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Thermal engineering is a specialized sub-discipline of mechanical engineering that deals with the movement of heat energy and transfer. The energy can be transferred between two mediums or transformed into other forms of energy. A thermal engineer will have knowledge of thermodynamics and the process to convert generated energy from thermal sources into chemical, mechanical, or electrical energy. Many process plants use a wide variety of machines that utilize components that use heat transfer in some way. Many plants use heat exchangers in their operations. A thermal engineer must allow the proper amount of energy to be transferred for correct use. Too much and the components could fail, too little and the system will not function at all. Thermal engineers must have an understanding of economics and the components that they will be servicing or interacting with. Some components that a thermal engineer could work with include heat exchangers, heat sinks, bi-metals strips, radiators and many more. Some systems that require a thermal engineer include; Boilers, heat pumps, water pumps, engines, and more.
Part of being a thermal engineer is to improve a current system and make it more efficient than the current system. Many industries employ thermal engineers, some main ones are the automotive manufacturing industry, commercial construction, and Heating Ventilation and Cooling industry. Job opportunities for a thermal engineer are very broad and promising.
Thermal engineering may be practiced by mechanical engineers and chemical engineers. One or more of the following disciplines may be involved in solving a particular thermal engineering problem: Thermodynamics, Fluid mechanics, Heat transfer, or Mass transfer. One branch of knowledge used frequently in thermal engineering is that of thermofluids.
Thermal Engineering is studied as a part Mechanical Engineering curriculum at graduation level. Its papers comprised of:
Some of the subjects that the students are expected to study during their higher education in thermal engineering are:
Until 21st-century growth in thermal power plants depended on internal combustion engines and equipment. But lately, the world has its eyes set on being greener given the increase in pollution at every corner. So, burning fossils will only reduce where the growth of thermal engineering graduates is only meager. But when it comes to technology, presently we are just so highly hooked on it, that a future without it seems impossible. Therefore, thermal engineering has new fields to grow into; in this techno-savvy life are:
1. Electronic systems cooling
2. Cooling for batteries used in electric vehicles
3. Propulsion systems for space applications and missiles
4. Hydrogen fueled power plants, including fuel cells
5. Large scale energy storage applications
6. Air purification techniques
Knowledge is the theoretical understanding of a subject. It’s what one learns through education or work experience at college and school. But in the workplace, an employee needs two sets of added skills: technical skills and soft skills. Knowing how to accomplish specific tasks are called technical skills.
Technical skills required to be a thermal engineering graduate are:
Employers want employees who can seamlessly integrate with their workplace, which requires a set of soft skills, which play an important role in ensuring job security for an individual.
One of the good example of thermal engineering models:
Thermal Fluid Systems:
Thermal fluid is a compound with specific heating and cooling properties that make it useful for a range of industrial processes involving heat transfer. These compounds can be made from a wide range of materials to create products with ratings for different applications, including extreme heat and cold.
Thermal fluid (‘hot oil’) heating systems are industrial systems where a special heat transfer liquid is recirculated by a pump through a fired heat exchanger used in various industrial applications. This means that efficient and accurate temperature control between 300°F and 750°F is required.
Thermal Fluid Systems (TFS) offers a broad range of products, services and support and has many years of experience in servicing the offshore and petrochemical industries.
Fluidit Heat is a revolutionary district energy system simulator. Design, operate and analyze complex district heating and cooling systems as Digital Twins. A high-speed simulation engine and intuitive user interface enable robust data analysis and insightful decisions on your valuable assets. Fluidit Heat is built upon the industry-leading hydraulic network simulator with an in-house developed energy transfer simulator. It offers a fast GIS-based user interface with online background maps to create fully customizable visualizations to enhance scenario analysis and communicate with stakeholders.
