4/21/2008 Colloquium - Jacopo Buongiorno

Jacopo Buongiorno

Event Info

Title: Nanofluids and Nuclear Power

Date: Apr 21, 2008
Location: 3105 Etcheverry Hall
Time: 4-5pm

Abstract

Colloidal dispersions of nanoparticles are known as ‘nanofluids’. Such engineered fluids offer the potential for enhancing heat transfer, particularly boiling heat transfer, while avoiding the drawbacks (i.e., erosion, settling, clogging) that hindered the use of particle-laden fluids in the past. At MIT we have been studying the heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids for the past 3½ years, with the goal of evaluating their benefits for and applicability to nuclear power systems (i.e., primary coolant, safety systems, severe accident mitigation strategies). This presentation will survey the MIT research in this area with particular emphasis to boiling behavior, including, prominently, the Critical Heat Flux limit.