Heat transfer enhancement over passive motion inducing surfaces

Biofouling significantly diminishes the performance of applications that rely on heat transfer. Coatings are often applied to reduce biofouling, but create additional losses in thermal performance due to their low thermal conductivity. Liquid Infused Surfaces (LIS) are an interesting alternative for these coatings. LIS create a mobile interface between an internal liquid and an external flow. The motion within the internal liquid has been shown to reduce drag in both laminar and turbulent flows, and has the capacity to enhance convection within the surface. Due to this, LIS have potential to decrease drag and yield anti-biofouling effects without loss in thermal performance. An experimental study is performed to measure drag reduction and heat transfer over LIS. Surface modifications are explored to enhance these features and to mimic the canonical surfaces used in a numerical study that indicates significant heat transfer enhancement over LIS. Drag reduction and heat transfer measurements are performed in microfluidic channels to study laminar external flows. Retention of the internal liquid is also studied.