MEng Civil and Structural Engineering

There is currently significant interest in exploiting renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, wave and tidal stream to generate electricity. This unit provides an introduction to renewable technologies, with particular focus on engineering design of wind-turbines, tidal stream devices, wave devices, solar photovoltaic and bioenergy along with some of the practical challenges to integrate with wider grid network and smart grid systems. 

To teach students about the wider climate change and energy/electricity context within which the renewable technologies are situated; this will ensure students have a good scientific foundation on which the more technology focused analysis can build.

To develop an understanding of the engineering issues related to the design of renewable energy systems with particular focus on loading and power output of wind turbines, tidal stream turbines, solar photovoltaics, introduction to wave energy converters.

Provide students with an understanding of the role of bioenergy in the renewable energy mix and some of its applications.

Enable the students to grasp a range of relevant challenges in the operation of electricity grid when integrating renewable energy systems, electric vehicles and heat pumps.

Provide students with an understanding of a range of smart grid solutions and its role in the operation of future electricity grid network.

Climate Change: Carbon emissions budgets, definitions and the scale of challenge in decarbonising energy

Introduction to renewable energy: overview of energy supply and demand, energy hierarchy and renewable resource potential.

Wind energy systems: resource, wind turbine types and control methods, momentum theory and limits to wind power output (Betz limit), blade element theory.

Tidal energy systems: tidal stream resource, tidal stream channel model, blockage model by linear momentum theory, influence of free surface on design.

Wave energy systems: resource description, energy yield calculation, limits to wave energy device power capture, dimensions and response of a point absorber type device.

Solar photovoltaic: Solar resource characteristics, principles of PV, PV technology types, factors affecting solar power output and energy yield calculation.

Bioenergy: bioenergy and sustainability, biomass resource, feedstock properties, biomass conversion technologies, technical challenges of biomass conversion

Smart grid: overview of electricity grid operation, challenges in integrating renewables to grid network, future changes in electricity demand, effective smart grid  solutions (demand side management and storage)

Online blackboard test on Solar Photovoltaic performance. Mostly numerical but some analysis of data for some questions from laboratory session  on solar energy.

Exam via script viewing

Report and BB test 1 week after submission