Dear Colleagues,

Heat transfer constitutes an important aspect of a plethora of processes in the natural world and, from an engineering standpoint, a factor designating the effectiveness of virtually every energy conversion and production device. Hence, the relevant research topic is immense, encompassing every aspect from the understanding of fundamental physical processes to the evaluation of distinct device designs relevant to the  electronics, power, automotive, process and HVAC industries. Nevertheless, the adoption of more sustainable industrial practices and the penetration of renewable energy technologies currently appears to be more necessary than ever, owing to the imminent threats of global warming and depletion of natural resources. Fossil fuels still represent roughly 80% of global energy production, while CO₂ emissions reached an all-time peak in 2018. The transport sector is responsible for about 21% of total energy utilisation; the heavy duty, marine and aviation sectors represent more than 2/3rds of liquid fuel burning. Increasing global energy needs, urbanisation and population growth are forecasted to lead to an increase in the demand for liquid fossil fuels by more than 25% compared to today’s levels over the next two decades.

This Special Issue invites contributions stemming from both experimental and computational approaches relevant to emerging technologies, with a strong potential to alleviate environmental shortcomings of the conventional state-of-the-art. Emphasis is placed on the transportation and power generation sectors and more specifically to emerging vehicle propulsion technologies, for instance vehicle electrification and fuel cells, and power generation cycles and devices that can be combined with concentrated solar power or utilise process waste heat. The issue will add to the extensive available literature, in the sense that novel heat transfer enhancement concepts, to name a few, surface micro/nano-patterning, direct/immersion cooling, the use of surfactants, and alternative working media, e.g., non-Newtonian or organic fluids, will be looked into. Both original research articles as well as reviews of recent developments reported in the literature are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Manolis Gavaises
Dr. Ioannis K. Karathanassis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• vorticity-induced heat transfer enhancement
• heat-sink/heat-exchanger design
• heat pipes
• boiling flows
• alternative heat transfer fluids
• combined heat and power
• waste heat
• fuel cells
• vehicle electrification
• organic rankine cycle
• concentrated solar power