what propelled me to pursue my Master's
Energy is what powers us and enables entire countries to run. Unfortunately, the current method of energy production, i.e., via fossil fuels, is one of the key factors contributing to the global warming crisis and thus causing a widespread change in climatic conditions. One of the viable routes to combat this global warming crisis is by using renewable energy sources such as nuclear energy, wind energy, etc. However, further studies need to be conducted on fluid and heat transfer characteristics to optimize these resources. One such tool that can help us understand the underlying physics to achieve an optimal solution is Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This idea of getting involved in the real world's fluid and heat transfer problems and being able to visualize their results and find an optimal solution is what propelled me to pursue my Master's.
During my Master's at IIT Madras, I was drawn towards the field of two-phase flow, especially Boiling phenomena, and its application in power generating industries such as nuclear power plants. The radioactive nature of the fuel used in nuclear power plants necessitates studying various aspects of boiling phenomena under different hypothetical situations to facilitate safe operating heat flux margins.
Keeping this in mind, I sought to have a fundamental understanding of the field with the help of coursework I did on Boiling and Multiphase systems. Moreover, I studied some of the important experimental and numerical research work to better understand the thermal-hydraulic behaviours of the coolant undergoing Boiling phenomena. The literature review made it clear that vapour bubbles played a significant role in determining the coolant's thermal-hydraulic properties.
To this end, as part of my thesis, I worked on numerical modelling of fluid thermal behviour in a sub-cooled flow boiling regime to predict the Departure of Nucleate Boiling (DNB). Population balance models were adopted to approximate the polydisperse nature of the vapour bubbles and their evolution in the flow domain. Moreover, I carried out simulations to assess the effects of planar blockages on DNB in a hexagonal 7-rod bundle sub-assembly. By doing so, I was able to show that a blockage in the flow domain promoted coolant intermixing and delayed the onset of DNB. I presented some of the preliminary results of the work at the International Conference of Heat and Mass Transfer (IHMTC-2019) and recently submitted a manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal.
Through this, I experienced the basics of research first hand and attained the ability to obtain resources, documents, and got hands-on experience with commercial software's such as ANSYS CFX, FLUENT, ICEM CFD, Open FOAM, and Latex, as well as programming languages such as C++, Python, and Matlab for solving differential equations using Numerical Methods.
Moving forward, I want to continue my research in the field of two-phase flow. Having worked on one of the primary safety concerns faced by nuclear power plants, I want to delve deeper and continue exploring various other problems concerning the safety of nuclear power plants. If given the opportunity, I also want to learn different experimental and numerical techniques to help me further accurately assess the problems at hand. My current research interests are as follows
·Computational Fluid Dynamics.
· Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer.
·Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics.
·Developing Numerical methods using C++.
My experience of CFD in the field of nuclear thermal-hydraulics from a highly research-oriented department, along with my academic background in boiling heat transfer and numerical methods in one of India's top academic and research institutes, has helped me to adopt and cultivate a research mentality of working in labs individually and in a team. If provided with an opportunity, I would like to work with you as my Ph.D. mentor to learn and study different safety concerns a nuclear reactor system faces.