Rapporten avhandlar en konceptstudie för omvandling av termisk energi till elektrisk samt mekanisk energi, i den autonoma undervattensfarkosten SAPPHIRES. Inledningsvis utreds vilka förväntningar och krav som finns på konceptet för energiomvandling samt om där finns någon publicerad litteratur som redan gjort ansträngningar för att lösa det aktuella problemet. Allmän teori kring värmemotorer och en bred, systematisk litteratursökning inkluderas även i det arbetet. Energiomvandlingen antas kunna ske enligt två fall kallade ”hög-prestanda” och ”låg/medel-prestanda”, vilka innebär att mekanisk samt elektrisk effekt, respektive endast elektrisk effekt ska kunna levereras av konceptet. De mekaniska samt elektriska effekterna ska, vidare, kunna levereras om maximalt 600, respektive 6 kW, och konceptet ska åtminstone kunna uppfylla ett av energiomvandlingsfallen. Den faktiska konceptstudien utgörs av två iterationer av konceptgenereringar, -utvärderingar och -val och de visar att ett koncept kallat ”Öppet system inspirerat av nukleär värmeframdrivning” förefaller vara det bästa sättet att omvandla termisk energi i SAPPHIRES. Därtill indikerar en mer detaljerad analys, bestående av bland annat matematisk modellering och konceptuell konstruktion, att konceptet möjligen skulle kunna uppfylla så kallad ”hög-prestanda” och sedermera leverera både mekanisk och elektrisk effekt om 600, respektive 6 kW. Mer specifikt visar en matematisk analys, med hjälp av vissa antaganden rörande konceptets funktion, att ett ”Öppet system inspirerat av nukleär värmeframdrivning” skulle kunna leverera en mekanisk effekt om 1025 kW samt en elektrisk effekt om 141 kW. En grov, konceptuell konstruktion bekräftar också att konceptets vitala, ingående komponenter faktiskt kan rymmas inom de specificerade dimensionskraven (en cylinderformad volym med en längd och diameter om 1,7, respektive 0,5 m.). Det står dock klart att de möjliga koncepten för energiomvandling kraftigt begränsas av deras möjligheter att leverera tillräcklig mekanisk effekt, för att uppnå ”hög-prestanda”. Om endast ”låg/medel-prestanda” ska uppfyllas tillåts fler av de möjliga koncepten och i ett sådant fall skulle faktorer som underhåll, miljöpåverkan och SAPPHIRES signatur kunna prioriteras i högre utsträckning.
The report discusses a concept study regarding the conversion of thermal energy into electrical and mechanical energy, in the autonomous underwater vehicle SAPPHIRES. First, the requirements and expectations regarding the concept of energy conversion are investigated and efforts are made to identify any published literature, which has already made attempts of solving the issue. General theory regarding heat engines and an extensive literature study are also included in this work. The energy conversion is assumed to perform according to two cases called "high-performance" and "low/medium-performance", meaning mechanical and electrical energy or electrical power should be delivered by the concept, respectively. More specifically, the mechanical and electrical powers should be delivered of a maximum of 600 and 6 kW, respectively and the concept should at least fulfill one of the performance settings. The actual concept study comprises of two iterations of concept generations, evaluations and selections and shows that a concept called "Open system inspired by nuclear thermal propulsion" seems to be the best way of converting thermal energy on-board SAPPHIRES. Moreover, a more detailed analysis, comprising of, inter alia, mathematical modelling and conceptual design, indicates that the concept possibly can meet the so-called "high-performance" and thus, deliver both mechanical and electrical powers of 600 and 6 kW, respectively. More specifically, a mathematical analysis, based on some assumptions regarding the concept's functionality, shows that an "Open system inspired by nuclear thermal propulsion" could deliver a mechanical power of 1025 kW and an electrical power of 141 kW. Rough conceptual design also shows that the vital parts of the concept could fit within the specified maximal dimensions (a cylinder-shaped volume with a length and diameter of 1.7 and 0.5 m, respectively). However, it is clear the possible concepts of energy conversion are severely limited by their capacities of delivering enough mechanical energy, to meet the "high-performance" demands. Assuming only the "low/medium-performance" has to be met, more possible concepts becomes available and in that case, factors such as maintenance, environmental impact and signature of SAPPHIRES could be considered to a greater extent.

This is a report written for an examination project C-level, on the subject of energy. The examination project is a product of the FVB Sweden AB (district heating bureau). It started with a meeting with Stefan Jonsson FVB Sweden AB, were he explained the content of the project, and from this a presentation of the problem was made. The problem that needed to be solved was how they could control the valves in the system to provide heating to everyone in the system. The valves are often oversized so the pump in the heating plant would have to be enormous to be able to provide enough flow to be sufficient, if everyone in the system had there valves fully opened.

 

I came up with two solutions to the problem, one was a wireless network that could keep track of the valves and the other solution was an extra sensor that was placed on the radiator. The purpose for that was to open the valve if the temperature dropped more than one degree inside. With the help of a program called IDA it was calculated that, if the temperature drop five degrees, they would have sixteen hours at the heating power plant to open the flow before the sensor open the valves.

 

After careful consideration I came up with the conclusion that the wireless network must be the best solution. Mostly because you can monitor all the clients in the system from the heating power plant and that will make it easier to discover faults and temperature differences.

Wireless networks is already a well tested solution in form of wireless controlled electricity meters so it shouldn’t be to much of a problem connecting these sensors to it either.

Further development of a two-dimensional thermal analysis code (G2DHeat) to include internal decomposition and charring ablation of insulation materials is presented. An overview of the structural changes made to the program code by implementing an implicit solution routine, including source term is given, before testing and verification of accuracy is performed. A kinetic model for decomposition reactions, as well as routines for handling the generated gas from the decomposition reactions, changes concerning the material properties and erosion of surface material are implemented and explained. Comparisons of results are made with similar results obtained by commercial programs. Possible reasons affecting the results are pointed out, before additional comparisons with experimentally observed measurements are performed. Based on the simulated results it is concluded that a great deal of testing remains for proper validation of the program. How to include better boundary conditions for simulating charring ablation is suggested and recommended for further development of the program.

Abstract

The future of ethanol is depending on good solutions for the production. ENA energy power plant produces electrical power and district heating by heating biofuel. By building an integrated bioenergy plant surplus steam could be used to produce ethanol as fuel to vehicle.

This would mean that ethanol is produced renewable energy and the energy for the process derives from the surplus of power.  ENA energy, MDH (the University of Mälardalen) and the energy authority has initiated a research project were different bioenergy combinations integrate with existing power plant.  As a part of the project which size an integrated factory should be to gain the best efficiency for the plant was investigated. Consideration will be taken to the cost of the production in order to be competitive to the price of imported ethanol.

 

 

Etanolens framtid vilar på bra lösningar för framställning.  I ENA energi kraftverk i Enköping produceras el och fjärrvärme genom eldning av biobränsle.  Genom att bygga ett integrerat bioenergikraftverk där skulle man kunna använda överskottsånga till att framställa etanol som fordonsbränsle. Detta skulle innebära att etanolen framställs med ett förnybart bränsle och energin till framställningen kommer från ett överskott på värme.   ENA energi, MDH och energimyndigheten har initierat ett forskningsprojekt där en bioenergiintegrering skall undersökas.  Som del i detta skall här undersökas vilken storlek en integrerad etanolfabrik skall ha för att nå högsta totala verkningsgrad för verket samt om framställningspriset kan konkurrera med importerad etanol.

 

Resonator AS is developing a hammer drilling system suitable for oil and geothermal drilling. The nature of the device involves high speed linear motion at high frequencies. As a result of this, the gas springs used in their device are subject to high pressures and temperatures. To prevent pressure leakage from the device, seals are installed.The seals used in the device are fit for use in a limited range of temperatures and pressures. This pose a challenge since a high amount of heat is generated as a result of the friction between the seal and and the gas spring walls.The main objective of this thesis has been to develop a model to investigate the effects of the frictional heat. Control volume techniques have been used to model the effects on the gas pressure and temperature. A detailed heat transfer formulation comprising convection and conduction has been developed. To model the conduction it was necessary to derive two-dimensional heat transfer equations for cylindrical coordinates. A MATLAB-code has been written in order to simulate the behavior of the system.Test results have been compared with the simulations to validate the model. The comparison showed that the model described the thermal inertia of the system appropriately. It also showed that the present friction model is not able to describe the friction in a satisfactory manner.

This objective of this thesis has been to development and analysis a measurement apparatus designed to determine thermal conductivity of porous materials. A literature survey concerning available experimental techniques for thermal conductivity measurements was conducted. A steady state radial heat transfer method with cylindrical geometry and a centered heating element was found to be most suited technique for achieving accurate and reliable results. A side wall cooling arrangement was used to achieve desired cooling temperatures. To restrict the extent of the work, it was decided to only investigate heat transfer behavior at cryogenic temperatures. Test specimen with a thermal conductivity of 0.05 W/(m*K), (assumed to be the thermal conductivity of the materials to be tested in the apparatus) and a thermal conductivity of 0.01 W/(m*K) for the insulation components, were the ones chosen for investigations. The design process of the new apparatus, using the software COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2, was initiated by evaluating heat transfer behavior in a simple cylinder, containing a hollow heating element and the test specimen. Radial heat transfer was verified, hence, the design process proceeded. Extensive, step-wise analyses were conducted to evaluate heat transfer behavior as the complexity of the apparatus increased. Implemented elements such as insulation blocks, a heater support and three thermocouples proved to cause heat losses in the test section, which resulted in errors in the calculated thermal conductivities. Furthermore, an electric wire, supplying the heating element with current, was included in the model. In addition, the hollow heater was replaced by an aluminum oxide heater since such an element is to be used when building the apparatus. Unexpected results revealed critical heat transfer into the test section from the wire. This led to an investigation of the wire length to reduce such effects. Lastly, as a result of the analyses carried out, the overall error of the thermal conductivity measurements due to heat losses was determined. Dimensional drawings of the characteristic dimensions, as well as practical solutions for the final compilation of the apparatus, were suggested as the last step of the design process. It was of interest to estimate the overall uncertainty of the apparatus when all parameters effecting the measurements, were included. For this, a comprehensive uncertainty analysis was conducted and compared to previous work. Results showed that temperature recordings from the thermocouples placed in the mid-section of the test cylinder would provide the most reliable results for the determination of thermal conductivity in the test apparatus.

This master thesis describes a quadratic programming model used to calculate the spot prices in an efficient multi-area power market. The model has been adapted to Northern Europe, with focus on Denmark West and the integration of large quantities of wind power. In the model, demand and supply of electricity are equated, at an hourly time resolution, to find the spot price in each area. Historical load values are used to represent demand which is assumed to be completely inelastic. Supply is modeled according to the type of generation: Thermal generators are represented by piecewise linear, upward sloping, marginal cost curves. Historical wind generation data is used to model the fluctuating wind power output, and wind power is considered to have zero marginal cost. Hydro power is modeled by one aggregate reservoir for Norway and one for Sweden; the marginal cost of hydro power is set as a function of the difference between the reservoir level and the historical median reservoir level. Additionally, decentral combined heat and power plants in Denmark are considered to operate irrespective of the market. Six separate price areas constitute the model: Denmark West, Denmark East, Norway, Sweden/Finland, Germany, and Central Europe. The areas are modeled as having no internal bottlenecks and are connected by tie-lines constrained by active power limits. This report quantifies the impact the installed wind power capacity has on the power price in Denmark West by scaling up the wind power output in the model. Because wind power has a marginal cost close to zero, it will force prices down. The effect will be most prominent during high wind speed hours in a power system with substantial amounts of wind power. Results show that the impact is modest; average power prices fall by only 10% if the installed wind power capacity is doubled, and thermal generation will set the power price in all hours until wind energy exceeds 50% of domestic demand in Denmark. Since prices fall the most during hours with high wind power output, income to wind turbine owners will decline quickly as the installed capacity becomes large. The effect is most pronounced at wind energy shares above 40%, thereafter the income -- per MWh sold -- falls rapidly. In absence of government subventions, this effect will limit the economically viable level of installed wind power capacity. Expansion of the cross-border transmission capacity and higher thermal generation costs can both help offset the income reduction to wind turbine owners from higher wind power penetration. Alone, a 30% increase in thermal generation costs can allow 50% of wind energy and still retain todays income to wind turbine owners. Use of the Norwegian hydro reservoirs to balance out fluctuations in wind power output is found to stabilize and reduce the price. This benefits both consumers and wind turbine owners in Denmark. Expansion of transmission capacity to Norway will further stabilize the price; a new 1000MW cable lets the Danish market easily accomodate 50% wind energy. With lower and more volatile prices as a result of high wind power penetration, a load can profit by being flexible. Water electrolysis is one such load; it uses electricity to produce hydrogen, and production can quickly be ramped up and down in accordance with the power price. Presently, steam methane reforming is the least expensive method of producing hydrogen, but with higher wind power penetration, electrolysis might become competitive. Using a previously developed model to assess the cost of electrolysis, in combination with the power market model developed here, this report finds that wind energy must exceed 85% of domestic demand in Denmark, combined with higher natural gas prices, for electrolysis to break even with steam methane reforming.

This Master thesis, in collaboration with Morgonsol Väst AB, was completed as a part of the Solar Energy engineering program at Dalarna University. It analyses the electrical and thermal performance of a prototype PVT collector developed by Morgonsol Väst AB. By following the standards EN 12975 and EN ISO 9806 as guides, the thermal tests of the collector were completed at the facility in Borlänge. The electrical performance of the PVT collector was evaluated by comparing it to a reference PV panel fitted next to it. The result from the tests shows an improved electrical performance of the PVT collector caused by the cooling and a thermal performance described by the linear efficiency curve ηth=0.53-21.6(Tm-Ta/G). The experimental work in this thesis is an initial study of the prototype PVT collector that will supply Morgonsol Väst with important data for future development and research of the product.

