Research overview
Our research focuses on the thermo-fluidic science of transport systems combined with advances in their design and manufacturing. We pursue scientific progress to develop creative solutions for tough challenges found in HVAC&R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration), electronics thermal management, energy systems, and environmental conservation.
Thermo-fluid physics in geometrically complex structuresThis project focuses on achieving a mechanistic understanding of the heat and mass transfer in complex geometric structures of various length scales. They are found in many thermal transport devices such as plate heat exchangers and microchannel heat sinks. It is difficult to accurately predict their thermal-hydraulic performances with currently existing knowledge on flow morphology and related transport mechanisms.
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Revolutionizing thermal system manufacturing
Various structural and geometric solutions can be suggested to increase the heat transfer surface area and reduce the overall heat and mass transport device volume. By using additive manufacturing, their production and assembly could be easier or less expensive than relying on traditional manufacturing processes. Additionally, successful metal 3D-printing of microchannel heat sinks for electronics, as shown in the figure on the right, has the potential to replace expensive and complicated cleanroom procedures to create microstructures on silicon wafers.
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Inclusive and Just Pathways to Clean Energy
Visit project website: aeti.ua.edu
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This program educates and trains students about clean energy practices and career opportunities. We provide educational outreach for energy technology/management and workforce training for both high school and college students. In recruiting student participants, we focus on low-income and racial/ethnic minority students from Alabama Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation and schools from Tuscaloosa and majority-minority Alabama counties. For our initiative, we rely on a cross-sector collaboration including Energy Alabama (a nonprofit org), researchers, Alabama Industrial Assessment Center, and other educational institutions. Our initiative builds a regional network to provide energy entrepreneurship training for students underrepresented in STEM, and therefore, support their career opportunities in clean energy fields.
We are 1 of 18 organizations winning the Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize (IEIP). This American-Made Challenges prize supports the Biden-Harris Administration Justice40 initiative to put environmental and economic justice at the center of America's net-zero economy by 2050. IEIP is designed to enhance climate investment benefits to disadvantages communities and, at the same time, inform equitable research, development, and deployment within the U.S. Department of Energy.
We are 1 of 18 organizations winning the Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize (IEIP). This American-Made Challenges prize supports the Biden-Harris Administration Justice40 initiative to put environmental and economic justice at the center of America's net-zero economy by 2050. IEIP is designed to enhance climate investment benefits to disadvantages communities and, at the same time, inform equitable research, development, and deployment within the U.S. Department of Energy.
ImpactWe want to deliver the cutting-edge knowledge and fundamental guidelines in the engineering design of thermal transport devices to more audiences and markets. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), majority of countries worldwide now have at least one type of national renewable energy target to pursue sustainable HVAC&R, transportation, and electricity generation. Our research effort will play a significant role in leading the world to achieve these tough goals.
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