Electronic microminiaturization is affecting nearly every facet of our lives. One of the critical challenges to maintaining the past rate of miniaturization is in electronic packaging, and more specifically, thermal engineering. To put this in perspective, at the periphery of the sun the surface temperature is about 6000° C, representing a heat flux of 107 W/m2 • Current microchips generate a heat flux of about 105 W/m2 which must be cooled to around only 125° C. The application of advanced thermal engineering techniques requires a blending of the engineering disciplines of heat transfer, fluid dynamics, mathematics, and to a lesser extent, electronic theory. How did we get to this point, and what can we expect in the future? The Egyptians had learned some physiology and surgery techniques as early as 3000 B.C. Using principles of evaporation (two-phase heat transfer), convection cooling, and heat radiation, they chilled their drinking water on rooftops at night. They also developed a system for measuring property lines, geometry, and a form of mathematics. The Chinese cut and stored ice for summer usage staring about 1000 B.C. They also had a system of mathematics, writing, chemistry, and astronomy. During the 6th century B.C., the abacus originated in China, and was the fundamental instrument for performing calculations until the 1500s. Geometry studies progressed in ancient Greece. Thales (640-546 B.C.), one of the Seven Wise Men of ancient Greece, used geometry to predict a solar eclipse. He also experimented with static electricity. The Greek mathematician Pythagorus (580-500 B.C.) formulated the Pythagorean Theorem, although its principles were known earlier. Pythagorus was probably killed in a political uprising because he organized the Brotherhood of Aristocrats. The brotherhood finally disbanded about 400 B.C. Euclid (300- B.C.) published The Elements,
a 13-volume set of books about geometry, algebra, and number theory. Students used The Elements as textbooks until the late l800s. About 200 B.C. the Indians passed on a numbering system to the Arabs. Around this time, Archimedes (287-2l2 B.C.) was asked to find a method for detecting a fake royal crown. He realized that since gold is one of the most dense substances, mixing another metal with it would make a fraudulent crown lighter than an authentic crown. The problem became how to measure the density of an irregularly shaped object. It is said that Archimedes discovered the principle while taking a bath. When he realized that his arms and legs seemed lighter in the bath, he ran down the streets of Syracuse, wearing only a towel, yelling “Eureka! Eureka!”. Archimedes’ principle says that when an object is submerged, the loss of weight equals the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. Known as specific gravity, this is the ratio between the weight of the fluid and the weight of the object. Archimedes was the greatest scientist of his day and was respected in all of the civilized world. He originated processes that foreshadowed the invention of integral calculus 1800 years later. When the Romans conquered Syracuse, Sicily in 212 B.C., a Roman soldier, mistaking Archimedes for an old beggar, ran a sword through him. Although the Romans conquered many civil engineering problems, they contributed little to the advancement of mathematics as a science. After the fall of the Roman Empire in A.D. 476 there were no new European developments for hundreds of years. These were the Dark Ages. European scholars had turned to theology. By the 600s the Mayans had a much better understanding of their numbering system than the Europeans had of theirs. During the 700s, the Arabs, who had taken over much of the old Roman Empire, studied the writings of the ancient Greeks. They combined those writings with the Indian decimal system. Between 813 and 833, AI-Khowarizmi, a professor in the Baghdad school of Mathematics, organized and improved the writings of Hindu and Arab scholars. When traders introduced translations of the ancient Greek books and new Arab ideas into Europe during the A.D. WOOs, the Europeans organized them to agree with their own religious views. To question the interpreted writings of the ancient Greeks was punishable by death. The head of the Franciscan Order jailed Roger Bacon (1214-1294), an English monk and one of the founders of present day science, for “suspect innovations” in his work. Progress in the sciences began again in the l400s, the European Renaissance. Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) studied the sciences as an engineer, geologist, astronomer, and botanist. Among his many accomplishments was a canal system with locks that is still used. His sketches provided insight into the turbulent flow of liquids. In 1585, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) invented the hydrostatic balance. This device is still used to find the specific gravity of objects by weighing them in water. Later in 1593, Galileo invented the thermoscope. The apparatus, similar to a thermometer, consisted of an inverted tube of water in a bowl.
It had no degree scale, and measured only temperature differences, not temperature. Galileo spent his last years confined to his villa by the Inquisition. He wrote about his theories of motion, acceleration, and gravity. His work provided the basis for Sir Isaac Newton’ s laws of motion. At about the same time Galileo was experimenting with fluids, William Gilbert (1540-1603), physician to Queen Elizabeth I, began to experiment with static electricity. He used the words electrum and electrica in his reports. A contemporary of Galileo ‘ s, Sanctorius, introduced the first scale for the thermoscope in 1611. The low point temperature was when covered by snow. The high point was when a candle was held underneath. This scale had 110 units and was the first actual thermometer. The measurements were inaccurate because atmospheric pressure altered the readings. A more accurate thermometer using alcohol was invented in 1641. John Napier (1550-1617), a Scotsman, published the famous Mirifici Logarthmorum Canonis Descriptio in 1614. His logarithms converted the lengthy procedures of multiplication and division to the faster processes of addition and subtraction. He also invented so-called “bones” or “rods” for multiplying and dividing, and for extracting square and cube roots. He published many formulas used in spherical trigonometry. Blaise Pascal ‘ s (1623-1662) father taught his son only the subjects he thought a son should know, mostly ancient dead languages. By the age of 12 Blaise had taught himself geometry, and at the age of 16 published a book titled The Geometry of Conics. His father relented and allowed the boy to study physics and mathematics when the famous philosopher and mathematician Rene (“I think, therefore I am”) Descartes (1596-1650) took an interest. At the age of 19, noting his father’s long hours spent calculating as a tax collector, he built the first calculating machine. His mechanical device added and subtracted by turning small wheels. The idea didn’t catch on with the hand-calculating clerks in France for reasons of job security, so Blaise turned his attention to the study of fluid pressure. Pascal’ s Law says that the change of pressure at any point in a confined fluid is transmitted undiminished in all directions to all points within the fluid. Later, along with the French mathematician Pierre De Fermat (1601-1665), Pascal invented the theories of probability and statistics, and explained their uses in card games and gambling. In 1643, the Italian mathematician Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647) proposed that atmospheric pressure determines the height of a fluid in an inverted tube over a container of the fluid. Torricelli was Galileo’s successor at the Florentine Academy. This theory led to the development of the barometer. As court mathematician and philosopher to Grand Duke Ferdinand II of Tuscany, Torricelli proved what is now known as Torricelli ‘ s theorem. This theorem says that the velocity of a liquid through an opening equals the velocity of a free-falling body from the surface of the liquid to the opening.
