EAGER: Solid-state thermal switching

随着人口的爆炸式增长和能源消费技术的快速发展，地球在人类的持续进步和未来的可持续性方面面临着一个关键的障碍。一般来说，以清洁能源解决办法为重点的研究并没有产生可行的、全世界可执行的替代不可再生的、对环境有害的能源。因此，必须进行颠覆性和变革性的范式转变，以进一步提高能源效率。作为回应，拟议的EAGER项目将通过设计热动力设备来发展这种新制度的基础。原则上，热动力装置可以从其他拒绝的热量中驱动，以减少社会浪费的净能量。因此，这项提议的目标是发展基本的电学、热学和材料物理与工程，利用热刺激产生可用的电流和电力。反过来，该项目将推进对复杂氧化物中的热传输的基本理解，进一步了解薄膜和材料在经历结构或相变时的界面热响应，并根据外部电或热刺激定义材料的新热物理性质。这个项目的最终结果将是一个电驱动的热敏开关和一个热驱动的电开关的演示。这个项目将发现利用和储存这些废热的有效方法。由于在本计划中开发的物理、材料和设备将基于和/或由回收的热能提供动力，这些材料和设备被称为热设备。该项目包括科学和工程相关性以及主要的社会影响，重点是清洁能源技术和提高能源效率。控制复杂氧化物热流的热物理学的进展将为热工程开辟一类新的材料。此外，对这些材料相变的研究将极大地影响当前的逻辑和能源技术。所提出的热装置，将在本项目中实验实现，将彻底改变回收浪费能源的手段。美国每年消耗大约100千万亿英热单位（100 quads）的能源，其中只有43%用于有用的工作，而57%（或57 quads/年）作为废热排放到环境中。由于这项提议的工作将集中在热驱动设备上，这将提供一个有影响力的，变革性的解决方案，利用这些废热来驱动设备和储存能量。这项拟议的工作将为设计和开发一系列不依赖不可再生资源或产生有毒排放物的应用和设备奠定基础。通过使用已经浪费的热量作为拟议热装置的驱动源，这个拟议的EAGER项目将直接有利于美国和国外的能源效率。

CBET-1339436HopkinsWith an exploding population and rapid advances in power consuming technologies, the planet faces a critical roadblock in the continued advancement and future sustainability of the human race. In general, research focused on clean energy solutions has not led to viable, world-wide implementable replacements of non-renewable, environmentally toxic sources. Therefore, a disruptive and transformative paradigm shift must take place to further energy efficiency. In response, the proposed EAGER project will develop the foundation of this new regime by designing thermally powered devices. In principle, a thermally powered device can be driven from otherwise rejected heat to reduce the net energy wasted by society. The goal of this proposed initiative is therefore to develop the fundamental electrical, thermal and material physics and engineering to use thermal stimuli to generate usable electrical current and power. In turn, this project will advance the fundamental understanding of heat transport in complex oxides, further the thermal response in thin films and across interfaces when a material is undergoing a structural or phase transition, and define new thermophysical properties of materials based on external electrical of thermal stimuli. The final result of this project will be the demonstration of both an electrically driven thermal switch and a thermally driven electrical switch. This program will discover effective methods to harness and store this waste heat. As the physics, materials and devices that will be developed in this proposed program will be based on and/or powered from recycled thermal energy, these materials and devices are referred to as thermal devices. This project includes both scientific and engineering relevance along with major societal implications focused on clean energy technologies and increasing energy efficiency. The advancement of the thermophysics governing heat flow in complex oxides will open up a new class of materials for thermal engineering. Furthermore, the study of the phase transitions in these materials will greatly impact current logic and energy technologies. The proposed thermal devices, which will be experimentally realized in this project, will revolutionize the means to recycle wasted energy. The United States consumes approximately 100 quadrillion Btu (100 quads) of energy per year, where only 43% goes to useful work while 57% (or 57 quads/yr) is exhausted into the environment as wasted heat. As this proposed work will focus on thermally driven devices, this will offer an impactful, transformative solution to utilize this waste heat to drive devices and store energy. This proposed work will lay the foundation for the design and development of a wide array of applications and devices that will not rely on non-renewable resources or generate toxic emissions. By using already wasted heat as the driving source of the proposed thermal devices, this proposed EAGER project will directly benefit the energy efficiency in both the United States and abroad.