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|QGECE Annual Report 1|

QUEENSLAND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

ANNUAL REPORT2014-2015


OUR VISION 3 OUR MISSION 3 OUR DIRECTOR 3 FOREWORD 4 HIGHLIGHTS 5 ADVISORY BOARD 8 RESEARCH 9 HEAT SOURCE DISCOVERY CHARACTERISATION PROGRAM 9 POWER CONVERSION PROGRAM 14 HEAT EXCHANGERS PROGRAM 17 SYSTEM INTEGRATION PROGRAM 22 TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES (TAC) 26

COLLABORATION & ENGAGEMENT EDUCATION 27 UNDERGRADUATE & POSTGRADUATE COURSEWORK PROGRAMS 28 QGECE WEEKLY SEMINAR PROGRAM 29 POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS 30 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 35 FINANCIAL SUMMARY 39 PUBLICATIONS 40 REFEREED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS 40 CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS 42 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 45

CONTENTS


The Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence (QGECE) was established in 2009 with a grant of $12 million and a $3 million loan from the Queensland State Government. The loan was repaid in full in 2015. The purpose of the Centre is to help accelerate the development of the Queensland and Australian geothermal energy industry through a managed program of strategically targeted research, development and demonstration projects in innovative technologies in close collaboration with the Queensland State Government, and other key stakeholders.

The global network of collaborators with the QGECE includes geothermal companies, equipment manufacturers, renewable energy consultants, universities, as well as national and international energy agencies.

Together, the Centre team and its collaborators have expertise to meet the key challenges posed by the Centre’s ambitious vision. These are:• Optimum energy extraction and sustainable resource management.• Efficient power conversion. The Centre is exploring radically new options based on synergies

with other generation technologies, especially solar-thermal and natural gas augmentation. It is also reviewing possibilities which have been proposed in earlier research.

• A cooling system for a desert zone in the world’s driest inhabited continent. This demands extreme efficiency in condensing the working fluid. Advances in thermal management have benefits for conventional power plants hence, the Centre focuses on innovative platforms for cooling systems.

• Resolve transmission issues inherent to renewable power plants which are located more than 500km from major load centres and the national grid.

To work with equipment manufacturers, geothermal companies, geothermal power station designers and consultants to research, develop and demonstrate new technologies for the geothermal industry, and to collaborate with the Queensland State Government and other stakeholders to develop and promote geothermal energy in Queensland and in Australia.

Dr Kamel Hooman is the Director of the QGECE. Dr Kamel Hooman was appointed to the role of Director on 1 July 2014.

OUR VISION

OUR MISSION

Dr Kamel Hooman

OUR DIRECTOR


Australia has very significant geothermal energy resources, including in Queensland, but despite this potential, there is currently no commercial geothermal energy production for power generation purposes.

The QGECE since its beginning in 2009 has engaged in extensive and on-going discussions with the Australian Geothermal Energy Industry and Commonwealth and State Governments to assess what needs to be done to realise Australia’s geothermal energy potential. The main challenge is the difficulty in bringing hot water to the surface in sufficient quantities to justify the large investment in the geothermal wells. The corollary is the imperative to extract the maximum possible power from that expensive brine before it is injected back into the underground reservoir. As well, all potential future geothermal power generation sites would be located inland in arid country and unless efficient air-cooled condenser technologies can be developed, they would fail to realise up to 20 per cent of their power generation capacity.

With the determination to be ready with solutions for these problems when the geothermal companies start producing power, the QGECE embarked on an ambitious research program to develop new and better methods of transforming the heat resource in geothermal brine to electricity and to do so with minimum use of fresh water.

The QGECE adopted a strategy of addressing the fundamental issues concerning power conversion and air cooled

condensers rather than running after quick partial solutions. As a result of our investment over the

years in developing the requisite skills and research laboratories, the QGECE is now the only team in Australia with the international reputation and the recognised capability to develop efficient and cost-effective geothermal power technologies.

This strategy has paid off in two ways. Firstly, the QGECE is in a position to assist an Australian geothermal power developer to produce up to 50 per cent higher power compared what can be supplied by off-the-shelf products. Secondly, the QGECE solutions are applicable not only to geothermal power but to all power generation from renewable heat.

The QGECE’s research and development highlights over the past twelve months are summarised in the following section of the Report. The Centre has now created major research infrastructure facilities to underpin future research endeavours for the geothermal and other renewable energy conversion industries.

Since taking on the role of the Centre Director on 1 July 2014, Dr Kamel Hooman has

provided excellent leadership to the staff and its large cohort of postgraduate research students who in time will add greatly to the capacity of the geothermal industry. The QGECE’s research and support staff, together with the research students, are to be congratulated on their achievements

My thanks is also extended to the members of the Board and the members of the Technical Advisory Committees for their support and guidance to the QGECE over the past year.

The QGECE’s term of financial support from the Queensland State Government ends on the 31st December 2015. However, the reputation of the QGECE that has developed over the term, leveraged from that strong base of support, has enabled it to achieve a capacity to attract on-going financial support for its research and development endeavours well into the future.

We look forward to your ongoing interest and support of the QGECE in the coming years.

Emeritus Professor Trevor Grigg

FOREWORD


HIGHLIGHTSSignificant advances have been achieved in the QGECE research programs and the following are the highlights:

• The Centre has successfully commissioned the high temperature/high pressure power cycle test loop at the Pinjarra Hills Renewable Power Generation Laboratory (RPG Lab). One of our PhD candidates has already used the loop and collected data to complete his PhD Thesis. We can now design and test advanced turbines for geothermal, solar thermal, biogas and waste heat applications. This is a unique facility in Australia and one of the few university-based facilities around the world. There are already a number of externally-funded projects using the RPG Lab. These are industry and Commonwealth-funded projects to design and test sub and super-critical turbines for geothermal and concentrating solar thermal applications. The turbine is built by local industry and tested in our loop.

QGECE Renewable Power Generation Laboratory


• The newly-refurbished Gatton wind tunnel has been successfully used for the wet media and spray cooling research projects. The facility is equipped with sensors of temperature, flow, pressure as well as accurate (laser-based) flow visualisation instrumentation (PDPA) at air speeds up to 10 m/s in a test section large enough (1.7m x 1.7m) to accommodate commercial heat exchanger bundles. The wind tunnel has also played a vital role in the Centre’s project concerning solar mirror cleanliness and solar mirror cleaning mechanisms. The tunnel is now used to establish the optimum nozzle parameters and stand-off distances for cleaning of solar mirrors using pressurised sprays by carrying out tests at different wind conditions.

• A small natural draft cooling tower (20 meter in height and 12 meter in diameter) is proposed for use in remote site renewable power plants was built at the UQ Gatton renewable park site and was officially opened by Minister Enoch (Science and Innovation) on 23 September 2015. The natural draft cooling tower is equipped with heat exchangers and has a heat rejection capacity of about 1 MW. The tower is fully instrumented with temperature, air flow, and pressure sensors. Inlet air pre-cooling by wet media and water spray will be tested in the tower.

Opening of the Hybrid Cooling Tower Research Facility; Minister Enoch and Professor Alan Rix (Pro-Vice-Chancellor)


• QGECE organised the 17th International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) conference on air-cooled heat exchangers and cooling towers in September 2015. This conference was one of the largest international events and provided a unique opportunity for the participants to present state-of-the-art technologies in both cooling tower and air-cooled heat exchangers. The conference was a success with over 80 delegates attending from all over the world.

• Dust monitors installed in the Collinsville power plant and Kogan Creek power station have generated useful information for solar mirror fouling and cleaning.

• The contribution of the mantle heat in addition to the radiogenic granites, as the main geothermal heat sources in many Queensland areas, is causing a rethink of geothermal exploration strategy in our State. As part of this research, the Centre has developed a substantive project proposal to exploit the geothermal resource in Queensland’s Galilee Basin to provide the power for the future development in this area through a supercritical CO2 geothermal siphon.

• The QGECE has installed two ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems (water- and refrigerant loops) at its Gatton Campus to assist with air conditioning of the Gatton Campus library from 2016. Comprehensive instrumentation for continuous monitoring of the system performance and soil temperatures is a feature of the heat pumps. The facility is a showcase for GSHP technology. The results will inform commercial applications and address scalability, integration with chilled and hot water systems, and strategies for GSHPs in the Queensland climate. Drilling wells and installations were completed in September 2014 and a GSHP Workshop November 2014 brought university and Australian industry experts together.

• The Renewable Power Generation Laboratory is also the home of the QGECE Portable Power Plant. This demountable power plant has been developed in collaboration with one of our turbine research partners, Verdicorp, as a technology development and demonstration platform for low temperature (<150°C) applications. It has the capability of stand-alone operation at remote sites, generating up to 50-kWe of electricity. The power plant is expected to be available for use in 2016.

• The QGECE has teamed up with CITIC, a world leader Chinese manufacturer of turbine and heavy duty mining equipment to develop high-temperature supercritical turbines. The first subcritical turbine designed by our team was manufactured this year in Brisbane by a local company called Naeco.

IAHR Conference Delegation


ADVISORY BOARD

Role Name (as at December 2015)Independent Chair Emeritus Professor Trevor GriggCentre Director- School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland

Dr Kamel Hooman

Executive Dean - Faculty of Engineering, Archi-tecture, Information Technology, The University of Queensland

Professor Simon Biggs

Director - The University of Queensland Energy Initiative

Professor Chris Greig

Cheif Government Geologist- Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ)

Mr Brad John

Deputy Director General (Energy) - Department of Energy and Water Supply

Ms Karen Masnata

Executive General Manager Asset Management- Ergon Energy

Mr Tony Pfeiffer

Director Industry Services and Emergency Re-ponse - Department of Energy and Water Supply

Mr Kumar Thambar

Past Director - Australian Geothermal Solutions Dr Adrian Williams

The Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence has an Advisory Board whose role is to set and monitor the strategic direction of the Centre and to monitor its performance.

