Join the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department for their upcoming seminar featuring Dr. Lane B. Carasik, an assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering at VCU! He will be presenting, "Computational and Experimental Investigations of Heat Transfer Enhancements for Fusion Energy Systems and Advanced Nuclear Reactors."

Abstract: Advanced energy systems require heat transfer equipment (e.g. heat exchangers and pumps) to transfer heat from heat generation components to power conversion components. Improved economics (capital, operating & maintenance costs) of these systems can be achieved through reduced equipment size, coolant mass, etc. In this talk, the current efforts by Dr. Carasik's FAST Research Group to investigate heat transfer enhancements for heat exchangers using computational fluid dynamics and advanced flow visualization will be discussed. The discussed efforts include computational activities will be discussed that involves the CFD code, Nek5000/NekRS, to investigate the thermal hydraulic performance of twisted tape-inserts, twisted elliptical tubes, and helically grooved tubing as heat transfer enhancements for in-core and secondary salt heat exchangers. Complementary experiments leveraging surrogate fluids for molten salts are used to observe relevant thermal hydraulics behavior and using novel medical imaging technology (PEPT) to acquire needed flow field measurements for primary heat exchangers and 1st wall heat removal.

Bio: Dr. Lane Carasik (He/Him/His) is an Assistant Professor within the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. At VCU, Dr. Carasik is the Director of the Fluids in Advanced Systems and Technology (FAST) research group that focuses on thermal hydraulics research in advanced energy systems including nuclear fusion, fission and concentrated solar power. In July 2023, Dr. Carasik was awarded a DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program grant to support the Fusion Energy Sciences program in order to research and develop molten salt based fusion energy systems. Additionally, Dr. Carasik is currently the principal investigator or co-principal investigator of multiple research grants from the DOE Office of Science & Office of Nuclear Energy, APRA-E and Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Prior to joining VCU, Dr. Carasik was a Nuclear Thermal Fluids Engineer at Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation and before that, Kairos Power as a CFD & Thermal Fluids Engineer. Dr. Caras ik is an Associate Editor of the American Nuclear Society Fusion Science and Technology Journal and a member of the Diversity and Inclusion in ANS Committee and Fusion Energy Division Executive Committee. Previously, he was on the Thermal Hydraulics Division Executive Committee, External Affairs Committee and the chair of the Diversity and Inclusion in ANS committee. Dr. Carasik has a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University and a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Lastly, he was a co-recipient of the 2020 ASME FED Moody and 2018 ASME CFD Best Paper Awards for work completed while employed at Kairos Power on a DOE GAIN Voucher.