Published on: 2026-08-20
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
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The 18th International Heat Transfer Conference (IHTC-18) was held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) from August 2 to 7, 2026. It is one of the largest global scientific events in the field of heat transfer, unofficially called “Olympic Games in Heat Exchange”. It is held every four years under the auspices of the Assembly of International Heat Transfer Conferences (AIHTC) and brings together leading researchers from around the world. This year, more than 600 scientific papers were presented in its program.
Novosibirsk State University was represented at the conference by employees of the Laboratory of Physical and Technical Foundations of Energy: the head of the laboratory, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Chernov, leading research fellow, Doctor of Technical Sciences Anatoly Levin and senior research fellow, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences Anton Surtaev. The studies they presented were conducted jointly with the scientific teams of the Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics (IT) of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, the L.A. Melentyev Energy Systems Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology within the framework of projects funded by the Russian Science Foundation (No. 22-19-00092-P and No. 22-19-00581-P).
The poster presentation received special recognition from the conference participants Anton Surtaev “Spray cooling: from fundamental heat transfer phenomena to improved performance through advanced surface engineering.” This work was recognized by the organizing committee as Best Poster Award — the best poster presentation in the “Phase Transitions and Multiphase Flows” section.
The study is devoted to improving spray cooling — one of the most promising methods for dissipating high heat fluxes in modern microelectronics, energy, and other high-load systems.
For detailed study of two-phase heat exchange processes, scientists developed an experimental approach combining high-speed infrared thermography, optical visualization, and machine learning methods. This made it possible to investigate the dynamics of vapor bubbles, as well as to automatically detect and track the formation and evolution of dry spots on the surface — one of the key factors determining cooling efficiency and the occurrence of crisis heat exchange regimes.
An important part of the work was the application of surface engineering methods. Using laser texturing, the researchers created micro- and nanostructures with specified morphology and wettability, allowing control over boiling processes and intensification of heat transfer.
— Spray cooling allows for the efficient removal of extremely high heat fluxes, but the physical mechanisms of two-phase heat transfer under such conditions remain complex to study. By combining modern experimental diagnostic methods and machine learning, we were able to obtain detailed information about the processes occurring on the surface and use it to develop new approaches to intensify cooling, — noted Anton Surtaev.
The award received at IHTC-18 confirms the high international level of research conducted by the employees of NSU and the Institute of Thermophysics of the SB RAS, as well as the promise of developments for creating highly efficient cooling systems for modern microelectronics and energy equipment.
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