The building sector is responsible for almost a quarter of the total carbon dioxide emissions. The urgency to reduce the emissions is reflected in the stricter guidelines which have been set all over the world. To reduce the building sector’s emissions the energy consumption need to be reduced, which can be done in two ways: building new energy efficient buildings or retrofitting of current buildings. Due to the life expectancy of current building stock the largest savings before 2030 will be made through retrofits. For this reliable computational tools are required, and currently there is a gap between the predicted and actual performance of retrofitted buildings. This thesis is going to look into how the computational method is contributing to the performance gap. A building at the RMIT campus in Melbourne, Australia, which is going to be retrofitted through retrofits designed by Siemens, is used. A thermal simulation model of the building was built, and tuned to reflect the pre-retrofit building, and compared against the measured energy performance of the building. The retrofits were then implemented in the simulation model and the gap in the predictions between the simpler computational method used by Siemens in designing the retrofits, and the extensive simulation model was compared. The gap between the computational methods were analysed in order to see how Siemens calculation method contribute to the performance gap. The conclusions which have been drawn are that the simulation model is reflecting the energy use of the building well considering the access of data available during the study. Especially the electricity use is reflected well both in the total annual use, approximately 4 % gap to measured value, and the monthly variation over the year. The total natural gas use is under predicting the annual use, approximately 40 % gap to the measured value, but shows a good correlation to the monthly variation. The electricity use is relatively stable in the simulation model, where the natural gas was sensitive for direct changes to the heating system. The input parameters which have the largest impact in the electricity use are internal gain profiles and the electrical internal gains energy use. Siemens calculation method are contributing to the performance gap through the lack of interaction between the different retrofits, the light retrofit have a noticeable impact on the heating and cooling system of the building. To only use one single period in the regression models can also easily lead to incorrect predictions. The strength of the simulation model is its ability to see the retrofits influence on each other and the possibility for scenario analysis.
Byggnadssektorn är ansvarig för nästan en fjärdedel av de totala globala koldioxidutsläppen. Viljan att minska utsläppen kan ses i de allt striktare riktlinjer som sätts över hela världen. För att reducera utsläppen finns det två sätt: bygga nya energieffektiva byggnader eller ombyggnation av nuvarande byggnader. Livslängden på nuvarande byggnadsbestånd innebär att de största besparingarna innan 2030 kommer att ske inom ombyggnationer. För detta krävs tillförlitliga verktyg, och i nuläget finns det ett gap mellan byggnaders förutspådda och verkliga energiprestanda. I denna examensuppsatts kommer beräkningsmetodens inflytande över detta gap att undersökas. En byggnad på RMIT:s campus i Melbourne, Australien, som kommer att undergå en ombyggnation som designats av Siemens har använts. En termisk simuleringsmodell av byggnaden skapades och avstämdes mot den verkliga byggnaden, och jämfördes mot uppmätta värden av byggnadens energiprestanda. Ombyggnationerna var sedan implementerade och skillnaden mellan den förutspådda prestandan av byggnaden, genom den omfattande simuleringsmodellen och den enklare beräkningsmetoden som användes av Siemens, jämfördes. Genom att analysera gapet mellan de olika beräkningsmetoderna kunde slutsatser dras angående hur de kan bidra till gapet i energiprestanda. Slutsatserna från arbetet är att simuleringsmodellen ger en bra bild av energianvändningen av byggnaden, med hänsyn till informationen som varit tillänglig. Byggnadens totala uppmätta elektricitetsanvändning är speciellt väl överrensstämmande med simuleringsmodellens resultat både i den årliga användningen, ca 4 % skillnad från uppmätta värden, och variationen över ett år. Den totala användningen av naturgas enligt simuleringsmodellen är under de uppmätta värdena med en skillnad på ca 40 %, men med en god överrensstämmelse med den årliga variationen. Användningen av elektricitet i modellen är relativt stabil, användningen av naturgas är känslig för direkta ändringar till uppvärmningssystemet. Inputparametrarna som har störst inverkan på elanvändningen är interna, energiproducerande och konsumerande, enheters användningsprofil (PC, personer, ljus m.m.), el konsumtion, och latenta samt sensibla värme. Siemens beräkningsmetod bidrar till gapet mellan förutspådda och verkliga energiprestanda genom brist på samverkan mellan de olika delarna i ombyggnationen. Ombyggnationen som innebär uppgradering av byggnadens belysning innebär exempelvis märkbara skillnader i byggnadens uppvärmnings- och kylsystem. Användningen av endast en period i skapandet av regressionsmodeller för att förutspå vattenkokarnas och kylarnas användning leder även till en missledande framtida energiproduktion. Styrkan i simuleringsmodellen är möjligheten till samverkan mellan olika ombyggnationer påverkan på varandra samt möjligheten till scenarioanalys.

The current global scenario is such where impact on the environment is becoming a rising concern. Global automotive manufacturers have focused more towards hybrid and electric vehicles as both more aware customers and governmental legislation have begun demanding higher emission standards. One of the many ways that Volvo Car Group approaches this trend is by mild hybridization which is by assisting the combustion engine by a small electric motor and a battery pack. A smart energy management strategy is needed in order to get the most out of the benefits that hybrid electric vehicles offer. The main objective of this strategy is to utilize the electrical energy on-board in such a manner that the overall efficiency of the hybrid powertrain becomes as high as possible. The current implementation is such that the decision for using the on-board battery is non-predictive. This results in a sub-optimal utilization of the hybrid powertrain. In this thesis, a predictive energy optimization tool is developed to maximize the utility of hybridization and the practical implementation of this tool is investigated. The optimization considers both the capacity as well as the thermal loadconstraints of the battery. The developed optimization tool uses information about the route ahead together with convex optimization to produce optimal reference trajectories of the battery states. These trajectories are used in a real-time controller to determine the battery use by controlling the adjoint states in the Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy equation. This optimization tool is validated and compared with the baseline controller in a simulation environment based on Simulink. When perfect information about the road ahead is known, the average reduction in fuel consumption is 0.99% relative the baseline controller. Several issues occurring in the real implementation are explored, such as the limited computational speed and the length of the route ahead that can be predicted. For this reason the information input to the optimization tool is segmented and the resulting performance is investigated. For a 30 second segmentation of the future route information, the average saving in fuel consumption is 0.13% relative to the baseline controller. It is shown that the main factor limiting the amount of savings in fuel consumption is the introduction of the thermal load constraints on the battery.
Det nuvarande globala scenariot är sådant där miljöpåverkan håller på att bli en växande angelägenhet. Globala fordonstillverkare har fokuserat mer på hybrid- och elfordon, eftersom både mer medvetna kunder och statlig lagstiftning har börjat kräva högre emissionskrav. Ett av de många sätt som Volvo Car Group närmar sig denna trend är genom mild hybridisering genom att bistå förbränningsmotorn med en liten elmotor och ett batteripaket. En smart strategi för energihantering behövs för att få ut det mesta av de fördelar som hybrida elfordon erbjuder. Huvudsyftet med denna strategi är att utnyttja den elektriska energin ombord på ett sådant sätt att den totala effektiviteten hos hybriddrivlinan blir så hög som möjligt.Den nuvarande implementeringen är sådan att beslutet att använda det fordonsbaserade batteriet är inte-förutsägbart. Detta resulterar i en suboptimal användning av hybriddrivlinan. I denna avhandling är ett prediktivt Energioptimeringsverktyg utvecklat för att maximera nyttan av hybridisering och det praktiska implementerandet av detta verktyg undersöks. Optimeringen beaktar både kapaciteten och de termiska belastningsbegränsningarna hos batteriet. Det utvecklade optimeringsverktyg använder information om vägen framåt tillsammans medkonvex optimering för att producera optimala referenstrajektorier av batteritillståndet. Dessa trajektorier används i en realtidsstyrenhet för att bestämma batterianvändningen genom att kontrollera adjungerade tillstånden strategiekvationen för den ekvivalenta förbrukningsminimiseringen. Optimeringsverktyget verifieras och jämförs med den ursprungliga styrenheten i en simuleringsmiljö baserad på Simulink. När perfekt information om vägen framåt är känd, är den genomsnittliga minskningen av bränsleförbrukningen 0,99 % relativt den ursprungliga styrenheten. Flera frågor som uppstår i den verkliga implementeringen undersöks, såsom den begränsade beräkningshastigheten och längden på den väg framåt som kan förutses. Av denna anledning är segmenteras informationen till optimeringsverktyget och den resulterande prestandan undersöks. För en 30 sekunders segmentering av framtida väginformation är den genomsnittliga besparingen i bränsleförbrukningen 0,13 % i förhållande till den ursprungligastyrenheten. Resultaten visar att den viktigaste faktorn som begränsar bränsleförbrukningsbesparingen är införandet av de termiska belastningsbegränsningarna på batteriet.

This report is a thesis for BTH in collaboration with the company Saab Kockums AB. In order to meet future environmental and economical demands, a vessel must reduce its fuel consumption to have a smaller climate impact and save money. Waste heat recovery systems (WHRS) captures the thermal energy generated from a process that is not used but dumped into the environment and transfers it back to the system. Thermal energy storage (TES) is the method of storing thermal energy which allows heat to be used whenever necessary. Some applications of TES are seasonal storage, where summer heat is stored for use in the winter or when ice is produced during off-peak periods and used for cooling later. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibilities of utilising a vessel’s waste heat by converting thermal energy into electrical energy. This thesis also aims to investigate conditions for SaltX Technology’s nano-coated salt as a potential solution for thermal energy storage. Initially, the expectations and requirements a future WHRS were investigated in a function analysis. Continuously, the method consisted of a combination of a literature review and dialogue with stakeholders. The literature review was used as a tool to identify, select and study concepts of interest built on scientifically proven facts. Dialogues with stake holders were held as a complement to the literature study to find information. The study showed that an organic Rankine cycle has the highest efficiency for low-medium temperature heat and is therefore most suitable to recover thermal energy from the cooling water. The concept of a steam Rankine cycle is most suitable for recovering thermal energy from the exhaust gases for direct use.The study obtained conditions and important properties for storing thermal energy in salt for later use. Finally, the result showed that a Stirling engine is the most efficient concept for conversion of stored energy into electrical energy. The conclusions are that there are great possibilities for waste heat recovery on marine defence platforms. A Stirling engine for energy conversion in combinations with thermal energy storage shows most promise as a future waste heat recovery system on this type of marine platform.
Denna rapport är ett examensarbete för BTH i samarbete med företaget Saab Kockums AB. Arbetet utforskar möjligheterna att möta framtida miljömässiga och ekonomiska krav genom att låta fartyg minska sin bränsleförbrukning. System för återvinning av spillvärme (WHRS) fångar upp värmeenergi som vanligtvis kyls ner eller släpps ut i naturen och för den tillbaka till systemet. Termisk energilagring (TES) är metoder för lagring av värme som gör det möjligt att använda termisk energi när det behövs. Vissa applikationer av TES är säsongslagring, där sommarvärme lagras för användning på vintern eller när is produceras under vintern och används för kylning senare. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka möjligheterna att utnyttja ett fartygs spillvärme genom att omvandla termisk energi till elektrisk energi. Detta examensarbete syftar också till att undersöka förhållandena för hur SaltX Technology’s nanobelagda salt kan användas som en potentiell lösning för lagring av termisk energi. Inledningsvis undersöktes WHRS:s förväntningar och krav i en funktionsanalys. Fortsättningsvis bestod metoden av en kombination av en litteraturstudie och dialoger med intressenter. Litteraturstudien användes som ett verktyg för att identifiera, välja och studera intressanta koncept baserade på vetenskapligt beprövade fakta. Dialoger hölls som ett komplement till litteraturstudien för att hitta information. Studien visade att en organisk Rankine-cykel har den högsta verkningsgraden för låg-medelhög temperatur och därför är bäst lämpad för att återvinna energi buren i kylvattnet samt att en ång-Rankine-cykel är bäst lämpad för att utnyttja energin från avgaserna för direkt användning. Studien erhöll förhållanden för termisk energilagring i salt samt viktiga parametrar för systemet. Slutligen visade resultatet att en Stirlingmotor är det mest effektiva konceptet för omvandling av lagrad energi till elektrisk energi. Slutsatserna är att det finns stora möjligheter för återvinning av restvärme på marina försvarsplattformar. En Stirlingmotor för energiomvandling i kombination med termisk energilagring visar störst potential som ett framtida system för återvinning av spillvärme på denna typen av plattformar.

Detta examensarbete beskriver optimeringsprocessen för ett fönster utifrån relevanta parametrar som tillämpas i Miljöbyggnad 3.0 med avseende på energi och inomhusmiljö. Miljöbyggnad 3.0 är ett miljöcertifieringsystem som bygger på Boverkets Byggregler och Arbetsmiljöverkets regler om arbetsmiljö. De parametrar som fönsterstorleken optimerats utifrån är solvärmelasten, värmeeffektbehovet, den specifika energianvändningen, dagsljuset samt det termiska inneklimatet sommar- och vinter. För betyget i Miljöbyggnad 3.0 på dessa parametrar har fönstrets storlek i förhållande till rummets storlek en avgörande betydelse. Objekten för studien bestod av två typrum, ett behandlingsrum och ett kontorsrum, som kommer att ligga i en framtida byggnad vid Kalmars Länssjukhus. Med hjälp av utredningar och jämförelser mellan teoretiska utgångspunkter och praktiska simuleringar på relevanta parametrar som tillämpas i Miljöbyggnad 3.0 har endast två fönstermått valts för att uppnå minst betygen SILVER i Miljöbyggnad 3.0. Påverkan av invändiga solskydd har även studerats i arbetet.

This work involves the study of heating systems that combine solar collectors, geothermal heat pumps and thermal energy storage in the ground. Solar collectors can reduce the electricity use in these systems by reducing the operation time of the geothermal heat pump and by increasing the ground source temperature. These systems can be designed in many ways, consequently the complexity is high. The purpose of this study has been to develop simulation models to study the behavior of these systems, with emphasis on the thermal energy storage in the ground. A simulation tool with several models has been developed in the simulation software TRNSYS based on the proposed heating system at the GEL under the metrological conditions of Shanghai. The program was used for an intensive simulation study, in which the interaction with the borehole heat exchanger, the geothermal heat pump, the evacuated tube collector and the load requirements could be analyzed. A base case was developed to make it possible to vary and compare the design parameters of interest, such as the ground storage volume, the flow rate of the solar collector and the solar collector area. The base case was based on the design parameters of the GEL. The GEL was used as reference building and was simulated in TRNBuild with the thermal characteristics of the building material. From the simulations the heating demand of the building could be obtained and the building model could later on be used as a heat load for the other simulation models. The results showed that the there were heating demand from November to March. The four operation modes of the proposed heating system at the GEL were presented. All of the operation modes were simulated in TRNSYS. The four operation modes were solar thermal ground storage, solar direct heating, direct heat exchange with the ground storage and geothermal heat pump. The operation modes worked in two different seasons, storage season and heating season. The ground storage mode was studied thoroughly by varying the parameters of interest. To test the significance of the borehole configuration, the storage volume was kept constant and the number of boreholes and the borehole spacing were varied. It was found that a compact pattern with a high number of boreholes and small borehole spacing is favorable for borehole thermal energy storages. The performance of a ground storage is directly linked to the storage size. The solar collector efficiency is highly dependent on the return temperature of the storage. It was decided to continue to work with a compact pattern of the storage, rather than the base case of the GEL. This is because this kind of storage showed the most promising storage efficiency and also reached a high ground temperature during storage season.Simulations of the heating modes showed that the solar direct heating mode, the direct heat exchange with ground storage mode and the geothermal heat pump mode can each cover 37%, 25% and 38% of the heating demand respectively. For the simulations of the geothermal heat pump it was shown that the borehole depth is a very important factor for the system performance. Too short borehole depth will cause unstable and too low temperatures at the inlet of the evaporator. To compare the electricity use of a geothermal heat pump system with and without solar collectors there were also performed simulations for a traditional geothermal heat pump system. Results showed that 26.1% of the electricity consumption could be saved. The savings was mostly due to the reduced operation time of the heat pump, since other heating modes could be used. The studies showed that due to the complexity of such systems it is very important to perform simulations to optimize the performance. There are many factors that play an important role since there are so many components involved. The simulations showed that sizing of the system is critical for the system performance.

Wet gas compression and subsea compression technology has gained increased focus in the recent years. With aging fields on the Norwegian continental shelf and new discoveries in arctic regions, subsea compression could boost aging gas fields and make remote fields profitable where extraction is difficult. Wet-gas compression could reduce the need for expensive scrubbers and separators and this would be a major economic enhancement to subsea processing. There is currently no standard for wet gas compression as the ASME PTC 10 [1] offers no guidance on this. The complex phenomena encountered in wet-gas compression is not yet fully understood. The present work is concerned with the thermal discharge equilibrium of a wet-gas compressor, as this will strongly influence the performance calculations of the compressor. If there is thermodynamic equilibrium at the discharge, then measurements and calculations become relatively simple. If not, then everything becomes more complex.A numerical simulation model was established, both for dry and wet gas. An open loop test rig at NTNU was used to compare calculations with experiments to validate the model. This was done with great success for dry gas. For wet gas accurate measurements were not obtained. The working fluid was an air-water mixture, where water was injected into almost saturated air.To calculate the possible gas discharge temperature under heavily wet conditions, a power balance was also set up. The uncertainties in the frequency converter and the torque meter were too great for reliable power calculations. A new measurement technique has been proposed to be able to measure the gas temperature, utilizing a cyclone to separate the gas prior to the measurements. This technique has not been tested.The numerical model showed small signs of non-equilibrium conditions at GMF 0,8. The discharge temperature proved as large as 0,16°C or 0,15°C depending on the droplet diameter. These differences are still significant when calculating the polytropic efficiency. Evaporation proved to be virtually non-existent in the calculations, due to almost saturated conditions at the inlet. Still, validation against wet-gas experiments is needed to confirm the findings.

