Study on Delaying Frost Growth Performance of Micro-Nanostructure Superhydrophobic Copper Surfaces

In this work, the superhydrophobic surfaces with micro-nano composite structure was successfully prepared by one-step electrodeposition based on Ca-myristic acid complex onto Cu substrate. The performance of delaying frost growth on micro-nanostructure superhydrophobic copper surfaces was explored, and the application of superhydrophobic materials in organic rankine cycle (ORC) was simulated. The experimental results confirmed that the superhydrophobic surfaces increased the nucleation barrier of the condensation droplets, enhanced the heat transfer resistance between the condensation droplets and the cold surface, and effectively restrained frost growth. The simulation study of superhydrophobic materials in organic rankine cycle (SH-ORC) system and ORC system was carried out with Matlab software. It was proved that the net power output and exergic efficiency of SH-ORC system were significantly increased compared with that of ORC system. When the heat source temperature was 180ºC, the net output power of SH-ORC was 15.07% higher than that of ORC, and the exergy efficiency was greater than 14%. The simulation results showed that the most suitable heat source temperature for SH-ORC was 180ºC. Therefore, the superhydrophobic copper surfaces can be potentially used to minimize frost formation in harsh environment.