Energy

Energy is –– and always has been –– a major research focus of Texas A&M Engineering.

The Dwight Look College of Engineering, through its 12 academic departments and affiliation with the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), industry, government agencies and others, has a long history –– more than 100 years –– of research and development activities in the field of energy. We have expertise in traditional energy areas such as oil and gas, the electric power grid and nuclear energy, as well as in emerging renewable energy generation and distribution technologies/systems, and in energy efficiency (how the end user consumes energy).

Bioenergy [ + ]

Our research in renewable energy includes a comprehensive biomass-to-conventional fuels (gasoline, diesel and jet fuel) program that utilizes the existing U.S. pipeline distribution systems; a corresponding energy crops-to-wheels program with new engine and hybrid power-train technologies, and reduced emissions from co-fired power plants with feedlot biomass program. TEES researchers work closely with Texas AgriLife Research on bioenergy projects as part of The Texas A&M Agriculture and Engineering BioEnergy Alliance.

Key Projects and Facilities

Bioconversion Processes and New Car Engines (BCCE) Laboratory- Mark Holtzapple - This lab is developing a biomass demonstration plant capable of processing 100 tons per day of biomass. It has approximately 1,800 square feet of laboratory space and 2,400 square feet of pilot plant space.

BioEnergy Testing and Analysis Laboratory - This lab is equipped with a four-engine dynamometer test-bed; complete engine exhaust emissions testing (CO, NOx, SOx, HC, VOC and PM); a pilot-scale fluidized bed gasifier and a laboratory biomass pyrolyzer; a state of the art bomb calorimeter; a portable gas chromatograph and VARIAN 3800 GC; and an HPLC. Several measuring instruments can evaluate characteristics of biofuels (viscosity, pour and cloud point, distillation, flash point, water and sediment, glycerin, etc.). Digital controlled drying ovens and furnaces can measure proximate analysis of biofuels, including ash.

Combustion and Fuels Research Laboratory - The Combustion and Fuels Research Laboratory is investigating efficient and clean combustion processes for fuel development. The work includes studies on engine technologies (thermodynamic cycle simulations, alternative fuels for diesel and diesel engine fuel injection); emissions (selective catalytic and non-catalytic removal of NOx); and energy (distributed electric power production, fuel cells, and vehicle conversion to liquefied petroleum gas).

Food Protein R&D Center- Mian Riaz - The Fats and Oils Program at the Food Protein Center conducts research and development on oilseed products and processing. This center has complete lab and pilot plant facilities for processing oilseed products and specializes in projects such as improving yields and quality of oils from refining operations, modification of oil properties and applications in food products. The staff has expertise with most oilseeds, including soybean, as well as various industrial oils. Its analytical services lab can perform all the necessary tests on crop oils.

Hybrid Vehicles Laboratory - Mark Ehsani - Texas A&M is home to a well-respected laboratory for developing electrical systems (motors and controllers) that are suitable for hybrid vehicles.

Renewable Energy Laboratory - Kalyan Anammalai - This laboratory has a small-scale boiler burner and a gasifier for combustion and emissions research and is equipped with appropriate instrumentation and diagnostic systems.

SynFuels Project Plant - Ken Hall - Each year more than 15 trillion cubic feet of stranded natural gas is burned, vented or re-injected into the ground because petroleum companies have no way of harvesting the remote gas and transporting it to market.

A project between Texas A&M and our researchers and Synfuels International Inc. of Dallas has developed a new gas-to-liquid technology and fully functional plant for converting natural gas into a clean-burning liquid fuel that can be easily transported by pipeline or tanker. The liquids produced in the conversion can be used as a beneficial additive in refining operations or more simply refined into jet fuels, naptha, diesel or gasoline.

Wind Energy [ + ]

Nuclear Energy [ + ]

As the United States seeks a national goal of "energy independence," nuclear power stands at the edge of a "renaissance". The state of Texas is capitalizing on this with utility companies planning to build at least eight new nuclear-powered electrical generating plants in Texas over the next 10 years.

Texas A&M Engineering is home to the largest and one of the highest ranked and fastest growing nuclear engineering program in the U.S. Our researchers have expertise in nuclear energy engineering, nuclear forces and related areas, including ion/solid interactions, nuclear reactor design and operation, reactor safety, fusion technology, plasma science and pulsed power, health physics, two-phase flow and heat transfer, computational fluid dynamics, intelligent computer-aided reactor systems design, and knowledge-based systems for reactor diagnostics and operation.

Our research laboratories and facilities are second to none, and we are widely recognized as one of the best-equipped nuclear engineering programs in the country. We are one of only three university nuclear engineering departments in the United States with access to two nuclear reactors for teaching and research: A 1-megawatt reactor and AGN-201M reactor.

