Molecular dynamics study on explosive boiling of ultra-thin liquid over solid substrate: considering interface wettability of Argon/MoS2

A molecular dynamics (MD) study is carried out to reveal the phenomenon about the normal and explosive boiling of ultra-thin liquid argon film absorbed on MoS2 surface with different wetting conditions. The three-phase molecular system is composed of a solid MoS2 wall, a liquid argon film and a vapour argon region. Initially, the three-phase simulated system is thermally equilibrated at a low temperature. Then the MoS2 heat source is suddenly heated up to two different high temperatures those far above critical point of liquid argon, and the argon experienced a phase transition process in the NVE ensemble. The simulation results show that the good wetting properties and high heat source temperature dramatically enhance phase transition efficiency, accelerating the heat transfer rate, shortening the boiling time, and increasing the evaporation rate, and they have remarkable effects on temperature and pressure histories, density distribution during whole boiling process. Explosive boiling is more likely to occur at high superheated degree, but evaporation occurs at low superheated degree. In addition, at a high superheated degree, it can be conclude from the simulation results that the better wetting properties of the solid-liquid interface is, the shorter time of the explosive boiling is needed.