Do surfaces with mixed hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas enhance pool boiling?

We demonstrate that smooth and flat surfaces combining hydrophilic and hydrophobic patterns improve pool boiling performance. Compared to a hydrophilic surface with 7 degrees wetting angle, the measured critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficients of the enhanced surfaces are, up to respectively, 65% and 100% higher. Different networks combining hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions are characterized. While all tested networks enhance the heat transfer coefficient, large enhancements of critical heat flux are typically found for hydrophilic networks featuring hydrophobic islands. Hydrophilic networks indeed are shown to prevent the formation of an insulating vapor layer. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3485057]