Mark A. McHugh, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Chemical and Life Science Engineering
- Richmond VA UNITED STATES
- West Engineering Building 445
- Chemical and Life Science Engineering
Professor McHugh researches high-pressure fluid properties and phase equilibria
Media
Links
Social
Biography
Industry Expertise
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Finalist for the 2014 Institution of Chemical Engineers Global Awards,
Core Chemical Engineering Category; Team Members: Isaac Gamwo (ORD), Robert Enick (NETL-RUA), Mark M c Hugh (VCU), Deepak Tapriyal (URS), and Ward Burgess (ORISE)
Distinguished Scholarship Award, August 2014
Virginia Commonwealth University
Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching in Chemical and Life Science Engineering
Engineering Student Council
Visiting Professor, Lehrstuhl für Thermische Verfahrenstechnik
Friedrich-Alexander- University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, May-Dec. 2007
Kipping Visiting Professor
Chemistry Department, University of Nottingham, March 1996
Education
University of Delaware
Ph.D.
Chemical Engineering
1981
Carnegie-Mellon University
B.S.
Chemical Engineering
1975
Affiliations
- American Chemical Society : Polymers Material Science & Engineering Division
- American Chemical Society : Polymer Chemistry Division
- American Physical Society : High Polymer Physics
- Journal of Supercritical Fluids : Editorial Advisory Board
Patents
Impregnation of oxygen carrier compounds into carrier materials providing compositions and methods for the treatment of wounds and burns
WIPO/PCT Patent WO 2015/047991 A1
2 April 2015
Ward, K.M., Mc Hugh, M.A., and R.R. Mallepally
Method of producing fibers by electrospinning at high pressure
U.S. Patent 7,935,298 B2
3 May 2011
Mc Hugh, M.A., Shen, Z., Gee, D., Karles, G., Nepomuceno, J., and G. Huvard
Selected Articles
Silk fibroin aerogels: potential scaffolds for tissue engineering applications
Biomedical Materials2015
Silk fibroin (SF) is a natural protein, which is derived from the Bombyx mori silkworm. SF based porous materials are extensively investigated for biomedical applications, due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this work, CO2 assisted acidification is used to synthesize SF hydrogels that are subsequently converted to SF aerogels. The aqueous silk fibroin concentration is used to tune the morphology and textural properties of the SF aerogels. As the aqueous fibroin concentration increases from 2 to 6 wt%, the surface area of the resultant SF aerogels increases from 260 to 308 m(2) g(-1) and the compressive modulus of the SF aerogels increases from 19.5 to 174 kPa. To elucidate the effect of the freezing rate on the morphological and textural properties, SF cryogels are synthesized in this study. The surface area of the SF aerogels obtained from supercritical CO2 drying is approximately five times larger than the surface area of SF cryogels. SF aerogels exhibit distinct pore morphology compared to the SF cryogels. In vitro cell culture studies with human foreskin fibroblast cells demonstrate the cytocompatibility of the silk fibroin aerogel scaffolds and presence of cells within the aerogel scaffolds. The SF aerogels scaffolds created in this study with tailorable properties have potential for applications in tissue engineering.
Effect of isomeric structures of branched cyclic hydrocarbons on densities and equation of state predictions at elevated temperatures and pressures
Journal of Physical Chemistry B2013
The cis and trans conformation of a branched cyclic hydrocarbon affects the packing and, hence, the density, exhibited by that compound. Reported here are density data for branched cyclohexane (C6) compounds including methylcyclohexane, ethylcyclohexane (ethylcC6), cis-1,2-dimethylcyclohexane (cis-1,2), cis-1,4-dimethylcyclohexane (cis-1,4), and trans-1,4-dimethylcyclohexane (trans-1,4) determined at temperatures up to 525 K and pressures up to 275 MPa. Of the four branched C6 isomers, cis-1,2 exhibits the largest densities and the smallest densities are exhibited by trans-1,4. The densities are modeled with the Peng-Robinson (PR) equation of state (EoS), the high-temperature, high-pressure, volume-translated (HTHP VT) PREoS, and the perturbed chain, statistical associating fluid theory (PC-SAFT) EoS. Model calculations highlight the capability of these equations to account for the different densities observed for the four isomers investigated in this study. The HTHP VT-PREoS provides modest improvements over the PREoS, but neither cubic EoS is capable of accounting for the effect of isomer structural differences on the observed densities. The PC-SAFT EoS, with pure component parameters from the literature or from a group contribution method, provides improved density predictions relative to those obtained with the PREoS or HTHP VT-PREoS. However, the PC-SAFT EoS, with either set of parameters, also cannot fully account for the effect of the C6 isomer structure on the resultant density.
Entropy scaling based viscosity predictions for hydrocarbon mixtures and diesel fuels up to extreme conditions
Fuel, 241, 1203-1213 (2019)Rokni, H.B., Moore, J.D., Gupta, A., McHugh, M.A., and M. Gavaises
2019-01-31
An entropy scaling based technique using the Perturbed-Chain Statistical Associating Fluid Theory is described
for predicting the viscosity of hydrocarbon mixtures and diesel fuels up to high temperatures and high pressures.
The compounds found in diesel fuels or hydrocarbon mixtures are represented as a single pseudo-component. The model is not fit to viscosity data but is predictive up to high temperatures and pressures with input of only two calculated or measured mixture properties: the number averaged molecular weight and hydrogen to carbon ratio. Viscosity is predicted less accurately when the mixture contains high concentrations of iso-alkanes and cyclohexanes. However, it is shown that predictions for these mixtures are improved by fitting a third parameter to a single viscosity data point at a chosen reference state. For hydrocarbon mixtures, viscosity is predicted with average mean absolute percent deviations (MAPDs) of 12.2% using the two-parameter model and 7.3% using the three-parameter model from 293 to 353 K and up to 1000 bar. For two different diesel fuels, viscosity is predicted with an average MAPD of 21.4% using the two-parameter model and 9.4% using the three-parameter model from 323 to 423 K and up to 3500 bar.
Viscosity models for pure hydrocarbons at extreme conditions: A review and comparative study
Fuel, 218, 89-111 (2018)Baled, H.O., Gamwo, I., Enick, R.M., and M.A. McHugh
2019-01-31
Viscosity is a critical fundamental property required in many applications in the chemical and oil industries. In this review the performance of seven select viscosity models, representative of various predictive and correlative approaches, is discussed and evaluated by comparison to experimental data of 52 pure hydrocarbons including straight-chain alkanes, branched alkanes, cycloalkanes, and aromatics. This analysis considers viscosity data to extremely high-temperature, high-pressure conditions up to 573 K and 300 MPa. Unsatisfactory results are found, particularly at high pressures, with the Chung-Ajlan-Lee-Starling, Pedersen-Fredenslund, and Lohrenz-Bray-Clark models commonly used for oil reservoir simulation. If sufficient experimental viscosity data are readily available to determine model-specific parameters, the free volume theory and the expanded fluid theory models provide generally comparable results that are superior to those obtained with the friction theory, particularly at pressures higher than 100 MPa. Otherwise, the entropy scaling method by Lötgering-Lin and Gross is recommended as the best predictive model.