Engineering Design Studies Research Articles

Santos Energy Solutions: targeting a lower-carbon future and underpinning our sustainability

Santos is actively working to reduce its carbon footprint and prepare for a lower-carbon future, including promoting the role of gas in this future. Santos has set a long-term aspiration to achieve net-zero emissions from its operations by 2050, and a target to reduce emissions across existing operations in the Cooper Basin and Queensland by 5% by 2025. The Energy Solutions team was created to support the delivery of these objectives. Energy Solutions completed a global technology review to identify technologies that would reduce emissions across Santos’ operations and grow gas demand. The review resulted in focus areas of solar, storage (battery, gas and other media), waste heat recovery, wind, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and solar thermal. Santos progressed to implementation and successful demonstration of emissions reduction in 2018 with a world-first installation of an autonomous solar- and battery-powered beam pump. The initial installation in the Cooper Basin is now being expanded to 56 pump conversions to solar and battery with the support of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. Following this success, Santos increased scale with installation of a 2.12-MW solar array and associated infrastructure at the Port Bonython processing facility. In parallel, fuel efficiency opportunities were targeted through key equipment upgrades, including power generation at Devil Creek with new reciprocating gas engines and rationalisation of legacy compression and power generation infrastructure across the Cooper Basin. Another key focus of the team is the progression of CCS, with appraisal of reservoir targets and pre-front-end engineering design (FEED) studies completed in 2019. The success of these projects provides a robust platform to support the further and more complex emissions reduction project opportunities across Santos’ operations.

Innovative Polygon Trend Analysis (IPTA) and applications

Trend analysis is continuously in the research and application agenda due to climate change effect searches on various engineering, social, economic, agriculture, environmental and water resources design, management, operation and management studies. Classical trend analysis is useable for holistic trend identification and then statistical quantification as for its intercept and slope. The main drawbacks in these classical approaches are the set of fundamental assumptions such as the serial independence of the given time series, pre-whitening, normality of the data and non-existence of serial comparison among different sections of the same record. This paper explains a non-parametric approach to avoid almost all these difficulties by simple methodology, which is referred as the Innovative Polygonal Trend Analysis (IPTA). Such an approach helps not only to identify the trend in a given series, but also trend transitions between successive sections of the two equal segments from the original hydro-meteorological time series leading to trend polygon, which provides a productive basis for finer interpretation with linguistic and numerical interpretations and inferences from a given time series. The application of the IPTA is presented for rainfall records from New Jersey, USA, Danube River and Göksu River discharge records from Romania and Turkey.

Investigation of combustion and emission characteristics of n-hexane and n-hexadecane additives in diesel fuel

One of the most important basic requirements of diesel-powered vehicles that they have lower pollutant emissions and fuel consumption. In diesel engines, combustion and engine performance are influenced by the physical and chemical properties of the used fuel. Engine design studies are not enough to increase engine performance and reduce exhaust emissions alone. By adding fuel additives in diesel fuel, the physical and chemical properties of the fuel can be improved. Fuel additives affect engine performance, combustion and emissions positively by exerting catalyst effect during combustion. In this study, n-hexane and n-hexadecane were added in diesel fuel (D0) by volume of 4, 12 % and 20 %. With respect to D0 fuel, in DHD20 and DHX20 fuels engine torque increased by 1.60 % and 1.32 %, respectively, while the brake specific fuel consumption decreased by 3.12 % and 1.98 %, respectively. Maximum cylinder pressures and heat release rate values of the ingredient added fuels increased. It was seen that NOx emissions increased while HC, CO and soot emissions decreased with increasing contribution ratio.

Data-Driven Modeling of Carbon Dioxide Corrosion for Integrity Management Application

Summary In this work we expand on the carbon dioxide (CO2) corrosion–rate model presented by DeWaard et al. (1995) using a parameter–varying (PV) approach to improve prediction accuracy. Specifically, the constant coefficients of the reaction–kinetics–dependent term are replaced with varying parameters presented as a function of mean flow velocity and pH. On the basis of experimental data provided by Nešić et al. (1996) and Dugstad et al. (1994), we compare the corrosion–rate predictions between the original model and the proposed model. A significant improvement of the correlation coefficient (R2) from 0.54 to 0.90 is achieved when the PV coefficients replace the constant coefficients. Accurate predictions of the CO2 corrosion rate affect useful life forecasting of oil and gas systems during front-end engineering design studies, facilitate condition-based maintenance, and serve as the basis for the creation of a digital twin for this process.

