Design and Optimisation of Novel Enthalpy Heat Exchangers. This project deals with the thermal design and optimisation of a novel type of latent energy heat exchanger. This new heat exchanger overcomes the practical implementation problems of previous latent energy heat exchangers such as heat-wheels. The main application of this innovative heat exchanger will be to improve the capacity and efficiency of air conditioning systems. As the new heat exchanger is very compact it will be ideally sui ....Design and Optimisation of Novel Enthalpy Heat Exchangers. This project deals with the thermal design and optimisation of a novel type of latent energy heat exchanger. This new heat exchanger overcomes the practical implementation problems of previous latent energy heat exchangers such as heat-wheels. The main application of this innovative heat exchanger will be to improve the capacity and efficiency of air conditioning systems. As the new heat exchanger is very compact it will be ideally suited for integration with air conditioning coils. Existing latent heat wheels are very bulky and are difficult to integrate into standard air conditioner installations.Read moreRead less
Assessment of the new technologies to maximise the internal energy efficiency by modelling the energy flows in Victorian power stations. Increased internal energy efficiency will reduce the CO2 emissions and increase the profit margin for the power stations. The aim of the proposed research is to investigate the internal energy efficiency in the brown coal fired power stations by modelling the internal energy flows to reveal the potentials in the 'waste' heat streams in the power stations, and t ....Assessment of the new technologies to maximise the internal energy efficiency by modelling the energy flows in Victorian power stations. Increased internal energy efficiency will reduce the CO2 emissions and increase the profit margin for the power stations. The aim of the proposed research is to investigate the internal energy efficiency in the brown coal fired power stations by modelling the internal energy flows to reveal the potentials in the 'waste' heat streams in the power stations, and to assess new waste heat recovery measures for the power industry. The proposed research, supported by the entire Victorian power generation industry, will help the industry to achieve their green house gas emission reduction target set by the Federal Government.
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Novel methods for enhancing room temperature figure of merit of thermoelectric/thermionic materials for refrigeration applications. With global warming and an increased awareness of climate change, devices such as thermoelectric modules can be part of the solution, particularly if their relative power and efficiency can be increased. The aim of this project is to bring together theoreticians, experimentalists, materials scientists, and industrial partners with complementary expertise to develop ....Novel methods for enhancing room temperature figure of merit of thermoelectric/thermionic materials for refrigeration applications. With global warming and an increased awareness of climate change, devices such as thermoelectric modules can be part of the solution, particularly if their relative power and efficiency can be increased. The aim of this project is to bring together theoreticians, experimentalists, materials scientists, and industrial partners with complementary expertise to develop new techniques and methods for fabricating novel thermoelectric/thermionic materials with high figure of merit, ZT, for solid state refrigeration applications. The success of the project will lead to a 3 to 5 fold increase in the market share of thermoelectric cooler and will have a significant impact on the Australian economy and reduce greenhouse emissions and global warming. Read moreRead less
The use of numerical and experimental techniques to develop energy efficient open refrigerated display cabinets. This project will provide knowledge for Australian industry to develop new energy efficient refrigerated display cabinets, putting Australia in the forefront of commercial refrigeration display cabinet technologies. This will have a significant impact on sustainability of our environment and will assist Australia to meet present and future international climate obligations by contrib ....The use of numerical and experimental techniques to develop energy efficient open refrigerated display cabinets. This project will provide knowledge for Australian industry to develop new energy efficient refrigerated display cabinets, putting Australia in the forefront of commercial refrigeration display cabinet technologies. This will have a significant impact on sustainability of our environment and will assist Australia to meet present and future international climate obligations by contributing to the reduction of greenhouse emissions. The Government has already introduced new MEPS levels, and are planning to increase these to more stringent levels in 2007. The development of the techniques proposed in this application will be essential for manufacturers if they are to economically meet these MEPS level requirements. Read moreRead less
Research into techniques for enhancing the heat transfer performance of finned-tube heat exchangers. This project explores several methods for enhancing the heat transfer performance of mechanically bonded finned tube heat exchangers. The methods would be analysed experimentally, and using finite elements, numerically. Any increase in heat transfer efficiency would contribute to the conservation of energy, and therefore, of natural resources. An improved design of heat exchangers would give a de ....Research into techniques for enhancing the heat transfer performance of finned-tube heat exchangers. This project explores several methods for enhancing the heat transfer performance of mechanically bonded finned tube heat exchangers. The methods would be analysed experimentally, and using finite elements, numerically. Any increase in heat transfer efficiency would contribute to the conservation of energy, and therefore, of natural resources. An improved design of heat exchangers would give a definite competitive edge to the Australian manufacturer. An equally significant outcome would be the training of a research person in industry-related research and skilled both in experimental and numerical procedures.Read moreRead less
Investigation of a Novel Fan. Fans are very widely used for cooling and heating, thrust and mass transport and are one of the most common fluid mechanical devices. An optimal fan design will maximise flow velocity and pressure rise for minimum energy requirements and noise production. De Rolfe has recently developed a new fan that shows considerable promise in comparison to conventional designs on single point tests.
