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Department of Mechanical Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

Peter Allen

Professor

Peter Allen
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Email: peter.allen@dal.ca
Phone: 902-494-3299
Lab: 902-494-3922
Fax: 902-423-6711
Mailing Address: 
1360 Barrington St, PO BOX 15000
Sexton Campus; Room C1-362
Halifax, NS B3H 4R2
 
Research Topics:
  • Thermal and hydraulic performance of heat exchangers
  • Solar thermal energy utilization
  • Liquid flat-plate collectors
  • Manufacture of solar thermal equipment


Education

  • BSc, Mount Allison University (1973)
  • BEng, Nova Scotia Technical College (1975)
  • MESc, University of Western Ontario 1978
  • PhD, Technical University of Nova Scotia (1984)

Research Interests:

Dr. Allen's research has been in two areas:

  • Thermal and hydraulic performance of heat exchangers for use in low-flow and/or in buoyancy induced-flow applications
  • Solar thermal energy utilization, specifically the application of liquid flat-plate collectors for heating. The research has been, and is currently funded by, the Department of Natural Resources and NSERC. Dr. Allen's consulting activities have also been in these same areas and he is active in a private company Thermo Dynamics Ltd., which is involved in the research, development and manufacture of solar thermal equipment for domestic and export markets.

Professional activities:

Dr. Allen is active in the solar energy research and development community. He currently serves as the Chairperson of the R & D Technical Advisory Committee of Natural Resources Canada, a committee that advises the Federal Government on formulation of policy on research and development in the area of renewable energy utilization. Dr. Allen is a Member of the Board of the Solar Energy Society of Canada (SESCI), and the Canadian Solar Industries Association. Recently, Dr. Allen completed a three-year tenure of service with the Canadian delegation to the International Energy Agency's task force on advanced solar water heating. He also serves on the advisory committee to the Centre for Sustainable Economic Development (CESED).

Employment history:

Dr. Allen was employed by Combustion Engineering - Superheater Ltd. from 1975-76, where he was involved in the design, fabrication and testing of control systems for oil, gas, and coal-fired steam generators. Following completion of graduate studies at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Allen took a position with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft as an aerodynamicist on a team working on the design of an advanced turbo-prop gas turbine. After one year with Pratt & Whitney, a leave of absence was granted in order to spend a year at the Budapest Technical University in Hungary.

In 1980, Dr. Allen joined the Technical University of Nova Scotia as a lecturer in Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics. In 1984, Dr. Allen was promoted to Assistant Professor. Since then, Dr. Allen has been instructing Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Energy from Renewable Resources and Energy Conversion Systems.