High-speed infrared microscopy system for phase change heat transfer measurements
Abstract
We propose to develop a high speed infrared microscopy experiment that can observe and quantify both the fundamental degradation mechanisms as well as phase change heat transfer dynamics on functional surfaces with minimal sample preparation. Phase change heat transfer is a fundamental process that plays a critical role in DoD applications ranging from thermal management on Naval vessels to infrared detectors. For these applications, the knowledge of the phase change heat transfer performance and longevity during evaporation, condensation, and icing is essential. While a number of techniques exist to measure phase change heat transfer, these methods are either global in nature and cannot characterize microscale physics occurring at the droplet length scale, or in able to resolve the spatio-temporal temperature distributions at the liquid-vapor and liquid-vapor interfaces in order to accurately validate and develop new theories for the creation of next generation durable functional surfaces. This DURIP proposal requests funding for purchase of infrared microscopy equipment to construct a custom phase change characterization suite. Our objective is to enhance the environmental control on infrared observation of phase change by integrating a custom-built viewing-cell that will enable the observation and characterization of phase change heat transfer in pure saturated environments with levels of non-condensable gases <1 ppm. This acquisition will significantly advance the study of phase-change heat transfer on surfaces and materials of interest to the DoD as well as significantly impact our project on functional coating durability, and our measurement capabilities on multiple DoD-funded projects from an AFRL supported center, CERL, and ARO. Since the system is custom-built, it is adaptable to the needs of future DoD and ONR efforts. It is highly relevant to stated ONR interests in the 2017 MURI (Topic 23 (ONR): Enhancing Thermal Transport at Material Interfaces) on N00014-17-S-F006. The proposed system will enable training of students on the principles of infrared microscopy and phase change heat transfer, which are rarely studied as core topics in mechanical engineering (PI’s home department). Mechanical engineers have the potential to make major contributions on understanding the thermodynamics, heat transfer, and mechanical design of thermal systems. This equipment thus offers a unique opportunity to develop a group of multidisciplinary specialists that can span from optical sciences to mechanics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 23, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812084
Entities
People
- Nenad Miljkovic
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign