Welcome to the Advanced Heat Transfer and Surface Technologies Laboratory
The goal of the Advanced Heat Transfer and Surface Technologies Laboratory is to develop novel, advanced heat transfer solutions to difficult problems in areas such as: Hard-faced surface coatings, Surface modification, and Building science.
Thermal spraying – a high-temperature method of fabricating protective coatings for machine parts – is used to fabricate the hard-faced coatings. We develop solutions for surface degradation processes such as: hard-particle erosion, wear, corrosion, high temperatures, among others. Our solutions may include ceramics, metals, alloys, polymers, and composites (polymer-based or metal matrix). We also have the capability to analyze the performance of new coatings.
Our broad expertise in heat transfer has enabled us to develop solutions for application in building science. Some of these research thrusts have included performance assessment of combo heating systems for residential applications, modelling the freezing of liquids in pipes, and estimating the heat flux from forest fires in wildland urban interfaces.