Nuclear Power Engineering Expertise:

Thermal Hydraulics

Reactor Analysis and Design

Space Power

Key Facilities and Centers

Accelerator Laboratory - Dr. Lin Shao - The primary mission of the Accelerator Laboratory is to study ion beam-solid interactions. Primary work in the Accelerator Laboratory includes measuring ion-stopping powers; measuring transmitted energy and angular distributions of ions channeled through thin films; studying lattice damage and self-annealing phenomena; studying low-energy ion implantations and film deposition; studying semiconductor alloys produced by ion beam synthesis; and investigating masked ion beam lithography. Measurements are based especially on Rutherford backscattering and channeling analysis of the near-surface region of target materials using 300 to 400 keV alpha particles. The laboratory has two primary accelerators with maximum voltages of 200 kV and 160 kV, and a secondary accelerator. Both primary accelerators use universal ion sources that provide ion beams of most of the elements of the Periodic Table. The ultra-high-vacuum target chamber of the 160 kV accelerators is also equipped with an additional low-voltage (100 eV - 10 kV) secondary accelerator for low-energy implantations and film deposition.

AGN-201M Nuclear Reactor Laboratory Dr. William Charlton - The Reactor Laboratory maintains a 5-watt AGN-201M nuclear reactor for studies of nuclear reactor operations and interactions of neutrons with matter. In addition, the laboratory maintains a subcritical assembly for studying the neutron flux profile in a nuclear system and a graphite pile for examining the neutron thermalization process. The laboratory is used primarily for the educational program in the Department of Nuclear Engineering.

Center for Large-scale Scientific Simulations Dr. Jim Morel - The computational simulation of complex physical processes plays a large and growing role in industry and in national defense. Simulations help designers and analysts assess the behavior of engineered and natural systems under a variety of conditions that are difficult or impossible to test experimentally. In addition, when experiments are feasible, simulation plays a vital role in the design of the experiments and the interpretation of their results. This makes experimental efforts more efficient and fruitful.

One objective of the Center for Large-Scale Scientific Simulations (CLASS) is to advance the state of the art in large-scale scientific simulations. This means developing numerical methods and computational strategies that enable more efficient solutions of larger problems on the latest computer platforms. CLASS strives to achieve this objective through research and development performed by collaborative multi-disciplinary teams including faculty from the Colleges of Engineering and Science at TAMU as well as key researchers from national laboratories.

The second objective is to lead the development of educational programs whose participants will be exceptionally well qualified for careers in scientific simulation. CLASS is working toward this objective by bringing together key faculty members from several departments (including Mathematics, Computer Science, and Nuclear Engineering) and key national-lab practitioners to collaboratively design graduate programs that will provide the broad range of skills and knowledge that are needed by tomorrow’s experts in scientific simulation.

Center for Space Power Dr. Frederick Best - The center's mission is to develop technologies with industry for NASA mission needs and space power-related commercial ventures. CSP has developed a variety of space power and thermal managementrelated technologies that are available for licensing and applicable to both space and terrestrial commercial activities. Technologies include specialized heat pipes, advanced battery components, novel electronic materials, digital communications algorithms, power conditioners, magnetic bearings for flywheel energy storage,and other power-related devices.

Fuel Cycle and Materials Laboratory (FCML) Dr. Sean McDeavitt - The Fuel Cycle and Materials Laboratory (FCML) was established to study current issues in the nuclear fuel cycle, including materials and chemical processing, advanced fuels and materials, and waste immobilization. Equipment in FCML includes high temperature furnaces, two inert atmosphere gloved boxes, and a 90-ton hydraulic press. These may be configured for casting, instrumented sintering, cold or hot pressing, and hot extrusion. Further, the laboratory is equipped and has been approved for the handling, testing and characterization of radioactive materials. Currently funded projects from the US Department of Energy include materials processing activities to develop advanced nuclear fuels for burning transuranic radionuclides and radioactive waste forms for isolating fission products.

Interphase Transport Phenomena Laboratory Dr. Frederick Best - The ITP Laboratory conducts research in the area of interphase heat, mass and momentum transfer.Most recently the ITP group has worked onmodeling and measurement of zero gravity two phase flow systems. The laboratory builds research hardware and conducts extensive experimental programs in the NASA zero gravity aircraft. Examples of projects includespace shuttle testing of a loop heat pipe, zero gravitydevelopment of a passive, vortex gas liquid separator for a space station experiment, and the development of a gas separator accumulator for a space nuclear reactor system.

Laser Diagnostics Multiphase Flow Laboratory Dr. Yassin Hassan - The mission of the laboratory is to investigate the complex, multiphase flow of multiscale, multi-physics flow phenomena using non-intrusive global field measurement techniques. The laboratory provides the ability to use state-of-the art particle image velocimetry techniques to study these flows. The laboratory is equipped with fast-pulsed, high-energy lasers and fast high-resolution cameras. Data are analyzed using in-house developed tracking, imaging and pattern recognition routines. The combination of instantaneous measurements of full-fields of velocity and laser-induced temperature measurements enables a multitude of interesting studies of single and multiphase flows.

