Neera Jain

jain_neeraNEERA JAIN (CV)

  • njain2_at_illinois_dot_edu
  • Doctoral Candidate (Expected Graduation – December 2012)
  • M.S. – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009
  • S.B. – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006


Research

This research is supported by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE SCGF).

My research interests lie at the intersection of control theory and energy systems. While gains in system efficiency have traditionally been obtained via hardware improvements, techniques in sensing, control, and optimization offer additional means through which improvements in performance and efficiency can be attained. With the addition of electronic sensing and actuation comes additional degrees of freedom (DOFs). However, an open question remains as to how to use these DOFs to achieve maximum system performance and efficiency.

Through my doctoral research, I seek to develop an optimization and control architecture which is modular and can therefore be applied to the general class of integrated energy systems (IESs). IESs combine prime-mover technologies, such as internal combustion (IC) engines, steam turbines, and/or fuel cells, with technologies which directly utilize the power produced by the prime-mover and/or the thermal energy otherwise wasted in the production of power, such as thermally-activated heating systems, vapor-compression refrigeration systems, and/or energy storage systems. In other words, IESs are complex systems comprised of interconnected energy subsystems.

When optimizing any system, a key challenge is defining the performance objective. The individual energy systems which comprise IESs are typically characterized using different efficiency metrics. For example, consider an engine-driven refrigeration system, such as a truck transport refrigeration system. The efficiency of IC engines is often characterized in terms of fuel efficiency whereas heat and cooling systems are typically characterized in terms of coefficient of performance (COP). However, it is difficult to combine these metrics in a meaningful way that preserves physics.

My approach is to develop an exergy-based objective function. Exergy is a property which quantifies the work potential of a given amount of energy at a specified state. In the presence of irreversibility (due to friction, etc.), exergy will be destroyed in an amount proportional to the amount of entropy that is generated. Exergy can be used to characterize chemical, electrical, mechanical, and thermal energy potential and can therefore provide a common metric for evaluating the efficiency of IESs.

Selected Publications

For a complete list of publications, see my CV.