The problem of a thermometer responding to atmospheric pressure changes was solved in 1644 when Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany (1608-1657) introduced the sealed thermometer, to further the experimentation and manufacture of accurate thermometers, the Academia de Cimento in Florence was established in 1657. The Florentines filled these thermometers with red wine because it expands faster than liquid metal. Robert Boyle (1627-1691), an Irish chemist, studied the changes in volume of a gas as he varied the pressure. The result was Boyle’s Law: P = constant/V. This shows that at a given temperature and volume, all gases will exert the same pressure, and became the general gas law: 9ft = PVInT. He also studied the boiling and freezing of liquids at reduced pressures. The English astronomer Edmund Halley (1656-1742) predicted the return of the comet of 1682, studied compass needle deviations, and mapped the stars. Robert Hooke (1635-1703) stated Hooke’s Law of proportional stress and deformation and discovered plant cells. Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), the English architect and mathematician, redesigned all or part of 55 out of 87 churches that were destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. One day in 1684 these three men were discussing the law of force that guided the planets around the sun. They could not solve the problem, so Halley traveled to Cambridge to confer with Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Newton displayed the complete proof of the law of gravity that he had discovered 17 years earlier along with calculus, and the laws of color and light. He had made these discoveries during an 18-month period from 1665 to 1667. Newton disliked the negative criticism that accompanies new scientific discoveries so he concealed his work. In 1671, the German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716) constructed a stepped-wheel device for multiplying by means of repeated additions. Scientists used his device in limited numbers. Leibniz did not attempt to popularize his invention. He believed that a man should just accept his lot in life, not try to change things, and make the best of it. The quote “This is the best of all possible worlds” is attributed to Leibniz. He also shares the credit for inventing calculus with Sir Isaac Newton. Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), whose father and uncle were also famous Swiss mathematicians and physicists, discovered the relationship between fluid velocity, density, pressure, and height. Bernoulli’s Law, published in Hydrodynamica in 1738, explains that as the speed of a fluid increases, the pressure of the fluid decreases. In this work Bernoulli also explained his kinetic theory of gaseous pressure in a container. Bernoulli collaborated with Leonhard Euler at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. The German physicist Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) made the thermometer more accurate in 1714 by using mercury instead of alcohol, and developed the temperature scale named in his honor. The Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701-1744) made a great impact on thermometers. Two years before his death he chose a fixed water freezing point, a water boiling point, and the division of the interval into 100 equal graduations (centigrade). Celsius originally called the ice point 100 and the boiling point zero. Charles Francois Du Fay (1698-1739), King Louis XV’s Superintendent of Gardens, found that a static electricity charge can be deposited on any object. In 1733 he wrote about two different types of electricity: vitreous and resinous. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Minister and frequent visitor to France, became interested in electricity about 1746. He called Du Fay’s electricities positive and negative. He conducted his famous kite experiment in 1752 and proved that lightning is electricity. Franklin continued to experiment with electricity even though he was knocked unconscious several times. Leonhard Euler (1707-1783) became famous for his wide range of work in mathematics. Most of his work in number theory, probability, geometry, acoustics, mechanics, algebra, optics, finance, calculus, statistics, and algebra was accomplished after he went blind in 1766. In the period between 1726 and 1800, Euler’s 866 books and articles represented one-third of all the research on mathematics, theoretical physics, and engineering mechanics. A Swiss society started to publish his work in 1909. After 50 years and 47 volumes they were still not finished. The Scottish scientist William Cullen discovered the principles of artificial refrigeration in 1748 at the University of Glasgow. While experimenting with ethyl ether, he evaporated it into a partial vacuum. This event was the dawn of vapor cooling. In 1760, a Scottish physician, Joseph Black (1728-1799), demonstrated that heat does not have weight and devised the theory of latent heat. Another Scottish inventor, James Watt (1736-1819), patented an improved steam engine in 1769. Watt used steam coils to heat his office in 1784. His inventions include the engine governor, a throttle valve, and a type of double-acting engine. He performed research in chemistry and metallurgy and retired as a wealthy man in 1800. The Watt equals one volt driving one ampere. About this time, the French scientist Charles Augustan De Coulomb (1736-1806) formulated Coulomb’s Law. This says that the force between two electric or magnetic charges varies inversely as the square of the distance between them. The Coulomb is equal to the quantity of energy in 6.242 X 1018 electrons. Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), an Italian physicist, invented the electric battery. The volt is named in Lord Volta’s honor. Count Rumford (1753-1814) was born Benjamin Thompson, in Massachusetts. Loyal to the crown during the American Revolution, Thompson moved to London in 1776. Thompson was knighted in 1784, and became a count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1791. In 1797 he designed an experiment to prove that heat was not a fluid-like substance. He concluded that heat is not a fluid, but a form of mechanical motion. His research led to improvements in heating and cooking equipment. Although it had been written about since 1670, the French Revolution caused the adoption of the metric system in 1799. A group of 12 mathematicians and scientists met with French King Louis XVI to discuss the adoption proposal. Signing of the order was delayed because the King tried to escape France and the murderous peasants. King Louis finally signed the proclamation from his jail cell. In 1811, Amadeo Avogadro (1776-1856) suggested that: at any temperature and pressure, the number of molecules per unit volume is the same for all gases. This became known as the Avogadro number (6.022 X 1023 atoms per mole). Interestingly, Avogadro himself had no idea what this number might be. He was also the first to distinguish between molecules and atoms. Nicolas Leonard Sadi Camot (1796-1832) originated the field of thermodynamics. This French engineer and physicist worked to improve the efficiency of the steam engine. His conclusions apply to all devices that convert heat into work. He found that the efficiency of a reversible engine depends on the temperatures between which it works. The French mathematician Joseph Fourier (1768-1830), like Leonhard Euler, was trained as a priest. Fourier did not take his vows and turned to mathematics. In 1799 he accompanied Napoleon’s army in the conquest of Egypt. There he studied archaeology, the pyramids, and the sphinx. In 1822 he became famous for his mathematical treatment of the theory of heat. He established the partial differential equations governing heat diffusion and solved them by using an infinite series of trigonometric functions, known now as the Fourier series. One of the first to work in the new field of electricity was Heinrich Geissler (1814-1879). Geissler removed the air from glass tubes and found that they glowed with colors when an electrical current was passed through them. Thomas Edison (1847-1931) found that by inserting a small metal plate into the tube he could cause current to flow from the filament to the plate. This was called the Edison Effect. Edison patented the device and called it the Thermionic Tube. William Thomson (1824-1907) was knighted and became Lord Kelvin after laying the Atlantic Cable in 1866. Later, he described absolute zero as the temperature of a reservoir to which a Carnot engine would reject no heat. He later developed the absolute temperature scale, graduated in degrees Kelvin. This scale does not rely on a thermoelectric property of a substance so there is no problem of deciding which thermoelectric property or substance to use. In terms of the Celsius thermometer, absolute zero is defined as -273.15°C. Absolute zero is often considered the point at which all random molecular motion stops. Although this is not a true definition, it is very close.
In 1804, the French inventor Joseph Jacquard (1752-1834) demonstrated his loom for Napoleon. The loom used punched cards to weave complex textile patterns. Mobs of silkworkers, angry at the automation of their craft, destroyed looms all over Europe. The English mathematician Charles Babbage (1792-1871) built the first true computer. Babbage also invented the speedometer and the cow-catcher. In 1822, incensed by the inaccurate mathematical tables of his time, he constructed a system of cogs and gears called the “Difference Engine.” The engine could rapidly and accurately calculate long lists of functions. Only one was built. After further experimentation he conceived of the more complex “Analytical Engine.” He produced thousands of drawings for this programmable device, which had data storage, logic circuits, memory, and data retrieval. None were built. His ally, Augusta Ada Byron, countess of Lovelace, daughter of the English poet Lord Byron (1788-1824), wrote a program to calculate Bernoulli numbers. She envisioned punch card data entry similar to Joseph Jacquard’s loom. The device would have been as large as a football field and would have required a power supply of six steam locomotive s to overcome the gear friction during calculations. In 1834 Jacob Perkin s, a Massachu setts inventor, patented a refrigerator employing a compressor and a closed-loop ammonia system. From 1843 to 1850, James Prescott Joule (1818-1889) published a series of papers explaining his experiments to measure heat as an equal to mechanical energy. The Joule, named in his honor, is equal to the energy expended moving a one coulomb charge (6.242 X 1018 electron s) against one volt. A French engineer, Ferdinand Carre, developed the first heat absorption system between 1851 and 1855. Later, Karle von Linde, a German engineer, introduced the first compression refrigeration system. Linde developed his ammonia refrigerant system between 1873 and 1875. The science of hydrodynamic s was established in 1851 when the British physicist and mathematician Sir George Stokes (1819-1903) described the movement of a sphere through a viscous fluid. The British system of units measures kinematic viscosity in “Stokes.” In 1883, Osborne Reynolds (1842-1912) published his paper on fluid turbulence. The dimensionless number ratio of inertial force to viscous force within the fluid stream is named in his honor. In 1871, the Englishman John Strutt, 3rd Baron of Rayleigh (1842-1919), explained why the sky is blue. Lord Rayleigh made many contributions to the field of wave phenomena, and laid the foundation for the distribution of energy in blackbody radiation. A dimensionless number ratio named in his honor represents the ratio of buoyant forces to viscous forces. The Grashof number is often multiplied by the Prandtl number to arrive at the Rayleigh number. The ratio of the Grashof number and the Reynolds number suggests whether natural or forced convective forces are dominant.
