Frost spreading and pattern formation on microstructured surfaces.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34781430.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1103/PhysRevE.104.044901.
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Abstract
Frost is found in nature as a symphony of nucleation and heat and mass transport, cascading from angstroms to several meters. Here, we use laser-induced fluorescence microscopy to investigate the pattern formation of frost growth in experiments which tune the mesoscopic length scale by using microstructured pillar arrays as a frost condenser surface. By controlling the degree of surface supercooling and the amount of condensate, different modes of frost patterning are uncovered, ranging from complete surface coverage to fractal-looking and limited-coverage structures of spiky appearance.