International Journal of Computational Materials Science and Engineering

In this research, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique was used to investigate the effect of choking on the flow and heat transfer characteristics of a typical micro-channel heat sink. Numerical simulations have been carried out using Spalart–Allmaras model. Comparison of the numerical results for the heat transfer rate, mass flow rate and Stanton number with the experimental data were conducted. Relatively good agreement was achieved with maximum relative error 16%, and 8% for heat transfer and mass flow rate, respectively. Also, average relative error 9.2% was obtained for the Stanton number in comparison with the experimental values. Although, the results show that the majority of heat was transferred in the entrance region of the channel, but the heat transfer in micro-channels can also be affected by choking at channel exit. Moreover, the results clearly show that, the location where the flow is choked (at the vicinity of the channel exit) is especially important in determining the heat transfer phenomena. It was found that Spalart–Allmaras model is capable to capture the main features of the choked flow. Also, the effects of choking on the main characteristics of the flow was presented and discussed.

This work presents experimental and computational simulation studies on creep deformation mechanisms of a novel nanostructured Cu and Cu-10%Sn alloy that prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) copper with elemental Tin. Mechanical Newtonian creep model is employed for computational simulation of creep deformation mechanism under low stress-high temperature and to justify the experimental findings. The observed behaviors are discussed and compared with the predications of the Nabarro–Herring (N–H) theory of directional diffusion. A simple theory based on the climb controlled generation of dislocations from a fixed density of sources is developed to explain the observed behavior. TEM and SEM investigations are convenient and powerful techniques for characterization of phases and a novel nano-grain structured of the resulting materials. The reduction of grain size to the nanometer scale improves their mechanical properties.

The structural, vibrational and thermal properties of hexagonal as well as cubic Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ (GST) have been calculated from first principles. The relative stability of the possible stacking sequences of hexagonal GST has been confirmed to depend on the choice for the exchange-correlation (XC) energy functional. It is apparent that without the inclusion of the Te 4d orbitals in the valence states, the lattice parameters can be underestimated by as much as 3.9% compared to experiment and all-electron calculations. From phonon dispersion curves, it has been confirmed that the hexagonal phase is, indeed, stable whereas the cubic phase is metastable. In particular, calculations based on the quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA) reveal an extra heat capacity beyond the Dulong–Petit limit at high temperatures for both hexagonal and cubic GST. Moreover, cubic GST exhibits a residual entropy at 0 K, in agreement with experimental studies which attribute this phenomenon to substitutional disorder on the Sb/Ge/v sublattice.

Three-dimensional CNT/Graphene nanostructure is consisted of vertically aligned carbon nanotube pillars grown directly on parallel graphene layers. The effect of graphene layer thickness on mechanical properties of the 3D nanostructure is analyzed. Overall, when the graphene layers experience the out-of-plane loading, the effective properties (Young's modulus, shear modulus, and major Poisson's ratio) of the 3D CNT/Graphene structure are significantly dependent upon the thickness of graphene layers. When the graphene layers experience the in-plane loading, the effective properties of the 3D CNT/Graphene structure depend upon the graphene thickness initially and then remain relatively unchanged as the thickness increases. It is found that the optimal performance of the 3D CNT/Graphene structure requires a minimum of thickness for the graphene layers, g/t > 5.

Numerical simulations on non-woven fibrous, porous structures were performed to determine material design space for energy storage device (battery and ultra-capacitor) separators. Material simulations were performed initially with a commercial program called GeoDict using its demo version. Later, in-house computational tools were developed and employed. The numerical routines were created to model mechanical and electrical properties of porous structures. The tools were built as a pre-processor for a commercial finite element package. Effective properties were estimated in the post-processing phase using the current and stress distributions. No multi-physics assumptions were considered to couple electrical and mechanical fields at this stage. The numerical results between two numerical platforms, GeoDict and in-house tools. Regions of interest in porosity for battery separators are discussed.

The development of cold injury takes place in the human subjects by means of crystallization of tissues in the exposed regions at severe cold temperatures. The process together with the evaluation of the passage of fluid discharge from the necrotic regions with respect to various degrees of frostbites has been carried out by using variational finite element technique. The model is based on the Pennes' bio-heat equation and mass diffusion equations together with suitable initial and boundary conditions. The results are analyzed in relation with atmospheric temperatures and other parameters of the tissue medium.