Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100243750 | METHODS AND DEVICES COMPRISING FLEXIBLE SEALS, FLEXIBLE MICROCHANNELS, OR BOTH FOR MODULATING OR CONTROLLING FLOW AND HEAT - Disclosed herein are devices comprising at least one flexible seal, at least one flexible complex seal having at least one closed cavity containing a fluid, or a combination thereof. The devices may comprise at least one immobile and inflexible substrate and at least one mobile and inflexible substrate capable of movement due to the flexible seal, the flexible complex seal, or both. The flexible complex seals comprise at least one closed cavity comprising a fluid, such as a gas or a liquid. As disclosed, the presence or absence of heat will cause the mobile and inflexible substrate to move. The movement will increase or decrease the fluid amount or fluid flow rate in the primary fluid layer. Also disclosed are methods for enhancing the insulating properties of insulating assemblies. | 09-30-2010 |
20110155364 | SMART PASSIVE THERMAL DEVICES AND METHODS - Devices and methods for increasing and decreasing cooling capacity as thermal load increases by utilizing bimaterial. For increasing the cooling capacity, the upper plate of a thin film microchannel can be configured from a bimaterial, such that the upper layer possesses a higher linear thermal expansion coefficient than that of the lower layer material. Excessive heating causes the coolant temperature to increase which in turn heats the upper plate. As such, the upper plate bends outward allowing for more coolant to flow within the thin film. For decreasing the cooling capacity, the upper plate can be configured from a bimaterial such that its lower layer has a higher linear thermal expansion coefficient than that of the upper layer material. Excessive heating can cause the coolant temperature to increase, which in turn heats the upper plate. As such, the upper plate can bend inward resulting in less coolant flow within the thin film. | 06-30-2011 |
20110165369 | CONTROL OF FLOW RATE AND THERMAL CONDITIONS USING TWO-LAYERED THIN FILMS SEPARATED BY FLEXIBLE SEALS AND ROTATABLE PIVOT - Devices for the control of flow rate and thermal conditions using two-layered thin films separated by flexible complex seals. The plates of an upper thin film are separated by a sealing assembly. The sealing assembly is composed of an elastic soft seal separating closed voids of stagnant fluid and in contact with the upper plate of the device as it is the heated plate. The lower and the upper plates of the lower thin film can be separated by an elastic soft seal. The lower and upper thin films are named as main and secondary layers, respectively. Both the upper plate of the secondary layer and the lower plate of the main layer are fixed while the intermediate plate and is free to move in the vertical direction. When the pressure or the working temperature in the secondary layer increases, the secondary layer expands causing the main layer thickness to shrink. This reduces the main layer flow rate and temperature gradients within the main layer. | 07-07-2011 |
20110174390 | ENHANCING INSULATING PROPERTIES AT HIGHER TEMPERATURE UTILIZING SOFT SEALS - Devices utilized to enhance insulating properties at high temperatures. Such devices can include two gas compartments. A main gas compartment can function as a main layer and generally contains a layer of a gas (e.g., Xenon) having a relatively small thermal conductivity. The plates of the main gas layer can be separated by a soft seal, so that the main gas does not leak and the main layer expands easily. A second gas compartment can be configured as a vented compartment filled with air. At high temperatures, the main gas expands while the secondary gas volume shrinks. Since the main gas possesses a lower thermal conductivity, the effective resistance of the device increases, causing an enhancement in the insulating properties at large operating temperatures. A series of gas compartments can be utilized for additional enhancement in insulating properties. | 07-21-2011 |
20110197684 | EPSILON-SHAPED MICROCANTILEVER ASSEMBLY WITH ENHANCED DEFLECTIONS FOR SENSING, COOLING, AND MICROFLUIDIC APPLICATIONS - An assembly of microcantilever-based sensors with enhanced deflections. A deflection profile of an ε-assembly can be compared with that of a rectangular microcantilever and a modified triangular microcantilever. Various force-loading conditions can also be considered. A theorem of linear elasticity for thin beams is utilized to obtain the deflections. The obtained defections can be validated against an accurate numerical solution utilizing a finite element method with a maximum deviation of less than 10 percent. The ε-assembly produces larger deflections than the rectangular microcantilever under the same base surface stress and same extension length. Also, the ε-microcantilever assembly produces a larger deflection than a modified triangular microcantilever. The deflection enhancement increases as the ε-assembly's free length decreases for various types of force loading conditions. The ε-microcantilever can be utilized in microsensing applications to provide a favorable high detection capability with a reduced susceptibility to external noises. | 08-18-2011 |
20110198816 | MINIMIZING FLOW DISTURBANCES IN FLUIDIC CELLS UTILIZING SOFT SEALS - Devices comprising multi-compartment fluidic cell with multiple inlets. Compartments can be separated from one another using soft seals. The main cell can be located between two adjacent secondary cells. The main cell carries the main flow while the secondary cells can carry either the main flow or any auxiliary flows. The flow in the multi-compartment cells minimizes fluid leakage and causes reduced pressure difference between the main cell and the two secondary cells especially under similar flow conditions. | 08-18-2011 |
