NSF Org:	ECCS Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems
Recipient:	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date:	June 17, 2004
Latest Amendment Date:	April 8, 2005
Award Number:	0404181
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Olufemi Olowolafe ECCS  Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems ENG  Directorate for Engineering
Start Date:	July 1, 2004
End Date:	June 30, 2006 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$99,998.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$104,998.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2004 = $99,998.00 FY 2005 = $5,000.00
History of Investigator:	Jerry Shan (Principal Investigator) jshan@soe.rutgers.edu Michael Bronikowski (Co-Principal Investigator) Flavio Noca (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Rutgers University New Brunswick 3 RUTGERS PLZ NEW BRUNSWICK NJ  US  08901-8559 (848)932-0150
Sponsor Congressional District:	12
Primary Place of Performance:	Rutgers University New Brunswick 3 RUTGERS PLZ NEW BRUNSWICK NJ  US  08901-8559
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	12
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	M1LVPE5GLSD9
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	EPMD-ElectrnPhoton&MagnDevices, NANOSCALE: EXPLORATORY RSRCH
Primary Program Source:	app-0104  app-0105
Program Reference Code(s):	0000, 1676, 9251, OTHR
Program Element Code(s):	151700, 167600
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.041

ABSTRACT

Continued miniaturization of nanoscale devices like Si microelectronics is likely to increase the importance of thermal management technologies. Nanofluids, consisting of nanoparticles or carbon nanotubes suspended in liquids, have shown promise for enhancing the thermal transport of liquids used in thermal management systems. Carbon nanotube suspensions, for example, have been demonstrated to increase the thermal conductivity of base liquids by up to 2.5 x for a volume fraction of only 1%. Studies to date on nanotube suspensions have not exploited one of the remarkable properties of carbon nanotubes: the thermal conductivity is anisotropic and approaches that of diamond or graphite along the axis of the nanotube. By aligning carbon nanotubes in liquid suspension with an applied electric field, the nanofluid is expected to show even greater enhancement of thermal conductivity. Moreover, the thermal conductivity will be anisotropic and controllable. By changing the orientation of the suspended carbon nanotubes with an applied electric field, it should be possible to actively control thermal conductivity and heat transfer with no moving parts.

Experiments are proposed on the thermal properties of aligned nanotubes in liquid suspension. The primary objectives of the proposed research are to demonstrate the feasibility of aligning carbon nanotubes, and to show that the thermal conductivity is anisotropic and controllable. Heat flux will be measured across the nanofluid for varying carbon-nanotube orientations relative to a temperature gradient. Further experiments will seek to measure the thermal conductivity tensor versus nanotubes orientation and degree of alignment.

Demonstration of the feasibility of carbon-nanotube alignment for active control of thermal conductivity will open the door to innovative thermal management strategies for nanoscale systems such as next-generation microprocessors. The research activities involve graduate and undergraduate students, and also leverages the outreach and curriculum development efforts of the Nanomaterials Science and Engineering (NMSE) Initiative at Rutgers University.

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