The purpose of the rotary drum project is to understand how different parameters such as particle fill level and rotation rate affect the heat transfer coefficient in all three modes of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation The information that is gathered during these experiments will be used to verify simulations and overall help to build models
Faculty Mentor: Heather Emady
Oil Shale Imbibition
The goal of the oil shale imbibition research project is to improve the sustainability of the hydraulic fracturing process. Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which water is forced into the ground to split rock apart for oil extraction purposes. This process results in a large amount of water waste, so the researcher is analyzing
Shale Fracking Waste Characteristics
Fracking processes produce shale waste due the water used to create fractures deep underground to release natural gases being imbibed by the shale rock common in these basins. Characterizing research has been conducted on the shale waste in order to further research in obtaining oil and shale products from the waste and reducing the amount
Glass Bead Flowability Characterization
Characterization of particulate process and product design is a difficult field because of the unique properties and behaviors of particles that differ from gasses and liquids. The purpose of this research is to develop an equation to relate the angle of repose and flowability, the ability of the particle to flow as it pertains to
Evaluation of Hopper Discharge Rates of Glass Spheres
The goal of this project is to understand the effect that particle properties, such as size and surface roughness, have on their flow rate through hoppers. Prediction of the flow rate through hoppers is of great importance due to their use in many industrially relevant processes. The surface of the particles will be characterized by
Heat Transfer in a Rotary Drum using Infrared Camera Temperature Measurement
Rotary drums are used industrially for the mixing and heating of particulate materials including pharmaceuticals, food products, and cement. These processes are inefficient due to a lack of understanding of the heat transfer mechanisms in the rotary drum. This research aims to save energy by optimizing the heating of rotary drums. A three level, two
Oil Shale Imbibition
Studying how oil shale and water interact would allow fracking waste fluids to be reclaimed.
Characterization of Flow Properties of Wet Particle Using the FT4 Powder Rheometer
This project investigated the influence of moisture contents on the flow properties and behavior of particles to determine the powders’ flowability, compressibility, and shear stress. Three sizes of glass beads, sand, and biomass particles’ properties were measured in the FT4 powder rheometer with two moisture content levels, 5% and 8%. The comparison between these three
Convective Heat Transfer in a Rotary Drum
The goal of this research project is to understand how convective heat transfer affects granular materials in a rotary drum. This was accomplished by studying two different variables and controlling the rest of the variables. The two variables that were tested were the fill levels and rotation rates. A three by three factorial was conducted
