Presented by:

Ali Ebadian, Ph.D.Director

Hemispheric Center for

Environmental Technology

FIU and the HBCU/MI ETC

A Successful Partnership

Evolution of FIU

Campus Construction in

Progress: $230 M

19721972

200320036,000 students

• 33,256 students• 14th largest

university in the nation

• Multi-campus university on 579 acres

• Over 95,000 alumni

About FIU

Carnegie Doctoral/Research University-Extensive Institution

Florida’s only public urban university with a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa

Top producer of Hispanic graduates in the US; third largest producer of minority graduates

2003 Enrollment Breakdown

About FIU

FIU has a total of 4,500 employees, placing it among Miami-Dade County's 20 largest employers.

  The University has an economic impact of more than $1.6 billion on the South Florida economy.

Sponsored research funding from outside sources grew to a record $64 million in 2001-02

The University's 2002-03 operating budget is $500 million

FIU has over 190 different degree programs in 19 colleges and schools

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Flow Phenomena During the Solidification Process

HBCU/MI ETC Project 1

Background

Solidification plays an important role in engineering, environment, and materials processing

Examples: Solidification of castings and ingots, crystal growth, welding, polymer production, freezing in oceans, freezing of moist soils, and radioactive waste management

This project supports DOE develop technologies that improve: Materials processing and manufacturing

Energy efficiency Product quality

Radioactive waste treatment

Objectives

Understand physics of solid phase formation during the solidification of a binary mixture

Focus on study of effects of convection pattern on the solidification process

Current project involves: Experimental investigation of fluid and thermal aspects of

the solidification process Numerical study of transient phenomena, heat and mass

transfer processes, and phase transition phenomenon.

Technical Approach

Binary solution: Ammonium chloride-water (NH4Cl-H20)

Test chamber: Trapezoidal

Experimental Study: • Temperature measurements:

32 thermocouples (22 thermocouples for the solution and 10 thermocouples for the two cooling plates)

• Velocity Measurements: Particle Image Velocimetry Technique

• Thickness of frozen layer: Measured from the PIV images

Numerical Study: Modeling of Solidification Process using Fluent 6.0.

Technical Approach

Particle Image Velocimetry System

165 mm

130 mm

65 mm

Thermocouples

Cooling plate 1

Cooling plate 2

Test Enclosure

Continuous Wave Laser

Computer

Refrigerated circulating

bath

CCD Camera

TV Monitor

Dantec Flow Map PIV –2000 Processor

Chamber

Cooling Lines Electro-optical Shutter

Tasks

Study the effect of cooling conditions on the solidification process

Study the effect of initial concentrations on the solidification process

Study the effect of ultrasonic vibrations on the solidification process

Perform numerical modeling of the solidification process

Compare data, and write and distribute final report

Deliverables

Final report at the completion of the project Published journals in technical journal and

conferences

The reports and technical presentations will contain all detailed information (data, analysis, results, conclusions, etc.) obtained in the course of this study.

Condensation and Evaporation Heat Transfer in Helical Pipes

HBCU/MI ETC Project 2

Background

Helical pipe condensers/evaporators attain high heat transfer efficiency.

R-134a is an environmentally friendly alternative refrigerant to replace ozone-depleting R-12 for automotive and HVAC industries.

Limited literature on condensation and evaporation heat transfer using R-134a in helical pipes.

This project is helping DOE develop technologies that: Improve energy efficiency (cooling, refrigeration) Safeguard the environment (no ozone-depleting refrigerants)

Objectives

Understand hydraulic and thermal behavior of refrigerant’s two-phase flow in helical pipes under various conditions (orientation, flow flux, Reynolds number, saturation temperature etc.)

Develop empirical correlations for effect of operating parameters on heat transfer rates

Determine optimal design parameters

Tasks

Investigate gravity influence on two-phase flow (refrigerant)

Investigate mass flux influence on heat transfer rate on refrigerant side

Investigate Reynolds number influence on heat transfer rate on coolant side

Investigate wall temperature influence on overall heat transfer rates.

Investigate saturation temperature impact on heat transfer rate on refrigerant side

Experimental Setup

Research Approach

Experimental Setup Saturation temperature automatically controlled Temperature, pressure, flow rate recorded by data

acquisition system

Data processing and reduction Energy balance Newton’s cooling law Modified Wilson Plot Techniques

Deliverables

Annual report Final report of project findings Experimental data, analysis and simulation results Plans for the next reporting period

Papers Publish novel research findings

Contact Information

Ali Ebadian, Ph.D.

Director

Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology

Florida International University

10555 West Flagler Street, CEAS 2100

Miami, Florida 33174

Phone: (305) 348-3585

Fax: (305) 348-4176

Email: ebadian@hcet.fiu.edu

Visit HCET on the Internet: http://www.hcet.fiu.edu