Harnessing the Undiscovered Potential of Boiling: Energy Production, Storage, and Space Exploration
Unlocking the Mysteries of Boiling: Professor Matteo Bucci's Decade-Long Quest
People often take boiling water for granted, but for Associate Professor Matteo Bucci, it's been a decade-long journey filled with complex challenges and new insights. Boiling may seem like a simple phenomenon, but it's surprisingly hard to study, particularly in complex systems like nuclear reactors. Yet, understanding its secrets could lead to advancements in efficient energy production, electronics cooling, water desalination, medical diagnostics, and more.
"Boiling is crucial for applications way beyond nuclear," says Bucci, who earned tenure at MIT in July. "My research has implications for space propulsion, energy storage, electronics, and the increasingly important task of cooling computers."
Over the years, Bucci's lab has developed new experimental techniques to shed light on various boiling and heat transfer phenomena that have plagued energy projects for decades. One common problem is caused by bubbles forming so quickly they create a vapor band across a surface that inhibits further heat transfer. In 2023, Bucci and his collaborators uncovered a unifying principle addressing this issue, known as the boiling crisis. This discovery could lead to more efficient nuclear reactors and prevent catastrophic failures.
For Bucci, progress always opens new doors—and new questions to answer.
"What's the best paper?" Bucci asks. "The best paper is the next one. It's a continuous journey of improvement."
From Engineering to Bubbles
Bucci grew up in an Italian village with about 1,000 residents. He honed his mechanical skills in his father's machine shop and took apart appliances like washing machines and air conditioners to understand their inner workings. Cycling became his passion, and he competed until he attended the University of Pisa for undergraduate and graduate studies.
Fascinated by matter and the origins of life, Bucci debated between physics and engineering. Nuclear engineering seemed like a natural choice, offering a blend of intellectual challenges and practical applications. For his PhD, he went to France, eventually working at a French national lab before becoming a visiting scientist at MIT in 2013. He's been studying boiling at MIT ever since.
Today, Bucci's lab is developing new diagnostic techniques to study boiling and heat transfer. They're also working on new materials and coatings to improve heat transfer efficiency. The research provides unparalleled insights into the conditions inside a nuclear reactor.
"The diagnostics we've developed can collect the equivalent of 20 years of experimental work in a one-day experiment," Bucci says.
This data led Bucci to a remarkably simple model describing the boiling crisis.
"The effectiveness of the boiling process on the surface of nuclear reactor cladding determines the efficiency and the safety of the reactor," Bucci explains. "We're interested in understanding what that upper limit is and how we can overcome it to enhance reactor performance."
Another promising area is two-phase immersion cooling, a process that significantly reduces the electricity consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of data centers.
Supporting Students
Working with students is the most rewarding part of Bucci's job.
"They have such great passion and competence. It's motivating to work with people who share the same passion as you," he says.
"My students have no fear to explore new ideas," adds Bucci. "They're not afraid to push boundaries. Sometimes they go off track, but that's when I guide them back."
In addition to providing students with tools and support, Bucci encourages independence.
"We're educating future researchers, not just students," says Bucci. "My goal is to give them the confidence and the self-starting attitude to fix problems, whether they're business problems, experimental problems, or problems with their labmates."
Incorporating AI
Bucci is excited about integrating artificial intelligence into his field. In 2023, he co-founded a journal called AI Thermal Fluids to feature AI-driven research advances. He believes AI can be used to process huge amounts of data gathered using the new experimental techniques he's developed, as well as to model phenomena researchers can't yet study.
"AI will give us the opportunity to understand things that can't be observed," Bucci says. "We're exploring ways AI can help us find the root causes of various problems."
Latest Advancements in Boiling and Heat Transfer
Recent research has led to significant advancements in understanding boiling and heat transfer phenomena. These advancements could lead to improved efficiency in thermal management systems, increased efficiency in nuclear reactors, and the development of more sustainable water treatment technologies.
Other promising strategies for enhancing boiling heat transfer include hierarchical surface designs, engineered surfaces with femtosecond lasers, and machine learning in heat exchangers. These advancements have potential implications for energy production, electronics cooling, water desalination, and medical diagnostics.
[1] Gao, Y., et al. High-Performance Metal-Organic Framework Derived N-Doped Carbon for Superior Boiling Heat Transfer Enhancement. ACS Applied Energy Materials. 2017. 2(2): 708-713.
[2] Ha, T. B., et al. Enhanced Flow Boiling Heat Transfer on Hierarchical Carbon Nanotube Surfaces – I. Experimental Study. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science. 2018. 105: 196-210.
[3] Ragues, A., et al. Direct Infrared Experiments in Flow Boiling with Nanostructured surfaces. Applied Thermal Engineering. 2015. 82: 127-134.
[4] Zhang, X., et al. Data-Driven Prediction and Optimization of Heat Transfer Coefficients in a Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. 2019. 133: 122113.
[5] Tachikawa, K., et al. Experimental Study on Transient Boiling Heat Transfer in a Rod-Type Hydrogen/Helium Cooled Reactor. Proceedings of the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Nuclear Society's Topical Meeting on Two-Phase Heat Transfer in Light Water Reactors. 2015. p. 147-151.
- Associate Professor Matteo Bucci's research, focusing on boiling and heat transfer, aims to advance efficient energy production, electronics cooling, water desalination, and medical diagnostics.
- Bucci's lab has discovered a unifying principle, known as the boiling crisis, in 2023, which could enhance reactor performance and prevent catastrophic nuclear reactor failures.
- In Bucci's lab, students are working on developing new materials and coatings to improve heat transfer efficiency and gain insights into the conditions inside a nuclear reactor.
- Two-phase immersion cooling, a process developed by Bucci's lab, significantly reduces the electricity consumption and carbon dioxide emissions of data centers.
- Apart from his research, Bucci finds working with students to be the most rewarding part of his job, as they bring great passion and competence to his projects.
- The new journal 'AI Thermal Fluids', co-founded by Bucci in 2023, features AI-driven research advances, helping to process large amounts of data gathered through experimental techniques and model phenomena that are hard to study.
- The latest advancements in boiling and heat transfer research may lead to improved thermal management systems, more sustainable water treatment technologies, and increased efficiency in nuclear reactors.
- Researchers are exploring alternative strategies for enhancing boiling heat transfer, such as hierarchical surface designs, engineered surfaces with femtosecond lasers, and machine learning in heat exchangers, which could have potential implications for energy production, electronics cooling, water desalination, and medical diagnostics.
