Evaporation of ethanol liquid droplet in a vacuum chamber

Abstract

Evaporation of liquid droplet from a solid surface is a fundamental phenomenon in nature. However, the process of droplet evaporation has not been well-understood. Even so, the study of evaporation has not been extended much towards organic liquid such as ethanol. Hence forth, the purpose of this project is to design a steady-state evaporation experiment for the investigation of an ethanol hanging droplet.

In the early phase of the project, a thorough literature review on evaporation study and the relevant data analysis approach which was statistical rate theory was reviewed to aid the understanding of the field of study. In the second phase, the majority of the time was spent in design and fabrication of the experimental rig. Throughout the execution of the experiment setting up, there were numerous challenges and setbacks. However, modifications of the rig were implemented timely to overcome them. In the third phase, the author utilized the experimental rig to conduct a series of evaporation test. Then, the data collected was analyzed and verified by the statistical rate theory (SRT) approach.