Prof Gurgenci, PhD student Mostafa Odabaee, Dr Hooman and Dr Mehryay Sakhaei


The Centre conducts research under five program headings: Heat Source Discovery and Characterisation, Power Conversion, Heat Exchangers, System Integration, and Transmission. The Transmission project was completed in 2013/14.

The following pages describe progress in these programs from 1 July 2014 – 30 June 2015.

Heat Source Discovery and Characterisation Program

Program leader Dr Aleks AtrensResearch team Dr Tonguc Uysal

Dr Scott BryanAssociate Professor Massimo GasparonProfessor Victor RudolfAssociate Professor Jason Stokes

Ms Victoria MarshallMs Coralie SiegelMs Ezgi Unal

Queensland Geothermal Development Support

The QGECE provides support to parties interested in development of geothermal resources in regional Queensland communities. The QGECE has provided assistance to the ongoing geothermal development project in Winton.

RESEARCH

From left to right: Maitland Maltby (Local Government Infrastructure Services Manager) – Energy, Margaret de Wit (Local Government Association Queensland

president), Butch Lenton (Winton Shire Council mayor) and Tom (Upton Winton Shire Council CEO) at the project

launch.


The QGECE evaluated the capabilities of reinjection of water produced from the Winton Town Bore #4 into the Winton Town Bores #1-3. The purpose was to obtain achievable flow-rates and geochemical interactions. The report estimated the potential reinjection flowrates possible using different combinations of wellbores. These estimates were based on flow histories of the wellbores and the consequent flow-pressure relationships.

The report highlighted possible geochemical interactions between the water in the different well-bores. While the risks of serious geochemical reactions were considered low, it was recommended that simple laboratory tests could be used to evaluate whether they would occur. The draft report1 was prepared on 1 June 2015 and no further details or amendments were requested.

1Atrens,A.D.(2015)TechnicalconsiderationsforwaterreinjectionintoWintonTownBores1-3.TheUniversityofQueensland,Brisbane.

Estimated injection pressure required for different flow-rates and injection well combinations1

Charleville Bore 5, and Quilpie New Town Bore (Bore #2), where temperatures were measured to verify

database records


The QGECE has also been engaged to conduct a survey the geothermal potential in Central Queensland in the Charleville region. This is a “fringe-of-grid” area where geothermal development in Charleville (or smaller regional towns) could reduce power prices or improve electricity supply reliability and stability. The QGECE has evaluated existing subsurface temperature databases, Queensland Digital Exploration Wellbore Reports, and the Queensland Groundwater Database to develop an understanding of potential in the region. Due to the age of some measurements, the QGECE has begun a preliminary verification program involving measurement of wellhead temperatures, to ensure that decisions related to geothermal development are made using up-to-date data.

The major findings of the survey are that the resource in Charleville is uncertain due to a lack of deep wells; high potential is not strongly indicated based on shallow water bores. However, the surrounding region includes a variety of flowing water bores which produce high temperature fluids, as well as deep exploration wells encountering thermal resources that could be developed for regional power. The Charleville Geothermal Survey included a coursework master student’s thesis with the aim to evaluate the thermal gradients in the Charleville region and an undergraduate student undertaking extracurricular research. When completed, the Charleville Geothermal Survey report will document the best existing opportunities for geothermal development in the Charleville region.

2 Emoricha,E.B.(2015)PreliminaryevaluationofCharlevillegeothermalresource,Queensland,Australia.TheUniversityofQueensland,Heriot-WattUniversity:Brisbane.

Temperature map at 2500 m below surface datum of region surrounding Charleville2


3 Middelton, A.W, Uysal, I.T, and Golding, S.D. (2015) Chemical and mineralogical characterisation of illite-smectite: Implications for episodic tectonism and associated fluid flow, Central Australia. Geochemica at Cormochimica Acta. 148: 248-303.4 Glikson, A.Y. et al. (2015) Geophysical anomalies and intra-crystalline quartz deformation of the Warburton West Structure, Central Australia. Tectonophysics. 643: 55-72 5 Boles, E. et al. (2015) Hydrogen and 40Ar/39Ar isotope evidence for multiple and protracted paleofluid flow events within the long-lived North Anatolian Keirogen, Turkey. Geochemistry, Geophys-ics, Geosystems. 16: 409-423. 6 Rosenbaum, G, Uysal, I.T, and Babaahmadi, A. (2015) The Red Rock Fault Zone (northeast New South Wales): Hinematics, timing of deformation and relationships to the New England oroclines. Australian Journal of Ethics Sciences. 62: 409-423. 7 Unal-Imer, E, et. Al. (2015) 80kyr-long continuous speleothem record from Dim cave, SW Turkey: paleoclimatic implications for the Eastern Mediterranean. Scientific Report. 5.

Geoscience

The QGECE research team continues to advance the understanding of underground thermal resources and how to locate them. In particular, there have been the following substantial geoscience research findings over the past year:

• Mineralogical characterisation of illites and smectites have advanced the understanding of the Innamincka-Gideapla-Merrimelia Ridge and the Nappamerri Trough. Fluid flows during the Cretaceous Period appear to have been critical in developing these resources, which may provide clues for locating other high temperature resources3.

• Geophysical anomalies and intra-crystalline quartz lamellae lend further support to buried impact structures in Central Australia, providing better understanding of the heat anomaly located in that region4.

• The North Anatolian geothermal resources were identified as having been internally circulating since fluid flow events in the Eocene (based on deuterium content and argon isotopic ratio)5 . These ancient fluid flow events are potentially important in the formation of the geothermal resources. This research also developed a new approach for evaluating fluid age and source, a useful new technique in geothermal resource analysis.

• Evaluation of the Red Rock Headland in northeastern New South Wales provides support of previous brittle faulting (based on rubidium-strontium and argon isotope ratios), and that fluids in the fault zone are from a deep crustal source (based on oxygen and hydrogen isotopes). This provides a fundamental understanding of the deep geological structures, and may help to better understand targets for future geothermal exploration6.

• Broader geoscience research identified a new speleotherm climactic record providing climate data for the east Mediterranean over the past 80,000 years7. This research was published in the prestigious and widely-read Scientific Reports.

• The Australian continent may not be as ubiquitously stable as previously thought, based on current and soon-to-be-published research in which the QGECE is collaborating. Helium isotope studies found substantial flows of gas from the mantle to the surface, indicating deep groundwater circulations and substantial mantle to surface connections the Oodnadatta fault zone in south-central Australia. This is an indication of substantial tectonic activity, potentially a substantial driver of the elevated heat flow in the area. This may provide further insights into Australian geothermal resource exploration.

The University of Queensland Gatton Site


Ground Source Heat Pumps

Despite delays in the construction and commissioning of the Ground Source Heat Pump facility at the UQ Gatton Campus, completion of the installation is expected in early 2016.The facility is comprised of two ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems designed to provide 40 kW of thermal cooling load for the UQ Gatton library. One, the direct exchange system, consists of two heat transfer wells containing refrigerant, three temperature-monitoring wells, and surface refrigeration equipment (compressor & heat exchangers). The other, a water-based system, consists of four heat transfer wells containing water, three temperature-monitoring wells, and surface refrigeration equipment. All wells are ~80 m deep.

The facility also includes a separate monitoring well. The facility is designed for empirical testing and evaluation of GSHP performance under different load conditions and operation regimes to provide data to validate scientific and performance models.

The Gatton GSHP Facility has been used already as the basis for four undergraduate student theses that focused on analysing the performance of GSHPs under typical Australian conditions, developing models to evaluate operational behaviour, and determining optimum operating designs8,9,10,11. For example, one student research project evaluated the potential effect that groundwater levels would have on the heat transfer possible from a well with geometry equivalent to that of Gatton system.

8 Miskin, A. (2014) Geothermal Heat Pump Systems. The University of Queensland, Brisbane. 9 Kasherman, J (2015) Numerical Simulations of the Effects of Groundwater Flow on the Performance of Vertical Closed-Loop Ground Source Heat Pump Systems. The University of Queensland, Brisbane. 10 Isdale, J. (2015) Using geothermal heat pumps for air conditioning in Brisbane. The University of Queensland, Brisbane. 11 Elliot, S. (2015) Using geothermal heat pumps for air conditioning in Brisbane. The University of Queensland, Brisbane.

These models will be validated using the Gatton GSHP Facility once it is operational. The Gatton GSHP Facility will also include public data visualisation screens to share the information and to ensure the see operational performance data for the system is easily available for visitors and UQ students. This is a component of the QGECE’s commitment to educating and engaging the community on the potential of renewable energy technologies. A preliminary illustration of components of the data visualisation system as below.

Gatton Ground Source Heat Pump Facility Layout

Heat transfer rate over time depending on height of groundwater below surface datum9

Data Visualisation at the UQ Gatton Ground Source Heat Pump Facility


Program leader Dr Ingo Jahn Research team Dr Andras Nagy

Dr Jason CzaplaMr Ampon ChumpiaMr Hugh RussellMr David Stevens

Mr Braden TwomeyMr Mosen ModirshanechiMr Mostafa OdabaeeMr Jianhui QiMr Kan QinMr Fairuz ZakariyaMr Joshua KeepMr Jakob Hess

Power Conversion Program

Converting Thermal Energy (High Pressure & Temperature Gas)

Significant achievements have been made by the power conversion group. Initially the focus was on optimising the power extraction process. This specifically addressed the question of how to match the power cycle operating condition and component design (e.g. pressure ratios, flow rates, fluid type, and turbine type) to a given energy source. This process can now be optimised automatically using the QGECE’s software TOPGEN®.

