William M. Worek
Dave House Professor and Dean of Engineering
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI
Abstract: The first portion of the seminar will give a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted work in both open- and closed-cycle desiccant technologies for cooling, humidity and indoor air quality control. The presentation will assess the impact of design and operating parameters on capacity and system efficiency and the potential opportunities for future research. Also, the performance of closed-cycle systems will be presented and innovative designs to enhance performance will be discussed and a path forward for the design of thermally activated heating systems having performance efficiencies in excess of one will be discussed. The second portion of the seminar will focus on recent research and technologies to enhance heat transfer and boiling utilizing nanofluids. The physics of the boiling processes with or without a nanofluid will be presented and the impact of nanofluids on the boiling processes will be presented. Finally, the seminar will conclude with a vision of the emerging opportunities for cross-disciplinary research in energy.
Keywords: heat transfer, mass transfer, energy systems, system optimization, enhanced boiling