NMSU dept. head receives award
Funds will be used toward 3-year study of nanofluid
Ruey-Hung Chen, mechanical and aerospace engineering department head in New Mexico State University’s College of Engineering, has received a National Science Foundation award for $352,524.
His three-year project, “Study of evaporation, micro-explosion, and combustion of nanofluid fuel droplets,” began in August.
“I am very glad to receive the funding from NSF,” said Chen, who joined the NMSU faculty in spring 2016.
Chen’s project studies the evaporation of liquid droplets that contain nano-size particles.
“Depending on the relative mobility of the particles and the liquid evaporation rate, the particles would eventually form a relatively solid aggregate or hollow shell,” he said.
“It also sheds light on how a metalized liquid propellant would burn – whether the particles would burn along with the liquid or after the liquid is burned. The metal particles in metalized propellants usually are energetic, more energetic than the liquid fuel, for enhanced rocket performance.”
Industries such as food processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing and drug delivery could benefit from the results of this research project. For example, manufacturing pharmaceutical powders involves evaporating liquid and the effects could determine if medications could be easily inhaled or ingested.
To assist Chen with this research project, the NSF award will fund a doctoral student for three years along with one or two undergraduate students.