Energy Studies, Volume 12, Number 2, November/December 1986 Page: 2
4 p. : ill.View a full description of this periodical.
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Philip S. Schmidt Vincent M. Torres
Facilities for other processes, such as
infrared drying and ultraviolet curing,
are being considered for the future.
Metal, paper, minerals, food, tex-
tiles, plastics, chemicals, ceramics,
and wood-all of these and many
other products go through energy-
intensive manufacturing processes
such as heating, forming, drying, and
curing. Processes for treating mate-
rials with energy pervade most indus-
tries.
Dr. Schmidt said the United States
now lags behind several other coun-
tries in research to enhance pro-
ductivity in the process industries.
"Generally speaking, we are be-
hind. We're behind the Japanese, the
Europeans, and to some extent the
Russians, depending on the technol-
ogy. In all of those countries there has
been significant, long-standing, con-
tinuous government support for the
improvement of industrial pro-
cesses-and it is paying off.
"Only in the last few years has the
United States, through organizations
such as EPRI and the Gas Research
Institute (GRI), begun to put together
an integrated effort. We are in the
catch-up mode."
The meaning of critical mass. Pro-
cess energetics problems are com-
plex and usually interdisciplinary, ac-
For More Information
about Process Energetics
To find out more about the Pro-
cess Energetics Program (or to be
included on the list to receive its
forthcoming prospectus), tele-
phone or write:
Dr. Philip S. Schmidt
(512/471-7792)
Process Energetics Program
Center for Energy Studies
The University of Texas at Austin
10100 Burnet Road
Austin, Texas 78758
or Mr. Vince Torres, Manager, at
the same address and tele-
phone.John W. Andberg
Theodore L. Bergman
cording to Vince Torres, manager of
the program. The senior researchers
in the Process Energetics Program
have backgrounds in mechanical en-
gineering, operations research, elec-
trical engineering, and computer
modeling.
In establishing a successful pro-
gram of this kind, "the key thing is
critical mass," said Dr. Schmidt. "Crit-
ical mass means two things: people
and facilities."
"Many industrial firms do not have
all of the varied expertise in-house to
analyze and design process im-
provements," Mr. Torres said. As-
sembling a research facility and a
team of experts is costly and time-
consuming.
The goal of the Process Energetics
Program is to offer research facilities
and a group of experts who can
perform process energetics research
for industrial firms and organizations
quickly and inexpensively, while at
the same time advancing the state of
the art through fundamental studies.
The target areas of research include:
Q Microwave- and radio-frequency-
enhanced drying
Q Continuous curing of rubber extru-
sions and moldings with micro-
waves and hot air
Q Optimization of foundry operations
D Economic tradeoffs in hybrid (mul-
tiple-fuel) processes
Q Use of artificial intelligence in op-
timizing energy-using operations
The United States has several cen-
ters devoted to research in metals
processing, but few focusing on the
other industries, said Dr. Schmidt. A
significant opportunity exists for en-
hancing productivity through energy-
oriented research.
"The induction furnace has kept a
lot of US foundries in business by
giving them increased flexibility and
more ability to compete in the world
marketplace, even though the in-
dustry as a whole has been declining.
We are looking at situations like that-
perhaps with technologies that are
not as well developed as inductionelba M. Crawford John A Pearce
Research Leaders
Philip S. Schmidt
Program Head
Vincent M. Torres
Program Manager
Senior Researchers
John W. Andberg
Research Engineering/Scientist
Associate
Theoretical modeling of heat and
mass transfer
Theodore L Bergman
Assistant Professor of Mechanical
Engineering
Drying, heat and mass transfer
Melba M. Crawford
Associate Professor of Mechanical
Engineering
Operations research, industrial
engineering, economic analysis
John A. Pearce
Associate Professor of Electrical
and Computer Engineering
Electromagnetic aspects of
dielectric heating
Philip S. Schmidt
Professor of Mechanical
Engineering
Electrotechnologies, industrial
management, and productivity
Vincent M. Torres
Research Associate
Energy and fluids
heating, with applications to other in-
dustries," he said.
Studying the hybrids." We are espe-
cially interested in the electrotech-
nologies because, for a number of
reasons, they offer some important
productivity benefits. In many cases
the electrotechnology works best
when it's used with a conventional
technology."
Microwave-enhanced drying is an
example of this type of hybrid technol-
ogy. Drying with microwaves alone
can be prohibitively expensive. The
center researchers are studying
whether microwaves can be com-
(Continued on page 4)2
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University of Texas at Austin. Center for Energy Studies. Energy Studies, Volume 12, Number 2, November/December 1986, periodical, November 1986; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1032215/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.