The School of Thermal Engineering is currently staffed by 56 teachers, including 12 professors, 21 associate professors, 10 lecturers, one National Outstanding Teachers, one Young and Middle-aged Expert with Outstanding Contributions of Shandong Province, two Shandong Jianzhu University Prestigious Teachers, and 23 PhDs. The faculty team is well structured in terms of age, knowledge, competence, and team-work spirit, laying a solid foundation for further development of the school. Since 2008, the School has undertaken 21 national, provincial and ministerial projects with a total fund of more than RMB 8 million yuan, and more than 30 projects entrusted by enterprises with a total fund of more than RMB 10 million yuan. It won one second prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award, two second prizes and three third prizes of Provincial and Ministerial Science and Technology Progress Award, eight invention patents, and four software copyright items. Its members have participated in drafting 12 monographs and textbooks and published 322-plus papers, more than 50 of which are included by the EI and SCI. It possesses one Shandong Jianzhu University Outstanding Faculty Team and four excellent courses, among which, two are provincial excellent courses. In 2008, one of its disciplines, Architectural Environment & Equipment Engineering, was honored as a brand discipline of Shandong province, and in 2011, another discipline, Heating, Gas Supply, Ventilating and Air Conditioning was listed as a characteristic key discipline of the 12th Five-Year Plan of Shandong Province. The laboratory of building energy-conservation technology was named as a key laboratory of Shandong Province in 2008 while the laboratory of the technology of renewable energy utilization in buildings as a key laboratory of the State Ministry of Education in 2010. Under approval by Shandong Provincial Government, Professor Yang Hongxing of Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Professor Wang Liqiu of the University of Hong Kong were brought in as a Distinguished "Taishan Scholar" Professor and Distinguished Overseas "Taishan Scholar" Professor respectively in 2008 and 2010. Some remarkable achievements made in recent years are detailed as follows:
1. A breakthrough in utilization of shallow geothermal energy. The team led by Professor Fang Zhaohong and Professor Diao Nairen is in a leading position worldwide in the research of theory and technology of ground source heat pump. Its research findings are incorporated into the national standard Technical Code for Ground-Source Heat Pump System. Besides, it was granted four invention patents and one proprietaryintellectualpropertyright. A monograph titled Technology of Ground Source Heat Pump is published. And more than 80 papers are published in academic journals such as "International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer" and "International Journal of HVAC&R Research". In 2009, the team won a second prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award. Doctor Man Yi, Doctor Cui Ping and Professor Fang Zhaohong wrote a book titled Heat Transfer Modeling of the Ground Heat Exchangers for the Ground-Coupled Heat Pump Systems while summarizing the research achievements made by the Ground Source Heat Pump Research Institute in over a decade, which was incorporated into the lately issued English monograph titled Modeling and Optimization of Renewable Energy Systems as a chapter, and published in May 2012 by the leading global publisher InTech, drawing wide attention from researchers devoted to ground source heat pump engineering.
2. Progress in efficient utilization of natural gas. The research team led by Professor Tian Guansan has undertaken three projects of the National 11th Five-Year Plan, and one project of National Natural Science Foundation. It builds a dynamic model for HP pipeline networks that works in a minute-level interval, and achieves online prediction and correction of transient flow of MP pipeline network by collecting data using SCADA, taking the lead in the world to achieve online simulation of large-scale complex MP pipeline networks. A demonstration project has been implemented in Baoji. This technology was listed as a key technology to be promoted during the 12th Five-Year Plan period. The Shandong provincial natural gas development and planning project and Shandong provincial CNG and LNG development and planning project play an important role in guiding efficient utilization of natural gas, adjustment of energy structure, layout of natural gas infrastructure, as well as energy conservation and emission reduction.
3. Innovation on heat transfer analysis of complex heat exchanger systems. Based on the theoretical knowledge of heat and mass transfer and fluid flow of porous medium, the team led by Professor Chen Baoming makes further studies in transient heat transfer theory of enclosure structures, the quasi-periodic heat and moisture transfer properties of new-type porous humidity-controlling enclosure structures, as well as the pattern of heat transfer of stored energy from phase change through enclosure structures, providing theoretical basis for building energy-conservation technology. Another research team led by Associate Professor Yu Mingzhi discovers the thermal properties of deep soil and proposes method for in-situ test of deep soil thermal response through in-depth research of theory of heat transfer in deep soil.
