Inscrição na biblioteca: Guest

ISSN Online: 2377-424X

ISBN CD: 1-56700-226-9

ISBN Online: 1-56700-225-0

International Heat Transfer Conference 13
August, 13-18, 2006, Sydney, Australia

ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES ENABLED BY NANOSCALE HEAT TRANSFER EFFECTS

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHTC13.p30.220
12 pages

Resumo

Nanostructures provide opportunities to engineer the transport of energy carriers. In this paper, examples will be given from research on nanoscale heat and mass transfer mediated by phonons, electrons, photons, and molecules. Several applications of these nanostructures to energy technologies will be discussed: thermoelectrics, thermophotovoltaics, photovoltaics, hydrogen storage, and nanofluids. Efficient thermoelectric energy conversion requires a material with high electrical conductivity, low thermal conductivity, and a high Seebeck coefficient. Interfaces in nanostructures can be engineered to give desirable phonon and electron properties. For thermophotovoltaic energy conversion, photonic bandgap structures and surface waves can be exploited for the spectral control of radiation from the heat source to the photovoltaic cells. Nanostructures can also be beneficial for hydrogen storage through improved kinetics and thermodynamics. The rich opportunities of utilizing nanoscale heat transfer phenomena to improve macroscale energy technologies will be emphasized through these examples.