At the same time, the building and commissioning of the high pressure test loop commenced at the QGECE Pinjarra Hills facility. Testing on this loop commenced in 2014. Steady state and transient data have allowed the validation of high fidelity steady state and transient simulations for organic fluid Rankine cycles. These experimental results are being utilised in the development of modular dynamic models of the complete organic Rankine cycle which could be used to speed up the design of large renewable power plants by allowing for design-stage simulations of transient effects. Such effects are a significant source of uncertainty for engineers during plant development.

Since mid-2014, the focus shifted to the design, commissioning and testing of turbines. Turbines are the key component in any cycle, which convert thermal energy to usable shaft power.

Power Cycle Testing Facilities

The Pinjarra Hills site is home to state-of-the-art power cycle testing facilities which were developed by the QGECE. The high pressure loop has now been commissioned to an increased operating range for refrigerants, allowing tests with pressures up to 20MPa, 200°C working fluid temperatures, and heater powers of 52kW. As part of this process, a number of loop upgrades were performed, including: the upgrades of pipe work, the loop control system, the data acquisition system, plant registration of the loop with Queensland authorities, and most importantly the incorporation of a turbine test assembly. The next series of upgrades to facilitate operation with supercritical CO2 has been planned. Testing of the first radial-inflow refrigerant turbine commenced in 2015. The new loop and turbine instrumentation allows investigations of how the overall power conversion system functions as well as a detailed data of the flow physics within the turbine. These are essential for validation of the turbine design methods.


Design, Manufacture and Test of a 7kW Refrigerant Turbine

Another significant achievement for 2015 is the manufacture of the first Turbine and Test-Stand for use with the High Pressure Loop at Pinjarra Hills.

A full instrumentation and associated data acquisition system for the turbine was developed in parallel. The measured data provides the insight into turbine operation which is essential to validate tubomachinery design and simulation tools that have been developed within the QGECE.

Completion of the above tasks and the installation of the first refrigerant turbine, capable of generating approximately 5kW (shaft work out) and operating at speeds of up to 30,000RPM is a key milestone. It has proven QGECE’s ability to design and operate high speed turbomachinery. This skill is essential for the development of next generation turbomachinery that will operate at higher pressures, speeds, and temperatures. At the same time, aerodynamic data collected from experiments create the ability to validate aerodynamic simulation and design tools.

Through testing the first refrigerant turbine using the High Pressure Loop at Pinjarra Hills, the QGECE has confirmed its ability to design and operate efficient power loops and turbines to generate shaft power for renewable thermal power plants.

New National Instruments & Labview based control system for the high pressure test loop and turbine assembly.

7 kW Refrigerant Turbine and Test Assembly installed and connected to High Pressure Loop at Pinjarra Hills.


Design of 100kW supercritical CO2 turbine

Another significant achievement in 2015 was the selection of turbines operating point and associ-ated turbine preliminary geometry for the next generation, which will operate with supercritical CO2 (sCO2). A detailed design of the turbine is now underway with release for manufacture expected in early 2016. This second generation turbine assembly incorporates design know-how gained from the refrigerant turbine currently being tested and will include advanced technologies to allow opera-tion at inlet pressures up to 20MPa and speeds up to 120,000RPM. The second generation turbine assembly will also allow testing of a range of new technologies currently under development within the QGECE. This includes advanced sealing arrangements, optimised rotors, and advanced rotor manufacturing methods.

The current project is on track to deliver the first radial inflow turbine operating with sCO2 in Austral-ia and the first sCO2 turbine in the world designed and tested by a university.

Other Capabilities

Work on our local capability in turbine design and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) continues to progress. The QGECE now has in-house tools to efficiently generate radial turbine geometries and corresponding meshes for CFD simulation. In addition, the development of a lower order through flow simulation code has started. This suite of tools, in combination with the high fidelity CFD and CFD optimisation tools that were created, will give the QGECE a toolset that covers the full turbine aerodynamic design process.

The in-house developed CFD code “Eilmer3” has been expanded to incorporate moving and dynamic mesh capabilities. These have been used extensively to analyse the operation of foil bearings with supercritical fluids.

Furthermore, significant progress was made in the application of numerical methods and CFD as design tools for the optimisation of turbine geometries. Simulations have been performed to optimise a CO2 turbine and coupled CFD-Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations have been conducted to investigate the effects of the working fluid on the turbine rotor dynamic behaviour.

Mapped design space for a 120,000RPM, 100kW sCO2 turbine. CAD model showing proposed rotor and

associated blade geometry.


Heat Exchangers Program

Program leader Dr Zhigang GuanResearch team Dr Kamel Hooman

Professor Hal GurgenciDr Yuanshen LuMr Hugh RussellMr Bert Di Pasquale

Mr Abdullah AlkhedhairMr Iman Ashtiani AbdiMr Suoying HeMr Mohamadhosein SadafiMs Fadhilah Shikh AnuarMr Xiaoxiao LiMr Yubiao SunMr Shengzhe YuMr Navid Dehdashti AkhavanMr Erond PerezMr Zhuzhao Chen

Advanced Heat Exchanger Technologies and Natural Draft Dry Cooling Towers

A cooling tower is an integral part of any thermal power plant and its performance is crucial to power conversion efficiency.

The cooling towers used in thermal power plants are either wet or dry. Although wet cooling is generally more efficient than dry cooling, it has been reported that the wet cooling accounts for over 90% of water consumption in a typical thermal power plant. A large quantity of water may be limited by policy or cost in arid, remote areas, where renewable (geothermal and solar thermal) plants are most likely to be located in Australia. Therefore, dry cooling is the only cost-effective option for these renewable power plants.

Dry cooling towers transfer heat through air-cooled heat exchangers that separate the working fluid (steam or an organic working fluid) from the cooling air. Since the working fluid does not contact with the ambient air directly, there is no water loss. While dry cooling has advantages for water conservation and environmental protection, it suffers from lower efficiency when ambient air temperature is high.

Air cooling works by forcing air across a heat exchanger array either using electrical fans or the buoyancy-driven updraft through a tall tower. The disadvantage of using fans is their high parasitic consumption. For example, a future geothermal power plant in the Queensland outback could use up to 15% of its output to drive its fans, or more on hot days. On the other hand, natural draft tower technology is capital intensive and not a commercial alternative for geothermal solar power plants based on the current design alternatives which were all originally developed for coal-fired power plants. Therefore, cost-effective technologies that increase power production when ambient temperature is high are required.

The QGECE’s heat exchanger program aims to improve the performance of dry cooling by focusing on the development of advanced natural draft dry cooling tower designs and heat exchanger technologies for renewable power plants.


Key activities of this program include:

• Study pre-cooling the cooling air by either spray or wet media for natural draft dry cooling towers on very hot days.

• Nozzle spray optimisation.• Spray cooling with saline (coal seam) water.• Numerical and experimental studies of small natural draft dry cooling tower for renewable power

plants.• Development of advanced cooling and heat exchanger technologies for renewable power plants

with supercritical CO2 cycle.• Engagement with industry projects, models and field instrumentation on cooling systems used a

coal seam gas (CSG) processing plant.• Experimental study using 20m natural draft cooling tower in UQ Gatton campus.• Solar mirror cleaning.• Optimising the design of solar enhanced natural draft cooling tower.

The QGECE has developed several hybrid natural draft dry cooling technologies for renewable power plants. Modelling and experimental results show that these novel technologies will increase the performance of a dry cooling system when ambient temperature is high with low cost on tower structure construction. The hybrid cooling technologies developed by QGECE include: solar hybrid, water hybrid, and windbreak wall hybrid natural draft cooling towers as well as the innovative structural design of tower.

In a solar hybrid natural draft dry cooling tower, solar roofs are added and arranged radially at the base of the tower, and the heat exchangers are placed vertically at the outside edge of the solar roofs. The system exploits the solar energy, which is abundant in Australia, during the hottest periods at which the conventional dry cooling tower would suffer the lowest performance. Modelling showed that more than a 10% increase in the net power can be achieved on a hot day48,49,50. Optimising the design with metal foam heat exchanger is currently under investigation.

The water hybrid system uses a small amount of water to increase the cooling performance of natural draft dry cooling towers (NDDCTs) during periods of high ambient temperatures. In this system, water is introduced into the inlet air stream of a dry cooling tower by either nozzle spray or wet media. The water evaporates and reduces the entering air dry bulb temperature theoretically to its wet bulb temperature. Saline water has been investigated to save fresh water.

