Condensation on Surface Energy Gradient Shifts Drop Size Distribution toward Small Drops

During dropwise condensation from vapor onto a cooled surface, distributions of drops evolve by nucleation, growth, and coalescence. Drop surface coverage dictates the heat transfer characteristics and depends on both drop size and number of drops present on the surface at any given time. Thus, manipulating drop distributions is crucial to maximizing heat transfer. On earth, manipulation is achieved with gravity. However, in applications with small length scales or in low gravity environments, other methods of removal, such as a surface energy gradient, are required. This study examines how chemical modification of a cooled surface affects drop growth and coalescence, which in turn influences how a population of drops evolves. Steam is condensed onto a horizontally oriented surface that has been treated by silanization to deliver either a spatially uniform contact angle (hydrophilic, hydrophobic) or a continuous radial gradient of contact angles (hydrophobic to hydrophilic). The time evolution of number d...