AN INTEGRATED AND INTERACTIVE TOOLBOX FOR THE DESIGN OF COASTAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Coastal engineering design studies often rely on detailed numerical models that involve various mono-disciplinary physical processes, complex numerics and large computational demands. As a consequence, these models are particularly useful to address specific questions that arise during project phases focusing on detailed design. In contrast, during early project phases focusing on project feasibility, proof-of-concept and preliminary engineering efforts, these detailed numerical models suffer from their aforementioned characteristics. Now, aspects such as interactivity, flexibility and multi-disciplinary assessment are of importance. Simple yet fast tools and empirical relations offer a lot of potential to fill this gap, but are typically not as systematically developed as detailed numerical models. This results in a deficit in consistent integration of disciplines, robustness, interactivity and potential flexibility.

Heuristics and Human Judgment: What We Can Learn About Scientific Discovery from the Study of Engineering Design

Philosophical analyses of scientific methodology have long understood intuition to be incompatible with a rule based reasoning that is often considered necessary for a rational scientific method. This paper seeks to challenge this contention by highlighting the indispensable role that intuition plays in the application of methodologies for scientific discovery. In particular, it seeks to outline a positive role for intuition and personal judgment in scientific discovery by exploring a comparison between the use of heuristic reasoning in scientific practice and engineering design. While these discussions share many features, it will also be shown that the successful use of heuristics in engineering design is often considered to depend on a crucial factor that is markedly absent from accounts of the use of heuristics in scientific discovery; experienced judgment. In the final sections of this paper, I will compare attitudes to the role of computer analysis in scientific and engineering practices, with the aim of showing how the limitations of scientific discovery machines reveal the need for including intuition in philosophical accounts of heuristic reasoning in scientific discovery.

Examining combustion and emission characteristics of cotton methyl ester to which manganese additive material was added

Important researches is being conducted in order to decrease the emissions and fuel consumption. Emissions and fuel consumption has been dramatically decreased by engine design studies. On the other hand it is difficult to obtain the desired results by engine desing only. Studies are being made on fuel additives so as to improve the engine performance, combustion and emission characteristics. In this study manganese additive was added into a cotton methyl ester (C0) and accordingly combustion and emission characteristics at full load and different speed intervals were examined. In the experiments conducted for this mixture a diesel engine with single cylinder was used and the maximum power was obtained at 2750 rpm. Maximum cylinder pressure was obtained at 2200 rpm where as maximum moment was obtained in C0Mn12 fuel. At the same time heat release rate was at 0.021 kJ/°CA and maximum rate of pressure rise was found to be 6.73 bar/°CA. Minimum CO and THC emission were obtained at 2200 rpm and maximum decrease in THC emisssion occured with the C0Mn12 fuel when compared to the C0 fuel, maximum decrease in THC was found to be 5.01 %. Maximum increase in emissions when compare to C0 fuel was 11.58 % in C0Mn12 fuel at 3250 rpm while they were 33.14 % at 1750 rpm. At 2750 rpm maximum decrease of emissions in the C0Mn12 fuel was found to be 2.74 %.

Two-position quasi-mirror radar of the sea surface: Principles of microwave scattering and possibilities of solving Oceanology problems from space

Using available wind wave spectra data, we consider the applicability conditions of the tangent plane (Kirchhoff) method and the small perturbations and diffusion (Rayleigh) method to construct microwave diagrams of sea surface scattering (quasi-mirror forward scattering). We take into account the peculiarities of Earth sensing from orbit, the closeness of viewing of a mirror point to the Brewster angle, and the possibility of simultaneous formation of wide-capture radar images for the coaxial and collinear polarization components of a reflected signal. It is concluded that, taking into account the approximations made, it is possible to creat panorama small- and mesoscale images of the field of wind wave slopes for a coverage area on the order of 2000 km. Then, based on earlier engineering design studies, we present three possible modifications of “tandem” space radar designed to efficiently solve certain oceanological and applied problems.

Greenhouse Module for Space System: A Lunar Greenhouse Design

Abstract In the next 10 to 20 years humankind will return to the Moon and/or travel to Mars. It is likely that astronauts will eventually build permanent settlements there, as a base for long-term crew tended research tasks. It is obvious that the crew of such settlements will need food to survive. With current mission architectures the provision of food for longduration missions away from Earth requires a significant number of resupply flights. Furthermore, it would be infeasible to provide the crew with continuous access to fresh produce, specifically crops with high water content such as tomatoes and peppers, on account of their limited shelf life. A greenhouse as an integrated part of a planetary surface base would be one solution to solve this challenge for long-duration missions. Astronauts could grow their own fresh fruit and vegetables in-situ to be more independent from supply from Earth. This paper presents the results of the design project for such a greenhouse, which was carried out by DLR and its partners within the framework of the Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) program. The consortium performed an extensive system analysis followed by a definition of system and subsystem requirements for greenhouse modules. Over 270 requirements were defined in this process. Afterwards the consortium performed an in-depth analysis of illumination strategies, potential growth accommodations and shapes for the external structure. Five different options for the outer shape were investigated, each of them with a set of possible internal configurations. Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process, the different concept options were evaluated and ranked against each other. The design option with the highest ranking was an inflatable outer structure with a rigid inner core, in which the subsystems are mounted. The inflatable shell is wrapped around the core during launch and transit to the lunar surface. The paper provides an overview of the final design, which was further detailed in a concurrent engineering design study. During the study, the subsystem parameters (e.g. mass, power, performance) were calculated and evaluated. The results of the study were further elaborated, leading to a lunar greenhouse concept that fulfils all initial requirements. The greenhouse module has a total cultivation area of more than 650 m² and provides more than 4100 kg of edible dry mass over the duration of the mission. Based on the study, the consortium also identified technology and knowledge gaps (not part of this paper), which have to be addressed in future projects to make the actual development of such a lunar greenhouse, and permanent settlements for long-term human-tended research tasks on other terrestrial bodies, feasible in the first place.

Creating Learning Environment Connecting Engineering Design and 3D Printing

Engineering education in modern days require continuous development in didactics, pedagogics and used practical methods. 3D printing provides excellent opportunity to connect different engineering areas into practice and produce learning by doing applications. The 3D-printing technology used in this study is FDM (Fused deposition modeling). FDM is the most used 3D-printing technology by commercial numbers at the moment and the qualities of the technology makes it popular especially in academic environments. For achieving the best result possible, students will incorporate the principles of DFAM (Design for additive manufacturing) into their engineering design studies together with 3D printing.This paper presents a plan for creating learning environment for mechanical engineering students combining the aspects of engineering design, 3D-CAD learning and AM (additive manufacturing). As a result, process charts for carrying out the 3D printing process from technological point of view and design process for AM from engineering design point of view were created. These charts are used in engineering design education. The learning environment is developed to work also as a platform for Bachelor theses, work-training environment for students, prototyping service centre for cooperation partners and source of information for mechanical engineering education in Lapland University of Applied Sciences.

Engineering design and primary experiment study of a 2.6-MV field-distortion oil switch

A 2.6-MV field-distortion oil switch was developed and tested. Engineering design theories of this switch, including electrode areas, oil anode-cathode (A-K) gaps, insulator-surface electric field, and A-K gaps of the pre-gas switch, were described in detail. Structure designs of the switch were presented. Electric-field distributions of the oil A-K gap and insulator surface were analyzed and discussed. Also, switch breakdown processes were estimated. Finally, performances of this switch were tested on the “JianGuang-I” facility (2.3MV/350ns). Preliminary experiment results show that with a 250kV trigger voltage, the switch-breakdown time delay is about 132ns and its jitter (the standard deviation) is less than 4.4ns.

Engineering design and experimental study of indoor air adsorption purification for people’s health by removing hazard gases of H2S and NH3 using different carbon adsorbents with filter and matrix

The hazard gases of H2S and NH3 should be removed from farms, abattoirs and public toilets, etc. Adsorption purification technology is one efficient way to remove the hazard gases. By the scanning electron microscope of the different filters of activated carbon fiber type filter, paper honeycomb type filter and activated carbon sponge type filter, we find that the surface of activated carbon sponge type filter is roughest, that is beneficial for adsorption performance. The experimental results show that activated carbon sponge type filter has the highest adsorption removal efficiency of H2S and NH3. In addition, H3PO4 can improve the removing efficiency of NH3 in activated carbon sponge type filter. At last, the total removing efficiency of H2S and NH3 can attain 100 and 96%, respectively. Adsorption purification technology with high efficient adsorbents is one efficient way to remove the hazard gases for human health.

