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Energy engineering

Energy engineering is a broad field of engineering dealing with areas such as energy harvesting and storage, energy conversion, energy materials, energy systems, energy efficiency, energy services, facility management, plant engineering, energy modelling, environmental compliance, sustainable energy and renewable energy technologies. Energy engineering is one of the most recent engineering disciplines to emerge. Energy engineering combines knowledge from the fields of physics, math, and chemistry with economic and environmental engineering practices. Energy engineers apply their skills to increase efficiency and further develop renewable sources of energy. The main job of energy engineers is to find the most efficient and sustainable ways to operate buildings and manufacturing processes. Energy engineers audit the use of energy in those processes and suggest ways to improve the systems. This means suggesting advanced lighting, better insulation, more efficient heating and cooling properties of buildings. Although an energy engineer is concerned about obtaining and using energy in the most environmentally friendly ways, their field is not limited to strictly renewable energy like hydro, solar, biomass, or geothermal. Energy engineers are also employed by the fields of oil and natural gas extraction. Energy minimization is the purpose of this growing discipline. Often applied to building design, heavy consideration is given to HVAC, lighting, refrigeration, to both reduce energy loads and increase efficiency of current systems. Energy engineering is increasingly seen as a major step forward in meeting carbon reduction targets. Since buildings and houses consume over 40% of the United States energy, the services an energy engineer performs are in demand. Human beings have been transferring energy from one form to another since their use of fire. The efficiency of the transfer of energy is a new field. The oil crisis of 1973 and energy crisis of 1979 brought to light the need to get more work out of less energy.

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Aurora's Grid

Active in energy management, battery optimization and renewable energy. Aurora's Grid specializes in energy management software for Li-ion batteries, optimizing renewable energy consumption, reducing battery ageing, and cutting CO2 emissions.

GRZ Technologies

Active in renewable energy, hydrogen technology and energy storage. GRZ Technologies specializes in hydrogen technology for renewable energy storage, offering innovative solutions for decentralized energy processing and storage.

Helyssen

Active in plasma technology, inductive plasma source and RF plasma sources. Helyssen specializes in advanced inductive plasma sources, offering exceptional performance and breakthrough technology for various industries.

ME-464: Introduction to nuclear engineering

This course is intended to understand the engineering design of nuclear power plants using the basic principles of reactor physics, fluid flow and heat transfer. This course includes the following: Re

PHYS-443: Physics of nuclear reactors

In this course, one acquires an understanding of the basic neutronics interactions occurring in a nuclear fission reactor as well as the conditions for establishing and controlling a nuclear chain rea

ENG-410: Energy supply, economics and transition

This course examines the supply of energy from various angles: available resources, how they can be combined or substituted, their private and social costs, whether they can meet the demand, and how t

SES Swiss-Energyscope

La transition énergique suisse / Energiewende in der Schweiz

SES Swiss-Energyscope

La transition énergique suisse / Energiewende in der Schweiz

Plasma Physics: Introduction

Learn the basics of plasma, one of the fundamental states of matter, and the different types of models used to describe it, including fluid and kinetic.

Induced seismicity

Induced seismicity is typically earthquakes and tremors that are caused by human activity that alters the stresses and strains on Earth's crust. Most induced seismicity is of a low magnitude. A few sites regularly have larger quakes, such as The Geysers geothermal plant in California which averaged two M4 events and 15 M3 events every year from 2004 to 2009. The Human-Induced Earthquake Database (HiQuake) documents all reported cases of induced seismicity proposed on scientific grounds and is the most complete compilation of its kind.

Chernobyl exclusion zone

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation is an officially designated exclusion zone around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster. It is also commonly known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the 30-Kilometre Zone, or The Zone. Established by the Soviet Armed Forces soon after the 1986 disaster, it initially existed as an area of radius from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant designated for evacuation and placed under military control. Its borders have since been altered to cover a larger area of Ukraine.

Heliostat

A heliostat (from helios, the Greek word for sun, and stat, as in stationary) is a device that includes a mirror, usually a plane mirror, which turns so as to keep reflecting sunlight toward a predetermined target, compensating for the sun's apparent motions in the sky. The target may be a physical object, distant from the heliostat, or a direction in space. To do this, the reflective surface of the mirror is kept perpendicular to the bisector of the angle between the directions of the sun and the target as seen from the mirror.

Topics in nuclear power

Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants. Nuclear decay processes are used in niche applications such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators in some space probes such as Voyager 2. Generating electricity from fusion power remains the focus of international research.

Topics in solar power

Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic effect. Concentrated solar power systems use lenses or mirrors and solar tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight to a hot spot, often to drive a steam turbine.

Topics in nuclear physics

Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the atom as a whole, including its electrons. Discoveries in nuclear physics have led to applications in many fields. This includes nuclear power, nuclear weapons, nuclear medicine and magnetic resonance imaging, industrial and agricultural isotopes, ion implantation in materials engineering, and radiocarbon dating in geology and archaeology.

Delayed Hydride Cracking in Irradiated and Unirradiated Zircaloy-2 Cladding

Aaron William Colldeweih

Zirconium alloys used in the nuclear industry are exposed to extreme conditions undergoing high levels of irradiation damage and corrosion. Zircaloy-2 is used as nuclear fuel cladding in boiling water reactors and for the encapsulation of the spallation target in the neutron source SINQ at the Paul Scherrer Institute. As a result of oxidation, hydrogen is produced and partially taken up into the zirconium matrix. As the hydrogen reaches the solubility limit, it precipitates in the form of a zirconium hydride. A number of deleterious effects of hydrides have been extensively studied, including the embrittlement of the material and a unique cracking phenomenon, namely delayed hydride cracking (DHC). DHC occurs as hydrogen in solid solution diffuses towards locations of higher tensile stress, where it subsequently precipitates as the local solvus limit is reached. Once the hydride grows to a critical size, it fractures, which can continue to propagate in repeated steps by the same mechanism.Several studies have been performed in order to understand properties of DHC based on parameters like, alloy type, cracking temperature, hydrogen content, and cracking direction. The most important mechanical properties include the fracture toughness and cracking velocity, which governs the material failure conditions. Crystallographic properties have been investigated in order to understand how complex hydride precipitation develops within the context of DHC conditions. In this project, radial DHC is explored in irradiated and unirradiated thin-walled Zircaloy-2 nuclear fuel cladding with and without an inner liner, in addition to spallation target rod material. A unique three-point bending test, applicable also for irradiated samples in the hotlab, was developed to induce a consistent radially propagating outside-in crack. Results have provided insight into the effects of the inner liner on cracking velocity, showing correlations with the hydrogen depletion. The combined DHC and creep mechanisms, which cannot be decoupled, is coined as âcreep-delayed hydride crackingâ. As the initiating conditions for DHC are of great technical importance, the threshold stress intensity factor has been investigated, under ideal DHC conditions, where a minimum value occurs around 6 MPaâm. Quantitative analysis of the hydrogen distribution around the tip of an arrested DHC crack tip has been performed with neutron radiography at the SINQ. Trends show that the hydrogen concentration around the crack tip increases with temperature resulting likely from the larger hydrogen diffusion, and that the liner reduces the hydrogen available for DHC. Crystallographic analysis has provided insight on the hydride phases responsible for DHC with synchrotron micro X-ray diffraction, performed at the Swiss Light Source at PSI. The results directly suggest that the Î³-hydride is a stable phase precipitated at low temperatures. Testing of irradiated material provided insight into the crack initiation of DHC as a result of the strongly irregular outer surface generated from the oxidation. The propagation pattern is highly irregular compared to the unirradiated material due to the embrittled nature of the cladding from irradiation damage.

