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.

Lattice Dynamics Study of Anisotropic Heat Conduction in Superlattices

Abstract: Past studies on the thermal conductivity suggest that phonon confinement and the associated group velocity reduction are the causes of the observed drop in the cross-plane thermal conductivity of semiconductor superlattices. In this work, we investigate the contribution of phonon confinement to the in-plane thermal conductivity of superlattices and the anisotropic effects of phonon confinement on the thermal conductivity in different directions, using a lattice dynamics model. We find that the reduced phonon group velocity due to phonon confinement may account for the dramatic reduction in the cross-plane thermal conductivity, but the in-plane thermal conductivity drop, caused by the reduced group velocity, is much less than the reported experimental results. This suggests that the reduced relaxation time due to diffuse interface phonon scattering, dislocation scattering, etc, should make major contribution to the in-plane thermal conductivity reduction.

Integration of micro-contact enhanced thermoelectric cooler with a FEEDS manifold-microchannel system for cooling of high flux electronics

Abstract: Two-phase microchannel cooling has demonstrated substantial performance enhancement for thermal management of high-power electronics, offering remarkable heat removal capability without imposing high pumping power penalties. However, similar to other bulk cooling methods, this method alone too has difficulty in addressing remediation of local hotspots. Thermoelectric coolers, on the other hand, are scalable and perfectly suited for localized cooling. Thus in this paper, we report our work on integration of a micro-contact enhanced TEC with FEEDS (thin-Film Evaporation and Enhanced fluid Delivery System) manifold-micro channel system. Combining these two thermal management schemes into a single system can provide effective heat removal over the entire electronic chip surface. Integration of these two methods, however, poses several challenges, including hermetic sealing, wiring of the TEC, excessive joule heating in electrical traces, and thermal/electrical short-circuits. Thus, the aim of this study was to integrate an optimized, 3 mm × 0.8 mm TEC into a FEEDS manifold-microchannel system to create a reliable high flux cooling mechanism on a silicon or silicon carbide chip for cooling of 5kW/cm2 hotspot and 1kW/cm2 background heat fluxes. The manufacturing, integration configuration, and assembly of the system are discussed in this paper. A numerical model of the system is built and simulated using the commercial finite-element analysis software ANSYS. Preliminary numerical results demonstrated that with 30 °C temperature rise at the SiC chip's background surface, less than 35 °C hotspot temperature rise with respect to the coolant fluid temperature (110 °C) can be achieved.

Modeling analysis on solar steam generator employed in multi-effect distillation (MED) system

Abstract: Recently the porous bilayer wood solar collectors have drawn increasing attention because of their potential application in solar desalination. In this paper, a thermodynamic model has been developed to analyze the performance of the wood solar collector. A modeling analysis has also been conducted to assess the performance and operating conditions of the multiple effect desalination (MED) system integrated with the porous wood solar collector. Specifically, the effects of operating parameters, such as the motive steam temperature, seawater flow rate, input solar energy and number of effects on the energy consumption for each ton of distilled water produced have been investigated in the MED desalination system combined with the bilayer wood solar steam generator. It is found that, under a given operating condition, there exists an optimum steam generation temperature of around 145°C in the wood solar collector, so that the specific power consumption in the MED system reaches a minimum value of 24.88 kWh/t. The average temperature difference is significantly affected by the solar heating capacity. With the solar capacity increasing from 50 kW to 230 kW, the average temperature difference increases from 1.88°C to 6.27°C. This parametric simulation study will help the design of efficient bilayer wood solar steam generator as well as the MED desalination system.

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.