In this study, we investigated the freezing delay time on surfaces with different patterns under -30° conditions through visualization experiments. Among various pattern structures, we fabricated the shape and surface of liquid from the spacing using circular filaments and hole structures. Additionally, using a high-speed camera, we visualized the freezing scenes, enabling us to obtain freezing images and measure the freezing time of the liquid. For each structure, the contact angle and solid fraction of the surface varied. We observed that the freezing delay time was longest when the contact angle was largest and the solid fraction was smallest within the experimental results. We analyzed the variation in anti-icing time using the heat exchange equation between the patterned surface and the liquid.

This research introduces an innovative approach for fabricating microstructure surfaces using spray-coating deposition. The resulting surface, referred to as Magnetically Responsive Microstructures (MRM), exhibits hierarchically structured micro-pillar arrays with remarkably high aspect ratios. The fabrication process involves precisely mixing PDMS and hexane with Carbonyl iron powders, followed by ultrasonication and spray-coating on the top of a PDMS substrate placed on the neodymium magnet. The MRM surface shows hydrophobic properties, characterized by a contact angle surpassing 150° and an aspect ratio exceeding 10. Through a comprehensive exploration of critical parameters, including spray amount, magnet-substrate distance, and solution ratio enhanced dynamic tunability and exceptional hydrophobic characteristics are attained. This novel approach holds significant potential for diverse applications in the realm of dynamically tunable microstructures and magnetically responsive surfaces.

This study aims to explore the heat transfer and flow phenomena inside an instant water heater and the influence of the design parameters of the water heater on the heating performance was investigated by 3-D numerical simulations considering heat convection. The design parameters are the heating ceramic dimension, the power of the heating device, and the water flow rate. The results show that a reasonable space for the heating device is required to optimize the heating performance. It is desirable to design higher heating device as possible for a given electric power. There exists a critical water flow rate that best meets the heating performance. The change in electric power has no impact on the flow phenomena and heating performance.

Spray cooling is a method of cooling high-temperature heating elements by spraying droplets. Recently, spray cooling has been proposed for use in next-generation nuclear reactors. When droplets are sprayed onto the outer wall of a heat exchanger tube, a film boiling occurs on the outer wall. Over time, the outer wall temperature decreases, and a liquid film forms on the outer wall, and the heat exchanger outer wall is subsequently cooled by the liquid film. In this case, the liquid film thickness has a great influence on the heat removal performance. In this study, an experimental study was conducted to measure the liquid film thickness distribution in a droplet spray environment. For this purpose, a method using the electrical conductivity of the liquid was adopted.

In this study, we investigate the effects of slots installed on the tip of a rotor blade on aerodynamic characteristics. The slots weaken the strength and spatial coherence of the tip vortex at early vortex age and accelerate the dissipation of the generated tip vortex. Accordingly, the turbulence intensity of the rotor wake is reduced at both near and far wake, which leads to a reduction in broadband noise. Tonal noise is also reduced by mitigation of tip vortices, but tonal noise reduction is limited to a narrower range of azimuths than broadband noise due to the extinction of tip vortices. In addition, slots reduce both mean thrust and thrust fluctuations. Reduction in thrust fluctuations leads to a reduction in blade loading noise, resulting in a reduction in tonal noise.

The Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) operates at ambient temperature as a low-temperature fuel cell. During its operation, voltage losses arise due to factors such as operating conditions and material properties, effecting its performance. Computational simulations of fuel cells can be categorized into 1D simulation and CFD, chosen based on their specific application purposes. In this study, we carried out an analysis validation using 1D geometry and compared its performance with the results from 2D geometry analysis. CFD allows for the representation of pressure, velocity distribution, and fuel mass fraction according to the geometry, enabling the analysis of current density. However, the 1D simulation, simplifying governing equations to reduce time cost, failed to accurately account for fuel distribution and changes in fuel concentration due to fuel cell operations. As a result, it showed unrealistic results in the cell voltage region dominated by concentration loss compared to CFD.

An open pulsating heat pipe operates continuously by inflow and outflow fluids through an open-type condenser. The open pulsating heat pipe is a device capable of obtaining the thrust due to the variation of internal pressure during phase change. Therefore, the open pulsating heat pipe is a suitable device to move fluids if the heat source such as waste heat exists. Many numerical studies have not been sufficiently conducted on the open pulsating heat pipe. In this study, the numerical analysis of the open pulsating heat pipe is performed according to the length of the condenser section. The OpenFOAM software is used to obtain the thrust and the flow visualization for the open pulsating heat pipe.

Compared to epifluorescence(EPI) microscopy which captures fluorescence from the entire depth of sample, total internal reflection fluorescence(TIRF) can selectively visualize only a single surface of it. TIRF uses a thin evanescent field generated by the total internal reflection of laser light on surface. However, conventional TIRF system are designed for total internal reflection to occur at the upper surface of sample, making them unsuitable for sessile droplet imaging. We designed a TIRF system suitable for a sessile droplet imaging by utilizing slide glass as a lightguide. We presented the details for constructing the TIRF system using a prism, slide glass, air slit, and optical trap. Then, we compared the TIRF with EPI by imaging the droplet with fluorescent particles during its drying process. As a result, TIRF allows us to distinctly visualize the drying pattern on the bottom surface of droplet.

In this study, we conducted analysis of bubble dynamics and flow of liquid phase change material(PCM) using shadowgraphy and particle image velocimetry(PIV). Characteristics of internal flow varied depending on locations of injection when solid PCM was liquefied from heated vertical wall. When bubbles rose immediately, they exhibited elliptical shape and zigzag trajectory. In contrast, when bubbles rose after merging at the bottom of solid PCM, with equivalent diameter for the inter-wall distance of 0.64 or greater, they showed a jellyfish shape and strong rocking behavior. It was observed by the PIV that the small ellipse bubbles made most strong flow inside the liquid PCM. Furthermore, the flow velocity was highest in the case of front injection, as the directions of temperature gradients and bubble-driven flow were aligned. The results underscore the significant influence of injection location on various characteristics, including bubble size, shape, rising path of bubbles, and internal flow.

In this study, we present experimental results of cavitating flow around a vortex generator which is used to improve the flow in the wake of ships and enhance propulsion efficiency. We conducted experiments at the CNU cavitation tunnel on a total of six vortex generators, two different aspect ratios and three taper ratios. We recorded cavity patterns using a high-speed camera and quantitatively evaluated cavity fraction using OpenCV. The most important finding of this study is that the vortex cavity generated at a root leading edge of the vortex generator develops at a specific angle.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) is considered an ideal eukaryotic model and has long been recognized for its pivotal role in numerous industrial production processes. Depending on the cell cycle phases, microenvironment, and species, S. cerevisiae varies in shape and has different sizes of each shape such as singlets, doublets, and clusters. Obtaining high-purity populations of uniformly shaped S. cerevisiae cells is crucial in fundamental biological research and industrial operations. In this study, we propose an acoustofluidic method for separating S. cerevisiae cells based on their size using surface acoustic wave (SAW)-induced acoustic radiation force (ARF). The SAW-induced ARF increased with cell diameter, which enabled a successful size-based separation of S. cerevisiae cells using an acoustofluidics device. We anticipate that the proposed acoustofluidics approach for yeast cell separation will provide new opportunities in industrial applications.