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Abstract Limiting the increase of global temperature requires electrification of the railway transport, which is relatively a distinct mode of transport in terms of economy, business and socialization of a country. However, battery complemented railway transport systems such as fuel cell hybrid railway propulsion systems are constrained by the high cost of the battery, and suboptimal performance of the fuel cell under varying loads. Optimized selection of battery can reduce its costs associated with sizing, life and utilization. Similarly, managing the load distribution between the battery and fuel cell can reduce the load variations concern for fuel cell. In this study, model-based selective characterization of the battery and fuel cell is done to identify the optimal features and constraints. Following characterization, the load allocation to battery and fuel cell is determined with the targets of collaborative utilization of optimal features and mitigation of constraints. Subsequently, considering this load allocation and results of characterization, conditions are proposed for reliable sizing and optimized selection of battery. The significance of the proposed conditions in reliable sizing is explored. Based on these conditions, certain commercially developed batteries are evaluated for optimized selection of battery. The results signify this study as a foundation for research on the reliable sizing and optimized selection of battery in fuel cell hybrid railway propulsion systems.

Abstract This paper presented a novel method of dissipating solar photovoltaic heat based on the technology of micro-heat-pipe array and the utilization of photovoltaic-cell waste heat. This novel technology solved the problems of low PV electrical efficiency and thermal failure caused by high cell temperature, greatly increased the comprehensive utilization efficiency of solar energy, and extended the service life of photovoltaic modules. One-year experiments were conducted to investigate the electrical and thermal performance of a forced-circulation, household-type photovoltaic/thermal system based on micro-heat-pipe array in Beijing, China. Test results showed that on the four typical days in different seasons, the average electrical efficiencies were 13.76%, 11.92%, 13.71%, and 14.65%; the average thermal efficiencies were 31.62%, 33.07%, 24.99%, and 17.24%; and the average total efficiencies were 45.38%, 44.99%, 38.70%, 31.89%, respectively. The system met the demand of power supply on sunny days and the demand of hot water between March and November, except in cloudy days. These experimental results can provide basis and reference for practical applications of the system.

Abstract Global hydropower growth continues to accelerate with 25% of total capacity installed in just the last 10 years. This accelerating expansion and the important storage facility hydropower means it is increasingly important to understand the reasons for operational failures. This is a challenge because the major reason for failures involves the complex interaction of hydraulic, mechanical and electric subsystems. Historically, reliability modelling has been split in two directions, focusing on different sub-systems, and has not yet been unified. Here these approaches are unified with a novel expression of unbalanced forces. This model with operational data are validated and the important modes of oscillation in the shaft are identified. Finally, the mechanism of the first-order oscillation mode exciting a second-order mode is presented. This integrated and accurate mathematical model is a major advance in the diagnosis and prediction of failures in hydropower operation.

Abstract Hybrid energy storage is a multi-modal approach to store and supply different forms of energy (electricity, heat, cold) simultaneously. This is an important sector coupling approach and enables large scale flexibility for a deep decarbonization of energy systems. Two different proposed energy storages – power-to-heat-to-X energy storage (PHXES) and pumped thermal energy storage (PTES) – are investigated in detail in this work towards their potential towards a hybrid deployment. The techno-economic analysis includes thermodynamic flowsheet simulations and unified cost estimations based on the used equipment. It is shown that the main input data set (e.g. working fluid selection, turbomachinery efficiency, pinch temperatures) has a strong influence on storage roundtrip efficiency in the thermodynamic simulations, but also on storage costs. Cost decrease and performance increase can be conflicting development targets, and it is not clear if future energy systems rather require technologies with the highest storage efficiencies or if low cost is an important prerequisite. PHXES and three variants of PTES are implemented into a simplified energy system model of the city of Hamburg that comprises the electric load and heat demand of the district heating system. Two scenarios (fossil benchmark and 80% decarbonization) are used to select the technologies and their capacities that allow the most cost-effective energy supply solution by a linear-programming optimization procedure. Large scale renewable power generation and hybrid energy storage play the major roles in the decarbonization scenario. PHXES with a storage capacity of 69 GWh, hot water storage (3.6 GWh) and a battery system (430 MWh) are part of the cost-optimal solution. A cost sensitivity analysis shows that a total cost reduction of 60–80% is required for PTES to become competitive in this model scenario.

This paper presents a robust model predictive control strategy for improving the supply air temperature control of air-handling units by dealing with the associated uncertainties and constraints directly. This strategy uses a first-order plus time-delay model with uncertain time-delay and system gain to describe air-conditioning process of an air-handling unit usually operating at various weather conditions. The uncertainties of the time-delay and system gain, which imply the nonlinearities and the variable dynamic characteristics, are formulated using an uncertainty polytope. Based on this uncertainty formulation, an offline LMI-based robust model predictive control algorithm is employed to design a robust controller for air-handling units which can guarantee a good robustness subject to uncertainties and constraints. The proposed robust strategy is evaluated in a dynamic simulation environment of a variable air volume air-conditioning system in various operation conditions by comparing with a conventional PI control strategy. The robustness analysis of both strategies under different weather conditions is also presented.

