Frost-free zone on macrotextured surfaces

Frost-free zone on macrotextured surfaces

Numerous studies have focused on designing functional surfaces that delay frost formation or reduce ice adhesion. However, solutions to the scientific challenges of developing antiicing surfaces remain elusive because of degradation such as mechanical wearing. Inspired by the discontinuous frost pat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 117; no. 12; pp. 6323 - 6329
Main Authors: Yao, Yuehan, 姚岳瀚, Zhao, Tom Y., Machado, Christian, Feldman, Emma, Patankar, Neelesh A., Park, Kyoo-Chul
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 24-03-2020
Subjects:
Boundary conditions
Computer simulation
Condensates
Crystal growth
Diffusion
Frost
Frost resistance
Ice formation
Physical Sciences
Surface chemistry
Valleys
Vapor pressure
antifrosting
diffusion
bioinspiration
condensation frosting
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Numerous studies have focused on designing functional surfaces that delay frost formation or reduce ice adhesion. However, solutions to the scientific challenges of developing antiicing surfaces remain elusive because of degradation such as mechanical wearing. Inspired by the discontinuous frost pattern on natural leaves, here we report findings on the condensation frosting process on surfaces with serrated structures on the millimeter scale, which is distinct from that on a conventional planar surface with microscale/nanoscale textures. Dropwise condensation, during the first stage of frosting, is enhanced on the peaks and suppressed in the valleys, causing frost to initiate from the peaks, regardless of surface chemistry. The condensed droplets in the valley are then evaporated due to the lower vapor pressure of ice compared with water, resulting in a frost-free zone in the valley, which resists frost propagation even on superhydrophilic surfaces. The dependence of the frost-free areal fraction on the geometric parameters and the ambient conditions is elucidated by both numerical simulations based on steady-state diffusion and an analytical method with an understanding of boundary conditions independent of surface chemistry. We envision that this study would provide a unified framework to design surfaces that can spatially control frost formation, crystal growth, diffusion-controlled growth of biominerals, and material deposition over a broad range of applications.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
Author contributions: Y.Y., N.A.P., and K.-C.P. designed research; Y.Y., C.M., and E.F. performed research; Y.Y., T.Y.Z., and K.-C.P. analyzed data; and Y.Y. and K.-C.P. wrote the paper.
Edited by Howard A. Stone, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, and approved February 18, 2020 (received for review September 23, 2019)
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1915959117