In the coming years, countries around the world will make concerted efforts to decarbonize various industries and technologies to help prevent and reverse climate change. Currently, thermal dehydration accounts for 10-20% of all industrial energy consumption and relies heavily on the combustion of fossil fuels. Vapor compression heat pumps, like those used in building air conditioners, offer a high-efficiency, electrically driven heat source for industrial drying applications, however there are many barriers preventing broad implementation. Our team at Purdue has proposed a new thermal drying system concept that employs unique materials and exploits clever thermodynamic design to provide up to 40% energy and emissions savings. As part of this work, we are developing system models/simulations, designing and building prototype systems, and performing advanced materials research, thus providing a breadth of exciting opportunities for aspiring scientists and engineers. This research is also heavily tied to our work on energy efficient thermal systems for buildings and water/energy sustainability, and the student who joins the project will be exposed to many research topics within the Water-Energy Nexus.

Composite Materials and Alloys, Energy and Environment, Engineering the Built Environment, Fluid Modelling and Simulation, Material Modeling and Simulation, Material Processing and Characterization, Microelectronics, Nanotechnology, Thermal Technology

• No Major Restriction

Applicants should have a general interest in energy and sustainability. Should also have a strong background/interest in thermodynamics, heat transfer, and/or materials science. Applicants with experience in some (not all) of the following are preferred: LabVIEW, Python (Jupyter, Google Colab, etc.) Engineering Equation Solver, MATLAB, 3D-CAD Software, prototype design/manufacturing, and Adobe Illustrator. 2nd semester Sophomores, Juniors, and 1st semester Seniors are preferred.

Mechanical Engineering

Jim Braun

The student will start with the metallographic preparation training and make many samples for the experiments. The student will then fabricate the samples using the patented equipment in the lab. The student will work with graduate students on material characterization. The student will also develop the finite element model to simulate the thermal and stress fields. Except the experiments and simulations, the student is expected to read literatures, make a presentation in the weekly meeting, write progress reports.

Composite Materials and Alloys, Material Modeling and Simulation, Material Processing and Characterization, Thermal Technology, Other

• No Major Restriction

Nuclear Engineering

Yi Xie

High temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR) designs are likely candidates for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) due to their varied potential applications including process heat for chemical reactions and direct (Brayton) cycle power conversion. An HTGR fault that needs study is a break in the primary coolant boundary that leads to depressurization of the reactor vessel and loss of forced cooling of the core. In this accident, although most air in the reactor cavity and surrounding building is initially swept out by the helium, any remaining air in this space and the air re-entering from the surrounding building cavities can enter the primary coolant circuit through the break, and can cause severe damage to the graphite structures via oxidation. The amount of air entering the pressure vessel is a complex function of the primary helium inventory, and the discharged helium that displaces, and mixes, with the air in the cavity. A test facility is now built to simulate these phenomena and currently tests are conducted. The SURF students will help in conducting tests using test procedures, and acquiring data for various test condition such as helium flow rate, pressure and temperature and preform data analysis. Adequate training and background will be provided to perform the tests. It is team project with faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students.

Energy and Environment, Fluid Modelling and Simulation, Thermal Technology

• Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Indutrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Physics

Course work in fluid mechanics, heat transfer desirable, aptitude to work on experiments, interest in developing laboratory skill, willing to work in team and learn

School of Nuclear Engineeing

Shripad Revankar

Quantum computing in the present day requires large macroscopic circuits and optical lattices and controls which are very expensive. Solid-state techniques for quantum computing will allow the miniaturization and the components and cost-effective scale-up of quantum technologies. A problem of solid-state quantum technologies is noise, especially thermal noise, which scrambles the quantum information. On this theme, one lofty goal of quantum engineering is achieving topologically protected quantum states which are protected from thermal decoherence. These materials have tale-tale signatures of stable quantization, which start to appear in thermal transport and magnetometry measurements. In this project, we attempt to set up such measurements at Purdue University at low temperatures on candidate topological materials.
Common thermometry measurements cannot be performed on thin-film samples required for this project. However, thermometry based on Johnson-Nyquist noise on Pt electrodes allows measuring the same when placed proximate to a quantum material in the thin-film form. Overall the method allows the local temperature measurement, and hence quantum decoherence, on a solid-state sample. The temperature difference, if quantized, is an excellent measure for quantization. The understanding for the thermal signatures of the sample will be complemented by magnetometry, which is will be achieved by the installation of a SQUID magnetometer by the sample (made by Quantum Design). Overall, the project requires that the student become an expert in thermometry using noise as a guiding principle. The project requires the candidate to become proficient in LabView and Python coding to transduce the noise signatures from e-beam platinum deposits on silicon in milli-Kelvin temperatures, both in the absence and the presence of a solid-state sample.

