efficiency. • Boiling is influenced by surfactant adsorption dynamics. • Similar bubbling observed for different surfactants at the same molar concentrations. • Molar concentration-dependent diffusion governs boiling behavior. • Boiling trends validated with different boiler and surface type. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]