The effect of the thickness of the liquid layer and the relative humidity of the environment on the condensation growth of microdroplets levitating over a thin layer of liquid

Abstract

Tests were carried out on levitating microdroplets in a test section comprising a cuvette containing a thin layer of liquid. At the base of the cuvette, there is a round heating element with a diameter of 3 mm that is flush-sealed. We investigated how the size of the droplets changed due to condensation under different conditions, such as the thickness of the liquid layer and the humidity of the surrounding air. Our results showed that increasing the thickness of the liquid layer did not affect the growth of the droplets, but increasing the humidity of the air caused them to grow at a slower rate.