Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Laboratory Portable Experimental Apparatus for Demonstrating Heat Recovery Concepts

A portable wastewater heat recovery system experimental apparatus was designed, developed and constructed for an undergraduate mechanical engineering laboratory at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, USA. The purpose of the experimental apparatus is to demonstrate heat transfer principles and heat recovery concepts. In this article, the author presents an experimental set-up that will help the undergraduate mechanical engineering students in understanding basic heat transfer processes by utilising real life applications, such as a heat recovery system. This heat recovery system is a preheating unit for incoming cold water from residential and commercial (such as restaurants and hotels) hot water systems. It is designed to recover some of the heat of the wastewater flowing into the sewage system. This project was completed with the assistance of an Undergraduate Senior Project Grant from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

Design and Development of Experimental Setup of Hybrid PV/Thermal Collector

A portable Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) solar collector experimental apparatus was designed and developed. The purpose of this instructional experimental apparatus is to demonstrate solar energy applications. In this article, the authors present an experimental apparatus that will help undergraduate mechanical engineering students in understanding the basic heat transfer processes, and thermodynamics concepts and principles. This is achieved by utilising real life applications, such as using Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal solar collector to convert solar energy to both electrical and thermal energy. The article presents the details of the design and construction of the experimental apparatus, as well as testing procedures and sample results

Designing and Teaching Multidisciplinary Project-Based Courses to Satisfy the ABET 2000 Engineering Criteria

One important educational outcome required of any engineering programme, as per ABET 2000 Criteria 3, is the ability of engineering graduates to function in multidisciplinary teams. In order to address this requirement, the curriculum committees of the engineering programmes at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), Fort Wayne, USA, have designed several multidisciplinary project-based courses. These courses involve computer, electrical and mechanical engineering students. Five multidisciplinary project-based courses, which are distributed over the freshman, sophomore and senior years, have been developed and implemented. In these courses, real world multidisciplinary design experiences are used to prepare IPFW graduates to enter today’s workforce. In this article, the authors present a brief description of these courses along with the authors’ experiences in the development and teaching of the five multidisciplinary project-based courses

Turbulent Mixed Convection Flow Over a Forward-facing Step: The Effect of Step Heights

Measurements of heat transfer and fluid flow of turbulent mixed convection boundary-layer air flow over an isothermal two-dimensional, vertical forward-facing step are reported. The upstream and downstream walls and the step itself were heated to a uniform and constant temperature. Air velocity and temperature distributions and their turbulent fluctuations are measured simultaneously by using, respectively, a two-component laser-Doppler velocimeter (LDV) and a cold wire anemometer. The present study examines the effect of forward-facing step heights on turbulent mixed convection flow along a vertical flat plate. The experiment was carried out for step heights of 0, 11, and 22 mm, at a free stream air velocity, u∞, of 0.55 m⋅s−1, and a temperature difference, ΔT, of 30 °C between the heated walls and the free stream air (corresponding to a local Grashof number Grxi=6.45×1010). It was found that the turbulence intensity of the streamwise and transverse velocity fluctuations and the intensity of temperature fluctuations downstream of the step increase as the step height increases. Also, it was found that both the reattachment length and the heat transfer rate from the downstream heated wall increase with increasing step height

Integrating Design and Design of Experiment in Mechanical Engineering Courses and Laboratories

Two important educational outcomes required of any engineering program, as per ABET 2000 Criteria 3, are the ability of engineering graduates to: 1) design a component, a system or a process to meet the desired needs within realistic constraints; and 2) design and conduct experiments, as well as analyze and interpret data. To achieve these requirements, engineering design and the design of experiments need to be integral parts of several mechanical engineering courses and laboratories throughout the curriculum. This paper presents examples of engineering design experience in the thermal science area, as well as the use of the design–build–test concept in developing experiments in a heat transfer laboratory

