OSSISURB

Nanofluids, which are suspensions of nanometer sized particles in liquid, have been shown to have a thermal conductivity significantly greater than would be expected with simple theories. This has led to a lot of excitement about using these fluids in cooling applications from engines to nuclear reactors to microprocessors, but there is still uncertainty as to where the enhancement in the thermal conductivity comes from, what effects it, and there is even disagreement on how large the enhancement is.

Preliminary work in the Olin Nanofluids Lab has been done to create nanofluids using nanopowders suspended in water and ethylene glycol using sonication, and we have built a transient hot-wire apparatus to measure the thermal conductivity. We also developed a liquid cooled processor test loop to test the cooling performance of nanofluids. The positions for the coming term would be for students to measure the properties of nanofluids using the existing hot-wire apparature, and to assist with improving the apparatus and/or designing a new apparatus. We have an opening for one to two students, and will consider those students willing to do research in the Olin Nanofluids Lab for both the fall and spring semesters.

Student qualifications:
Interest and/or experience in heat transfer and fluid dynamics. Experience in Solidworks, Labview, and machining is a plus but not required. A basic working knowledge (and interest) in chemistry and materials synthesis is also useful.