Inom dagens byggande i Sverige ställs allt högre krav på den värmeisolerande förmågan hos klimatskärmen i de hus som byggs. Detta ställer i sin tur högre krav på konstruktionerna och medför även ny problematik. Standardlösningar som tidigare fungerat bra byts ut mot nya, ibland obeprövade, lösningar. De hårdare kraven på energi- och fuktdimensionering innebär alltså att vikten av val av stommaterial ökar vid en projektering. Vi har här försökt ge en realistisk bild av hur valet av reglar kan påverka energi och fukttillståndet hos en byggnad med utfackningsväggar, med fokus på reglar i fält. Till undersökningen användes referensobjekt i form av ritningar som tillhandahölls av handledaren på Clarus arkitekter. Med hjälp av dessa gjordes tredimensionella energiberäkningar som visade dels att valet av material kan ha mycket stor betydelse både för energiförluster och fukttillstånd, samt att sambanden inte nödvändigtvis behöver vara enkla. Valet av reglar har mycket varierande betydelse beroende på hur väggen är uppbyggd. Genom en laboration undersöktes skillnaden mellan slitsade och oslitsade ytterväggsreglar för att ge ökad förståelse och verifiera noggrannheten av beräkningarna jämfört med en verklig vägg. Det sista visade sig svårt att uppnå, men det var tydligt att slitsarna hade mycket stor betydelse för temperaturfördelningen i en vägg.
Construction of Swedish buildings today places higher demands on the heat-insulating capacity of the building envelope in the house built. This in turn places higher demands on the structures and also creates new problems. Standard solutions that previously worked well are being replaced by new, sometimes untested, solutions. The tougher demands on energy and moisture design means that the choice of substrate material is of greater importance than before when designing buildings.Here we have tried to give a realistic view of how the choice of studs can affect energy and humidity conditions of a building with curtain walls, focusing on studs in the field. The survey used reference objects projects in the form of drawings provided by the supervisor at Clarus Architects. Using these, three-dimensional calculations were made showing firstly that the choice of material can be of great importance both for the energy and moisture, and secondly, that the relationship is not necessarily simple. The importance of the choice of studs varies depending on how the wall is built. By a laboratory experiment, the correlation between slotted and unslotted outer wall studs was examined to provide greater understanding and verifying the accuracy of the calculations compared to a real wall. The last task proved difficult to achieve, but it was clear that the studs had great significance for the temperature distribution in a wall.

In Photovoltaic/Thermal (PVT) technology, both PV and solar thermal technology are integrated in the same module for simultaneous electricity and heat production. Research has shown that there are multiple benefits from integrating PVT collectors with a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system, since it allows for seasonal storage of thermal energy over the year. Furthermore, it leads to reduced operating temperatures for the PVT collectors which can increase efficiency and lifetime. The aim of this study is to present the electric and thermal performance of a PVT collector developed by Solhybrid i Småland AB, for different environmental and fluid inlet conditions that can occur when PVT collectors are connected to a GSHP system. Furthermore, the performance of this PVT design is evaluated with ASHRAE (Standard 93-2003), to allow for comparison with other PVT collector designs, with values on the overall heat loss coefficient (UL) and heat removal factor (FR). The modelling tool used for the study is the software COMSOL Multiphysics, which uses the finite element method to solve the partial differential equations in heat transfer and fluid flow problems. Based on the performance curves, the thermal and electrical efficiency of the collector is approximately 48.0-53.4% and 19.0-19.2% respectively at a reduced temperature of zero and irradiance levels of 800-1000 W/m2 for the mass flow rate of 0.026 kg/sm2 which was determined as most suitable to increase thermal performance. Furthermore, these results resulted in a heat removal factor (FR) and overall heat loss coefficient (UL) of 0.56-0.62 and 53.4-53.5 W/m2 K respectively. The results on the performance of the PVT collector in different weather conditions shows that the inlet water temperature can significantly affect operating time and the amount of thermal energy that can be extracted during the year, especially if the collector operates in a colder climate like Sweden. To assess the accuracy of the created model, future work includes experimental testing of the studied PVT collector.
En panel med kombinerad teknik av både solceller och termisk solfångare (PVT) kan producera både elektricitet och värme samtidigt. Forskning har visat att det kan finnas flera fördelar med att integrera PVT-paneler med ett bergvärmesystem, eftersom det mjliggör lagring av termisk energi över året. Dessutom leder ett sådant system till lägre drifttemperaturer som kan öka PVT-panelens effektivitet och livslängd. Syftet med studien är att presentera den elektriska och termiska prestandan av en PVT-panel utvecklat av Solhybrid i Småland AB för olika driftförhållanden som kan uppstå på grund av olika väderförhållanden och inlopps-temperaturer när panelerna är kopplade till ett bergvärmesystem. Vidare utvärderas prestandan för denna panel med ASHRAEmetoden (standard 93-2003), för att möjliggöra jämförelse med andra PVT-paneler. Modelleringsverktyget som använts i studien är mjukvaran COMSOL Multiphysics, som använder finita elementmetoden för att lösa partiella differentialekvationer i värmeöverförings-och flödesproblem. Baserat på prestandakurvorna som presenteras i resultatet, är den termiska och elektriska verkningsgraden approximativt 48.0-53.4% respektive 19.0-19.2% för en reducerad temperatur med värdet noll, en solstrålning mellan 800-1000 W/m2, för en massflödeshastighet på 0.026 kg/sm2 som beslutades som den mest lämpliga för att öka den termiska prestandan. Resultaten resulterade i en värmeavledningsfaktor (FR) och total värmeförlustkoefficient (UL) på 0.56-0.62 respektive 53.4-53.5 W/m2 K. Resultaten på PVT-panelens prestanda under olika väderförhållanden visar att vattnets inloppstemperatur kan påverka drifttiden och mängden termisk energi som kan extraheras under året avsevärt, speciellt i nordiskt klimat. För att bedöma korrektheten i resultaten och den skapade modellen rekommenderas experimentell testning av den studerade PVT-panelen.

As the renewable energy sources are finding more place in the energy generation technologies,the Swedish energy market is also undergoing transformations. Renewable energy sources inthe energy generation system brings more volatility and price fluctuations which can mean challenges and opportunities. Svenska Kraftnät, as the authority responsible for safety and stability of Swedish transmission system, addresses the challenges with higher shares of renewable energy sources to some extent with more frequency stabilizing solutions but the electricity prices are controlled by free market which is led by NordPool. Växjö Energi is a state-owned company with energy generation facility of combined heat and power, operating in SE4 area of electricity market. As SE4 is the region affected the most with the price fluctuations, Växjö Energi is interested in analyzing the possibility of increasing their profit by utilizing the available energy storage technologies in the market in long term energy storage applications. The available energy storage solutions and the ones under development have each, their own pros and cons that this project attempts to go through from economical, technical, and sustainability perspective. Technologies such as compressed air energy storage and pumped hydro are more mature and there are more data available about them with less uncertainty. However, technologies such as gravity power module are new and there is not much information so the uncertainty of data is higher. A model has been developed in this project from earlier work of other researchers, to measure the highest possible profit for each energy storage technology in a specific price time series through electricity storage. The result suggests the compressed air energy storage, gravity power module, and pumped thermal electricity storage are the interesting technologies for further study. We show through this work that their costs and possible revenues are comparable. The future work on this subject is to include the suggested technologies with more details and adaptation to Växjö Energi conditions for more detailed and reliable results.
Förnybara energikällor får en större andel av energiproduktionsteknikerna samtidigt som den svenska energimarknaden genomgår förändringar. Förnybara energikällor i energiproduktionssystemet ger mer volatilitet och prisfluktuationer som kan innebära både utmaningar och möjligheter. Svenska Kraftnät, den ansvariga myndigheten för säkerhet och stabilitet i det svenska överföringssystemet, hanterar utmaningarna relaterade till högre andel förnybara energikällor med mer frekvensstabiliserande lösningar men samtidigt styrs elpriserna av den fria marknaden som leds av NordPool. Växjö Energi är ett statligt företag med energiproduktionsanläggning för kraftvärme som verkar inom SE4-området på elmarknaden. Eftersom SE4 är den region som drabbas mest av prisfluktuationerna, är Växjö Energi intresserad av att analysera möjligheten att öka deras vinst genom att använda tillgängliga energilagringsteknologier på marknaden för energibitrageapplikationer. De tillgängliga energilagringslösningarna och de som är under utveckling har alla sina egna fördelar och nackdelar som detta projekt analyserar ur ett ekonomiskt-, tekniskt- och hållbarhetsperspektiv. Teknik som tryckluft, energilagring och vattenkraft är mer mogna och det finns mer information om dem samt mindre osäkerhet. Däremot, energilagringsystem såsom gravitationskraftmodul är ny vilket gör att den tillgängliga informationen är begränsad och följaktligen mer osäker. Detta projekt har utvecklat en modell utifrån tidigare forskning i området, för att mäta högsta möjliga vinst för varje energilagringsteknik under en specifik tid genom ellagring. Resultatet antyder att lagring av tryckluft, tyngdkraftsmodul och pumpad termisk ellagring är de intressanta teknikerna för vidare studier. Genom detta arbete visar vi att deras kostnader och eventuella intäkter är jämförbara. Vidare studier utifrån detta projekt är att studera de föreslagna teknikerna djupare med hänsyn till Växjö Energis förhållanden för mer detaljerade och tillförlitliga resultat.

This dissertation was undertaken to study two different subjects both related to molecular decomposition by applying a shock tube and non-thermal plasma to decompose selected hydrocarbons. The first approach to molecular decomposition concerned thermal decomposition and oxidation of highly diluted nitromethane (NM) in a shock tube. Reflected shock tube experiments on NM decomposition, using mixtures of 0.2 to 1.5 vol% NM in nitrogen or argon were performed over the temperature range 850-1550 K and pressure range 190-900 kPa, with 46 experiments diluted in nitrogen and 44 diluted in argon. By residual error analysis of the measured decomposition profiles it was found that NM decomposition (CH₃NO₂ + M -> CH₃ + NO₂ + M, where M = N₂ /Ar) corresponds well to a law of first order. Arrhenius expressions corresponding to NM diluted either in N₂ or in Ar were found as k_N2 = 1017.011×exp(-182.6 kJ/mole / R×T 3/mole×s> and k_Ar = 1017.574×exp(-207 kJ/mole / R×T )/mole×s>, respectively. A new reaction mechanism was then proposed, based on new experimental data for NM decomposition both in Ar and N₂ and on three previously developed mechanisms. The new mechanism predicts well the decomposition of NM diluted in both N₂ and Ar within the pressure and temperature range covered by the experiments.

In parallel to, and following the decomposition experiments, oxidative experiments on the ignition delay times of NM/O₂/Ar mixtures were investigated over high temperature and low to high pressure ranges. These experiments were carried out with eight different mixtures of gaseous NM and oxygen diluted in argon, with pressures ranging between 44.3-600 kPa, and temperatures ranging between 842-1378 K.

The oxidation experiments were divided into different categories according to the type of decomposition signals achieved. For signals with and without emission, the apparent quasi-constant activation energy was found from the correlations, to be 64.574 kJ/mol and 113.544 kJ/mol, respectively. The correlations for the ignition delay for time signals with and without emission were deduced as τemission = 0.3669×10^-2×[NM]^-1.02[O₂]^-1.08×[Ar]^1.42×exp(7767/T) and τno emission = 0.3005×10^-2×[NM]^-0.28[O₂]^0.12×[Ar]^-0.59×exp(13657/T), respectively.

The second approach to molecular decomposition concerned the application of non-thermal plasma to initiate reactions and decompose/oxidize selected hydrocarbons, methane and propane, in air. Experiments with a gliding arc discharge device were performed at the university of Orléans on the decomposition/reforming of low-to stoichiometric concentration air/CH₄ mixtures. The presented results show that complete reduction of methane could be obtained if the residence time in the reactor was sufficiently long. The products of the methane decomposition were mainly CO₂, CO and H₂O. The CH₄ conversion rate showed to increase with increasing residence time, temperature of the operating gas, and initial concentration of methane. To achieve complete decomposition of CH₄ in 1 m³ of a 2 vol% mixture, the energy cost was about 1.5 kWh. However, the formation of both CO and NOx in the present gliding discharge system was found to be significant. The produced amount of both CO (0.4-1 vol%) and NO_x (2000-3500 ppm) were in such high quantities that they would constitute an important pollution threat if this process as of today was to be used in large scale CH₄ decomposition. Further experimental investigations were performed on self-built laboratory scale, single- and double dielectric-barrier discharge devices as a means of removing CH₄ and C₃H_{8 f}rom simulated reactive inlet mixtures. The different discharge reactors were all powered by an arrangement of commercially available Tesla coil units capable of high-voltage high-frequency output. The results from each of the different experiments are limited and sometimes only qualitative, but show a tendency that the both CH₄ and C₃H₈ are reduced in a matter of a 3-6 min. retention time. The most plausible mechanism for explaining the current achievements is the decomposition by direct electron impact.

Det byggdes många byggnader med fasader av glas under 90-talet. Arkitekterna ville med detta framhäva en design som var luftig, ljus, genomskinlig och som hade god tillgång till naturligt dagsljus. Dock finns problem med dessa byggnader eftersom de ofta har hög energianvändning och dålig termisk komfort. I denna fallstudie undersöktes glasbyggnaden Bråbänken i Gävle, den hade vid till- fället problem med den termiska komforten då byggnaden upplevdes för varm på sommaren och för kall på vintern. Vidare var energianvändningen för byggnaden hög då den var dåligt isolerad och hade hög solinstrålning. Studien gick ut på att komma till rätta med dessa problem genom att bygga en termisk numerisk modell av byggnaden i simuleringsprogrammet IDA-ICE och sedan studera olika förbätt- ringsåtgärder genom att ändra indatan för byggnadens olika komponenter. Resultatet av simuleringarna visade att en reduktion av solinstrålningen genom sol- film och screenväv förbättrade den termiska komforten på sommaren men margi- nellt försämrade den på vintern. Årsenergianvändningen reducerades för åtgärderna genom att byggnaden i högre grad bibehöll sin värme på vintern och minimerade kylbehovet på sommaren. Slutsatsen blev att en kombinerad åtgärd med ickemetallisk solfilm på väggfönster och screenväv på taket är den bästa lösningen för att komma tillrätta med problemen vad gäller termisk komfort och energianvändning för glasbyggnaden Bråbänken.
There was a lot of construction of buildings with glazed facades during the 90 ́s. The architects wanted to show a design that was airy, bright, transparent and that had a good availability of natural daylight. However there is a problem with these build- ings because they have a high energy consumption and bad thermal comfort. In this case study a glass building in Gävle called Bråbänken was studied, which at the moment has problems with thermal comfort according to the occupants who complained about it being to hot in the summer and to cold in the winter. Further- more the energy consumption for the building was high because it was poorly insu- lated and had high solar radiation. The study aimed at addressing these problems by creating a thermal model of the building in the energy simulation program IDA-ICE and then study different improvements by changing the input values for various components of the model. The results of the simulations showed that by reducing the solar radiation through solar film and screen fabrics improved the thermal comfort in the summer but mar- ginally deteriorated it in the winter. The annual energy consumption was reduced by minimizing the use of energy for heating in the winter and of cooling in the sum- mer. The conclusion was that a combination of non-metallic solar film on walls and screen fabrics on the roof is the best solution to improve the thermal comfort and energy consumption for the glass building Bråbänken.

