About Us
Pioneering Thermal Engineering
MFTEL focuses on solving critical energy challenges through advanced research in multiphase flow and heat transfer.
TES and Carnot Battery
Developing high-efficiency thermal energy storage systems and Carnot batteries for sustainable grid stability.
Immersion Cooling
Two-phase immersion cooling technology that reduces cooling energy by up to 90% for data centers and high-performance computing systems.
Small Modular Reactor
Enhancing the safety and efficiency of Small Modular Reactors through advanced thermal-hydraulic analysis.
News
Latest Updates
Stay updated with our latest research activities, conferences, and achievements.
Visiting Researchers at Th2FLAB
EPT Day 2026
MFTEL Visited Th2FLAB
Buildersgate CEO Visited Inha University
UTFORSK 2024 at Inha University
NURETH-21
MFTEL Visited Th2FLAB
UTFORSK 2024 at NTNU
11th WORTH in China
Visiting Research at HZDR and UPC
Our People
Meet the Team
Principal Investigator
Prof. Il Woong Park
Education & Career
- •Assistant Professor, Inha University (2022 ~)
- •Research Professor, Seoul National University (2022)
- •Research Professor, Jeju National University (2018 ~ 2021)
- •Ph.D., Norwegian University of Science and Technology (2014 ~ 2018)
- •M.S., Seoul National University (2011 ~ 2013)
- •B.S., Seoul National University (2008 ~ 2011)
Professional Activities
- •Visiting Professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (2026)
- •Editor, The Korean Hydrogen and New Energy Society (2024 ~)
- •Editor, The Korean Society for New and Renewable Energy (2025 ~)
- •Chief Technology Officer, PIOST (2025 ~)
Graduate Students
Hyun Jin Yong
Ph.D. student
#Boiling heat transfer
Jun Beom Song
Ph.D. student
#Thermal energy storage
Sang Min Song
Ph.D. student
#Condensation
Jae Hyeok Yang
Ph.D. student
#Thermal-hydraulic system code
Hyeon Geun Shin
Ph.D. student
#Two-phase flow instability
Sung Jin Kim
Ph.D. student
#Boiling #Dielectric fluid
Kyeong Ju Ko
M.S. student
#Computational fluid dynamics
Chaeyeon Kim
M.S. student
#Phase-change heat transfer
Eunbin Park
M.S. student
#Two-phase flow instability
Manho Kim
M.S. student
#Computational fluid dynamics
Joonhwan Hyun
M.S. student
#Thermal energy storage
Yeongjun Jung
M.S. student
#Boiling heat transfer
Alumni
Yun Seok Choi
2025 M.S.Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) Central Research Institute
Join Us
Shape the Future of
Thermal Engineering
We are actively recruiting passionate M.S./Ph.D. students, postdocs, and researchers who want to push the boundaries of multiphase flow and heat transfer research.
World-Class Research
Publish in top-tier journals and present at international conferences
Global Network
Collaborate with NTNU (Norway), HZDR (Germany), UPC (Spain), and more
Promising Career
Our alumni are building careers at leading institutions like KHNP and beyond
Grow Your Way
We trust you to lead your research and planning
Ready to start your research journey?
Focus Areas
Research Fields
The AI Energy Paradox
AI was built to optimize efficiency—yet it is paradoxically becoming one of the largest energy consumers on earth. Training a single LLM costs tens of GWh; each inference draws 10× the power of a conventional search. By 2030, data centers will consume 8% of global electricity. The root of this challenge is thermal—multi-phase flow heat transfer is the bottleneck at every stage of power generation, storage, and consumption. MFTEL tackles this barrier on three fronts.
TES & Carnot Batteries
Grid Stability via Thermal Energy Storage
Immersion Cooling
Reducing Cooling Energy Consumption
Small Modular Reactors
Sustainable Power Generation
Complementary Energy Sources
SMR Advantages
Big Tech Data Center Power Demand
Multi-phase flow physics is at the heart of SMR design. Two-phase flow in helical coil steam generators, natural circulation stability, and condensation heat transfer in containment during accidents—all are core competencies of MFTEL.
MFTEL Research Activities
Validating core safety issues against strengthened technical criteria and developing technology to improve core safety during multiple-failure accidents. A long-term flagship project covering natural circulation cooling, two-phase flow instability, and accident progression analysis.
Global human resources training project for securing key design technologies for next-generation SMR safety. Training specialists in passive safety systems, helical steam generator thermal-hydraulics, and containment cooling—all SMR-specific multi-phase flow phenomena.
Characterizing the effect of noncondensable gases on condensation heat transfer in steam-air mixtures. Experimentally analyzed heat transfer degradation mechanisms by light noncondensable gas (hydrogen) and gas stratification phenomena.
Numerically evaluating thermal-hydraulic characteristics of ERVC in high-power reactors. Developed CFD-aided natural circulation flow rate estimation to quantitatively assess ERVC coolability limits.
Research Visuals
Experiments
Computational Analysis
Research Collaborators
Our Work
Publications
We have published 23 papers in top-tier journals.
Hyunjin Yong, Jaehyeok Yang, Yunseok Choi, Il Woong Park*, Sai Raja Gopal Vadlamudi, Uwe Hampel, Hyun Sun Park
Jaehyeok Yang, Hyunjin Yong, Sungjin Kim, Il Woong Park*, Yeon-Gun Lee, Sai Raja Gopal Vadlamudi, Hyun Sun Park
Sung Jin Kim, Yun Seok Choi, Il Woong Park*, Young Beom Jo, Hyun Sun Park
Yun Seok Choi, Sung Jin Kim, Il Woong Park*, Hyun Sun Park, Yeon-Gun Lee
Il Woong Park, Jia Yu, Sang Min Song, Yeon-Gun Lee
Il Woong Park, Jonas M. Ribe, Maria Fernandino, Carlos Alberto Dorao
Funding & Patents
Research Projects
Research on improving the cooling performance of the HiMSEN engine pre-combustion chamber
2025HD Hyundai Heavy Industry
Development of Thermal Energy Storage
2025Laboratory-Specialized Startup Leading University, Ministry of Science and Technology
Basic Research on Electric Vehicle Battery Cooling Using Insulating Fluid Boiling Heat Transfer
2025Inha University
Synergy for Safe and Sustainable Ocean in Norway and Korea (SONoKo)
2025 ~ 2028UTFORSK, Direktoratet for høyere utdanning og kompetanse (HK-dir), Norway
Patents
Sand battery and energy extraction method
10-2906225
2025-12-26
Reactor and containment cooling system with hydrophobic surface modification for vapor condensation and phase change material coating
10-2906216
2025-12-26
Battery immersion cooling by boiling with gas-liquid flow path separation
10-2855737
2025-09-02
Super hydrophobic flexible sheet and manufacturing method
10-2023-0069264
2024-11-15
Moments
Lab Life
August 2025
UTFORSK 2024 Field Trip to NTNU, Norway
December 2024
KSFM2024 in Jeju
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November 2023
Yun Seok Choi (Best Paper Award): WORTH-10 in Jeju
October 2023
Junbeom Song: GPPS Hong Kong 23
April 2023
ICMF in Kobe, Japan
April 2023