Glenn Cunningham

Development of an advanced hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system with applications for cancer detection.

An advanced hyper-spectral imaging (HSI) system has been developed having obvious applications for cancer detection. This HSI system is based on state-of-the-art liquid crystal tunable filter technology coupled to an endoscope. The goal of this unique HSI technology being developed is to obtain spatially resolved images of the slight differences in luminescent properties of malignant versus non-malignant tissues. In this report, the development of the instrument is discussed and the capability of the instrument is demonstrated by observing mouse carcinomas in-vivo. It is shown that the instrument successfully distinguishes between normal and malignant mouse skin. It is hoped that the results of this study will lead to advances in the optical diagnosis of cancer in humans.

Experimental study on heat transfer and pressure drop of in-house synthesized graphene oxide nanofluids

Abstract In this article, first, graphene oxide nanosheets were synthesized in-house according to the modified Hummers method, and these nanosheets were used to prepare graphene oxide nanofluids at two concentrations. Then the thermophysical properties of nanofluids were characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis, a scanning electron microscope, and UV–Vis spectrophotometry. The particle size distribution was investigated using dynamic light scattering. Then, a fundamental study was conducted on the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of graphene oxide nanofluids flowing through a straight copper tube. An experimental setup was developed to find the heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop of nanofluids in the test section consisting of a copper tube with constant heat flux. The flow regimes and associated pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics at varying flow rate were investigated at three different heat flux conditions of 7.4, 9.1, and 12.6 kW/m2. Due to the increase in viscosity, flowrate and Reynolds number decreased from 0.01 to 0.1 wt% of graphene oxide nanofluids at constant pump frequency. Experimental data obtained for water were validated with the findings from the literature, and the correlations were formulated for the Nusselt number and Reynolds number by considering the multiple regression analysis. The convective heat transfer coefficient for graphene oxide at 0.01 wt% was higher when compared to graphene oxide at 0.1 wt% and water. The variation of Nusselt number with the heat flux and velocity was insignificant.

Feasibility Study of the Use of Ground-Coupled Condensers in Industrial Thermal Management

A closed loop cooling system that uses the earth as a heat sink to dissipate heat for the energy system’s thermal management is described. The proposed cooling approach employs a concentric tube heat exchanger situated above ground to transfer heat from the system (e.g., power plant condenser) to a separate cooling water loop buried at a specified depth below ground. A parametric study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of the thermal management potential of ground-coupled systems in industrial applications. It revealed that such a condenser design is generally capable of dissipating less than 1.5 MW of heat. A mathematical model is developed to size the required piping for different systems.Copyright

Design, Analysis, and Testing of Electrostatically Actuated Micromembranes

This paper reports a numerical design analysis of electrostatically actuated micromembranes. We systematically compare membrane performance in terms of natural frequencies, pull-in voltage (the bias voltage at which the membrane contacts the base electrode) and the effects of variable leg lengths for a given membrane size. Some experimental data on membrane deflection profiles versus bias voltage is included along with some experimentally determined pull-in voltages. Polysilicon micromembranes were successfully fabricated using the low cost MUMPs process that limits the user to three structural layers. The devices are designed with an emphasis on the response of the membrane to applied DC bias voltage to allow for variable stiffening. Circular membranes with diameters ranging from 60 to 160 μm, suspended 2 μm over square back plates of side lengths varying from 60 to 140 μm are investigated for voltages up to 90 volts. Three-dimensional electromechanical finite element simulations have been performed. Pull-in voltage values from simulations compare favorably with the measured results. It was observed that, for maximum deflection of the membrane upon application of DC bias voltage, the optimal dimensions for back plate and top membrane should fall within the ranges 80–120 μm and 80–140 μm, respectively.Copyright