In this project experimental and computional fluid dynamics investigations o ....Investigation of a Novel Fan. Fans are very widely used for cooling and heating, thrust and mass transport and are one of the most common fluid mechanical devices. An optimal fan design will maximise flow velocity and pressure rise for minimum energy requirements and noise production. De Rolfe has recently developed a new fan that shows considerable promise in comparison to conventional designs on single point tests.
In this project experimental and computional fluid dynamics investigations of the new fan will be carried out to determine the basic fluid mechanics and to obtain performance curves. Scaling laws will be obtained and, if possible, the fan will be further optimised.Read moreRead less
Development of a fuel control system for small two-stroke engines. The two-stroke engine is well known not only for its mechanical simplicity and power-to-weight advantages, but also for its high hydrocarbon emission caused by fuel short-circuiting. Driven by new regulations, developing new technologies for small two-stroke engines to meet pollutant emission standards has become urgent. This project aims to develop a fuel control system for reducing hydrocarbon and other emissions of a two-strok ....Development of a fuel control system for small two-stroke engines. The two-stroke engine is well known not only for its mechanical simplicity and power-to-weight advantages, but also for its high hydrocarbon emission caused by fuel short-circuiting. Driven by new regulations, developing new technologies for small two-stroke engines to meet pollutant emission standards has become urgent. This project aims to develop a fuel control system for reducing hydrocarbon and other emissions of a two-stroke engine designed and produced by Australia's leading lawnmower manufacturer. The knowledge and technology developed will be broadly applicable. By reducing engine pollutant emissions and improving fuel energy efficiency, this research addresses environmental and energy efficiency imperatives.Read moreRead less
Development of a gas-diesel engine injection system using a hydraulically actuated, electronically controlled unit injector (HEUI) for flexible dual-fuel operation. Achieving targets for greenhouse gas reduction will require practical, easily implemented alternative fuels for vehicles. Converting existing truck/bus diesel engines to dual-fuel systems using natural gas is important. In particular, for long distance application, these systems need to allow flexible switching from sole diesel to du ....Development of a gas-diesel engine injection system using a hydraulically actuated, electronically controlled unit injector (HEUI) for flexible dual-fuel operation. Achieving targets for greenhouse gas reduction will require practical, easily implemented alternative fuels for vehicles. Converting existing truck/bus diesel engines to dual-fuel systems using natural gas is important. In particular, for long distance application, these systems need to allow flexible switching from sole diesel to dual-fuel operation and good gas substitution at low loads within cities. An earlier ARC funded project allowed UNSW to develop the world's most compact, flexible HEUI diesel injector. This project aims to develop, test and explore dual-fuel combustion using a compact single unit, combined NG/HEUI injector which will have considerable combustion and operational advantages.Read moreRead less
Thermal enhancement strategies and development of a high-performance micro-scale heat exchanger for thermoelectric refrigeration with large cooling loads. Traditional refrigeration essentially utilises CFC-refrigerants which are potent atmospheric pollutants causing widespread ecological damage. Devoid of such adversities, electronic heat pumping mechanism of thermoelectric principle offers a practical ?CFC-free? alternative for conventional cooling methods. While the current thermoelectric te ....Thermal enhancement strategies and development of a high-performance micro-scale heat exchanger for thermoelectric refrigeration with large cooling loads. Traditional refrigeration essentially utilises CFC-refrigerants which are potent atmospheric pollutants causing widespread ecological damage. Devoid of such adversities, electronic heat pumping mechanism of thermoelectric principle offers a practical ?CFC-free? alternative for conventional cooling methods. While the current thermoelectric technology adequately meets light cooling demand, its potential for heavy-duty refrigeration is critically undermined by ill-developed methods for dissipating heat from thermoelectric modules to coolants, and remains grossly under-utilised. The proposed work will devise novel heat transfer techniques for raising thermoelectric cooling thresholds to suit large heat loads and develop a thermally enhanced micro-scale heat exchanger for application in commercial thermoelectric refrigeration.Read moreRead less
Design tools for optimising data centre layout to minimise energy usage. Data centres are major consumers of energy worldwide, mainly through the need to cool the equipment. It has become imperative to develop the science for reducing this consumption. Rising computing demand, increasing power density, and increasing infrastructure and energy costs are major issue for data centres around the world. Our research will provide a powerful alternative to conventional thermal management techniques for ....Design tools for optimising data centre layout to minimise energy usage. Data centres are major consumers of energy worldwide, mainly through the need to cool the equipment. It has become imperative to develop the science for reducing this consumption. Rising computing demand, increasing power density, and increasing infrastructure and energy costs are major issue for data centres around the world. Our research will provide a powerful alternative to conventional thermal management techniques for cooling high-density heat loads in mixed-density environments. We will address the key issue of energy minimisation through a detailed flow analyses by the use of numerical simulations and optimisation algorithms.Read moreRead less