RUEL A. (TONY) OVERFELT
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
282 Wilmore Lab Building
Phone: (334) 844-5940, Fax: (334) 844-3400
 

EDUCATION

• 1984 - Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Vanderbilt University
• 1981 - M.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Vanderbilt University
• 1978 - B.S., Engineering Science, Tennessee Tech University

EXPERIENCE

• 2001 - Present: Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University
• 2008 - Present: Executive Director, FAA National Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Airliner Cabin Environment Research
• 2003 - Present: Director, Materials Processing Center, Auburn University
• 1997 - 2005: Director, NASA and industry supported Solidification Design Center, Auburn University
• 1997 - 2000: Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University
• 1991 - 1997: Senior Research Fellow, Space Power Institute, Auburn University
• 1990 - 1991: Acting Director, Center for Space Processing of Engrg Materials, Vanderbilt University
• 1986 - 1991: Asst. Research Professor, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Vanderbilt University
• 1981 - 1986: Metallurgical Engineer, Electric Motor Business Group, General Electric, Fort Wayne, IN
• 1979 - 1980: Process Control Metallurgist, Materials Laboratory, General Dynamics Corp., Fort Worth, TX

SCIENTIFIC AND PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

• 1995 - Present: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• 1990 - 2008: American Foundry Society

INSTITUTIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

• 2006 - present: AU College of Engineering Dean's Faculty Council
• 2008 - present: AU Provost’s Writing Initiative Task Force
• 1998 - 2005: Editorial Review Board - Metallurgical and Materials Transactions
• 1997 - 2005: K7 Committee on Thermophysical Properties - Joint ASME and AIChE Committee
• 2001 - 2004: Space Station Utilization Advisory Subcommittee - NASA
• 2001 - 2004: Commercial Advisory Subcommittee - NASA
• 1991 - 2003: 1F Process Design and Modeling Committee - AFS

HONORS AND AWARDS

• 2003, 2008, 2010: Outstanding Materials Engineering Faculty - Auburn University.
• 2002: Philpott-WestPoint Stevens Distinguished Professor - Auburn University.
• 2000: Engineering Division Best Paper Award - American Foundry Society.
• 1995: Investment Casting Division Best Paper Award - American Foundry Society.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Air quality sensing and purification processes for aircraft
• Characterization of microstructures and microfluidic processes using computational quantitative microscopy
• Materials processes in manufacturing including solidification, casting and particulate molding; computational simulation of materials processes
• Thermophysical property measurements of metals including liquid metals

SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS

• Ruel A. Overfelt, “Status of RITE’s Airliner Cabin Environment Research (ACER) Program,” AIAA-2010-6290, Proceedings of the 40^th International Conference on Environmental Systems, AIAA, Barcelona, Spain, Jul 11-15, 2010.

• S.M Loo, J Kiepert, D. Klein, M. Pook, Chou SF, Overfelt RA, Watson J,  “Evaluation of the Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Common Aircraft Electrical Materials,” DOT/FAA/AM-10/5, March 2010.

• S.F. Chou, R.A. Overfelt, W.F. Gale, H.S. Gale, C.G. Shannon, F. Buschle-Diller and J. Watson, “Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Common Aviation Textiles,”   DOT/FAA/AM-09/16, August 2009.

• Chou SF, Sofyan NI, Overfelt RA, Sk MH, Gale WF, Gale HS, Shannon CG, Fergus JF, Watson J, “Evaluation of the Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Common Aviation Structural Materials,”  DOT/FAA/AM-09/23, December 2009.

• Valber A. Pedrosa, Rigved Epur, Jessica Benton, Aleksandr Simonian, Ruel A. Overfelt, “Copper Nanoparticles and Carbon Nanotube-based Electrochemical Sensing System for Fast Identification of Tricresyl-phosphate in Aqueous Samples and Air,” Sensors and Actuators: B Chemical, Vol. 140, n 1 (2009) pp. 92-97.

• B. Guo, G. Teodorescu, R. A. Overfelt, P.D. Jones, “Measurement of the heat capacity titanium and zirconium by electromagnetic levitation,”  International Journal of Thermophysics, 2Vol. 29, No. 6 (2008) 1997-2005.

• G. Teodorescu, P. D. Jones, R. A. Overfelt, B. Guo, “Normal emissivity of high purity nickel at temperatures between 1140 K and 1605 K”,  J. Physics and Chemistry  Of  Solids, 69(2008) pp. 133-138.

• X.J. Liu, R.C. Bhat, S. H. Bhavnani, R.A. Overfelt, “Transport Phenomena in the Production and Use of Expanded Polystyrene Patterns in Lost Foam Casting,”  J. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 22(2007) pp. 811-818.

• Yong X. Gan and Ruel A. Overfelt, “Fatigue Property of Semisolid A357 Aluminum Alloy under Different Heat Treatment Conditions,” Journal of Materials Science, 41(2006) pp. 7537-7544.