20110247781 | COOLING ENHANCEMENTS IN THIN FILMS USING FLEXIBLE COMPLEX SEAL DUE TO TEMPERATURE INCREASE OR THERMAL LOAD INCREASE - A cooling enhancement apparatus includes a first substrate and a second substrate, the first substrate having a face in contact with at least one hot medium and having another face in contact with a secondary gas. The second substrate includes a face in contact with the secondary gas and has the other face in contact with a main gas. The faces of the first and second substrates in contact with the secondary gas generally oppose each other. One or more flexible seals can be attached to the first substrate and to the second substrate to form one or more dosed enclosures including the secondary gas so that the second substrate moves relative to the first substrate when the secondary gas undergoes volumetric thermal expansion. | 10-13-2011 |
20120168128 | COOLING AUGMENTATION USING MICROCHANNELS WITH ROTATABLE SEPARATING PLATES - A DL-microchannel cooling device with rotatable separating plate is disclosed. The separating plate is supported via anti-leaking flexible seals. The only allowable motion for that plate is the rotational motion about a pivot rod. The rod is taken to be aligned along the microchannel center line normal to its sides boundaries. The device can be configured as a flexible microheat exchanger and a heated DL-flexible microchannel device. The theory of linear elasticity applied to flexible seals supporting the separating plate is used to relate the moment of the pressure forces on that plate to its rotational angle. The energy equations for both fluids flows are solved numerically and analytically under special conditions. As such, the effectiveness of the flexible microheat exchanger and other performance indicators for flexible microheat exchanger and heated DL-flexible microchannel devices are calculated. The advantages of the proposed device in cooling attributes over the performance of the DL-rigid microchannel device is examined. | 07-05-2012 |
20120174268 | ASSEMBLY OF MICROCANTILEVER-BASED SENSORS WITH ENHANCED DEFLECTIONS - An assembly of microcantilever-based sensors with enhanced deflections. A deflection profile of an ε-assembly can be compared with that of a rectangular microcantilever and a modified triangular microcantilever. Various force-loading conditions can also be considered. A theorem of linear elasticity for thin beams is utilized to obtain the deflections. The obtained defections can be validated against an accurate numerical solution utilizing a finite element method with a maximum deviation of less than 10 percent. The ε-assembly produces larger deflections than the rectangular microcantilever under the same base surface stress and same extension length. Also, the ε-microcantilever assembly produces a larger deflection than a modified triangular microcantilever. The deflection enhancement increases as the ε-assembly's free length decreases for various types of force loading conditions. The ε-microcantilever can be utilized in microsensing applications to provide a favorable high detection capability with a reduced susceptibility to external noises. | 07-05-2012 |
20130118711 | APPARATUS FOR COOLING OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES UTILIZING MICROFLUIDIC COMPONENTS - System and method for cooling of an integrated circuit utilizing Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) components. A flexible thin film has an upper flexible substrate, a lower inflexible substrate and flexible seals. One face of the lower substrate is in contact with at least one hot medium and the other face is in contact with a coolant fluid. One face of the upper substrate is in contact with the coolant fluid and the other face is in contact with the surrounding ambient. Two continuous flexible seals are attached to the faces of the upper lower substrates to form at least one closed enclosure comprising a thermally conducting gas. The thermally conducting gas is in direct contact with the lower substrate. The upper substrate deflects continuously and maximally in the direction along the coolant fluid flow direction when the flexible seals deflect when the thermally conducting gas undergoes volumetric thermal expansion. | 05-16-2013 |
20130211771 | MANIPULATING HEAT FLUX BIFURCATION & DISPERSION INSIDE POROUS MEDIA FOR HEAT TRANSFER CONTROL - A method, system and apparatus for analyzing heat flux bifurcation within a porous medium by analyzing a convective heat transfer process within a channel partially filled with a porous medium under local thermal non-equilibrium conditions. Either the thermal dispersion effect or the inertial effect can be considered in a physical model. Exact solutions can be derived for both fluid and solid temperature distributions for three interface thermal models at a porous-fluid interface. The required conditions for validity of each interface thermal model can be obtained, and equivalence correlations between different interface thermal models can be developed. The range of validity of local thermal equilibrium condition can be established, and heat flux bifurcation within a porous medium can be established and demonstrated. Furthermore, a Nusselt number can be obtained and investigated for pertinent parameters. | 08-15-2013 |
20140081591 | TRANSIENT APPLICATIONS OF HEAT FLUX BIFURCATION IN POROUS MEDIA - A method and system for analyzing transient thermal response of a packed bed under Local Thermal Non-Equilibrium is disclosed. Heat transfer performances in terms of the fluid, solid, and total Nusselt number are obtained. Qualitative analyses of the effects of thermal conduction at the wall on the total heat exchange between the solid and fluid phases within the heat flux bifurcation region are also performed. Both the transient and diffusion aspects are considered in the solid and fluid phases along with the convection and the fluid-solid interaction. The analytical solution for transient response of a packed bed subject to a constant temperature boundary condition is derived. The heat flux bifurcation phenomenon in a porous media is investigated for temporal conditions, and the analytical two-dimensional thermal behavior and the LTE model is examined under transient conditions. Further, the response time towards steady state conditions is investigated. | 03-20-2014 |
