Sharif Digital Repository

Pulsating heat pipes (PHPs) are compact cooling equipment used for various applications. This type of heat pipes can be used in renewable energy systems, cooling electronic devices, heat recovery systems and many other applications. Since PHPs have superior thermal performance, by applying them in energy systems enhance their efficiency. In addition, PHPs are a reliable medium for cooling various devices which have high heat flux. In this study, various works conducted on the applications of PHPs are reviewed and analyzed. It is concluded that PHPs are efficient and reliable devices for utilization in various energy systems. Moreover, at very low temperatures, such as cryogenic applications,... 

Global warming escalation has extended average temperature of earth beyond its safe limit. To avert this environmental-threat, solar energy has acquired substantial attention of remarkable researchers in this century. To effectively utilize solar energy by transforming into thermal and electrical energy, the involvement of nanofluids having intensified thermal, optical and magnetic properties, has become very popular. The foremost objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive review on the applications of nanofluids in solar energy systems like solar collectors, photovoltaic cells, solar stills, and thermal energy storage, which are thoroughly discussed in this paper. The effect of... 

This paper proposes a method for unit commitment in restructured power systems with high penetration of wind farms. As wind is an intermittent source of energy and can not be predicted with high accuracy, reliability of wind farms compare to conventional power plants is lower. By increasing penetration of wind farms in generation system, reliability of power system will decrease. Therefore, reliability constraint should be added to unit commitment (UC) formulation. On the other hand, wind is a green source of energy; additionally environmental crisis is very important issue in the 21st century. By adding emission constraint to UC, wind energy will be valued. Both reliability and emission... 

A cost-effective, durable, and easy-to-produce improvement in bifunctional electrocatalysts for water splitting is crucial for future renewable energy systems. In this present study, shape-controlled one-dimensional (1D) phosphorized cobalt (CoP) on 3D porous nickel foam (NiF) was synthesized through successive treatment of commercial NiF with acetone and ethanol, followed by hydrothermal growth of Co and final process of phosphorization by thermochemical reactions. The evaluations of products proved reduced overpotential (270 mV at 10 mA. cm−2 for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) process and a low overpotential of 320 mV to reach a high current density of 20 mA. cm−2), low Tafel slope... 

In recent years, increased integration of renewable energy sources (RES) calls for extensive and costly investments in transmission networks. In response, power system decision-makers try to apply alternative solutions aimed to decrease the imposed investment costs. In this context, the presence of large-scale energy storage systems (ESSs) in transmission network can be a practical option for deferring investment in expansion plans of transmission lines, alleviating system congestions, and attaining higher flexibility. In this paper, an efficient model is proposed for co-planning expansion studies of compressed air energy storage (CAES) units and transmission networks. The associated... 

Utilization of heat storage units in solar energy systems can resolve the challenge of fluctuation and uncertainty of the solar energy. Phase change materials (PCMs) are used as the storage media for solar energy storage systems. In this research, a system including of a solar collector and a PCM-based cascaded energy storage unit was numerically investigated. Air was used as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and three paraffin-based materials (RT50, RT65, and RT80) were used as PCM for the energy storage unit. The investigated system mainly operates between 15 °C and 90 °C and considering different PCMs, the selected PCMs were appropriate. Paraffin-based PCMs also present acceptable thermal... 

Thermal power generation needs great volumes of water for cooling purposes. A multi-period Low Water Generation Expansion Planning (LW-GEP) model is proposed to plan the future generation mix including type, capacity, time of installation, and proper cooling system of generation technologies to supply the future electric peak loads under the water resource limitations. Different types of generation technologies with conventional and modern cooling systems are considered as expansion candidates in the proposed LW-GEP model. The access of candidate and existing power plants to the water resources are considered. Renewable resources as water smart solutions are integrated in the proposed energy... 

Presence of microgrids (MGs) and renewable energy sources (RESs) in distribution power systems could result in dramatic changes in operation and planning of these systems. In this regard, operational procedures employed by utilities should take into account the intermittent nature of RESs, while coping with the independent operation of MGs. In this perspective, this paper develops a distributed power management framework based on alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) for distribution networks with multi-MG (MMG) structures. The proposed approach develops a transactive signal in the context of ADMM to coordinate operation of MGs in a distributed manner. In this context, the... 

In recent years, the need to reduce environmental impacts and increase flexibility in the energy sector has led to increased penetration of renewable energy sources and the shift from concentrated to decentralized generation. A fuel cell is an instrument that produces electricity by chemical reaction. Fuel cells are a promising technology for ultimate energy conversion and energy generation. We see that this system is integrated, where we find that the wind and photovoltaic energy system is complementary between them, because not all days are sunny, windy, or night, so we see that this system has higher reliability to provide continuous generation. At low load hours, PV and electrolysis... 

In recent years, the need to reduce environmental impacts and increase flexibility in the energy sector has led to increased penetration of renewable energy sources and the shift from concentrated to decentralized generation. A fuel cell is an instrument that produces electricity by chemical reaction. Fuel cells are a promising technology for ultimate energy conversion and energy generation. We see that this system is integrated, where we find that the wind and photovoltaic energy system is complementary between them, because not all days are sunny, windy, or night, so we see that this system has higher reliability to provide continuous generation. At low load hours, PV and electrolysis... 

