The 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.
