Rapid vaporization of subcooled liquid in a capillary structure

A novel process is introduced for rapid vaporization of subcooled liquid in a capillary structure. The process consists of a low-thermal-conductivity porous wick, heated from a downward-facing grooved heating block that is in intimate contact with the upper surface of the wick structure. For such a specially configured heat transfer device, measurements show that vapor can be generated rather quickly once a sufficient amount of heat was applied. The mechanisms leading to the rapid vaporization of liquid are numerically investigated. It is found that the low thermal conductivity of the capillary structure and the presence of the extremely steep temperature gradients at the fin/porous structure interface due to the rather weak natural convection, reflected by small-scale secondary flow cells below the heated fins, are responsible for the rapid vaporization of subcooled liquid.