by josh perry, editor
[email protected]

according to a press release from the ural federal university (urfu) in yekaterinburg, russia, the department of thermophysics and superficial phenomena has received grant funding from a national technological initiative to research closed heat transfer devices, such as heat pipes and thermosyphons.

a photo of the capillary structure under microscope. (ural federal university)

the university release stated that the study of these two-phase heat transfer devices originated at the school four decades ago and the success of the devices, particularly in aerospace applications has prompted further research efforts into intensifying their heat transfer capabilities.

the ministry of education and science of the russian federation will pay out a total of 630 million rubles to support this and other projects under its umbrella.

“at present, due to the active development of methods for obtaining nanoscale objects and the creation of nanostructures, the possibilities of using nanotechnologies in real industrial applications have been actively discussed,” the release explained. “this was reflected, in fundamental and applied problems related to thermal physics, the physical basis for various energy sectors.”

researchers are going to use nano-modified composite materials and nanofluids as heat carriers to remove high-density heat fluxes with low temperature difference between the source and the heat sink.

the release also noted that scientists are confident in the research determining the “mechanisms of phase transformations” and “increase the thermodynamic efficiency of heat pipes thermal control systems.”

the research initiative will be focused on numerous applications including electronics, automotive, aerospace, and more.