ABSTRACT
Solid-liquid-vapor interaction phenomena play a very important role in phase-change heat transfer. Except for the cases of direct contact heat transfer, most practical phase-change heat-transfer systems involve the solid surface as a heater or condenser. The importance of the liquid wettability to the surface is apparent in dropwise condensation, boiling heat transfer, and capillary liquid film evaporation. Consider two fluid phases in contact with each other. One of the phases is a liquid, and the other may be its own vapor, a mixture of the vapor and air, or another immiscible liquid. The interface between the two phases may be flat or curved. The microscopic aspects of solid-liquid-vapor interactions are usually crucial when we consider theories of phase change phenomena, such as nucleation of bubbles and droplets and the heat transfer at the three-phase interface. Knowledge of statistical gas dynamics has been very helpful to understand the relationship between molecular motion and macroscopic gas dynamics phenomena.
