Energy & Environment

Pulsating heat pipes
Downsizing of personnel computers and advancing performance of processors has made the way for the development of micro miniature heat pipes to transfer heat from chips to heat sinks. The oscillating or pulsating heat pipe (PHP) is another promising heat transfer device for applications like electronic cabinet cooling. It is simple in structure with a coil filled with certain working fluid in it and extended from the heat source to sink. PHP does not contain any wick structure to return the condensate back to the evaporator section unlike a common heat pipe. Instead, PHP uses the technique of transporting the working fluid by means of differential pressure across vapour plugs from evaporator to condenser and back. The vapour formed at the evaporator is pushed towards the condenser in the form of discrete vapour bubbles amidst pockets of fluid. The vapour gets partially condensed at the condenser and gives the heat and returns to evaporator to complete the cycle. Since PHP is a passive device which makes use of the waste heat of heat-source to drive the vapour plugs and operate in cyclic mode, it is gaining attention of many investigators for possible application of electronic cabinet cooling.

Pulsating Heat Pipe Set-up

The center based on its success is currently partnering with a private entity Avasarla Automation.

LED based lighting solutions
Tiny energy efficient devices may one day replace Edison’s bulb and cut energy costs by US $100 billion a year, reduce 560 million tonnes of carbon emission with the potential to create a US $50 billion market by 2020. Energy is the lifeline of modern societies.

The increasing need for energy saving stems from the fact that the worldwide demand for energy has risen significantly over the past few decades. Added to this the global sources of fossil fuels are becoming more expensive and less affordable to growing economies. There are also environmental issues related to energy consumption, as many residential and industrial houses use Mercury based Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) lamps. Stabilising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to safe levels will require 60 to 80% reduction in Carbon emissions over the current levels throughout the globe. However the problem is not just limited to hydrocarbon resources and Carbon-dioxide emissions but also in meeting the increasing demand for power in the future. Thus the program involves the design and development of smart sensor network based energy efficient LED. Based on promise of the prototypes built the center has successfully concluded on consulting to a company in the lighting segment and also partnered with TUV Rheinland in promoting courses in the energy domain for generating manpower.

TUV - JU Outdoor Facility for Energy Studies
LED Lighting solution

Essential Features
Low Power Consumption, RoHS Compliant, Long Life time and Reduction of greenhouse emissions

Luminous Efficiency of Different Lighting Systems

Signing of MOU with TUV Rheinland
Visit to German Institutions as part of MOU

Carbon Capture and Sequestration
The work has been instrumental in developing a set up for the evaluation of various materials that could be used for adsorption of carbon dioxide at high temperatures. Current materials under investigation include Al – Mg – CO3 HTlcs with different dopants.