Patrick E Phelan, Ph.D. - US grants

ABSTRACT

Broadband biological agent detection is developed whereby chains of labeled paramagnetic nanoparticles are caused to rotate through a magnetic field and signal is enhanced through a lock-in amplification technique. The project, if successful, will allow improving signal to noise ratio for biosensors. Three students are involved and many aspects of the research from nanotechnology, nanomagnetics, sensing, and modeling are all involved. Good outreach activities and teaching are incorporated into the research.

This project is being funded by the CTS/ENG (C Aidun, PD) and ECS/ENG (R Khosla, PD).

Nanofluids, typically consisting of a base liquid containing nanometer-sized particles for enhancing the liquid's thermal conductivity, have been proposed for application in heat transfer systems, such as the heat exchangers in electronic packaging. The limited experimental data presently available clearly indicate the potential to dramatically increase the effective thermal conductivity of the fluid, which is promising for enhancing heat transfer. A comprehensive fundamental understanding of transport in such nanofluids, including information on both their thermal conductivity and viscosity, is however lacking. This project involves a collaborative effort between Arizona State University and the Intel Corporation aimed to improve our fundamental understanding of nanofluids, including an understanding of how they can be applied in macroscale and microscale heat exchangers. A variety of experiments are proposed, including the measurement of the static thermal conductivity and viscosity of various nanofluids, a novel measurement of the flow thermal conductivity under controlled strain-rate conditions, a characterization of the nanofluid morphology using quasielastic light scattering (QELS), and finally heat transfer and pressure drop measurements of nanofluids applied in mm-sized tubes and in microchannel heat sinks. Predictive models for the properties will be developed, and these constitutive relations will be applied to a general simulation of the performance of macroscale and microscale heat exchangers, to enable the prediction of the performance of such heat exchangers in the future that utilize nanofluids. The award has been funded by the Thermal Transport and Thermal Processing Program of the Chemical and Transport Systems Division, with cooperation from the GOALI Program.

National Science Foundation - Active Nanostructure and Nanosystems (ANN) (NSF 05-610)
Nanoscale Exploratory Research (NER)

ABSTRACT

Proposal Number: CTS-0608850
Principal Investigator: Phelan, Patrick
Affiliation: Arizona State University
Proposal Title: NER:Nanoparticle Filled Liquid Fuels for Efficient Energy Conversion

This proposal was received in response to Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative, NSF 05-610, category NER. Nanofuels are liquid fuels that contain a small amount of combustible nanoparticles. The presence of the nanoparticles likely enables the fuel to burn more efficiently, and increases the volumetric heat content of the fuel. Previous work has already shown that adding nanoparticles to other liquids, such as water, improves the heat and mass transfer inside the liquid, in part because of the "stirring" caused by the nanoparticles' Brownian motion. The purpose of this project is to explore whether such enhanced heat and mass transfer can lead to improved liquid fuels. Any improvement in the combustion efficiency of liquid fuels, such as diesel or gasoline, would have a tremendous impact on fuel consumption and, possibly, on emissions as well. The Broader Impacts of the work are substantial. The fundamental laboratory measurements that we conduct, coupled with theoretical models of how liquid droplets containing nanoparticles burn, will enable us to quantify the beneficial impacts of nanofuels, and lead to new and improved fuels that may lessen our dependence on fossil fuels. The undergraduate and minority undergraduate students that will be involved in the research will receive outstanding introduction to nano science and engineering, and laboratory practice.

