Renewable Energy MSc

• Dr Jerry Luo

Gaining an understanding of the principles of renewable energy technologies is key to understanding the technological basis of the systems and their applications. This is particularly important with regards to the overall energy mix of a specific country. This module provides you with the fundamentals of renewable energy technologies and their impact on global and national energy systems. The purpose of this module is to introduce the basis for assessment of the performances of wind, wave and tidal, hydro-electricity, biomass and waste technologies, and geothermal technologies. The solar technologies (thermal and PV) are covered in the Renewable Energy Technologies 2 module.

• Biochemical sources of energy,
  • Anaerobic digestion,
  • Landfill gas,
  • Waste and biomass,
• Onshore and offshore wind energy: fundamentals of wind turbines and placement,
• Geothermal Systems (including ground-source heat pumps),
• Wave and tidal energy technologies,
• Hydro-electricity.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Articulate the fundamental principles, terminology and key issues related to the major onshore and offshore renewable energy technologies.
• Critically compare the challenges for the development and operation of the major technologies, including government regulation and policy.
• Identify gaps in the knowledge and discuss potential opportunities for further development, including technology and economic potential.

• Professor Chris Sansom

This module provides detailed knowledge of renewable energy power generation using solar PV and Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, energy storage and distribution after generation of renewable energy. It will also provide you with knowledge in designing and analysing post-generation infrastructure using case studies of the latest technology developments in solar power generation, energy storage, distribution and corresponding renewable energy applications.

• Overview of solar PV and Concentrating Solar Power, energy storage and distribution for post-generation in renewable energy systems, 
• Solar Energy
  • Concentrating Solar Power – the four principal technologies
  • Solar PV for domestic and utility scale deployment
  • Applications of solar energy – power generation, heating, cooling, desalination, and industrial process heat
  • Social, economic, and environmental impact of solar energy systems
• Thermal and Electrical energy storage materials and technologies
• Thermal energy storage
  • Electrochemical energy storage
  • Mechanical energy storage
  • Electromagnetic energy storage
  • Lead-acid and lithium batteries, and large scale battery storage
  • Hydrogen storage
• Sustainable management in energy systems
  • Condition monitoring of energy infrastructures and energy harvesting
  • Management in energy distribution
• Electrical power management and control in energy storage and distribution
  • Control and automation of power systems
  • Transmission
  • Smart grids
  • Power converter
• Case studies on the applications of energy storage and distribution, including smart grids, smart meters, energy management, condition monitoring, energy harvesting and advanced battery technologies
  • Smart grid for electric vehicles
  • Condition monitoring for the maintenance of renewable energy infrastructures
  • Internet of things (IoT) and energy harvesting  for smart energy systems.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critically evaluate the key benefits and challenges of Solar PV, Concentrating Solar Power, energy storage, and distribution networks in renewable energy.
• Identify the appropriate energy storage and distribution methods for different types of renewable energy systems.
• Analyse the main configurations and components in solar power generation, energy storage and distribution networks for renewable energy systems.
• Justify the importance of materials, control, integration and information management issues in post-generation of renewable energy.
• Appraise future technology and socio-economic trends in sustainability and assess associated opportunities and challenges.

• Dr Mahmood Shafiee

This module introduces you to the principles of risk and reliability engineering, and associated tools and methods to solve relevant engineering problems in industry.

• introduction and fundamentals of risk management and reliability engineering,
• failure distributions: how to analysis and interpret failure data, introduce the most commonly used discrete and continuous failure distributions (e.g. Poisson, Exponential, Weibull and Normal),
• risk management process: hazard identification, assessment, evaluation and mitigation (risk acceptance, reduction, ignorance, transfer),
• risk assessment techniques: risk matrix, Pareto analysis, fault tree analysis (FTA), event tree analysis (ETA), failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), failure mode, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA), hazard and operability study (HAZOP),
• reliability and availability analysis: system duty cycle, breakdown/shudown, MTTF/MTBF/MTTR, survival, failure/hazard rate,
• reliability analysis techniques: reliability block diagram (RBD), minimal cut-set (MCS), series and parallel configurations, k-out-of-n systems, active and passive redundancies,
• introduction to structural reliability analysis: stress strength interference and limit state function, first-order / second-order reliability method (FORM/SORM), damage accumulation and modelling of time-dependent reliability,
• identification of the role of inspection and structural health monitoring (SHM) in risk reduction and reliability improvement,
• introduction to maintainability and its various measures,
• workshops and case studies: work in groups to determine the risk and reliability of subsea production systems, power distribution networks, wind turbines, gas turbines, etc. 

