Lienhard Research Group

The activities of our group are in the broad area of heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics. Our current focus is on technologies for desalination of seawater and brackish water, and remediation of various waste waters, with increased energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact as core objectives. This work includes thermodynamic cycle analysis, transport processes in components, solar-energy driven systems, and both thermal and membrane separations. Past activities in our lab have included thermal management of electronics, high heat flux engineering, thermal stress and deformation, thermal manufacturing processes, liquid jet impingement cooling, instrumentation, thermally stratified turbulent flow, and thermally driven instabilities. Descriptions of some of these projects and publications are given in the links on the right.

Selected Publications

2014 Journal Papers

E.W. Tow and J.H. Lienhard V, “Experiments and Modeling of Bubble Column Dehumidifier Performance,” Intl. J. Thermal Sciences, 80:65-75, June 2014. (doi link)

R.K. McGovern, J. Mizerak, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Three dimensionless parameters influencing the optimal membrane orientation for forward osmosis,” J. Membrane Science, 458:104-110, 15 May 2014. (doi link)

L.D. Banchik, M.H. Sharqawy, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Effectiveness-Mass Transfer Units (ε–MTU) Model of an Ideal Reverse Osmosis Membrane Mass Exchanger,” J. Membrane Science, 458:189-198, 15 May 2014. (doi link)

G.P. Thiel, R.K. McGovern, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Thermodynamic equipartition for increased second law efficiency,” Applied Energy, 118:292-299, April 2014. (doi link)

D. Cohen-Tanugi, R.K. McGovern, S. Dave, J.H. Lienhard V, and J.C. Grossman, “Quantifying the Potential of Ultra-permeable Desalination Membranes,” Energy Environ. Sci., 7(3):1134-1141, Feb. 2014. (doi link)

K.M. Chehayeb, G.P. Narayan, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Use of multiple extractions and injections to thermodynamically balance the humidification dehumidification desalination system,” Intl. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 68:422–434, Jan. 2014. (doi link)

R.K. McGovern, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard, “A hybrid electrodialysis reverse osmosis system design and its optimization for the treatment of highly saline brines,” IDA Journal, accepted, Feb. 2014.

M.A. Sievers and J.H. Lienhard V, “Design of Plate-Fin Tube Dehumidifiers for Humidification-Dehumidification Desalination Systems,” Heat Transfer Engineering, accepted, December 2013.

G.P. Thiel, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “An analysis of likely scalants in the treatment of produced water from Nova Scotia,” Heat Transfer Engineering, accepted, Nov. 2013.

2013 Journal Papers

E.K. Summers and J.H. Lienhard V,  ”Experimental Study of Thermal Performance in Air Gap Membrane Distillation Systems including Direct Solar Heating of Membranes,” Desalination, 330:100-111, December 2013. (doi link)

M.H. Sharqawy, L.D. Banchik, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Effectiveness-Mass Transfer Units (ε-MTU) Model of an Ideal Pressure Retarded Osmosis Membrane Mass Exchanger,” Journal of Membrane Science, 445:211-219, 15 October 2013. (doi link)

K. Mistry and J.H. Lienhard V, “An economics-based second law efficiency,” Entropy, 15(7):2736-2765, 12 July 2013. (pdf) (doi link)

K. Mistry, H.A. Hunter, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Effect of composition and nonideal solution behavior on desalination calculations for mixed electrolyte solutions with comparison to seawater,” Desalination, 318:34-47, June 2013. (doi link)

M.A. Gondal, S.G. Rashid, M.A. Dastageer, S.M. Zubair, M.A. Ali, J.H. Lienhard V, G.H. McKinley and K.K. Varanasi, “Sol-gel Synthesis of Nanostructured Au/Cu-TiO₂ Composites and their Morphological and Optical Properties,” IEEE Photonics Journal, 5(3):2201908, June 2013. (doi link)

K. Mistry and J.H. Lienhard V, “Generalized least energy of separation for desalination and other chemical separation processes,” Entropy, 15(6):2046-2080, May 2013. (pdf) (doi link)

K.H. Mistry and J.H. Lienhard V, “Effect of Nonideal Solution Behavior on Desalination of a Sodium Chloride (NaCl) Solution and Comparison to Seawater,” J. Energy Res. Tech., 135(4):042003, Dec. 2013. (doi link)

G.P. Narayan, M.H. Sharqawy, S. Lam, S.K. Das, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Bubble Columns for Condensation at High Concentrations of Non-condensable Gas: Heat Transfer Model and Experiments,” AIChE Journal, 59(5):1780–1790, May 2013. (doi link)

G.P. Thiel, J.A. Miller, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Effect of mass extractions and injections on the performance of a fixed-size humidification-dehumidification desalination system,” Desalination, 314:50-58, April 2013. (doi link)

J.A. Miller and J.H. Lienhard V, “Impact of Extraction on a Humidification-Dehumidification Desalination System,” Desalination, 313:87-96, March 2013. (doi link)

