Umesh Madanan

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Ongoing Research

We, at the Experimental Thermofluids Laboratory, are currently working on the following projects:

Experimental and Numerical Study of Heat Transfer Characteristics in Darcy-Bénard System at High Rayleigh numbers

Parvez Alam (Ph.D. student)

Experimental Investigation on the Effect of Surfactant, Pressure, and Surface Modification on Pool Boiling Heat Transfer in Confined and Unconfined Conditions

Gyanesh Kumar (Ph.D. student)

Thermal Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Priyanka Rajeev (Ph.D. student)

Thermohydraulics of Supercritical Fluids in Compact Heat Exchanger Applications

Ayush Bhupendra Ninave and Kartik Navalgund (M.Tech. students)

Passive Thermal Management of High-Power-Density Electronic Systems

Sumant Pentapalli (M.Tech. student)

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Teaching

Past Courses

Publications & Presentations

• Guest Editorials
  [2] Shadid, J. and Madanan, U., 2024. Tracing the Academic Lineage of Richard J. Goldstein, ASME Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 146(5): 050302
  [1] Manglik, R. M., Boetcher, S. K. S., Simon, T. W., and Madanan, U., 2024. Special Issue: Richard J. Goldstein Memorial Issue - Transformative and Innovative Advancements in Heat and Mass Transfer: A Lifetime of Path-Breaking Scholarship That Spans Gas-Turbine Cooling to Transport Processes and Critical Diagnostic Tools for Convective Heat Transfer and More, ASME Journal of Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 146(5): 050301
• Invited Book Chapters
  [3] Kattakkadan, S., Mandlik, N., Pol, N., and Madanan, U., 2026. Passive thermal management of a hard-disk-drive-based storage system for edge appliances. Advances in Heat Transfer - Volume 62 [in press]
  [2] Kumar, G. and Madanan, U., 2023. Factors influencing heat transfer mechanism in nucleate pool boiling: a comprehensive review with state of the art and future prospects. Advances in Heat Transfer - Volume 56 (pp. 435-582)
  [1] Goldstein, R. J. and Madanan, U., 2022. Thermal convection studies at the University of Minnesota. Advances in Heat Transfer - Volume 54 (pp.89-133)
• Refereed International Journal Articles
  [25] Yik, H., Schettler, C., Bodenschatz, E., Madanan, U., Weiss, S., 2026. A multipurpose thermal convection setup to study turbulent super structures, Review of Scientific Instruments [in press]
  [24] Alam, P. and Madanan, U., 2026. Effect of aspect ratio and grain size in classical Darcy-Bénard systems: onset of convection and beyond, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer [in press]
  [23] Alam, P. and Madanan, U., 2026. Boundaries Matter: Impact of Sidewall Conductance on Porous-media Thermal Convection, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 173 (p.110773)
  [22] Chatterjee, D., Kumar, P., Goel, S., Muralidhar, K. and Madanan, U., 2025. Enhanced vapor generation and salt mitigation in a solar evaporator using a Janus-type hybrid wick, Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 284 (p.129175)
  [21] Alam, P. and Madanan, U., 2026. Thermal transport in porous media: effect of grain size in Darcy-Bénard convection at high Rayleigh numbers, International Journal of Thermal Sciences, Vol. 220 (p.110409)
  [20] Bhadwal, A., Alam, P., Kumar, G., and Madanan, U., 2025. A semi-analytical approach to estimate sidewall thermal conductance for turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection with uninsulated sidewalls, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 165 (p.108993)
  [19] Alam, P. and Madanan, U., 2024. Addressing the Nusselt number divergence across varied fluid-solid combinations in Darcy-Bénard convection, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 161 (p.108403)
  [18] Alam, P. and Madanan, U., 2024. Effect of finite thermal conductivity bounding walls on Darcy-Bénard convection, ASME Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 146(5) (p.052701)
  [17] Sen, N. and Madanan, U., 2023. A set of generic correlations for high-Rayleigh-number thermal convection in inclined rectangular enclosures, Progress in Nuclear Energy, Vol. 166 (p.104975).
  [16] Pandey, R. and Madanan, U., 2023. Heat transfer enhancement through pitch ratio optimization of butterfly inserts in minichannel heat sinks. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, Vol. 46 (p.102262).
  [15] Sudheer A. P. and Madanan, U., 2022. Numerical investigation into heat transfer augmentation in a square minichannel heat sink using butterfly inserts. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, Vol. 36 (p.101522).
  [14] Srinivasan, V., Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J., 2022. Turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection of compressed gas: effect of sidewall conductance. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 182, p.121965.
  [13] Kulkarni, K. S., Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J., 2020. Effect of freestream turbulence on recovery factor of a thermocouple probe and its consequences. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 152, p. 119498.
  [12] Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J., 2020. High-Rayleigh-number thermal convection of compressed gases in inclined rectangular enclosures. Physics of Fluids, Vol. 32(1), p. 017103.
  [11] Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J., 2019. Effect of sidewall conductance on Nusselt number for Rayleigh-Bénard convection: a semi-analytical and experimental correction. Journal of Heat Transfer, Vol. 141(12), p. 122504.
  [10] Goldstein, R. J., Madanan, U. and Kuehn, T. H., 2019. Simplified correlations for free convection from a horizontal isothermal cylinder. Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 161C, p. 113832.
  [9] Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J., 2019. Experimental investigation on very-high-Rayleigh-number thermal convection in tilted rectangular enclosures. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 139, pp. 121-129.
  [8] Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J., 2019. Thermal convection in horizontal rectangular enclosures at moderate Rayleigh numbers: effect of sidewall conductance and aspect ratio. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 136, pp. 178-185.
  [7] Madanan, U., Chatterjee, D. and Das, S. K., 2018. A note on adiabatic two-phase flow maldistribution in a set of horizontal parallel minichannels with I-type and Z-type configurations. Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, Vol. 132, pp. 34-41.
  [6] Madanan, U., Nayak, R., Chatterjee, D. and Das, S. K., 2018. Experimental investigation on two-phase flow maldistribution in parallel minichannels with U-type configuration. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol. 96(8), pp. 1820-1828.
  [5] Kulkarni, K. S., Madanan, U., Simon, T. W. and Goldstein, R. J., 2018. Experimental validation of a boundary layer convective heat flux measurement technique. Journal of Heat Transfer, Vol. 140(7), p. 074501.
  [4] Madanan, U., 2017. Prediction of two-phase mass split in mini tubes. Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, Vol. 120, pp. 216-219.
