Professor Nenad Miljkovic (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) will deliver a research seminar as part of his visit to Imperial, supported by a Royal Academy of Engineering Distinguished Visiting Fellowship.
Abstract
Micro- and nanoengineered functional surfaces have recently received substantial attention because of their ability to enhance the efficiency and performance of a variety of applications. Although demonstrated on the lab-scale, the successful integration of these surfaces into systems has been slow. This mainly due to issues that are related to poor longevity, unproven scalability, and an inability to handle working fluids that have low surface tensions. Moreover, the use of these surfaces in thermal domains has been even tougher because of the need to keep coatings ultrathin (i.e., to avoid adding parastic thermal resistances).
In this talk, fundamental studies of hydrophobic and omniphobic surface durability, during both water vapour condesation and a variety of fluid-surface interactions, will be discussed. Professor Miljkovic’s studies provide key insights, related to the design of smooth and rough functional surfaces. They also help to pinpoint future breakthroughs that are required to improve the robustness and implementation of hydrophobic and omniphobic coatings.
Speaker biography
Professor Miljkovic is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where he leads the Energy Transport Research Laboratory (ETRL). Professor Miljkovic is also actively engaged with the BP-ICAM collaboration.
The ETRL’s research has advanced the efficiency of various industrial processes, including energy (power generation, oil and gas, HVAC&R), water, transportation and electronics cooling, by fundamentally altering thermal-fluid-surface interactions.
Previously, Professor Miljkovic’s PhD work was focused on the design and characterisation of micro- and nanostructured surfaces, for enhanced condensation heat transfer.
Professor Miljkovic is the recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award, the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award, as well as the UK Royal Academy of Engineering Distinguished Visiting Fellowship.