Faculty

Professor Nirgude completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Indore in 2020, where his research focused on enhancing pool boiling heat transfer by developing micro-structured surfaces using laser ablation techniques. Professor Nirgude has an MDes in Mechanical Systems from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM) Kancheepuram.

After completing his PhD, Professor Nirgude joined Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), South Korea, as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where he worked with the experimental team investigating the quenching behaviour of conical debris beds. Later, In 2021, he joined Seoul National University (SNU), South Korea, where he continued to work on cylindrical debris beds, investigating the effects of boundary conditions, particle size, and coolant temperature on quenching behaviour.

Parallely, Professor Nirgude conducted pool boiling experiments to study bubble dynamics on engineered surfaces and developed a refractive index matching technique to visualise two-phase flow in porous media.

His research interests include EV battery thermal management, enhancement of two-phase heat transfer, flow visualisation techniques, and interdisciplinary research.

• Quenching Behaviour of Debris Bed: This experimental study aims to generate critical data for validating computational models used in severe accident analysis and mitigation. Professor Nirgude developed conical and cylindrical bed configurations under different boundary conditions by exploring various bed formation scenarios. His experiments aimed at analysing the impact of these conditions on two-phase flow and quenching, utilising temperature data and visual aids.
• Two-Phase Flow Visualisation in Porous Beds: This research aims to capture two-phase flow patterns within porous beds to enhance two-phase flow friction models. To achieve this, Professor Nirgude developed a refractive index matching-based visualisation test facility, which captures various flow patterns in porous beds made of cylindrical particles.
• Investigation of Bubble Dynamics on Engineered Surfaces: The objective of this work is to study the mechanisms influencing bubble growth on engineered surfaces, including micro/nano-structured surfaces, coated surfaces, and functionalised coatings.
• Enhancement of Nucleate Pool Boiling: As part of the doctoral research, Professor Nirgude developed a customised experimental test facility to investigate the nucleate pool boiling performance of structured surfaces. A key focus was establishing a laser texturing method for fabricating micro-structured surfaces with precise control over geometric features. He conducted systematic experiments to analyse the influence of laser processing parameters on nucleate boiling heat transfer characteristics. The research also extended to studying the effects of nanofluids and surfactants on boiling heat transfer, providing insights into the complex interplay between surface characteristics and working fluid properties.

• Nirgude, V. V., and Sahu, S. K. (2017). Enhancement of nucleate boiling heat transfer using structured surfaces. Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, 122, 222–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2017.10.013
• Nirgude, V. V., and Sahu, S. K. (2019). Enhancement in nucleate pool boiling heat transfer on nano-second laser processed copper surfaces. Experimental Heat Transfer, 32(6), 566–583. https://doi.org/10.1080/08916152.2018.1559262
• Nirgude, V. V., and Sahu, S. K. (2019). Nucleate boiling heat transfer performance of laser textured copper surfaces. Journal of Enhanced Heat Transfer, 26(6), 597–618. https://doi.org/10.1615/JEnhHeatTransf.2019030631
• Nirgude, V. V., and Sahu, S. K. (2020). Nucleate boiling heat transfer performance of different laser processed copper surfaces. International Journal of Green Energy, 17(1), 38–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/15435075.2019.1686000
• Nirgude, V. V., and Sahu, S. K. (2020). Heat transfer enhancement in nucleate pool boiling using laser processed surfaces: Effect of laser wavelength and power variation. Thermochimica Acta, 694, 178788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2020.178788
• Chougule, S. S., Nirgude, V. V., and Sahu, S. K. (2018). Experimental Study on Laminar Forced Convection of Al2O3/Water and Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes/Water Nanofluid of Varied Particle Concentration with Helical Twisted Tape Inserts in Pipe Flow. Heat Transfer Engineering, 39(9), 806–818. https://doi.org/10.1080/01457632.2017.1341235
• Modak, M., Nirgude, V. V., and Park, H. S. (2022). Mapping of quench front propagation in a heated cylindrical particle bed – MONET tests. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 400, 112080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2022.112080
• Modak, M., Nirgude, V. V., Park, H. S., Choi, Y. J., and Seo, M. R. (2023). Experimental investigation of quenching phenomena in high temperature conical debris bed – Part 1: MONET tests. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 402, 112102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2022.112102
• Modak, M., Nirgude, V. V., Park, H. S., Choi, Y. J., and Seo, M. R. (2023). DAVINCI-SP tests for debris bed formation and spreading in a pool with center conical structure under two-phase condition. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 405, 112199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2023.112199
• Nirgude, V. V., Vadlamudi, S. R. G., Modak, M., and Park, H. S. (2024). Visual identification of two-phase flow patterns in adiabatic air-water flow in porous media using a refractive index matching technique. International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 153, 107324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2024.107324

