Tensore Lab

My research focuses on multiscale fluid flow and heat transfer with the twin objectives to understand the interfacial interactions and flow physics with an aim to utilize the same to develop smart surfaces and for renewable energy generation. A part of the research focuses on length scales below micron dimensions where one has to resort to molecular level investigations. The results are used to propose capillary height dependent dynamic slip length which could explain the filling behavior in nanocapillaries. Related to flow in confinements, the interfacial slip was demonstrated as a complex function of the physical and chemical signature of the solid surface and the ionic inclusions in the solvent together interacting with the solvent molecules. In a pioneering work, the duality of wettability and slip length was challenged and flow optimization on a hydrophobic surface was performed to obtain stick and proposing methods to tune the surface wettability by altering the structure of the solid and the fluid at the interface. This understanding of interfacial phenomena from a multiscale approach gives one the ability to tweak surfaces to make them work according to the desired application.At the device level, research was conducted both theoretically and experimentally, to decipher the interdependence between the structure of electric double layer formation and the structure of the fluid at the interface under dynamic conditions. The analysis provides a road map for optimizing electrokinetic energy conversion efficiency. At the system level, the research focuses on wind energy conversion and harvesting solar thermal energy.