Optimal Design of Energy Systems

Course Title:               Optimal Design of Energy Systems

Course No.:                 ER 207                                                                        Credits: 3

About the course:

Enhancing and optimizing energy efficiency is a goal that animates and drives engineers across disciplines to innovate and iterate on their processes and systems. This course assesses design and operation choices, based on the fundamentals of thermodynamics and transport phenomena. The principle of ‘entropy generation minimization’ is developed and applied to various systems spanning conventional powerplants and air conditioners to various desalination technologies. The interplay of thermal sciences and economics will also be discussed in the context of practical decision making. Developing simplified models for analysis and optimization will be emphasized.

Students will learn to apply the ideas of thermodynamic optimization to practical engineering systems using computer tools and models. Students will also get a working knowledge of various desalination processes driven by heat, pressure, electric field, and chemical energy.

Outline of topics:

Thermodynamics: Review of laws. Guoy-Stadola theorem.

Exergy: Physical exergy. Introduction to chemical thermodynamics and chemical exergy. Concept of second-law efficiency of individual components and systems

Non-equilibrium thermodynamics principles: Local entropy generation density in terms of fluxes and driving forces.

Constrained optimization, calculus of variations: The concept of ‘finite-time’ thermodynamics to define more realistic limits against which system performance may be assessed.

Design principles: ‘thermodynamic balancing’, trade-off between capital and operating costs, impact of parasitic losses, optimal resource allocation, optimal control theory

Applications: Airconditioning, Heat exchanger networks, powerplant design.

Desalination technologies including reverse osmosis, distillation-based processes, vapor compression, and electrochemical processes such as electrodialysis.

Tools:              Engineering Equation Solver, Modelica – for model development and analysis

Reference:       Thermal Design & Optimization by A. Bejan, G. Tsatsaronis, and M. Moran. Wiley.

Instructor:                               Jaichander Swaminathan (jaichander@iisc.ac.in)

Suggested class hours:            TBD

FIRST MEETING:               TBD

Venue:                                    ICER Classroom