F. Al-Sulaiman, G.P. Narayan, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Exergy Analysis of a High-Temperature-Steam-Driven, Varied-pressure, Humidification-Dehumidification System Coupled with Reverse Osmosis,” Applied Energy, 103:552-561, March 2013. (doi link)

G.P. Narayan, M.S. St. John, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Thermal design of the humidification dehumidification desalination system: an experimental investigation,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 58:740-748, March 2013. (doi link)

G.P. Narayan, K.M. Chehayeb, R.K. McGovern, G.P. Thiel, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Thermodynamic balancing of the humidication dehumidication desalination system by mass extraction and injection,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 57(2):756-770, Feb. 2013 (doi link)

R.K. McGovern, G.P. Thiel, G.P. Narayan, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Performance Limits of Single and Dual Stage Humidification Dehumidification Desalination Systems,” Applied Energy, 102:1081-1090, Feb. 2013. (doi link)

E.K. Summers and J.H. Lienhard V,  ”A Novel Solar Air-Gap Membrane Distillation System,” Desalination and Water Treatment, 51:1344–1351, Feb. 2013. (doi link)

M.A. Sievers and J.H. Lienhard V, “Design of flat-plate dehumidifiers for humidification dehumidification desalination systems,” Heat Transfer Engineering, 34(7):543-561, Jan. 2013 (doi link)

K. Mistry, M.A. Antar, and J.H. Lienhard V, “An Improved Model for Multiple Effect Distillation,” Desalination and Water Treatment, 51:807–821, Jan. 2013. (doi link)

A.K. Plappally and J.H. Lienhard V, “Cost of Water Treatment, Distribution, End Use, and Reclamation,” Desalination and Water Treatment, 51:200–232, Jan. 2013. (doi link)

2012 Journal Papers

E.K. Summers, M.A. Antar, and J.H. Lienhard V,  ”Design and optimization of an air heating solar collector with integrated phase change material energy storage for use in humidification-dehumidification desalination,” Solar Energy, 86(11):3417-3429, Nov. 2012. (doi link)

M. Ali, E.K. Summers, H.A. Arafat, J.H. Lienhard V, “Effects of Membrane Properties on Water Production Cost in Small Scale Membrane Distillation Systems,” Desalination, 306:60–71, Nov. 2012. (doi link)

G.P. Narayan and J.H. Lienhard V, “Thermal Design of Humidification Dehumidification Systems for Affordable Small-scale Desalination,” IDA Journal, 4(3):24-34, Sept. 2012.

A.K. Plappally and J.H. Lienhard V, “Energy Requirements for Water Production, Treatment, End Use, Reclamation, and Discharge,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(7):4818-4848, Sept. 2012. (doi link)

G.P. Thiel and J.H. Lienhard V, “Entropy generation in condensation in the presence of high concentrations of noncondensable gases,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 55:5133–5147, Sept. 2012. (doi link)

R. Saffarini, E.K. Summers, H.A. Arafat, J.H. Lienhard V, “Economic evaluation of stand-alone solar-powered membrane distillation systems,” Desalination, 299:55-62, August 2012. (doi link)

J.H. Lienhard V, A. Bilton, M.A. Antar, G. Zaragoza, and J. Blanco, “Solar Desalination,” in Annual Review of Heat Transfer, Vol. 15. New York: Begell House, Inc., 2012.

R.K. McGovern, G.P. Narayan, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Analysis of Reversible Ejectors and Definition of Ejector Efficiency,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 54(4):153–166, April 2012. (doi link)

E.K. Summers, H.A. Arafat, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Energy efficiency comparison of single stage membrane distillation (MD) desalination cycles in different configurations,” Desalination, 290:54-66, Feb. 2012. (doi link)

R. Saffarini, E.K. Summers, H.A. Arafat, J.H. Lienhard V, “Technical evaluation of stand-alone solar-powered membrane distillation systems,” Desalination, 286:332–341, Jan. 2012. (doi link)

G.P. Narayan, R.K. McGovern, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “High-temperature-steam-driven, varied-pressure, humidification-dehumidification system coupled with reverse osmosis for energy-efficient seawater desalination,” Energy, 37(1), pp. 482-493, Jan. 2012 (doi link)

Selected papers before 2012; additional desalination publications are on link at right.

K.H. Mistry, R.K. McGovern, G.P. Thiel, E.K. Summers, S.M. Zubair, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Entropy generation analysis of desalination technologies,” Entropy, 13(10):1829-1864, Sept. 2011 (pdf).

G.P. Narayan, R.K. McGovern, G.P. Thiel, J.A. Miller, M.H. Sharqawy, S.M. Zubair, M.A. Antar, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Status of humidification-dehumidification desalination,” IDA World Congress on Desalination and Water Reuse, Perth, Australia, 5-9 Sept. 2011. Received Best Paper Award (pdf) (presentation)

K.H. Mistry, A.H. Mitsos, and J.H. Lienhard V, “Optimal operating conditions and configurations for humidification–dehumidification desalination cycles,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 50(5), May 2011, pp. 779-789. (doi link) (pdf)

M.H. Sharqawy, J.H. Lienhard V, and S.M. Zubair, “On Exergy Calculations for Seawater with Application to Desalination Systems,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 50(2), Feb. 2011, pp.187-196. (doi link)

J.H. Lienhard IV and J.H. Lienhard V, A Heat Transfer Textbook, 4th ed. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2011. (download)

K.H. Mistry, J.H. Lienhard V, and S.M. Zubair, “Effect of Entropy Generation on the Performance of Humidification-Dehumidification Desalination Cycles,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 49(9), Sept. 2010, pp. 1837-1847. (doi link) (pdf)

G.P. Narayan, K.H. Mistry, M.H. Sharqawy, S.M. Zubair, J.H. Lienhard V, “Energy Effectiveness of Simultaneous Heat and Mass Exchange Devices,” Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, 1(2), Aug. 2010, pp. 1-13. (doi link)

G.P. Narayan, M.H. Sharqawy, J.H. Lienhard V, and S.M. Zubair, “Thermodynamic analysis of humidification-dehumidification desalination cycles,” Desalination and Water Treatment, Vol. 16, pp.339-353, April 2010.(pdf)

G.P. Narayan, M.H. Sharqawy, E.K. Summers, J.H. Lienhard V, S.M. Zubair, and M.A. Antar, “The potential of solar-driven humidification-dehumidification desalination for small-scale decentralized water production,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp.1187-1201, May 2010. (doi link)

M.H. Sharqawy, J.H. Lienhard V, and S.M. Zubair, “The thermophysical properties of seawater: A review of existing correlations and data,” Desalination and Water Treatment, Vol. 16, pp.354-380, April 2010.(pdf)

T.G. Beckwith, R.D. Marangoni, and J.H. Lienhard V, Mechanical Measurements, 6th edition. Pearson: 2007. URL

C.C. Ritcher and J.H. Lienhard V, “Active Thermal Control of Distributed Parameter Systems Excited at Multiple Frequencies,” J. Heat Transfer, Vol. 128, pp.93-99, 2006. (PDF file)

M. Sweetland and J.H. Lienhard V, “Active Thermal Control of Distributed Parameter Systems with Application to Testing of Packaged IC Devices,” J. Heat Transfer, Vol.125, No.1, pp. 164-174, 2003. (PDF file)

A.E. Bergles, J.H. Lienhard V, G.E. Kendall, and P. Griffith, “Boiling and Evaporation in Small Diameter Channels,” Heat Transfer Engineering, Vol.24, No.1, pp.18-40, 2003. (PDF file)

M. Sweetland and J.H. Lienhard V, “Evaporative Cooling of Continuously Drawn Fibers by Water Sprays,” Intl. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol.43, pp.777-790, 2000. (PDF file)

A.C. Pfahnl, J.H. Lienhard V, and D.J. Watson, “Method and Apparatus for Temperature Control of Semiconductor Electrical-Test Contactor Assembly,” U.S. Patent #6091062, 18 July 2000; Intl. Patents #WO99/382090A2, 29 July 1999, #WO99/382090A3, 23 Sept. 1999.

C.H. Oh, J.H. Lienhard V, H.F. Younis, R.S. Dahbura, and D. Michels, “Liquid Jet-Array Cooling Modules for High Heat Fluxes,” AIChE Journal, Vol.44, No.4, pp.769-779, 1998. (PDF file)

D. Michels, J. Hadeler, and J.H. Lienhard V, “High Heat Flux Resistance Heaters from VPS and HVOF Thermal Spraying,” Exptl. Heat Transfer, Vol.11, 1998, pp.341-359. (PDF file)

J.H. Lienhard V, “Liquid Jet Impingement,” Annual Review of Heat Transfer, C.L.Tien, ed., Vol.6, Chpt.4. New York: Begell House, 1995, pp.199-270.

L.A. Gabour and J.H. Lienhard V, “Wall Roughness Effects on Stagnation-Point Heat Transfer Beneath an Impinging Liquid Jet,” J. Heat Transfer, Vol.116, No.1, 1994, pp.81-87. (PDF file)

X. Liu and J.H. Lienhard V, “The Hydraulic Jump in Circular Liquid Jet Impingement and in Other Thin Films,” Expts. Fluids, Vol.15, 1993, pp.108-116. (PDF file)

X. Liu, J.H. Lienhard V, and J.S. Lombara, “Convective Heat Transfer by Impingement of Circular Liquid Jets,” J. Heat Transfer, Vol.113, No.3, 1991, pp.571-582. (PDF file)

J.H. Lienhard V and C.W. Van Atta, “The decay of turbulence in thermally stratified flow,” J. Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 210, Jan. 1990, pp.57-112. (PDF file)

J.H. Lienhard V, “An improved approach to conductive boundary conditions for the Rayleigh-Benard instability,” J. Heat Transfer, Vol. 109, No. 2, 1987, pp.378-387. (PDF file)