Experimental investigation on condensation performance of the processed windshield surface of electric vehicles

This study experimentally investigates the condensation performance of moist air on the processed windshield surface. The quantitative results of heat transfer coefficient and condensation rate of three kinds of surfaces under different working conditions are obtained. Under dry conditions, the convective heat transfer coefficients (CHTCs) of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces are about 20% and 3% higher than that of normal surface. Under wet conditions, the CHTC of hydrophobic surface is superior to that of normal surface by approximately 10%, while the CHTC of hydrophilic surface is inferior to that of normal surface by about 5%. The mean of mass transfer coefficient (kas) for the hydrophobic, hydrophilic and normal surfaces are calculated about 0.0063  m/s, 0.0054  m/s and 0.0054  m/s, respectively. The condensation rate of the hydrophobic surface is higher than that of hydrophilic one about 7–9% due to the dropwise condensation.