Open Access

ARTICLE

Enhanced Boiling Heat Transfer in Water Pools with Perforated Copper Beads and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Surfactant

Pengcheng Cai^1,2, Teng Li³, Jianxin Xu^1,2,*, Xiaobo Li³, Zhiqiang Li^1,2, Zhiwen Xu³, Hua Wang^1,2

1 Faulty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650093, China
3 Yuxi Cigarette Factory, Hongta Tobacco (Group) Co., Ltd., Yuxi, 653100, China

* Corresponding Author: Jianxin Xu. Email:

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2025, 21(2), 325-349. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2024.057496

Received 19 August 2024; Accepted 05 November 2024; Issue published 06 March 2025

Abstract

In modern engineering, enhancing boiling heat transfer efficiency is crucial for optimizing energy use and several industrial processes involving different types of materials. This study explores the enhancement of pool boiling heat transfer potentially induced by combining perforated copper particles on a heated surface with a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant in saturated deionized water. Experiments were conducted at standard atmospheric pressure, with heat flux ranging from 20 to 100 kW/m². The heating surface, positioned below the layer of freely moving copper beads, allowed the particle layer to shift due to liquid convection and steam nucleation. The study reports on the influence of copper bead diameter (2, 3, 4, and 5 mm), particle quantity, arrangement, and SDS concentration (20, 200, and 500 ppm). It is shown that the combination of 5 mm particles and a 500 ppm SDS concentration can yield a remarkable 139% improvement in heat transfer efficiency. As demonstrated by direct flow visualization, bubble formation occurs primarily in the gaps between the particles and the heated surface, with the presence of SDS reducing bubble size and accelerating bubble detachment.

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