INDIANAPOLIS - The Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) dedicated the Carrier Fluid and Thermal Science Laboratory in Indianapolis to Carrier Corp. Over the past four years, Carrier has donated more than $70,000 in support of Purdue’s thermal laboratory in order to increase undergraduate and graduate research activities and allow students to collaborate with Carrier in the design of thermal-fluid systems used in the HVAC industry.

“Carrier believes strong support of this program has mutual benefits to the community and the company. Twenty-seven students have come out of the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI to help Carrier design and produce state-of-the-art HVAC systems,” said John Galbraith, vice president of engineering at Carrier. “We see this pipeline continuing as we maintain support for this program and embark on further collaboration with students and faculty.”

The objectives of the Carrier Fluid and Thermal Sciences Laboratory are to develop innovative heat exchangers and fins, enhance the hands-on lab experience of students in the area of thermal-fluids systems, and attract students to thermal-fluid systems design and research. The newly-developed facility replaces the former Heat and Mass Transfer Laboratory and the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory. While the former labs were equipped with instrumentation that allowed students to learn the basics of heat and mass transfer, the instrumentation was not advanced enough to concentrate on design of thermal-fluid systems. The better-equipped new facility allows students to gain more knowledge in the discipline, increasing interest in these fields.

“A teaching lab is a critical element in mechanical engineering curriculum, giving students hands-on and conceptual experience on engineering principles,” said Jie Chen, chair and professor of Mechanical Engineering. “Carrier’s support of the Fluid and Thermal Sciences Laboratory, which allowed for the purchase of equipment and software, has made a significant positive impact on our students’ learning, which is greatly appreciated.”

In advanced mechanical engineering courses, undergraduate students typically work on a team project to design a heat exchanger for a particular application. With more modern data acquisition systems, the Carrier Fluid and Thermal Sciences Laboratory allows students to choose additional experimental components for more effective design and possible testing of designs.

For more information, visit www.carrier.com.

Publication date: 01/04/2010