Faculty

Richard N.Smith, Professor and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs

Research | Bio Sketch | Publications/Patents | Contact

General Areas of Research:

· Thermodynamics
· Fluids
· Energy Systems/Multiphase Phenomena
· Energy

Research Activities:


Professor Smith's general interests are in the areas of heat transfer, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, materials processing, and energy conversion. His current activities are directed toward heat transfer with solid-liquid phase change, for which applications include casting and welding and materials processing, thermal storage, nuclear safety, cryosurgery; however, the principal recent focus has been materials processing. He has contributed to understanding the dynamics of "mushy zones" (solid-liquid two phase region) formed during alloy solidification, to determine the relationships between macroscopic heat transfer and fluid mechanics processes and the resulting solid material properties.