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• identify and analyse the concepts and principals of risk and reliability engineering and their potential applications to different engineering problems,
• assess and analyse appropriate approaches to the collection and interpretation of data in the application of risk and reliability engineering methods,
• evaluate and select appropriate techniques and tools for qualitative and quantitative risk analysis and reliability assessment,
• analyse and evaluate failure distributions, failure likelihood and potential consequences, and develop solutions for control / mitigation of risks.

• Dr Ali Mehmanparast

This module brings together theoretical and computational stress analysis through finite element simulations, allowing you to appreciate how the two disciplines interact in practice and what their strengths and limitations are. The examination of finite element analysis (FEA) for various practical applications (e.g. engineering components, composite structures, rotating disks, cracked geometries) in conjunction with relevant case studies will allow you to combine theoretical understanding with practical experience, to develop your skills to model and analyse complex engineering problems.

• Stress Analysis: introduction to stress analysis of components and structures, ductile and brittle materials, tensile data analysis, material properties, isotropic/kinematic hardening, dynamic strain aging, complex stress and strain, stress and strain transformation, principal stresses, maximum shear stress, Mohr’s circle, constitutive stress-strain equations, fracture and yield criteria, constraint and triaxiality effects, plane stress and plane strain conditions, thin walled cylinder theory, thick walled cylinder theory (Lame equations), compound cylinders, plastic deformation of cylinders, introduction to computational stress analysis,
• Finite Element Analysis: introduction to FEA, types of elements, integration points, meshing, mesh convergence, visualisation, results interpretation, beam structures under static and dynamic loading, stress concentration in steel and composite plates, tubular assemblies, 2D and 3D modelling of solid structures, axisymmetry and symmetry boundary conditions, CS1: Stress and strain variation in a pressure vessel subjected to different loading conditions, CS2: Prediction and validation of the stress and strain fields ahead of the crack tip. (case studies are indicative).

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• develop a strong foundation on stress analysis and demonstrate the ability to analyse a range of structural problems,
• explain the fundamentals of Finite Element Analysis, be able to evaluate methodologies applied to the analysis of structural members (beams, plates, shells, struts), and critically evaluate the applicability and limitations of the methods and the ability to make use of original thought and judgement when approaching structural analysis,
• provide an in-depth explanation of current practice through case studies of engineering problems,
• use the most widely applied commercial finite element software package (ABAQUS) and some of its advanced functionalities,
• evaluate the importance of mesh sensitivity in finite element simulations.

• Dr Stephanie Hussels

In this world of downsizing, restructuring and technological change, notions of traditional careers and ways of creating value have all been challenged. People are depending more upon their own initiative to realise success. Never, it seems, have more people been starting their own companies than now, particularly to exploit the World Wide Web. There’s no single Government (in either the developed or the developing world), which is not paying at least lip service to enterprise development. The aim of this module is to provide you with knowledge and skills relevant for starting and managing new ventures across the entrepreneurial life cycle. Moreover, it will prepare you on how to prepare a business pitch to an investor.

• Entrepreneurial risk, performance and environment,
• Business planning techniques and their application in entrepreneurial ventures
• Venture strategy in dynamic markets
• Start-up and resources to exploit a profit opportunity
• The evolution of the venture and managing growth
• Protecting and securing intellectual capital: IPR and antitrust law
• Financial management for new ventures: financing a start-up 
• The entrepreneurial financing process: buying and selling a venture.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Assess the impact of the business environment on entrepreneurial opportunity identification and exploitation.
• Critically apply the theoretical underpinning of entrepreneurship to the process of managing risk in new ventures and supporting their development.
• Compare and contrast how managerial challenges vary across the life cycle of an entrepreneurial venture.
• Assess the likely financial needs of a new venture and pitch for finance.
• Develop and write a credible business plan for a new venture.