Energy consumption for data centers (a.k.a. hosting centers, server farms, clusters etc.) is rapidly increasing and is fast becoming a significant portion of the nation?s annual energy budget. Surprisingly, many of the contemporary data centers are designed and managed very inefficiently, mainly due to reliance on folklore techniques rather than those grounded in hard scientific evidence. In addition, contemporary research and experimentation in greening data centers is severely hindered by the unavailability of an experimentation test-bed, the cost of performing live tests of alternative configurations and the excessive long duration for performing simulations based on high-complexity offline models based on computational fluid dynamics.
The BlueTool project aims to resolve these issues by: 1) increasing awareness of the latest scientific and engineering research on managing data centers, and 2) providing a research and evaluation infrastructure to test and develop new methodologies to address the inefficiencies of data centers. BlueTool will promote the use of holistic cyber-physical concepts to foster the development of energy-efficient and sustainable data centers. It will leverage recent research advances in cooling technologies and cyber-physical management for data centers at Arizona State University (ASU) and provide synergy for advancing the ongoing research in this field at ASU and elsewhere. BlueTool will consist of: (a) an online tool that can simulate various configurations of data centers, in terms of physical layout, hardware and software configuration; (b) a research hub and portal, maintained by the IMPACT Lab at ASU (http://impact.asu.edu), that offers data services on various updatable archives including power and thermal profiles, multi-scale low-complexity thermal and power models, and data center management methods and software. Researchers from both academia and industry will be able to use BlueTool's online consulting services to improve the computing performance and energy consumption of conventional or existing configurations with newly developed techniques.

AWARD ABSTRACT

0932720
Phelan

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

The interaction of thermal radiation with nanofluids, which are nanoscale colloidal suspensions, has not been extensively examined. This research deals with fundamental thermal transport phenomena that occur when sufficiently intense thermal radiation is incident upon a nanofluid. Specifically, the irradiation will cause localized heating of the suspended nanoparticles, and, in turn, induce heating or boiling of the liquid. This proposal addresses the relevant phenomena through a series of experiments and analyses.

Intellectual Merit. This research addresses questions such as the rate at which suspended nanoparticles selectively absorb thermal irradiation. A large component of the research is aimed at determining whether a vapor bubble nucleates from a heated nanoparticle in the same manner as compared to from a heated surface. Hence, determination of the incident radiative flux necessary to initiate boiling will be achieved. The temperatures obtained by the nanoparticles in response to the thermal irradiation, and the level of superheat required to initiate boiling at the surface of the nanoparticle will be determined. The optimum nanofluid particle size and particle loading distributions to maximize solar absorption while concurrently minimizing long-wavelength emission, will be sought.

Broader Impacts. A promising application development of nanofluid-based, direct-absorption solar thermal collectors with efficiencies higher than conventional solar collectors. This may lead to cost effective and efficient solar energy collection systems. Furthermore, the initiation and control of novel chemical reactions may be brought about by irradiating unique nanofluids. High school students will be engaged in solar-energy-based science projects. Teaching modules will be developed for undergraduate students. An effort to involve and inform the general public regarding solar energy research and development will be made through publishing opinion and editorial articles in the popular media.

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

Science Master's Program: Solar Energy Engineering & Commercialization
Lead Institution: Arizona State University (single-institution proposal)

More rapid development of solar energy is stymied by the high (but declining) costs of solar energy systems, the relatively low efficiencies of such systems, regulatory hurdles that impede development, and uncoordinated governmental policies. Overcoming such obstacles demands a new kind of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) workforce?one skilled in technical subjects at the heart of solar energy technologies, but also well versed in the socio-economic (e.g., social, economic, behavioral, policy) and commercial aspects of solar energy. Arizona State University (ASU) is addressing these needs through a new professional Science Master?s Degree in Solar Energy Engineering & Commercialization. This rigorous 30-credit-hour program is designed for full-time students to complete in 12 months, but it will also be available to online and part-time students. Our students, who will already have a Bachelor?s degree in a STEM field, will take technical and nontechnical courses. Special program features include a course on Solar Energy & Public Policy that involves a trip to Washington DC, and strong interactions with the solar energy industry through a summer research project and internship opportunities.
The broader impacts of the proposed Science Master?s Degree program include the wider application of solar energy achieved by educating the future leaders of the field in the societal, business, policy, and regulatory aspects of solar energy while still maintaining a rigorous technical grounding. Women and underrepresented minorities, including Native Americans, are recruited by working with existing organizations at ASU that target these groups.

