Mechanism of heat transfer enhancement by nanochannels copper plate interface wettability: A molecular dynamics study

Nanostructure and wettability present great potentials on high power electronics cooling. However, it is challenging to design optimal nanostructure for thermal management due to the mechanism of interaction between structure and wettability on boiling heat transfer which is not explicit. In this paper, a series of rough surfaces with different wettability were modeled to study the relationship between effects of nanostructure and wettability on rapid boiling. The simulation results showed that the increment of nanochannels height, which resulted in the enlargement of hydrophilic area, significantly promoted supply of liquid water and thermal energy transfer. What's more, potential energy and the density of water molecules on nanochannels zone were similar to that on hydrophobic zone, promoting nucleation points formation and evaporation. Based on those results, thermal design theory of optimized surface is established: big hydrophilic area, more nucleation points and potential energy difference of water molecules between hydrophilic zone and nucleation point are the key elements on surface designing. Thus, nanochannels with certain space and height were designed on a hydrophilic surface, which satisfied the optimization requirements, to enhance the nano heat transfer.