In 1847 the German physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894), a direct descendant of William Penn, published a paper that consolidated all known information about the conservation of energy. He supported his paper with mathematical arguments. He was also the first to measure the speed of nerve impulses. A St. Louis bank clerk, William Burroughs (1885-1898), devised the first commercial calculating machine in 1885. He sold it in Chicago in substantial numbers. An American engineer, Herman Hollerith (1860-1929), persuaded the U.S. Census Bureau to try punched card programming for the 1890 census. Soon, punched cards were being used in many offices. In 1896 Hollerith formed the Tabulating Machine Company. Later, another firm absorbed Hollerith’s company to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, which evolved to become International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). In 1904, John Fleming (1849-1945) built the Fleming Valve, a vacuum diode that could detect radio signals. After several contributions to research in photometry, Fleming was knighted in 1929. One year later, Lee De Forest a 33-year-old American inventor, patented the Audion Tube. It was the first amplifying triode vacuum tube. It was soon wedded with Marconi’s wireless invention to produce radio. Although De Forest had a technical Ph.D., it is said that he did not understand how his device worked, and its discovery was an accident. Nevertheless, his dream was to bring his great joy (opera) into every home in America. In 1906 the German inventor Hermann Nernst (1864-1941) discovered the third law of thermodynamics. This 1920 Nobel prize law states that entropy approaches zero as temperature approaches absolute zero. He sold his patent for the Nernst lamp for one million marks, but an improved version of Edison’s light bulb soon replaced Nernst’s lamp. A New York farmhand, Willis Carrier, was fascinated by heat transfer during his studies at Cornell University. One year after he graduated, he undertook the task of cooling a Brooklyn printer’s office. His breakthrough accomplishment was to calculate and balance the airflow against the cooling effect to reduce the humidity . This balance further cooled the air. He built a very successful business. By 1930, movie theaters were advertising “Air-Conditioning” in larger letters than the movie title. 1913 saw the production of the first commercial refrigerator. The “Domelre” cost about $900 at a time when $11 was the average weekly wage. Using the ideas of Charles Babbage, Dr. Vannevar Bush (1890-1974), while Dean of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), built the first large-scale electromechanical analog computer, the Differential Analyzer, in 1925. In 1941 President Roosevelt appointed Dr. Bush to be the first director of the Office of Scientific Research. His proposal for a similar office, for peacetime research, led to the formation of the National Science Foundation.
By the late 1920s pentode tubes had grown so large and powerful that cooling fans were placed around the devices. In 1935, I. E. Mouromtseff and H. N. Kozanowski published “Comparative Analysis of Water-Cooled Tubes as Class B Audio Amplifiers.” They used four gallons per minute of deionized water to cool an 11.3 kW tube. By 1942 liquid cooling was firmly established and was required to cool such new and powerful devices as the Amplitron, the Magnetron, and the Klystron tubes. During this time Mouromtseff devised a dimensionless number to evaluate cooling media, p0.8 kO. 6 Cp 0.4/I-L0.4. This has become known as the Mouromtseff number. The first large scale digital electromechanical computer, the Mark I, was designed by Dr. Howard Aiken (1900-1973) of Harvard University in 1937. IBM built the computer in 1944. A year later, Grace Hopper, while troubleshooting the malfunctioning computer, found a moth lodged in a circuit. From that time on, a computer malfunction was said to be a “bug.” In February 1946, the first electronic digital computer was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. John Mauchly (1907-1980) and J.Presper Eckert (1919-) built it for the sole purpose of calculating artillery ballistic tables. The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC) made mistakes and required repairs about every seven minutes. This milestone computer used air-conditioned hallways to cool its 18,000 vacuum tubes, 500,000 soldered joints, and 30 tons of wiring. It is rumored that the lights of Philadelphia dimmed when the machine was turned on. At a cost $500,000 (1946 dollars) it was the equivalent of today’s hand-held calculator, and had a speed of 500 additions and subtractions per second. ENIAC was nonprogrammable and had to be rewired for each new problem. In 1951 Mauchly and Eckert introduced the first commercially available computer, the UNIVAC I. When Bell Labs developed the transistor in 1947, most scientists thought that the burden of cooling electronics would be eliminated. It was, but only for a short time. Soon, the problem became worse. A 1949 article in Popular Mechanics contained the bold statement “Someday, computers may weigh less than 1.5 tons.” By the late 1950s powerful transistors and newly developed integrated circuits were in use. In 1958 J.S.Kilby invented the integrated circuit, which consists of multiple transistors on a single piece of silicon. While these new devices produced less total heat, there was now much less surface area to dissipate that heat. Consequently, Watt density (heat generation/surface area) increased. Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel Corporation, predicted that the number of transistors produced on a single silicon wafer will double every 18 months. Moore’s Law has held true for more than 30 years. By the 1960s engineers had devised indirect cooling using coldplates, and were using dielectric fluids for direct immersion cooling. Airborne military systems used coldplates with ethylene-glycol mixtures to cool their avionics. Universities began to study direct immersion cooling as a way to avoid the reservoirs, piping, leak-proof connectors, and pumps mandated by indirect cooling. In 1969 Dr. De Forest, father of radio, said “[Man will never reach the moon] regardless of all future scientific advances.” Although direct immersion cooling was gaining use in closely controlled environments in the 1970s, direct immersion (pool-boiling) cooling for high power assemblies was regarded with growing disfavor. Circuits had become so powerful that some fluids would boil when in contact with these circuits. Engineers knew that the heat transfer coefficient increased dramatically during this phase change, but actual systems suffered from thermal hysteresis at the critical boiling temperature. Instead of the circuit maintaining the constant temperature of the boiling fluid, ICs would sometimes exceed the boiling point by 50°C before the fluid in contact with the IC would begin to boil. In 1977 Kenneth Olen, president and founder of Digital Equipment Corp, said “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home.” Because of problems associated with direct immersion, system designers in the early 1980’s began to use ideas such as helium-cooled pistons, jet-impingement, and heat pipes, for indirect cooling. These concepts were introduced in new supercomputers, most notably, the Thermal Control Module (TCM) in the IBM 3090. Because of the market pressure to develop even smaller systems, electronic companies began to provide large funds for research programs at universities. Researchers began to understand the factors involved in reducing the thermal hysteresis in prior assemblies. In 1986, ETA Inc., developed a computer that had its processors immersed in a bath of liquid nitrogen at -190°C. Today, laptop computers use liquid heat sinks. Designers use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to better understand convective cooling processes. Engineering specialists use lasers to cut microchannels into an IC’s surface, and force synthetic fluids costing over $300 per gallon through the microtunnels to cool the latest semiconductors. Prototype diamond substrates are now available. These substrates allow faster movement of electrons than either gallium arsenide or silicon. And, since they have a higher dielectric strength, diamonds can operate at higher power levels. Also, diamonds have the highest thermal conductivity (2000 Wlm K) of any material: Five times greater than pure copper, 17 times greater than silicon, and 40 times that of gallium arsenide. Tomorrow, superconducting circuits may be standard catalog items. Miniature cryogenic systems will offer new challenges to designers. Automobiles will use liquid cooling to improve module reliability in the severe underhood environments. “Smart” houses may have dedicated cooling for their computers. Magnetic and sonic refrigeration techniques may see commercial use. Two things are certain: circuits will grow more powerful and smaller, and the thermal engineering specialists will be faced with more difficult challenges.
Thermal engineering is a sub discipline of mechanical and chemical engineering that deals with the mechanism of heat transfer and energy conversion. Based on the laws of thermodynamics, thermal engineering is an important part of manufacturing any machine. Thermal engineering is a fairly new branch of engineering and so are the problems expected to be solved by this branch. Below are the few modern problems that are trying to find solutions in thermal engineering:
The global energy demand is expected to increase, and energy conservation and improvement in efficiency are considered to be important means of controlling the demand
of energy. Some of the newer innovations required are development of new generation heat exchangers, recouperators, etc. that use advanced technologies, development of advanced thermal energy, storage technologies, promotion of promising industrial/ manufacturing opportunities, and exploration of ways to increase efficiency of thermal-power generating plants.
With continued trends for indoor environment there are significant opportunities for thermal engineers not only to improve personalized human comfort in buildings and to reduce energy consumption, but also at the same time to take advantage of the outdoor environment, climate and availability of solar energy. This includes architectural heating and cooling design features of “zero energy homes” and environmentally / energy efficient buildings.
The conversion of solar radiation into electricity has been dominated by solar thermal power generation and photovoltaic (PV). Photovoltaic cells are deployed widely, mostly as flat panels, whereas solar-thermal electricity generation relies on optical concentrators and mechanical engines. Here, we focus on the latter method, because it requires important input from thermal engineers, such as storage of thermal energy.