Experimental determination of single-phase pressure drop and heat transfer in a horizontal internal helically-finned tube

The single-phase pressure drop and heat transfer in an internal helically-finned tube and a plain tube are measured for aqueous ethylene glycol. Pressure drop data are collected under isothermal condition and heat transfer experiments are conducted in a flooded evaporator with R134a boiling outside the tube. The tests are performed with Prandtl number from 17 to 29 and Reynolds number from 5000 to 34,000. The main parameters of the internal helically-finned tube are nominal inside diameter (22.48mm), fin height to the tube inside diameter ratio (0.022), number of fins (60), helix angle (45°). It is found that plain tube’s results agree well with Filonenko and Gnielinski correlations. Friction factors of internal helically-finned tube increase with Re below 17,000, reaching a maximum at Recr=17,000 and decrease above 17,000. This indicates that the conventional criterion Re>10,000 for distinguishing turbulent flow isn’t suitable for internal helically-finned tubes. A correlation is developed to predict the experimental heat transfer coefficient within 5%. In evaluation of the thermal performance, the j-factor for internal helically-finned tube is about 3.5 times of that for the plain tube and the efficiency index varies from 1.8 to 1.55. This study offers the reference on engineering design and later study.

Design approach for a containment barrier system for in-situ setting of Crassostrea virginica for aquaculture and restoration applications

As part of an applied research project, an engineering design and structure deployment study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of performing in-situ larval set of Crassostrea virginica within a temporarily deployed containment barrier. The intent of the barrier was to contain free-swimming larvae to maximize set on emplaced shell substrate. The project site was located in the Chesapeake Bay waters of Maryland (USA) in a tidal tributary adjacent to the Patuxent River. The project included a practical ocean engineering approach to specify barrier and mooring system components by investigating environmental design criteria, applying computational fluid dynamic techniques, and characterizing the barrier and mooring leg shape and tension with catenary equations. Following analysis and component specification, both the barrier and mooring system components were deployed. The structure consisted of two, 15m length sections of Type-III turbidity curtain with a skirt depth of 4.57m, but adjustable with furling lines. The structure enclosed an area of about 65m2 with clean oyster shell substrate and was held vertical in the water column with ∼0.3m floats at the surface and chain at the bottom of the skirt. It was deployed with an 8-point spread mooring configuration to maintain its shape in a 0.51m/s current and 0.75m waves. After deployment, larvae were introduced into the enclosed volume and allowed three days to set before removing the barrier. A companion biological field study demonstrated that the technique could add over 180 juvenile oysters/m2 to the site with clean cultch. Recommendations for a potential, scaled-up version are also discussed.

Simulation study of power load with impurity seeding in advanced divertor “short super-X divertor” for a tokamak reactor

A short super-X divertor (SXD) is proposed as an option for the Demo divertor, where the field line length from the divertor null to the outer target was largely increased compared to a similar-size conventional divertor. Physics and engineering design studies for a 3 GW-level fusion power Demo reactor (SlimCS) (Tobita et al., 2009) have recently progressed. Minimal number of the divertor coils were installed inside the toroidal field coil, i.e. interlink-winding. Arrangement of the poloidal field coils and their currents were determined, taking into account of the engineering design such as vacuum vessel and the neutron shield structures, and the divertor maintenance scenario. Divertor plasma simulation showed that significant radiation region is produced between the super-X null and the target. Radiation loss in the divertor was increased, producing fully detached plasmas efficiently. Advantages of the short SXD were demonstrated, but the total peak heat load was a marginal level (10MWm−2) for the engineering design.

SUGAR POINT - A NEW CRUISE SHIP TERMINAL FOR BARBADOS

In late 2010, Barbados Port Inc. (BPI) selected the Sugar Point team, a joint venture of SMI Infrastructure Solutions and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL), to undertake a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study for a new cruise ship terminal adjacent to the existing Port of Bridgetown. The proposed new facility has been designed to accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world (RCCL's Oasis class), will alleviate congestion in the existing port (which presently serves both cargo and cruise operations) and will significantly improve the arrival experience of cruise passengers. This paper provides an overview of the FEED study, focusing on the technical investigations undertaken to assess the safe navigation, berthing and mooring of large cruise ships, and to define extreme wave loads on the piers. A companion paper (Knox et al., 2014) provides more detailed information on the physical modeling undertaken to support the FEED study.