• G. Teodorescu, P. D. Jones, R. A. Overfelt, B. Guo, “Spectral Directional Emittance of 99.99% Aluminum Thermally Oxidized Below Its Melting Point,”  International Journal of Thermophysics, 2006, 27(2) pp. 554-568.

• Mihai Dupac, David G. Beale, Ruel A. Overfelt, “Three-Dimensional Lumped Mass/Lumped Spring Modeling and Non-Linear Behavior of a Levitated Droplet,” Non-Linear Dynamics, 42 (2005) pp. 25-42.

• Sayavur Bakhtiyarov, Mihai Dupac, Ruel A. Overfelt and Sorin Teodorescu, "On Electrical Conductivity Measurements of Molten Metals by Inductive Technique,” Journal of Fluids Engineering., Vol. 126, No. 3 (2004) pp. 468-470.

• S.I. Bakhtiyarov, R.A. Overfelt and C.H. Sherwin, "Hot Distortion Studies in Phenolic Urethane Cold-Box System," AFS Transactions, Vol. 112 (2004) pp. 555-573.

• Sayavur Bakhtiyarov and Ruel A. Overfelt, “Effect of Porosity and Metallic Insertions on Electrical Resistivity of a A2011 Aluminum Alloy” Materials Science and Technology, June 2004, Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 790-794.

• Amnon J. Meir, Paul G. Schmidt, Sayavur I. Bakhtiyarov and Ruel A. Overfelt, “Numerical Simulation of Steady Liquid-metal Flow in the Presence of a Static Magnetic Field," J. Appl. Mechanics, 71 (2004) pp. 786-795

• K.F. Wall, S.H. Bhavnani, R.A. Overfelt, D.S. Sheldon, and K. Williams, "Investigation of the Performance of an Expandable Polystryrene Injector for Use in the Lost Foam Casting Process", Met. and Mat. Trans., Vol. 34, pp 843-851, 2003.

• D. Basak, R. A. Overfelt and D. Wang, "Measurement of Specific Heat Capacity and Electrical Resistivity of Industrial Alloys Using Sub-Second and Super-Second Pulse Heating Techniques", Int. J. Thermophys., Vol. 24, No. 6, pp 1721-1733, 2003.

• Y.A. Fasoyinu, J. Barry, M. Sahoo, P. Labelle, D. Wang, and R.A. Overfelt, "Thermophysical Properties of Magnesium Alloys AE42, AJ52x and AM60B", AFS Transactions, Vol. 111, pp 1031-1052, 2003.

• S.I. Bakhtiyarov, R.A. Overfelt, A.J. Meir, and P.G. Schmidt, "Experimental Measurements of Velocity, Potential, and Temperature Distributions in Molten Metals during Electromagnetic Stirring", J. Appl. Mechanics, Vol. 70, pp 351-358, May. 2003.

• Y. Liu, S. I. Bakhtiyarov and R.A. Overfelt, "Numerical Modeling and Experimental Verification of Mold Filling and Evolved Gas Pressure in Lost Foam Casting Process", J. Mat. Science, Vol. 37, pp 2997-3003, 2002.

• L. Li and R.A. Overfelt, "Influence of Directional Solidification Variables on the Cellular and Primary Dendrite Arm Spacings of PWA1484", J. Mat. Science, Vol. 37, pp 3521-3532, 2002.

• R. A. Overfelt, S.I. Bakhtiyarov, and R.E. Taylor, "Thermophysical Properties of A201, A319 and A356 aluminum casting alloys", High Temp. - High Pressures, Vol. 34, pp 401-409, 2002.

• Nathaniel Hudson, Sushil Bhavnani, Ruel A. Overfelt, "CFD Modeling of the Hydrodynamics of Fluidization in the Sand Surrounding a Lost Foam Casting Pattern", Met. and Mat. Transactions, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp 564-575, 2002.

• Sayavur I. Bakhtiyarov and Ruel A. Overfelt, "Numerical and Experimental Study of Aluminum Casting in Vacuum-Sealed Step Molding", AFS Transactions, Vol. 110, pp 55-66, 2002.

• Harry S. Whitesell and Ruel A. Overfelt, "Influence of Solidification Variables on the Density and Porosity of Directionally Solidified Mar-M-247", Mat. Sci. and Engineering A, Vol. 318, pp 264-276, 2001.

PATENTS

• R.A. Overfelt and J.T. Teubert, "Platinum-Cobalt Alloy Permanent Magnets of Enhanced Coercivity", Patent issued, No. 4,983,230, 1991.
• Overfelt, Hofmeister, Bayuzick, Robinson, Wells, Dillard, "Method and Apparatus for Making Rapidly Solidified Metallic Particulate", Patent issued, No. 5,032,172, 1991.