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UMD Heat Transfer Cluster — Flow Boiling in Microgravity

Last updated: Session 22, 2026-04-06

Summary

University of Maryland PI Jungho Kim ran 4 FO projects spanning 2011-2019, all targeting two-phase flow boiling heat transfer in reduced gravity. Plus a STRG project [4293] that officially "Infused To" and "Transitioned To NSF". This is one of the most productive academic FO clusters, and its downstream impact reaches the ISS: Kim's Microheater Array Boiling Experiment (MABE) flew on Shuttle Discovery to the ISS, producing 200+ boiling tests. The FO parabolic data forms part of the fundamental physics database for Artemis cryogenic propellant management.

Projects

# ID Title TRL Period PI Notes
1 12176 Electric Field Pool Boiling 4→4 2011-2014 Kim Zero TRL gain; EHD boiling; co-I Paolo DiMarco (Univ of Pisa)
2 12472 Advanced Two-Phase Heat Exchangers 4→6 2011-2015 Kim Design tools for variable-gravity heat exchangers; 2 library items
3 89349 Flow Boiling ISS Prep I 4→5 2016-2018 Junghoon Kim (PI), Jungho Kim (co-I) Explicitly ISS prep — ground-based gravity effects study
4 106578 Flow Boiling TSP (Temperature Sensitive Paints) 4→6 2017-2019 Kim (co-I) Novel TSP measurement technique; published: IJMF 2019 (DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2019.103099)

Non-FO upstream:

Program ID Title TRL Period PI Notes
STRG 4293 Fundamentals of Gravity Effects on Flow Boiling 2→3 2011-2015 Kim Infused To + Transitioned To NSF; co-I Alex Scammell; Project Manager: John McQuillen (GRC)

Researcher Network

  • Jungho Kim (UMD) — PI/co-I on all 5 projects. Professor, Mechanical Engineering. Directs UMD Phase Change Heat Transfer Lab. 30+ year career in boiling heat transfer. PhD Univ of Minnesota 1990.
  • Junghoon Kim — appears as PI on [89349] (different from Jungho Kim; possibly a student/postdoc)
  • Paolo DiMarco (Univ of Pisa) — co-I on [12176], international collaboration on EHD boiling
  • John McQuillen (NASA GRC) — Project Manager on STRG [4293]; GRC's microgravity combustion/fluids lead. The GRC connection is the institutional bridge to ISS experiments.
  • Alex Scammell — co-I on [4293], likely PhD student

Technology Arc

Problem: Two-phase thermal systems (using boiling/condensation) are far more efficient than single-phase systems for spacecraft cooling, but their behavior in reduced gravity is fundamentally different from Earth. Without a reliable predictive database, designers use large safety margins → heavier thermal management systems → less payload capacity.

FO contribution: Kim's parabolic flights built the first systematic database of pool boiling and flow boiling heat transfer coefficients across gravity levels (Earth, lunar, Martian, microgravity). The key variables: heat flux, wall superheat, bubble dynamics, critical heat flux (CHF), and the transition between buoyancy-dominated and surface-tension-dominated regimes.

Key publications: - Kim, J., "Review of Nucleate Pool Boiling Heat Transfer Mechanisms", IJMF, Vol. 35, pp. 1067-1076, 2009 - Raj, R., Kim, J., and McQuillen, J., "Pool Boiling Heat Transfer in Microgravity: Results from MABE on the ISS", ASME J Heat Transfer, Vol. 134, pp. 101504, 2012 - "A formulation for high-fidelity simulations of pool boiling in low gravity", IJMF 2019 (DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2019.103099) - "A study of gravitational effects on single elongated vapor bubbles", IJHMT 2016 (DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2016.04.034)

Downstream Impact

ISS: MABE Experiment (confirmed)

Kim's Microheater Array Boiling Experiment (MABE) launched on Shuttle Discovery and was installed in the ISS Microgravity Science Glovebox. Produced 200+ boiling tests over 2 years. Key result: the updated gravity scaling model predicted experimental microgravity data to within ±20%. Identified a transitional gravitational acceleration separating buoyancy-dominated and surface-tension-dominated boiling regimes.

MABE was part of the Boiling eXperiment Facility (BXF) at GRC. While MABE predates the FO cluster chronologically, the FO parabolic flights (2011-2019) extended MABE's data to flow boiling regimes and to novel measurement techniques (temperature-sensitive paints) that weren't available on ISS.

ISS: FBCE (confirmed — indirect contribution)

The Flow Boiling and Condensation Experiment (FBCE) collected microgravity flow boiling data aboard the ISS from February to July 2022. The FBCE PI is Issam Mudawar (Purdue), not Kim, but: - Kim's FO projects [89349] and [106578] are titled "in Preparation for an ISS Flight Experiment" — explicitly building toward FBCE - The STRG project [4293] was managed by John McQuillen at GRC, who is the institutional PI for ISS fluids experiments - The STRG project officially recorded "Infused To" in TechPort outcomes

Kim's FO work provided the preliminary reduced-gravity data and predictive models that FBCE then validated at ISS scale with longer-duration microgravity.

ISS: Microgravity Pool Boiling Experiment (MPBE) — upgraded to flight definition

Per UMD news (2023), NASA upgraded Kim's Microgravity Pool Boiling Experiment to "flight definition" status — the final stage before building ISS flight hardware. This is a direct continuation of the FO pool boiling work from [12176] and [12472].

NSF Transition (confirmed)

STRG project [4293] recorded "Transitioned To → National Science Foundation" in December 2015. The fundamental physics understanding from gravity-scaling studies had broad enough applicability to attract NSF funding for basic science continuation.

Connection to Cryogenic Cluster

This cluster is part of the broader FO cryogenic propellant management cluster of 30+ projects. Kim's work specifically addresses the heat transfer coefficient database that mission designers need for sizing thermal management systems. His work complements: - Mudawar/Purdue [184140] — cryogenic pool boiling (complete boiling curve) - Chung/UF [91356, 106581, 106713, 106616] — chilldown + tank coatings - Aerospace Corp [106642] — helium pressurization

Together, these groups form the experimental data foundation for Artemis cryogenic architecture.

RINGS — Separate UMD FO Project

UMD also hosts 12267 — Resonant Inductive Near-field Generation System (RINGS), PI Ray Sedwick (2013-2016, TRL 4→5). This is electromagnetic formation flight (EMFF) technology, tested as a SPHERES payload on ISS. Not heat transfer — separate research thread. Sedwick's Space Power and Propulsion Lab focuses on formation flying and wireless power transfer. The RINGS experiment operated on ISS through the SPHERES facility and advanced to outcome "Advanced To" in 2014.

Verification

  • Sample size: 4 FO projects + 1 STRG + ISS experiments
  • Query: techport_get_project batch [12176, 12472, 89349, 106578, 4293]; techport_find_contacts "Jungho Kim"; web search for FBCE ISS results and Kim publications
  • Counter-query: Were Kim's parabolic flights actually used in FBCE design? (The "in Preparation for an ISS Flight Experiment" titles and McQuillen GRC connection strongly suggest yes, but no explicit citation confirmed)
  • Confidence: Confirmed for MABE ISS + STRG infusion/NSF transition. Suggestive for FBCE contribution. Confirmed for MPBE flight definition upgrade.

Cross-References