Samhällets normer och riktlinjer är att dagens byggnader ska minska sinenergianvändning för att erhålla en bättre energiprestanda. För att möjliggöra detta harnya lagar tagits fram för att säkerställa att så är fallet. Högskolan i Halmstad (HH) beståridag av 18 byggnadskroppar, var och en med sin egna unika energianvändning. För att fåen helhetsblick över HHs energisituation har mätvärden för fjärrvärme, kyla samt el tagitsfram. Uppgiften att få fram dessa mätvärden har varit mödosam då flera instanser frånbåde HH, leverantören samt fastighetsförvaltaren har behövt rådfrågas. Dessa mätvärdenhar behandlats utefter riktlinjer från Boverket angående hur energideklarationer skautfärdas. Där har dock funnits mätvärden som ej har kunnat erhållas, detta beroende av attflera byggnader delade på samma anslutningspunkt, detta har gjort att en uppdelning påhur mycket energi varje byggnad använder sig av har varit omöjlig att svara på. Vid dessasituationer har de byggnadernas energianvändning samt ytor slagits samman för att sedanbli behandlade som en byggnad. Ytterliggare förenklingar har förekommit frånleverantören då flera kunder har delat på samma anslutningspunkt där separata mätareinte har existerat. Vid dessa tillfällen har leverantören fördelat energianvändningenprocentuellt mellan kunderna, en fördelning som uppfattas som hämmande förenergieffektiviserings åtgärder. Fördelning av denna typ påvisar inte den verkligaenergianvändningen i en specifik byggnad. Vid jämförelse av de mätvärden sominhämtats från leverantören och de utförda energideklarationerna har flera felaktigheterpåträffats. I energideklarationerna har förväxling av ytor förekommit. Även renaförsummande av kyla har förekommit. Det slutgiltiga resultatet visar på att HHsbyggnader har högre energianvändning än vad de dokument som enligt samhället skasäkerställa den energiprestanda varje byggnad innehar.

Society's standards and guidelines say that today's buildings shall reduce their energyconsumption to obtain a better energy performance. To make this possible new laws havebeen formulated to ensure that this is the case. Halmstad University (HH) consists of 18building cells, each with has its own unique energy usage. To get an overall image overHH’s energy situation, the values for heating, cooling and electricity have been collected.The task of obtaining these values has been difficult were multiple instances in HH, theenergy provider and the property manager has been consulted. These values have beentreated along the guidelines of the National Housing Board on how the energyconsumption documents should be created. There have been some values that areunobtainable, the reason for this is because several buildings shared the same connectionpoint for heating, cooling and energy, because of this a breakdown of how much energyeach building uses have been impossible to answer. In these situations all of the buildingsenergy consumptions and surfaces have been pooled and then been treated as onebuilding. Further simplification has been made. In some instances many differentcustomers have shared the same connection point even though separate meters for eachcustomer have not existed. On these occasions the energy provider has divided the energyconsumption between the energy customers only with the means of a fixed percentage, adistribution that is perceived as a disincentive to energy efficiency measures.Distributions of this type do not show the actual energy usage in a specific building.When comparing the values obtained from the energy provider and the energyconsumption documents, several errors were found. Some of the building surfaces havebeen switched. Even pure neglections have occurred. The final result shows that HH’sbuildings have higher energy consumption than the documents that society refers to tooensure that the energy performance of each building is known.

This degree project cover renovation of sanitary rooms with focus on an exchange from a radiator system to an underfloor heating system out of the three aspects energy, moisture and thermal comfort. The used method is literature study, interview, case study and calculations. When a radiator system is replaced with an underfloor heating system the energy demand will decrease due to a possible temperature reduction. The power requirement for the bathrooms will be reduced if the finish material have a higher density and the volume of the room is small. The moisture aspect can in some cases deteriorate with the replacement of systems. It is possible to achieve the same thermal comfort with any system, but it is easier to adjust with an underfloor heating system. An exchange from a radiator system to an underfloor heating system is possible. The energy and thermal comfort aspects improves, but the moisture aspect will potentially degrade.

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is a fast-growing technology for electricity production. With mirrors (heliostats) irradiation of the sun is concentrated onto a receiver run through by a heat transfer fluid (HTF). The fluid by that reaches high temperatures and is used to drive a steam turbine for electricity production. A CSP power plant is most often coupled with an energy storage unit, where the HTF is stored before it is dispatched and used to generate electricity. Electricity is most often sold at an open market with a fluctuating spot-prices. It is therefore of high importance to generate and sell the electricity at the highest paid hours, increasingly important also since the governmental support mechanisms aimed to support renewable energy production is faded out since the technology is starting to be seen as mature enough to compete by itself on the market. A solar power plant thus has an operational protocol determining when energy is dispatched, and electricity is sold. These protocols are often pre-defined which means an optimal production is not achieved since irradiation and electricity selling price vary. In this master thesis, an optimization algorithm for electricity sales is designed (in MATLAB). The optimization algorithm is designed by for a given timeframe solve an optimization problem where the objective is maximized revenue from electricity sales from the solar power plant. The function takes into consideration hourly varying electricity spot price, hourly varying solar field efficiency, energy flows in the solar power plant, start-up costs (from on to off) plus conditions for the logic governing the operational modes. Two regular pre-defined protocols were designed to be able to compare performance in a solar power plant with the optimized dispatch protocol. These three operational protocols were evaluated in three different markets; one with fluctuating spot price, one regulated market of three fixed price levels and one in spot market but with zero-prices during sunny hours. It was found that the optimized dispatch protocol gave both bigger electricity production and revenue in all markets, but with biggest differences in the spot markets. To evaluate in what type of powerplant the optimizer performs best, a parametric analysis was made where size of storage and power block, the time-horizon of optimizer and the cost of start-up were varied. For size of storage and power block it was found that revenue increased with increased size, but only up to the level where the optimizer can dispatch at optimal hours. After that there is no increase in revenue. Increased time horizon gives increased revenue since it then has more information. With a 24-hour time horizon, morning price-peaks will be missed for example. To change start-up costs makes the power plant less flexible and with fewer cycles, without affect income much.
Koncentrerad solkraft (CSP) är en snabbt växande teknologi för elektricitets-produktion. Med speglar (heliostater) koncentreras solstrålar på en mottagare som genomflödas av en värmetransporteringsvätska. Denna uppnår därmed höga temperaturer vilket används för att driva en ångturbin för att generera el. Ett CSP kraftverk är oftast kopplat till en energilagringstank, där värmelagringsvätskan lagras innan den används för att generera el. El säljs i de flesta fall på en öppen elmarknad, där spotpriset fluktuerar. Det är därför av stor vikt att generera elen och sälja den vid de timmar med högst elpris, vilket också är av ökande betydelse då supportmekanismerna för att finansiellt stödja förnybar energiproduktion används i allt mindre grad för denna teknologi då den börjar anses mogen att konkurrera utan. Ett solkraftverk har således ett driftsprotokoll som bestämmer när el ska genereras. Dessa protokoll är oftast förutbestämda, vilket innebär att en optimal produktion inte fås då exempelvis elspotpriset och solinstrålningen varierar. I detta examensarbete har en optimeringsalgoritm för elförsäljning designats (i MATLAB). Optimeringsscriptet är designat genom att för en given tidsperiod lösa ett optimeringsproblem där objektivet är maximerad vinst från såld elektricitet från solkraftverket. Funktionen tar hänsyn till timvist varierande elpris, timvist varierande solfältseffektivitet, energiflöden i solkraftverket, kostnader för uppstart (on till off) samt villkor för att logiskt styra de olika driftlägena. För att jämföra prestanda hos ett solkraftverk med det optimerade driftsprotokollet skapades även två traditionella förutbestämda driftprotokoll. Dessa tre driftsstrategier utvärderades i tre olika marknader, en med ett varierande el-spotpris, en i en reglerad elmarknad med tre prisnivåer och en i en marknad med spotpris men noll-pris under de soliga timmarna. Det fanns att det optimerade driftsprotokollet gav både större elproduktion och högre vinst i alla marknader, men störst skillnad fanns i de öppna spotprismarknaderna. För att undersöka i vilket slags kraftverk som protokollet levererar mest förbättring i gjordes en parametrisk analys där storlek på lagringstank och generator varierades, samt optimerarens tidshorisont och kostnad för uppstart. För lagringstank och generator fanns att vinst ökar med ökande storlek upp tills den storlek optimeraren har möjlighet att fördela produktion på dyrast timmar. Ökande storlek efter det ger inte ökad vinst. Ökande tidshorisont ger ökande vinst eftersom optimeraren då har mer information. Att ändra uppstartkostnaden gör att solkraftverket uppträder mindre flexibelt och har färre cykler, dock utan så stor påverkan på inkomst.

Le comportement thermique et thermo-mécanique des pieux énergétiques est étudié par plusieurs approches : mesures au laboratoire sur des éprouvettes de sol, modélisation physique en modèle réduit, expérimentations sur pieu en vraie grandeur, et calculs numériques/analytiques. D’abord, la conductivité thermique d’un loess à l’état non saturé est mesurée en fonction de la teneur en eau et de la succion. Les résultats montrent une relation univoque entre la conductivité thermique et la teneur en eau pendant un cycle d’humidification/séchage alors qu’une boucle d’hystérésis est observée pour la relation entre la conductivité thermique et la succion. Deuxièmement, des essais thermiques sont réalisés sur un pieu énergétique expérimental en vraie grandeur pour étudier le transfert thermique à l’échelle réelle. Troisièmement, une solution analytique est proposée pour simuler la conduction thermique d’un pieu énergétique vers le sol environnant pendant un chauffage. Les tâches mentionnées ci-dessus concernant le comportant thermique sont ensuite complétées par des études sur le comportement thermo-mécanique des pieux énergétiques. D’un côté, des expérimentations sont réalisées sur un modèle réduit de pieu installé dans un sable sec ou dans une argile saturée. Trente cycles thermiques, représentant trente cycles annuels, sont appliqués au pieu sous différentes charges axiales en tête. Les résultats montrent un tassement irréversible avec les cycles thermiques ; ce tassement est plus important sous une charge axiale plus grande. De plus, le tassement est plus marqué pendant les premiers cycles thermiques et devient négligeable pour les cycles suivants. De l’autre côté, les travaux expérimentaux sur le modèle réduit de pieu sont complétés par les calculs numériques utilisant la méthode des éléments finis. Cette approche est d’abord validée avec les résultats obtenus sur le pieu modèle avant d’être utilisée pour prédire les résultats des expérimentations en vraie grandeur
The thermal and thermo-mechanical behavior of energy piles is investigated by various approaches: laboratory measurement on small soil samples, physical modeling on small-scale pile, experiments on real-scale pile, and analytical/numerical calculations. First, the thermal conductivity of unsaturated loess is measured simultaneously with moisture content and suction. The results show a unique relationship between thermal conductivity and moisture content during a wetting/drying cycle while a clear hysteresis loop can be observed on the relationship between thermal conductivity and suction. Second, thermal tests are performed on a full-scale experimental energy pile to observe heat transfer at the real scale. Third, an analytical solution is proposed to simulate conductive heat transfer from an energy pile to the surrounding soil during heating. The above-mentioned tasks related to the thermal behavior are then completed by studies on the thermo-mechanical behavior of energy piles. On one hand, experiments are performed on a small-scale pile installed either in dry sand or in saturated clay. Thirty thermal cycles, representing thirty annual cycles, are applied to the pile under various constant pile head loads. The results show irreversible pile head settlement with thermal cycles; the settlement is higher at higher pile head load. In addition, the irreversible thermal settlement is the most significant during the first cycles; it becomes negligible at high number of cycles. On the other hand, the experimental work with small-scale pile is completed with numerical calculations by using the finite element method. This approach is first validated with the results on small-scale pile prior to be used to predict the results of full-scale experiments

Dagsljus i byggnader är viktigt för både den fysiska och psykiska hälsan. Dagsljusinsläpp i byggnader sker genom fönster, men fönster är även den byggnadskomponent som medför störst energiförluster i en byggnad. Därför finns det problem i att skapa en god balans mellan utformning, energieffektivisering och termisk komfort samtidigt som ett tillfredsställande dagsljus ska tillämpas i byggnader där människor vistas. Detta examensarbete som omfattar 15 hp syftar till att effektivisera samt förenkla bedömningen av ett tillfredsställande dagsljus, för att uppnå kraven i miljöcertifieringsmetoden Miljöbyggnad, där även intilliggande faktorer som energi och termiskt klimat studeras. Målet var att upprätta ett förprojekteringsverktyg för indikatorn Dagsljus som i framtiden kan användas av konsulter, arkitekter och andra inom byggbranschen när en byggnad ska miljöcertifieras enligt metoden Miljöbyggnad. För att skapa verktyget gjordes datamodeller av testrum med olika förutsättningar, där dagsljusfaktorn, DF, kontrollerades. Under arbetets gång har datorprogrammen Velux, ParaSol och Thermal Comfort Calculator använts. Parameterstudier utfördes för att åskådliggöra samband mellan dagsljusfaktor, fönsterarea samt rummets form och storlek, vilket resulterade i att två diagram upprättades. För att kontrollera att parameterstudiens resultat kan tillämpas för verkliga objekt och rum utfördes en fallstudie på byggnaden Ängsbacken i Sandviken. Denna fallstudie validerade att diagrammen som upprättats kan uppskatta en dagsljusfaktor, DF, för ett rum som sedan kan erhålla ett preliminärt betyg för indikatorn Dagsljus inom Miljöbyggnad. Diagrammen som upprättats kan användas som ett grovt förprojekteringsverktyg som kan tillämpas när konsult, arkitekt m.fl känner till rumsdjup samt fasadväggens area (bredden och höjden i rummet) men vill veta hur stort fönster som krävs för att uppnå BRONS eller SILVER för indikatorn Dagsljus inom Miljöbyggnad. Vidare kan vara intressant att studera om det även finns ett samband mellan de tre indikatorerna Dagsljus, Solvärmelast och Termiskt klimat och vilken påverkan fönsterglas, solavskärmningar m.m kan ha på dagsljusfaktorn. För samtliga testrum som modellerats och tillämpats i studien har betyget GULD erhållits för Solvärmelasten. För det Termiska klimatet fick samtliga testrum betyget SILVER. Dessa indikatorer verkar inte påverkas av rummets geometri i lika stor utsträckning som dagsljusfaktorn, som tar mer hänsyn till både rummets och fönstrets storlek samt utformning. Därför bör vid bedömning enligt Miljöbyggnad största vikt ligga på att uppfylla ett tillfredsställande dagsljusinsläpp genom att kontrollera att dagsljusfaktorn uppfylls i rummet, vilket enkelt kan utföras med hjälp av studiens förprojekteringsverktyg. Det effektiva förprojekteringsverktyget kan användas för att förenkla och påskynda bedömningsprocessen samt uppskatta ett betyg för indikatorn Dagsljus inom Miljöbyggnad. Genom att använda sig av verktyget i ett tidigt projekteringsskede, där användningen av tidskrävande datorprogram undviks, kan både kostnader och tid minimeras.
Daylight in buildings is important for both physical and mental health. Daylighting in buildings is transferred through windows, but the windows are also the building component that causes the greatest energy loss in a building. Therefore, there is a problem in creating a good balance between design, energy efficiency and thermal comfort while maintaining a sufficient daylight to be applied in buildings where people are staying. This thesis comprising 15 hp aims to efficiency and simplify the assessment of satisfying daylight, to achieve the requirements of the environmental certification method Miljöbyggnad, where neighboring factors such as energy and the thermal environment is studied. The goal was to establish a pre-planning tool for the indicator Daylight that can be used in the future by consultants and similar when a building is assessed by environmental certification according to the method Miljöbyggnad. The tool is based on computer models of experimental room with different conditions where the daylight factor, DF, was controlled. The computer programs Velux, ParaSol and Thermal Comfort Calculator where applied during the study. Parametric studies were performed to illustrate the connection between daylight factor, window area and the shape and size of the room, resulting in the establishment of two charts. To check that the parameter results of the study can be applied to real-world objects and rooms a case study was performed on the building Ängsbacken in Sandviken. This case study validated that the diagrams drawn can appreciate a daylight factor, DF, for a room that can then obtain a preliminary rating for the indicator Daylight in Miljöbyggnad. The diagrams can be used as a rough pre-planning tool that can be applied when the consultant, architect or similar knows the room depth and facadewall area (width and height of the room) but want to know how big window needed to achieve BRONZE or SILVER for indicator Daylight in Miljöbyggnad. In the future it might be interesting to study if there is also a correlation between the three indicators Daylight, Solar Thermal Load and Thermal environment and the impact of windows, sun screens etc. which can affect the daylight factor. For all test room modeled and applied in the study, grade GOLD were obtained for the Solarheating. For the Thermal environment all the test room obtained the grade SILVER. These indicators seem unaffected by the geometry just as much as the daylight factor, which takes more into account both the room and the window size and design. Therefore the assessment according to Miljöbyggnad paramount lie on meeting a satisfying daylight by checking that the daylight factor is fulfilled in the room, which can easily be performed with the help of this studies pre-planning tool. The effective pre-planning tool can be used to simplify and speed up the evaluation process and appreciate a score for indicator Daylight in Miljöbyggnad. By making use of the tool in an early planning stage, where the use of time-consuming computer programs is avoided, both the cost and time can be minimized.

Renewable energy for energy production, like Solar, is turning out to be very pertinent in today's world [1]. It is very clear that Solar Energy is going to emerge as one of the key sources of energy in future. Moreover, the storage option is going to play an essential role to the future deployment of solar power plants. Concentrated solar power plants with thermal storage, photovoltaic plants integrated with battery energy storage, and hybrid plants are attractive solutions to obtain a stable and dispatchable energy production. Investors or policymakers usually find it challenging to come up with the most feasible solar storage technology because they need to consider techno-economic feasibility, and at the same time, from a market or administrative perspective as well. So, this thesis study will address the key problem which is aimed at investors or policymakers since there is a need to choose the best solar storage technology at a utility level in future based on so many attributes. The thesis project was carried out in two phases which includes forecast modelling & estimations and techno-economic assessment of virtual plants. These two phases helped to address various questions in relation to the problem statement of this study. The entire thesis study broadly covered seven countries spanning across four major regions around the world. The first phase of the thesis, forecast modelling estimations shows how the seven countries will look in future (2020 – 2050) with respect to installed capacity and costs for PV, CSP, and BESS technologies. Some major results from phase 1 include, in low-cost estimates, China will remain to be the market leader in PV & CSP by 2050. In U.S.A and India, the installed costs of PV are projected to decline by 70% by 2050. By 2050, the installed costs of Solar Tower technology are estimated to drop by about 65% in China and Spain. In U.S.A, the prices of BESS technology are likely to fall by around 58 – 60 % by 2050. In the second phase of thesis study, a techno-economic evaluation of virtual plants addressed the aspects which are to be considered for a solar project if it is deployed in future across seven specific countries. Results from this analysis helps investors or policymakers to choose the cheapest solar storage technology at a utility level across seven specific countries in future (2020 – 2050). Key results from this analysis show that, in the U.S.A, by 2050, PV+BESS will be the cheapest storage technology for 4 – 10 storage hours. Addition of another renewable technology will add up more viability to the comparison. In China, Hybrid will be the cheapest storage technology for 4 – 8 hrs by 2050. There is huge potential for deployment of CSP & hybrid plants in future than PV. In South Africa, CSP will be the cheapest storage technology by 2050 for 4 – 10 hours of storage. It is assumed that deployment of BESS projects at utility level starts from 2025 in South Africa. Beyond this, market forces analysis was carried out which offers insights especially for the policymakers of how various drivers and constraints are influencing each solar technology across the specific countries in future. Overall, the entire thesis study provides guidelines/insights to investors or policy makers for choosing the best solar storage technology in future at a utility scale for a particular country.
Förnybar energi för energiproduktion, liksom Solar, visar sig vara mycket relevant i dagens värld [1]. Det är mycket tydligt att solenergi kommer att framstå som en av de viktigaste energikällorna i framtiden. Dessutom kommer lagringsalternativet att spela en väsentlig roll för den framtida distributionen av solkraftverk. Koncentrerade solkraftverk med värmelagring, solcellsanläggningar integrerade med batterilagring och hybridanläggningar är attraktiva lösningar för att få en stabil och skickbar energiproduktion. Investerare eller beslutsfattare brukar tycka att det är utmanande att komma på den mest genomförbara solcellstekniken eftersom de måste överväga teknikekonomisk genomförbarhet, och samtidigt, ur ett marknads- eller administrativt perspektiv också. Så denna avhandlingsstudie kommer att ta itu med nyckelproblemet som riktar sig till investerare eller beslutsfattare eftersom det finns ett behov av att välja den bästa solenergilagringstekniken på en användningsnivå i framtiden baserat på så många attribut. Avhandlingsprojektet genomfördes i två faser som inkluderar prognosmodellering och uppskattningar och teknikekonomisk bedömning av virtuella anläggningar. Dessa två faser hjälpte till att ta itu med olika frågor i samband med problemstudien i denna studie. Hela avhandlingsstudien omfattade i stort sju länder som sträcker sig över fyra stora regioner runt om i världen. Den första fasen i avhandlingen, prognosmodelleringsuppskattningar visar hur de sju länderna kommer att se ut i framtiden (2020 - 2050) med avseende på installerad kapacitet och kostnader för PV-, CSP- och BESS -teknik. Några viktiga resultat från fas 1 inkluderar, i lågkostnadsuppskattningar, att Kina kommer att vara marknadsledande inom PV och CSP år 2050. I USA och Indien beräknas de installerade kostnaderna för PV minska med 70% år 2050. Av 2050 beräknas de installerade kostnaderna för Solar Tower -teknik sjunka med cirka 65% i Kina och Spanien. I USA kommer priserna på BESS -teknik sannolikt att sjunka med cirka 58 - 60 % år 2050. I den andra fasen av avhandlingsstudien behandlade en teknikekonomisk utvärdering av virtuella anläggningar de aspekter som ska övervägas för ett solprojekt om det används i framtiden i sju specifika länder. Resultaten från denna analys hjälper investerare eller beslutsfattare att välja den billigaste solenergilagringstekniken på en användningsnivå i sju specifika länder i framtiden (2020 - 2050). Viktiga resultat från denna analys visar att i USA, år 2050, kommer PV+BESS att vara den billigaste lagringstekniken på 4 - 10 lagringstimmar. Tillägg av en annan förnybar teknik kommer att öka jämförbarheten. I Kina kommer Hybrid att vara den billigaste lagringstekniken i 4-8 timmar fram till 2050. Det finns en enorm potential för distribution av CSP & hybridanläggningar i framtiden än PV. I Sydafrika kommer CSP att vara den billigaste lagringstekniken år 2050 för 4 - 10 timmars lagring. Det antas att distributionen av BESS -projekt på verktygsnivå börjar från 2025 i Sydafrika. Utöver detta genomfördes marknadskravsanalys som ger insikter speciellt för beslutsfattarna om hur olika drivkrafter och begränsningar påverkar varje solteknik i de specifika länderna i framtiden. Sammantaget ger hela avhandlingsstudien riktlinjer/insikter till investerare eller beslutsfattare för att välja den bästa solenergitekniken i framtiden i en nyttoskala för ett visst land.

La demande d'énergie consommée par les habitants a connu une croissance significative au cours des 30 dernières années. Par conséquent, des actions sont menées en vue de développement des énergies renouvelables et en particulier de l'énergie solaire. De nombreuses solutions technologiques ont ensuite été proposées, telles que les capteurs solaires PV/T dont l'objectif est d'améliorer la performance des panneaux PV en récupérant l’énergie thermique qu’ils dissipent à l’aide d’un fluide caloporteur. Les recherches en vue de l'amélioration des productivités thermiques et électriques de ces composants ont conduit à l'intégration progressive à l’enveloppe des bâtiments afin d'améliorer leur surface de captation d’énergie solaire. Face à la problématique énergétique, les solutions envisagées dans le domaine du bâtiment s’orientent sur un mix énergétique favorisant la production locale ainsi que l’autoconsommation. Concernant l’électricité, les systèmes photovoltaïques intégrés au bâtiment (BIPV) représentent l’une des rares technologies capables de produire de l’électricité localement et sans émettre de gaz à effet de serre. Cependant, le niveau de température auquel fonctionnent ces composants et en particulier les composants cristallins, influence sensiblement leur efficacité ainsi que leur durée de vie. Ceci est donc d’autant plus vrai en configuration d’intégration. Ces deux constats mettent en lumière l’importance du refroidissement passif par convection naturelle de ces modules. Ce travail porte sur la simulation numérique d'une façade PV partiellement transparente et ventilée, conçu pour le rafraichissement en été (par convection naturelle) et pour la récupération de chaleur en hiver (par ventilation mécanique). Pour les deux configurations, l'air dans la cavité est chauffé par la transmission du rayonnement solaire à travers des surfaces vitrées, et par les échanges convectif et radiatif. Le système est simulé à l'aide d'un modèle multi-physique réduit adapté à une grande échelle dans des conditions réelles d'exploitation et développé pour l'environnement logiciel TRNSYS. La validation du modèle est ensuite présentée en utilisant des données expérimentales du projet RESSOURCES (ANR-PREBAT 2007). Cette étape a conduit, dans le troisième chapitre du calcul des besoins de chauffage et de refroidissement d'un bâtiment et l'évaluation de l'impact des variations climatiques sur les performances du système. Les résultats ont permis enfin d'effectuer une analyse énergétique et exergo-économique
The demand of energy consumed by human kind has been growing significantly over the past 30 years. Therefore, various actions are taken for the development of renewable energy and in particular solar energy. Many technological solutions have then been proposed, such as solar PV/T collectors whose objective is to improve the PV panels performance by recovering the heat lost with a heat removal fluid. The research for the improvement of the thermal and electrical productivities of these components has led to the gradual integration of the solar components into building in order to improve their absorbing area. Among technologies capable to produce electricity locally without con-tributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) releases is building integrated PV systems (BIPV). However, when exposed to intense solar radiation, the temperature of PV modules increases significantly, leading to a reduction in efficiency so that only about 14% of the incident radiation is converted into electrical energy. The high temperature also decreases the life of the modules, thereby making passive cooling of the PV components through natural convection a desirable and cost-effective means of overcoming both difficulties. A numerical model of heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of natural convection of air is therefore undertaken so as to provide reliable information for the design of BIPV. A simplified numerical model is used to model the PVT collector so as to gain an understanding of the complex processes involved in cooling of integrated photovoltaic arrays in double-skin building surfaces. This work addresses the numerical simulation of a semi-transparent, ventilated PV façade designed for cooling in summer (by natural convection) and for heat recovery in winter (by mechanical ventilation). For both configurations, air in the cavity between the two building skins (photovoltaic façade and the primary building wall) is heated by transmission through transparent glazed sections, and by convective and radiative exchange. The system is simulated with the aid of a reduced-order multi-physics model adapted to a full scale arrangement operating under real conditions and developed for the TRNSYS software environment. Validation of the model and the subsequent simulation of a building-coupled system are then presented, which were undertaken using experimental data from the RESSOURCES project (ANR-PREBAT 2007). This step led, in the third chapter to the calculation of the heating and cooling needs of a simulated building and the investigation of impact of climatic variations on the system performance. The results have permitted finally to perform the exergy and exergoeconomic analysis

Le stockage de chaleur dans des géostructures énergétiques telles que des remblais est réalisable en installant des échangeurs horizontaux au sein des différentes couches de sol compacté. Dans ce système, l'énergie thermique qui est injectée en été via un fluide caloporteur circulant dans les échangeurs de chaleur, peut être extraite en période hivernale. Dans ces conditions, lors de la mise en service, le sol compacté est soumis à des variations de température quotidiennes et saisonnières. Ces variations pourraient modifier les performances thermo-hydro-mécaniques du sol compacté. Ainsi, le but de cette étude est d'étudier les performances thermiques et mécaniques d'un sol compacté lorsqu'il est soumis à des variations de température monotones et cycliques. Le sol étudié est un limon fréquemment utilisé dans les constructions de remblais en France. Le comportement thermique et mécanique du sol est étudié à un état de compactage correspondant aux propriétés thermiques optimales. Dans cet état, le sol compacté est non saturé ce qui complexifie l'estimation de ses propriétés thermiques. Pour pallier à ces difficultés, dans cette étude, un modèle inverse est proposé pour estimer les propriétés thermiques du sol compacté. L’efficacité du modèle est testée sur un jeu de données acquises dans la gamme de 20 à 50 °C dans un modèle réduit en laboratoire. Les valeurs obtenues sont ensuite comparées à des mesures classiques en laboratoire (méthodes en régime transitoire et en régime permanent). Cette méthode pourrait permettre de suivre l’évolution des propriétés thermiques du stockage et ainsi assurer son efficacité tout au long de sa durée de vie. La question de la stabilité à long terme de ces structures soumises à des variations thermiques monotones (5, 20 et 50 °C) et cycliques (5 à 50 °C) est ensuite abordée à l'aide d'essais oedomètriques et d’essais de cisaillement direct à température contrôlée. Les résultats des essais de compressibilité ont montré que l'effet de la variation de température est plus prononcé sous une contrainte verticale supérieure à la pression de préconsolidation. Les indices de compression et de gonflement peuvent être considérés comme indépendants des variations de température. Donc le tassement global du remblai dû aux variations thermiques pourrait être considéré comme négligeable. Les résultats des essais de cisaillement direct ont montré que les variations de température (monotones ou cycliques) augmentent la cohésion ce qui est avantageux pour la capacité portante et la stabilité des pentes des remblais. Dans la phase de conception d'un remblai de stockage, ces résultats seraient utiles au dimensionnement du système si des trajectoires thermomécaniques similaires à celles de cette étude sont respectées. Dans une dernière partie, une simulation numérique prenant en compte l'interaction sol-atmosphère est réalisée afin d’évaluer la performance thermique de ce sol compacté en conditions naturelles. Différentes profondeurs d'installation de boucles d'échangeurs de chaleur sont testéss ainsi que différents scénarios de stockage. Les résultats ont montré que le sol compacté augmente de 8.5% les performances du système par rapport à l'installation d'une boucle horizontale dans le sol naturel (non compacté). Les résultats de deux scénarios différents ont montré qu’en été avec un fluide ayant une température d'entrée de 50 °C augmente significativement la performance du système. De plus, une installation plus profonde des boucles horizontales améliore également la performance du système. Il convient de noter que le remblai est en interaction avec l'atmosphère depuis ses surfaces supérieure et latérale, l'efficacité thermique de la structure pourrait être affectée en raison des pertes de chaleur. Par conséquent, il est préférable de placer les échangeurs de chaleur loin des surfaces supérieures et latérales
Nowadays, thermal energy storage in geostructures like embankments can be possible by installing the horizontal heat exchangers in different layers of compacted soil. In this system, the thermal energy is stored in summer via a fluid, circulating in the heat exchangers, to be extracted in the demand period. When the serviceability of embankment as a medium to store the thermal energy starts, the compacted soil will be subjected to the daily and seasonally temperature variations. These seasonal temperature variations could modify the thermo-hydro-mechanical performance of the compacted soil. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the thermal and mechanical performances of a compacted soil when it is subjected to monotonic and cyclic temperature variations. The studied soil is a sandy lean clay that is frequently used in embankment constructions in France. The thermal and mechanical behavior of the soil are investigated at a compaction state corresponding to the optimal thermal properties. However, this compacted soil is unsaturated and the estimation of its thermal properties is complex. In this study, an inverse analytical model is proposed to estimate the thermal properties of the soil using temperature monitoring in the range of 20 to 50 °C in a soil compacted in a large container. The estimated thermal parameters were compared to classical laboratory measurements (transient and steady-state methods). The comparison showed that the estimated values were close to the results obtained in transient laboratory method. Using this method, the thermal efficiency of the compacted soil can be verified in the lifetime of the storage system. To ensure the structure stability, long-term mechanical response of these systems subjected to monotonic and cyclic temperature variations should be investigated. To achieve this aim, using temperature-controlled oedometric and direct shear devices, consolidation and shear parameters of the studied soil at different monotonic (5, 20, and 50 °C) and cyclic (5 to 50 °C) temperatures were investigated. The results of temperature-controlled oedometric tests showed that the effect of the temperature variation is more pronounced under vertical pressures higher than the preconsolidation pressure. The compression and swelling indexes could be considered independent of temperature variations. Therefore, the overall settlement of the embankment due to thermal variation near the heat exchangers could be considered negligible. The results of temperature-controlled direct shear tests showed that the temperature variations (monotonic heating or cooling, or temperature cycles) increased the cohesion which is beneficial for the bearing capacity and slope stability of embankments. These results can be directly used in the design of embankments to store thermal energy exposed to similar thermo-mechanical paths. Finally, the thermal performance of the compacted soil is verified using a numerical simulation considering the soil atmosphere interaction. Different depths installation of heat exchanger loops and different heat storage scenarios were simulated. The results showed that the compacted soil increases 8.5% the systems performance compared to the horizontal loop installation in the local soil. The results of two different scenarios show that an inlet fluid temperature of 50 °C in summer increases highly the system performance (13.7% to 41.4%) while the improvement is less significant (0% to 4.8%) for the ambient inlet temperature. Moreover, a deeper installation of horizontal loops increases the system performance. From the numerical simulation results can be concealed that the embankment is in interaction with the atmosphere from its upper and lateral surfaces, the thermal efficiency of the structure could be affected due to heat losses. Therefore, it is preferable to place the heat exchangers away from the top and side surfaces

This project focuses on experimentally characterizing one of the tools used at Ericsson AB to test product performance, the climatic chamber. By conducting experiments inside the climate chamber and post processing the data obtained, the airflow inside it can be understood and compared to outdoor experimental data. One of the main sections of this work is to prove the hypothesis: The energy potential of the wind outdoors is greater than indoors, which is shown to be true when comparing values for the integral length scales of the flow, at the same mean wind speed. The second main part of this project is to obtain valuable experimental input that will serve to construct a virtual model of the climate chamber. With the conclusions drawn from the experiments, which involve heat transfer, boundary conditions for the numerical model can be established.
Det här projektet fokuserar på att experimentellt karakterisera ett av verktygen som används i Ericsson AB för att testa produktprestanda - klimatkammaren. Genom att utföra experiment inuti klimatkammaren och efterbehandla de erhållna data, kan man få en förståelse för luftflödet inuti kammaren och jämföra resultat med experimentella data från utomhus. Ett av delmomenten i detta arbete bevisar hypotesen: 'Vindens energipotential är större än inomhus', vilket visar sig vara sant när man jämför värden för flödets integrala längdskalor, med samma medelvärde i vindhastighet. Den andra etappen av detta projekt är att erhålla en värdefull experimentell vägledning som kommer att tjäna till att konstruera en virtuell modell av klimatkammaren. Med slutsatserna från experimenten, som innefattar värmeöverföring, kan gränsvillkor för den numeriska modellen fastställas.