• Dr Xin Zhang

The module aims to provide you with a deep understanding of the truly multidisciplinary nature of a real industrial project.  Using a relevant case study, the scientific and technical concepts learned during the previous modules will be brought together and used to execute the analysis of the case study.

• Work flow definition: setting up the single aspects to be considered, the logical order, and the interfaces.
• Design of an appropriate analysis toolkit specific to the case study
• Development of a management or maintenance framework for the case study
• Multi-criteria decision analysis [MDCA] applied to energy technologies to identify the best available technology. 
• Energy technologies and systems: understanding the development and scaling/design of the technologies by applying an understanding of the available resources in the assigned location;
• Public engagement strategies and the planning process involved in developing energy technologies.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Critically evaluate available technological options, and select the most appropriate method for determining the best available technology [BAT] for the specific case study.
• Demonstrate the ability to work as part of a group to achieve the stated requirements of the module brief.
• Demonstrate the ability to organise the single-discipline activities in a logical workflow, and to define the interfaces between them, designing an overall multidisciplinary approach for the specific case study.

• Dr Imma Bortone

This module aims to provide you with a theoretical and applied understanding of fluid mechanics and fluid loading on structures.

Principles of fluid dynamics:

• properties of fluids: control volumes & fluid elements, continuity, momentum & energy equations, stream function & velocity potential, Bernoulli’s equation,
• flow structures: boundary layer theory, laminar & turbulent flow, steady & unsteady flow, flow breakdown & separations, vortex formation & stability,
• lifting flows: circulation theory, Prandtl’s lifting-line theory, sources of drag, aerofoil characteristics,
• fluid loading on horizontal and vertical axis turbines.

Dynamics of floating bodies: from simple hydrostatics to complex dynamic response in waves.

• hydrostatics of floating bodies; buoyancy forces and stability, initial stability, the wall sided formula and large angle stability, stability losses, the pressure integration technique,
• fluid loading on offshore structures and ocean waves theory: the added mass concept, Froude Krylov force, linear wave theory, wave loading (diffraction theory & Morison equation),
• dynamics response of floating structures in waves: dynamic response analysis, application to floating bodies (buoys, semisub, TLP), effect of moorings.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Explain how wind, waves and tides are formed, factors that influence their distribution & predictability,
• Review the fundamental equations for fluid behaviour, characterisation of flow structures and forces and moments acting on lifting bodies,
• Evaluate and select the most appropriate model to assess and undertake the simulation of a floating structure static and dynamic stability.

• Dr Dimitris Stagonas

This module introduces the principle structural components of renewable energy devices operating in challenging environments, like offshore wind turbines. Throughout the module you will develop an appreciation of the environmental loads acting on these structural components, and of the contemporary methodologies and engineering design tools used for the prediction of these loads.

 

• Introduction to Design Processes: From a problem statement and interviews, gather sufficient detailed data to construct a functional specification against which to design a system.
• Engineering Design Development: Develop a preferred concept design using brainstorming techniques robust decision making and project management processes.
• Engineering Analysis: Submit the concept design to a rigorous investigation and analysis, choosing and using multiple engineering software’s, suitable to ensure that the design meets the specification previously developed.
• Practical sessions: As required by the challenge set, conduct appropriate tests and experiments to ensure that the design meets all elements of the specification.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Develop design criteria and functional requirements for renewable energy structures.
• Develop and undertake design process aligned with the design guidelines set by the classification societies.
• Utilise engineering equations conserving wave dynamics, hydrodynamics and fluid induced loads.
• Operate and identify the limits of contemporary engineering software relying on complex mathematical formulations and numerical approaches, for example, potential flow theory and CFD / RANS.
• Evaluate the importance and the limits of modern physical modelling approaches. 

• Dr Jerry Luo

Gaining an understanding of the principles of renewable energy technologies is key to understanding the technological basis of the systems and their applications. This is particularly important with regards to the overall energy mix of a specific country. This module provides you with the fundamentals of renewable energy technologies and their impact on global and national energy systems. The purpose of this module is to introduce the basis for assessment of the performances of wind, wave and tidal, hydro-electricity, biomass and waste technologies, and geothermal technologies. The solar technologies (thermal and PV) are covered in the Renewable Energy Technologies 2 module.

