Research

My current research is largely focused on finding solutions for improving the energy efficiency of residential buildings in India.

The details of the test facilities in my lab can be found here.

My past research was focused on studying indoor and outdoor air quality and looking at ways to improve it.

Phytoremediation of indoor particulate matter: Please see Budaniya and Rai, 2022 and Budaniya et al., 2025, published in Building and Environment, for details of this research done at BITS-Pilani.
Low-cost sensors for monitoring outdoor air pollution: My post-doctoral work at the University of Surrey. Please see Rai et al., 2017 published in Science of the Total Environment for details.
Ozone-initiated chemistry in aircraft cabin environments: My PhD work at Purdue. Details can be found in my PhD thesis and my publications between 2012–15.

For the latest updates, please visit my Scholar profile.

At IIT Kanpur (From 2022 onwards):

Ukey R and Rai AC*, 2024. Envelope retrofits for enhancing thermal comfort in detached houses in hot semi-arid climatic conditions: A year-long monitoring and simulation study. Building and Environment 257, 111536. article link.
Babu ADCA, Srivastava RS, and Rai AC*, 2024. Impact of climate change on the heating and cooling load components of an archetypical residential room in major Indian cities. Building and Environment 250, 111181. article link.
Budaniya M and Rai AC*, 2022. Effectiveness of plants for passive removal of particulate matter is low in the indoor environment. Building and Environment 222, 109384. article link. This paper was cited by a BBC news article.

At BITS-Pilani (from 2017–25), during (and after) my tenure as Assistant Professor:

Budaniya M, Mishra AK, Rai AC, and Dasgupta MS, 2025. Indoor plants’ effect on occupants’ performance, perceived comfort, and affect in an open-plan space in composite climatic regions, India. Building and Environment 274, 112785, article link.
Tiwari V, Rai AC*, and Srinivasan P, 2021. Parametric analysis and optimization of a latent heat thermal energy storage system for concentrated solar power plants under realistic operating conditions. Renewable Energy 174, 305-319. article link.
Ukey R and Rai AC*, 2021. Impact of global warming on heating and cooling degree days in major Indian cities. Energy and Buildings 244, 111050, article link.
Rai AC*, 2021. Energy performance of phase change materials integrated into brick masonry walls for cooling load management in residential buildings, Building and Environment 199, 107930, article link.
Sharma V and Rai AC*, 2020. Performance assessment of residential building envelopes enhanced with phase change materials. Energy and Buildings 208, 109664, article link.

At the University of Surrey, during my Post-doc (2016–17):

Rai AC, Kumar P, Pilla F, Skouloudis AN, Di Sabatino S, Ratti C, Yasar A, and Rickerby D, 2017. End-user perspective of low-cost sensors for outdoor air pollution monitoring. Science of the Total Environment 607, 691-705, article link.

At Purdue University, during my PhD (2010–14):

Rai AC, Lin C-H, and Chen Q, 2015. Numerical modeling of particle generation from ozone reactions with human-worn clothing in indoor environments. Atmospheric Environment 102, 145-155, article link.
Rai AC, Lin C-H, and Chen Q, 2014. Numerical modeling of volatile organic compound emissions from ozone reactions with human-worn clothing in an aircraft cabin. HVAC&R Research 20, 922-931, article link.
Rai AC, Guo B, Lin C-H, Zhang J, Pei J, and Chen Q, 2014. Ozone reaction with clothing and its initiated VOC emissions in an environmental chamber. Indoor Air 24, 49-58, article link.
Rai AC, Guo B, Lin C-H, Zhang J, Pei J, and Chen Q, 2013. Ozone reaction with clothing and its initiated particle generation in an environmental chamber. Atmospheric Environment 77, 885-892, article link.
Rai AC and Chen Q, 2012. Simulations of ozone distributions in an aircraft cabin using computational fluid dynamics. Atmospheric Environment 54, 348-357, article link.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse