Propagation of heat in soil and rock | |
| | The study of the flow of heat in soil and rock is important for many fields of the natural science and of (energy) engineering. Just think of the cooling of a planet such as the Earth, or the extraction of heat from the ground for heating or for driving power plants. Design (small-scale) experiments and dynamical models to study the propagation of heat in the ground. Examples: Vertical propagation of heat in the ground as a result of temperature changes at the surface. Extraction of heat from a (vertical) borehole. Ground heat storage for heating or cooling buildings. | |
Phase change heat storage systems | |
| | Heat storage is necessary to efficiently operate building heating, domestic hot water and process heat systems. ("Cold" storage is needed for cooling buildings during summer time.) The preferred storage medium for domestic hot water or heating is water. If combined with a phase change heat storage element, the quanttity of heat stored for a given temperature change can be considerably increased. See Investigation 16. Design (small-scale) experiments and dynamical models to study the storage and emission of heat (entropy and energy) in phase change materials (PCM) embedded in storage elements for heating systems. | |
Solar chimneys | |
| | Power plants can be built that use the chimney effect which results from heated air rising due to its buoyancy in a chimney. A turbine in the chimney can be used t o harness the power of the updraft. To heat the air which is to rise in the chimey, a (circular) transparent roof is built around the tower at its base. Solar radiation heats the air under the roof, air flows in from the edge and moves up in the chimney. | Mills, D. Advances in Solar Thermal Technology Solar Energy Volume 76, Issues 1-3, Pages 19-31 January – March 2004 |
Surface temperature of the Earth and power of the winds | |
| | Solar radiation drives the dynamics of our atmosphere, and together, atmosphere and radiation set the temperature of the Earth's surface and, among other things, the power of the winds. Investigate the vertical flows and production rates of entropy and of energy. Create a (layered) model of the atmosphere for radiative transport. Include the production of winds as an endoreversible engine operating at minimal entropy production to estimate the power of the winds for our atmosphere. Here is a model of the atmosphere with winds modeled as an endoreversible engine: | See also Fuchs: The Dynamics of Heat. Springer, New York, 2010, Chapter 9. |