  [3] Mittal, R., Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J., 2017. The heat/mass transfer analogy for a backward facing step. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 113, pp. 411-422.
  [2] Kulkarni, K. S., Madanan, U., Mittal, R. and Goldstein, R. J., 2017. Experimental validation of heat/mass transfer analogy for two-dimensional laminar and turbulent boundary layers. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 113, pp. 84-95.
  [1] Papa, F., Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J., 2017. Modeling and measurements of heat/mass transfer in a linear turbine cascade. Journal of Turbomachinery, Vol. 139(9), p. 091002.
• Other Refereed Publications
  Madanan, U., 2021. A step-by-step guide for precision thermocouple calibration. Resonance - Journal of Science Education: Indian Academy of Sciences, Vol. 26 (10), pp.1451-1463.
• Dissertations
  Madanan, U. (2019). High-rayleigh-number thermal convection of compressed gases in inclined rectangular enclosures of varied aspect ratios. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy.
• Conference Proceedings and Presentations
  [21] Kumar, G., Malik, W., Badwe, N. and Madanan, U. (Jan 2027). Experimental investigation of pool boiling heat transfer on electrodeposited nickel-copper microporous surfaces at atmospheric conditions, Proceedings of the 8th Micro/Nanoscale Heat & Mass Transfer International Conference, Napoli, Italy [paper accepted]
  [20] Alam, P. and Madanan, U. (Aug 2026). Effect of aspect ratio on heat transfer characteristics in fine- and coarse-grained porous media, Proceedings of the 18th International Heat Transfer Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [paper accepted]
  [19] Chatterjee, D., Goswami, S., Muralidhar, K. and Madanan, U. (Aug 2026). Salt transport in fibrous wicks during vapor generation using hyper brine solutions, Proceedings of the 18th International Heat Transfer Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [paper accepted]
  [18] Pathak, M., Chaudhary, A., Muralidhar, K., and Madanan, U. (December 2025). Numerical Investigation of Flow and Thermal behavior of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in a Straight Circular Pipe, Proceedings of the 12th International and 52nd National Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power, Nirma University, Gujarat, India [paper accepted]
  [17] Chaudhary, A., Pathak, M., Muralidhar, K., and Madanan, U. (December 2025). Numerical investigations into thermofluidics of supercritical nitrogen in a straight circular tube, Proceedings of the 28th National and 6th International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference, IIT Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
  [16] Kumar, G., Mallick, R., Badwe, N., and Madanan, U. (December 2025). Heat transfer performance and durability of electrodeposited bi-conductive microporous coatings in saturated pool boiling, Proceedings of the 28th National and 6th International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference, IIT Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
  [15] Chatterjee, D., Goswami, S., Muralidhar, K., and Madanan, U. (December 2025). Evaporative mass flux resolved using IR thermography from thin bi-porous surfaces, Proceedings of the 28th National and 6th International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference, IIT Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
  [14] Kumar, G. and Madanan, U. (July 2025). Combined influence of surface orientation and roughness on pool boiling heat transfer performance, Turbulence Heat and Mass Transfer, Tokyo, Japan
  [13] Alam, P. and Madanan, U. (November 2024). Thermal Convection in Darcy-Bénard System: Effect of Sidewall Thermal Conductance, International Conference on Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Media: Fundamentals and Applications, Xi'an, China
  [12] Chatterjee, D., Madanan, U. and Muralidhar, K. (August 2024). Effect of Characteristic Length on Natural-convection-driven Evaporation-based Solar Evaporators for Desalination Applications, Proceedings of the 10th World Conference on Experimental Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics (ExHFT-10), Rhodes Island, Greece
  [11] Barik, R., Alam, P., Kumar, G. and Madanan, U. (December 2023). Enhancement of free convective heat transfer inside an enclosure with discrete heat sources, Proceedings of the 27th National and 5th International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference, IIT Patna, Bihar, India
  [10] Halder, A., Pandey, R. and Madanan, U. (December 2023). Computer simulations on heat transfer enhancement in a minichannel heat sink using modified butterfly inserts, Proceedings of the 27th National and 5th International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference, IIT Patna, Bihar, India
  [9] Pandey, R. and Madanan, U. (December 2023). Numerical investigations into the effect of pitch of butterfly inserts on heat transfer enhancement in a minichannel heat sink, Proceedings of the 27th National and 5th International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference, IIT Patna, Bihar, India
  [8] Alam, P., Kumar, G. and Madanan, U. (August 2023). Sidewall thermal conductance in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection: effect of uninsulated sidewalls, Proceedings of the 17th International Heat Transfer Conference, Cape Town, South Africa
  [7] Alam, P. and Madanan, U. (June 2022). Numerical investigation into effect of sidewall thermal conductance in Darcy-Bénard convection, Proceedings of the 1st International Conference in Fluid Thermal and Energy Systems, NIT Calicut, India
  [6] Sudheer, A. P. and Madanan, U. (June 2022). Numerical study on heat transfer augmentation in a square minichannel heat sink using butterfly inserts, Proceedings of the 1st International Conference in Fluid Thermal and Energy Systems, NIT Calicut, India [Best Paper of the Session]
  [5] Sen, N., Pisharody, A. S. and Madanan, U. (June 2022). Empirical and machine learning approaches for turbulent thermal convection in rectangular enclosures tilted at acute angles, Proceedings of the 1st International Conference in Fluid Thermal and Energy Systems, NIT Calicut, India
  [4] Madanan, U. and Prajapati, S. (December 2021). Computational study on jet breakup behavior of a high-density liquid jet entering a quiescent immiscible liquid pool, Proceedings of the 26th National and 4th International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
  [3] Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J. (July 2019). Effect of sidewall conductance on Nusselt number for Rayleigh-Bénard convection: a fin model and experimental correction. 2019 ASME Summer Heat Transfer Conference, Seattle, USA
  [2] Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J. (August 2018). Prediction and correction of sidewall conductance for natural convection in horizontal enclosures. Poster session at the 16th International Heat Transfer Conference, Beijing, China
  [1] Papa, F., Madanan, U. and Goldstein, R. J. (April 2017). Numerical and experimental investigation of heat/mass transfer in a linear turbine cascade. 2nd Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference, Las Vegas, USA