• Biochemical sources of energy,
  • Anaerobic digestion,
  • Landfill gas,
  • Waste and biomass,
• Onshore and offshore wind energy: fundamentals of wind turbines and placement,
• Geothermal Systems (including ground-source heat pumps),
• Wave and tidal energy technologies,
• Hydro-electricity.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Articulate the fundamental principles, terminology and key issues related to the major onshore and offshore renewable energy technologies.
• Critically compare the challenges for the development and operation of the major technologies, including government regulation and policy.
• Identify gaps in the knowledge and discuss potential opportunities for further development, including technology and economic potential.

• Professor Chris Sansom

This module provides detailed knowledge of renewable energy power generation using solar PV and Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies, energy storage and distribution after generation of renewable energy. It will also provide you with knowledge in designing and analysing post-generation infrastructure using case studies of the latest technology developments in solar power generation, energy storage, distribution and corresponding renewable energy applications.

• Overview of solar PV and Concentrating Solar Power, energy storage and distribution for post-generation in renewable energy systems, 
• Solar Energy
  • Concentrating Solar Power – the four principal technologies
  • Solar PV for domestic and utility scale deployment
  • Applications of solar energy – power generation, heating, cooling, desalination, and industrial process heat
  • Social, economic, and environmental impact of solar energy systems
• Thermal and Electrical energy storage materials and technologies
• Thermal energy storage
  • Electrochemical energy storage
  • Mechanical energy storage
  • Electromagnetic energy storage
  • Lead-acid and lithium batteries, and large scale battery storage
  • Hydrogen storage
• Sustainable management in energy systems
  • Condition monitoring of energy infrastructures and energy harvesting
  • Management in energy distribution
• Electrical power management and control in energy storage and distribution
  • Control and automation of power systems
  • Transmission
  • Smart grids
  • Power converter
• Case studies on the applications of energy storage and distribution, including smart grids, smart meters, energy management, condition monitoring, energy harvesting and advanced battery technologies
  • Smart grid for electric vehicles
  • Condition monitoring for the maintenance of renewable energy infrastructures
  • Internet of things (IoT) and energy harvesting  for smart energy systems.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critically evaluate the key benefits and challenges of Solar PV, Concentrating Solar Power, energy storage, and distribution networks in renewable energy.
• Identify the appropriate energy storage and distribution methods for different types of renewable energy systems.
• Analyse the main configurations and components in solar power generation, energy storage and distribution networks for renewable energy systems.
• Justify the importance of materials, control, integration and information management issues in post-generation of renewable energy.
• Appraise future technology and socio-economic trends in sustainability and assess associated opportunities and challenges.

• Dr Mahmood Shafiee

This module introduces you to the principles of risk and reliability engineering, and associated tools and methods to solve relevant engineering problems in industry.

• introduction and fundamentals of risk management and reliability engineering,
• failure distributions: how to analysis and interpret failure data, introduce the most commonly used discrete and continuous failure distributions (e.g. Poisson, Exponential, Weibull and Normal),
• risk management process: hazard identification, assessment, evaluation and mitigation (risk acceptance, reduction, ignorance, transfer),
• risk assessment techniques: risk matrix, Pareto analysis, fault tree analysis (FTA), event tree analysis (ETA), failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), failure mode, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA), hazard and operability study (HAZOP),
• reliability and availability analysis: system duty cycle, breakdown/shudown, MTTF/MTBF/MTTR, survival, failure/hazard rate,
• reliability analysis techniques: reliability block diagram (RBD), minimal cut-set (MCS), series and parallel configurations, k-out-of-n systems, active and passive redundancies,
• introduction to structural reliability analysis: stress strength interference and limit state function, first-order / second-order reliability method (FORM/SORM), damage accumulation and modelling of time-dependent reliability,
• identification of the role of inspection and structural health monitoring (SHM) in risk reduction and reliability improvement,
• introduction to maintainability and its various measures,
• workshops and case studies: work in groups to determine the risk and reliability of subsea production systems, power distribution networks, wind turbines, gas turbines, etc. 

