Axel Sielaff

Dr. Axel Sielaff is a Researcher at the Institute for Technical Thermodynamics at Technische Universität Darmstadt since 2008. His work focuses on boiling and evaporation phenomena, particularly in microgravity environments and complex fluids. He has conducted research visits at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Education: He holds a Diplom in Mechanical Engineering (Energy and Process Engineering) from Leibniz University Hannover. He also completed visiting studies at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing), Zhuhai MTU Maintenance, and Brunel University, West London.

Research Interests: His group investigates two-phase heat transfer, nucleate boiling dynamics, and the effects of microgravity on evaporation. Projects include multiscale experiments on complex fluids, numerical simulations of bubble growth, and applications in spacecraft thermal management via the RUBI experiment on the International Space Station. Key areas include microlayer formation, electric field effects on bubble detachment, and residue formation of fuels/AdBlue under high-velocity airflow conditions.

Technical Contributions: Develops experimental setups for sub-millimeter scale analysis and high-precision infrared thermography. Collaborates internationally on projects such as the Multiscale Boiling Investigation (ISS-based) and Deposit Formation Studies.

Labs/Teams: Active in the Boiling and Evaporation research group at TU Darmstadt, contributing to both fundamental and applied thermal engineering research.