1.
High-temperature heat pumps
- Industrial steam generation
- Thermodynamic cycle modeling
- COP, pressure-ratio, and operating-envelope analysis
Senior Thermal Systems Engineer
Winfred J.Arthur-Arhin
Ph.D. mechanical engineer focused on high-temperature heat pumps, industrial steam generation, thermal-fluid R&D, controls, and engineering analytics.
Engineering focus
thermalsystemsengineer
What I can build and validate
Engineering judgment from model to test stand.
2.
Thermal-fluid R&D
- Heat exchangers and refrigeration systems
- Experimental systems design and validation
- Commissioning, troubleshooting, and root-cause work
3.
Controls and test systems
- Heat-pump operating sequences
- Siemens PLC and Ignition SCADA integration
- Instrumentation, data acquisition, and test automation
4.
Engineering analytics
- Python, MATLAB, Power BI, SQL, and PostgreSQL
- SCADA historian pipelines
- Automated thermodynamic calculations with CoolProp
About
Thermal systems, controls, and data belong in the same room.
My work spans product architecture, thermodynamic cycle and component modeling, process design, test-system buildout, commissioning, troubleshooting, and performance validation. I turn experimental data into engineering decisions with Python, MATLAB, Power BI, SQL, PostgreSQL, and CoolProp.
170 C+Steam-capable thermal test infrastructure
40 kWthParticle-sCO2 heat exchanger demonstrated
$3.2MU.S. DOE program support
Ph.D.Mechanical Engineering, Colorado School of Mines
Education
Mechanical engineering training across thermal systems and energy research.
Colorado School of Mines
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering
Dissertation: Narrow-Channel Fluidized-Bed Heat Exchangers for Particle-Based Thermal Energy Storage in Concentrating Solar Power Applications.
Colorado School of Mines
M.S., Mechanical Engineering
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology
B.S., Mechanical Engineering
Work experience
Detailed engineering experience, from test stands to field systems.
01AtmosZero Energy LLC
Senior Thermal Systems Engineer
Scalable ambient-air-sourced heat-pump technology for decarbonizing industrial steam.
AtmosZero Energy LLC
Senior Thermal Systems Engineer
Scalable ambient-air-sourced heat-pump technology for decarbonizing industrial steam.
Industrial steamHeat pumpsControlsAnalytics
- Design and validate high-temperature heat-pump and steam-generation systems by integrating thermodynamic cycle models, component calculations, experimental data, and prototype/pilot testing.
- Develop system and component models in MATLAB, Python, Aspen HYSYS, EES, ANSYS, and CoolProp to evaluate refrigerant and steam states, heat duties, COP, compressor pressure ratios, saturation conditions, heat-exchanger performance, pressure losses, and operating envelopes.
- Lead development and build of thermal test infrastructure capable of supplying and receiving steam above 170 C, including system architecture, equipment selection, piping/instrumentation, fabrication coordination, controls integration, startup, and troubleshooting.
- Develop heat-pump operating sequences, controls philosophy, process narratives, programming requirements, and test procedures for startup, shutdown, mode transitions, and performance optimization; collaborate with controls engineers on Siemens PLC and Ignition implementation.
- Build engineering data pipelines and analytics tools that retrieve Ignition historian data from PostgreSQL, reshape high-frequency tag data, perform data-quality checks, and automate thermodynamic calculations using Python, Pandas, Power BI, and CoolProp.
- Calculate and visualize refrigerant-side heat transfer, steam-side heat transfer, compressor power and pressure ratios, system COP, saturation temperatures, rolling metrics, cumulative metrics, valve states, and equipment performance trends.
- Specify and size thermal-process components and instrumentation, including heat exchangers, piping, valves, RTDs, pressure transducers, and flow meters; support HVAC and balance-of-plant design for laboratory, test, and pilot systems.
- Prepare and review PFDs, P&IDs, equipment specifications, product requirements, FEED/EPC documents, HAZOP actions, controls narratives, and vendor submittals to support safe and scalable system development.
- Execute hands-on testing, commissioning, system startup, urgent troubleshooting, root-cause investigations, component/vendor reviews, and rapid technical support across R&D, manufacturing, controls, and operations teams.
- Support milestones and deliverables for a $3.2M U.S. Department of Energy program and Empire Technology Prize activities, including design reviews, performance validation, technical documentation, and commercialization readiness.
- Contribute to confidential invention disclosures, technical novelty assessments, patentability support, and development of novel thermal configurations, operating sequences, and control concepts with potential intellectual-property value.
02Colorado School of Mines - HiTECS Research Group
Graduate Researcher
Thermal-fluid R&D for particle-based thermal energy storage and particle-sCO2 heat exchange.
Colorado School of Mines - HiTECS Research Group
Graduate Researcher
Thermal-fluid R&D for particle-based thermal energy storage and particle-sCO2 heat exchange.
Thermal storagesCO2Fluidized bedsR&D
- Engineered, commissioned, and experimentally validated a 40-kWth counterflow particle-sCO2 narrow-channel fluidized-bed heat exchanger in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories for a next-generation 1-MWth concentrating solar power pilot.
