The Jury of the Prize for the Scientific Article of the Quarter of the Higher Technical School of Engineering , after recognizing the high quality of all the publications in the competition, has unanimously decided to award the “Prize for the Scientific Article of the Quarter of the ETSI: July-September 2021” to the following job:

“ Effect of processing parameters on the properties of freeze-cast Ni wick with gradient porosity ”, Material & Design, Volume 206, August 2021, 109795, by Javier Lloreda Jurado, Ernesto Chicardi, Antonio Paúl and Ranier Sepúlveda. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2021.109795

Materials & Design (Q1, IF: 7,999) publishes open access articles on the latest advances in the relationship between the structure, properties and design of materials, which are framed in the design of engineering systems and technological applications.

This work proposes the alternative manufacture of porous wicks ( wicks ) with gradient porosity to be used in passive cooling systems ( loop heat pipes ) or heat pipes, using the directional solidification technique ( freeze-casting ) of nanometric NiO particles. The use of stearic acid as a dispersing element compared to current commercial solutions has allowed the obtaining of wicks with high pore interconnectivity by generating suspensions of more stable particles and with a smaller size of agglomerates.

This development is part of the research carried out by the Dust and Corrosion Technology Group ( GrupoTPC_US ; PAIDI TEP973 ) of the University of Seville, on which Pedro Javier Lloreda Jurado successfully completed his doctorate. Recently, Dr. Lloreda Jurado has joined the Institute of Materials Science of Seville as a technical specialist to continue his research training.

This award is financed by a Grant for Scientific Dissemination Activities from the VII Own Research and Transfer Plan of the University of Seville.