Editorial: Journal of Advanced Thermal Science Research

Journal of Advanced Thermal Science Research (JATSR) is a peer-refereed online journal that publishes high-quality articles in the field of thermal science. The aim of this journal is to provide a platform for scientists and engineers all over the world to discuss various new developments in different areas of thermal science. This journal is published twice a year by Avanti Publishers. The journal will publish original articles, review articles, technical notes, and short communications, related to the field of thermal science. On the behalf of the editorial board members of the Journal of Advanced Thermal Science Research, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the first issue of this the journal. This inaugural issue of the JATSR, Vol. 1, Issue 1, includes four peer-refereed original articles, from authors representing four countries: Spain, Romania, India, and Turkey. On behalf of editorial board members, and myself I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the authors of the articles for their willingness to disseminate their research achievements through this journal. The first paper of this issue is A Parametric Study of Heat Transfer for the Optimization of Fin Sinks by Blanco et al. In this study, the authors developed a design tool called “Opti-fin” for a Matlab ® environment that allows the user to configure a fin on the basis of the material and the thermal heat that will be released. Their study also includes a realistic estimation of fluid (air) flows that control the temperature dependency of the fin. This tool has been validated by computational fluid dynamic simulations using ANSYS-FLUENT®, in which the results of the simulation and the actual triangular shaped fin showed a remarkable similarity. The second article is Contact Photothermal Techniques for Thermal Characterization of Liquids by Dadarlat. Two contact photothermal techniques, the well-known photopyroelectric calorimetry, and a recently introduced photothermoelectric, are proposed for thermal inspection of some liquid samples. The paper contains a summary of the recent results and a comparison of the investigations performed with the previously mentioned techniques for the measurement of the dynamic thermal parameters (thermal diffusivity and effusivity) of some liquids of interest: magnetic nanofluids with transformer oil as carrier liquid and various concentrations of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles. For both techniques, the same detection configurations have been used: (i) the front detection configuration, together with the thermal-wave resonator cavity (TWRC) method as scanning procedure, was used to measure the value of thermal effusivity; (ii) the back configuration, together with the same TWRC technique, leads to the direct measurement of thermal diffusivity. The main theoretical aspects of the particular detection cases for both techniques are described and the performances (advantages and limitations) of the methods are analyzed. The third manuscript is Cold Flow Simulation in Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) Cavities by Chatterjee et al. A comprehensive three-dimensional numerical study is conducted to understand the hydrodynamics within a given cavity size which would give a relatively quick but reliable insights into the process. Five different cavity sizes are considered inside which the complete turbulent transport is simulated. Apart from the usual vertical and horizontal injection, the effect of inclined injection on the hydrodynamics is also reported here for the first time. The fourth and last paper of this issue is Structural Evolution Properties of Cu-25 wt %Sn Alloy During Ball Milling by Arslan. In this study, Cu-25 wt %Sn alloy samples were prepared by the mechanical alloying process using planetary high-energy ball mill. The alloy formation and different physical properties associated with their formations were investigated as a function of milling times of 0, 10, 20, 70, 80, 100, 120, 150 and 200 h by means of the x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Finally, on behalf of editorial board members, I would like to express our special thanks to the referees, who have committed their valuable time and effort to refereeing the articles included in this issue. Hosni I. Abu-Mulaweh Co-Editor-in-Chief Journal of Advanced Thermal Science Research Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN 46805 USA E-mail: [email protected] &nbsp

Development of a Bench-Top Air-to-Water Heat Pump Experimental Apparatus

A bench-top air-to-water heat pump experimental apparatus was designed,developed, and constructed for instructional and demonstrative purposes. Thisair-to-water heat pump experimental apparatus is capable of demonstratingthermodynamics and heat transfer concepts and principles. This heat pumpexperimental setup was designed around the vapor compression refrigerationcycle. This experimental apparatus has an intuitive user interface, reliable, safefor student use, and portable. The interface is capable of allowing dataacquisition by a computer. A PC-based control system which consists ofLabVIEW and data acquisition unit is employed to monitor and control thisexperimental laboratory apparatus. This paper provides details about thedevelopment of this unit and the integration of the electrical/electronic componentand the control system