Gatton Cooling Tower


PhD graduates Dr Suoying He, Dr Abdullah Alkhedhair, and current PhD student Mr Mohamadhosein Sadafi have been studying the water hybrid cooling system with the aims to increase power plat production at high ambient temperature through the introduction of small amounts of water during hot periods. After testing various wet media in the Gatton Campus wind tunnel, Dr He demonstrated that the cooling efficiency of a natural draft dry cooling tower can be improved significantly by selecting the correct wet media14,15,16,17. Dr Abdullah investigated the pre-cooling of the inlet air to the tower by using nozzle sprays2. In his study, he developed a 3-D CFD model to simulate evaporating water sprays produced by real nozzles. Experimental tests with the QGECE Gatton wind tunnel were conducted to investigate droplet transport, water evaporation, and the cooling efficiency. The experimental results were also used for the CFD model validation. The study demonstrated the feasibility of utilising spray cooling systems in natural draft dry cooling towers and the complete evaporation of water droplets can be achieved under NDDCTs typical condition at a hot and dry ambient condition3,4. Mr Mohamadhosein Sadafi is exploring the use of highly saline water, like coal sea water, for inlet air pre-cooling by examining the evaporation of salty water droplets. His studies show that the wet length can be significantly shortened, thereby minimising the losses and footprint of a hybrid cooling tower.

To address the cross wind effect on small natural draft cooling towers, a simple but very effective windbreak wall was introduced to improve the performance of small NDDCTs under crosswind. These walls are used to divert crosswind flow through the heat exchangers to improve the performance of the tower. When there is a crosswind, the walls stop the crosswind flowing across the bottom, change the direction of the crosswind, and force it flows through a heat exchanger. Because more air flows through the heat exchanger, the performance of the tower is improved. In his PhD study, Dr Yuanshen Lu demonstrated that the performance of the same size of tower with windbreak wall increased by nearly 40% at the crosswind speed of 10 m/s44,46.

Scanning Electron Microscopy images of NaCl crystal created from evapora-tion of saline water experiments. a) slow evaporation, b) fast evaporation

Hybrid Cooling Tower, Gatton Campus


The QGECE also developed a polymer-steel cooling tower that has a flexible design to allow operation across the range of dry, wet, and hybrid cooling modes. This tower has a modular construction that is easily deployable in remote sites and significantly less expensive than concrete cooling towers, particularly at small scales. With this design, up to 40% of construction costs can be saved comparing to the traditional reinforced concrete (RC) cooling tower. The demonstration unit, built at the UQ Gatton Campus and protected by a provisional patent, is large enough to contribute to the efficient supply of power for up to 1000 people. The QGECE hybrid cooling tower at Gatton is a world first research facility with profound implications for power generation.

The commissioning of the 1 MW heater unit was installed by an external contractor, and the extensive instrumentation system was designed, built and installed by the Faculty’s Instrumentation Support Group. Testing commenced following the official tower opening by Minister Enoch on 23 September 2015.

Because of our track record on heat exchangers, the QGECE has been contracted by the coal seam gas (CSG) producer, Arrow Energy Pty Ltd, to conduct a performance study on air cooled heat exchanger (ACHE) for its two gas processing plants. The aims of the study were to investigate the performance of the ACHE under various ambient conditions and to identify a number of key issues that cause the compressor/engine to trip when the ambient temperature is high. 3D CFD models were built to represent the ACHE system of the CSG processing plants and a comprehensive instrumentation unit was installed on site to measure the parameters related to the performance of the ACHE.

Fouling of heat exchangers, as well as its mitigation and cleaning, forms an important challenge for QGECE. Scaling of geothermal wells is a complex problem that industry has been facing for a long time. Particulate fouling of air-cooled heat exchanger is another problem the QGECE is actively investigating.

Dr Yuanshen Lu visited the site for collecting data


Dust is the dominant source for solar collectors fouling in concentrated solar thermal (CST) power plants and regular cleaning is required to recover the reflectance losest caused by mirror fouling. The effective cleaning method has to address the significant characteristics of dust such as the size, distribution, density, shape, composition, chemistry and charge. QGECE MPhil student Mr Shengzhe Yu is studying the dust characterisation for solar mirror degradation by collecting dust with a dust monitor and solar mirrors installed in the proposed Collinsville power plant site. The results are to be used for the development of cost-effective cleaning technologies for CST plants.

Contours of temperature, velocity, and deposition rate of calcium sulphate initially dissolved in geothermal water forming a layer on a heat exchanger surface.

The test bench installed for dust sample collection and degradation study on different mirrors


System Integration Program

Program leader Dr Anand VeeraragavanResearch team Dr Zhiqiang Guan

Mr David StevensMr Hugh RussellMr Robert BiggsMr Viv Bone

Mr Tom ReddellMr Jianyong WangMr Sam Duniam

Control and Optimization of the Power Block

System Integration (SI) is a new research program that was launched in October 2014.

The aims are as follows: 1. Full Thermal System Modelling and Optimisation: A supercritical thermal power system is comprised

of several individual components (solar collector/receiver or a geothermal well, turbine, thermal storage, cooling system, etc.) that should work seamlessly together. The aim of the system integration (SI) program is to make this happen. In doing so, the following is planned:

• Create performance models of the full system by combining the individual component level models on a thermodynamic/thermal engineering software platform. Primary focus is on supercritical CO2 (sCO2) cycles for different thermal applications.

• QGECE has been focusing on individual component development; the SI team will interface with existing QGECE programs with the view to developing accurate component level models that can be integrated into the common platform.

• The SI team will also provide input into QGECE programs on the range of operating conditions which will enable the targeted development of technologies to lower the cost and increase the performance of the power cycle.

• The SI team will leverage the existing thermal loop laboratory facility to work with the receiver and PCM nodes to generate experimental data that can be used in model validation.

2. Thermo-economic modelling: A full system component model for costs will be created using available information and justified assumptions with input from experienced personnel. This model will forecast the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) for a future power plant, accounting for all capital and running costs. Furthermore, the model can be used to also pinpoint the key cost drivers allowing the SI team to optimise different options (amount of storage, turbine operating conditions, receiver efficiency, cooling options) from a cost perspective.

3. Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) Measurements and Forecasting: A key issue in functional operation of a solar thermal power station is the ability to predict the change in incoming solar power or DNI and take suitable control action. The SI group will develop expertise in measuring the DNI and creating suitable algorithms that can make short term forecast (of the order of a few minutes) of the changes in DNI owing to cloud movements. Collaboration with DLR (German Aerospace Research Office) on this topic has commenced. The work on DNI will feed into the control of the power block operation and output.

As the program expands, the SI team plans to become a key player in interfacing with the industry and other research labs around the world to facilitate the development of low/zero carbon power generation technologies. After making progress in the aforementioned objectives, a goal would be to expand into exploring a hybrid fossil-solar thermal power cycle based on sCO2. This is believed to have application in several developing nations (e.g. India and China) that have access to both fossil and solar resources. The hybrid option is expected to be a bridge in the drive towards fully renewable power generation.


Progress and Achievements

Powerblock Modelling

The SI team delivered static design point models of the configuration of the 25 MW sCO2 powerblock for the previous Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI) milestone in support of the 12 cents/kWh objective. This involved creating component models for various parts of the powerbock such as the heat exchangers turbine, cooling tower, etc.

The main outcome of this modelling exercise was that the powerblock operating at a turbine inlet temperature of 610 oC had the highest probability of achieving the 12 cents/kWh objective. The cycle model for this case is shown on the following page. This activity addresses the objectives of Aim 1 of the SI Program (page 22).

Printer Circuit Heat Exchangers From (Lee and Kim 2013)


Besides, off-design performance models of sCO2 powerblock for ASTRI are created. This activity also relates to Aim 1. The work was done in the modelling platform IPSEpro. To the team’s knowledge, this is the first off-design powerblock calculation in which each of the component models have detailed off-design performance attributes built into them.

A detailed account of all of the assumptions as well as the outputs of this model were delivered to CSIRO partners for feeding into the thermo-economic analysis as discussed in Aim 2.

Design pont cycle model for ASTRI

Turbine off-design efficiency predicted from performance map as a finction of the v ration (Dvrebv 2014)


DNI Prediction

Students undertook thesis projects to investigate employing a clear sky model to accurately predict the DNI as a function of the time of the day and season. Data collected from the DNI solar sensors (a combination of pyranometers and pyrheliometers) at the St Lucia Campus were fitted to the clear sky model. In parallel, a sector-ladder method described in the literature was used to predict cloud movement. Using the combination of the two, and some in-house innovations in algorithm development, we are able to predict the local DNI a few minutes (5-10 minutes) a-priori with a reasonable degree of confidence. This work is being written up as a journal article. It is expected that future micro-grids and off-grid systems that use solar PV/CST will benefit in load control strategies with this additional information being available a few minutes ahead of an imminent loss of solar power. This work addresses Aim 3 of the SI program.

Example of output from DNI prediction software developed by UQ. Prediction gives up to 10 minute advance warning

of solar PV power fluctuations.

Recruitment of Personnel

Two future PhD students, Mr Duniam and Mr Reddell, with Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) have worked to model the sCO2 system model. Their works were presented at the recently concluded 7th IAHR International Conference on Cooling Tower and Heat Exchanger as well as Asia-Pacific Solar Research Conference. Mr Duniam’s work maps to the focus of the SI team on assessing components (natural draft dry cooling tower) developed within QGECE using a system approach and related to Aim 1 of the SI program. Mr Reddell, will work on applying the sCO2 powerblock for biomass applications in regional areas. It is expected that the scalable sCO2 powerblock can offer an exciting alternative to steam based powerblocks in these contexts. This student will be co-supervised from experts in the UQ Energy Initiative team in collaboration with the Director, Professor Chris Greig.

Mr Bone, a PhD student, started working on transient modelling and control of a sCO2 powerblock. This work will form a part of the SI program contributions to ASTRI in years 5 – 8 of the funding. Mr Bone’s studies are supported by an APA.

