This thesis seeks to examine the effective convective heat exchange of sand as a heat exchange medium. The goal of this exploratory research is to quantify the heat transfer coefficient of sand in a proposed Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system which intends to complement solar thermal power generation. Standard concentrator solar thermal power plants typically employ a heat transfer fluid (HTF) that is heated in the collector field then routed to the power generators or TES unit. A fairly clear option for a TES system would be to utilize the existing HTF as the working storage medium. However, the use of conventional HTF systems may be too expensive. These fluids are quite costly as the quantity needed for storage is high and for some fluids their associated high vapor pressures require expensive highly reinforced containment vessels. The proposed storage system seeks to use sand as the storage medium; greatly reducing the expenses involved for both medium and storage costs. Most prior TES designs using sand or other solids employed them in a fixed bed for thermal exchange. The proposed TES system will instead move the sand to drive a counter flow thermal exchange. This counter flow design allows for a much closer temperature of approach when compared to a fixed bed. As cost and performance are the primary goals to tackle of the proposed system, the evaluation of the sandâ s thermal exchange effectiveness in a flowing state is necessary. Experiments will be conducted to measure the effective heat transfer coefficient between the sand and representative solid surfaces used as the heat transfer conduits. Additional experiments that will be looked at are wear caused by the sand as a consideration for long term design viability as well as angle of repose of the sand and its effect on scoop design for improved materials handling. Key investigational aspects of these experiments involve the sand grain size as well as shape of the heat exchanger surfaces. The thesis will evaluate the resulting convective heat transfer coefficient of the sand as related to these features. The data will then be compared and verified with available literature of previously studied characteristic thermal properties of sand. The measured and confirmed data will then be used to further aid in a design model for the proposed TES system.

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices, also known as (nano-TPVs) are energy-conversion systems which generate electric current from thermal radiation energy by a heat source. Although their conversion efficiency is limited in the far field by the Schockley-Queisser limit, in near field the heat flux transferred to a TPV cell can be significantly enchanced due to the contribution of evanescent waves, in particular supporting a surface mode. Unfortunately, spectral mismatch between the emitter and the TPV cell spectrum limits the TPV conversion efficiency. Photons with energy lower than the TPV cell bandgap may not be able to create electron-hole pairs because mobile carriers start diffusing and drifting between conductance and valence band, and try to exceed the upper limit of the band. This destroys the thermal equilibrium of the semiconductor and results in excess heat. Also, for high energy photons, the difference between the photon's energy and the bandgap energy is lost in Joule heating. Thus, quasimonochromatic, narrow-band and coherent emitters at a frequency near the energy bandgap of the converter is an ideal source to achieve high conversion efficiency. Nano-TPV device consisting of tungsten thermal emitter, maintained at 1200K, and the cell made of GaInAsSb are considered; thermal management system is reviewed assuming a constant heat flux boundary due to heat generation by the cell with a fluid temperature fixed at 293K. Tungsten thermal selective emitters are designed, characterized and optimized based on two-dimensional (2D) tungsten PhC by controlling periodic triangular grooves such that channel plasmon polaritons (CPPs) are coupled efficiently into these grooves to excite a localized groove modes which are well-matched to the GaInAsSb cell external quantum efficiency (EQE). The results show that power output and the 2D TE normal efficiency of the system are predicted to be 0.82x10⁴ W/m² and 43.8%, respectively. This leads to a promising device for many different sectors such as military, space and semiconductor industry. / text

This work considers how various integrated energy systems can be managed in order to provide economic or energetic benefits. Energy systems can gain additional degrees of freedom by incorporating some form of energy storage (in this work, thermal energy storage), and the increasing penetration of smart grid technologies provides a wealth of data for both modeling and management. Data used for the system models here come primarily from the Pecan Street Smart Grid Demonstration Project in Austin, Texas, USA. Other data are from the Austin Energy Mueller Energy Center and the University of Texas Hal C. Weaver combined heat and power plant. Systems considered in this work include thermal energy storage, chiller plants, combined heat and power plants, turbine inlet cooling, residential air conditioning, and solar photovoltaics. These systems are modeled and