Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Today, the energy systems and manufacturing sectors contribute the highest total greenhouse gas emissions globally. In the context of an increasing population, the demand for power generation and commodities is at an all-time high. Hence, it is urgently needed to enhance the (energy & material usage) efficiency of industrial processes and equipment life to reduce the carbon footprint of industries. The best way to intensify industrial processes is by improving thermal, mass, and momentum transport parameters. Surface engineering of industrial equipment materials is one of the simplest and most direct methods to enhance these parameters. Current surface modification techniques utilize surface texturing by removing material using high-precision equipment or material addition by applying multi-layer coatings. While the latter has the disadvantage of removing these minimal amounts of coated material to recycle the substrate materials, the former poses an issue of high initial investment and substantial payback time, rendering it economically less feasible for industries. This research program envisions democratizing `surface engineering' by developing scalable, low-cost surface engineering techniques without using coatings. The research outcome will positively impact the industries and thus allow Canadians to live in less polluted environments with reduced emissions and non-recyclable landfill wastes. Research in the short term (10 years) will focus on surface modification of metals for two-phase heat transfer applications. Boiling heat transfer is one of the most efficient thermal transport means, and essential in cases where space is limited and removal of large heat fluxes is warranted. Research from over a century ago proved that increasing surface roughness increases the rate of boiling heat transfer. However, even today, the surfaces of industrial heat exchangers and boilers are smooth metallic surfaces. This is mainly due to the complex surface modification process that are difficult to be scaled up and the challenge of determining the geometry and dimensions of the simplest microstructure that can increase both the efficiency and safety of the boiling process. The rate of vapor bubble formation and its detachment from the heater surface impacts efficiency, whereas the rapidity of surface rewetting increases safety.  Research in the short term is to determine the simplest microstructure and to design a novel surface texture whose wettability changes with temperature by biomimicking the banana leaf property. This research will bring Canada to the forefront of designing small modular reactors (where space utilization without compromising safety is the key), electric vehicle cooling systems (by providing efficient heat transfer pumping power derived from batteries can be reduced) and efficient industrial equipment. The research output will be adopted in thickly populated countries where demand of generated power and commodity products is high.