- Developed and validated MATLAB and EES reduced-order/system models for particle-sCO2 heat exchangers, fluidized beds, axial dispersion, thermal performance, parasitic losses, and particle flow-control concepts.
- Designed and operated laboratory fluidized-bed heat-transfer rigs across multiple particle types, channel geometries, extended-surface configurations, and flow regimes; generated peer-reviewed heat-transfer datasets and design correlations.
- Designed high-speed visualization experiments to characterize gas-bubble dynamics, mixing, and wall interactions in narrow-channel bubbling fluidized beds.
- Led and supported design, fabrication, instrumentation, controls, test planning, data acquisition, uncertainty analysis, and reporting for complex thermal-fluid experiments.
- Partnered with Brayton Energy on a $1.18M U.S. DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office project to improve particle-to-wall heat transfer and advance scalable particle-based concentrating solar power technology.
- Collaborated with Colorado School of Mines, Sandia National Laboratories, National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers, and industry partners; communicated findings through journal articles, conference papers, presentations, and design reviews.
03Colorado School of Mines - Mechanical Engineering Department
Teaching Assistant: Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Machine Design
Instructional support across core mechanical engineering courses.
Colorado School of Mines - Mechanical Engineering Department
Teaching Assistant: Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Machine Design
Instructional support across core mechanical engineering courses.
TeachingThermodynamicsFluid mechanics
- Led recitations, supported laboratory and classroom instruction, substituted for lectures, graded technical work, and provided individualized feedback in core mechanical engineering courses.
04Colorado School of Mines - Diversity, Inclusion & Access Committee
Graduate Student Representative
Graduate-student representation and departmental improvement work.
Colorado School of Mines - Diversity, Inclusion & Access Committee
Graduate Student Representative
Graduate-student representation and departmental improvement work.
LeadershipServiceAccess
- Represented graduate-student perspectives and contributed to evaluation of student experiences, departmental initiatives, and actionable improvements in access and belonging.
05Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC)
Facilities Engineer
Facilities engineering support for offshore production systems and partner engineering reviews.
Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC)
Facilities Engineer
Facilities engineering support for offshore production systems and partner engineering reviews.
FacilitiesOffshore systemsEngineering review
- Monitored critical offshore production systems, including topside processing, subsea layouts, and controls, to support safe operation, maintenance planning, and technical decision-making.
- Reviewed engineering, procurement, construction, and installation strategies, equipment proposals, and partner technical documentation for performance, risk, and cost implications.
- Served as a technical liaison between GNPC and production partners, participating in engineering reviews, site visits, and management updates.
06Japan Motors Company Limited
Mechanical Engineering Intern
Mechanical and electrical fault diagnosis for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.
Japan Motors Company Limited
Mechanical Engineering Intern
Mechanical and electrical fault diagnosis for Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.
Mechanical systemsDiagnosticsTraining support
- Diagnosed and repaired mechanical/electrical faults in Nissan and Infiniti vehicles and supported technician training on engineering principles and vehicle systems.
Research and publications
Peer-reviewed work across industrial heat pumps and thermal storage.
- Demonstration of a Multi-Channel Fluidized Bed Particle-Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Heat Exchanger for Concentrating Solar Applications, Applied Thermal Engineering, 2024.
- Enhanced Bed-Wall Heat Transfer in Narrow-Channel Fluidized Beds with Extended Surfaces for Particle Solar Receivers, Solar Energy, 2025.
- Experimental Demonstration of Low-GWP Working Fluids in an Ambient Temperature-Sourced Steam Generating High-Temperature Heat Pump, Purdue IIR Conference, 2026.
Presentations
Selected conference talks across particle heat exchange and thermal systems.
- Performance Evaluation of a 40-kWth Prototype Counterflow Particle-sCO2 Fluidized Bed Heat Exchanger, SolarPACES, Sydney, Australia, October 2023.
- Enhanced Heat Transfer in Indirect Particle Receivers with Bubbling Fluidization, ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Washington, D.C., July 2023.
- Testing of a 40-kWth Counterflow Particle-sCO2 Narrow-Channel Fluidized Bed Heat Exchanger, SolarPACES, Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 2022.
- Assessing Parasitic Losses in Narrow-Channel Fluidized-Bed Particle-sCO2 Heat Exchangers for Next-Generation CSP Plants, ASME Energy Sustainability, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2022.
- Design and Testing of a 40-kWth Counterflow Particle-Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Narrow-Channel Fluidized Bed Heat Exchanger, SolarPACES, virtual, September 2021.
Photos
Field, lab, and research moments.
HTHigh-temperature heat pumpsSTIndustrial steamTMThermodynamic modelingHXHeat-exchanger designPLCControls integrationSCADASCADA and historian dataPYPython and MATLABQACommissioning and validationHTHigh-temperature heat pumpsSTIndustrial steamTMThermodynamic modelingHXHeat-exchanger designPLCControls integrationSCADASCADA and historian dataPYPython and MATLABQACommissioning and validation