Bao Yang

Bio: Bao Yang is an academic researcher from University of Maryland, College Park. The author has contributed to research in topics: Thermoelectric cooling & Thermal conductivity. The author has an hindex of 44, co-authored 141 publications receiving 7219 citations. Previous affiliations of Bao Yang include Massachusetts Institute of Technology & University of California, Los Angeles.

Synthesis and Characterization of Solid-State Phase Change Material Microcapsules for Thermal Management Applications

Abstract: Polyalcohols such as neopentyl glycol (NPG) undergo solid-state crystal transformations that absorb/release sufficient latent heat. These solid-solid phase change materials (PCM) can be used in practical thermal management applications without concerns about liquid leakage and thermal expansion during phase transition. In this paper, microcapsules of NPG encapsulated in silica shell were successfully synthesized with the use of the emulsion technique. The size of the microcapsules was in the range of 0.2–4 μm, and the thickness of the silica shell was about 30 nm. It was found that the endothermic event of the phase change behavior of these NPG-silica microcapsules was initiated at around 39 °C and the latent heat was about 96.0 J/g. A large supercooling of about 43.3 °C was observed in the pure NPG particles without shell. The supercooling of the NPG microcapsules can be reduced to about 14 °C due to the heterogeneous nucleation sites provided by the silica shell. These NPG microcapsules were added into heat transfer fluid PAO to enhance its heat capacity. The effective heat capacity of the fluids can be increased by 56% by adding 20 wt. % NPG-silica microcapsules.Copyright © 2013 by ASME

Thermal- and Phase-Change Characteristics of Self-Assembled Ethanol/Polyalphaolefin Nanoemulsion Fluids

Abstract: The strategy of adding solid particles to fluids for improving thermal conductivity has been pursued for more than one century. Here, a novel concept of using liquid nanodroplets for enhancing thermal performance has been developed and demonstrated in polyalphaolefin nanoemulsion fluids with dispersed ethanol nanodroplets. The ethanol/polyalphaolefin nanoemulsion fluids are spontaneously generated by self-assembly and are thermodynami- cally stable. Their thermophysical properties, including thermal conductivity and viscosity, and impact on convective heat transfer are investigated experimentally. The thermal conductivity enhancement in these fluids is found to be moderate but increases rapidly with increasing temperature in the measured temperature range of 35-75°C. A very remarkable increase in the convective heat transfer coefficient, by a factor of up to 2.2, occurs in the nanoemulsion fluids due to the explosive vaporization ofthe ethanol nanodroplets at the superheat limit (i.e., spinodal states, about 122°C higher than the atmospheric boiling point for ethanol). Such an explosive liquid-vapor phase transition might augment the fluid heat transfer through the heat of vaporization (which intuitively raises the base fluid specific heat capacity) and the fluid mixing induced by the sound waves. The development of such phase-changeable nanoemulsion fluids would open a new direction for thermal fluids studies.

Probing Nanoscale Thermal Transport in Surfactant Solutions

Abstract: Surfactant solutions typically feature tunable nanoscale, internal structures. Although rarely utilized, they can be a powerful platform for probing thermal transport in nanoscale domains and across interfaces with nanometer-size radius. Here, we examine the structure and thermal transport in solution of AOT (Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate) in n-octane liquids using small-angle neutron scattering, thermal conductivity measurements, and molecular dynamics simulations. We report the first experimental observation of a minimum thermal conductivity occurring at the critical micelle concentration (CMC): the thermal conductivity of the surfactant solution decreases as AOT is added till the onset of micellization but increases as more AOT is added. The decrease of thermal conductivity with AOT loading in solutions in which AOT molecules are dispersed as monomers suggests that even the interfaces between individual oleophobic headgroup of AOT molecules and their surrounding non-polar octane molecules can hinder heat transfer. The increase of thermal conductivity with AOT loading after the onset of micellization indicates that the thermal transport in the core of AOT micelles and across the surfactant-oil interfaces, both of which span only a few nanometers, are efficient.

Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular dynamics

Abstract: Three parallel algorithms for classical molecular dynamics are presented. The first assigns each processor a fixed subset of atoms; the second assigns each a fixed subset of inter-atomic forces to compute; the third assigns each a fixed spatial region. The algorithms are suitable for molecular dynamics models which can be difficult to parallelize efficiently—those with short-range forces where the neighbors of each atom change rapidly. They can be implemented on any distributed-memory parallel machine which allows for message-passing of data between independently executing processors. The algorithms are tested on a standard Lennard-Jones benchmark problem for system sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000,000 atoms on several parallel supercomputers--the nCUBE 2, Intel iPSC/860 and Paragon, and Cray T3D. Comparing the results to the fastest reported vectorized Cray Y-MP and C90 algorithm shows that the current generation of parallel machines is competitive with conventional vector supercomputers even for small problems. For large problems, the spatial algorithm achieves parallel efficiencies of 90% and a 1840-node Intel Paragon performs up to 165 faster than a single Cray C9O processor. Trade-offs between the three algorithms and guidelines for adapting them to more complex molecular dynamics simulations are also discussed.

Toward Safe Lithium Metal Anode in Rechargeable Batteries: A Review.

Abstract: The lithium metal battery is strongly considered to be one of the most promising candidates for high-energy-density energy storage devices in our modern and technology-based society. However, uncontrollable lithium dendrite growth induces poor cycling efficiency and severe safety concerns, dragging lithium metal batteries out of practical applications. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the lithium metal anode and its dendritic lithium growth. First, the working principles and technical challenges of a lithium metal anode are underscored. Specific attention is paid to the mechanistic understandings and quantitative models for solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, lithium dendrite nucleation, and growth. On the basis of previous theoretical understanding and analysis, recently proposed strategies to suppress dendrite growth of lithium metal anode and some other metal anodes are reviewed. A section dedicated to the potential of full-cell lithium metal batteries for practical applicatio...

Physics of thin-film ferroelectric oxides

Abstract: This review covers important advances in recent years in the physics of thin-film ferroelectric oxides, the strongest emphasis being on those aspects particular to ferroelectrics in thin-film form. The authors introduce the current state of development in the application of ferroelectric thin films for electronic devices and discuss the physics relevant for the performance and failure of these devices. Following this the review covers the enormous progress that has been made in the first-principles computational approach to understanding ferroelectrics. The authors then discuss in detail the important role that strain plays in determining the properties of epitaxial thin ferroelectric films. Finally, this review ends with a look at the emerging possibilities for nanoscale ferroelectrics, with particular emphasis on ferroelectrics in nonconventional nanoscale geometries.

Bulk nanostructured thermoelectric materials: current research and future prospects

Abstract: Thermoelectrics have long been recognized as a potentially transformative energy conversion technology due to their ability to convert heat directly into electricity. Despite this potential, thermoelectric devices are not in common use because of their low efficiency, and today they are only used in niche markets where reliability and simplicity are more important than performance. However, the ability to create nanostructured thermoelectric materials has led to remarkable progress in enhancing thermoelectric properties, making it plausible that thermoelectrics could start being used in new settings in the near future. Of the various types of nanostructured materials, bulk nanostructured materials have shown the most promise for commercial use because, unlike many other nanostructured materials, they can be fabricated in large quantities and in a form that is compatible with existing thermoelectric device configurations. The first generation of these materials is currently being developed for commercialization, but creating the second generation will require a fundamental understanding of carrier transport in these complex materials which is presently lacking. In this review we introduce the principles and present status of bulk nanostructured materials, then describe some of the unanswered questions about carrier transport and how current research is addressing these questions. Finally, we discuss several research directions which could lead to the next generation of bulk nanostructured materials.

Engineered doping of organic semiconductors for enhanced thermoelectric efficiency

Abstract: The conversion efficiency of heat to electricity in thermoelectric materials depends on both their thermopower and electrical conductivity. It is now reported that, unlike their inorganic counterparts, organic thermoelectric materials show an improvement in both these parameters when the volume of dopant elements is minimized; furthermore, a high conversion efficiency is achieved in PEDOT:PSS blends.