Photo of Brian Fronk

Brian Fronk

Associate Professor

Affiliation(s):

  • Mechanical Engineering

229 Reber Building

bmf141@psu.edu

814-863-8997

Research Areas:

Energy Systems; Thermal/Fluid Sciences

 
 

 

Education

  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 2005
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Chuankai Song, Kenta Noma, Paul Armatis, Brian Fronk and Brian K. Paul, 2022, "Validation of Manufacturing Process Designs for Stamped Microchannel Recuperators", Manufacturing Letters, 33, pp. 280-291
  • Aman Gupta, Piyush Sabharwall, Paul D. Armatis, Brian Fronk and Vivek Utgikar, 2022, "Coupling Chemical Heat Pump with Nuclear Reactor for Temperature Amplification by Delivering Process Heat and Electricity: A Techno-Economic Analysis", 15, (16)
  • Piyush Sabharwall, Kevan Weaver, N.K. Anand, Chris Ellis, Xiaodong Sun, Hangbok Choi, Di Chen, Rich Christensen, Brian M Fronk, Joshua Gess, Yassin Hassan, Igor Jovanovic, Annalisa Manera, Victor Petrov, Rodolfo Vaghetto, Silvino Balderrama-Prieto, Adam J. Burak, Milos Burger, Alberto Cardenas-Melgar, Daniel Orea, Reynaldo Chavez, Byunghee Choi, Londrea Garrett, Genevieve L. Gaudin, Noah Sutton, Ken W Ssennyimba and Josh Young, 2022, "Preconceptual Design of Multifunctional Gas-Cooled Cartridge Loop for the Versatile Test Reactor: Instrumentation and Measurement—Part II", Nuclear Science and Engineering, 196, (sup1), pp. S215-S233
  • Piyush Sabharwall, Kevan Weaver, N.K. Anand, Chris Ellis, Xiaodong Sun, Di Chen, Hangbok Choi, Rich Christensen, Brian M Fronk, Joshua Gess, Yassin Hassan, Igor Jovanovic, Annalisa Manera, Victor Petrov, Rodolfo Vaghetto, Silvino Balderrama-Prieto, Adam J. Burak, Milos Burger, Alberto Cardenas-Melgar, Londrea Garrett, Genevieve L. Gaudin, Daniel Orea, Reynaldo Chavez, Byunghee Choi, Noah Sutton, Ken W Ssennyimba and Josh Young, 2022, "Preconceptual Design of Multifunctional Gas-Cooled Cartridge Loop for the Versatile Test Reactor: Instrumentation and Measurement—Part I", Nuclear Science and Engineering, 196, (sup1), pp. S183-S214
  • Saad A Jajja, Lindsey V Randle and Brian M Fronk, 2022, "A modeling approach to account for unstable stratification, flow acceleration, and variable thermophysical properties for supercritical carbon dioxide", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 187, (15), pp. 122537
  • Aman Gupta, Paul D. Armatis, Piyush Sabharwall, Brian Fronk and Vivek Utgikar, 2021, "Kinetics of Ca(OH)2 decomposition in pure Ca(OH)2 and Ca(OH)2-CaTiO3 composite pellets for application in thermochemical energy storage system", Chemical Engineering Science, 246
  • Matthew T. Hughes, Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2021, "Universal condensation heat transfer and pressure drop model and the role of machine learning techniques to improve predictive capabilities", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 179
  • Saad A. Jajja and Brian Fronk, 2021, "Investigation of near-critical heat transfer in rectangular microchannels with single wall heating using infrared thermography", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 177
  • Paul D. Armatis, Aman Gupta, Piyush Sabharwall, Vivek Utgikar and Brian Fronk, 2021, "A chemical-absorption heat pump for utilization of nuclear power in high temperature industrial processes", International Journal of Energy Research, 45, (10), pp. 14612-14629
  • Aman Gupta, Paul D. Armatis, Piyush Sabharwall, Brian Fronk and Vivek Utgikar, 2021, "Energy and exergy analysis of Ca(OH)2/CaO dehydration-hydration chemical heat pump system: Effect of reaction temperature", Journal of Energy Storage, 39
  • Tabeel A. Jacob and Brian Fronk, 2021, "A heat transfer model to predict superheated and saturated condensation of HFC/HFO refrigerant mixtures", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 170
