Meso-scale wrinkled coatings to improve heat transfers of surfaces facing ambient air

• Various wrinkled surfaces were fabricated by a practical process.
• Topographical effect on convection was parameterized separately from radiation.
• Meso-scale wrinkled coatings increased convective heat transfer with ambient air.
• Maintenance cost of outdoor steel sheets due to condensation can be reduced.

Meso-scale (micrometer-to submillimeter-scale) wrinkled surfaces coated on steel sheets used in outdoor storage and transport facilities for industrial low-temperature liquids were discovered to efficiently increase convective heat transfer between ambient air and the surface. The radiative and convective heat transfer coefficients of various wrinkled surfaces, which were formed by coating steel sheets with several types of shrinkable paints, were examined. The convective heat transfer coefficient of a surface colder than ambient air monotonically changed with average height difference and interval distance of the wrinkle undulation, where the proportions were 0.0254 and 0.0054 W/m2/K/μm, respectively. With this wrinkled coating, users can lower the possibility of condensation and reduce rust and maintenance cost of facilities for industrial low-temperature liquids. From the point of view of manufacturers, this coating method can be easily adapted to conventional manufacturing processes.