Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (SUBR) will initiate a project entitled Research Infrastructure for Science and Engineering Education in Energy Materials (RISE3M) as a 3-year Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Research Infrastructure in Science and Engineering (HBCU-RISE) award. The PIs propose to continue and expand expertise in materials science research developed as part of a previous HBCU-RISE project (HRD-0734845) to encompass the area of sustainable energy production through the use of modern energy materials. The synergism of these two areas includes the shared knowledge in the development of efficient and alternative energy materials for power production as well as access to complimentary materials characterization approaches among researches involved in this project. The work also complements an existing CREST Center for Next Generation Composite Materials (HRD-0932300). The research and education activities will foster the development of new knowledge, processes, and products in material science and engineering applicable to advanced materials for sustainable energy generation and utilization.
The project is organized around several thrusts:
Fundamental knowledge *Correlate microstructure with physical properties of photoelectron-chemical materials for the photoelectrolysis of water; *Fabrication and analysis of an actuating polymer technology; *Development and fabrication of functionally graded ceramic thermal barrier coatings; *Characterization of thermo-mechanical properties of novel energy materials.
Technology applications *Photoelectrical chemical power generation; *Design and improvement of polymers for photovoltaic solar power generation; *New thermal barrier coating to reduce the repair time and cost in gas turbine power generation industry; *Improvements in gas turbine power output and efficiency.
Education and outreach *Advanced material characterization and composite materials and structures courses; *Increased number of minority students in undergraduate & graduate research; *Enhanced research infrastructure for Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering; *Provide an nformation resource for potential collaborators and dissemination; *Involvement of K-12 through graduate level in the integration of STEM research
Intellectual Merit The proposed research will lead to the development of new knowledge, processes, and products in materials science and engineering, for application in sustainable energy generation and utilization. . The synergism of these thrust areas includes the shared knowledge in the development of efficient and alternative energy materials for power production as well as access to complimentary materials characterization approaches among researches involved in this project.
Broader Impact The research will contribute to the development of sustainable technologies that will decrease the dependence of the US on fossil fuels. Therefore, broader impacts extend to the improvement of the environment and the economic benefit of society. Consistent with the goals of the RISE proposals, this award will strengthen the doctoral student research capacity in a new area of materials science research at Southern, which currently has the largest number of African American graduate students in science and engineering. The present award will play a significant role in the university?s efforts to achieve doctoral level II status, a rarity among HBCU institutions. The project includes a specific human resource development plan for graduate student development, post doctoral associate training,, integration of education and research, and outreach to the general public, particularly in the southern regions of the US.
(RISE3M) to stimulate development of strong progressive strategy to yield new insights in the area of sustainable materials to be used in energy production by providing researchers with the necessary support and resources that will enhance research competitiveness, training of post-doctoral, graduate students, and undergraduate researchers. Intellectual Merit Outcomes The RISE3M program engaged in three research thrust areas I) Understanding the Phase Equilibria in Co3O4-Al2O3-Fe2O3 spinel solid solution; II) Photovoltaic Polymer Composites; III) Development of Functionally Graded Nano-Structured Thermal Barrier Coatings. The project outcomes are as follows: • The investigators working on thrust area I of this project reported the first in-situ time-resolved X-ray diffraction investigation in conjunction with a non-isothermal kinetic study using the model-free isoconversional kinetic method to determine the formation mechanism for the solid-state synthesis of electrochemically active LiCoO2 from Li2CO3 and Co3O4. Reference - "Revisited: Decomposition or Melting? Formation Mechanism Investigation of LiCoO2 via In-Situ Time-Resolved X-ray Diffraction," Inorg. Chem. 2013, 52, 1772-1779. • The investigators working on thrust area II of this project have successfully fabricated anatase-TiO2 nanotubes within a thin-film titanium layer deposited via e-beam evaporation on silicon. This is a major achievement in the scientific community towards the development of efficient and inexpensive thin-film and flexible solar cells for applications ranging from photovoltaic waveguides to wearable technology. Reference-"Photovoltaic Waveguide-Like Polymer Composite," HARMST 2011 International Conference, Taiwan, June 13-17, 2011. • The investigators working on thrust area III of this project have developed a new computational model for analyzing thermal transport in micro-scale materials that accounts for the phase lag due to heat flux as well as temperature gradients that yields minimal numerical dissipation and dispersion errors and captures the discontinuities such as the thermal wave front in the solution with reliable accuracy. This approach is being recommended for computing in-situ heat transfer and temperature gradients in micro-scale materials. References - 1) "Thermal Modeling and Analysis of a Thermal Barrier Coating Structure Using Non-Fourier Heat Conduction," ASME J. of Heat Transfer, Vol 134 (11) pp. 111301-1-12, November 2012. 2) "Study of Heat Transfer in a Thermal Barrier Coatings System Using the Dual Phase Lag Model Based on Mean Value Finite Volume Method," IMECE2013-66060, San Diego, CA 2013 Broader Impacts Outcomes Overall, the investigators of this project disseminated research outcomes in a variety of venues and outreach programs. Presentations were made at the ASME IMECE meetings 2011-2014, ASME Summer Heat transfer Conferences 2011-2013, International conference of Composites Engineering and nanotechnology 2011-2013, Black Engineers of The Year Awards conference 2013, International Heat Transfer Conference, in Kyoto Japan 2014, and invited talks at Universities in Turkey, and Ghana. Two refereed journal publications, twelve refereed conference proceeding papers, six extended abstracts, five undergraduate student poster presentations and a poster by a graduate student which received a 1st place award at the Louisiana Alliance for Simulation Guided Materials Applications symposium in July 2012. The graduate students' work' "Microscale Modeling of Thermally Grown Oxide (TGO) Layer Growth as a Moving Boundary Problem" IMECE-2012-94060, received a travel award to attend 2012 ASME IMECE nanotechnology symposium, Houston TX, 9-15, November 2012. An international collaboration with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi Ghana. As a result, a proposal submitted to NSF IRES program, "Southern University International Research Experiences for Students: A Collaboration to Provide Opportunities for Global Research Activities in Sustainable Water Purification (GRA-SWP) (IIA-1358204)," has been funded for the period 2014-2017. Southern University co-hosted the International Conference on Advanced Materials and Energy Technology in Shibpur, India December 17-19, 2014 in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology Shibpur, India. Dr. Mensah was the conference co-Chair and he gave a Keynote Lecture on "Study of heat Transfer in Thermal Barrier Coatings used in Gas turbines." This project has contributed to human resource development by the engagement of four post-doctoral research associates and involving them in related research and educational activities of RISE3M. Two of the post-doctoral associates engaged to work in the chemistry department are now in tenure tract positions in the Chemistry department at SU. Of the postdocs engaged in engineering, one remains as a research associate in the department of mechanical engineering and the other is now working in the automotive industry. Over twenty five graduate and undergraduate students in engineering and sciences were impacted by this project. The students graduated into Science and Technology workforce include one PhD in Environmental Toxicology and seven Master of engineering graduates. One of the Masters of engineering student is now pursuing a PhD in Environmental Toxicology at Southern University and another student is pursuing PhD in Mechanical Engineering at City University of New York. The remaining graduates are working in Science and Technology Industry.