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• identify and analyse the concepts and principals of risk and reliability engineering and their potential applications to different engineering problems,
• assess and analyse appropriate approaches to the collection and interpretation of data in the application of risk and reliability engineering methods,
• evaluate and select appropriate techniques and tools for qualitative and quantitative risk analysis and reliability assessment,
• analyse and evaluate failure distributions, failure likelihood and potential consequences, and develop solutions for control / mitigation of risks.

• Dr Stephanie Hussels

In this world of downsizing, restructuring and technological change, notions of traditional careers and ways of creating value have all been challenged. People are depending more upon their own initiative to realise success. Never, it seems, have more people been starting their own companies than now, particularly to exploit the World Wide Web. There’s no single Government (in either the developed or the developing world), which is not paying at least lip service to enterprise development. The aim of this module is to provide you with knowledge and skills relevant for starting and managing new ventures across the entrepreneurial life cycle. Moreover, it will prepare you on how to prepare a business pitch to an investor.

• Entrepreneurial risk, performance and environment,
• Business planning techniques and their application in entrepreneurial ventures
• Venture strategy in dynamic markets
• Start-up and resources to exploit a profit opportunity
• The evolution of the venture and managing growth
• Protecting and securing intellectual capital: IPR and antitrust law
• Financial management for new ventures: financing a start-up 
• The entrepreneurial financing process: buying and selling a venture.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Assess the impact of the business environment on entrepreneurial opportunity identification and exploitation.
• Critically apply the theoretical underpinning of entrepreneurship to the process of managing risk in new ventures and supporting their development.
• Compare and contrast how managerial challenges vary across the life cycle of an entrepreneurial venture.
• Assess the likely financial needs of a new venture and pitch for finance.
• Develop and write a credible business plan for a new venture.

• Dr Xin Zhang

The module aims to provide you with a deep understanding of the truly multidisciplinary nature of a real industrial project.  Using a relevant case study, the scientific and technical concepts learned during the previous modules will be brought together and used to execute the analysis of the case study.

• Work flow definition: setting up the single aspects to be considered, the logical order, and the interfaces.
• Design of an appropriate analysis toolkit specific to the case study
• Development of a management or maintenance framework for the case study
• Multi-criteria decision analysis [MDCA] applied to energy technologies to identify the best available technology. 
• Energy technologies and systems: understanding the development and scaling/design of the technologies by applying an understanding of the available resources in the assigned location;
• Public engagement strategies and the planning process involved in developing energy technologies.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Critically evaluate available technological options, and select the most appropriate method for determining the best available technology [BAT] for the specific case study.
• Demonstrate the ability to work as part of a group to achieve the stated requirements of the module brief.
• Demonstrate the ability to organise the single-discipline activities in a logical workflow, and to define the interfaces between them, designing an overall multidisciplinary approach for the specific case study.

• Dr Nazmiye Ozkan

In the context of rising household energy demands, concerns for energy security, threat of climate change, and uncertainties in the price of energy (the so-called ‘energy trilemma’) require transformation of the ways in which energy is produced, delivered and consumed. Both for the developed and developing economies challenges stem from meeting increasing electricity demands from more intermittent renewable resources. This module covers a variety of theoretical and empirical topics related to energy demand, energy supply, energy prices, renewable vs depletable resources and environmental consequences of energy consumption and production, all from an economic perspective. It will demonstrate how key economic principles are used in various energy-environment models to inform energy and climate policy.

• Key concepts and main approaches in economic analysis of energy systems,
• Different approaches to economic modelling of energy and environment interactions,
• Energy efficiency and renewable energy policies,
• Regulation and governance,
• Energy policy theory and practice,
• Economics of energy and ancillary services market.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critically evaluate the purpose of energy policy, as well as the range of policy strategies and instruments.
• Explain how economic principles govern energy markets and the economics of energy supply.
• Evaluate the approaches for energy market regulation.
• Critically evaluate different approaches for the modelling of energy and environment interactions.
• Identify and evaluate the key issues facing the energy sector (i.e. smart technologies, energy security).