Mr Wang, a PhD student funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) scholarship has been recruited to work on advancing the numerical tools required to accurately model conjugate heat transfer of supercritical fluids. This will enable easier development of accurate heat exchanger models that are applied to various components (heat exchanger with thermal storage, recuperator, cooling tower etc) in a CSP plant.


Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) were established in each of the broad program areas. The TAC provided advice to the Director about the conduct of the Centre in a particular research area or a research project. The members of the TAC have relevant expertise, were nominated by the Director, and approved by the Board. The TACs did not meet in 2014/2015; however, most of the members were contacted individually helping the research conducted at the QGECE.

Table 1. Technical Advisory Committees of the

Committee Area MembershipHeat Source Discovery and Characterisation

Graeme Beardsmore, Hot Dry Rocks Pty LtdScott Bryan, Queensland University of TechnologyDavid Champion, Geoscience AustraliaMassimo Gasparon, QGECESue Golding, QGECE

Kurt Knesel, QGECERichard Suttill, Origin Energy (to August 2013)Behnam Talebi, Queensland Geological SurveysTonguc Uysal, QGECEDoone Wyborn, Geodynamics Limited

Power Conversion Sam Button, Origin EnergyAllan Curtis, Principal Engineer - Thermal Generation, Par-sons BrinckerhoffZhiqiang Guan, QGECEStephen Hinchliffe, Sinclair Knight MerzKamel Hooman, QGECEPeter Jacobs, QGECETony Roe, Geodynamics Limited

Transmission Mehdi Eghbal, QGECELuke Falla, Senior Engineer, Australian Energy Market Operator LtdTerry Miller, Manager Network Development, Powerlink QueenslandTapan Saha, QGECE

Ground source heat pump (GSHP)

Graeme Beardsmore, Hot Dry Rocks Pty LtdChris Booth, Australian Geothermal SolutionsHal Gurgenci, QGECEKamel Hooman, QGECEIan Johnston, The University of MelbourneMark Langdon, QPS GeothermalMarci Webster-Mannison, School of Architecture UQ

TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES(TAC)


The Centre continues to actively collaborate and engage with industry and other tertiary institutions.

Conference The 17th IAHR international conference on cooling tower and heat exchanger was hosted by QGECE and held at Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from 7 to 11 September 2015. The conference, the largest international event on cooling towers and heat exchangers, provided the participants with a unique opportunity to present the state-of-the-art technology. A total of 84 cooling tower and heat exchanger experts from all over the world presented their work during the conference with 71 high quality papers included in the conference proceeding. Electricity of France (EDF) is hosting the next conference in France in 2017.

A list of all conference papers is in the Publications section of the report.

Engagement

QGECE staff regularly meet with industry stakeholders and researchers. A summary of meetings is submitted quarterly to the QGECE Board.

QGECE staff also regularly collaborate with staff at other educational institutions. Through travel grants and publications, staff have collaborated with the following institutions: Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester (UMIST), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Stuttgart, TH-Nouernberg, Tsinghua, Tianjin, Xian Jiaotong, Shandong, Shanghai Jiaotong, MIT, Detroit-Mercey, Ecole Centrale Paris, Marne La Valle, Toulouse, Miguel Hernadez, Ghent, ETH-Zurich, Bogazici, GFZ-Potsdam, Padova Napoli Seconda, Australian National University, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), University of South Australia and Queensland University of Technology.

Visitors

A number of visitors were received over the period July 2014 to July 2015, including:

• Professor Thomas Roesgen of ETH-Swiss visited for one month and worked on laser diagnostic techniques for flow visualisation.

• Professor Manuel Lucas from UMH Spain visited for two weeks. He has been working with the spray cooling team to further develop the sensitive paper technique for saline water evaporation for cooling towers.

• Dr Simone Mancin of University of Padova-Italy visited for a week and worked on hybrid renewable plant configurations.

There were also numerous occupational trainees who from many different countries including China, the Netherlands and France. These were mainly postgraduate research students who undertook an internship with QGECE in order to progress their research.

COLLABOR ATION AND ENGAGEMENT

Opening address by Dr Kamel Hooman at the 17th IAHR Internation Conference on Cooling Tower and Heat Exchanger


EDUCATION

The Centre is actively involved in providing a geothermal energy education option for undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Queensland.

Undergraduate & postgraduate coursework programs • Undergraduate thesis projects – engineering students complete a research thesis in their final

year at The University of Queensland. Approximately 20 of 130 thesis projects in the School were supervised by Centre staff.

• Postgraduate Engineering Coursework – six students undertaking their postgraduate coursework thesis were supervised and supported by Centre staff.

• Visiting Lectures – Centre staff are invited to energy-related undergraduate courses to deliver lectures on geothermal energy.

ResTeach is a UQ scheme funded centrally to pay up to 20% of the salary of research staff to allow them to engage in teaching programs in the schools. A 20% ResTeach appointment would be awarded to a staff member to coordinate and deliver one 2 unit course to a moderately sized class. A lower fraction would be for a correspondingly lower teaching involvement. These programs have been very beneficial to the Centre in facilitating participation in teaching by research staff. In 2015 Dr Zhiqiang Guan taught into MECH2100 – Machine Element Design.

The above activities help the university graduate engineers and scientists with exposure to the geothermal energy sector and understanding of the issues involved in geothermal energy utilisation.

QGECE weekly seminar program

The QGECE holds weekly seminars to keep all research staff informed about what is happening across the Centre, and to provide an opportunity for students and staff from outside the centre, as well as visitors, to hear about current research.


Date Presenter Topic29 Jul 2014 Desikan Bharathan Hybrid cooling05 Aug 2014 Desikan Bharathan Radial outflow turbines12 Aug 2014 Desikan Bharathan Direct contact condensers19 Aug 2014 Mostafa Odabaee Radial inflow turbines26 Aug 2014 Mohamadhosein

Sadafi and Hugh Russell

Hybrid cooling in power plants: Kogan & Candamine

02 Sep 2014 Desikan Bharathan Desalination09 Sep 2014 Hugh Russell Energy challenges for regional users23 Sep 2014 Mohsen Modir-

shanchiIvanpah Solar Thermal Plant

07 Oct 2014 Yuanshen Lu Heat exchangers flow and recirculation14 Oct 2014 Kan Qin Bearing and seals for radial turbines21 Oct 2014 Kamel Hooman QGECE Power Conversion R&D: Present, Future and the

Roadmap28 Oct 2014 Zhiqiang Guan Solar plants in Spain04 Nov 2014 Mohsen Modir-

shanchiTurbine thermal management

27 Jan 2015 Mostafa Odabaee & Ingo Jahn

SCO2 Turbines: research & roadmap

3 Feb 2015 Fairuz Zakariya Bearing for supercritical turbines17 Feb 2015 Simone Mancin Thermofluids research at University of Padua3 Mar 2015 Mohamadhosein

SadafivHighlights of my stay at the von Karman Institute

10 Mar 2015 Suoying He Highlights of my stay at Xinjiang University17 Mar 2015 Kamel Hooman Solar Enhanced Natural Draft Dry Cooling Towers24 Mar 2015 Josh Keep Sharing experience: Cummins14 Apr 2015 Braden Twomey Scroll expanders for mobile plant units28 Apr 2015 Achim Wiemer Research activities at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,

Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies, Energy and Process Engineering

5 May 2015 Navid Akhavan Thermal management of datacentres12 May 2015 Stephen Gwynn-

JonesTechnoeconomic modelling of a solar thermal plant

6 Aug 2015 Janri Qi Biomass for power generation11 Aug 2015 Hal Gurgenci Radial inflo turbine manufacturing18 Aug 2015 Hugh Russell ASME TurboExpo Report25 Aug 2015 Yuanshen Lu Arrow Project: Lessons Learned1 Sept 2015 Andras Nagy Introduction and Instrumentation29 Sept 2015 XiaoXiao Li Hybrid Cooling Tower at Gatton: Reserach Plan6 Oct 2015 Janry Qi Supercritical CO2 Systems for Concentrating Solar Thermal

Applications

13 Oct 2015 Fadhilah Shikh Anuar

Fouling of metal from heat exchangers

Table 2. QGECE Weekly Seminar Program


Postgraduate research students

The majority of QGECE students enrol through the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, with a small number enrolling through the School of Earth Sciences at UQ or at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Students have access to a free University-wide skills training program run by the Graduate School.

The main involvement of the Centre in the education area is postgraduate research training. The current list of students is given in Table 3, with graduates listed in Table 4. The Centre’s current 26 postgraduate research students form a diverse, international group.

Students are encouraged to participate in the Faculty’s annual Engineering Postgraduate Conference. This conference provides an opportunity for engineering postgraduate students to present their research to academics and industry partners, to improve presentation skills, and to network with potential employers and research partners. The conference also provides a chance for attendees to interact and gain an overview of research across the Faculty. Each year, the Centre sponsors The Professor Klaus Bremhorst Prize for best presentation related to Mining Engineering and Energy.

Students enrolled at The University of Queensland undertake three milestones as part of their MPhil or PhD program. The three milestones undertaken by all RHD students are:

• Milestone 1: Confirmation of Candidature

• Milestone 2: Mid-candidature Review

• Milestone 3: Thesis Review

At each milestone, students receive formative advice about the direction, scope, planning of their research, and the feasibility of their research plan. It is also an opportunity to review the resources that are needed to sustain their candidature (e.g. the composition of an advisory team, the technical support needed for the work, and the physical and financial resources needed to achieve the proposed outcomes of a thesis).

The University of Queensland offers competitive Graduate School International Travel Awards (GSITA). This Award is intended to support one or more of the following:

• Enhance the quality of candidature, thesis and/or associated research output

• Develop additional skills for career post-candidature

• Contribute stronger research linkages between UQ and a key partner.

