Techniques of infrared thermography were used to conduct an experimental study of the evaporative cooling of a hot, low thermal conductivity, non-metallic surface heated by radiation and subject to a random array of impinging water droplets. A droplet generating and distributing apparatus and a data acquisition system employing digital image analysis devices were also developed and implemented. Real time infrared images of the heated surface were recorded and digitized using computer resident frame grabbing hardware and analyzed on a pixel by pixel basis, giving a high degree of thermal and spatial resolution. From these analyses, the instantaneous surface temperature distribution and transient surface temperature profile were obtained for a range of initial temperatures and impinging mass fluxes. The surface temperature was found to decay exponentially with time to a steady state value for the fluxes used. Three dimensional plots of the temperature distribution on the surface also showed the significant lowering of the average surface temperature, and provided a qualitative description of the cooling phenomena at various stages during the transient. Results obtained will be used in the future validation of a computer model of the phenomena.

Droplet Wetting and Evaporation provides engineers, students, and researchers with the first comprehensive guide to the theory and applications of droplet wetting and evaporation. Beginning with a relevant theoretical background, the book moves on to consider specific aspects, including heat transfer, flow instabilities, and the drying of complex fluid droplets. Each chapter covers the principles of the subject, addressing corresponding practical issues and problems. The text is ideal for a broad range of domains, from aerospace and materials, to biomedical applications, comprehensively relaying the challenges and approaches from the different communities leading the way in droplet research and development. - Provides a broad, cross-subject coverage of theory and application that is ideal for engineers, students and researchers who need to follow all major developments in this interdisciplinary field - Includes comprehensive discussions of heat transfer, flow instabilities, and the drying of complex fluid droplets - Begins with an accessible summary of fundamental theory before moving on to specific areas such as heat transfer, flow instabilities, and the drying of complex fluid droplets