Supersonically spray-coated copper meshes as textured surfaces for pool boiling

Abstract

Pool boiling is a process through which heat is removed upon the vaporization of a coolant fluid surrounding a heated surface and is often applied for cooling high-performance computing systems and nuclear reactors. Increasing the surface-to-volume ratio in confined spaces enhances this cooling method. Here, we introduce textured copper pillars with various geometric arrangements and study their effects on the pool-boiling performance. Frustum pyramids were formed by supersonic spraying copper microparticles through a wire mesh to form pillars of various sizes. We identified an optimal pyramid-base size of 0.91 mm on each side corresponding to the maximum heat transfer coefficient, critical heat flux, boiling heat transfer, and cross-flow coolant velocity over the pyramids. Maximum bubble nucleation was also achieved using this specific geometric arrangement. Such a geometric design can be installed in heat pipe cooling systems to cool electronic devices and nuclear reactors.