S. B. Riffat BSc DSc MSc DPhil CEng FIMechE FCIBSE FInstE
Position
- Chair in Sustainable Energy Technology
- Director of the Institute of Sustainable Energy Technology
- Director of the Institute of Building Technology, Coordinator: School Research
- Course Coordinator: BEng (Building Environment Engineering)
- Course Director (MSc in Renewable Energy and Architecture)
Professor Riffat holds the post of Chair in Sustainable Energy Technology; Head of the Institute of Sustainable Energy Technology and Head of the Institute of Building Technology at the University of Nottingham. He has a wide range of experience of renewable energy, sustainable buildings, refrigeration, heat transfer, heat pumps, ventilation and air quality. He has obtained grants in excess of £17 million from the EPSRC, EU and industry and published over 350 refereed papers on HVAC systems. Professor Riffat has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Science (DSc) from the University of Oxford for his research contribution in the field of heat pumps and ventilation technology. He is named as the inventor on 20 International Patents.
Professor Riffat’s Chair is supported by Baxi Group Limited and he is a member of the EPSRC College of Peers as well as the Editorial Board, of the Journal of Applied Thermal Engineering, the Journal of Green Energy, Renewable Energy and Ambient Energy and the International Journal in Architectural Engineering and Design Management.
Professor Riffat has been awarded honorary Professorships by Chongqing University and Dalian University, China for his research achievements. He is a Fellow to the World Innovation Foundation. He has also been awarded the Community Award for Exceptional Individual, the Euro Solar Award and the CIBSE Baker Silver Medal. Professor Riffat is also a member of the Advisory Boards of several companies including Baxi Group Limited, David Wilson Homes Limited and Premas International Limited. Professor Riffat has acted as the chairman of several conferences including the Sustainable Energy Technologies 1&2 and the Energy Conversion & Application Conference 2000. He has given numerous keynote papers and chaired sessions at International Conferences including Heat Powered Cycles Conference, CIBSE Conferences, Sustainable Construction Forums, COGEN Conference and World Renewable Energy Congresses.
Research Grants
Professor Riffat has obtained numerous grants from the EPSRC, the EU, government departments and industry. Examples of funded research projects include:
- Photocatalytic Mop Fan (EPSRC, £270k)
- Eco-Energy House (Wilson Bowden plc, £250k)
- Investigation of photovoltaics (PVs) in buildings (DTI/ETSU, £110k)
- Integrated solar system for lighting, ventilation and heating (EU JOULE, £450k)
- A thermal diode walling system (EU JOULE, £540k)
- Hybrid solar/gas system for building applications (EPSRC, GR/L34990, £142k)
- High efficiency membrane solar collector (EU, £50k)
- Fluidised-PCM Glazed Energy Storage System (EPSRC, GR/N09619, £58k
- Heat pipe/ejector system for cooling applications (EPSRC, GR/L01930, £126k)
- University of Nottingham new campus (EU THERMIE, £1,000k)
- Sustainable Research Building (SRIF, £2,000k)
- Desiccant cooling system (EU JOULE, £610k)
- A Novel Absorption cycle using membrane separation (EPSRC, GR/M62983, £150k)
- Adsorption/storage heat pump (EPSRC, GR/M47270, £102k)
- A novel centrifugal absorption chiller/heat pump system (EPSRC, GR/M77840, £109k)
- Tracer-gas techniques for measurement of airflow in natural ventilation and mechanical HVAC systems (EPSRC, £95k)
- Ecological cooling combining chilled ceiling and cooling tower(EU JOULE, £420k)
- Continuous absorption-recompression system (EPSRC, GR/J51641, £88k)
- Rotary heat pump (EU JOULE, £550k)
- A novel heat recovery system (EPSRC, GR/M65038, £122k)
- Natural ventilation with heat-pipe heat recovery (EU JOULE £360k)
- Traffic pollution in the urban environment (EPSRC, GR/L18617, £118k)
- Absorption chillers using an “environmentally-friendly” working fluid (Norsk Hydro, £80k)
- A novel air conditioning system for vehicles (EPSRC GR/M65038, £122k)
- JREI: Renewable-energy technology laboratory equipment (EPSRC GR/M34836, £150k)
