Title: Relaxation of the water surface tension by humidification of the environment

Authors: Marco Antonio Alvarez-Valenzuela; Sergio Jiménez-López; Juan Sanchez-Garcia-Casarrubios; Ignacio Valiente-Blanco; Efrén Diez-Jimenez; Cristian Cristache; José Luis Pérez-Díaz

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad 30, 28911 Leganés, Spain ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad 30, 28911 Leganés, Spain ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, MAGSOAR, Av. de Europa, 82, 28341, Valdemoro, Spain ' Instituto Pedro Juan de Lastanosa, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad 30, 28911 Leganés, Spain ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad 30, 28911 Leganés, Spain ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad 30, 28911 Leganés, Spain ' Instituto Pedro Juan de Lastanosa, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avda. Universidad 30, 28911 Leganés, Spain

Abstract: In this document, precise measurements of the surface tension of water in air vs. humidity at 1, 6, 12 and 17°C are shown. It is demonstrated that at constant temperature the surface tension decreases for increasing humidity in air, according to the dynamic effect of vaporisation to Newtons third law. A high humidity in the air reduces the net flow of evaporating water molecules, decreasing the effective surface tension on the drop. Therefore, chemical surfactants can be substituted by just steam in air with a much lower environmental impact.

Keywords: surface tension; humidity; water-air interface; humidification; vaporisation; chemical surfactants; steam; environmental impact; water surface.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSURFSE.2015.068232

International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering, 2015 Vol.9 No.2/3, pp.247 - 252

Received: 16 Jan 2014
Accepted: 19 Feb 2014

Published online: 26 Mar 2015 *

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