Fuel cell systems are becoming more commonplace as a power generation method and are being researched, developed, and explored for commercial use, including portable fuel cells that appear in laptops, phones, and of course, chargers. This thesis examines a model constructed on inspiration from the myFC PowerTrekk, a portable fuel cell charger, using COMSOL Multiphysics, a finite element analysis software. As an educational tool and in the form of zero-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional models, an investigation was completed into the geometric construction, air conditions and compositions, and product materials with a best case scenario completed that summarizes the results identified. On the basis of the results of this research, it can be concluded that polyoximetylen and high-density polyethylene were considered as possible materials for the majority of the product, though a more thorough investigation is needed. Air flow of above 10 m/s, air water vapour mass fraction below 50% and initial temperature between 308K and 298K was considered in this best scenario. Suggestions on future expansions to this project are also given in the conclusion.

Cette thèse porte sur l’étude du comportement thermique des systèmes photovoltaïques (PV). La première partie de la thèse rassemble et étend l’état de l’art sur la dépendance en température des rendements de conversion PV. L’analyse détaille l’ensemble des phénomènes physiques mis en jeu afin d’améliorer la compréhension des coefficients de température des différentes technologies de cellules PV. La seconde partie de la thèse recense les travaux de recherches effectués pour mitiger l’impact négatif de la température sur les performances des systèmes PV et propose une approche originale qui consiste à prendre en compte les conditions de fonctionnement du système dans le processus d’optimisation de ses caractéristiques. Afin de réaliser de telles optimisations, un modèle thermique complet et général pour les systèmes de conversion photovoltaïque est développé. Enfin, des applications à des systèmes photovoltaïque et thermophotovoltaïque démontrent la pertinence de l'approche proposée
This Ph.D. thesis manuscript reports on a study about the physics of the thermal behavior of photovoltaic (PV) systems. While it is long known that the conversion efficiency of PV devices deteriorates when their temperature increases, a detailed analysis of all the mechanisms involved was not available to date in the literature. Part I of this manuscript gathers and extends the existing works on the topic in order to offer a comprehensive view of the physics involved in the temperature sensitivities of PV systems. First, temperature coefficients, which quantify the temperature dependences, are analyzed in the radiative limit (which is the fundamental limit for PV conversion). Then, the additional loss mechanisms of real PV devices are introduced and their impacts on the temperature coefficients are assessed. The existing theoretical expressions of the temperature coefficients of important solar cell parameters (namely open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current and fill factor) are reviewed. A new formulation of the temperature coefficient of the open-circuit voltage that incorporates the concept of External Radiative Efficiency (ERE) is proposed. The theoretical expressions are compared to experimental results on crystalline silicon cells from measurements made at the University of New South Wales (UNSW, Australia) and from the literature. Using the understanding of the relation between the temperature coefficients and device physics, the special cases of silicon heterojunction cells and cells made from compensated silicon are examined. Because temperature has a critical impact on the performances of PV devices, several studies aimed on the one hand at predicting the temperature of PV modules from their operating conditions and on the other hand at designing inexpensive cooling solutions. The goal of Part II of this manuscript is to propose an original approach to minimize the temperature-induced losses in PV systems. The idea is to include the operating conditions in the optimization of the system parameters in order to maximize the power produced in these conditions rather than in the Standard Test Conditions (STC). These original optimizations are based on a comprehensive thermal model of PV cells that captures all of the physical mechanisms involved in the generation of heat within the cell. Following the presentation of this thermal model, several examples of global optimization (i.e. a thermal criterion is added to the usual optical and electrical ones) are presented. Some of these examples apply to standard solar cells while others demonstrate that this kind of optimization can be applied to other PV systems such as thermophotovoltaic (TPV) converters (solar or near-field TPV). The recent trend of the PV industry towards the creation of products specifically adapted to a given use suggests that these original optimizations that take into account the system operating conditions could be implemented in the near future

O aumento da população e o desenvolvimento da economia criam a necessidade de expansão de mais de quatro mil Megawatts da energia nova por ano no Sistema Interligado Nacional (SIN). O sistema elétrico brasileiro é peculiar, devido a sua grande capacidade, extensão continental e grande dependência na energia renovável hídrica. Outra peculiaridade é a capacidade potencial de inserção de outras formas da energia renováveis “verdes” no sistema. Embora as vantagens ambientais das energias renováveis, elas têm limitações, são variáveis e dependentes das condições climáticas. Para que o setor elétrico brasileiro possa atuar com confiabilidade com mais energia renovável deve haver concomitante mais energia firme de origem térmica disponível. Assim o trabalho analisa, na perspectiva global, o estado da arte e as tendências das fontes de geração elétrica, sob o ponto de vista de disponibilidade, preço e sustentação ambiental. De forma especial, o trabalho analisa as opções de geração térmica no Brasil. Conclui pela necessidade do Brasil priorizar o uso dos recursos disponíveis dentro de suas fronteiras como o carvão mineral para garantir a geração térmica elétrica auto-suficiente. O trabalho demonstra as vantagens sociais e de desenvolvimento de uma indústria do carvão para as regiões produtoras. Aponta também a necessidade de implementação de tecnologias modernas a fim de atender à legislação ambiental, que gradativamente deve aumentar as restrições das emissões poluentes, na medida em que as tecnologias forem desenvolvidas.
The population and economy growth in Brazil generate the necessity of an expansion higher than four thousand Megawatts of new electric energy per year. The Brazilian Electrical System is peculiar because of its continental extension and also its strong dependence in renewable energy (hydro). Another reason for its peculiarity is the potential of inserting other forms of renewable and “green” energy in the system. Although the environmental advantages of the “renewable”, these kinds of energies are variable and dependant of the weather conditions. In order to the electrical system be more reliable, its operation must be combined with a larger addition of thermal energy. Thus this report analyses thermal generation option in Brazil. Looking at the developed countries trends in diversify power generation, the article indicates the advantages and the priority of using, in Brazil, internal resources like coal to guarantee the self-sufficient thermal generation electrical capacity. The dissertation demonstrates the social advantages to develop the coal industry for the producers region, witch are poor areas in Brazil. The proposition points the need of implement modern technologies in order to attend the environmental legislation, which must increase the emissions restrictions as these technologies are developed.

Since the beginnings of the automotive driven with internal combustion engines all the cycles used in the alternative motors share a thermal characteristic, a large amount of heat released by the fuel is lost in the form of hot gases that exits from the exhaust system. This research has intensified in recent years due to the consequences of climate change, and above all, the Administration pressure on automotive manufacturers regarding the reduction of pollutant emissions, especially CO2. The system proposed in this thesis uses the advantages that thermoelectricity can provide, a thermoelectric generator can meet the requirements mentioned above. The scope of application of thermoelectric materials is very large, from temperature sensors, through portable coolers, to solar power generators. In general, these applications can be classified according to the direction of the energy conversion. While the Peltier effect is used in solid-state refrigeration, the Seebeck effect is responsible for converting the temperature differences into electrical voltage in energy recovery systems. The Seebeck effect is what our want to produce in a vehicle when you want to recover heat energy, because thanks to the thermoelectric materials the electricity produced can be injected into the vehicle's electric system by reducing the load of the alternator and therefore the overall consumption of the thermal engine. This doctoral thesis addresses aspects that until now had been little explored by the researchers: (i) the effects on the behavior of the motor when a new system is introduced in the exhaust line, (ii) the use of software sufficiently powerful to simulate the integration of the thermoelectric generator into a complete vehicle and (iii) the experimental quantification of the consumption savings when thermoelectric generators are incorporated
L’aprofitament energètic de la calor residual dels gasos d’escapament és una fita perseguida per molts fabricants i investigadors en el camp de l’automoció. Aquesta recerca s’ha intensificat en els últims anys motivada per les conseqüències del canvi climàtic, i sobretot, per la pressió de les administracions sobre els fabricants d’automoció pel que fa a la disminució de les emissions contaminants, especialment del CO2. El sistema proposat en aquesta tesi utilitza els avantatges que pot proporcionar la termoelectricitat, considerant que un generador termoelèctric pot satisfer els requisits esmentats anteriorment. Aquesta tesi doctoral aborda aspectes que fins ara havien estat molt poc explorats pels investigadors : (i) els efectes sobre el comportament del motor quan s’introdueix un sistema nou a la línia d’escapament, (ii) la utilització de software suficientment potent per simular la integració del generador termoelèctric en un vehicle complet, i (iii) la quantificació experimental de l’estalvi de consum quan s’incorporen generadors termoelèctrics

Då varje människa tillbringar större del av dagen inomhus så är det viktigt att ha en bra termisk komfort, efter som den termiska komforten påverkar upplevelsen på jobbet i hemmet eller i skolan. Människor kan påverkas negativt när den termiska komforten inte uppfyller kraven.   Syftet med undersökningen är att undersöka hur lågtemperaturssystemens förmåga är med avseende på termisk komfort och om de uppfyller kraven. Undersökningen använder beräknings data från tidigare utfört arbete då beräkningarna valideras av jämförelse mot andra undersökningar.   I detta arbete undersöker vi skillnader mellan golvvärme och luftvärme, där vi ser hur de olika systemen jämförs mot varandra under kontrollerade förhållanden med avseende på termisk komfort. De olika systemen som undersöks är luftvärme som är placerad under tak, luftvärme placerad under ett fönster, golvvärme som är jämnfördelad över golvet och golvvärme jämnfördelad med extra slingor under fönster. I undersökningen utförs en litteraturstudie som kommer att ligga till grund för vad ämnet för lågtemperatur innefattar samt hur de olika systemen fungerar och hur dessa kan användas som lågtemperaturssystem. Då i denna undersökningen så beaktas operativa temperaturen PMV, PPD och dragindex för att få en bra uppfattning hur den termiska komforten upplevs med avseende på golvvärme och luftvärme. Undersökningen har gett goda resultat då skillnaden i termisk komfort mellan de olika systemen har varit minimala och uppfyllt alla krav enligt BBR. Resultaten har jämförts mot tidigare gjorda undersökningar av lågtemperaturteknik och resultaten sammanfaller bra med små avvikelser. För att välja ett av de fyra systemen som har visats bättre resultat med hänsyn på termisk komfort så har golvvärme med extra slingor under fönster bevisats vara det bättre alternativet, då PMV och PPD samt drag ligger under rekommendationen för termisk komfort.
When most people spend a larger part of the day indoors, it is important to have a good thermal comfort, as the thermal comfort affects the experience that you perceive when you are at work, at home or at school. This may then affect the health if the thermal comfort does not meet the requirements. The purpose of the survey is to investigate low temperature system performance in terms of thermal comfort and if it meets the requirements. The survey uses calculation data from previously performed surveys, as the calculations are validated by comparison with other surveys. In this survey we explore the differences between floor heating and air heating, where we look at how the different systems are compared to each other under controlled conditions regarding thermal comfort. The different systems under investigation are air heating placed on the wall, air heating placed under a window, floor heating evenly distributed over the floor and floor heating that has extra loops under windows. The study will carry out a literature study that will be based on the topic of low temperature and how the different systems work and how they can be used at low temperatures. In this survey, the operating temperature PMV, PPD and DR-index are considered to get a good idea of how thermal comfort is experienced regarding floor heating or air heating. The survey has given good results, since the difference in thermal comfort between the different systems has been minimal and fulfilled all BBR requirements. The results have been compared to previous studies of low temperature technology, as the results coincide well with minor deviations. To choose one of the four systems that have been shown superior in terms of thermal comfort, floor heating with extra loops under windows has been proven to be the better option, as PMV and PPD as well as values are below the recommendation for thermal comfort.

Traditionally, geothermal boreholes have utilized the ground energy for space heating and cooling. In this system, a circulation loop is placed in a small-diameter borehole typically extending to a depth of 200-300 ft. The hole is then backfilled with a mixture of sand, bentonite and/or cement. The loop is connected to a geothermal heat pump and the fluid inside the loop is circulated. The heat energy is fed into the ground for cooling in the summer and withdrawn from the ground for heating in the winter. Geothermal heat pumps work more efficiently for space heating and cooling compared to air-source heat pumps.  The reason is ground-source systems use the ground as a constant temperature source which serves as a more favorable baseline compared to the ambient air temperature.
A significant cost associated with any deep geothermal borehole is the drilling required for installation. Because Energy Piles perform the dual function of exchanging heat and providing structural support, and are only installed at sites where pile foundations are already required, these systems provide the thermal performance of deep geothermal systems without the additional drilling costs. Low maintenance, long lifetime, less variation in energy supply compared to solar and wind power, and environmental friendliness have been cited as additional Energy Pile advantages. Case studies show that they can significantly lower heating/cooling costs and reduce the carbon footprint. Energy cost savings for typical buildings outfitted with Energy Piles could be as much as 70 percent.
The use of Energy Piles has rapidly increased over the last decade, especially in Europe where more than 500 applications are reported. Primary installations have been in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Notable projects include the 56-story high Frankfurt Main Tower in Germany, Dock E Terminal Extension at Zurich International Airport in Switzerland and the One New Change building complex in London U.K. Energy piles have seen very little use in the North America, only a handful of completed projects are known; Marine Discovery Center in Ontario, Canada, Lakefront Hotel in Geneva, New York and the Art Stable building in Seattle, Washington.
Energy Piles are typically installed with cast-in-place technology (i.e. drilled shafts, continuous flight auger piles, micropiles etc.) while some driven pile applications are also reported. Other types of geotechnical structures in contact with the ground, such as shallow foundations, retaining walls, basement walls, tunnel linings and earth anchors, also offer significant potential for harnessing near-surface geothermal energy.
Energy Pile design needs to integrate geotechnical, structural and heat exchange considerations. Geotechnical characteristics of the foundation soils and the level of the structural loads are typically the deciding factors for the selection and dimensioning of the pile foundations. The geothermal heat exchange capacity of an Energy Pile is a key parameter to be considered in design. Thermal characteristics of the ground as well as the heating and cooling loads from the structure need to be considered for the number of piles that will be utilized as heat exchangers. Therefore, the thermal properties of the site need to be evaluated for an Energy Pile application in addition to the traditional geotechnical characterization for foundation design.
Energy Piles bring new challenges to geotechnical pile design. During a heat exchange operation, the pile will expand and contract relative to the soil as heat is injected and extracted, respectively. These relative movements have the potential to alter the shear transfer mechanism at the pile-soil interface.  Furthermore, the range of temperature increases near the pile surface, though limited by practical operational guidelines, can have a significant effect on pore pressures generation and soil strength.
This dissertation provides answers for several research questions including the long-term performance of Energy Piles, the applicability of the thermal conductivity tests to Energy Piles.  Furthermore, it presents the results and a detailed discussion about the full scale in-situ thermo-mechanical pile load test conducted at Virginia Tech.
Ph. D.

