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Icing
formation and vapour condensation
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Bubbles and droplets dynamics
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Forward
osmosis for green power
RESEARCH PROJECTS
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Novel Electrokinetic
Power Generation via Forward Osmosis
We have proposed
a new power generation method for harvesting renewable energy from salinity
gradient that is available from seawater, brackish water and
concentrated brine discharged from desalination plants. The principle of the proposed method encompasses
forward osmosis (FO) and electrokinetic (FK)
phenomena. Our preliminary results show
that the FO-EK technique can produce electrical voltages in the same
order of magnitude as those produced by one typical fuel cell unit. The projected power density based on our experimental results is
comparable to those generated by pressure-retarded
osmosis (PRO) and reverse electrodialysis (RED) technologies.
We are working on modeling and scalability development.
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Thermophoresis
of Micro- and Nano-Particles
The main objective of the present project is to carry
out both theoretical and experimental studies to directly address several
fundamental issues related to thermophoresis. Experimentally, we propose a
microfluidic technique as a new experimental tool to directly visualize and
characterize the dynamic behavior of both micro and nano-sized particles
under various physicochemical conditions. Meanwhile, new theoretical
modeling and analysis of theremophoresis by using
both analytical and numerical approaches are carried out.
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Electrokinetic Flow
of Non-Newtonian Fluids
This topic
is of high relevance for electrokinetically-driven
microfluidic and nanofluidic systems which are
routinely used to process and analyze non-Newtonian fluids, such as biofluids, polymeric solutions and colloidal
suspensions.
Our current research focuses on fundamental understanding and
characterization of the electrokinetic flow of non-Newtonian fluids.
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Microfluidic Separation of Live and Dead
Cells in Continuous Flow
We are developing polymer micro flow cytometer with applications in environmental monitoring. Flow cytometry is a technique for
counting, examining and sorting biological cells and particles suspended in
a liquid stream. Our proposed micro flow cytometry will highlight the following
features: (i) alignment
of cells via hydrodynamic focusing, (ii) separation of live
and dead cells via dielectrophoresis, and (iii) on-chip counting.
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Induced-Charge Electrokinetic (ICEK) Flow and its Applications
Induced-charge electrokinetics
deals with a new group of non-linear electrokinetic
phenomena. The project aims at theoretical advancement of nonlinear ICEK
flows and exploration of their applications in micro/nano fluidics. In
particular, we are working on derivation of generalized electric boundary
conditions, dynamic characteristics of the charging of electric double
layers and the associated induced flows around polarizable dielectrics,
implementation of ICEK phenomena to nanofluidics,
and the use of ICEK flow for particle manipulations.
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Characterization of Thermoplasmonic
Heat Transfer in Liquids
This project is to fundamentally study thermoplasmonics with emphasis on ensemble effects. Thermoplasmonics refers to a new phenomenon involving
the resistive heat-loss in nano-sized metallic particles under light
illumination due to their enhanced absorption capabilities. We are carrying
out both experimental investigation and theoretical analysis to
characterize thermoplasmonic heat transfer with
exploring applications in energy utilization and storage.
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