- Solar driven ejector system assisted by gravity pump for cooling of buildings (Beacon Energy Ltd., £200k)
- Ejector system for transport refrigeration (Hubbard Transport Refrigeration Ltd, £30k)
- Self-cooling technologies (Bass Ltd, £60k)
- Pressure loss coefficients for air supply system components (ASHRAE, £60k)
- Heat Pipe Technology with novel structure and materials (Outokumpu Ltd, £30k)
- Cooling technologies for Express Dairies (Express Dairies Ltd, £50k)
- A novel porous ceramic/heat-pipe cooler (EPSRC GR/N30842, £78k)
- A novel ejector-ground source heat pump system for building applications (EPSRC GR/M94649, £140k)
- Solar Louvre building integrated collectors (EU Frame Work V Energy Programme, £180k)
- Strategic research for sustainable energy technologies in buildings (EPSRC Platform Grant, £450k)
- EPSRC/DTI Faraday Grant (£250k)
- Public Awareness Grant (£40k)
- EPSRC Network (£60k)
- Fuel Save System (EU, £500k)
- EPSRC: Network: Heat Powered Cycles (EU, £60K)
- Green Peace – Eco Village (EU £20K)
- Cooling/heating and power generation system using PV concentration for integration in high-rise buildings (Pilkington £20K)
Publications
Professor Riffat has published over 350 papers in refereed journals and international conferences. Recent publications include the following:
Riffat, S.B., Zhu, J., “Mathematical Model of Indirect Evaporative Cooler Using Porous Ceramic and Heat Pipe”, Applied Thermal Engineering, Volume 24, Issue 4, March 2004, p 457-470.
Riffat, S.B., Ma, X., “Improving the Co-efficient of Performance of Thermoelectric Cooling System”, International Journal of Energy Research, November 2003.
Riffat, S.B., Ma, X., “Thermoelectrics: a review of present and potential applications”, Applied Thermal Engineering, June 2003.
Riffat, S. B., Zhao, X., & Doherty, P. S., “Investigation of the Flow in an impulse micro turbine using numerical CFD predictions and laboratory testing”, International Journal of Ambient Energy, volume 23, Number 4, October 2002.
Riffat, S B, Zhao, X Riffat, S B. Zhao, X., Doherty, P. S., “Review of Research into and application of chilled ceilings and displacement ventilation systems in Europe”, International Journal of Energy Research, Nov 2002.
Riffat, S B and Doherty, P.S, “Analytical and numerical simulation of the thermal performance of mini gravitational and micro gravitational heat pipes”, Applied Thermal Engineering, 22, pg1047-1068, 2002.
Riffat, S B, Zhao, X and Doherty, P.S., “Structure optimization and performance simulation of a novel thin membrane heat pipe solar collector using a mathematical model”, International Journal of Ambient Energy, 3(1), pg3-16, 2002.
Riffat, S. B., and Gillott, M. C., “Performance of a novel mechanical ventilation heat recovery heat pump system,” Applied Thermal Engineering 22 (2002), pg 839-845, 2002.
Riffat, S. B., et al, “Experimental study of a porous ceramic cooler”, 1st International Conference on Sustainable Technologies, pg RN 23-27, Portugal, 11-14 June, 2002.
Riffat, S. B., and Su, Y, “Preliminary analysis of a liquid/liquid extraction absorption refrigeration cycle”, International Sorption Heat Pump Conference, Shanghai, China, pg 216-220, September 2002.
Riffat, S. B., Omer, S. A., and Xiaoli, M., “A novel thermoelectric refrigeration system employing heat pipes and a phase change material: an experimental investigation”, Renewable Energy, Vol. 23, pg313-323, 2001.
Riffat, S. B., and Omer, S. A., “CFD modelling and experimental investigation of an ejector refrigeration system using methanol as the working fluid” International Journal of Energy Research, Vol. 25, pg115-128, 2001.
Riffat S.B., and Shehata H.A., “Development of a Novel Mop Fan”, Int. J. Energy Research Journal, Vol. 25, pg 601-619, 2001.
Riffat, S. B., and Su, Y. H., “Analysis of a novel absorption refrigeration cycle using centrifugal separation” Energy the International Journal, April 2000.
Riffat S.B., Doherty P.S. and Abdel Aziz E.I., “Performance testing of different types of liquid flat plate collectors”, International Journal of Energy Research, issue 24, pg 1203-1215, Jan 2000.
Contact Details
Internal tel.: 13158
External.: +44 115 951 3158
E-mail saffa.riffat@nottingham.ac.uk