Material Processing and Characterization, Nanotechnology, Thermal Technology

• No Major Restriction
• Electrical Engineering
• Physics
• Materials Engineering

Knowledge of Fourier transformation is useful.

Physics and Astronomy

Arnab Banerjee

This project deals with study of heat transfer in very thin film materials using Raman Spectroscopy and Ultrafast laser systems. Heat transfer in nanoscale materials including 2D materials (very thin layered materials bonded by van der Waal’s force) shows superior characteristics for applications in numerous advanced devices. Their thermal transport behaviors are also different compared with bulk materials, and an understanding of the transport process is important for applications of these materials. We use non-contact, optical method (i.e., lasers etc.) to investigate heat flow in these materials. The undergraduate student will work with graduate students to learn to use state-of-the-art experimental facilities, carry out experiments, and analyze experimental results.

Energy and Environment, Nanotechnology, Thermal Technology

• Mechanical Engineering
• Physics

Thermoscience courses, interests in hands-on experiments, GPA>3.5

Mechanical Engineering

Xianfan Xu

Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries are ubiquitous. Thermal, electrochemical, and degradation characteristics of these systems are critical toward safer and high-performance batteries for electric vehicles. As part of this research, physics-based and data-driven analytics of experimental and simulated performance under normal and anomalous operating conditions of lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries will be performed.

The final deliverable will be one research report (based on weekly progress presentations and updates) and one final presentation.

Energy and Environment, Material Modeling and Simulation, Material Processing and Characterization, Thermal Technology

Strong analytical skill and desire to learn new experimental and modeling & analysis tools.

Mechanical Engineering

Partha Mukherjee

This project is one of several SCALE SURF research projects. SCALE projects are restricted to students who are U.S. Citizens. By applying to this project, you can be considered for any of the SCALE projects with one application. See https://nanohub.org/groups/scale/research_su23 to view all of the SCALE SURF research projects for summer 2023.

For the typical 3D integration scheme, die-to-wafer bonding is a key technology that can enable the stacking of different chips, such as logic, memory, or power devices. Compared with wafer-to-wafer bonding, it is challenging for die-to-wafer bonding to achieve high throughput while maintaining a high alignment accuracy. Researchers have been investigating different self-alignment technologies to improve the high-precision chip alignment accuracy for die-to-wafer bonding, such as Surface tension-driven with hydrophilic chip surfaces. In this topic, we will explore innovative self-alignment methods for advanced die-to-wafer bonding, enabling high throughput heterogeneous integration.

Reference: Fukushima, Takafumi, et al. "Self-assembly technologies with high-precision chip alignment and fine-pitch microbump bonding for advanced die-to-wafer 3D integration." 2011 IEEE 61st Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC). IEEE, 2011.)

In your application, please specify which of the SCALE technical areas you are most interested in. The technical areas are:
• Radiation Hardening
• System-on-Chip
• Heterogenous Integration/ Advanced Packaging
• Program Evaluation
Be sure to name any specific SCALE projects you are interested in, and include information about how you meet the required and desired experience and skills for each of these projects.

For US citizen students who are interested: you can become part of the Purdue microelectronics program called SCALE, sponsored by the Department of Defense. In SCALE, you will have opportunities for continuing research (paid or for credit) and industry and government internships throughout your time at Purdue. Please apply to SCALE here: https://research.purdue.edu/scale/.

Advanced Packaging, Composite Materials and Alloys, Fluid Modelling and Simulation, Heterogeneous Integration, Material Modeling and Simulation, Material Processing and Characterization, Microelectronics, Nanotechnology, Thermal Technology

• Electrical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Materials Engineering

1. Microelectronics, micro/nanotechnology courses 2. Clean room fabrication experience 3. Enthusiasm for material fabrication and characterizations 4. Familiar with SEM, TEM analysis 5. Fluid mechanics Academic Years Eligible: Rising juniors and seniors with the desired experience will be preferred, but rising sophomores are also eligible to apply.

ME

Tiwei Wei