Book Description

The present research is an experimental study of the enhancement of boiling heat transfer using microporous coating techniques. The current research is divided into four major phases. During the first phase, the effects of different metal particle sizes in the coating compound for thermally non-conductive microporous coating on pool boiling performance of refrigerants and water are investigated. The test surfaces were solid copper blocks with 1-cm2 base at atmospheric pressure in saturated FC-72, R-123, and water. Results showed that the surface treatment by non-conductive microporous coating significantly enhanced both nucleate boiling and critical heat flux of FC-72 and R-123. However, the enhancement of boiling performance for water was merely shown. In the second phase, thermally conductive microporous coatings to enhance boiling performance of water were developed. The first phase motivated efforts to fabricate microporous coatings with conducting binder options. The second phase was stemmed from an effort to combine the advantages of both a mixture batch type (inexpensive & easy process) and sintering/machining method (low thermal resistance of conduction). Two categories of surface treatment processes were considered in the current research. The first can be achieved by a chemical process, Multi-Staged Electroplating (MSE), which uses electricity in a chemical bath to deposit a microporous structure on the surface. The second is a soldering process, Multi-Temperature Soldering Process (MTSP), which binds the metal particles to generate optimum microporous cavities. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and optical microscope images were obtained for thermally conductive microporous coated surfaces. During the third phase, the pool boiling performance of developed MSE and MTSP from second phase was confirmed for water. Results showed that the MSE and MTSP augmented the boiling performance not only for refrigerants but also for water significantly compared to non-conductive microporous coatings. Further investigation for possible future industrial applications of microporous coatings, such as indirect cooling for electronic chips, nanofluids for high power generation industries, and freezing problem of water, were conducted in the final phase.