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Projects


Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number EP/K02115X/1
Title Development and Evaluation of Sustainable Technologies for Flexible Operation of Conventional Power Plants.
Status Completed
Energy Categories Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electric power conversion) 40%;
Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution) 40%;
Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Applications for heat and electricity) 10%;
Other Cross-Cutting Technologies or Research(Environmental, social and economic impacts) 10%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Physics) 20%;
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Applied Mathematics) 20%;
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) 40%;
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 20%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 50%;
Systems Analysis related to energy R&D (Energy modelling) 40%;
Sociological economical and environmental impact of energy (Environmental dimensions) 10%;
Principal Investigator Professor SI Hogg
No email address given
Engineering
Durham University
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 16 September 2013
End Date 14 March 2019
Duration 66 months
Total Grant Value £1,944,441
Industrial Sectors Energy
Region North East
Programme Energy : Energy
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Professor SI Hogg , Engineering, Durham University (99.985%)
  Other Investigator Professor L He , Engineering Science, University of Oxford (0.001%)
Dr B Rosic , Engineering Science, University of Oxford (0.001%)
Professor M Pourkashanian , Energy Resources Research Unit, University of Leeds (0.001%)
Dr JM Jones , Energy Resources Research Unit, University of Leeds (0.001%)
Professor A Williams , Energy Resources Research Unit, University of Leeds (0.001%)
Professor JW Bialek , Engineering, Durham University (0.001%)
Dr GL Ingram , Engineering, Durham University (0.001%)
Dr C Dent , Engineering, Durham University (0.001%)
Dr B Kazemtabrizi , Engineering, Durham University (0.001%)
Dr AJ White , Engineering, University of Cambridge (0.001%)
Professor J Young , Engineering, University of Cambridge (0.001%)
Professor GP Harrison , Energy Systems, University of Edinburgh (0.001%)
Dr J (John ) Gibbins , Sch of Engineering and Electronics, University of Edinburgh (0.001%)
Dr MS Lucquiaud , Sch of Engineering and Electronics, University of Edinburgh (0.001%)
Dr H Chalmers , Sch of Engineering and Electronics, University of Edinburgh (0.001%)
  Industrial Collaborator Project Contact , ANSYS Europe Limited (0.000%)
Project Contact , National Grid plc (0.000%)
Project Contact , Scottish and Southern Energy plc (0.000%)
Project Contact , Innovate UK (0.000%)
Project Contact , Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) (0.000%)
Project Contact , Alstom Group (International), France (0.000%)
Project Contact , Alstom Ltd (UK) (0.000%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract The increasing amounts of renewable energy present on the national grid reduce C02 emissions caused by electrical power but they fit into an electrical grid designed for fossil fuels. Fossil fuels can be turned on and off at will and so are very good at matching variations in load. Renewable energy in the form of wind turbines is more variable (although that variability is much more predictable than most people think) and there is a need for existing power plants to operate much more flexibly to accommodate the changing power output from wind, tidal and solar power.This work brings together five leading Universities in the UK and a number of industrial partners to make conventional power plants more flexible. The research covers a wide range of activities from detailed analysis of power station parts to determine how they will respond to large changes in load all the way up to modelling of the UK electrical network on a national level which informs us as to the load changes which conventional power plants will need to supply.The research work is divided up into a number of "workpackages" for which each University is responsible together they contribute to four major themes in the proposal: Maintaining Plant Efficiency, Improving Plant Flexibility, Increasing Fuel Flexibility and Delivering Sustainability.Cambridge University will be conducting research into wet steam methods. Water is used as the working fluid in power plant as it has excellent heat transfer properties. However in the cold end of power extraction turbine the steam starts to condense into water and droplets form this is especially a problem at part load. The work at Cambridge will allow this process to be predicted better and lead to better designs.Durham University will contribute two different work packages: modelling work of the entire UK power system and the introduction of the world's first dynamically controlled clearance seal. The modelling work will enable the requirements for plant flexibility to be determined accurately. The dynamic seal developed in conjunction with a major UK manufacturer will allow the turbine to maintain performance as the load varies.Oxford University - Improved Heat Transfer Methods for Turbine Design. The output from this work will be a highly accurate coupled fluid flow and heat transfer calculations that will enable designers to better predict the thermal transients inside power stations.Leeds and Edinburgh University will lead work on increasing the use of biomass fuels. The modelling work at Leeds will allow plant operators to devise suitable measures to minimise the environmental impact of burning biomass. Leeds and Edinburgh University will contribute the development of a Virtual Power Plant Simulation Tool This work acts as a bridge between the different project partners as inputs from the models produced at Durham, Cambridge, Oxford and Leeds are combined. This tool based on the latest research findings can be usedto optimize transient operations such as fast start-up and load following as wind turbine output varies
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 07/10/13