Electrical Control and Enhancement of Film Boiling

Boiling heat transfer rates impact the performance of various processes like quenching, steam generation, desalination, and boiling water reactors. The film boiling regime of the boiling curve has very low heat transfer rates around the Leidenfrost point which corresponds to the formation of a stable and continuous vapor layer at the solid-liquid interface (Leidenfrost effect). This insulating vapor layer degrades heat transfer by up to two orders of magnitude for water. This work investigates the heat transfer enhancement associated with electrostatic suppression of the Leidenfrost state. Electrical suppression of the Leidenfrost state is observed for a variety of liquids including water and organic solvents. Leidenfrost state suppression can be observed even at ultrahigh temperatures exceeding 550 °C. Elimination of the vapor layer increases heat dissipation capacity of film boiling by one to two orders of magnitude. This manuscript presents detailed technical parameters to assess the benefits of electrical enhancement of boiling heat transfer. It is seen that electrically enhanced boiling can enable significant enhancements in heat dissipation capacity with very low power consumption.