Academia >>> TERIL

My first contact with the real industrial furnace was in the training facility Energy Conservation Center Japan in 2007. It was a true, real and inspiring experience shaping my research objectives. Later as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor I worked in the Combustion Lab with a laboratory research model of the flameless combustion furnace. This valuable experience has allowed me to design and construct a new and unique Flameless Impingement Oven granted by the US Patent .

Pumping stations are widely used in an urban and industrial infrastructure. This unit has been designed and constructed as a setting with four centrifugal pumps, which can be operated in series or parallel configuration. Each pump can be controlled by three methods: (i) discharge valve, (ii) by-pass flow, and (iii) variable speed drive. Piping system with a set of valves allows me to simulate various scenarios: from individual operation of each singular pump, to centralized pumping station working with a complex distribution system. The system allows quantitative measurements of flowrates, pressure and power consumption. The system is controlled by a LabView-based computer program, allowing data collection for further processing. 

Cooling systems are widely used in our everyday live. We use them in small scale home refrigerators, HVAC systems, and car air conditioners. Large scale chilled water systems are implemented in different sectors: HVAC for entire buildings and campuses, food processing, cooling dies in plastic manufacturing, conditioning various types of machines, computers, chemical processes etc. Thermodynamic phenomena powering chilled water system are also implemented in cryogenic processes, like nitrogen/oxygen separation or liquefaction of natural gas (LNG) for transport purposes. The wide application of these systems provided inspiration for the design and construction of the Cooling System in the UW Oshkosh Teaching and Energy Research Industrial Lab (TERIL).

Compressed air systems are widely used in industrial sector, regardless of the type of production: automotive, food, plastic, chemical, paper, etc. Typically compressed air is used for control purposes in any type of hand tools, actuators, valves, etc. In addition to that, compressed air can power various types of pumps and motors installed in highly explosive areas. This description indicates clearly, that compressed air is a form of energy converted from electricity. Combination of both terms: air and electricity can suggest, that compressed air is relatively non-expensive form of energy. However such a conclusion is misleading. Efficiency of compressed air systems is relatively low (~10%). For a better understanding, a comparison can be used: to power 1 kW compressed air motor for mixing paddle the compressed air system needs to be powered by ~10 kW compressors.

Please contact me, if you have any questions regarding the offer, energy audits, publications, etc...