controlled in integrated environments in order to provide system benefits. In a district cooling system with thermal energy storage, combined heat and power, and turbine inlet cooling, model-based optimization strategies are able to reduce peak demand and decrease cooling electricity costs by 79%. Smart grid data are employed to consider a system of 900 residential homes in Austin. In order to make the system model tractable for a model predictive controller, a reduced-order home modeling strategy is developed that maps thermostat set points to air conditioner electricity consumption. When the model predictive controller is developed for the system, the system is able to reduce total peak demand by 9%. Further work with the model of 900 residential homes presents a modified dual formulation for determining the optimal prices that produce a desired result in the residential homes. By using the modified dual formulation, it is found that the optimal pricing strategy for peak demand reduction is a critical peak pricing rate structure, and that those prices can be used in place of centralized control strategies to achieve peak reduction goals. / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Mechanical Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

The aim of this project is to make an energy flow survey of Ljusdal’s municipality. The reason for the energy flow survey is to discover possibilities to utilize and refine the energy resources locally, and use the information from this survey as a base for further discussions about the energy situation in Ljusdal’s municipality. As it is today the raw material is transported to other municipalities for processing and then bought back, e.g. biomass is transported to other municipalities where they make pellets which are sold back to consumers in Ljusdal’s municipality. A local upgrading of the raw material will probably create more job opportunities in the municipality and it will probably also lead to a higher profit than just selling the raw material. The target groups for this study are the local (and regional) politicians and entrepreneurs, primarily in Ljusdal but also in other similar municipalities. Mainly bioenergy is handled in this thesis. Other energy sources e.g. hydroelectricity is handled just briefly, flows and use of electricity are described briefly for different parts of the municipality and types of consumers. To perform the energy flow survey, information about now used, and possible future, energy resources was collected in order to find out the energy quantities used per year, for different users, and the energy flows. Unexploited energy sources, and energy sources that have the potential to be increased, like forest and arable land was also included. Investigations about the wind potential are also carried out. The energy use of the consumers, divided into energy carriers, is mapped. Larger companies and institutions, particularly those with energy related business are asked about their future plans. Energy suppliers are also asked where they buy and sell energy in order to make an energy flow survey. The energy needs for different types of buildings were also considered in this energy flow survey. In order to do that, information about the numbers of buildings in the municipality and also the average energy usage, for different types of buildings e.g. apartments and single family houses, are collected from different sources. The flows of bioenergy across the municipality border are also investigated in order to be able to see where it comes from and where it goes. Nearby municipalities, projects nearby Ljusdal’s municipality, that may have an impact in the field of energy in Ljusdal’s municipality are also briefly handled. The energy flows, in and out of the municipality, were put into maps from the municipality’s Geographic Information System (GIS) in order to get a good overview of the energy flow, supply and use. Based on the gathered information, project ideas are suggested, and calculations are done to determine if biogas production, from household waste and sludge, could be a better option than today’s waste management where the waste is being transported to a nearby municipality for incineration, a service that Ljusdal’s municipality also have to pay for. The results from the calculations show that the total amount of energy that could be extracted from the annual produced biogas would reach about 1.9 GWh. The biogas could e.g.be used as a fuel in the district heating plants in the municipality. By using locally produced products a decreased import of energy carriers, e.g. light fuel oil, would be expected. The conclusions that could be drawn from this study are that a lot of biomass is produced in Ljusdal’s municipality, which is mainly exported in the form as raw material. Large amounts of hydroelectricity is produced in Ljusdal’s municipality, about 60% of the electricity is being exported. Wind mappings show that there are some areas of national interest for electricity production through wind power in the municipality. A deregulated European electricity market will probably lead to an increased electricity price, this in combination with the green certificate would lead to a more profitable electricity production through wind power and areas that are not of