Microscale Morphology Effects of Copper–Graphene Oxide Coatings on Pool Boiling Characteristics

Abstract

Enhanced pool boiling heat transfer, with simultaneous increase in critical heat flux (CHF) and heat transfer coefficient (HTC), is desired to improve overall system efficiency and reduce equipment size and cost. This paper focuses on combining graphene oxide (GO) and porous copper particles to generate microstructures based on their ability to enhance HTC, CHF, or both. Three pool boiling performance characteristics based on CHF improvements and wall superheat reductions are identified: Type I—reduction in wall superheat only, type II—increase in CHF only, and type III—increase in CHF with reduction in wall superheat at higher heat fluxes. Specific microscale morphologies were generated using (a) screen-printing and (b) electrodeposition techniques. In type-I, rapid bubble activity due to increased availability of nucleation cavities was seen to influence the reduction in the wall superheats, while no increase in CHF was noted. Roughness-augmented wettability was found to be the driving mechanism in type-II enhancement, while wicking and increased nucleation site density were responsible for the enhancement in type-III. An HTC enhancement of ∼216% in type-I and a CHF improvement of ∼70% in type-II were achieved when compared to a plain copper surface with water. In type-III enhancement, a CHF of 2.2 MW/m2 (1.8× over a plain surface) with a HTC of 155 kW/m2 °C (∼2.4× over a plain surface) was obtained. Furthermore, close correlation between the boiling performance and the microscale surface morphology in these three categories has been identified.