Enhanced condensation heat transfer at a wide range of supersaturation level.

In this work, we fabricate superhydrophobic tube type condensers and investigate the condensation heat transfer performance. Using a well-controlled environmental chamger, a wide range of supersaturation level was achieved with minimizing non-condensable effects. We show that the supersaturation level has a significant effect on the condensate mobility and resulting heat transfer performance especially for the superhydrophobic condensers. Particularly, it is demonstrated that quality of the hydrophobic coating on the superhydrophobic surface significantly determins condensation behavior and resulting condensation heat transfer performance. This work will help optimize the surface condition of condensers operating at practical supersaturation level.