Recently, significant progress has been made in improving thermoelectric materials, but the application of thermoelectric in large-scale renewable energy conversion has not been demonstrated and remains a challenge. The humanity is facing significant challenges in meeting the energy needs for the growing population, replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources and reducing CO2 emissions. Thermal engineers can help us come up with long term sustainable energy solutions.
Nanoscale heat and mass transport at different interfaces is an important scientific and engineering challenge remaining to the explored. Heat transfer in small scale, ultrafast heat transfer, nano / microscale thermal radiation, experimental heat transfer on micro- and nanoscale are some additional challenges.
Energy is the most basic underlying entity in the world and many of the modern challenges need an innovation from thermal sciences for the world to be a better place to live in.
1. Energy Savings
A heating system that is dirty or neglected has to work harder than necessary to raise the temperature in your home. During the course of the scheduled appointment, a qualified technician will perform a number of vital operations, including:
Each of these tasks contributes to the efficient operation of your heating system, reducing energy usage and lowering your monthly bill.
2. Increased Comfort
Malfunctioning system components, leaky ductwork, or reduced airflow can prevent your heating system from achieving the desired set point on your thermostat.
3. Enhanced Air Quality
As conditioned air moves throughout your duct network, it carries with it any loose particulate that was unable to be trapped due to a clogged air filter, dirty system components, or sat lingering in your ducts. Common contaminants can include:
In addition to creating more dust on surfaces in your home, the particulate can trigger symptoms in those who suffer from allergies or asthma, contributing to a lower quality of indoor air.
4. Extended Equipment Life Span
When your heating system is clean, lubricated, and in good repair, parts can move freely and airflow is unimpeded. The less stress that is placed on your equipment, the longer it will last, ensuring years of optimum performance.
5. Improved Safety
A clean, well-maintained fuel-burning appliance produces a minuscule amount of carbon monoxide, which is typically carried away by the venting system. However, a system that is dirty or malfunctioning can produce much higher concentrations of this deadly, odorless gas, posing a threat to the occupants in your home. As part of your heating maintenance plan, the technician will inspect the burner combustion, gas connections, and heat exchanger to ensure all parts are in good working order.
6. Lower Cost of Repairs
Most minor issues can be detected and rectified during routine maintenance before they become major, costly repairs.
7. Reliability
Taking the time to schedule preventive maintenance at the start of heating season ensures your system will operate at peak performance, providing reliable, efficient heating services and avoiding a costly, midseason breakdown.
Listed Company
Founded 1906
United Kingdom
“Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational public holding company that, through its various subsidiaries, designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for aviation and other industries. Rolls-Royce Holdings is headquartered in City of Westminster, London. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines, and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Rolls-Royce was the world’s 16th-largest defence contractor in 2011 and 2012 when measured by defence revenues. It had an announced order book of £71.6 billion as of January 2014.”
Private Company
Founded 1989
United Kingdom
“Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management and development consultancy focused on guiding our clients through many of the planet’s most intricate challenges. Our engineers, project and programme managers have taken lead roles in the world’s highest profile infrastructure and development projects.”
n/a
Founded 2003
USA
“Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) is a premier thermal management solutions company, focusing on custom applications of two-phase heat transfer technology. Started in 2003 as an R&D company, ACT has grown into a leading manufacturer of thermal management products for diverse industries and applications. Our thermal management designs and products are deployed in numerous commercial satellites, military vehicles, medical devices and imaging equipment, Primary Calibration equipment, and HVAC systems.”
Listed Company
Founded 2005
USA
“ExOne; With decades of manufacturing experience and significant investment in research and product development, ExOne has pioneered the evolution of nontraditional manufacturing. This investment has yielded a new generation of rapid production technology in the field of additive manufacturing as well as advanced micromachining processes.;127 Industry Boulevard North Huntingdon; PA 15642 USA;15642”
Private Company
Founded 2010
United Kingdom
“Moixa is the UK’s leading smart battery company. We develop our Smart Battery hardware and GridShare software to facilitate smart energy storage and sharing. Moixa’s pioneering smart energy-management software helps renewable energy work intelligently for individuals and businesses. GridShare facilitates and interprets complex interactions between energy-storage devices and the grid, enabling data-based decision making and ensuring value is created throughout the supply chain.”
Private Company
Founded 2012
USA
75F is a technology company offering an internet of things (IoT) building automation system for HVAC, lighting, and equipment control that is headquartered in Burnsville, Minnesota and was founded in 2012 by Deepinder Singh and Pankaj Chawla. The 75F system is a vertically integrated IoT powered building management solution that allows users to predict and proactively control their indoor environments. The systems uses a combination of wireless sensors, equipment controllers, and cloud-based software.
Private Company
Founded 2013
USA
“KULR’s disruptive thermal management technologies strive to fulfill an addressable $24 Billion thermal management systems market. KULR’s integrated design approach offers comprehensive solutions in thermal interface materials, lightweight heat exchangers, and protection against lithium-ion battery thermal runaway propagation. Our high-performance solutions can be designed to fit almost any power or electronic configuration, including extremely demanding spaces or for applications where size and weight restrictions are a concern.”
