Advances in Microscale Fluid Flow, Heat Transfer, and Phase Change

Submission Deadline: 28 February 2026 View: 335 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editors

Assoc. Prof. Liaofei Yin

Email: yinliaofei@bjtu.edu.cn

Affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Flow and Heat Transfer of Phase Changing in Micro and Small Scale, School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China

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Research Interests: boiling/evaporation, two-phase flow and heat transfer, advanced thermal management

Assoc. Prof. Chao Dang

Email: chdang@bjtu.edu.cn

Affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Flow and Heat Transfer of Phase Changing in Micro and Small Scale, School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China

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Research Interests: micro-scale flow and phase change heat transfer theory, advanced thermal management technology, aerospace vehicle thermal control and thermal protection technology, supersonic/hypersonic aerodynamic heat/force experimental and simulation technology, medical engineering intersection and multi-physical field numerical simulation technology

Dr. Yi Ding

Email: yiding1@bjtu.edu.cn

Affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Flow and Heat Transfer of Phase Changing in Micro and Small Scale, School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China

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Research Interests: condensation, icing, droplet wetting, and droplet dynamics

Summary

With the growing demand for compact, high-performance thermal systems in electronics, energy, aerospace, biomedical, and environmental applications, microscale fluid flow and phase-change heat transfer have become critical research frontiers. Microscale flow and heat transfer processes, especially those involving phase transitions such as boiling, condensation, droplet evaporation, and solid-liquid transformations, exhibit unique behaviors governed by surface micro/nanostructures, fluid–solid interactions, and flow confinement. These features present both scientific challenges and technological opportunities for innovative thermal management solutions, energy conversion systems, and lab-on-a-chip platforms, etc.

This Special Issue aims to showcase recent progress and future directions in the science and engineering of microscale fluid flow, heat transfer, and phase-change processes. It invites original research, reviews, and perspective articles from diverse disciplines, with a focus on fundamental mechanisms, modeling techniques, experimental innovations, and application-driven studies. By bringing together contributions from heat transfer, fluid mechanics, materials science, micro/nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence, this Special Issue seeks to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and inspire novel solutions for thermal challenges at small scales.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
· Microscale boiling, condensation, evaporation, and freezing
· Two-phase flow in microchannels, porous media, and hybrid structures
· Capillary-driven flow, wick structures, and transpiration cooling
· Droplet impact dynamics, wetting control, and icing behavior
· Flow, heat transfer, mixing, and mass diffusion in microfluidic chips
· Biomimetic thermal designs and nature-inspired heat transfer enhancement
· Micro/nanostructured surface engineering for phase change intensification
· Advanced diagnostics and visualization in microscale thermofluid systems
· Machine learning and physical-informed neural networks in thermal transport modeling
· Multiscale modeling and coupled thermal-fluid-chemical simulations

Keywords

Published Papers