Effect of Fouling on Nucleate Boiling

Abstract

The more vigorous bubbling was observed on a silicon-coated copper surface compared to that on a clean mirror-finished surface at a same heat flux. The enhancement of the bubbling was associated with the fact that the non-wetting porous structure in the silicon coating provided the sufficient number of active sites for bubbling nucleation. As the result, the nucleate heat transfer coefficient on the silicon-coated surface was higher than that on the clean mirror-finished surface. On the other hand, the nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficient on the fouling surface was approximately the same as that on the mirror-finished surface. The fouling scale was also the porous material but the wettability was high.