Private Company
Founded 2014
USA
“Linear Labs develops fully modular electric motors and generators based on core technology protected by over 75 patents. We have built and tested these motors. We understand the physics, the manufacturability, and the thermal management of them. The defining characteristic of our variable speed Permanent Magnet motors produce over 2X the torque for the same size, weight, and input energy with greater efficiency across the full speed range. By producing greater torque at low speed our rotary and linear provide huge benefits to almost every industry: Micro mobility – 50-100% range increases between charges; HVAC – Greatly reduced electricity usage and smaller units; Automobiles – 10-20% more range, no gearbox, simpler power electronics, less weight, less space used; Turbines – 15-30% more output power for the same input energy; and Industrial – More power in smaller more reliable units. In addition, our fully modular motors can use ferrite cores (no rare earths) without the need for liquid cooling reducing cost and supply chain risks while generating over 1.5X more torque than existing motors. We’ve focused primarily on Mobility, Micro mobility, and HVAC. You’ll see this in Scooters, HVAC, and industrial applications this year. A car two years after.”
Private Company
Founded 2015
USA “Founded in 2015, TemperPack solves thermal packaging problems through sustainable design. The company was born out of a desire to reduce the amount of unsustainable packaging driven by the rise of e-commerce delivery and life science logistics. They specialize in bringing custom solutions for clients to scale in the perishable food and life sciences industries. Today, TemperPack operates two factories in Virginia and Nevada and is rapidly expanding, all with the goal of reducing the amount of single use plastic packaging.”
Private Company
Founded 2015
Taiwan
“XING Mobility™’s breakthrough Immersion Cooled Modular Battery Pack System submerges cells directly in 3M™ Novec™ Engineered Fluid to deliver unprecedented continuous power to electric vehicles. The world’s first battery pack to make immersion cooling technology available to electric vehicle makers, XING Mobility’s battery system presents an innovative solution to thermal management challenges and delivers unprecedented power output.”
Private Company
Founded 2017
USA
“Our software platform aggregates all the potential energy from a given system/site and positions us for a big data play with energy solutions for utilities in grid management (VPP’s) and system owners to manage their own power and significantly reduce cost (solar self-supply, demand charge reduction, and resiliency).”
n/a
Founded 2018
United Kingdom
“OrbAstro (Orbital Astronautics Ltd) is a space technology company focused on compressing the upfront cost and lead-time to get from business idea to revenue generation, for companies utilising satellites. We do this by providing compelling satellites and services, well-aligned with both future market needs and impending requirements from regulators. Beyond this, we are building an orbital infrastructure that greatly increases the capabilities of customer satellites, compounding the value proposition associated with their businesses in a way not otherwise possible.”
n/a
Founded 2018
USA
“Extracting Value From Scrap Tires. From construction of custom Advanced Pyrolysis facilities to complete supply chain management for both raw and finished goods to a complete suite of operations consulting, CarbonCycle helps municipalities and scrap tire waste-generating companies and agencies responsibly alleviate their waste tire problem.”
n/a
Founded 2019
USA
“At HEN Nozzles, we are using fundamentals of fluid dynamics and thermal management to create High Efficiency Nozzles (HEN). Our patented smooth bore nozzles can increase fire suppression rates by up to 2x.”
n/a
Founded 2019
USA
“At Special Power Sources, we are on a mission to provide the most rugged and reliable power protection solutions on the planet. The kind that allow power to be possible in the some of the most remote areas. For that reason Special Power Sources is dedicated to creating power solutions that are reliable and strongly supported both in the field and remotely. With clean and reliable power generators Special Power Sources is also able to increase energy efficiency in most any remote application – making for some very powerful possibilities.”
Governments worldwide are recognizing that burning fossil fuels is changing the Earth’s climate, increasing global average temperatures, causing unprecedented melting of polar sea ice and raising sea levels. Given these climate-change threats, renewable energies appear to be the wave of the future. Many countries, including the United States, have programs for limiting CO2 emissions and supporting renewable energy development. Renewable energy R & D is helping to lower costs and increase efficiency. In the future, there will likely not be a single solution to a community’s energy needs but a combination of technologies. Communities will need to identity the energy resources in their area and develop sustainable energy plans.
source: en.wikipedia.org_ careers360_ wise-geek_ offshore-technology_ pirobloc_ springer_
cgu-odisha.ac_ harrellking_ rolls-royce_ mottmac_ 1-act_ exone_ moixa_ 75f.io_ kulrtechnology_ linearlabsinc_ temperpack_ xingmobility_ yottaenergy_ orbastro_ carboncycle.co_ hennozzles_ spsources_ ventureradar_ sciencing
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