Self-sustaining Food/Energy/Water
system for saline coastal regions
Lei Zuo
Professor, John
R. Jones III
Faculty Fellow
Research
Focus:
Ocean wave
energy harvest-
ing (EH); EH
vehicle shock
absorbers;
Thermoelectric
energy genera-
tors for vehicle
applications;
EH from rail-
way vibrations
In this US-China collaborative project,
five researchers in multidisciplinary areas
from Virginia Tech, Wuhan University of
Technology in China, and Nanjing Agricul-
tural University in China will team up to
create a self-sustainable FEW System in
saline coastal regions. This system will be
realized through the integration of three
areas of innovation: 1) Wave energy-based
seawater desalination systems, 2) sustain-
able reclamation of saline-sodic-alkaline
soils, and 3) a nexus of ocean energy,
freshwater, and coastal agriculture. Specific
research tasks include: 1) Modeling and
design of a novel ocean wave surge energy
converter and an ocean wave energy
powered desalination system; (2) Modeling
of coastal salt-soil-water balance dynamics
and optimizing soil reclamation manage-
ment and agriculture irrigation specific to coastal regions; and (3) Development of a supply-de-
mand model for the FEW System to estimate the optimal operation conditions for each system,
followed by conducting field tests and verification. If successful, the proposed research will
convert traditional coastal agriculture from a freshwater- and energy-consuming practice into a
self-sustainable, environmentally friendly practice that balances ecosystems.
Non-invasive Thermal Interrogation
Thomas Diller
Professor
Non-Invasive Thermal Interrogation (NITI) is a form of non-destructive testing that uses
simultaneous combinations of surface heat flux and surface temperature signals. When
these measurements are combined with signal processing algorithms, such as parameter
estimation routines or other techniques, they can be used to non-invasively determine
the internal temperature and properties of different objects and systems. Consequently,
NITI has many practical applications in the biomedical, industrial, and wearable arenas.
Research
Focus:
Development
and use of new
instrumentation
for measuring
heat transfer.
Applications
include high-
temperature
unsteady flows,
such as found
in gas turbine
engines, re-
entry vehicles,
and combus-
tion environ-
ments
Revised and Corrected, Nov. 2019 21