Logan Raben is an Honors College student studying Mechanical engineering from Springdale, Arkansas. This picture shows Logan standing next to the particle heat exchanger emulator.
Author: Logan Raben | Major: Mechanical Engineering | Semester: Fall 2023
During the fall and spring semester 2022, I performed research in the mechanical engineering department under my advisor, Dr. Han Hu. A friend of mine was doing research for Dr. Hu and I want to get involved in research for my looming Thesis project. I was placed on a team led by Jackson Marsh to discover the implementation of acoustic emissions on a packed-bed heat exchanger used in a concentrated solar power Brayton cycle. In the fall of 2023, I was then given the leadership over the project to further discover and eventually write my honors college thesis over. The overall goal of the research is to use acoustic emissions to characterize the flow of sand in a packet bed heat exchanger emulator. The perks of the acoustic emission sensing is the sensors are placed on the outside of the system, this intern makes the sensing nonintrusive. The required pressures and temperatures for the actual power generation are unattainable in our lab setting; however, my focus is on the flow of the sand through the emulator. By adjusting flow and location of the sensors, the sensors will display readings to be analyzed and non-intrusive determine the flow on the inside of the heat exchanger.
Upon coming back to Fayetteville in the August of 2023, I was placed in charge of the research project and got caught up on then details, going from a helper in the project to needing to know all the details. Through multiple meetings with Jackson Marsh, I was able to understand how to conduct tests and how to analyze the sensor data. He was able to describe to me the results and studies from the past semesters that we had done. We were able to show a pattern between a change in sensor data and the change in flow of the sand in the heat exchanger.
I then began the process of running modified tests to determine further characterization patterns. I placed sensors in multiple different spots around the tubes of the Heat Exchanger in hopes of identifying stagnation points where the sand would stagnate in the test facility. I was unable to find exactly what I hypothesized; however, I learned more about the precises of the sensor’s readings. The sensor was able to show macro results of a larger part of the system rather than specific micro results.
As I am starting to develop my honors thesis, Dr. Neelakshi Majumdar has been co-advising my project. She has given super valuable insight on more procedural steps in documentation and development of my report.
Next semester, I will continue to run acoustic emissions testing to continue to develop and understand the characterization of the sand particles. I will also combine the sensor data with visual imaging to compare the results in relation to time. I will also continue to do project related literature review so that I can fully develop my honors thesis.
Through this Honors Research Grant, I have been able to grasp an understanding of what doing research in a laboratory setting would entail. I learned how to develop an emulator system and run tests with a hypothesized outcome in mind. I understand how to develop new skills in a real laboratory and work environment.