Enhancement of evaporative heat transfer utilizing an electrostatic field is investigated. Since boiling or evaporation of liquid is useful to remove heat from a high-temperature heat source, finding an effective means of enhancement will bring about a most remarkable improvement of heat exchange technology. In order to understand the fundamental characteristics of the EHD (electro-hydrodynamic) effect on evaporation, an experiment has been carried out by placing a single droplet on a high-temperature surface. The electric field is applied between the surface and the thin wire which holds droplets. The time needed for a single liquid drop (of water, KCI solution, ethanol, or cyclohexane) to evaporate is measured at different surface temperatures. The results show that the electric field is very effective in enhancing evaporation of the drop. The mechanism of enhancement is discussed by observing the process with a high-speed video recorder.
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Takano et al. (1991) studied this question.