Radermacher and Hwang Awarded New Patent

Department of Mechanical Engineering Associate Research Professor Yunho Hwang and Minta Martin Professor Reinhard Radermacher, as well as collaborators Jiazhen Ling and Osamu Kuwabara, were awarded a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for their "Air Conditioner Having a Desiccant Rotor with Moisture Adsorbing Area."

According to Hwang, the patent is "about improving energy efficiency and thermal comforts in building environments over entire seasons by configuring hybrid cooling and dehumidification system from the conventional vapor compression cycle and desiccant wheel."

The patent provides the details for various hybrid air conditioner configurations to ensure better energy efficiency and thermal comforts over various operating conditions such as seasonal temperature and humidity changes.

Radermacher, who is the director of the Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE), is an internationally recognized expert in energy conservation systems with an emphasis on integrated cooling, heating and power (CHP) systems, heat pumps, air-conditioners and refrigeration systems. He received both his M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from the Technical University Munich, Germany, and Radermacher has received numerous honors and awards for his work.

Hwang is the director of the Alternative Cooling Technologies and Application Consortium in CEEE and works extensively in researching refrigerant alternatives, particularly those using carbon dioxide. Hwang received both his M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland.

This patent was based on joint work between Sanyo and the University of Maryland.

For more information on Radermacher or Hwang, please visit their faculty webpages.

For more information on CEEE, visit their website.

Published January 14, 2014