Awards & Honors

• P. K. Kelkar Fellowship, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India (2026 - 2029)
  Associate Editor, Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, Springer Nature (2026)
  Member, Early Career Editorial Board, Applied Thermal Engineering, Elsevier (2025-27)
  Outstanding Instructor (ME613| Thermal Environmental Control), Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India (2024-25-I)
  Keynote Lecture on "Addressing the Nusselt number divergence across varied fluid-solid combinations in Darcy-Bénard convection", International Conference on Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Media: Fundamentals and Applications (2024)
  Outstanding Instructor (ME341A|Heat and Mass Transfer), Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India (2023-24-II)
  Outstanding Instructor (ESO201A | Thermodynamics), Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India (2023-24-I)
  International Travel Support, Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (2023)
  Max Planck-India Mobility Grants, Max Planck Gesellschaft (MPG), Germany (2023)
  Short Research Travel Grant - Scientific High Level Visiting Fellowship, Institut français India - Embassy of France in India (2022)
  Outstanding Instructor (ME642A | Convective Heat and Mass Transfer), Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India (2020-21-II | 2021-22-II)
  Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, USA (2018-19)
  Outstanding Teaching Assistant Mention, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, USA (2017-18 | 2016-17)
  Graduate Student Fellowship, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, USA (2014-15)
  Winner of ENG@GE Robotics Competition, GE Global Learning Technology, Bengaluru, India (2014)
  Prof. B. Sengupto Prize and Institute Medal, 1st rank in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India (2012)
  Prof. N. Venkatarayulu Memorial Prize and Institute Medal, 1st rank in the Thermal Engineering Stream, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India (2011)
  Ramanan Ramamurthy Memorial Prize and Institute Medal, 1st rank in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India (2011)

Current Openings

I am looking for motivated and dedicated M.Tech./M.S./Ph.D. students. If you've been formally admitted to one of these programs at IIT Kanpur and you're interested to work on any of the topics that fall under the areas listed here (or, you have a topic that you feel might be of mutual interest to us), please feel free to send me an email, give me a call, or drop by my office to discuss further details.

Currently, we are also seeking a motivated Ph.D. student to join a collaborative project between Curtin University (Australia) and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (India). This will be a joint Ph.D. program, which will include a fully-funded, one-year research stay at Curtin University (Australia) during the course of the student's Ph.D. program. This opportunity is designed to support international collaboration, with joint mentorship across both institutions. For more details regarding the post, please check out the LinkedIn post here.