The Effect of Thermocapillary Flow on Heat Transfer in Dropwise Condensation

Abstract

The effect of fluid flow induced by surface tension forces on heat transfer through a drop was considered. The model is a hemispherical liquid drop growing on a flat isothermal-surface. The solution was obtained by finite-difference techniques for different values of the Marangoni number (Nm) associated with surface tension forces and the Biot number (Bi) associated with heat transfer at the liquid-vapor interface. The ranges of parameters covered by this investigation include the regimes of most practical interest for water. The results show that the contribution of internal circulation in the drops to the increase of heat transfer in dropwise condensation is insignificant.