Work

Minimum Leidenfrost Temperature on Smooth Surfaces

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: During the Leidenfrost effect, a thin insulating vapor layer separates an evaporating liquid from a hot solid. Here we demonstrate that Leidenfrost vapor layers can be sustained at much lower temperatures than those required for formation. Using a high-speed electrical technique to measure the thickness of water vapor layers over smooth, metallic surfaces, we find that the explosive failure point is nearly independent of material and fluid properties, suggesting a purely hydrodynamic mechanism determines this threshold. For water vapor layers of several millimeters in size, the minimum temperature for stability is ≈140 °C, corresponding to an average vapor layer thickness of 10-20 μm.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.127.104501

Authors: Dana Harvey, Joshua Méndez Harper, Justin C. Burton

Institution: Emory University

Language: English

Topic: Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer

Subfield: Computational Mechanics

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Science Foundation

Award: CAREER: Nonlinear Waves and Fluctuations in Jammed Systems