Experimental study of a 3D-printed wick condenser for enhanced condensation heat transfer

Existing methods for improving condensation heat transfer face challenges with low surface tension liquids that exhibit strong wetting properties. These liquids tend to condense as thin films, leading to suboptimal thermal performance. This study investigates the effectiveness of a novel 3D-printed wick condenser in enhancing the condensation heat transfer rate of low surface tension fluids. An experimental test facility is developed to compare the heat dissipation performance of the 3D-printed wick condenser with a plain surface. The wick condenser, 3D-printed using GRCop-42 with an effective thermal conductivity of 344 W/m-K at room temperature, demonstrates remarkable heat flux capabilities. For example, at a subcooling of 10.5°C, the new 3D-printed wick condenser achieves a heat flux of about 61 kW/m² with the low-surface-tension fluid HFE-7100, representing a 4-fold improvement compared to a plain copper surface. The insights gained from this study open up exciting possibilities for the development of next-generation condensation surface technologies that offer unprecedented heat transfer rates, especially for liquids with complete wetting behavior.