Preparing boiling experiment for parabolic flight

Preparing the 'physics of boiling at the microscale: statics and dynamics' experiment for the 72nd ESA parabolic flight campaign. Parabolic flights treat passengers and experiments to a rollercoaster ride, flying angled at 49º 30 times per flight. They are used to conduct short-term scientific and technological investigations in microgravity and reduced gravity, to test instrumentation before use in space, to validate operational and experimental procedures, and to train astronauts for spaceflight.

Heat transfer is more effective when changing the surface properties of exchangers. To improve the phenomenon, bubbles which formed on the surface due to boiling need to continuously be removed. Patterns can be designed on the surface of heat exchangers to pin bubbles momentarily during their growth using hysteresis properties. New superhydrophobic coatings will be used in this experiment that is particularly robust scratching. It is the goal of these experiments to study in details the interrelation between the statics and the dynamics of wetting when boiling.

This experiment is run by the University of Mons, Belgium.