Predicting condensation flow regimes and the associated heat transfer and pressure drop in microchannels is critical for designing terrestrial and space systems for heating, cooling, power generation, and advanced manufacturing. It is well established that in flows approaching the microscale (Dh < 1 mm) gravity-dominated flow regimes become less relevant,...
In the vicinity of the pseudocritical point, supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) undergoes a steep change in properties from “liquid-like” to “gas-like” as it is heated at a constant pressure. At the same time, there is a large spike in specific heat which can yield high heat transfer coefficients and heat...
Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants have the potential to reduce the reliance on nonrenewable energies such as coal and natural gas and provide 24 hour, renewable electricity. A CSP system consists of a large field of heliostats that concentrate the sunlight on a centralized receiver, in this receiver a working...
Large amounts of energy are wasted when conditioned air in buildings is exhausted to meet ventilation requirements. There are several technologies to recover some of this energy, including the recent development of membrane based energy recovery ventilators (ERVs). ERVs exchange sensible heat and moisture between incoming fresh and outgoing exhaust...
The advancement of new manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing enable significantly greater freedom of design compared to conventional techniques. Of significant interest is what improvements could be made in the design of cold plates and heat sinks for electronics cooling. Greater design freedom could potentially enable new designs that...