Micro and Miniature Technologies of Advanced Energy and
Thermal Systems (Fuel Cells and Heat Pipes)
Amir Faghri
United Technologies Endowed Chair Professor in
Thermal-Fluids Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Connecticut
Storr, CT
The 21st century will see the development of a wide range
of active miniaturized energy devices with application in energy
management and power sources, electronic cooling, energy storage and
bioengineering. Although these active devices are effective, they are
often cumbersome and inefficient considering the auxiliary supporting
devices such as pumps, fans, and other moving parts they require for
operation. A more efficient and novel approach involves use of
passive small energy and thermal devices with no moving parts. Two
research thrusts will be presented in this talk.
We propose a new miniature passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC)
that includes a fuel cell stack and ancillary systems with no moving
parts. This system uses passive approaches for fuel storage and
delivery, air breathing, water management, CO2 release, and
thermal management. The performance characteristics of the passive
miniature DMFC system will be presented.
Increasing component densities of the integrated circuit (IC) and
packaging level have led to serious challenges in thermal management
problems in electric cooling. Micro heat pipes are one of the
promising cooling devices because of their high efficiency,
reliability and cost effectiveness. Theoretical and experimental
analysis performed on micro and miniature heat pipe arrays reveals a
300% improvement in effective thermal conductivity at high heat fluxes
over conventional approaches.
Dr. Faghri is currently the United Technologies Endowed Chair
Professor in Thermal-Fluids Engineering. He was the Dean of the School
of Engineering from 1998-2006, and the Head of the Mechanical
Engineering Department from 1994-1998 at the University of
Connecticut. Dr. Faghri developed major initiatives and incentives to
promote quality research and graduate education, including
establishing the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center with significant
support from the federal and state governments, as well as the private
sector. Dr. Faghri has authored seven books and edited volumes, more
than 260 archival technical publications (including 160 journal
papers), and 11 U.S. patents. His latest textbook, Transport
Phenomena in Multiphase Systems, was published by Elsevier in
2006. He has served as a consultant to several major research centers
and corporations, including Los Alamos and Oak Ridge national
laboratories, ExxonMobil, and Intel Corporation as well as serving on
the boards of directors of both publicly-traded and private
companies. Dr. Faghri has served as a principal investigator
conducting research in the area of thermal management and multiphase
transport phenomena for applications ranging from advanced cooling
systems to alternative energy systems including fuel cells, solar
energy systems and thermal energy storage devices. Dr. Faghri has
received numerous external research contracts and grants from the
National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics & Space
Administration, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and
various industries. Dr. Faghri has received many honors and awards,
including the 1998 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics
(AIAA) Thermophysics Award, the 1998 American Society of Mechanical
Engineering (ASME) Heat Transfer Memorial Award and the 2005 ASME
James Harry Potter Gold Medal.
Dr. Faghri received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of
California at Berkeley, and a B.S. with highest honors from Oregon
State University.
Friday, March 14, 2008
12:00 NOON
Kapriellian Hall of Engineering, Room 144 (KAP 144)
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