University of Maryland
Center for Environmental Energy Engineering
Center for Environmental Energy Engineering
Advanced Heat Exchangers and Electronics Cooling Consortia
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Research

Our involvement with active heat transfer augmentation techniques (particularly the EHD method) for the past twelve years has resulted in a team of faculty members, graduate students, and research engineers and scientists with diverse expertise and experience in Electrohydrodynamics, heat transfer, and design/instrumentation. In recent years our group has introduced innovative electrode designs and methodologies, which have lead to the reduction of an order of magnitude in the required voltage for certain EHD applications. The group has filed for several patents, some of which have been already issued. EHD is now receiving substantial attention from the international technical community. It is now realistic to envision smart, variable-capacity heat exchangers that may soon be introduced in commercial products.

Video Boiling Experiment 0-20 kV

Video Visualization of EHD-Enhanced Convective Boiling of R-134a Between Two Parallel Plates


Microgrooved condenser 
Test Setup

Force Fed evaporation
Test Section

Self Contained two phase
cold plate

Facilities

  • State-of-the-art measurement and data analysis hardware and software
  • Experimental loops for measurement of single-phase and phase-change flow heat transfer characteristics of liquids, gases and multiphase flows
  • Laboratory-grade high voltage and conventional power gear
  • State-of-the-art equipment for flow visualization

Liquid Extraction
with EHD

Liquid Extraction
without EHD

Current and Past Projects

  • Performance characterization of micro-scale condensers
  • Structural and mechanical design analysis of advanced micro-channel heat exchangers
  • Electrostatic (EHD)-Enhanced separation of liquid droplets from gas/liquid flows-Application to refrigeration and other systems
  • Sand fouling of heat exchangers
  • Development of MEMS-based Micro-pumps
  • Development of forced-feed micro channel evaporators and condensers for cooling of high flux electronics
  • EHD-enhanced in-tube and external boiling of alternate refrigerants/refrigerant mixtures
  • EHD-enhanced in-tube and external condensation of alternate refrigerants/refrigerant mixtures
  • EHD-enhanced air-side heat transfer
  • Applicability of EHD to heat transfer enhancement in highly compact heat exchangers
  • EHD heat transfer enhancement in mini and microchannels
  • Control of frost formation on cold surfaces/coils using the EHD technique
  • Prototyping of an EHD-enhanced direct expansion evaporator
  • Prototyping of an EHD-enhanced condenser

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University of Maryland | Center for Environmental Energy Engineering | College Park, MD 20742 | Copyright 2008 Dept. of Mechanical Engineering | 301.405.5439