Exploration of convective heat transfer and non-stationary turbulence

这项研究的目的是在工程系统中使用高导电性的泡沫来强化对流换热。可以生产具有相互连接的空隙结构的石墨化泡沫，该空隙结构使得流体能够通过，从而从相邻热源传导到泡沫的固体基质中的热能被移除。这项拟议的研究旨在解决这样一个前提，即高导电泡沫石墨可以在单相和多相对流中对现有的固体和多孔材料提供实质性的增强，从而在电子产品冷却、初级冷却和能量回收方面产生实质性的积极影响。与铝和其他网状金属泡沫相比，高导电性泡沫石墨具有显著的优势，因为它们具有中等孔隙率、高固相导电率(可高达固体铝的六倍)和较大的内表面积。计算流体动力学(CFD)在新技术和数学模型的基础发展方面，以及在研究供热和制冷问题方面的应用，都是拟议中的研究的核心。拟议研究计划的具体目标包括开发数学模型以探索多孔泡沫中的多相对流换热，石墨泡沫结构的理论优化，以及实施复杂的湍流闭合以便于研究广泛的加热/冷却问题。拟议的研究有广泛的基本和实用目标，所有这些都将由MESc和博士水平的研究生在申请人的指导下进行探索。此外，基本目标和实际目标的结合使学生能够在一个令人兴奋的新兴行业获得经验。探索泡沫石墨及其应用可能在汽车行业产生巨大影响。电子和能源生产行业，因为即使是轻微的改进也可能对散热器或热交换器的尺寸或效率产生重大影响。

The proposed research is directed at the use of highly conductive graphitic foams for convective heat transfer enhancement in engineering systems. Graphitic foams can be produced with a void structure that is interconnected enabling the passage of fluid and thus the removal of heat energy conducted into the solid matrix of the foam from adjacent heat sources. The proposed research seeks to address the premise that highly-conductive graphite foams can offer substantial enhancements over existing solid and porous materials in single and multiphase heat convection, thereby having a substantial positive impact in electronics cooling, primary cooling and energy recovery.  Graphitic foams have a significant advantage over aluminum and other reticulated metal foams because of their moderate porosity, high solid phase conductivity, which can be as much as six times higher than solid aluminum, and large internal surface area. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is central to the proposed research both in terms of fundamental development of new techniques and mathematical models, and through its application to investigate heating and cooling problems. Specific objectives of the proposed research program include the development of mathematical models to explore multiphase convective heat transfer in porous foams, theoretical optimization of the graphite foam structure, and the implementation of a sophisticated turbulence closure to enable investigation of a wide range of heating/cooling problems.  The proposed research has a broad range of fundamental and practical goals, all of which will be explored by graduate students at the MESc and PhD levels under the supervision of the applicant.  Further, the blend of fundamental and practical objectives enables students to gain experience in an exciting, emerging industry.  Exploration into graphite foams and their application may have an enormous impact in the automotive, electronics and energy production industries, since even modest enhancements can have a significant impact on the size or effectiveness of a heat sink or heat exchanger.