Micro-Beam Cell Irradiation Facility Dr. John Ford Dr. Leslie Braby - Provides specialized irradiation capabilities needed to implement radiation biology experiments to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling the risk of long term health effects related to low doses of ionizing radiation. Radiation sources include 250 keV x ray machine, 80 keV electron microbeam, and 3 MeV tandem electrostatic accelerator with single particle microbeam capability. The microbeam facilities can reproduce most of the range of charged particles that are found in environmental and industrial settings, and are designed to facilitate study of effects in bystander cells and other biological phenomena that are found at low doses.

Nuclear Heat Transfer Systems Lab Dr. Karen Vierow - The Nuclear Heat Transfer Systems Lab was established with the initial goals of investigating condensation heat transfer mechanisms, developing new reactor designs and safety systems, and advancing the state-of-the-art in reactor safety analysis. DOE NEER and NERI projects have been supporting three PhD students to perform experimental investigations of passive heat removal systems in advanced light-water reactors and to quantify uncertainties in modeling of Gen IV reactors. These and other projects from the nuclear industry in Japan and the US NRC have enabled the lab to construct thermal hydraulic facilities for testing of advanced safety system concepts and derive new theories for condensation heat removal in the presence of a non-condensable gas. The lab is equipped with a large steam supply, a high speed camera, extensive thermal hydraulic instrumentation and a state-of-the-art data acquisition system. New efforts focus on developing analysis methods for high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors and improving best estimate analysis with PRA methodologies.

Nuclear Science Center Dr. Daniel Reece - This facility has a one-megawatt TRIGA swimming pool reactor that can be pulsed and a variety of other features including experimental laboratories, a large irradiation cell, beam ports, a thermal column and a pneumatic "rabbit" system. One of the best-equipped facilities of its type in the country, the facility is used in our laboratory courses as well as our research program.

Radiation Detection Measurement Laboratory Dr. William Charlton - The Radiation Detection Measurement Laboratory maintains instruments for studies of radiation and radioactive decay. The laboratory includes single-channel Geiger-Mueller stations, gas-flow proportional counters, alpha-spectrometers and a liquid scintillation counter. The laboratory also has 4000 channel Ge-Li solid-state detectors with computer control, which can be used for both time-domain and energy-spectra measurements. The laboratory is used both in the educational and research programs of the Department of Nuclear Engineering.

Tandem Accelerator Laboratory Dr. Leslie Braby - A 2 MeV Pelletron accelerator provides charged particle beams for radiation biology and dosimetry studies. Beam lines for single particle microbeam biology studies and for charged particle track structure studies are available. The accelerator provides particles in the energy range typical of proton recoils from neutron irradiation and alpha particles from radioactive sources.

Centers

Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) - The Nuclear Power Institute is a statewide partnership led by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and headquartered at Texas A&M University. The partnership includes universities, community colleges, the nuclear power industry, state agencies and local organizations. The objective of NPI is to develop the necessary workforce for the new nuclear power plants that will be developed in Texas and to sustain a vibrant new, clean industry in the State.

Contact Information:
Dr. John W. Poston, Sr., Associate Director
129G Zachry Engineering Center
MS: 3133 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3133
(979) 845-4175
Director

Nuclear Science Center - This facility has a one-megawatt TRIGA swimming pool reactor that can be pulsed and a variety of other features including experimental laboratories, a large irradiation cell, beam ports, a thermal column and a pneumatic "rabbit" system. One of the best-equipped facilities of its type in the country, the facility is used in our laboratory courses as well as our research program.

Contact Information:
Dr. Dan Reece, Director Nuclear Science Center
Texas A&M University
MS: 3575 TAMU
College Station, TX 77845-3575
Phone: 979-845-7551
Email

Oil and Gas [ + ]

The oil and gas industry in the United States and the faculty at Texas A&M University have been developing technology for the improved extraction of oil and gas for over 30 years. Our petroleum engineering researchers conduct critical research in the development of petroleum technology in an effort to develop new and innovative technologies in petroleum exploration and production, and to address the increasing demand for cost-effective production and enhanced recovery.

Centers

Crisman Institue for Petroleum Engineering - The mission of the Crisman Institute for Petroleum Research is to produce significant advances in upstream petroleum engineering technology through the combined efforts of faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and highly qualified graduate students, in close cooperation with industry.

Center for Energy Environment and Transportation Innovation(CEETI) - The CEETI is an innovative research and development center dedicated to accelerating the use of electrified transportation in the United States and around the globe. Its mission is to ensure open collaboration in the development of a 21st century transportation system that improves energy security, safety, emissions, personal mobility, and productivity.