The development of portable equipments, wireless sensors networks and self-powered devices in a general manner generates a strong demand for micro-energy harvesting devices. One of the most challenging ways to self power devices is the development of systems that recycle ambient energy and continually replenish the energy consumed by the system. Apart from electromechanical energy harvesting, it is also interesting to convert thermal energy, which is "available" everywhere, into suitable electrical energy. In this thesis, the thermal to electrical energy conversion from temperature fluctuations was developed and improved, and the feasibility of this technique was also confirmed by implementing the experimental experiment. Among different ferroelectric materials, PZN-4.5PT single crystal and P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) 61.3/29.7/9 mol% were chosen as active materials due to their outstanding properties under electric field. By means of some intelligent thermodynamic cycles, e.g., Ericsson or Stirling cycle, which has been presented in previous research, the efficiency of energy conversion could be improved greatly. In the first part, pyroelectric energy harvesting on PZN-4.5PT single crystals with an Ericsson cycle was mainly investigated from two aspects: frequency effect and phase transitions. It was shown that the harvested energy demonstrated a nonlinear decrease with an increase of frequency, and the optimal use of the phase transitions during the Ericsson cycle could greatly improve the harvested energy by choosing the appropriate working temperature range. Based on it, two asymmetric Ericsson models (L-H and H-L cycles) were attempted successfully, and it was confirmed that the H-L cycle is the most effective thermal energy harvesting cycle for this material. The second part concentrated on electrostatic energy harvesting by nonlinear capacitance variation on P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) 61.3/29.7/9 mol% terpolymer. Ericsson cycle was tested experimentally between 25 and 0°C and compared with the simulation from dielectric constant values obtained under DC electric field. The identical result between simulation and experiment proved the reliability of our theoretical evaluation. It was found, from simulation, that the harvested energy increased up to 240 mJ/cm3 when raising the electric field at 80 kV/mm. The further study on Ericsson and Stirling cycle was also made under different temperature and electric field conditions for evaluation. The harvested energy increases with the rising of temperature variation and electric field in both cycles, but in contrast to Ericsson cycle, Stirling cycle can harvest more energy for the same injected energy.

Master of Science
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Donald Fenton
The need to store and access electronic information is growing on a daily basis as more and more people conduct business and personal affairs through email and the internet. To meet these demands, high energy density data centers have sprung up across the United States and around world. To ensure that vital data centers run constantly, proper cooling must be maintained to prevent overheating and possible server damage from occurring. Emergency cooling systems for such systems typically utilize traditional batteries, backup generator, or a combination thereof. The electrical backup provides enough power to support cooling for essential components within the data centers. While this method has shown to be reliable and effective, there are several other methods that provide reliable emergency cooling at a fraction of the cost. This paper address the lack of information regarding the initial, operation, and maintenance costs of using Thermal Energy Storage (TES) tanks for emergency cooling. From research and various field examples, five emergency cooling system layouts were designed for various peak cooling loads. Looking at the different cooling loads, components, and system operations an economic evaluation of the system over a 20 year period was conducted. The economic analysis included the initial and maintenance costs of each system. In an effort to better understand power consumption of such systems and to help designer’s better estimate the long term costs of TES tanks systems, five layouts were simulated through a program called TRNSYS developed for thermal systems. To compare against current systems in place, a benefit to cost ratio was done to analyze TES versus a comparable UPS. The five simulated systems were one parallel pressurized tank, one parallel and one series atmospheric tank, one parallel low temperature chilled water, and one series ice storage tank. From the analysis, the ice storage and pressurized systems were the most cost effective for 1 MW peak cooling loads. For 5 MW peak cooling loads the ice storage and chilled water systems were the most cost effective. For 15 MW peak loads the chilled water atmospheric TES tanks were the most cost effective. From the simulations we concluded that the pressurized and atmospheric systems consumed the least amount of power over a 24 hour period during a discharge and recharge cycle of the TES tank. From the TRNSYS simulations, the ice storage system consumed 22 – 25% more energy than a comparable chilled water system, while the low temperature storage system consumed 6 – 8% more energy than the chilled water system. From the benefit-cost-ratio analysis, it was observed that all systems were more cost effective than a traditional battery UPS system of comparable size. For the smaller systems at 1 MW the benefit-cost-ratio ranged between 0.25 to 0.55, while for larger systems (15 MW) the ratio was between 1.0 to 3.5 making TES tanks a feasible option for providing emergency cooling for large and small systems.

OTEC is a technology where power is produced by utilizing the temperature difference in the oceans between surface water and water from the deep. It is considered that a temperature difference of 20K is required – a temperature difference found close to the equator.This report investigates if OTEC can produce enough electricity to provide 100 000 people, living on a generic island of 10 km2 somewhere alongside the equator in the pacific ocean, with their electricity needs. In this project a literature review has been made to establish a basic knowledge of OTEC and later a mathematical model has been programmed and simulated. Finally the results of the simulation has been examined and discussed.Two different cycles has been simulated alongside each other with the goal to establish which one of these two cycles that were best suited the island. To facilitate computing some assumptions and simplifications were made.The closed cycle (CC) was the most effective but the open cycle (OC) had several positive synergies that the closed cycle didn’t have. The costs of a facility of both cycles were based on older studies in the field and the conclusion was that the open cycle was the cheaper one. Facilities of both cycles can effectively meet the islands energy needs but if OC is chosen before CC more facilities has to be built due to the OC has lower energy output.Further work and development is necessary before OTEC seriously can challenge todays fossil fuel based energy systems, or until the oil starts to get too expensive. Today OTEC technology demands large investments but if the positive environmental effects and the fact that the island releases itself from import of energy are taken into account there are incentives to invest in OTEC already.
OTEC är en teknik där kraft utvinns från havsvatten genom att utnyttja temperaturdifferensen mellan ytvatten och vatten från djupet. Denna teknik kräver dock generellt en temperaturdifferens på minst 20K. En sådan temperaturskillnad är geografiskt begränsad till den tropiska zonen runt ekvatorn.I rapporten undersöks om OTEC kan användas till att förse 100 000 människor, boende på en 10 stor generisk ö i just den tropiska zonen, med dess elbehov. I detta projekt har det gjorts en litteraturstudie för att etablera en kunskapsbas och sedan gjorts en matematisk modell i programmet EES och slutligen har resultaten från modellen granskats och diskuterats. I modellen jämfördes två olika cykler och målet var att bestämma vilken av dessa som var det bästa alternativet för ön. För att underlätta beräkningarna gjordes vissa antaganden och förenklingar.Den slutna cykeln var mest effektiv men den öppna cykeln (OC) hade positiva synergieffekter som den sluta cykeln (CC) saknade. Kostnaden för en anläggning baserades på äldre studier och enligt dessa var den öppna cykeln billigare än den slutna. Anläggningar av de båda cyklerna kan tillgodose den fiktiva öns energibehov, det behöver dock byggas fler anläggningar om OC väljs framför CC.Det kommer krävas ytterligare arbete med att utveckla tekniken innan OTEC på allvar kan utmana dagens fossilbränslebaserade energisystem – eller att oljan helt enkelt blir för dyr. Idag är OTEC för dyrt för att kunna motiveras rent ekonomiskt, men om även miljövinsterna beaktas, samt att ön befriar sig från importer och därigenom får större kontroll över sitt eget energisystem, finns goda incitament att investera i OTEC redan idag.

In the framework of 2020 PUPM HEAT project three different types of thermal energy storage (TES) systems are being constructed and analyzed at a demonstration site set up at the power plant IREN in Moncalieri, Italy. KTH will assist this project by setting up a validation rig where three TES systems in smaller dimensions will be constructed and analyzed for its performance, to use as guideline for the demonstration site rig. The first TES system that is being constructed is the submerged parallel spiral heat exchanger which is a completely new version of latent heat storage to be tested. For this idea, parallel layers of spiral copper coils will fill up a tank shell which in turn will be filled with phase change material. By injecting high temperature heat transfer fluid, phase change material will change its state and energy will be stored in the system. When injecting low temperature heat transfer fluid, the energy will be extracted. This BSc thesis will present detailed design solutions for the tank shell and the spiral copper coils that will be used for the heat exchanger. Presented solutions are then used to order parts needed to initiate the construction phase.
Inom ramverket för 2020 PUPM HEAT projektet kommer tre olika typer av värmeenergilagrings enheter tillverkas och analyseras vid energikraftverket IREN i Moncalieri, Italien. KTH kommer att assistera detta projekt genom att sätta upp en anläggning med tre liknande värmeenergilagrings enheter i mindre dimensioner som kommer konstrueras och analyseras. Dess data kommer sedan användas som riktlinje för att tillverka de större värmeenergilagringsenheterna i IREN. Den första enheten som tillverkas är en värmeväxlare som bygger på en ny version av latent energilagring. Den kommer att bestå av parallella lager av spiral formade koppar rör som fyller en tank. Tomrummet som blir över kommer att fyllas upp av fasändrings material (PCM). Genom att injicera varmt vatten i systemet kommer PCM:et att byta fas, vilket resulterar i att värmeenergin lagras i systemet. När sedan kallt vatten injiceras kan den sparade energin bli utvunnen. Den här rapporten kommer att presentera designen till tank kåpan såväl som den inre strukturen med kopparrör som behövs till värmeväxlaren. Resultatet ska möjliggöra beställning av alla delar som behövs för att konstruera värmeväxlaren.

Thermal energy storage (TES) consists in storing heat for a later use, thereby reducing the gap between energy availability and demand. The most diffused materials for TES are the organic solid-liquid phase change materials (PCMs), such as paraffin waxes, which accumulate and release a high amount of latent heat through a solid-liquid phase change, at a nearly constant temperature. To avoid leakage and loss of material, PCMs are either encapsulated in inert shells or shape-stabilized with porous materials or a nanofiller network. Generally, TES systems are only a supplementary component added to the main structure of a device, but this could unacceptably rise weight and volume of the device itself. In the applications where weight saving and thermal management are both important (e.g. automotive, portable electronics), it would be beneficial to embed the heat storage/management in the structural components. The aim of this thesis is to develop polymer composites that combine a polymer matrix, a PCM and a reinforcing agent, to reach a good balance of mechanical and TES properties. Since this research topic lacks a systematic investigation in the scientific literature, a wide range of polymer/PCM/reinforcement combinations were studied in this thesis, to highlight the effect of PCM introduction in a broad range of matrix/reinforcement combinations and to identify the best candidates and the key properties and parameters, in order to set guidelines for the design of these materials. The thesis in divided in eight Chapters. Chapter I and II provide the introduction and the theoretical background, while Chapter III details the experimental techniques applied on the prepared composites. The results and discussion are then described in Chapters IV-VII. Chapter IV presents the results of PCM-containing composites having a thermoplastic matrix. First, polyamide 12 (PA12) was melt-compounded with either a microencapsulated paraffin (MC) or a paraffin powder shape-stabilized with carbon nanotubes (ParCNT), and these mixtures were used as matrices to produce thermoplastic laminates with a glass fiber fabric via hot-pressing. MC was proven more suitable to be combined with PA12 than ParCNT, due to the higher thermal resistance. However, also the MC were considerably damaged by melt compounding and the two hot-pressing steps, which caused paraffin leakage and degradation, as demonstrated by the relative enthalpy lower than 100 %. Additionally, the PCM introduction decreased the mechanical properties of PA12 and the tensile strength of the laminates, but for the laminates containing MC the elastic modulus and the strain at break were not negatively affected by the PCM. Higher TES properties were achieved with the production of a semi-structural composite that combined PA12, MC and discontinuous carbon fibers. For example, the composite with 50 wt% of MC and 20 wt% of milled carbon fibers exhibited a total melting enthalpy of 60.4 J/g and an increase in elastic modulus of 42 % compared to the neat PA. However, the high melt viscosity and shear stresses developed during processing were still responsible for a not negligible PCM degradation, as also evidenced by dynamic rheological tests. Further increases in the mechanical and TES properties were achieved by using a reactive thermoplastic matrix, which could be processed as a thermosetting polymer and required considerably milder processing conditions that did not cause PCM degradation. MC was combined with an acrylic thermoplastic resin and the mixtures were used as matrices to produce laminates with a bidirectional carbon fabric, and for these laminates the melting enthalpy increased with the PCM weight fraction and reached 66.8 J/g. On the other hand, the increased PCM fraction caused a rise in the matrix viscosity and so a decrease in the fiber volume fraction in the final composite, thereby reducing the elastic modulus and flexural strength. Dynamic-mechanical investigation evidenced the PCM melting as a decreasing step in ’; its amplitude showed a linear trend with the melting enthalpy, and it was almost completely recovered during cooling, as evidenced by cyclic DMA tests. Chapter V presents the results of PCM-containing thermosetting composites. A further comparison between MC and ParCNT was performed in a thermosetting epoxy matrix. First, ParCNT was mixed with epoxy and the mixtures were used as matrices to produce laminates with a bidirectional carbon fiber fabric. ParCNT kept its thermal properties also in the laminates, and the melting enthalpy was 80-90 % of the expected enthalpy. Therefore, ParCNT performed better in thermosetting than in thermoplastic matrices due to the milder processing conditions, but the surrounding matrix still partially hindered the melting-crystallization process. Therefore, epoxy was combined with MC, but the not optimal adhesion between the matrix and the MC shell caused a considerable decrease in mechanical strength, as also demonstrated by the fitting with the Nicolais-Narkis and Pukanszky models, both of which evidenced scarce adhesion and considerable interphase weakness. However, the Halpin-Tsai and Lewis-Nielsen models of the elastic modulus evidenced that at low deformations the interfacial interaction is good, and this also agrees with the data of thermal conductivity, which resulted in excellent agreement with the Pal model calculated considering no gaps at the interface. These epoxy/MC mixtures were then reinforced with either continuous or discontinuous carbon fibers, and their characterization confirmed that the processing conditions of an epoxy composite are mild enough to preserve the integrity of the microcapsules and their TES capability. For continuous fiber composites, the increase in the MC fraction impaired the mechanical properties mostly because of the decrease in the final fiber volume fraction and because the MC phase tends to concentrate in the interlaminar region, thereby lowering the interlaminar shear strength. On the other hand, a small amount of MC enhanced the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness (Gic increases of up to 48 % compared to the neat epoxy/carbon laminate), as the MC introduced other energy dissipation mechanisms such as the debonding, crack deflection, crack pinning and micro-cracking, which added up to the fiber bridging. Chapter VI introduces a fully biodegradable TES composite with a thermoplastic starch matrix, reinforced with thin wood laminae and containing poly(ethylene glycol) as the PCM. The wood laminae successfully acted as a multifunctional reinforcement as they also stabilized PEG in their inner pores (up to 11 wt% of the whole laminate) and prevent its leakage. Moreover PEG was proven to increase the stiffness and strength of the laminate, thereby making the mechanical and TES properties synergistic and not parasitic. Finally, Chapter VII focused on PCM microcapsules. The synthesis of micro- and nano-capsules with an organosilica shell via a sol-gel approach clarified that the confinement in small domains and the interaction with the shell wall modified the crystallization behavior of the encapsulated PCM, as also evidenced by NMR and XRD studies and confirmed by DSC results. In the second part of Chapter VII, a coating of polydpamine (PDA) deposited onto the commercial microcapsules MC. The resulting PDA coating was proven effective to enhance the interfacial adhesion with an epoxy matrix, as evidenced by SEM micrographs. XPS demonstrated that the PDA layer was able to react with oxirane groups, thereby evidencing the possibility of forming covalent bond with the epoxy matrix during the curing step.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior
A solar desalination system basically has two components: the heating unit (solar collectors) and the desalination unit (tower). Among its main advantages, this device does not need electrical power to operate, since it is driven by thermosiphon. In its operation, brackish water is heated and it evaporates. The evaporated vapor rises and hits the coller walls of the above tray, where it condensates and drains through a specially designed geometry, structure to be finally by in a set of gutter. The already demineralized water flows through a main channel where it is stored in a container, outside the desalination tower. The resulting water from this process is pure and free from contamination, either microorganisms or salt. This study analyzes the performance of a desalination system with a desalination tower and a set of three solar collectors. The heat transfer medium between the collector and the tower was thermal oil flow, Lubrax Utile OT-100. The experimental results demonstrate the operation of this type of desalinator, since ideal conditions for its correct functioning was only achieved after the installation of a positive displacement pump, which that promoted the oil circulation. Thermocouples installed in the stages of tower registered the temperature increase throughout the day. Peaks of 77 ÂC were measured in the storage tank of the tower. The mean values of production per day were 25 liters of desalinated water with an average conductivity always less than 10 μS / cm Â, representing a salt removal efficiency greater than 99%. In performance calculation, the best result was obtained when the pumping system was combined with the use of a solar reflector, achieving GOR value of 2.85.
Um dessalinizador solar possui basicamente duas unidades: a unidade de aquecimento (coletora) e a unidade de dessalinizaÃÃo (torre). Apresenta entre suas principais vantagens o fato de nÃo precisar de energia elÃtrica para seu funcionamento, pois à acionada por termossifÃo. A operaÃÃo se dà pelo aquecimento da Ãgua salobra atà que esta comece a evaporar. O vapor, ao subir e encontrar com uma superfÃcie com temperatura inferior, condensa e escorre atravÃs de estruturas em uma geometria especialmente projetada para este fim e sà entÃo à coletada por um sistema de calhas. A Ãgua jà desmineralizada segue por uma calha principal onde escorre e à armazenada em um recipiente, jà fora da torre de dessalinizaÃÃo. A Ãgua resultante desse processo à praticamente pura e isenta de contaminaÃÃo, tanto por microrganismos como por sais e outros contaminantes. O presente trabalho analisa o desempenho do dessalinizador composto por uma torre de dessalinizaÃÃo e um conjunto composto por trÃs coletores solares acionados por Ãleo tÃrmico Lubrax Utile OT-100. Os resultados experimentais comprovam o funcionamento desse tipo de dessalinizador, visto que condiÃÃes ideais para seu correto funcionamento sà foram atingidas graÃas à instalaÃÃo de uma bomba de deslocamento positivo que promoveu a circulaÃÃo do Ãleo. Termopares instalados nos estÃgios da torre registraram o aumento de temperatura ao longo do dia. Picos de 77ÂC foram medidos no tanque de armazenamento da torre. Valores mÃdios de produÃÃo por dia sÃo de 25 litros de Ãgua, com uma condutividade mÃdia sempre inferior a 10 μS/cmÂ, o que representa uma eficiÃncia na remoÃÃo de sais superior a 99%. No cÃlculo de desempenho, o melhor resultado foi obtido quando o sistema de bombeamento foi combinado com o uso de um refletor solar, obtendo o valor do GOR (RazÃo de ganho de saÃda) de 2,85.

