At the Thermal Management Lab, we perform both basic and applied research on three major areas:
- High-heat-flux thermal management with two-phase cooling techniques (nucleate boiling, spray cooling, enhanced heat transfer surfaces, miniature refrigeration cycles, bulk/nanoencapsulated phase change materials) for applications in computing, power electronics, electro-optics
- Microgravity transport phenomena, particularly phase separation, and heat and mass transfer for applications in spacecraft/space habitat life support (air revitalization) systems
- Stirling cycle-based energy conversion technologies (innovative rotary displacer Stirling engine) for applications in distributed power generation and waste heat recovery
Our goal is to investigate fundamental thermal-fluid aspects and utilize novel design approaches towards increasing system efficiency and performance in emerging engineering applications.