When
Friday, February 13, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.
Leandro Alcoforado Sphaier
Associate Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil
"Heat and Mass Transfer with Adsorption for Sustainable Energy Applications"
AME N715 | Zoom link
Abstract: This presentation addresses heat and mass transfer phenomena in physical adsorption-based systems applied to sustainable energy technologies. The discussion focuses on the modeling and simulation of transport processes in desiccant cooling cycles, total heat regenerators and adsorbed gas storage. These systems offer environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional thermal technologies by enabling energy recovery, efficient dehumidification and low-pressure gas storage. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of reduced-order models and on the use of hybrid analytical-numerical methods, such as the Generalized Integral Transform Technique, for solving the coupled transport equations that govern these systems. The analysis also extends to flow and transport in microchannels, which are increasingly relevant for compact and high-performance thermal systems.
Bio: Leandro A. Sphaier holds BS (1998) and MS (2000) degrees in mechanical engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), and a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago (2005). In 2006, he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Fluminense Federal University (UFF), Brazil, where he is currently an associate professor. Prof. Sphaier has co-authored over 150 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, in addition to two book chapters and a textbook (in Portuguese). His research focuses on the mathematical modeling and simulation of heat and mass transfer phenomena, including applications such as total heat exchangers, alternative cooling cycles, adsorbed gas storage and hybrid numerical–analytical methods. More recent work also includes the thermal characterization of nanocomposite materials and the modeling of transport processes in brewing technologies. He is a member of the Brazilian Society for Mechanical Sciences and Engineering (ABCM) and has served as an affiliate member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC). Currently, he is an editor for International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer and the adjunct coordinator for the CAPES evaluation committee for Engineering III (mechanical, industrial, aerospace, ocean, and related fields).