CBET-1236571
Phelan

Waste heat energy conversion remains an inviting subject for research, given the renewed emphasis on energy efficiency and carbon emissions reduction. Solid-state thermoelectric devices have been widely investigated, but their practical application remains challenging because of cost and the inability to fabricate them in geometries that are easily compatible with heat sources. An intriguing alternative to solid-state thermoelectric devices is thermogalvanic cells, which include a (generally) liquid electrolyte that permits the transport of ions. Thermogalvanic cells have long been known in the electrochemistry community, but have not received much attention from the thermal transport community. This is surprising given that their performance is highly dependent on controlling both thermal and mass (ionic) transport. The proposed project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between mechanical engineering (thermal transport) and chemistry, and is a largely experimental effort aimed at improving fundamental understanding of thermogalvanic systems. Both thermal and mass transport will be controlled by imposing a nanostructured membrane between the electrodes, which will take advantage of previous work that demonstrated very high rates of mass transfer through aligned carbon-nanotube electrodes, and very low rates of heat transfer through randomly oriented carbon nanotubes. This work may enable improved waste heat energy conversion, largely because a fluidic device like a thermogalvanic cell can conform to the shape of a heat source like an exhaust pipe, and because thermogalvanic cells may ultimately be manufactured more cheaply than comparable thermoelectric devices. Finally, an extensive K-12 outreach program will be undertaken as part of the ongoing Science is Fun program, in which simple experiments based on demonstrating the thermogalvanic effect in salt water will be carried out by students in grades 4 through 8.

1745941 (Phelan)/1746081 (Hu). This workshop will address the science and engineering research questions motivated by designing and operating buildings for both energy efficiency as well as for the health of the occupants. A diversity of researchers from both the buildings and the public health R&D communities will be brought together to determine optimal approaches for integrating health and energy efficiency to promote the development of new human-centered design paradigms and building technologies. Other participating federal agencies include the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the US Department of Energy (DOE). The industry partners include the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The workshop will leverage a two-year DOE project that created a vision for buildings in 100 years, and the ongoing "Health in Buildings Roundtable" organized by NIH and CDC. The workshop will be hosted by NIH at the Natcher Conference Center in Bethesda, MD, in July, 2018.

The U.S. population spends perhaps 87% of their time inside buildings, and consequently it is reasonable to assume that building environments have a correspondingly large impact on occupant health. At the same time, the construction and operation of buildings has a large environmental impact: globally, buildings are responsible for approximately one third of primary energy consumption, and one third of greenhouse gas emissions. In the USA, building energy costs in 2016 were ~$408B annually, while annual healthcare costs were ~$3.2T in 2015. Additionally, potential worker productivity gains from improved indoor environments have been estimated at up to ~$230B (in 2016 dollars). Clearly, improving building sustainability while at the same time improving health outcomes would have significant economic impacts. Furthermore, by bringing together researchers from the typically separate fields of sustainable buildings and public health, the organizers are targeting to influence the education of future researchers by broadening their perspectives to consider these diverse but interrelated fields.

One way to improve the performance of waste-heat activated cooling systems, such as adsorption systems, is by targeted application of ultrasonic energy, which may make possible the use of abundant low-temperature heat sources to provide cooling. This project explores how ultrasonic energy, combined with low-temperature heat sources, can realize higher-efficiency adsorption cooling by increasing the rate at which refrigerant vapor is released from the surface of a solid adsorbent. This in effect creates a thermal compressor that replaces the conventional electric-powered compressor. At this point, however, the mechanisms by which ultrasound interacts with adsorbed liquid refrigerant are not clear, and these are examined through both experiments and theoretical modeling. This project also involves significant educational and outreach activities. To date there has been no central, online, open-source resource for thermally activated heat pump technologies. In addition to assembling and making available open-source simulation codes and performance data that make it easier to design improved systems, online educational modules are developed for enhancing the understanding of students and practitioners in this field and thus promote wider development and adoption of environmentally friendly heat pump technologies.

