Abstract
Enhancing heat and mass transport at multiple scales is essential to address global energy and water challenges, including water harvesting, power generation, and building energy efficiency. The first part of the talk presents the thermal and mass transport enhancement in the adsorption process through microscale directional channels and millimeter-scale fin-array structures, demonstrating the potential for atmospheric water harvesting and thermal energy storage. Next, the presentation discusses a multiscale porous ceramic heat exchanger design for high temperature power generation. Lastly, the presentation focuses on the development of radiative cooling paints, spanning from fundamental material simulation in atomic scale to realizing the whitest paints with passive daytime cooling in buildings.
About the Speaker
Dr. Xiangyu Li is an assistant professor at the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. His research focuses on using thermal sciences and materials innovation to enable high performance thermal systems.
Previously he received his Ph.D. degree from Purdue University with Prof. Xiulin Ruan, focusing on composite materials for building radiative cooling paints and electronics thermal management. He later worked as a postdoctoral associate at MIT with Prof. Evelyn Wang, on various projects involving atmospheric water harvesting, thermal energy storage, high temperature heat exchanger design and solar desalination. His work on radiative cooling paint holds the Guinness World’s Record as the World’s Whitest Paint.
Host: Professor Nenad Miljkovic
