This project aims to develop experimental test facilities for high-efficiency air cooling and dehumidification technologies. Cooling buildings accounts for 10% of global electrical energy consumption. The Fix Lab will work on a range of cutting-edge cooling and dehumidification technologies, including vapor-selective membrane dehumidification, liquid desiccant dehumidification, thermal energy storage, caloric cooling systems, and more! This project is focused on developing/installing the experimental test facilities to demonstrate these cutting-edge technologies, thus the students will gain significant hands-on experience with equipment setup, instrumentation, control, and data acquisition. The students will also have opportunities to learn how to develop physical models for various cutting-edge thermal systems and will ideally contribute to scientific publications. The research is a volunteer opportunity, or we can explore options for course credit.
The Fix Lab is starting in January 2025. Dr. Andrew Fix is an assistant professor in the Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering with an additional courtesy appointment in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering.
- Junior/Senior in Mechanical, Civil, or Architectural Engineering
- Experience with data acquisition systems (LabVIEW)
- Experience with modeling (MATLAB or Python)
- Interest in energy/thermodynamics and thermal systems, especially sustainable energy systems
- Strong communication and organization skills
- Experience reading/writing technical/scientific materials
- Ability to problem solve independently (i.e. doing Google searches, making phone calls, reviewing text books -- whatever your particular problem calls for, being able to seek out your own resources to solve the problem)
This project is ongoing. We prefer to keep students in our research group for more than one semester, when possible, to ensure they have enough time to fully integrate into the team and contribute. The students will start in January 2025.
- Review scientific, peer-reviewed literature and discuss your insights with Prof. Fix
- Assist in the setup, installation, and shakedown testing of diverse equipment (environmental chambers, chillers, stress testing machines, 3D printers, etc).
- Develop data acquisition and control programs in LabVIEW for controlling and monitoring various experimental test facilities
- Learn to develop thermal system models in EES/Python/MATLAB and assist Prof. Fix with energy modeling tasks
- Provide professional, well-organized weekly update presentations to Prof. Fix and your fellow researchers
