OTEC heat exchange enhancement research

Raphael Mandel, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of Maryland, has been awarded with the 2012 Hulka Energy Research Fellowship. Mr. Mandel, advised by Professor Michael Ohadi, received the fellowship for his proposal, “Next Generation, Ultra-Efficient, Microstructured Thin Film Heat Exchangers for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC).” His research involves further development, modelling, visualization, and optimization of Force-Fed Microgrooved Heat Exchanger Technology (FFMHE), specifically with respect to its performance in low heat flux, low temperature difference conditions characteristic of OTEC. A key intellectual property is development of 3-D smart heat transfer surfaces, as well as fluid delivery systems that can yield record high heat transfer coefficients with minimum pumping power requirements.  High performance and cost effective heat exchangers can contribute to economic feasibility of OTEC power generation systems, and thus, their global commercialization in the years to come.

The University of Maryland Advanced Heat Exchangers laboratory is involved in various heat transfer enhancement techniques with a particular emphasis in developing systems that are compact in size/volume while delivering record heat/mass transfer per unit pumping power requirements.

Click this link to view the interview with Raphael Mandel: Raphael Mandel (video).