Two QGECE students were awarded GSITAs in 2014/2015 and undertook or are about to undertake the following trips:

• Iman Ashtiani Abdai was awarded a GSITA to travel to Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Division of Health Sciences and Technology. While there, Mr Ashtiani Abdai had access to the Khademhosseini Lab which uses a multi-disciplinary approach to develop microscale and nanoscale technologies, a facility not available at the University of Queensland. His visit was a great opportunity for collaboration with Ali Khademhosseini’s research group and has been beneficial to both his research and publication outputs.

• Mohamadhosein Sadafi was awarded a GSITA to do collaborative research at Universidad Miguel Hernandez, Spain. His travel will span over a period of two and a half months, from October 2015.


Table 3: Current QGECE Postgraduate Research Students

Student Program Project Title Commenced Next MilestoneAbdullah M S Alkhedhair

PhD Heat exchanger optimisation for geothermal power plants

Apr 4, 2011 Thesis Under Examination

Iman Ashtiani Abdi

PhD Wake visualisation behind a rough cylinder in cross-flow

May 14, 2012 Thesis Under Examination

Robert Biggs MPhil Engineering design and optimisation for a novel concentrating solar thermal power plant concept

Oct 1, 2014 Confirmation of Candidature

Viv Bone PhD Model based control of supercritical CO2 concentrating solar thermal plants


Zhuozhao Chen

MPhil Heat transfer of fluids with highly variable properties in plate heat exchangers


Ampon Chumpia

PhD Improving the performance of air-cooled condensers by using metal foams.

Mar 1, 2010 Thesis Under Examination

Navid Dehdashti Akhavan

MPhil Design and optimisation of scaled natural draft cooling towers for geothermal and solar power plants

Apr 14, 2015 Confirmation of Candidature

Sam Duniam MPhil Design optimisation for an Australian EGS power plant

Oct 21, 2013 Thesis Under Examination

Stephen Gwynn-Jones

MPhil Design of Internally Air Cooled Pipes to Prevent Thermal Bending

Mar 6, 2012 Thesis Under Examination

Jacob Hess PhD Simulation of supercritical CO2 compressors to improve their efficiency


Xin Kang PhD Combustion based portable power generating system

Apr 2, 2013 Thesis Review

Joshua Keep PhD Develop automated design code for advanced transcritical and supercritical turbines

Jan 12, 2015 Confirmation of Candidature

Xiaoxiao Li PhD Numerical and Experimental Study of Small Natural Draft Dry Cooling Tower for Renewable Power Plant

Oct 1, 2014 Mid-Candidature Review

Mohsen Modirshanechi

PhD Wake visualization behind a rough cylinder in cross-flow

Jul 1, 2013 Mid-Candidature Review

Liam Montgomery

MPhil Computational analysis of storage integrated solar thermophotovoltaic (SISTPV) systems

Jul 13, 2015 Confirmation of Candidature

Mostafa Odabaee

PhD Metal foams for improving the performance of water cooled heat exchangers

Sep 3, 2013 Thesis Review

Jianhui Qi PhD Supercritical CO2 systems for concentrating solar thermal applications


Kan Qin PhD Design and testing a mixed-fluid turbine

Oct 1, 2013 Thesis Review

Mohamadhos-ein Sadafi

PhD Simulating dry cooling system for geothermal power plants

Nov 1, 2012 Thesis Review


Fadhilah Shikh Anuar

PhD The experimental study of fouling in diesel engine exhaust gas recirculation thermoelectric generator EGR TEG coolers


Yubiao Sun PhD Optimizing the selection of heat exchangers for solar enhanced natural draft dry cooling tower

Apr 13, 2015 Confirmation of Candidature

Braden Twomey

PhD Dynamic Modelling of an Organic Rankine Cycle and Simulation of the QGECE-Verdicorp ORC Test Plant

Jun 17, 2011 Thesis Under Examination

Shengzhe Yu MPhil The automatic cleaning system for concentrating solar power (CSP) plants

Oct 21, 2013 Thesis Submission

Mohd Zakariya PhD Gas-liquid interaction for gas turbine bearing chamber


Akram (Sara) Zeinal Zadeh

PhD Public cost minimization while building learning curves for solar power and biomass technologies in Australia towards commercial parity deployment levels


PhD students Mostafa Odabaee and Ampon Chumpia


Table 4: QGECE Postgraduate Research Students

First Name Program Project Title Award Date

Principle Advisor

Current Position

Dr Aleks Atrens PhD Carbon-Dioxide-Based Engineered GeothermalSystems

Aug 15, 2011

Hal Gurgenci

Lecturer, School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering

Dr Jason Czapla

PhD Investigation of Supersonic Impulse Turbines for Application to Geothermal Binary Power Stations

Feb 13, 2015

Peter Jacobs

Santos

Dr Pourya Forooghi

PhD Heat transfer of fluids with highly variable properties in plate type heat exchangers

Sep 19, 2014

Kamel Hooman

Post-Doctoral Fellow at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Germany

Dr Kazi Nazmul Hasan

PhD Investigation of cost benefit and regulatory issues of large scale renewable power integration to a remote transmission grid

Mar 17, 2014

Tapan Saha Post-Doctoral Fellow at The University of Manchester

Dr Suoying He PhD Wetted-medium evaporative pre-cooling for natural draft dry cooling tower performance enhancement

Apr 24, 2015

Hal Gurgenci

A/Prof. at Shandong University

Dr Yuanshen Lu PhD The development of small-size natural draft drycooling tower for geothermal power plans

Jan 30, 2015

Zhiqiang Guan

Post-Doctoral Fellow at QGECE

Victoria Marshall

MPhil Petrological, geochemical and geochronological characterisation of heat-producing granites in Queensland

Dec 10, 2014

Kurt Knesel unknown

Dr Huong Mai Nguyen

PhD Power System Stability for Long Distance Connection of Renewable Energy Resources Utilizing Hybrid Multi-terminal HVDC

Jun 21, 2013

Tapan Saha Electric Power University, Vietnam

Dr Alexander Middleton

PhD Geochemistry and geochronology of fluid flow events in high heat-producing granitic systems

Oct 23, 2014

Suzanne Golding & Dr Tonguc Uysal

Geological Survey of Finland


Mostafa Odabaee

MPhil Application of metal foams for improving the performance of air-cooled heat exchangers

Jul 29, 2011

Kamel Hooman

QGECE PhD student

Prashant Parulekar

MPhil Gas Turbine Control in Integrated Gasification

Mar 31, 2012

Hal Gurgenci

Mechanical Engineering Manager at Arrow Energy

Hugh Russell MPhil Groundwater Condenser Cooling for GeothermalPower Plants in Central Australia

Jul 4, 2013

Hal Gurgenci

QGECE Research Officer

Dr Mehryar Sakhaei

PhD Inclined Arrangement for Heat Exchanger Bundles

Oct 3, 2014

Kamel Hooman

Lecturer, Military Techno-logical College Muscat, Oman

Dr Rajinesh Singh

PhD Dynamics and Control of a Closed Carbon-Dioxide Brayton Cycle

Oct 25, 2013

Peter Jacobs

unknown

Dr Carlos Andre de Miranda Ventura

PhD Aerodynamic design and performance estimation of radial inflow turbines for renewable powergeneration applications

Jun 7, 2013

Peter Jacobs

Cambridge


Table 5 summarises the Centre performance against the Key Performance Indicators established in the Centre Agreement.

KPI Target over five years

Current

Number of postgraduate research students

12 31

Postgraduate Student Completions

12 15

Number of competitive researchgrants

5 13

Number of projects with industry funding

3 8

Number of refereed publications(from inception)

40 152

Number of research projectsundertaken in Queensland

8 15

Table 5: Key performance indicators of the

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Mr Bert Di Pasquale, Mr Josh Springfield (coursework masters student), Dr Zhiqiang Guan and PhD student Yuanshen Lu


Table 6: Competitive Grants (Categroy 1)

Title QGECE Funding Agency Total Funded (ex GST)

Duration

National draft dry cooling tower in geothermal and solar power plant application

Guan, Z Queensland International Fellowship

$26,000 2009-2010

Air cooled metal foam heat exchangers

Hooman, K UniQuest Pathfinder $35,000 2010

Metal foam heat exchanger for dry cooling

Hooman, K, Rudolph, V

ANLEC $157,388 2012-2013

Advanced facility for research on rheology and flow of complex fluids at high pressure and temperature towards clean energy from deep earth resources (Chemical Engineering led)

Gurgenci, H ARC-LIEF $293,442 2014

X-ray transparent core flood apparatus (Chemical Engineering led)

Gurgenci, H ARC-LIEF $375,000 2015

A novel air-cooled fuel cell system

Hooman, K ARC Discovery (DP) $202,000 2011-2013

True triaxial cell for advanced testing of porous media (Civil Engineering led)

Hooman, K MEI $417,000 2014

Development of advanced waste heat recovery system: application to metal foam heat exchangers

Hooman, K FASIC $6,000 2014

Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI)

Gurgenci, H, Meredith, P

ASTRI 2013-2016

Hybrid Cooling Towers Gurgenci, H, Hooman, K

Queensland Government Smart Futures Co-Investment Fund

2013-2015

Advanced waste heat recovery systems

Hooman, K ARC DECRA $340,000 2015-2017

New surface characterisation facility for nanotechnology, bioengineering and manufacturing research

Hooman, K MEI $88,360 2015


Table 7: Projects with Industry Participation

Title Investigator Funding Agency Total Funded (ex GST)

Duration


Gurgenci, H,Meredith, P

ASTRI 2013-2016

Hybrid Cooling Towers

Gurgenci, H,Hooman, K


2013-2015

RAC- Collinsville Solar Thermal Power Station (RATCH)

Meredith, P,Gurgenci, H

RATCH $350,000 2013-2015

Daandine air cooled heat exchanger (Arrow Energy)

Hooman, K, Guan, Z

Centre for Coal Seam Gas

$55,000 2014-2015

Tipton gas plant (Arrow Energy)

Hooman, K, Guan, Z

Centre for Coal Seam Gas

$72,000 2014-2015

Pipe bending analysis

Hooman XSTRATA $16,000 2014

Valen Light Hooman UniQuest $ 20,000 2014


Title Investigator Funding Agency Total Funded (ex GST)

Duration

RAC- Collinsville Solar Thermal Power Station (RATCH)

Meredith, P, Gurgenci, H

RATCH $350,000 2013-2015

Development of a remote area power plant

Hooman, K., Atrens, A.

