A Review of Wettability Effect on Boiling Heat Transfer Enhancement

Abstract

This review traces the development of nanofluid pool boiling from its beginning (1984) to the present through a sampling of studies that have interested the authors and which have led to the latest findings at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). The studies of thermophysical properties of nanofluids are briefly covered. Several works in the last 7 years are highlighted to illustrate the modes of nanofluid pool boiling testing, the variability of nanofluid boiling heat transfer (BHT), and the postulations of causes of this behavior. Starting in 2006, the wettability increase in the nanoparticle coating, generated during the nanofluid pool boiling, is recognized as the source of critical heat flux (CHF) enhancement through its effect on the dynamics of hot spots and departing bubbles. The reasons for the observed contradictory BHT behavior are not yet fully clear, but recently at UTA, nanofluid boiling heat transfer has shown to be transient due to the dynamic nature of the formation of the nanoparticle coating. Also at UTA, the mechanism of nanoparticle deposition on the heated surface has been further confirmed. Thus, nanofluid boiling has led back to heat transfer enhancement through surface modification in nanoscale. These developments from 2006 are covered in more detail.