national interest at present could probably be of national interest in the future. There are also a large potential to increase the amount of biomass from the forestry remainings. Another potential energy source is the arable land where it probably would be possible to grow e.g. hemp for an energy conversion purpose. In Ljusdal’s municipality, there are possibilities in the field of energy which no one takes advantage of at present. / Syftet med detta projektarbete är att kartlägga energiflödet inom-, samt till och från Ljusdals kommun, i första hand bioenergi men även andra energiformer som t.ex. elektricitet behandlas översiktligt. Anledningen till denna energiflödesanalys är att upptäcka möjligheter att bearbeta och förädla biomassan lokalt. I dagens läge lämnar stora mängder av råmaterial kommunen för förädling utanför kommunens gränser, detta leder till förlorade arbetstillfällen i kommunen. Ett exempel på detta är att råmaterial i form av sågspån transporteras från Ljusdals kommun till en annan kommun där sågspånen förädlas till pellets som i sin tur säljs tillbaka till konsumenter i Ljusdals kommun. En lokal förädling av biomassan skulle förmodligen kunna leda till nya arbetstillfällen inom kommunens gränser samt en högre avkastning än att bara sälja råmaterialet obearbetat. Målgruppen för denna studie är lokala och regionala politiker och entreprenörer, i första hand i Ljusdals kommun, men också i liknande glesbygdskommuner med stora arealer skog och andra former av biobränslen. För att genomföra denna energiflödesanalys samlades information, angående i nuläget använda samt framtida energikällor, in med avsikt att uppskatta de kvantiteter, och olika typer av energi som omvandlas och används årligen av olika typer av konsumenter. Denna information tillhandahölls av bl.a. statistiska central byrån – SCB, kommunens energirådgivare, energibolag, större energikrävande företag samt bostads företag. Antalet enfamiljshus och flerfamiljs hus i kommunen samt antalet boende i kommunen kartlades för att kunna beräkna, enligt schabloner, de energimängder som förbrukades årligen i bostadssektorn. Även transport- och industrisektorn undersöktes med avseende på dess energianvändning. Flödet av biomassa i kommunen samt över dess gränser analyserades med avsikt på att klargöra vilka mängder som lämnar, respektive stannar kvar inom kommunen. Även projekt i närliggande kommuner analyserades översiktligt för att se om de hade någon nämnbar inverkan på Ljusdals kommuns energiproduktion1 och energianvändning. Slutsatserna som kan dras från denna analys är i korthet att stora mängder av biomassa produceras inom Ljusdals kommuns gränser och transporteras bort i form av råmaterial, som förädlas utanför kommunens gränser. Ett sätt att eventuellt skapa fler jobbtillfällen samt se till att en större del av vinsten från biomassan stannar kvar inom kommunens gränser är att lokalt bearbeta biomassan. Inom kommunen produceras också en stor del vattenkraft där ungefär 60 % exporteras och resterande används inom kommunen, möjlighet till utökad elproduktion bör vara möjlig genom byggnation av vindkraftsparker eftersom det finns områden som är av nationellt intresse för vindkraftsproduktion. Något mer som talar för en ökad lönsamhet inom elproduktion via vindkraft är den avreglerade Europeiska elmarknaden som förmodligen kommer att leda till ökade elpriser, en annan faktor är elcertifikaten, som erhålls för varje MWh producerad med förnyelsebara källor t.ex. vindkraft eller biomassa eldat kraftvärmeverk. Biogas motsvarande ungefär 2 GWh årligen bör också kunna utvinnas ur sopor, gödsel från bondgårdar och energigrödor. Detta kräver dock investeringar i rötningsanläggningar och ytterligare utredningar angående detta föreslås göras. En markant ökad produktion av biobränsle från skogsbruket bör också vara möjlig. Den globala ökningen av invånare i kombination med en strävan efter minskad produktion av fossila bränslen resulterar i en ökad efterfrågan av förnyelsebara bränslen, denna ökade efterfrågan leder i sin tur till ett ökat pris för dessa bränslen. Dessutom har ett antal länder skrivit på Kyoto avtalet, vilket innebär i korthet att dessa länder måste minska sina koldioxidutsläpp. Dessa faktorer kan tolkas som indikationer på att det kommer att bli en ökad användning av biobränslen. Problemet med detta scenario är att, aven i ett nationellt perspektiv, mängden av tillgänglig biomassa är begränsad om den skulle utgöra baslasten för energiproduktionen. Detta faktum öppnar nya möjligheter för kommuner med en låg befolkningstäthet i kombination med stora skogsarealer. Ljusdals kommun är en glest befolkad kommun med ungefärligen 19 400 invånare, det finns 10 100 bostäder i kommunen varav 3 700 är lägenheter och resterande är enfamiljshus. Den totala arealen av kommunen uppgår till 5 640 km2, befolkningstätheten uppgår till fyra invånare per kvadrat kilometer. Arealen per capita i kommunen är väldigt hög, vilket innebär att det finns stora mängder biomassa tillgänglig då stordelen av kommunen består av skog. Syftet med denna analys är att få en bättre översikt över dagens situation inom detta område. En bättre översikt skulle kunna hjälpa politiker och entreprenörer att se nya möjligheter inom detta område, vilket skulle kunna innebära fler arbetstillfällen inom kommunen.