Using metal hydride H2 storage in mobile fuel cell equipment: Design and predicted performance of a metal hydride fuel cell mobile light

This study examines the practical prospects and benefits for using interstitial metal hydride hydrogen storage in “unsupported” fuel cell mobile construction equipment and aviation GSE applications. An engineering design and performance study is reported of a fuel cell mobile light tower that incorporates a 5 kW Altergy Systems fuel cell, Grote Trilliant LED lighting and storage of hydrogen in the Ovonic interstitial metal hydride alloy OV679. The metal hydride hydrogen light tower (mhH2LT) system is compared directly to its analog employing high-pressure hydrogen storage (H2LT) and to a comparable diesel-fueled light tower with regard to size, performance, delivered energy density and emissions. Our analysis indicates that the 5 kW proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) fuel cell provides sufficient waste heat to supply the desorption enthalpy needed for the hydride material to release the required hydrogen. Hydrogen refueling of the mhH2LT is possible even without external sources of cooling water by making use of thermal management hardware already installed on the PEM fuel cell. In such “unsupported” cases, refueling times of ∼3–8 h can be achieved, depending on the temperature of the ambient air. Shorter refueling times (∼20 min) are possible if an external source of chilled water is available for metal hydride bed cooling during rapid hydrogen refueling. Overall, the analysis shows that it is technically feasible and in some aspects beneficial to use metal hydride hydrogen storage in portable fuel cell mobile lighting equipment deployed in remote areas. The cost of the metal hydride storage technology needs to be reduced if it is to be commercially viable in the replacement of common construction equipment or mobile generators with fuel cells.

CO2-DISSOLVED: a Novel Concept Coupling Geological Storage of Dissolved CO2 and Geothermal Heat Recovery – Part 1: Assessment of the Integration of an Innovative Low-cost, Water- based CO2 Capture Technology

Abstract The CO 2 -DISSOLVED project evaluates the feasibility of coupling capture and storage in saline aquifer of dissolved CO 2 , and geothermal heat recovery. The proposed system basically relies on the integration of a patented water-based in-well CO 2 capture facility (Pi-CO 2 ) in a classical low-enthalpy geothermal doublet. The results of this preliminary engineering design study demonstrated that (1) the use of composite materials for the wells casings would be compatible with the injection of the corrosive CO 2 -rich brine; (2) the housing of the Pi-CO 2 system in a separate large diameter well associated with a dedicated CO 2 injection line integrated in the doublet injection well is the best option for efficient CO 2 capture and dissolution in brine.

CO2 Transport Systems Development: Status of Three Large European CCS Demonstration Projects with EEPR Funding

This paper addresses technical and operational aspects pertaining to the transport of CO2. It deals with lessons learnt from the development of three large CCS demonstration projects: The UK-based Don Valley project, the Dutch ROAD project, and the Spanish Compostilla project. These projects were all selected by the European Commission in 2009 to receive funding under the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR). The purpose of the demonstration projects is to verify feasible capture techniques (i.e. gasification, flue-gas cleaning, and oxy-coal combustion in circulating fluidised bed, respectively), and to demonstrate geological storage options, off-shore and on-shore. As the distance and elevation of the CO2 transport system are inherently given by the project, the transport conditions for the CO2 will generally differ from one project to another. The demonstration projects have shown that the thermophysical nature of CO2 is prone to complicate certain operational procedures mainly due to phenomena like phase change, hydrate formation and Joule-Thomson cooling. The front-end engineering design studies suggest, however, that the handling of CO2 is quite feasible during normal operation, although customised solutions may be required to handle transients like emergency shut-down and pipeline re-pressurisation. This implies that CO2 transport is not seen as an insuperable hurdle to the design and operation of large CCS systems.

Preliminary physical and electromagnetic design for the injector of the heavy ion superconducting linac

The Rare Isotope Science Project in Korea has developed a high current heavy ion accelerator using superconducting linacs. A normal conducting injector system was proposed to supply heavy ions to the superconducting driver linac. A beam physics and engineering design study was performed, and the beam dynamics of the injector was simulated. Optimized beam transmission and emittance were obtained from the beam dynamics simulation. Various normal conducting bunchers, such as multi-harmonic buncher, velocity equalizer, radiofrequency quadrupole, and re-bunchers, will be used and have been electromagnetically calculated.