About her:

“I received my bachelor’s degree in 2017 from Northeast Forestry University in China and my master’s degree in 2019 from China University of Mining and Technology. After graduation with my master’s degree, I worked at National Intellectual Property Administration, PRC, as a patent examiner from 2019-2021.   During my study, I have learned a lot of knowledge about heat transfer, fluid mechanics and thermal management. Thermal management can ensure the proper operation of equipment under extreme conditions, so it is very important for smartphones, electric vehicles, aircraft and so on. I have experience in preparing for phase change materials and nanofluids, coupling with microchannels or other heat exchange systems, which could enhance the heat transfer process.   During the time I worked at the National Institute of National Intellectual Property Administration, PRC, I learned lots of knowledge of patents. After the training in patent law, I independently reviewed patents for over a year, including Chinese patents, European patents and so on. In that period, It helped me to better understand the rules of the patent application, drafting and granting, and I also acquired a lot of advanced knowledge about mechanical engineering by examining patents. It made me realize that knowledge and technology can change society, and I want to be a part of it by pursuing my Ph.D. degree.   Since 01.01.2022, I become a Ph.D. candidate at Technical University of Darmstadt to start SURFICE project.  This is a precious opportunity for me because it allows me to use the experience I already have about heat transfer, and it also can help me learn new knowledge about the solidification of a supercooled water drop. I will be responsible for the measurement of the nucleation rates and probabilities of supercooled drop solidification on various designs of anti-icing substrates.”

Goals in the project:

The rate of heterogeneous nucleation on complex solid substrates is influenced by specific coating chemical properties, surface morphology, and by drop impact. It determines the conditions for the inception of the freezing. A universal model for heterogeneous ice nucleation is still missing.    The objectives of the project include a better understanding of the physics of the ice heterogeneous nucleation in a spreading or propagating supercooled drop on complex substrates. Two main processes will be studied: i) single drop impact onto a cold substrate and ii) drop propagation on a substrate under the action of an airflow.   I will be responsible for the experimental project whose objectives include the measurement of the nucleation rates and probabilities of supercooled (up to -20 °C) drop solidification on complex substrates due to heterogeneous nucleation after high-speed drop impact and shear-driven drop propagation in the TUDa wind channel. The phenomena are governed by the fast growth of the mushy layer of dendrites, viscous and thermal boundary layers, and bubble entrainment. Various designs of anti-icing substrates will be used in experiments, including the substrates produced by the partners in the SURFICE consortium.

I will be also hosted by Prof. A.L. Yarin at UIC (USA) and by ANSYS (Canada) supporting the computations and development of a theoretical model for nucleation and freezing of an impacting drop

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