Evaporation of water drop on a plasma-irradiated hydrophilic surface

Experimental study has been performed on evaporation of water droplet on stainless steel, copper, and aluminum surfaces. These surfaces are exposed by the plasma irradiation to increase the wettability. We obtained the relation between the plasma irradiation and contact angle first, and then measured the evaporation time, the wetting limit temperature and the Leidenfrost temperature, increasing the surface temperature. The effect of plasma irradiation on evaporation curve has been examined. It is found that the evaporation time decreases and the wetting limit and the Leidenfrost temperatures increase as the contact angle decreases. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.