Effect of Ethoxylation and Molecular Weight of Cationic Surfactants on Nucleate Boiling in Aqueous Solutions

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juntao Zhang ◽  
Raj M. Manglik
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Surface Tension ◽  
Aqueous Solutions ◽  
Cationic Surfactants ◽  
Bubble Dynamics ◽  
Surfactant Solution ◽  
Dynamic Surface Tension ◽  
Nucleate Boiling ◽  
Dynamic Surface ◽  
Reduce Surface Tension

Saturated, nucleate pool boiling on a horizontal, cylindrical heater and the associated bubble dynamics in aqueous solutions of cationic surfactants of different molecular weight and ethoxylation or ethylene oxide (EO) content, are experimentally investigated. Boiling curves qw″∝ΔTsat for different concentrations and photographic records of the salient features of the ebullient behavior are presented, along with a characterization of interfacial properties (surface tension and contact angle). The surfactant additive significantly alters the nucleate boiling in water and enhances the heat transfer. The enhancement increases with concentration, with an optimum obtained in solutions at or near the critical micelle concentration (c.m.c.) of the surfactant. The photographic and visual observations indicate a markedly different boiling behavior than that of water, as well as between pre- and post-c.m.c. solutions. A lower molecular weight surfactant tends to reduce surface tension faster, and show better enhancement performance than its higher molecular weight counterpart. With EO groups in its molecular chain the surfactant solution becomes more hydrophilic, and the higher wettability tends to suppress nucleation, thereby weakening the boiling process. Also, enhancement in pre-micellar solutions is shown to depend on the dynamic surface tension, and the number of EO groups in and molecular weight of the surfactant.

Experimental Investigation of Low Weber Number Post-Impact Drop Spreading on Solid Substrates

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milind A. Jog ◽  
Raj M. Manglik
Keyword(s):  
Surface Tension ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Pure Water ◽  
Surfactant Solution ◽  
Video Camera ◽  
Dynamic Surface Tension ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Dynamic Surface ◽  
Post Impact ◽  
Triton X

The post-impact spreading and recoil behaviors of droplets of pure liquids (water and ethanol) and aqueous solution of Triton X-100 (a surfactant) on a dry horizontal hydrophilic (glass) substrate are investigated for low Weber numbers. The evolution of drop shape during spreading and recoil are captured using a high-speed (4,000 frames per second) digital video camera. Digital image-processing was used to determine the spread and height of the liquid film on the surface from each frame. Unlike pure liquids, the liquid-gas interfacial tension for surfactant solution is a function of surface age, where surface tension is that of the solvent at zero time and then reaches an equilibrium value with increasing surface age. Furthermore, the equilibrium surface tension is a function of the surfactant concentration, which decreases from that of the solvent at zero concentration to that at the critical micelle concentration (CMC), and remains essentially constant thereafter. The surface tension of aqueous Triton X-100 solution varies from that of pure water to nearly that of ethanol. As such the comparison of transient droplet-impact-spreading-recoil behavior of the three liquids, or their temporal variations of the spread and the flattening factor, provides a basis for understanding the role of dynamic surface tension and surface wettability.

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