Enhanced evaporation of porous materials with micropores and high porosity

Abstract

Owing to their large surface area and capillary effect, porous materials are highly desired for heat-transfer applications. In this study, we investigated the evaporation behavior of a water droplet on porous epoxy resin with a three-dimensional network structure. As the material existed in the liquid state before sintering, it could be easily converted into a porous body on a heating surface. The material showed a pore size of 0.15 μm and a porosity of 50%. First, the evaporation behavior of a water droplet placed on the surface of this porous body was investigated. It was found that the evaporation rate increased when the evaporation was carried out on the surface of the porous body. Then, a vapor chamber experiment was carried out with the porous material. The porous body acted as the generating surface and its heat transfer performance was estimated. The cooling performance of the porous body was 1.2 times higher than that of the non-porous material.