• Dr Gill Drew

Health, safety, security and the environment are all key considerations when working in the offshore and renewable energy sectors. These four topics are also broad and cover many aspects. This module is designed to provide you with the competencies to assess and evaluate the relevant international standards relating to these four topics, as well as the legislation and regulatory requirements. There is a strong focus on the use of case studies to provide examples of how standards and legislation are implemented in practice.

• Introduction to the International Standards associated with HSSE, including the ISO 14000 family 
• Environmental legislation and voluntary standards.
• Environmental impacts and prevention
• Occupational health and safety legislation and duty of care
• Human reliability analysis and accident causation: Major accident sequences, risk perception and control of risk human reliability assessment tools, HEART and THERP.
• Offshore safety case and formal safety assessments: regulatory regime,  safety case requirements, types of study, scenario development, examples of use of QRA methods, consequence analysis, vulnerability of essential systems, smoke and gas ingress, evacuation escape and rescue and typical output.
• Review of major offshore accidents: Sea Gem, Alexander Keilland, Star Canopus and Piper Alpha disaster. 

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

• Critique the ISO standards relevant to occupational health, safety and the environment, within the context of offshore and renewable energy.
• Differentiate between voluntary requirements and legal or regulatory requirements for health and safety, and the environment.
• Evaluate the likely environmental impacts resulting from offshore and renewable energy industries.
• Design an appropriate health and safety policy for a particular offshore environment or renewable energy technology.

• Dr Mahmood Shafiee

This module aims to provide you with the knowledge and skills necessary to design advanced maintenance, monitoring and asset management strategies for complex engineering systems through the lifecycle.

• Introduction: Asset management, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), asset productivity.
• Asset integrity: Asset integrity management (AIM), Risk-based integrity, through-life engineering.
• Maintenance engineering: Maintenance regimes, reactive vs. proactive maintenance; Age and block maintenance, reliability-centred maintenance (RCM), risk-based maintenance (RBM), total productive maintenance (TPM), world-class maintenance (WCMain).
• Fault diagnosis and prognosis: Fault detection and failure location; root-cause analysis (RCA), Common-cause analysis (CCA), Condition-based maintenance (CBM), predictive maintenance (PdM), prognostics.
• Maintenance modelling, planning, scheduling, and optimization.
• Reliability data analysis: types and sources of reliability data, data collection, data cleansing, data accuracy and precision, model fitting, big-data, incomplete data, redundant data, not-detailed data.
• Applications of Monte-Carlo Simulation (MCS) and Bayesian Network (BN) in system reliability and availability assessment.
• Probability of failure, Cost of failure, and risk of failure in networked infrastructures.
• System’s life-cycle: Life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis, whole-life costing, how to identify cost drivers of system operation.
• Robotic and autonomous maintenance; overview of the capabilities and limitations of commercially available aerial and underwater remote and autonomous systems, and how these systems are integrated in the overall maintenance strategy.
• Reliability of condition monitoring technologies and sensors, Probability of Detection (POD) and Probability of Sizing (POS).
• Decommissioning vs. life extension.
• Warranty and service contracts analysis: guarantees, warranties, extended warranties, service contracts, and maintenance outsourcing with several examples from different industries.
• Workshops and case studies: Work in groups to analyse the reliability, availability and maintainability of various offshore systems and components.

On successful completion of this module a student should be able to:

• Identify and recognise the asset management best practices and advanced maintenance strategies for engineering systems in different industries.
• Analyse key and fundamental aspects of system’s life-cycle and understand the financial implications involved with assessing the maintenance and risk factors.
• Differentiate between classical maintenance strategies (run-to-failure, time-based) and novel maintenance strategies (e.g. risk/reliability centred maintenance, predictive and diagnostic maintenance, predictive maintenance) and evaluate their main advantages and limitations
• Determine the concept and utilise applications of Monte-Carlo Simulation (MSC), Bayesian Network (BN) in system reliability and availability assessment.
• Evaluate the capabilities and limitations of robotic and autonomous maintenance systems, and outline the future trends and impacts on the maintenance strategy
• Design an appropriate maintenance strategy for complex engineering systems, detailing how the strategy is embedded throughout the asset life-cycle.