Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100170660 | HEAT EXCHANGERS AND RELATED METHODS - Heat exchangers and related methods, e.g., methods of reducing heat from a load, are disclosed. In some embodiments, a device includes a stationary element defining a cavity, a movable element, and a first heat pipe in fluid communication with the cavity defined by the stationary element. | 07-08-2010 |
20130059123 | SUPERHYDROPHOBIC SURFACES - Surfaces having a hierarchical structure—having features of both microscale and nanoscale dimensions—can exhibit superhydrophobic properties and advantageous condensation and heat transfer properties. The hierarchical surfaces can be fabricated using biological nanostructures, such as viruses as a self-assembled nanoscale template. | 03-07-2013 |
20130192281 | Adsorption System - An adsorption system can be used as part of a climate control system in a vehicle or in any other space requiring heating or cooling. | 08-01-2013 |
20140017456 | Heterogeneous Surfaces - Condensation can be an important process in both emerging and traditional power generation and water desalination technologies. Superhydrophobic nanostructures can promise enhanced condensation heat transfer by reducing the characteristic size of departing droplets via a surface-tension-driven mechanism. A superhydrophobic surface can include a heterogeneous surface. | 01-16-2014 |
20140157815 | Monolithically Integrated Bi-Directional Heat Pump - Monolithically integrated heat pump. The heat pump includes as adsorbent/absorbent condenser forming a hot terminal integrated with a phase change heat exchanger forming a cold terminal. The adsorbent/absorbent condenser and the phase change heat exchanger are integrated into a single pressure vessel. | 06-12-2014 |
20140196498 | Evaporative Heat Transfer System - Evaporative heat transfer system. The system includes a substrate and a plurality of substantially parallel, spaced-apart ridges extending from the substrate forming vertical liquid manifolds therebetween. A nanoporous membrane is supported on the ridges and a pump delivers a dielectric fluid across the ridges. The fluid is drawn through the liquid manifolds via capillarity provided by the nanoporous membrane and evaporates to dissipate heat flux through the substrate. A preferred dielectric fluid is pentane. It is preferred that membrane porosity vary across the membrane to tailor thermal resistances to limit temperature rises. | 07-17-2014 |
20140287150 | CONDENSATION ON SURFACES - A uniform external field can enhance condensation on a superhydrophobic surface. Jumping droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces accumulate a positive charge which promises the manipulation and control of jumping behavior using external electric fields. | 09-25-2014 |
20140352382 | MAGNETICALLY TUNABLE MICROSTRUCTURED SURFACES - Provided in one embodiment is a dynamically tunable structure including an elastic layer, and a plurality of ferromagnetic micropillars disposed over the elastic layer. The elastic layer may have an elasticity that is greater than an elasticity of the micropillars. | 12-04-2014 |
20150053266 | Internally-Heated Thermal and Externally-Cool Photovoltaic Cascade Solar Energy System for Full Solar Spectrum Utilization - A single-stack, solar power receiver comprising both a thermal absorber layer and a photovoltaic cell layer. The stack includes an aerogel layer, that is optically transparent and thermally insulating (“OTTI”); a spectrally selective high thermal conductivity (“SSTC”) thermal absorber layer; a bottom OTTI layer; and a PV cell layer. The SSTC layer includes a set of fins that substantially blocks solar radiation absorption in the band where PV cells are most sensitive. Photons with energies above or below this band block range are absorbed by the fins and the absorbed heat is conducted to pipes in the fin structure carrying a heated thermal working fluid to heat storage. Photons with energy in the band block range are reflected by the SSTC fins to the PV cell layer. The bottom OTTI aerogel layer keeps the PV cell operating near ambient temperature. The PV cell converts incident solar radiation to electrical energy. | 02-26-2015 |