The Research Improvement in Minority Institutions (RIMI) program was designed to increase the participation of minorities in scientific and engineering research by providing support to strengthen the research environment and capabilities of predominantly minority institutions. Institutions eligible to participate in this program must have in addition to a substantial enrollment of minority students, graduate programs in science or programs in engineering. North Carolina A&T State University will use RIMI support to establish a research group to investigate the diffusion of gases through porous media. Experimental and theoretical studies of gas fluxes through model porous structures will be conducted from the Knudsen limit to the bulk diffusion limit. Four model porous media structures will be characterized and diffusion rates of He, N and CO determined over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Flow equations will be developed based on two mathematical models. Mathematical models, optimized by use of experimental data will provide basic information about the parameters that describe true porous media. This project to study diffusion in constructed porous media is sound, particularly well adapted to undergraduate and graduate research and should yield useful data. The assembled research group is balanced and each of the proposers is competent in their own area of expertise. The project has excellent potential for enhancing long-range plans for engineering research and will strengthen student and staff research capabilities at North Carolina A&T State University.