Nesta dissertação são comparadas duas tecnologias de refrigeração. Uma tecnolo-gia é um sistema que usa a energia elétrica para fazer funcionar um ciclo de com-pressão de vapor, sistema comum em instalações de refrigeração. A outra solução é um sistema de absorção, em que a energia necessária para o funcionamento do sistema é energia térmica obtida através de coletores solares térmicos. Estas tecnologias são estudadas e comparadas para a refrigeração de um arma-zém de produtos agrícolas à temperatura constante de 5ºC para a região de Alque-va, região onde estão a ser desenvolvidos projetos hortofrutícolas a que estão as-sociadas necessidades de preservação dos produtos que envolvem refrigeração e em que a acessibilidade à rede elétrica é reduzida. É mostrado que a tecnologia do sistema de absorção com os coletores se apresenta a médio prazo mais vantajosa em termos económicos e ambientais; Abstract: Comparative analysis of a solar refrigeration system In this dissertation two refrigeration technologies are compared when used for the same objective. One is a technology using the electric energy to operate a vapour compression cycle, commonly used in refrigerated installations. The alternative technology is an absorption system driven by thermal energy, provided by solar thermal collectors. Both technologies are studied and compared for the refrigeration of an agricultural products warehouse at a constant temperature of 5ºC in the Alqueva region, where horticultural projects are being developed with associated needs of preservation of the products involving refrigeration, and where accessibility to the electrical grid is reduced. In the referred conditions it was shown that the absorption technology with collec-tors in the medium term surpasses the usual compression system, both from eco-nomic and environmental viewpoints.

Total produced energy in the world is mostly consumed as thermal energy which is used for space or water heating. Currently, more than 85% of total thermal energy consumption is supplied from fossil fuels. This high consumption rate increases the depletion risk of fossil fuels as well as causing a tremendous release of hazardous gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter that effects both environment and human health. Those drawbacks force humankind to search for new technologies, like renewables, to reduce fossil fuel dependency on thermal energy production. Thermal energy storage in adsorbent beds is one of the resulting technologies. Adsorption is an exothermic process in which a fluid (adsorbate) diffuses into the pores of a porous solid material (adsorbent) and trapped into the crystal lattice. In this system, exothermic adsorption of water vapor from air is carried out by using hybrid adsorbent of activated alumina and zeolite. In previous studies, through literature review, this adsorbent was selected to be the most efficient adsorbent for this process due to its high water adsorption capacity, high heat of adsorption, and stability [Dicaire and Tezel, 2011]. In this study, previous studies started on this project was confirmed and pursued by trying to increase the efficiency of the process and confirm the feasibility and applicability of this system in larger scales. In this thesis, various zeolite and activated alumina hybrid adsorbents with varying zeolite compositions were screened to find the most efficient adsorbent for thermal energy storage process that gives the highest energy density. Then, existing small column was replaced with a new one, which is 16 times bigger in volume, in order to confirm the feasibility of this process at larger scales. Applicability of on-off heat release in adsorption process was also investigated by conducting several on-off experiments at different on-off time periods. Moreover, exothermic adsorption process was modeled by doing mass and energy balances in the column, water accumulation balance in the pellets, and energy balance in the column wall. Validity of this model was confirmed by comparing it with experimental results at different column volumes, and at different volumetric flow rates. Finally, an overall plant design, capital cost and thermal energy price estimations were done for adsorption thermal energy storage plants for different storage capacities and payback periods.

Thesis (S.M. in Engineering and Management)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-109).
Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is a promising renewable energy technology to generate electricity and has other applications such as production of freshwater, seawater air-conditioning, marine culture and chilled-soil agriculture. Previous studies on the technology have focused on promoting it to generate electricity and produce energy-intensive products such as ammonia and hydrogen. Though the technology has been understood in the past couple of decades through academic studies and limited demonstration projects, the uncertainty around the financial viability of a large-scale plant and the lack of an operational demonstration project have delayed large investments in the technology. This study brings together a broad overview of the technology, market locations, technical and economic assessment of the technology, environmental impact of the technology and a comparison of the levelized costs of energy of this technology with competing ones. It also provides an analysis and discussion on application of this technology in water scarce regions of the world, emphasized with a case study of the economic feasibility of this technology for the Bahamas. It was found that current technology exists to build OTEC plants except for some components such as the cold water pipe which presents an engineering challenge when scaled for large-scale power output. The technology is capital intensive and unviable at small scale of power output but can become viable when approached as a sustainable integrated solution to co-generate electricity and freshwater, especially for island nations in the OTEC resource zones with supply constraints on both these commodities. To succeed, this technology requires the support of appropriate government regulation and innovative financing models to mitigate risks associated with the huge upfront investment costs. If the viability of this technology can be improved by integrating the production of by-products, OTEC can be an important means of producing more electricity, freshwater and food for the planet's increasing population.
by Shylesh Muralidharan.
S.M.in Engineering and Management

In the fall of 2019, a comprehensive idea study was conducted on heat storage in two rock caverns located at Näsudden in Skelleftehamn and was part of the project course "Energiteknik, huvudkurs" at Luleå University of Technology. This idea study investigated the conditions of using waste heat from Boliden AB:s copper smeltery (Rönnskär) and storing this waste heat in two rock caverns and use them as seasonal thermal storage tanks, with the purpose of using the heat in the nearby district heating network, thus replacing some of the oil burned at Rönnskär. To investigate this, the authors of the idea study looked at two different storage cycles of seasonal storage and modeled this in ANSYS Fluent to simulate the heat storage and the heat losses. The results from this idea study showed promising results for using these caverns as heat storage and this work is therefore a continuation of the idea study. Since the study provided a good understanding of the conditions for seasonal storage, some questions arose about how the rock caverns will behave during an intermittent operation, which is the planned mode of operating the caverns in case of deployment. In this thesis, intermittent operation of these caverns are explored and how this effects the temperature in the caverns and its surrondings, the charge/discharge speed, how insulated walls affect the operation and how much oil is replaced. At the beginning of this project a review of the idea study and similar projects was done to gain deeper knowledge about the subject, but also to get a wider grasp on the different problems that could arise during the thesis. Relevant data for the caverns was collected and acquired to get a deeper understanding of its geometry, layout and what kind of modifications are really possible. Further data from the district heating networks of Boliden AB and Skellefteå Kraft was acquired. The available waste heat from Rönnskär was examined and used to calculate the chargeable energy by hour for the caverns, with the limits of Skelleftehamn district heating network in mind. By examining the different steam boiler patterns, the discharge pattern could be calculated. Using CFD, the unknown global heat transfer coefficient between the cavern water and the cavern wall can be determined. This data was then used with a set of differential equations to model the behavior of the caverns in Simulink. This allowed to determine the behavior for the caverns during normal operation, such as how the heat losses evolve, how the temperatures fluctuate, how much heat the caverns can be charged with and how much they can discharge. The results from the simulations showed that the caverns discharge a higher amount of energy when operating intermittently than when operating seasonally. Depending on how the caverns are utilized, different amounts of discharged energy are obtained. This range from 2224,7MWh to 7846,1MWh for the different discharging patterns. The usage also affects the efficiency of the cavern giving the efficiency a range between 19% to 53,9%. The heat losses range from around 20kW to 1000kW, depending on operation. Insulating the cavern walls reduces on average the heat losses by a factor of 5. Operating the caverns intermittently would on average remove a total of 29 ktonne CO2 and 88,74 tonne NOx for its expected lifespan of 30 years. Economically, the rock caverns have good economic potential as they would save about 80 million SEK during their lifetime just from buying less oil.
Hösten 2019 genomfördes en omfattande idéstudie om värmelagring i två bergrum vid Näsudden i Skelleftehamn och var en del av projektkursen "\textit {Energiteknik, huvudkurs}" vid Luleå tekniska universitet. Denna idéstudie undersökte villkoren för att använda spillvärme från Boliden AB:s kopparsmältverk (Rönnskär) och lagra denna värme i bergrummen och använda dem som säsongslagrade ackumulatortankar. Syftet med detta var att använda värmen i det närliggande fjärrvärmenätverket och därmed ersätta en del av den förbrända oljan hos Rönnskär. Författarna utforskade detta genom att undersöka två olika lagringscykler för säsongslagring och modellerade detta i ANSYS Fluent för att simulera värmelagring och värmeförluster. Resultaten från idéstudien visade lovande resultat för säsongsbaserad värmelagring i dessa bergrum och detta arbete är därför en fortsättning av idéstudien. Eftersom studien gav en god förståelse för förhållandena för säsongslagring, uppstod några frågor om hur bergrummen kommer att bete sig under en intermittent drift, vilket är den planerade driften av bergrummen vid en framtida användning. I detta projekt undersöks intermittent drift av dessa bergrum och hur detta påverkar temperaturen i bergrummen och dess omgivning, laddnings- / urladdningshastigheten, hur isolerade väggar påverkar driften och hur oljeförbrukningen reduceras. I början av detta projekt gjordes en genomgång av idéstudien och liknande projekt för att få djupare kunskap om ämnet, men också för att få ett bredare grepp om de olika problem som kan uppstå under arbetets gång. Relevant data för bergrummen samlades in och anskaffades för att få en djupare förståelse för dess geometri, layout och vilken typ av ändringar som verkligen är möjliga. Ytterligare data från fjärrvärmenätverket för Boliden AB och Skellefteå Kraft förvärvades. Den tillgängliga spillvärme från Rönnskär undersöktes och användes för att beräkna den urladdningsbara energin per timme för bergrummen, med begränsningarna i Skelleftehamns fjärrvärmenät i åtanke. Genom att undersöka de olika ångpannmönstren kan urladdningsmönstret beräknas. Med hjälp av CFD kan den okända globala värmeöverföringskoefficienten mellan bergrumsvattnet och bergväggen bestämmas. Denna data användes sedan med en uppsättning differentialekvationer för att modellera driften av bergrummen i Simulink. Detta gjorde det möjligt att bestämma beteendet för bergrummen under normal drift, till exempel hur värmeförlusterna utvecklas, hur temperaturen fluktuerar, hur mycket värme bergrummen kan laddas med och hur mycket de kan ladda ur. Resultaten från simuleringarna visade att bergrummen kan ladda ur en större mängd energi än vid en säsongsbetonad drift. Beroende på hur grottorna utnyttjas erhålls olika mängder urladdad energi. Detta sträcker sig från 2224,7MWh till 7846,1MWh för de olika urladdningsmönstren. Användningen påverkar också grottans effektivitet vilket ger en effektivitet mellan 19% och 53,9%. Värmeförlusterna sträcker sig från cirka 1000 kW till 20kw, beroende på drift. Isolering av bergväggarna minskar i genomsnitt värmeförlusten med en faktor 5. Att använda grottorna intermittent skulle i genomsnitt ersätta totalt 29 kton CO2 och 88,74 ton NOx för den förväntade livslängden på 30 år. Bergrummen har även god ekonomisk potential eftersom de skulle spara cirka 80 miljoner SEK under sin livstid bara från minskade oljekostnader.

The objective of this research is to evaluate the potential of thermal energy storage in supermarkets with CO2 refrigeration systems. Suitable energy storage techniques are investigated and the seasonal storage technology of boreholes is chosen to be the focus of the study. The calculations are done for five supermarket refrigeration systems with different combinations of heating systems and borehole thermal energy storage control strategies. The two heating systems analyzed are the ground source heat pump and the heat recovery from the supermarket’s refrigeration system. The simulation results show that the introduction of thermal energy storage in the scenarios with heat pump can reduce the annual total energy by 6.3%. It is also shown that increasing the number of boreholes can decrease the life cycle cost of the system. Moreover, it is established that a supermarket system with heat recovery consumes 8.1% less energy than the one using heat pump and adding thermal energy storage on the heat recovery system further improves the energy consumption by 3.7% but may become costly.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are rapidly becoming an integral part of everyday life. Whether for military surveillance, personal entertainment, or commercial transportation, each UAV is limited in flight time by the amount of fuel it can carry or the power its batteries can hold. This project sought to break that boundary by allowing a gliding UAV to autonomously make use of the natural energy of thermals: rising pockets of air that form over warm patches of ground. Birds and manned gliders have already been making use of this energy for years by a process called thermalling, in which they are able to gain altitude by circling around the center of a thermal and rising with the surrounding air. By altering the autopilot code of a typical UAV glider, this project was able to achieve autonomous thermalling in both simulated and actual flight tests, and achieved more than triple the plane's natural gliding flight time.