Louisiana State University
Advanced Heat Transfer
Two complete Fiber-Optic equipped Laser-Doppler Velocimetry and Phase-Doppler Size Analysis systems are available in the laboratories of Acharya, Myrum and Nikitopoulos and are in fully operational condition. Two Ar-Ion lasers (one rated at 5 Watts and one at 300m Watts ) are also available. These systems provide two-color capability that enables measurements of two-velocity components and particle (droplet) size and concentration. In addition, five channels of hot-wire/film anemometry with advanced signal-analysis capabilities are also available with an assortment of hot-wire/film probes and auxiliary calibration and probe repair facilities. All measuring systems are interfaced to microcomputers of workstations for data acquisition and signal processing. A variety of high-response thermocouples and pressure probes are also available. A complete computerized image-capturing and analysis system which can be used for flow visualization is also available.
Computational Facilities
Over the past three years, the computational sciences group (in which Tohline is a principal player) has established the LSU Concurrent Computing Laboratory (CCL) containing several different computing platforms with scalable parallel architectures. The CCL currently contains: an 8,192-node MasPar 1208B computer, an 8-node Intel iPSC/860 system, and a 64-cell iWarp machine. The group expects to purchase wither a 56-node Paragon from Intel or a 32-node CM-5 from Thining Machines. Each computer exists as a separate UNIX node on the internet network, so each is readily accessible to all LSU researchers. The Mas Par computer will be used for the computational work in the advanced heat transfer project.
The LSU System Network Computer Center, in addition, houses an IBM 3090 mainframe with 6 vector processors, a VAX 8800, and a cluster of IBM RS-6000 workstations. In addition, there are a host of distributing computing facilities spread around the College of Engineering and College of basic Sciences.
High Temperature Coal Gas Cleanup
A number of chemical reactors suitable for studying the noncatalytic gas-solid reactions involved in high temperature coal desulfurization are available. These include both atmospheric pressure and high pressure electrobalance reactors as well as a high pressure fixed-bed reactor. The progress of the reaction is followed by monitoring the change in weight of the solid reactant in the electrobalance reactors and by product gas analysis in the fixed-bed reactor. These reactors are equipped wit supplemental instruments including temperature programmer/controllers, high pressure mass flow controllers, and a high pressure syringe pump, and are fully automated with dedicated PCs for data acquisition, storage, and processing. A gas chromatograph equipped with thermal conductivity and flame ionization detectors is used for product gas analysis.
Supplementary instruments needed to determine the structural characteristics of the porous solid reactants are also available, including an environmental scanning electron microscope, x-ray diffractometer, 60,000 psi mercury porosimeter, and nitrogen physisorption apparatus for surface area measurements. These instruments are also equipped with dedicated PCs for data acquisition, storage, and processing. |