20140105241 | EXACT SOLUTION FOR TEMPERATURE GRADIENT BIFURCATION IN POROUS MEDIA - A method and system for analyzing temperature gradient bifurcation in a porous medium by studying the convective heat transfer process within a channel filled with a porous medium with internal heat generation is disclosed. A LTNE model can be employed to represent the energy transport within a porous medium. Exact solutions can be derived for both fluid and solid temperature distributions for two primary approaches for the constant wall heat flux boundary condition. The Nusselt number for the fluid at the channel wall is also obtained. The effects of pertinent parameters such as fluid and solid internal heat generations, Biot number, and a fluid-to-solid effective thermal conductivity ratio can be determined. It can be shown that internal heat generation in a solid phase is significant for heat transfer characteristics. | 04-17-2014 |
20140120568 | SYSTEM AND METHODOLOGY FOR ANALYZING LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN TRANSPORT WITHIN A MULTI-LAYERED ARTERIAL WALL - Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) transport while incorporating the thickening of the arterial wall and cholesterol lipid accumulation can be analyzed. A multi-layered model can be adopted to represent the heterogeneity using the Darcy-Brinkman and Staverman filtration equations to describe transport within the porous layers of the wall. The fiber matrix model can be utilized to represent the cholesterol lipid accumulation and the resulting variable properties. The impact of atherosclerotic wall thickening is shown to be negligible in the axial direction, but is found to be considerable in the radial direction within intima. The reference values of intima's porosity and effective fiber radius are obtained through the fiber matrix model, which characterizes the micro-structure within the intima. | 05-01-2014 |
20140122036 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ANALYZING THE EFFECT OF FLUID SOLID INTERACTIONS AND PULSATION ON TRANSPORT OF LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN THROUGH AN ARTERIAL WALL - Methods and systems for analyzing the effects of Fluid Solid Interactions (FSI) and pulsation on the transport of Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) through an elastic wall (e.g., an arterial wall). A comprehensive multi-layer model for both LDL transport as well as FSI can be analyzed and compared with existing results in limiting cases. The model takes into account the complete multi-layered LDL transport while incorporating FSI aspects to enable a comprehensive study of the deformation effect on the pertinent parameters of the transport processes within an artery. Since the flow inside an artery is time-dependent, the impact of pulsatile flow is also analyzed with and without FSI. The consequence of different factors on LDL transport in an artery is also analyzed. | 05-01-2014 |
20140122038 | PRESSURE BASED ARTERIAL FAILURE PREDICTOR - A three-dimensional multilayer model of mechanical response for analyzing the effect of pressure on arterial failure. The three-dimensional effects are incorporated within five-concentric axisymmetric layers while incorporating the nonlinear elastic characteristics under combined extension and inflation. Constitutive equations for fiber-reinforced material are employed for layers such as intima, media, and adventitia, and an isotropic material model is employed for layers such as endothelium and internal elastic lamina. The three-dimensional five-layer model can be utilized to model propagated rupture area of the arterial wall. Required parameters for each layer are obtained by using nonlinear least square method fitted to in vivo non-invasive experimental data of human artery and the effects of pressure on arterial failure are examined. | 05-01-2014 |
20140180636 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ANALYZING DETECTION ENHANCEMENT OF MICROCANTILEVERS WITH LONG-SLIT BASED SENSORS - Methods and systems for analyzing the detection enhancement of rectangular microcantilevers with long-slit microsensors. The deflection profile of the microcantilevers can he compared with that of typical rectangular microcantilevers under presence of dynamic disturbances. Various force-loading conditions are considered. The theory of linear elasticity for thin beams is used to obtain the deflection related quantities. The disturbance in these quantities can be obtained based on wave propagation and beam vibration theories. | 06-26-2014 |
20150010037 | RESTRICTIONS ON THE VALIDITY OF THERMAL CONDITIONS AT A POROUS FLUID INTERFACE AND ITS APPLICATIONS - A method and system for analyzing variant thermal conditions at the porous-fluid interface under LTNE condition is disclosed. Exact solutions can be derived for both the fluid and solid temperature distributions for the most fundamental forms of thermal conditions at the interface between a porous medium and a fluid under LTNE conditions and the relationships between these solutions are obtained. The range of validity of all the models can be analyzed. Also, a critical non-dimensional half height of the porous media is determined, below which the LTE condition within porous region is considered to be valid. Furthermore, the range of validity of the LTE condition can be obtained based on the introduction of a critical parameter. | 01-08-2015 |