Energy Systems (eBook)

A Project-Based Approach to Sustainability Thinking for Energy Conversion Systems

Leon Liebenberg (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
720 Seiten
Wiley (Verlag)
978-1-119-86948-1 (ISBN)

Infos

ENERGY SYSTEMS

Reimagine the future of energy production and use with this innovative and state-of-the-art guide

This multidisciplinary and comprehensive text features an up-to-date summary of salient energy technologies for quick reference by students and practitioners of energy engineering. Uniquely, the book employs a guided self-study approach with theory provided in 'bite-sized' chunks, several worked examples, quantitative and qualitative practice problems, 10 real-world mini-projects, and interviews with young energy innovators and engineering students. The book poses many big and pressing questions, asking the reader to 'reimagine our future,' particularly with a focus on sustainable energy. These questions are aligned with characteristics of an entrepreneurial mindset, which are emphasized throughout the book.

The book reviews the fundamentals of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and quantum mechanics. Chapters explore the full range of energy conversion technologies, including energy supply and demand, the science of global warming, interpretations of sustainability, chemical fuels, carbon capture and storage, internal and external combustion engines, vapor power and refrigeration plants, nuclear power, solar-electricity, solar-heat, fuel cells, wind energy, water energy, and energy storage. The book ends with a brief investigation into what we can do to decarbonize the transportation, industry, buildings, and electric power sectors.

Energy Systems: A Project-Based Approach to Sustainability Thinking for Energy Conversion Systems offers an accessible overview of this important subject with an innovative, easy-to-use organization. Built to facilitate active learning and representing the latest research and industrial practice, Energy Systems provides readers with tools and information to evaluate energy systems and to reimagine potential energy solutions.

Readers of Energy Systems will also find:

• Organization designed to blend seamlessly with a 14-week course schedule
• A balance of robust theoretical and industry-related knowledge and real-world examples throughout
• Teaching resources including mini-projects, practice problems, remedial appendices, and online study notes

Energy Systems is ideal for students and instructors in courses relating to Energy Conversion Systems, Energy Science, Sustainable/Renewable Energy, and the interrelated Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, and Political aspects. The book will also appeal to practitioners of energy engineering via the numerous state-of-the-art summaries and real-world problems.

Leon Liebenberg is a Teaching Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he leads the Master of Engineering program in energy systems. He is also the principal investigator for a UIUC instructional innovation team, Engagement in Engineering Education (ENGINE). He previously held positions as a Professor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Research Professor at North-West University, South Africa. He has served as an educational consultant and created award-winning pedagogical teaching materials for courses including Energy Conversion Systems, Thermodynamics, and Fluid Mechanics.

Textauszug

Preface

Energy is all‐pervasive in the global economy. Every human activity involves the use of energy, either directly or indirectly. And every technological development depends on the availability of usable energy supplies. Unsurprisingly, energy conversion contributes to more than 70% of greenhouse-gas pollution. Even more than before, our engineers and policymakers, and indeed all citizens, need to be cognizant of the primary sources of energy. We also need to comprehend the processes that may be used to convert these fuels or resources into forms such as electricity and hydrogen that are easy to transport and convenient for the end‐user.

This book emphasizes and probes what engineers and policymakers need to understand as they negotiate information overload and constantly changing energy scenarios. I summarize the basic equations of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and quantum mechanics in a just‐in‐time manner. I then go straight into applications, which include several case studies. The text is therefore multidisciplinary in nature and forward looking because of its focus on what specialists will need to understand as we adopt new technologies or policies. Most chapters feature an up‐to‐date summary of salient energy technologies for quick reference by students and practitioners of energy engineering.

The book investigates energy supply and demand, the science of global warming, interpretations of sustainability, chemical fuels, carbon capture and storage, internal and external combustion engines, vapor power and refrigeration plants, and nuclear power. It further delves into the exciting world of direct energy conversion, with photovoltaic cells and fuel cells leading the way. Solar‐heat, wind energy, and water energy are also covered, along with energy storage in its many forms. The book ends with a brief investigation into what we can do to decarbonize the transportation, industry, buildings, and electric power sectors, which together contribute nearly 95% of carbon emissions.

It is not possible to cover all energy conversion systems in a short book. I omit, or only mention in passing, some technologies that have not yet proven their viability or have small impact, such as liquid fuels derived from genetically modified algae, micro nuclear batteries, quantum glass batteries, ocean thermal energy conversion systems, and piezoelectric devices and other energy‐scavenging systems. Instead, the book focuses on energy conversion systems that are already viable and recognized as such and are already having a large‐scale impact.

Learning begins with learner engagement and learning leads to knowledge and understanding. Once learners understand, they become capable of effective action. They can reflect critically on their practice and engage in higher‐order thinking. They are able to exercise judgment and create designs that reflect an appreciation of relevant constraints and uncertainties. Accordingly, this book employs multiple pedagogies of engagement, the aim of which is to arouse the curiosity and interest of the learner.