Studies undertaken by Eskom in 2001 identified three sites near the Northern Cape town of Upington which are suitable for a 100 MW Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) generating plant. Of the CSP technologies investigated, the central receiver option was identified as best for the Northern Cape, however almost none of Eskom’s analysis was made public. The basis of the central receiver’s suitability versus other CSP options is not publicly known. Given recent advances in concentrating systems, an argument exists for reassessing the suitability of various solar thermal technologies for bulk power generation. This study first characterises the incident solar radiation (insolation) levels at Upington from six data sources and assesses their quality. The data are then used to model performance of the parabolic trough, compact linear Fresnel reflector, central receiver, and dish-engine technologies. A software modelling tool of the United States National Renewable Energy Laboratory (System Advisor Model) is used to facilitate the comparison. Simulation results are compared with data from similar studies to ensure consistency of the CSP model inputs and performance outputs. Constraining the results to the environmental conditions of Upington, it is found that while central receiver technology produces less electricity per square kilometre of collector area, it uses less water than parabolic trough technology to obtain a higher annual electric output. Dish-engine technology has the most favourable annual electricity production to water-usage ratio, however, its modest annual electricity output and lack of energy storage capability weaken the case for it to match South Africa’s national load profile substantively. Examining the modelled month-to-month electricity output characteristic, the central receiver technology delivers significantly more electricity during the lower insolation winter period of the year than the competing technologies. This results in the central receiver technology achieving the highest annual electric output of the four technologies compared under the same insolation levels, strengthening the case for its implementation. As a whole, this work characterises the insolation levels at Upington, provides an analysis of the technical performance of competing CSP technologies for the proposed Northern Cape site, and argues quantitatively in favour of the central receiver option. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This research investigates the collection of concentrating solar energy and its transmission through optical fibres for use in high temperature applications such as lunar in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) programmes, solar power generation and solar surgery. A prototype collector, known as the Fibre Optic Concentrating Utilisation System (FOCUS), has been developed and is capable of delivering high energy fluxes to a remote target. Salient performance results include flux concentrations approaching 1000 suns with an overall optical efficiency of 13%, measured from the inlet of the collector to the fibre outlet. The system comprises a novel solar concentrator designed to inject solar energy into a four metre long fibre optic cable for the transmission of light to the target. A nonimaging reflective lens in the form of a 600 mm diameter ring array concentrator was chosen for the collection of solar energy. Advantageous characteristics over the more common parabolic dish are its rearward focusing capacity and single stage reflection. The ring array comprises a nested set of paraboloidal elements constructed using composite material techniques to demonstrate a low-cost, effective fabrication process. At concentrator focus, a fibre optic cable of numerical aperture 0.37 is positioned to transport the highly concentrated energy away from the collector. The cable is treated to withstand UV exposure and high solar energy flux, and allows flexibility for target positioning. A computational analysis of the optical system was performed using ray tracing software, from which a predictive model of concentrator performance was developed to compare with experimental results. Performance testing of FOCUS was conducted using energy balance principles in conjunction with a flat plate calorimeter. Temperatures approaching 1500°C and flux levels in the region of 1800 suns were achieved before injection to the cable, demonstrating the optical system's suitability for use in high flux applications. During testing, peak temperatures exceeding 900°C were achieved at the remote target with a measured flux of 104 W/cm2 at the cable outlet. The predicted optical efficiency was 22%, indicating that further refinements to the ray trace model are necessary, specifically with regard to losses at the inlet to the cable. FOCUS was able to demonstrate its usefulness as a test bed for lunar in-situ resource utilisation technologies by successfully melting a lunar soil simulant. The system permits further terrestrial-based ISRU research, such as oxygen production from regolith and the fabrication of structural elements from lunar soil. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Driving with the cold engine increases fuel consumption and greenhouse gases emissions. A latent heat energy storage device has been proposed to recover waste heat and reduce engine warm-up time by using phase change materials (PCMs) as an energy storage medium. Two types of paraffin waxes and 50/50 mixture of the two have been examined to characterize their behaviors under repetitive heating/freezing. From the results, the heat transfer is more effective in the case of narrower spacing distances between the cooling plates and high circulating flow rate of the heat transfer fluid. A 50/50 mixture of two paraffin waxes also provides better heat transfer due to the possible existence of both conduction and natural convection. The results of the metal block simulation experiments demonstrated the potential of latent heat TES’s for use in engine warm-up.

Driving with the cold engine increases fuel consumption and greenhouse gases emissions. A latent heat energy storage device has been proposed to recover waste heat and reduce engine warm-up time by using phase change materials (PCMs) as an energy storage medium. Two types of paraffin waxes and 50/50 mixture of the two have been examined to characterize their behaviors under repetitive heating/freezing. From the results, the heat transfer is more effective in the case of narrower spacing distances between the cooling plates and high circulating flow rate of the heat transfer fluid. A 50/50 mixture of two paraffin waxes also provides better heat transfer due to the possible existence of both conduction and natural convection. The results of the metal block simulation experiments demonstrated the potential of latent heat TES’s for use in engine warm-up.

Concentrated solar power (CSP) has the potential of fulfilling the world’s electricity needs. Parabolic-trough system using synthetic oil as the HTF with operating temperature between 300 and 400o C, is the most matured CSP technology. A thermal storage system is required for the stable and cost effective operation of CSP plants. The current storage technology is the indirect two-tank system which is expensive and has high energy consumption due to the need to prevent the storage material from freezing. Latent heat storage (LHS) systems offer higher storage density translating into smaller storage size and higher performance but suitable phase change materials (PCMs) have low thermal conductivity, thus hindering the realization of their potential. The low thermal conductivity can be solved by heat transfer enhancement in the PCM. There is also lack of suitable commercially-available PCMs to cover the operating temperature range. In this study, a hybrid cascaded storage system (HCSS) consisting of a cascaded finned LHS and a high temperature sensible or concrete tube register (CTR) stages was proposed and analysed via modelling and simulation. Fluent CFD code and the Dymola simulation environment were employed. A validated CFD phase change model was used in determining the heat transfer characteristics during charging and discharging of a finned and unfinned LHS shell-and-tube storage element. The effects of various fin configurations were investigated and heat transfer coefficients that can be used for predicting the performance of the system were obtained. A model of the HCSS was then developed in the Dymola simulation environment. Simulations were conducted considering the required boundary conditions of the system to develop the best design of a system having a capacity of 875 MWhth, equivalent to 6 hours of full load operation of a 50 MWe power plant. The cascaded finned LHS section provided ~46% of the entire HCSS capacity. The HCSS and cascaded finned LHS section have volumetric specific capacities 9.3% and 54% greater than that of the two-tank system, respectively. It has been estimated that the capital cost of the system is ~12% greater than that of the two-tank system. Considering that the passive HCSS has lower operational and maintenance costs it will be more cost effective than the twotank system considering the life cycle of the system. There is no requirement of keeping the storage material above its melting temperature always. The HCSS has also the potential of even lower capital cost at higher capacities (>6 hours of full load operation).