  • Aman Gupta, Paul D. Armatis, Piyush Sabharwall, Brian Fronk and Vivek Utgikar, 2021, "Thermodynamics of Ca(OH)2/CaO reversible reaction: Refinement of reaction equilibrium and implications for operation of chemical heat pump", Chemical Engineering Science, 230
  • Thomas E. Tolley and Brian Fronk, 2020, "Investigation of the benefits of diabatic microreactors for process intensification of the water-gas shift reaction within the steam reforming process", International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 45, (56), pp. 31507-31522
  • Tabeel A. Jacob and Brian Fronk, 2020, "In-Tube condensation of zeotropic refrigerant R454C from superheated vapor to subcooled liquid", Science and Technology for the Built Environment, 26, (9), pp. 1177-1190
  • Tabeel A. Jacob, Ethan P. Matty and Brian Fronk, 2020, "Comparison of R404A condensation heat transfer and pressure drop with low global warming potential replacement candidates R448A and R452A", International Journal of Refrigeration, 116, pp. 9-22
  • Saad A. Jajja, Jessa M. Sequeira and Brian Fronk, 2020, "Geometry and orientation effects in non-uniformly heated microchannel heat exchangers using supercritical carbon dioxide", Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 112
  • S. Karki, Karl R. Haapala and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Technical and economic feasibility of solar flat-plate collector thermal energy systems for small and medium manufacturers", Applied Energy, 254
  • Tabeel A. Jacob, Ethan P. Matty and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Experimental investigation of in-tube condensation of low GWP refrigerant R450A using a fiber optic distributed temperature sensor", International Journal of Refrigeration, 103, pp. 274-286
  • Saad A. Jajja, Kyle R. Zada and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Experimental investigation of supercritical carbon dioxide in horizontal microchannels with non-uniform heat flux boundary conditions", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 130, pp. 304-319
  • Ahmad A. Bukshaisha and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Simulation of membrane heat pump system performance for space cooling", International Journal of Refrigeration, 99, pp. 371-381
  • Saroj Karki, Karl R. Haapala and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Investigation of the combined efficiency of a solar/gas hybrid water heating system", Applied Thermal Engineering, 149, pp. 1035-1043
  • Connor B. Dokken and Brian Fronk, 2018, "Optimization of 3D printed liquid cooled heat sink designs using a micro-genetic algorithm with bit array representation", Applied Thermal Engineering, 143, pp. 316-325
  • Matthew B. Hyder and Brian Fronk, 2018, "Simulation of thermal hydraulic performance of multiple parallel micropin arrays for concentrating solar thermal applications with supercritical carbon dioxide", Solar Energy, 164, pp. 327-338
  • Michael A. Vanderputten, Tabeel A. Jacob, Maria Sattar, Nouman Ali and Brian Fronk, 2017, "Two-phase flow regimes of condensing R-134a at low mass flux in rectangular microchannels", International Journal of Refrigeration, 84, pp. 92-103
  • Paul D. Armatis and Brian Fronk, 2017, "Evaluation of governing heat and mass transfer resistance in membrane-based energy recovery ventilators with internal support structures", Science and Technology for the Built Environment, 23, (6), pp. 912-922
  • Brian Fronk and Kyle R. Zada, 2017, "Evaluation of Heat and Mass Transfer Models for Sizing Low-Temperature Kalina Cycle Microchannel Condensers", Journal of Energy Resources Technology, Transactions of the ASME, 139, (2)
  • Brian Fronk and Alexander Rattner, 2016, "High-Flux Thermal Management with Supercritical Fluids", Journal of Heat Transfer, 138, (12)