Each chapter begins with observations rather than merely stating general principles and deriving them. The intention is to provide context and to engage the reader as meaningfully as possible. The text captures important concepts first and then incrementally fills in finer details.

Energy technologies are contextualized in terms of their interrelated social, environmental, economic, and political impacts. Throughout the book, the reader is reminded that most sustainable energy systems rest on a platform or infrastructure that is inherently unsustainable. Instead of designing for sustainability, we should therefore perhaps be designing for perpetuity. This requires us to re‐examine the deep, underlying structures that support us.

Our capacity to imagine holds the key to social, cultural, and technological development, and to effectively negotiating major contemporary challenges such as climate change. If we are to pursue different, better futures, we must be able to imagine what those futures might look, smell, and feel like. It is crucial, when we consider the case of climate change, to be able to anticipate what the impacts and implications of different energy scenarios might be. Accordingly, via many “big” and pressing questions, the reader is asked to “reimagine our future,” particularly with a focus on sustainable energy. This kind of imaginative engagement is also important to generate new ideas and for grappling with advanced technologies. Can we envision where the linked solutions to sustainable energy might lead if we applied and extended what we have learned, and if we took responsibility for creating the world we want?

I believe that we will need to adopt the mindset of an entrepreneur to successfully negotiate an energy transition. I have therefore categorized the “reimagine our future” reflective questions under 10 attributes which I believe successful entrepreneurs have in common. These entrepreneurial mindsets and a summary of the reflective questions are provided on the book’s companion website.

The book also includes interviews with young energy entrepreneurs. These interviews further serve as a reminder of the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset when negotiating climate change. Implicit in the mindset of these entrepreneurs is the creation of value, while being endlessly curious and making unusual connections. The reader is often asked to employ KEEN’s “3‐C” entrepreneurial mindset when investigating the potential of energy conversion systems. The book further features interviews with engineering students who share their thoughts about a sustainable energy future.

Problem‐solving is another central theme in the book and numerous examples are provided with a view to describing problem‐solving processes. Examples are provided in a guided, step‐by‐step manner that will facilitate independent study and reflection and help students develop and master the skill of solving problems in a systematic way. The examples provided are real‐world, obtained from a diverse range of cultural contexts and drawing on diverse perspectives, to help ensure reader engagement. The focus is on case studies involving contemporary energy developments.

Quantitative and qualitative practice problems and questions are provided at the end of each chapter to help readers check and reinforce their understanding of energy fundamentals and related issues, some of which are complex. Many of the questions are open‐ended and require readers to do independent research and think for themselves. Throughout, salient journal papers are cited to guide independent research. I mostly use SI units, which are summarized in Appendix A.

Importantly, the book also provides 10 guided mini projects to help the reader explore sustainability issues. These mini projects require a multidisciplinary approach, and often address open‐ended design questions pertaining to the creation of optimal energy solutions based on best practices. The mini projects have been designed so that the reader can explore, analyze, and reflect on contemporary energy systems. The challenges related to energy production and consumption are – first and foremost – design problems, not technological problems. After all, the field of design is about imagining new possibilities that can transform the present. The reader is therefore prompted, throughout the book, to consider how we can reconceptualize our relationship with energy. This is a crucial step in resolving the global energy challenges.

Most examples, problems, and mini projects feature straightforward computational schemes. Some of these show how numerical analysis may be employed to provide more accurate results. I avoid the complexities of industrial design methodology with a view to making the book accessible to a broad audience. A reader with limited industrial experience or limited numerical skills will find here an accessible introduction to energy conversion systems that is nevertheless comprehensive and state of the art.

My intention is that when study of the text is combined with the mini projects, worked examples, practice problems, reflective exercises, and lectures, these elements will be mutually reinforcing to constitute a rich learning experience. The book’s companion website contains instructor slides and solutions manuals for the end‐of‐chapter problems and for the 10 mini projects.

The text attempts to balance precision with conciseness. The 28 chapters are provided in “bite‐sized” chunks, most of which can be covered in a traditional 50‐min university lecture. Each of these chapters is presented in a self‐contained or modular manner and can be presented in any sequence. The main book topics (which can typically be covered in about a week and hence are called “weeks”) are each presented in a series of three related chapters, except for the final “week,” which comprises a single chapter.

The choice of course material and the order in which it is presented should be tailored to the student body. This also applies to the use of mini projects. Based on experience, a series of three to six mini projects can form the bulk of course assessment in lieu of mid‐term exams. Assessment of this sort, unlike the too‐often used high‐stake and stressful summative assessments like exams, makes for highly engaged students who enjoy learning at their own pace. The book’s instructor resources feature, among...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 11.3.2024
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Elektrotechnik / Energietechnik
• ISBN-10: 1-119-86948-X / 111986948X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-119-86948-1 / 9781119869481