EPFL2022

Composition and Interface Engineering of High Performing Perovskite Solar Cells

Mousa Abdulla M E Abuhelaiqa

Perovskite solar cells have been established as a disruptive technology in the domain of photo-voltaics. Their facile, low-temperature processing and high-power conversion efficiency make them stand-out among other mature solar technologies. The performance of perovskite solar cells is pro-foundly tied to an interplay of material properties of singular thin films that are assembled to form the photovoltaic device stack. An understanding of optoelectronic, morphological, and other key charac-teristics of each layer and its interfaces is instrumental in advancing the science of perovskite solar cells. Since their inception after just over a decade, much work on perovskite solar cell has been stag-nant to bring the technology to the market. The long-term stability remains foremostly the main hin-drance to facilitating technology transfer. Therefore, the work presented in this thesis explores multi-ple interface and compositional approaches to promote stability and other photovoltaic parameters of perovskite solar cells.In the second chapter of the thesis, a light-soaking exploration was done on perovskite sam-ples that utilize single (TiO2 and SnO2) and bilayered (TiO2/SnO2) electron transporting materials. The work aims to expand consensus on the optoelectronic and morphological features of light-soaked samples and link them with long-term stability. Upon preliminary testing, maximum power point tracking on each sample reveals efficiency preservation of SnO2 and TiO2/SnO2 samples over the course of 1000 hours while prominent degradation was revealed for the TiO2 sample. On a secondary investigation, light-soaking characterizations were performed where fresh and light-soaked samples were characterized to obtain photoluminescence, microscopic, and crystallographic features. The work reveals the added benefit of employing TiO2/SnO2 transporting bilayers to improve both the stability and power conversion efficiency of a perovskite solar cell. Building on an effort to understand TiO2/SnO2 bilayer behaviors, the third chapter investigates the role of halide passivating elements in SnO2 on the performance of perovskite solar cells. The study utilizes three metalorganic precursors based on acetylacetone complexes with chloride and bromide groups to fabricate SnO2 layers at different annealing temperatures. Upon thermal and elemental in-vestigations, the study clearly links the presence of amorphous halide elements in SnO2 to the power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells. More-in-depth, the optimal SnO2 annealing tempera-ture for bromide containing samples 250 ï°C compared with 220 ï°C for chloride containing samples. The higher temperature tolerance tendency was correlated to bromideâs lower sublimation sensitivity. Overall, the study highlights the importance of amorphous passivating elements in SnO2 for high per-forming planar perovskite solar cells. Finally, the fourth chapter involves a novel cation mixing approach for 2D perovskites at the interface of the 3D perovskite and the hole transporting layer. Alkyl ammonium halides have been widely used to form light-stable 2D perovskite films upon interaction with excess PbI2. In this study, different alkyl chain cations (propylammonium iodide and octylammonium iodide) were mixed in one solution to form a novel 2D perovskite crystal lattice. Photoluminescence and x-ray diffraction spec-troscopy investigations reveal a unique crystal lattice and a uniform quasi-2

EPFL2022

Formate as Anti-Oxidation Additives for Pb-Free FASnI(3) Perovskite Solar Cells

Jinhyun Kim, Jaeki Jeong, Jiyoun Seo, Jiwon Kim

Pb-free Sn-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have significant potential for application in photovoltaic devices because oftheir suitable bandgap, low exciton binding energy, high carrier mobility, and long diffusion length. However, their performance is hampered by several issues. Sn-based perovskites are highly susceptible to oxidation, which induces a high concentration of defects and degrades the chemical stability of the perovskite crystals. Herein, the anion formate (HCOO-) can effectively suppress the oxidation of Sn in the pure formamidinium tin triiodide (FASnI(3)) perovskite without using A-site cationic additives. Moreover, the presence of formate results in a uniform pinhole-free perovskite film with a low trap density, reduced charge carrier recombination, and improved charge extraction. Density functional theory calculations show that formate-treated FASnI(3) has improved stability against oxidative Sn degradation. The formate-treated PSC achieves a power conversion efficiency of 12.11% at a high open-circuit voltage of 0.71 V. The device exhibits improved stability in ambient air in which it maintained over 80% of its initial power conversion efficiency after 180 min because oxidation is inhibited owing to the strong interaction between Sn and formate.

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH2022

Introduction to Nuclear Engineering: Gen IV Reactors ME-464: Introduction to nuclear engineering

Introduces Generation IV nuclear reactors, focusing on fast-spectrum reactors and their sustainability, breeding of fissile fuel, properties of coolants, historical development, advantages, disadvantages, and key challenges.

Introduction to Nuclear Engineering ME-464: Introduction to nuclear engineering

Introduces nuclear engineering, covering reactions, chain reactions, fuel cycle, criticality, and multiplication factors.

Introduction to Nuclear Engineering ME-464: Introduction to nuclear engineering

Introduces nuclear engineering, covering reactor types, components, and thermodynamics, including pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors.