THERMOCAPILLARY CAVITY CONVECTION IN WETTING AND NONWETTING LIQUIDS

Abstract

A numerical study has been conducted to examine the influence of free surface curvature, due to the presence of various contact angles, on thermocapillary convection within a cavity. The results indicate that the system hydrodynamics are changed by a combination of surface temperature gradient modification due to the presence of the adiabatic meniscus and variation in the length of the free surface, as well as viscous force dependence on the wetting angle. Local and overall heat transfer rates are, in turn, altered. Wetting liquids exhibit decreased surface fluid velocities and convective heat transfer rates, while non-wetting liquids are characterized by more complicated behavior with local increases and decreases in surface fluid velocities and an increase in local heat transfer near the free surface.