Experimental study of droplet evaporation on the inclined plane under the periodically varying directional electric field.

The droplet evaporation on inclined surfaces is common in engineering applications. Hence, it is necessary to understand and enhance the droplet evaporation characteristics on inclined surface. The existing studies have confirmed that electric field can enhance the droplet evaporation rate on horizontal surfaces and the droplet evaporation characteristics on inclined surfaces is different from that on horizontal surface. Therefore, in order to explore the effect of electric field on the droplet evaporation characteristics at inclined plane, the droplet evaporation at different inclination plane and various electric field conditions is investigated by experiment. It is found that the electric field can greatly enhance the droplet evaporation rate on inclined surface, and the enhancement effect is better than that of applying electric field to the droplet on horizontal surfaces. Different direction switching frequencies of electric field have different effects on evaporation rate, and increasing the electric field strength can enhance the evaporation rate continuously. Moreover, the droplet evaporation pattern on inclined surfaces is not affected by the electric field, but the internal vortex flow and heat transfer efficiency are enhanced. Particularly, the droplet oscillation basically disappears after the inclination angle larger than 10°. [Display omitted] • Electric field has better effect for droplet on tilt plane than on horizon. • The curve of evaporation time with tilt angle varies at different electric field. • The droplet oscillation disappears when plane is tilted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]