Abstract Four power generation options covering the spectrum of methods of fossil fuel power generation were used as the base cases to determine the resultant increase in base case levelized generating costs resulting from CO2 capture from the flue gas of a 500 MWc power station by liquid scrubbing technology. Suitable liquid scrubbing technology for CO2 capture was investigated only for end of pipe treatment, after upstream FGD (where applicable), for each of the options of a 500 MWe power station from coal and natural gas at a coastal site in the Netherlands. The three coal options were based on pulverised fuel, IGCC, and coal combustion in a mixture of oxygen and recycle gas respectively, whilst the natural gas option was based on a sulphur free NGCC. Only commercially proven liquid scrubbing technology screened in economic and technical terms. Inhibited MEA (monoethanolamine) was the most acceptable for the conventional pulverised coal fired power station, the IGCC coal fired power station and the NGCC plant. Selexol® was the most suitable for combustion of coal in the recycle mixture. In all cases pre treatment was necessary to remove traces of NOx and/or SO2 which otherwise would cause solvent degradation. As a consequence of CO2 capture, drastic reductions of both acid gases and particulates occur. The reduction in overall generating efficiency over the four options ranged from 2.4 to 13.5 per cent corresponding to an increase in power station nameplate capacity of 540 to 740 MWe to achieve a net export of 500 MWe after CO2 capture and regeneration. Investment costs increased substantially by between 52 to 108 per cent in terms of $/kWso. Over the range of options the resultant levalised base case generating costs increased from 22 to 108 per cent. The conventional PF coal power station showed an increase from 53.4 to 80.38 mills/kWhso and the natural gas (sulphur free) NGCC plant showed an increase from 32 to 50.24 mills/kWhso. In the case of the non conventional combustion of coal in recycle gas the cost increased from 83 to 101 mills/kWhso. Because the base case selected for the coal based IGCC plant required CO2 to be captured at almost atmospheric conditions, rather than at higher pressure, the costs were seriously distorted and are not readily comparable with the other options. The nett parasitic effect was not only to substantially increase investment costs but also to substantially increase the basic cost of electricity irrespective of the type of fuel and method of power generation. The balance between a CO2 tax and CO2 capture cannot be inferred without taking into cognisance the additional cost of CO2 disposal.

Ammonia production through more efficient technologies can be achieved using exergy analysis. Ammonia production is one of the most important but also one of most energy consuming processes in the chemical industry. Based on a panel of solutions previously developed, this study helps to identify potential areas of improvement using an exergy analysis that covers all aspects of conventional ammonia synthesis and separation. The total internal and external exergy losses are calculated as 3,152 and 6,364 kJ/kg, respectively. The process is then divided into five main functional blocks based on their exergy losses. The reforming block contains the largest exergy loss (3,098 kJ/kg) and thus the largest potential for improvement including preheating cold feed through an economizer, developing technology towards isobaric mixing, and pressure drop reduction in the secondary reformer as the main contributors to the irreversibility (1,302 kJ/kg) in this block. The second largest exergy loss resides in the ammonia synthesis block (3,075 kJ/kg) where solutions such as reduced temperature rise across the compressor, proper compressor isolation, reducing undesired components such as argon in the reactor feed, and using lower temperatures for reactor outlet streams, are proposed to decrease the exergy losses. Throttling process in the syngas separator is the key contributing mechanism for the irreversibility (1,635 kJ/kg exergy losses) in the gas upgrading block. The exergy losses in the residual ammonia removal block (833 kJ/kg exergy losses) are mainly due to the stripper and the absorber column where a modified column design might be helpful. The highest exergy loss in the preheating block belongs to the compressors (518 kJ/kg exergy losses) where a lower inlet temperature and better system isolation could help to reduce losses.

Abstract The use of photovoltaic solar power generation is rising as worldwide energy demand increases. Therefore, reliability, safety, life cycle, and improved efficiency of photovoltaic plants have all become a major concern in research nowadays. In this context, monitoring systems are necessary to guarantee the required operating productivity and to avoid overpriced maintenance costs. This paper studies the non-ideal operating conditions for grid-connected photovoltaic plants and proposes an anomaly detection methodology that combines the advantages of the 2-sigma, short-window simple-moving average control charts with shading strength and irradiance transition parameters to detect early deviation in photovoltaic plant operational data. The key aspect of proposed methodology is that it requires neither historical data for model training procedure nor parameters from previous simulation. Only instantaneous meteorological and electrical parameters are required. The efficiency of the condition monitoring methodology has been validated through experimental results conducted in actual operating conditions. Results demonstrated that the proposed methodology is effective to identify non-ideal operating conditions for grid-connected photovoltaic plants, i.e., (i) normal operating condition, (ii) natural dynamic shading, (iii) artificial dynamic shading, and (iv) artificial static shading. Moreover, a low-cost and non-invasive internet-of-things-based embedded architecture is proposed to monitor photovoltaic plant operation in real-time.