  • Kyle R. Zada, Matthew B. Hyder, M. Kevin Drost and Brian Fronk, 2016, "Numbering-Up of Microscale Devices for Megawatt-Scale Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Concentrating Solar Power Receivers", Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Transactions of the ASME, 138, (6)
  • Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2016, "Condensation of ammonia and high-temperature-glide ammonia/water zeotropic mixtures in minichannels – Part I: Measurements", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 101, pp. 1343-1356
  • Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2016, "Condensation of ammonia and high-temperature-glide zeotropic ammonia/water mixtures in minichannels – Part II: Heat transfer models", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 101, pp. 1357-1373
  • Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2016, "Condensation of carbon dioxide in microchannels", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 100, pp. 150-164
  • Srinivas Garimella, Akhil Agarwal and Brian Fronk, 2016, "The intermittent and annular flow condensation continuum: Pressure drops at the microscale", International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 84, pp. 129-144
  • Srinivas Garimella, Akhil Agarwal and Brian Fronk, 2016, "Condensation heat transfer in rectangular microscale geometries", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 100, pp. 98-110
  • Srinivas Garimella, Ulf C. Andresen, Biswajit Mitra, Yirong Jiang and Brian Fronk, 2016, "Heat Transfer During Near-Critical-Pressure Condensation of Refrigerant Blends", Journal of Heat Transfer, 138, (5)
  • Ulf C. Andresen, Srinivas Garimella, Biswajit Mitra, Yirong Jiang and Brian Fronk, 2015, "Pressure drop during near-critical-pressure condensation of refrigerant blends", International Journal of Refrigeration, 59, pp. 1-13
  • Srinivas Garimella, Biswajit Mitra, Ulf C. Andresen, Yirong Jiang and Brian Fronk, 2015, "Heat transfer and pressure drop during supercritical cooling of HFC refrigerant blends", International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 91, pp. 477-493
  • Gaurav Nema, Srinivas Garimella and Brian Fronk, 2014, "Flow regime transitions during condensation in microchannels", International Journal of Refrigeration, 40, pp. 227-240
  • S. Garimella and Brian Fronk, 2013, "Single- and multi-constituent condensation of fluids and mixtures with varying properties in micro-channels", Experimental Heat Transfer, 26, (2-3), pp. 129-168
  • Christopher Goodman, Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2011, "Transcritical carbon dioxide microchannel heat pump water heaters: Part I-validated component simulation modules", International Journal of Refrigeration, 34, (4), pp. 859-869
  • Christopher Goodman, Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2011, "Transcritical carbon dioxide microchannel heat pump water heaters: Part II-system simulation and optimization", International Journal of Refrigeration, 34, (4), pp. 870-880
  • Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2011, "Water-coupled carbon dioxide microchannel gas cooler for heat pump water heaters: Part i - Experiments", International Journal of Refrigeration, 34, (1), pp. 7-16
  • Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2011, "Water-coupled carbon dioxide microchannel gas cooler for heat pump water heaters: Part II - Model development and validation", International Journal of Refrigeration, 34, (1), pp. 17-28
  • Brian Fronk, Richard Neal and Srinivas Garimella, 2010, "Evolution of the transition to a world driven by renewable energy", Journal of Energy Resources Technology, 132, (2)
  • Brian Fronk, Richard Neal and Nivas Srigarimella, 2010, "Evolution of the transition to a world driven by renewable energy", Journal of Energy Resources Technology, Transactions of the ASME, 132, (2), pp. 0210091-0210097