Conferences

• Nirgude, V. V., Modak, M., and Sahu, S. K. (2016, December 15-17). Experimental investigation of pool boiling characteristics of isopropyl alcohol on smooth copper and aluminum surface. 6th International and 43rd National Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power (FMFP2016), Allahabad, India.
• Nirgude, V. V., Modak, M., Sharma, A. K., and Sahu, S. K. (2017, July 2-6). Experimental study on structured surfaces for nucleate pool boiling enhancement. International Conference on Nuclear Engineering Proceedings (Vol. 9, ICONE25-67287, V009T15A043). 25th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE25), Shanghai, China.
• Nirgude, V. V., Modak, M., and Park, H. S. (2022, October 30-November 2). A preliminary investigation on subcooled quenching of cylindrical porous bed. The 12th Japan-Korea Symposium on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics and Safety (NTHAS12), Miyazaki, Japan.
• Nirgude, V. V., Modak, M., and Park, H. S. (2021, October 20-22). Refractive index matching method for the visualization of two-phase flow behaviour in porous media: A preliminary study. Transactions of the KNS Autumn Meeting CECO, Virtual meeting.
• Chougule, S. S., Nirgude, V. V., Shewale, S. P., Pise, A. T., Sahu, S. K., and Shah, H. (2015, December 15-17). Application of paraffin based nanocomposite in heat pipe module for electronic equipment cooling. Materials Today: Proceedings, 5(11), 23333-23338. 5th International Conference on Advances in Energy Research 2015 (ICAER-2015), IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India.
• Chougule, S. S., Gharge, P. D., Nirgude, V. V., Modak, M., and Sahu, S. K. (2015, December 15-17). Heat transfer enhancements of low volume concentration CNT/water nanofluid and wire coil inserts in a circular tube. Energy Procedia, 90, 552–558. 5th International Conference on Advances in Energy Research 2015 (ICAER-2015), IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India.
• Modak, M., Nirgude, V., Sharma, A. K., and Sahu, S. K. (2016, June 26–30). Experimental study on heat transfer characteristics of circular jet impingement boiling on the variety of structured copper surfaces in stagnation zone. International Conference on Nuclear Engineering Proceedings (Vol. 5, ICONE24-60682, V005T15A048). 24th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE24), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
• Yadav, A. K., Sharma, P., Sharma, A. K., Modak, M., Nirgude, V., and Sahu, S. K. (2017, July 2–6). Heat transfer characteristics of downward facing hot horizontal surfaces using mist jet impingement. International Conference on Nuclear Engineering Proceedings (Vol. 6, ICONE25-67537, V006T08A099). 25th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE25), Shanghai, China.
• Modak, M., Nirgude, V. V., and Park, H. S. (2021, October 20-22). Description of the MONET test facility to study quenching of porous bed – Cylindrical particle bed. Transactions of the KNS Autumn Meeting CECO, Virtual meeting.
• Modak, M., Nirgude, V. V., and Park, H. S. (2022, October 30-November 2). Quench front movement in cylindrical debris bed – MONET tests. The 12th Japan-Korea Symposium on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics and Safety (NTHAS12), Miyazaki, Japan.
• Modak, M., Nirgude, V., and Park, H. S. (2022, May 16-19). Quenching phenomena in high temperature cylindrical debris bed: MONET tests. 10th European Review Meeting on Severe Accident Research (ERMSAR 2022), Karlsruhe, Germany.
• Modak, M., Nirgude, V., Park, H. S., Choi, Y. J., and Seo, M. R. (2022, March 6-11). Quenching phenomena in high temperature conical debris bed: MONET tests. The 19th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-19), Brussels, Belgium.

• Courses related to thermal sciences, such as fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and power generation
• Engineering foundation courses