Project ISF: Acoustic/photocatalytic air purification systems for HVAC applications Program DUIRI - Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship Term Fall 2023 Status Accepted Research Area HVAC, Photochemistry, Acoustics, Fluid mechanics, aerosol transport, Health Sciences, Biology, Environmental Engineering Description COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the need for the innovation of new air purification technologies. This project explores two different air purification technologies: acoustic air cleaning and photocatalysis. Acoustical air cleaning harnesses acoustic forces, including acoustic standing waves and streaming patterns, to manipulate the movement of aerosols within a flowing stream. Utilizing these acoustic forces makes it possible to control aerosol transport. On the other hand, Photocatalytic oxidation uses a light-activated catalyst to degrade harmful pollutants in the air, such as gaseous chemical contaminants and bioaerosols, transforming them into harmless byproducts like water and carbon dioxide. It has been extensively studied for water treatment but is still in the early stages of development for air treatment systems. Specifically, this project focuses on integrating photocatalysis into HVAC systems to enhance indoor air quality by inactivating bioaerosols. Supervisor David E M Warsinger Mentor Type of work required The student who joins this lab will be expected to attend weekly lab meetings and sub-group meetings. This project seeks students who possess fluid mechanics knowledge and a preliminary understanding of aerosol transport and acoustics. The student's primary involvement will be in designing experiments to investigate aerosols' behavior in internal flows when subjected to acoustic forces. In addition, this project seeks students interested in photochemistry, microbiology, aerosol sciences, and experimental research. For both projects, in addition to the required skills mentioned above, applicants with additional experience with some of the following programs are preferred: Python and Adobe Illustrator. The student will be expected to give weekly progress updates and will have the opportunity to present some of their updates at quarterly meetings with industry members in Purdue’s Center for High Performance Buildings.
The student should also be eager to collaborate with other researchers outside of mechanical engineering to draw from a broad range of expertise in pursuing our research goals. If interested, they may collaborate with the many HVAC energy efficiency, desalination, atmospheric water harvesting, and other projects in the lab (which are also hiring more students, but not through DUIRI) Websites www.warsinger.com Qualifications There are several positions with different roles. Skills we need include a mix of: - Experience with wet labs/ chemistry /microbiology labs - Some background in prototype development/manufacturing will be useful. - Experience with python/MATLAB will be useful for assisting inside projects related to the technology we are developing. - Students should have a strong interest in experimental research, motivation to pursue research problems related to air purification to tackle future pandemics. - Familiarity with HVAC is not required, but would be beneficial. Credit Hours 3 Weekly Hours 10 (estimated)