Conference Proceedings

  • Bryan J. Siefering and Brian M. Fronk, 2023, "Mitigation of fabrication risks in a micro-pin supercritical carbon dioxide solar receiver", AIP Conference Proceedings, 2815, (1)
  • Leyli Bahrami, Sophia M. Yurkovetsky, Erfan Rasouli, Vinod Narayanan and Brian Fronk, 2023, "Simulation of the Performance of a High Temperature Solar Thermal Receiver Comprised Parallel Micro-Pin Unit-Cells Fabricated via Additive Manufacturing", ASME 2023 17th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, pp. 8
  • Nader A. Khormi and Brian Fronk, 2023, "Feasibility of High Temperature Concentrated Solar Power for Cogeneration of Electricity and Hydrogen Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Receiver Technology", ASME 2023 17th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, pp. 8
  • Lindsey V. Randle and Brian M. Fronk, 2023, "Validation of High-Definition Fiber Optic Sensors for Temperature and Local Heat Transfer Coefficient Measurements of Symmetrically Heated, Single-Phase Interna Flow", International Heat Transfer Conference 17, pp. 8
  • Kate Rivera, Adewale Odukomaiya, Jason Woods and Brian M. Fronk, 2023, "Evaluation of System-Level Performance of Closed Strontium Bromide Thermochemical Energy Storage Systems for Space Heating", 26th International Congress of Refrigeration, pp. 11
  • Christopher R. Curl and Brian Fronk, 2023, "Assessing Emission Reduction Potential of Small-Scale (<100 kWe) Combined Heat and Power Systems for Multi-Family Residential Buildings in the United States", ASHRAE 2023 Annual Conference
  • Bryan J. Siefering, Muhammed Umer, Ellen B. Stechel and Brian M. Fronk, 2023, "Thermodynamic Analysis of a Reactive Particle-to-sCO2 Heat Exchanger for Recovering Stored Thermochemical Energy", 5th European sCO2 Conference for Energy Systems:
  • Muhammad Umer, Bryan J. Siefering and Brian M. Fronk, 2023, "Numerical Investigation of Hydrodynamic and Thermal Performance of Gravity Driven Dilute Flow in a Straight Channel", 8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC), pp. 589-598
  • Matthew W. Thomas, Lindsey N. Rubottom, Thomas H. Shellhammer, Karl R. Haapala and Brian M. Fronk, 2023, "A Study of Hop Kilning Energy Consumption with Respect to Drying Temperatures in the Pacific Northwest", 8th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC), pp. 57-60
  • Aman Gupta, Paul D. Armatis, Piyush Sabharwall, Brian Fronk and Vivek Utgikar, 2021, "Enhancement of Ca(OH)2/CaO thermal performance and structural integrity using inert agent for thermochemical energy storage", 124, (1), pp. 488-490
  • Lindsey V. Randle and Brian Fronk, 2021, "Investigation of buoyancy effects in asymmetrically heated near-critical flows of carbon dioxide in horizontal microchannels using infrared thermography"
  • Tabeel A. Jacob and Brian Fronk, 2020, "Experimental investigation of low GWP alternative R1233zd(E) for use in organic rankine cycle condensers", 2020-July, pp. 108-115
  • Thomas E. Tolley and Brian Fronk, 2020, "Feasibility of process intensification of water-gas shift reaction using a microreactor with integrated cooling", 2020-April, pp. 163-172
  • Aman Gupta, Paul D. Armatis, Piyush Sabharwall, Brian Fronk and Vivek Utgikar, 2020, "Performance comparison of solid reactant based on pellets and powder for Ca(OH)2/CaO chemical heat pump", 123, (1), pp. 1127-1129
  • Davis S. Chamorro and Brian Fronk, 2020, "Potential of using graded porous stainless steel support structures to improve energy efficiency of hydrogen separation in steam reforming process", 2020-April, pp. 139-147
  • Tabeel A. Jacob and Brian Fronk, 2020, "Superheated condensation of refrigerant mixtures R448A and R452A", 126, pp. 6-9
  • Aman Gupta, Paul D. Armatis, Piyush Sabharwall, Vivek Utgikar and Brian Fronk, 2020, "System efficiency and dynamic study of Ca(OH)2/CaO chemical heat pump", 122, pp. 569-571
  • Aman Gupta, Paul D. Armatis, Piyush Sabharwall, Vivek Utgikar and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Experimental investigation and analysis of ca(oh)2/cao chemical heat pump for thermal energy storage", 120, pp. 650-652
  • Saad A. Jajja, Jessa M. Sequeira and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Experimental investigation of supercritical carbon dioxide in horizontal micro pin arrays with non-uniform heat flux boundary conditions", 2019-April, pp. 1019-1026
  • Saad A. Jajja, Jessa M. Sequeira and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Heating of supercritical carbon dioxide in small channels", 125, pp. 7-10
