Optical Generation and Detection of Local Nonequilibrium Phonons in Suspended Graphene.

The measured frequencies and intensities of different first- and second-order Raman peaks of suspended graphene are used to show that optical phonons and different acoustic phonon polarizations are driven out of local equilibrium inside a submicron laser spot. The experimental results are correlated with a first-principles-based multiple temperature model to suggest a considerably lower equivalent local temperature of the flexural phonons than those of other phonon polarizations. The finding reveals weak coupling between the flexural modes with hot electrons and optical phonons. Since the ultrahigh intrinsic thermal conductivity of graphene has been largely attributed to contributions from the flexural phonons, the observed local nonequilibrium phenomena have important implications for understanding energy dissipation processes in graphene-based electronic and optoelectronic devices, as well as in Raman measurements of thermal transport in graphene and other two-dimensional materials.

Dynamics of droplet motion under electrowetting actuation.

The static shape of droplets under electrowetting actuation is well understood. The steady-state shape of the droplet is obtained on the basis of the balance of surface tension and electrowetting forces, and the change in the apparent contact angle is well characterized by the Young-Lippmann equation. However, the transient droplet shape behavior when a voltage is suddenly applied across a droplet has received less attention. Additional dynamic frictional forces are at play during this transient process. We present a model to predict this transient behavior of the droplet shape under electrowetting actuation. The droplet shape is modeled using the volume of fluid method. The electrowetting and dynamic frictional forces are included as an effective dynamic contact angle through a force balance at the contact line. The model is used to predict the transient behavior of water droplets on smooth hydrophobic surfaces under electrowetting actuation. The predictions of the transient behavior of droplet shape and contact radius are in excellent agreement with our experimental measurements. The internal fluid motion is explained, and the droplet motion is shown to initiate from the contact line. An approximate mathematical model is also developed to understand the physics of the droplet motion and to describe the overall droplet motion and the contact line velocities.

Experimental investigation of evaporation from low-contact-angle sessile droplets.

Evaporating sessile drops remain pinned at the contact line during much of the evaporation process, and leave a ring of residue on the surface upon dryout. The intensive mass loss near the contact line causes solute particles to flow to the edge of the droplet and deposit at the contact line. The high vapor diffusion gradient and the low thermal resistance of the film near the contact line are responsible for very efficient mass transfer in this region. Although heat and mass transfer at the contact line have been extensively studied, well-characterized experiments remain scarce. The local mass transport in a 100-400 microm region near the contact line of a water droplet of radius 1810 microm on a glass substrate is experimentally quantified in the present work. Microparticle image velocimetry measurements of the three-dimensional flow field near the contact line are conducted to map the velocity field. Combined with high-resolution transient liquid profile shapes, the measured velocity field yields transient local evaporative mass fluxes near the contact line. The spatial and temporal distribution of the local evaporative flux is also documented. The temperature distribution in the droplet near the contact line is deduced from the local evaporative fluxes and interface mass transport theory.

Numerical simulation of gas-phonon coupling in thermal transpiration flows.

Thermal transpiration is a rarefied gas flow driven by a wall temperature gradient and is a promising mechanism for gas pumping without moving parts, known as the Knudsen pump. Obtaining temperature measurements along capillary walls in a Knudsen pump is difficult due to extremely small length scales. Meanwhile, simplified analytical models are not applicable under the practical operating conditions of a thermal transpiration device, where the gas flow is in the transitional rarefied regime. Here, we present a coupled gas-phonon heat transfer and flow model to study a closed thermal transpiration system. Discretized Boltzmann equations are solved for molecular transport in the gas phase and phonon transport in the solid. The wall temperature distribution is the direct result of the interfacial coupling based on mass conservation and energy balance at gas-solid interfaces and is not specified a priori unlike in the previous modeling efforts. Capillary length scales of the order of phonon mean free path result in a smaller temperature gradient along the transpiration channel as compared to that predicted by the continuum solid-phase heat transfer. The effects of governing parameters such as thermal gradients, capillary geometry, gas and phonon Knudsen numbers and, gas-surface interaction parameters on the efficiency of thermal transpiration are investigated in light of the coupled model.

Numerical simulation for heat transfer in prostate cancer cryosurgery.

A comprehensive computational framework to simulate heat transfer during the freezing process in prostate cancer cryosurgery is presented. Tissues are treated as nonideal materials wherein phase transition occurs over a temperature range, thermophysical properties are temperature dependent and heating due to blood flow and metabolism are included. Boundary conditions were determined at the surfaces of the commercially available cryoprobes and urethral warmer by experimental study of temperature combined with a mathematical optimization process. For simulations, a suitable computational geometry was designed based on MRI imaging data of a real prostate. An enthalpy formulation-based numerical solution was performed for a prescribed surgical protocol to mimic a clinical freezing process. This computational framework allows for the individual planning of cryosurgical procedures and objective assessment of the effectiveness of prostate cryosurgery.