While Afghanistan's power sector is almost completely dependent on fossil fuels, it still cannot meet the rising power demand of this country. Deploying a combination of renewable energy systems with hydrogen production as the excess energy storage mechanism could be a sustainable long-term approach for addressing some of the energy problems of Afghanistan. Since Badakhshan is known to have a higher average wind speed than any other Afghan province, in this study, a technical, economic, and carbon footprint assessment was performed to investigate the potential for wind power and hydrogen production in this province. Wind data of four stations in Badakhshan were used for technical assessment... 

Optimization methods for process integration of industrial networks presented so far have dealt with grass-root situation. For retrofit ones, the actual design of the existing heat exchanger network must be taken into account. Berntsson and Stromberg (1996) developed new Composite Curves for use in a targeting and options scanning in retrofitting. The aim of this development has been to create Pinch Technology based methods, with which the general problems with process integration in Retrofit can be treated. New Pinch Technology based curves for retrofitting of heat exchanger networks have provided a graphical representation of existing HEN, including heaters and utility levels, from which... 

Nowadays, the increasing integration of variable renewable energies (VREs) in power systems have resulted in operational transformations of energy systems. Respectively, the high-amount of integrated VREs could cause severe-ramping in the net-load of energy systems due to abrupt changes in their power production. Accordingly, based on the limited flexibility capacity in transmission systems, severe ramping-up/down (RU/RD) in distribution systems should be addressed by employing local flexible resources (LFRs). Nevertheless, evolution of multi-agent structured distribution systems has limited the direct access of distribution system operators (DSOs) in scheduling of LFRs. Consequently, this... 

This paper presents a novel stochastic planning framework for the integration of renewable distributed energy resources (DERs) into existing power systems without relying on new investments in the transmission networks. The upper-level problem of the proposed model aims at minimizing the total expected social cost of supplying demand that includes the expected cost of getting energy from conventional generating units and DERs, the congestion cost of transmission networks, and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission cost, while each of the privately invested DER satisfies a specified rate of return. The lower-level problem clears the electricity market to find locational marginal prices (LMPs) and... 

Renewable energy (RE) as a new player in the generation sector of power systems imposes new challenges to the system operators. The intermittent nature of REs for systems where are autonomous calls for new operational and planning strategies to reach more efficient power management. An autonomous hybrid green power system (HGPS) should be able to meet the load while keeping the cost of the HGPS as low as possible. Many studies have presented different un-optimal and optimal operational strategies, a few of which were optimally sized. In this regard, this paper develops a new thorough framework for designing and optimizing an autonomous HGPS. To reach this goal, the proposed model (a)... 

A deterministic energy supply model with bottom-up structure has limited capability in handling the uncertainties. To enhance the applicability of such a model in an uncertain environment two main issues have been investigated in the present paper. First, a binomial lattice is generated based on the stochastic nature of the source of uncertainty. Second, an energy system model (ESM) has been reformulated as a multistage stochastic problem. The result of the application of the modified energy model encompasses all uncertain outcomes together and enables optimal timing of capacity expansion. The performance of the model has been demonstrated with the help of a case study. The case study has... 

Today, the interest on distributed generation has been increasing, especially due to technical development on generation systems that meet environmental and energy policy concerns. One of the most important distributed energy technologies is Combined Heat and Power (CHP). CHP is small and self-contained electric generation plan that can provide power for household applications, commercial or industrial facilities and hence its applications are overtly increasing. It can reduce power loss and enhance service reliability in distribution systems. One of the influential factors for the users is the purchasing cost of CHP which is largely dependent on its type, capacity and efficiency. Therefore... 

In this paper energy, exergy and thermoeconomic analysis of a combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system has been performed. Applying the first and second laws of thermodynamics and economic analysis, simultaneously, has made a powerful tool for the analysis of energy systems such as CCHP systems. The system integrates air compressor, combustion chamber, gas turbine, dual pressure heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and absorption chiller to produce cooling, heating and power. In fact, the first and second laws of thermodynamics are combined with thermoeconomic approaches. Next, computational analysis is performed to investigate the effects of below items on the fuel consumption,... 

The hybrid power system is a combination of renewable energy power plants and conventional energy power plants. This integration causes power quality issues including poor settling times and higher transient contents. The main issue of such interconnection is the frequency variations caused in the hybrid power system. Load Frequency Controller (LFC) design ensures the reliable and efficient operation of the power system. The main function of LFC is to maintain the system frequency within safe limits, hence keeping power at a specific range. An LFC should be supported with modern and intelligent control structures for providing the adequate power to the system. This paper presents a... 

The purpose of this study is to apply managerial economics and methods of decision analysis to study the optimal pattern of innovation activities for development of new energy technologies in developing countries. For this purpose, a model of energy research and development (R&D) planning is developed and it is then linked to a bottom-up energy-systems model. The set of interlinked models provide a comprehensive analytical tool for assessment of energy technologies and innovation planning taking into account the specific conditions of developing countries. An energy-system model is used as a tool for the assessment and prioritization of new energy technologies. Based on the results of the...