  • Ethan P. Matty, Tabeel A. Jacob and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Measurement of boiling heat transfer coefficient of R-134a in a circular tube using fiber optic temperature sensors", 2019-April, pp. 645-653
  • Aman Gupta, Paul D. Armatis, Piyush Sabharwall, Vivek Utgikar and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Performance of an experimental Ca(OH)2/CaO chemical heat pump under repeated thermal cycling", 121, pp. 1128-1130
  • Paul D. Armatis, Aman Gupta, Piyush Sabharwall, Vivek Utgikar and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Potential of chemical-absorption heat pumps for thermoamplification in nuclear hybrid energy systems", 120, pp. 647-649
  • Paul D. Armatis, Aman Gupta, Piyush Sabharwall, Vivek Utgikar and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Transient effects and material challenges in developing chemical/absorption heat pumps for nuclear energy thermal storage and upgrade", 121, pp. 1125-1127
  • Tabeel A. Jacob, Ethan P. Matty and Brian Fronk, 2019, "Use of optical distributed temperature sensors for condensation heat transfer measurements of R-134a in circular channels", 2019-April, pp. 709-720
  • Paul D. Armatis and Brian Fronk, 2018, "Investigation of the effect of non-uniform membrane properties on performance of mini/microchannel energy recovery ventilator devices"
  • Brian Fronk and Saad A. Jajja, 2018, "System and component transport considerations of micro-pin based solar receivers with high temperature gaseous working fluids"
  • Brian Fronk and Kyle R. Zada, 2015, "Application of microchannel condensers for small scale Kalina waste heat recovery systems"
  • Kyle R. Zada, M. Kevin Drost and Brian Fronk, 2015, "Application of microscale devices for megawatt scale concentrating solar power plants", 8B-2015
  • Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2014, "Improved non-equilibrium film method for the design of high-temperature-glide, mini- and microchannel condensers", 8B
  • Srinivas Garimella, Brian Fronk, Jeffrey A. Milkie and Brendon L. Keinath, 2014, "Versatile models for condensation of fluids with widely varying properties from the micro to macroscale"
  • Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2013, "Analysis of coupled heat and mass transfer during condensation of high temperature glide zeotropic mixtures in small channels", 8 B
  • Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2012, "Heat transfer and pressure drop during condensation of ammonia in microchannels", pp. 399-409
  • Julian Winkler, Jesse Killion, Srinivas Garimella and Brian Fronk, 2012, "Void fractions for condensing refrigerant flow in small channels: Part i literature review", 35, (2), pp. 219-245
  • Brian Fronk and Srinivas Garimella, 2010, "Measurement of heat transfer and pressure drop during condensation of carbon dioxide in microscale geometries", 2, pp. 235-243
  • Brian Fronk, Richard Neal and Srinivas Garimella, 2009, "Evolution of the transition to a world driven by renewable energy", 1, pp. 147-153
  • Brian Fronk, Ludovic Burton and Srinivas Garimella, 2008, "Sustainability impacts of a program of decommissioning older automobiles for replacement with newer, more efficient vehicles", 6, pp. 373-378
  • Brian Fronk, Ludovic Burton and Srinivas Garimella, 2007, "Sustainability impacts of a program of decommissioning older automobiles for replacement with newer, more efficient vehicles", 6, pp. 373-378

Research Projects

Honors and Awards

  • NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2020
  • ASHRAE New Investigator Award, ASHRAE, 2017

Service

Service to Penn State:

Service to External Organizations:

 


 

About

With more than 60 faculty members, 330 graduate students, and 1,000 undergraduate students, the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering embraces a culture that welcomes individuals with a diversity of backgrounds and expertise. Our faculty and students are innovating today what will impact tomorrow’s solutions to meeting our energy needs, homeland security, biomedical devices, and transportation systems. We offer B.S. degrees in mechanical engineering as well as resident (M.S., Ph.D.) and online (M.S.) graduate degrees in mechanical engineering. See how we’re inspiring change and impacting tomorrow at me.psu.edu.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

137 Reber Building

The Pennsylvania State University

University Park, PA 16802-4400

Phone: 814-865-2519