Thermocapillary effects on the stability of a heated, curved meniscus

Research was conducted to study thermocapillary effects on heated menisci formed by volatile liquids in capillary pumped heat transfer equipment. The impact of the instabilities on the heat transfer were associated with temperature differences between thermocouples embedded in the wall beneath the heater. Results showed that capillary pumped device instabilities resulted from thermocapillary instabilities of the contact line region of evaporating menisci within capillary pores.