GOALI/Collaborative Research: Fundamentals of Microemulsion Boiling: from Interfacial Thermodynamics to Multiphase Heat Transfer

1336778/1336590 PI：Yang/Qiao GOALI合作项目的目的是研究微乳液中核态沸腾的基本机制，并评估其在工业相关冷却系统中的性能和可靠性。PI已经确定了一种有趣的微乳液流体，其中挥发性液体分散到另一种不混溶的非挥发性液体中作为自组装液滴，作为增强相变传热的候选者。已经观察到，基于聚α烯烃的微乳液流体表现出比基础流体聚α烯烃高约80%的池沸腾临界热通量（CHF）。为了使微乳液作为传热流体的合理设计和充分发挥其在沸腾中的潜力，本项目将进行三个交织的活动。首先，PI将研究在高温下微乳液的界面热力学，并了解微乳液相变的能量学。其次，本研究将结合实验表征与数值模拟，探讨微乳沸腾的热传机制。研究将集中在与经典池沸腾有很大不同的特殊气泡动力学。第三，PI将通过与工业合作伙伴的合作，评估微乳液沸腾在工业相关环境下的性能。这项研究具有潜在的变革性：通过引入微乳液作为传热流体，其沸腾行为与经典沸腾有质的不同，这项工作开创了一种全新的方法来增强沸腾传热。拟议的研究有助于解决高热通量冷却方面的长期挑战，并可能在许多受当前冷却瓶颈限制的技术中实现新的突破。特别是，这项研究可以大大有利于两个工业部门：电子和工业热交换器的热管理。启动马里兰州大学、克莱姆森大学及其工业合作伙伴之间的GOALI伙伴关系将大大提高他们的研究能力，促进微乳液在工业热管理系统中的应用。拟议的项目将与马里兰州大学和克莱姆森大学的教育活动密切联系，通过培训学生进行跨学科研究，扩大代表性不足的群体对研究的参与，以及K-12推广。在开展这些活动时，PI将专注于通过研究工程科学的前沿和让学生接触现实生活中的行业问题来拓宽学生的视野。这些活动将通过充分利用现有的机构资源和利用与工业伙伴的合作来进行。

1336778/1336590PI: Yang/QiaoThe objective of this collaborative GOALI project is to investigate the fundamental mechanisms of nucleate boiling in microemulsions and to evaluate their performance and reliability in industry-relevant cooling systems. The PIs have identified an interesting microemulsion fluid, in which a volatile liquid is dispersed into another immiscible nonvolatile liquid as self-assembled droplets, as a candidate for enhanced phase change heat transfer. It has been observed that the polyalphaolefin-based microemulsion fluids exhibit a pool boiling critical heat flux (CHF) about 80% higher than the base fluid polyalphaolefin. To enable the rational design of microemulsions as heat transfer fluids and to fully exploit their potential in boiling, three interwoven activities will be carried out in this project. First, the PIs will investigate the interfacial thermodynamics of microemulsions at elevated temperatures and understand the energetics of phase change in microemulsions. Second, the PIs will investigate the heat transfer mechanisms of microemulsion boiling by integrating experimental characterization and numerical simulations. The research will focus on the peculiar bubble dynamics that differ greatly from those in classical pool boiling. Third, the PIs will evaluate the performance of microemulsion boiling under industry-relevant settings through collaboration with industrial partners. The proposed research is potentially transformative: by introducing microemulsions as heat transfer fluids, whose boiling behavior differs qualitatively from classical boiling, this work pioneers a radically new approach for enhancing boiling heat transfer. The proposed research helps resolve a long-standing challenge in high-heat flux cooing and can potentially enable new breakthroughs in many technologies limited by current bottlenecks in cooling. In particular, this research can greatly benefit two industrial sectors: thermal management of electronics and industrial heat exchangers. Initiating the GOALI partnership between University of Maryland, Clemson University and their industrial partner will greatly enhance their research capabilities and facilitate the application of microemulsions in industrial thermal management systems. The proposed project will be tied closely with the education activities at University of Maryland and Clemson University through training students in interdisciplinary research, broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in research, and K-12 outreach. When implementing these activities, the PIs will focus on broadening the horizons of students through research at frontiers of engineering sciences and exposing students to real-life industry problems. These activities will be carried by making full use of available institutional resources and by leveraging collaboration with industrial partner.