Education

• Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1979
• M.S., Stanford University, 1976
• B.S., Marquette University, 1974

Background

Dr. Wepfer began at Tech in 1980 as an Assistant Professor.

Research

• Heat Transfer, Combustion, and Energy Systems; Heat transfer, energy systems, and fuel cells.

Dr. Wepfer's research interests are in thermal systems, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. A current research project is in textile drying and processing. Textile manufacture is a significant industry in the State of Georgia. Many of the newer textile products are composite materials that undergo a series of chemical and thermal processes during their manufacture. Many of these products are dyed with an array of colorful patterns and images. The dyes are typically set by steaming the textile products. At this point the materials must be dried. His research investigates various techniques and methods for efficient drying of textile composites. Drying is generally a very slow process, and the industry is seeking newer methods that will insure product quality and provide for faster fabrication and manufacture. Milliken and Company has supported some of this activity in recent years.

Another research area centers on solid oxide fuel cell systems, which is a high efficiency device for the conversion of chemical to electrical energy. Recent advances in materials and manufacturing have propelled the development of combined cycle systems having a solid oxide fuel cell system as a topping cycle and a combustion turbine as a bottoming cycle. Prototype units have demonstrated efficiencies on the order of 65 to 70 percent. Such technology is well suited for the power generation market which through deregulation is moving toward smaller-scale decentralized power generation systems. This research focuses on the analysis of various fuel cell systems and configurations and their operation in the market place.