Although prior work clearly indicates the potential to improve desorption by applying ultrasonic energy, in general this prior work focused on system-level effects rather than local detailed measurements that would enable improved fundamental understanding. For example, how much of the improved desorption is due to localized heating, and how much is due to other effects such as mechanical compression/decompression, acoustic softening, etc.? Our work, rather than emphasizing such system-level performance, instead focuses on detailed, localized measurements and analysis to improve fundamental understanding of these coupled heat and mass transport processes that are crucial not only for adsorption cooling, but also for desiccant drying, food drying, etc. We also explore a much wider range of adsorbents/refrigerants, in addition to the silica gel/water system studied earlier. Interestingly, the application of ultrasound may enable new adsorbent materials to be utilized, such as superabsorbent polymers (commonly used in disposable diapers) that can absorb up to 2000 times their own weight in water. Without ultrasound, the use of polymers is limited or even prohibited because of the high temperatures needed for regeneration. By examining alternative materials like superabsorbent polymers we are able to greatly expand the variety of adsorbent/refrigerant pairs that can be considered for application in adsorption cooling.

Portland cement is the primary binding agent in billions of tons of concrete used every year for construction of nearly all forms of physical infrastructure. Its worldwide production, amounting to 4.5 billion tons per year, is responsible for ~8% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions and ~25% of all industry carbon dioxide emissions. Cement manufacturing is among the hardest industries to decarbonize because the carbon dioxide emissions are unavoidable results of essential chemical reactions (e.g., decarbonation of limestone to produce lime and carbon dioxide) and high-temperature processes powered by carbon dioxide -intensive combustion of fossil fuels. As the U.S. embarks on a once-in-a-century infrastructure revival program, while also committing to slash carbon dioxide emissions by >50% by 2030 (to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius, as per the Paris Agreement), there is an urgent need to disruptively transform cement manufacturing, especially considering that the production-and-use of Portland cement is poised to grow to >6 Gt by 2030. This project reimagines cement production through end-to-end technological breakthroughs that features a solar energy-powered, two-stage process: a novel electrochemical decarbonation process to produce lime without attendant carbon dioxide release; and ultrafast production of cement via a novel high temperature synthesis procedure. The two-stage process enables unprecedented manufacturing capabilities; with cost-, energy-, and carbon dioxide -efficiencies substantially better than those of contemporary manufacturing technologies. The project is supported by the Division of Materials Research (DMR) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), and co-funded by the Division of Chemistry (CHE) in MPS, the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG), and the Division of Undergraduate Education in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR).<br/><br/>The overarching goal of this project is to enable the production of Portland cement, as well as other lime-based cements, in a carbon -neutral and energy-efficient manner. To achieve this goal, the project advances several technological innovations: (1) Low-temperature, carbon-neutral decomposition of limestone into lime; (2) Ultrafast production of cements, that are physically and chemically similar to their commercial counterparts, via a high temperature synthesis procedure; (3) Use of renewable energy, in lieu of fossil fuels, to power all sub-processes of cement manufacturing; and (4) Synergistic use of advanced experiments, thermodynamic and multiphysics simulations, and artificial intelligence to optimize the manufacturing process, that results in a family of sustainable, next-generation cements. Outcomes of this work are expected to substantially advance understanding of process parameters that influence the kinetics, efficiency, and quality of the products from both stages of the manufacturing process. A simple, easy-to-use software, with hardwired thermodynamics and machine learning engines, will be developed to aid manufacturers in ascertaining optimal recipes based on their cement production targets. The integrated education and workforce development plan emphasizes training of next generation of sustainable manufacturing researchers and engineers through conventional modalities, as well as novel means such as bootcamps, and workshop for advanced-skills training of skilled technical workers (STWs) and industry professionals.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.