Effects of Numerical Schemes of Contact Angle on Simulating Condensation Heat Transfer in a Subcooled Microcavity by Pseudopotential Lattice Boltzmann Model

Various numerical schemes of contact angle are widely used in pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann model to simulate substrate contact angle in condensation. In this study, effects of numerical schemes of contact angle on condensation nucleation and heat transfer simulation are clarified for the first time. The three numerical schemes are pseudopotential-based contact angle scheme, pseudopotential-based contact angle scheme with a ghost fluid layer constructed on the substrate with weighted average density of surrounding fluid nodes, and the geometric formulation scheme. It is found that the subcooling condition destabilizes algorithm of pseudopotential-based contact angle scheme. However, with a ghost fluid layer constructed on the substrate or using geometric formulation scheme, the algorithm becomes stable. The subcooling condition also decreases the simulated contact angle magnitude compared with that under an isothermal condition. The fluid density variation near a microcavity wall simulated by pseudopotential-based contact angle scheme plays the role of the condensation nucleus and triggers “condensation nucleation”. However, with a ghost fluid layer constructed on the substrate or using geometric formulation scheme, the simulated fluid density distribution near the wall is uniform so that no condensation nucleus appears in the microcavity. Thus, “condensation nucleation” cannot occur spontaneously in the microcavity unless a thin liquid film is initialized as a nucleus in the microcavity. The heat flux at the microcavity wall is unphysical during the “condensation nucleation” process, but it becomes reasonable with a liquid film formed in the microcavity. As a whole, it is recommended to use pseudopotential-based contact angle scheme with a ghost fluid layer constructed on the substrate or use the geometric formulation scheme to simulate condensation under subcooling conditions. This study provides guidelines for choosing the desirable numerical schemes of contact angle in condensation simulation by pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann model so that more efficient strategies for condensation heat transfer enhancement can be obtained from numerical simulations.