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ISSN Online: 2379-1748
ISBN Flash Drive: 978-1-56700-431-1
ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-430-4
First Thermal and Fluids Engineering Summer Conference
EVAPORATIVE COOLING FOR VACCINE DELIVERY USING ALUMINUM HIERARCHICALLY POROUS STRUCTURES
要約
An aluminum microporous surface coating was developed as a component of a passive evaporative refrigeration system for vaccine carriers. The coating is a hierarchically porous, dual-scale structure which consists of micro-scale particles covered with nano-scale features. The dual-scale structure is designed to promote both wickability and wettability for effective evaporative cooling. The effect of particle size was studied using particles with diameters of 27, 70, and 114 µm while maintaining a fixed coating thickness of approximately 500 µm. The results showed that wickability increases with increasing particle size. However, the coating thickness was found to have a negligible effect on wicking height. To assess the impact of evaporative refrigeration on vaccine carrier heat transfer, experiments were conducted on a simulated carrier wall which included the microporous coating. The coated surface reduced surface temperatures down to near the wet-bulb temperature, resulting in a heat transfer rate reduction of 26% as compared to an uncoated surface. To reduce the amount of water consumed, a cover plate was installed parallel to the microporous surface. Investigation of the effect of the gap between the plate and microporous surface showed that a 5 mm gap was most effective at keeping the surface temperature close to the wet-bulb while minimizing water consumption.