Ergon - 2015

Daandine air cooled heat exchanger (Arrow Energy)

Hooman, K, Guan, Z

Centre for Coal Seam Gas/Arrow

$55,000 2014-2015

Tipton gas plant (Arrow Energy)

Hooman, K, Guan, Z

Centre for Coal Seam Gas/Arrow

$72,000 2014-2015

Pipe bending analysis Hooman XSTRATA $16,000 2014National draft dry cooling tower in geothermal and solar power plant application

Guan, Z Queensland International Fellowship

$26,000 2009-2010

Air cooled metal foam heat exchangers

Hooman, K UniQuest Pathfinder $35,000 2010

Metal foam heat exchanger for dry cooling

Hooman, K, Rudolph, V

ANLEC $157,388 2012-2013

A novel air-cooled fuel cell system

Hooman, K ARC Discovery (DP)

$202,000 2011-2013

True triaxial cell for advanced testing of porous media (Civil Engineering led)

Hooman, K MEI $417,000 2014

Development of advanced waste heat recovery system: application to metal foam heat exchangers

Hooman, K FASIC $6,000 2014


Gurgenci,H, Meredith, P

ASTRI 2013-2016

Hybrid Cooling Towers

Gurgenci, H, Hooman, K


2013-2015

Advanced waste heat recovery systems

Hooman, K ARC DECRA $340,000 2015-2017

New surface characterisation facility for nanotechnology, bioengineering and manufacturing research

Hooman, K MEI $88,360 2015

Table 8: Research projects undertaken in Queensland


Financial Summary

The details of income and expenditure are presented as the Financial Statement prepared by the Contract & Grants Accounting Section of The University of Queensland (see page 49).

The University of Queensland in-kind contribution to 30 June 2015 has been $435,034. This is based on the overheads for the QGECE-funded research staff, the overheads for the QGECE postgraduate students, and the salary and overheads for the other University of Queensland staff contributing to the QGECE projects but not receiving salary compensation. The calculation for the in-kind contribution is uses the following formula:

UQ _ inkind = QGECEpaidstaff +UQpaidstaff + PhDstudents

That shows that the UQ in-kind contribution has three components:

Item Methos (as approved by the Board on 13/3/2012)

QGECE-paid staff (overheads only)

QGECE Staff Salary Total / 1.26 x 1.5

UQ-paid staff (salary and overheads)

UQ-paid Staff Salary x QGECE-fraction /1.26 x 3

PhD Student (overheads only) $10,000/student per year x No of students

QGECE Gatton Cooling Tower


Atrens, Aleks D., Gurgenci, Hal and Rudolph, Victor. (2014) Water condensation in carbon-dioxide-based engineered geothermal power generation. Geothermics, 51: 397-405.

Alkhedhair, Abdullah M.,Gurgenci, Hal, Jahn, Ingo, Guan, Zhiqiang and He, Suoying. (2013) Numerical simulation of water spray for pre-cooling of inlet air in natural draft dry cooling towers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 61: 416-424.

Alkhedhair, Abdullah M., Jahn, Ingo, Gurgenci, Hal, Guan, Zhiqiang and He, Suoying. (2015) Water spray for pre-cooling of inlet air for natural dry cooling towers – experimental study, International Journal of Thermal Science, 90: 70-78.

Alkhedhair, Abdullah M., Jahn, Ingo, Gurgenci, Hal, Guan, Zhiqiang, He, Suoying and Lu, Yuanshen. (2015) Numerical simulation of water spray in natural draft dry cooling towers with a new nozzle representation approach. Applied Thermal Engineering, Submitted.

Chumpia, A. and Hooman, K. (2014) Performance evaluation of single tubular aluminium foam heat exchangers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 66 1-2: 266-273.

Forooghi, Pourya and Hooman, Kamel. (2014) Experimental analysis of heat transfer of supercritical fluids in plate heat exchangers. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 74: 448-459.

Forooghi, Pourya, Abdi, Iman Ashtiani, Dahari, Mahidzal and Hooman, Kamel. (2015) Buoyancy induced heat transfer deterioration in vertical concentric and eccentric annuli. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 81: 222-233.

Garoosi, F., Safaei, M. R., Dahari, M. and Hooman, K. (2015) Eulerian-Lagrangian analysis of solid particle distribution in an internally heated and cooled air-filled cavity. Applied Mathematics and Computation, 25028-46.

Garoosi, Faroogh, Garoosi, Saba and Hooman, Kamel. (2014) Numerical simulation of natural convection and mixed convection of the nanofluid in a square cavity using Buongiorno model. Powder Technology, 268 1: 279-292.

Goodarzi, M., Safaei, M. R., Karimipour, A., Hooman, K., Dahari, M.,Kazi, S. N. and Sadeghinezhad, E. (2014) Comparison of the finite volume and lattice boltzmann methods for solving natural convection heat transfer problems inside cavities and enclosures. Abstract and Applied Analysis, 762184.1-762184.15.

Haghshenasfard, Masoud, Yeoh, Guan Heng, Dahari, Mahidzal and Hooman, Kamel. (2015) On numerical study of calcium sulphate fouling under sub-cooled flow boiling conditions. Applied Thermal Engineering, 8118-27.

He, Suoying, Guan, Zhiqiang, Gurgenci, Hal, Hooman, Kamel, Lu, Yuanshen and Alkhedhair, Abdullah M. (2014) Experimental study of film media used for evaporative pre-cooling of air. Energy Conversion and Management, 87: 874-884.

He, Suoying, Guan, Zhiqiang, Gurgenci, Hal, Hooman, Kamel, Lu, Yuanshen and Alkhedhair, Abdullah M. (2015) Experimental study of the application of two trickle media for inlet air pre-cooling of natural draft dry cooling towers. Energy Conversion and Management, 89: 644-654.

Refereed Journal Publications

PUBLICATIONS


He, Suoying, Guan, Zhiqiang, Gurgenci, Hal, Jahn, Ingo, Lu, Yuanshen and Alkhedhair, Abdullah M. (2014) Influence of ambient conditions and water flow on the performance of pre-cooled natural draft dry cooling towers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 66 1-2: 621-631.

He, Suoying, Gurgenci, Hal, Guan, Zhiqiang, and Alkhedhair, Abdullah M. (2013) Pre-cooling with Munters media to improve the performance of Natural Draft Dry Cooling Towers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 53 1:67-77.

Hooman, K. and Dahari, M. (2015) Thermal dispersion effects on forced convection in a parallel plate porous channel. Meccanica, 50 8:1971-1976.

Hooman, K. and Maas, U. (2014) Theoretical analysis of coal stockpile self-heating. Fire Safety Journal, 67: 107-112.

Hooman, K., Tamayol, A., Dahari, M., Safaei, M.R., Togun, H. andSadri, R. (2014) A theoretical model to predict gas permeability for slip flow through a porous medium. Applied Thermal Engineering, 70 1: 71-76.

Hooman, Kamel. (2015) Theoretical prediction with numerical and experimental verification to predict crosswind effects on the performance of cooling towers. Heat Transfer Engineering, 36 5: 480-487. doi:10.1080/01457632.2014.935223

Hosseini Araghi, A., Khiadani, M., Lucas G. and Hooman K. (2015) Performance analysis of a low pressure discharge thermal energy combined desalination unit. Applied Thermal Engineering, 76: 116-122.

Khashehchi, Morteza, Abdi, Iman Ashtiani and Hooman, Kamel. (2015) Characteristics of the wake behind a heated cylinder in relatively high Reynolds number. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 86589-599.

Lu, Yuanshen. (2015) Small natural draft dry cooling towers for renewable power plants PhD Thesis, School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland.

Lu, Yuanshen, Guan, Zhiqiang, Gurgenci, Hal, Hooman, Kamel, He, Suoying and Bharathan, Desikan. (2015) Experimental study of crosswind effects on the performance of small cylindrical natural draft dry cooling towers. Energy Conversion and Management, 91: 238-248.

Lu, Yuanshen, Gurgenci, Hal, Guan, Zhiqiang and He, Suoying. (2014) The influence of windbreak wall orientation on the cooling performance of small natural draft dry cooling towers. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 79: 1059-1069.

Miansari, Mehdi, Gorji, M., Ganji, D. D. and Hooman, Kamel. (2015) Comparison between continuum and porous continuum models in studying natural convection in porous cavity with random distribution of solid obstacles. International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat and Fluid Flow, 25 3: 484-503.

