About us
Micro-scale Heat Transfer Laboratory, initiated and led by Prof. S. M.
You, has been dedicated to both fundamental and applied research in
enhancing two-phase heat and mass transfer, which are crucial physical
processes in microelectronics cooling, HVAC, distillation and in many
other applications.
Micro-scale Heat Transfer Lab at UTA developed novel microporous
coatings to be applied on heated surfaces, which multiplied nucleate
boiling heat transfer performance dramatically, up to five times, and
doubled the critical heat flux. The family of microporous coatings was
expanded to Thermally Conductive Microporous Coating (TCMC) and
High-Temperature TCMC options to perform in a wider range of heat and
mass transfer scenarios. Recently, Micro-scale Heat Transfer Lab
demonstrated the potential of nanofluids for high power dissipation in
pool boiling. With very low concentration of nanoparticles in pure
water, the Micro-scale Heat Transfer Laboratory showed that the
critical heat flux could be doubled relative to that of pure water
alone. Micro-scale Heat Transfer Laboratory subsequently confirmed that
the critical heat flux was enhanced because of a nanoparticle coating
that was formed on the heated surface during boiling. Therefore, the
Micro-scale Heat Transfer Laboratory is implementing nanocoatings as
another form of surface modification for enhancement of heat and mass
transfer. Micro-scale Heat Transfer Laboratory continues to develop and
apply surface modification options at all scales and continues to
investigate the physical mechanisms of heat and mass transfer in these
surfaces.
Through these innovations and understandings, the Micro-scale Heat
Transfer Laboratory seeks ultimately not only to benefit systems in
high-technology, but also to increase the efficiency of processes and
components involved in meeting basic human needs, such as in clean
water production, and to thereby make such processes more viable for
operation on renewable energy sources.