Friday, December 1, 2017
Assistant Professor, Dr. Weihuan Zhao is one of many new faces in the ever-growing Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering. As one of only two primary researchers at the Zero Energy Lab following former Department Chair Dr. Yong Tao’s departure, Zhao is diving head first into her work.
The Zero Energy Research Laboratory, the only building of its kind in Texas, is designed to test and demonstrate various alternative energy generation technologies to achieve a net-zero energy consumption of energy.
It’s the perfect place for Zhao to work on her research, which zeroes in on thermal-fluid sciences, including heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics.
“The Zero Energy Laboratory allows us to test building energy savings as well as human physiological and psychological responses through modulating room temperatures, lighting conditions, and so on in a specific space. It has a lot of renewable devices – solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, and wind turbines – that allow us to collect data that provides guidelines for how the current renewable energy technologies work, allowing us to compare with our new technologies to seek their improvements on the building,” said Zhao. “It also helps us integrate a lot of our research elements, such as when we want to integrate a small part of the storage system – like the HVAC with the geo-thermal pump system – the lab and the data already collected helps us to see the improvements we’ve made in heat transfer.”
Zhao currently has three graduate students working under her. One student is working on improving the HVAC efficiency in the building. The other student is looking into phase-changing materials embedded in the building envelope and how they improve building energy efficiency. Another student, Caleb Traylor, who studied under Dr. Tao and graduated this year, is researching how temperature relates to building energy savings and comfort.
“Working in the Zero Energy Lab has been great because I have been able to see all the technologies up close. I’ve been able to learn what goes into the solar and wind power systems, the rainwater system, and the HVAC system, etc.,” said Traylor, a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering. “My research in human thermal comfort and finding ways to heat and cool buildings that will save energy has revealed how much goes into analyzing our energy usage. So much goes into researching the things that use energy and the reasons we do them; it’s been interesting to be able to contribute in this growing field.”
“The students at UNT are very hard working and smart,” said Zhao. “They’re willing to explore different research activities to advance their knowledge.”
Zhao also teaches three classes: Introduction to Heat Transfer, Conduction and Radiation Heat Transfer, and Computational Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow.
“This department is an excellent fit for my background,” she said. “The department is very new – under 10 years – and has room to grow. As a new faculty, I can get more involved in research activities and have a lot of opportunities for advancement.”
The Zero Energy Research Laboratory, the only building of its kind in Texas, is designed to test and demonstrate various alternative energy generation technologies to achieve a net-zero energy consumption of energy.
It’s the perfect place for Zhao to work on her research, which zeroes in on thermal-fluid sciences, including heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics.
“The Zero Energy Laboratory allows us to test building energy savings as well as human physiological and psychological responses through modulating room temperatures, lighting conditions, and so on in a specific space. It has a lot of renewable devices – solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, and wind turbines – that allow us to collect data that provides guidelines for how the current renewable energy technologies work, allowing us to compare with our new technologies to seek their improvements on the building,” said Zhao. “It also helps us integrate a lot of our research elements, such as when we want to integrate a small part of the storage system – like the HVAC with the geo-thermal pump system – the lab and the data already collected helps us to see the improvements we’ve made in heat transfer.”
Zhao currently has three graduate students working under her. One student is working on improving the HVAC efficiency in the building. The other student is looking into phase-changing materials embedded in the building envelope and how they improve building energy efficiency. Another student, Caleb Traylor, who studied under Dr. Tao and graduated this year, is researching how temperature relates to building energy savings and comfort.
“Working in the Zero Energy Lab has been great because I have been able to see all the technologies up close. I’ve been able to learn what goes into the solar and wind power systems, the rainwater system, and the HVAC system, etc.,” said Traylor, a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering. “My research in human thermal comfort and finding ways to heat and cool buildings that will save energy has revealed how much goes into analyzing our energy usage. So much goes into researching the things that use energy and the reasons we do them; it’s been interesting to be able to contribute in this growing field.”
“The students at UNT are very hard working and smart,” said Zhao. “They’re willing to explore different research activities to advance their knowledge.”
Zhao also teaches three classes: Introduction to Heat Transfer, Conduction and Radiation Heat Transfer, and Computational Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow.
“This department is an excellent fit for my background,” she said. “The department is very new – under 10 years – and has room to grow. As a new faculty, I can get more involved in research activities and have a lot of opportunities for advancement.”