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Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering


Pool Boiling Under High Pressure

Pool Boiling under high pressurePool boiling is of interest in high heat flux applications because of its potential for removing large amount of heat resulting from the latent heat of evaporation. The target of this research is to find how heat transfer enhances with increased pressure up to 300 psi with different fluids on different surfaces. A special experimental set up is designed and fabricated to carry out the experiment. It is comprised of a stainless steel pressure vessel with a port for visualization, a pressure regulator, a nitrogen tank, a mini gear pump, heating elements and data acquisition system.
Pool Boiling at Atmospheric Pressure

amospheric pressureIn this experiment, patterned biphilic surfaces as well as surfaces deposited with graphene are tested. The set-up consists of a polycarbonate boiling vessel, two immersion heaters, a test surface composed of a silicon wafer with a thin film heater deposited on the backside, a thermocouple, and a power supply.
Condensation in Power Systems

micromill machineThis research looks into the effect that micro-structured surfaces have on enhancing steam condensation. With the use of the micromilling machine, we machine various surface geometries into flat Aluminum plates. Our steam chamber test apparatus allows us to interchange the surfaces and control the cooling load, steam quality and pressure. From the data we gather from the tests we are able to determine the optimal geometries for enhancing condensation. This research is currently funded by the Kansas Electrical Power Affiliates Program.

Frost Formation



In this research, we test mixed hydrophilic and hydrophobic (biphilic) surfaces on a freezing stage to analyze their effects on frost nucleation and growth. The hypothesis is that a biphilic surface will be better at slowing frost formation and creating a less dense layer. A robust frost mitigating surface could improve refrigeration efficiencies, aircraft safety, and many other engineering applications.