Global Petroleum Research Institute (GPRI) - GPRI conducts critical research in the development of petroleum technology. The institute focuses on the application of new and innovative technologies in petroleum exploration and production to address the increasing demand for cost-effective production and enhanced recovery.

Labs

Acid Stimulation Laboratory Dan Hill Ding Zhu - The Acid Stimulation Lab is developing new and better methods to measure acid-fracture conductivity so industry can better design well completions in deep, carbonate reservoirs.

Engineering Imaging Laboratory David Schechter - Equipped with a state-of-the-art, high-resolution, fourth-generation X-ray CT scanner, the lab is used mainly for measurements of porosity and saturations in cores and enhanced oil recovery flood experiments.

Evaluation of Oilfield Chemicals Laboratory Contact Hisham Nasr-El-Din - This lab is devoted to examining and evaluating oilfield chemicals, including scale inhibitors, acid additives, and polymers used in water shut-off treatments.

Fracture Conductivity Laboratory Dan Hill Ding Zhu - In these laboratories, we develop two-phase models of stimulation treatments in naturally-fractured gas reservoirs and build fracture-performance models based on experimental studies of fracture conductivity.

Gas Hydrates Laboratory Yuri Makogon Ahmad Ghassemi
Sophisticated equipment in this lab is devoted to understanding the growth and dissolution of gas hydrate crystals.

HP/HT Fluid Property Measurement Laboratory Catalin Teodoriu - Measures gas viscosities with extended ranges of temperatures, pressures, gas specific gravities, and quantities of non-hydrocarbons. The data will be used to extend the range of applicability of the correlation to 400 F and at least 25,000 psia.

Integrated Reservoir Investigations Laboratory Duane McVay - This lab contains new UNIX workstations, associated projectors, plotters and printers, and the latest engineering and geoscience's software, available for teaching, research, and continuing education programs.

Model Calibration and Efficient Reservoir Imaging (MCERI) Akhil Datta-Gupta - Developing theoretically sound but practical approaches to data assimilation and model calibration (history matching) during reservoir modeling and forecasting. We will continue to demonstrate the practical feasibility of our algorithms through a variety of field applications using data sets obtained from our sponsors and other sources.

Mobil Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory for Core Analysis Contact Ahmad Ghassemi - Students in this teaching lab practice measurement of rock and fluid properties.

Productivity Enhancement Lab Hisham Nasr-El-Din - Research is done on surface and interfacial tension of acids and completion fluids, impact of surfactants on the wettability of carbonate and sandstone rocks, influence of temperature and pressure on oil/water interfaces and core flood experiments.

Ramey Thermal Recovery Laboratory Daulat Mamora - Experiments carried out in this laboratory are aimed at understanding and optimizing oil production using steam and in-situ combustion oil recovery techniques. Oil recovery using various configurations of vertical and horizontal wells as producers and injectors can be investigated and compared.

Rheology of Non-Newtonian Fluids Hisham Nasr-El-Din - Conducts research to improve the efficiency of membrane-based filters used for treatment and desalination of produced water and brackish ground water. Investigating advanced membrane-filter simulator models, new and novel cleanup methods, and low-power desalination technology, which are tested in field demonstrations.

Riverside Field-Scale Production Test Facility Gioia Falcone Jerome Schubert Catalin Teodoriu - This facility comprises test wells, flow loops, and multi-phase pumping and metering equipment.

Rock Mechanics Laboratory Ahmad Ghassemi - Measurement of poroelastic rock properties, acoustic properties and permeability.

Texaco Drilling Fluids Laboratory/Fluid Rheology Lab Catalin Teodoriu - This teaching lab provides students hands-on experience in dealing with changing behaviors of drilling fluids.

Tommie E. Lohman Fluid Measurement Laboratory Gioia Falcone Catalin Teodoriu - This laboratory provides equipment and procedures for the physical analysis of oilfield fluids including oilfield emulsions, water and sediment in oils, and gas and liquid metering. A working water well is used in conjunction with the lab for analysis of transient pressure and sucker rod pumps. The laboratory serves as an instructional facility for production engineering where students are trained in the acquisition and evaluation of fluid data. Emphasis is placed on development of procedures for handling oilfield fluid samples.

Energy

Bioenergy [ + ]

Key Projects and Facilities

Wind Energy [ + ]

Key Labs and Facilities

Nuclear Energy [ + ]

Nuclear Power Engineering Expertise:

Thermal Hydraulics

Reactor Analysis and Design

Space Power

Key Facilities and Centers

Centers

Oil and Gas [ + ]

Centers

Labs

Efficient Energy [ + ]

Centers

Electric Power Engineering [ + ]