Middleton, A.W, Uysal, I.T, and Golding, S.D. (2015) Chemical and mineralogical characterisation of illite-smectite: Implications for episodic tectonism and associated fluid flow, central Australia. Geochimica et Cormochimica Acta, 148: 248-303.

Peterseim, J. H. and Veeraragavan, A. (2015) Solar towers with supercritical steam parameters - is the efficiency gain worth the effort?. Energy Procedia, 69: 1123-1132.

Rosenbaum, G., I.T. Uysal, and A. (2015) Babaahmadi, The Red Rock Fault Zone (northeast New South Wales): Kinematics, timing of deformation and relationships to the New England oroclines. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 62: 409-423.

Russell, Hugh and Gurgenci, Hal. (2014) Improving the performance of arid-zone geothermal power plants using seasonal heat storage. Geothermics, 51: 337-343.

Sadafi, Mohamadhosein, Jahn, Ingo and Hooman, Kamel. (2015) Cooling performance of solid containing water for spray assisted dry cooling towers. Energy Conversion and Management, 91: 158-167.


Sadafi, Mohamadhosein, Jahn, Ingo, Stilgoe, A. B. and Hooman, Kamel. (2015) A theoretical model with experimental verification for heat and mass transfer of saline water droplets. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 81: 1-9.

Saulov, Dmitry, Watanabe, Shuhei, Yin, Junjun, Klimenko, Dimitri A., Hooman, Kamel, Feng, Bo, Cleary, Matthew J. and Klimenko, Alexander. (2014) Conditional methods in modeling CO2 capture from coal syngas. Energies, 7 4: 1899-1916.

Sauret, E. and Hooman, Kamel. (2014) Particle size distribution effects on preferential deposition areas in metal foam wrapped tube bundle. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 79: 905-915.

Veeraragavan, Anand, Montgomery, L. and Datas, A. (2014) Night time performance of a storage integrated solar thermophotovoltaic (SISTPV) system. Solar Energy, 108: 377-389.

Lu, Y, Guan, Zhiqiang, Gurgenci, Hal, Zou, Z. (2013) Windbreak walls reverse the negative effect of crosswind in short natural draft dry cooling towers into a performance enhancement. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 63(0): 162-170.

Yin, Junjun, Kang, Xin, Qin, Changlei, Feng, Bo, Veeraragavan, Ananthanarayanan and Saulov, Dmitry. (2014) Modeling of CaCO3 decomposition under CO2/H2O atmosphere in calcium looping processes. Fuel Processing Technology, 125125-138.

Yuanshen Lu, Guan, Zhiqiang, Hal Gurgenci and Suoying He. (2014) The influence of windbreak wall orientation on the cooling performance of small natural draft dry cooling towers. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 79(0): 1059-1069.

Youselfi, S., Atrens, Aleks, Sauret, E., Dahari, M. and Hooman, Kamel. (2015) CFD convective flow simulation of the varying properties of CO2-H2O mixtures in geothermal systems. The Scientific World Journal, 2015843068: 843068.1-843068.8.

Zhou, Z, Guan, Zhiqiang, Gurgenci, Hal, and Lu, Y (2012) Solar Enhanced Natural Draft Dry Cooling Tower for Geothermal Power Applications, Solar Energy, 86: 2686-2694.

Zou, Zheng, Guan, Zhiqiang and Gurgenci, Hal (2014) Numerical simulation of solar enhanced natural draft dry cooling tower. Solar Energy,101: 8-18.

Conference PresentationsAtrens, A.D. (2015) Technical considerations for water reinjection into Winton Town Bores 1-3. The University of Queensland: Brisbane.

Alkhedhair, A., Guan, Z., Gurgenci, H., Jahn, I. and He, S. (2014) Experimental study on inlet air cooling by water spray for natural draft dry cooling towers enhancement. In: Harun Chowdhury and Firoz Alam, Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference. 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (71.1-71.4). 8-11 December 2014.

Ashtiani Abdi, I., Khashehchi, M., Modirshanechi, M. and Hooman, K. (2014). A comparative analysis on the velocity profile and vortex shedding of heated foamed cylinders. In: Harun Chowdhury and Firoz Alam, Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference. 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (151.1-151.4). 8-11 December 2014.

Duniam, S and Gurgenci, H. (2015) Annual Performance Variation of an EGS Power Plant using an ORC with NDDCT Cooling. In: 17th IAHR International Conference on Cooling Tower and Heat Exchanger, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. 7-11 September, 2015.

Elliott, S. (2015) Using Geothermal Heat Pumps for Air Conditioning in Brisbane, in School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering. The University of Queensland: Brisbane.

Emoricha, E.B. (2015) Preliminary evaluation of charleville geothermal resource, Queensland, Australia. The University of Queensland and Heriot-Watt University: Brisbane


Guan, Zhiqiang, Gurgenci, Hal and Zou, Zheng (2014) Design options of solar enhanced natural draft dry cooling tower for solar thermal power plants. In: Reinhard Harte and Klaus Kaemmer, ICCT 2014 International conference on industrial chimneys and cooling towers. International symposium on industrial chimneys and cooling towers, Prague, Czech Republic, (183-190). 8-11 October 2014.

Guan, Zhiqiang, Gurgenci, Hal, He, Suoying and Lu, Yuanshen (2014) Performance analysis of natural draft dry cooling tower with inlet air precooling. In: Reinhard Harte and Klaus Kaemmer, ICCT 2014 International conference on industrial chimneys and cooling towers. International symposium on industrial chimneys and cooling towers, Prague, Czech Republic, (175-182). 8-11 October 2014.

He, Suoying, Guan, Zhiqiang, Gurgenci, Hal, Hooman, Kamel and Alkhedhair, Abdullah M. (2014) Experimental study of heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of cellulose corrugated media. In: Harun Chowdhury and Firoz Alam, Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference. 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (176.1-176.4). 8-11 December 2014.

Hooman, Kamel (2014). Thermohydraulics of porous heat exchangers: full or partial blockage?. In: Kambiz Vafai, Adrian Bejan, Akira Nakayama and Oronzio Manca, Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Porous Media and its Application in Science and Engineering. 5th International Conference on Porous Media and its Application in Science and Engineering, Kona, Hawaii. 22-27 June, 2014.

Isdale, J. (2015) Using geothermal heat pumps for air conditioning in Brisbane, in School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering.The University of Queensland: Brisbane.

Jahn, I.H.J, Duniam, S, and Veeraragavan, A. (2015) Cooling Issues for small-scale sCO2 Powerplants. In: 17th IAHR International Conference on Cooling Tower and Heat Exchanger, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. 7-11 September, 2015.

Kasherman, J. (2015) Numerical Simulation of the Effects of Groundwater Flow on the Performance of Vertical Closed-Loop Ground-Source Heat Pump Systems, in School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering.The University of Queensland: Brisbane.

Miskin, A. (2014) Geothermal Heat Pump Systems, in School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering. The University of Queensland: Brisbane.

Modir-Shanechi, M., Odabaee, M., Bua, I. and Hooman, K. (2014) Numerical study of turbulent convective cooling of vertical heat-generating rods using supercritical water. In: Harun Chowdhury and Firoz Alam, Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference.19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (56.1-56.4). 8-11 December, 2014.

Modirshanechi, Mohsen, Hooman, Kamel, Abdi, Ashtiani and Forooghi, Pourya (2014) Numerical study of turbulent convective in upward flows of supercritical water in the triangular lattice fuel rod bundle. In: Proceedings of the ASME 2014 4th Joint US-European Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting FEDSM2014. 4th Joint US-European Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting collocated with the ASME 2014 12th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels, Chicago Il, United States, (1-9). 3-7 August, 2014.

Odabaee, M., Shanechi, Mohsen Modir and Hooman, K. (2014) CFD simulation and FE analysis of a high pressure ratio radial inflow turbine. In: Harun Chowdhury and Firoz Alam, The Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference. 19AFMC: 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (1-4). 8-11 December, 2014.

Odabaee, Mostafa, Sauret, Emilie and Hooman, Kamel (2014) Computational fluid dynamics simulation and turbomachinery code validation of a high pressure ratio radial-inflow turbine. In: HEFAT 2014: 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Orlando, FL, USA, (1-7). 14-16 July, 2014.


Perez, E, Duniam, S, Lu, Y, Jahn, I.H.J, Hooman, K and Veeraragavan, A. (2015) Comparison Of Direct And Indirect Cooling In An sCO2 Brayton Cycle For Concentrated Solar Power Plants. In: 17th IAHR International Conference on Cooling Tower and Heat Exchanger, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. 7-11 September, 2015.

Sadafi, M. H., Jahn, I., Stilgoe, A. B. and Hooman, K. (2014) An investigation of evaporation from single saline water droplets: experimental and theoretical approaches. In: Harun Chowdhury and Firoz Alam, Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference. 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (216.1-216.4). 8-11 December, 2014.

Sauret, E., Abdi, I. and Hooman, K. (2014) Fouling of waste heat recovery: numerical and experimental results. In: Harun Chowdhury and Firoz Alam, Proceedings of the 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference. 19th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, (38.1-38.4). 8-11 December, 2014.

Sauret, Emilie, Hooman, Kamel and Saha, Suvash C. (2014). CFD simulations of flow and heat transfer through the porous interface of a metal foam heat exchanger. In: ASME 2014 Power Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, (1-6). 28-31 July, 2014.


FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of ExcellenceThe University of QueenslandBrisbane Qld 4072AustraliaPhone: +61 7 3365 3607Web: www.geothermal.uq.edu.au

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