Faculty of Engineering @ Univ. Auckland
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- Offer Profile
- Access to suitable energy
supplies is a crucial component of the quality of life we enjoy. Energy is
also an important issue for the economic competitiveness of businesses in
New Zealand and abroad. As a society we must address how to meet our
increasing energy demands in a sustainable way which balances economic and
population growth with climate change.
Product Portfolio
Faculty of Engineering
- The Faculty of Engineering is committed to creating an
environment where people thrive and contribute to improving the quality of
life in national and global communities, as well as enhancing the wealth
creation of the nation, through excellence in teaching, research and
service.
Master of Energy (MEnergy)
- The Master of Energy (MEnergy) is an interfaculty
postgraduate degree that enables students with undergraduate backgrounds in
Engineering, Science or Commerce to undertake graduate studies in energy.
Who should take this programme?
Students who wish to enter the energy industry and who have completed a
BE(Hons), BSc(Hons) or BCom(Hons) or have reached an equivalent attainment
in Engineering, Science or Commerce (e.g. PGDip) as approved by the Dean of
Engineering.
Programme Overview
All students will complete two core courses that will give an overview of
energy resources and energy technology. They have a choice of completing a
90 point research thesis or a smaller 45 point research project. In both
cases the research will involve working on a problem relevant to industry
and students will be expected toconsider economic, environmental, regulatory
and business issues, as well as technical matters.
Students who choose the smaller 45 point research project will also take an
additional three 15 point courses. The courses will allow the student to
concentrate on a particular energy form such as wind or geothermal or to
cover a range of topics. The 90 point research thesis option is targeted at
students who have considerable previous experience in energy, through their
undergraduate education or through work experience, and have a clear
research objective.
It is anticipated that the majority of students with less energy experience
will take more lecture courses and undertake a smaller 45 point research
project. To give flexibility, this research project can be taken as either a
15:30 points split (ENERGY 785) or a 30:15 points split (ENERGY 786) between
Semesters 1 and 2, or as 45 points in one Semester.
A selection of energy research theme projects
- A selection of energy research theme projects
Improving the performance of wind farms using predictive
load control
- The aim of this project is to better understand and
control the behaviour of wind turbines in a wind farm in response to
changeable flow conditions.
This project uses existing sensors on wind turbines in the entire wind farm
to predict future inflow to downwind turbines. One of the challenges in this
research is the ability to account for the vortices generated behind each
turbine which have important effects on dynamic loads. Transient flow
methods
will be used to model fluctuations in wind direction and gust duration.
The project will enable development of technologies that will allow data
from upwind turbines to be incorporated into turbine controllers to achieve
early response to gusts and extreme wind events. This leads to a longer
operating life, reduced downtime due to vibration induced faults, and
increased effectiveness of wind farms.
This project brings together expertise in transient flow modelling,
computational fluid dynamics, real-time artificial neural networks and wind
turbine Research questions around energy are wider than those that control
design.
Green energy
- A wireless green energy system, which serves as a
microgrid to power homes and cars, is being designed to harness and
integrate renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
Household renewable energy systems require a very large and expensive energy
storage facility in addition to the cost of installing solar panels, wind
turbines and associated electronics. The concept here is to use an electric
vehicle, which already has a powerful battery, not just for mobility but
also to supplement existing household energy storage as appropriate. The
system, which also allows for the electric vehicle to be wirelessly charged
or discharged, can easily be upgraded, and is expected to be appealing
to consumers because of its versatility and improved financial viability
compared to conventional hard-wired systems.
The first working model of the ‘living and mobility’ concept is currently
being built, and includes new technologies being developed for
bi-directional and wireless power transfer, grid integration and generator
systems to improve both efficiency and performance of the overall system. In
comparison to existing systems, it will be more cost effective, safer,
versatile and scalable.
This project combines expertise in renewable energy, wireless power
transfer, generator design and control, and power electronics, and is run in
collaboration with many leading international universities. At present a
team of ten researchers, comprising PhD/ME students and postdoctoral
fellows, are working on various aspects of the project in relation to
efficient energy management, wireless charging of electric vehicles, grid
integration of induction generators and high power converters.
Geothermal energy
- Geothermal energy is produced by extracting hot water and
steam from deep underground reservoirs. It is an important energy source in
New Zealand, producing approximately 14% of domestic electricity supply.
Internationally there is a growing interest in geothermal energy as the
world searches for clean energy sources.
The geothermal modelling group at the University of Auckland conduct
world-leading research which applies sophisticated computer models to
discover how geothermal systems work. These models can be used to address
questions such as:
• How long will the Wairakei geothermal power station keep working?
• How do geysers work?
• Will hot dry rock projects in Australia be successful?
• What is the future of geothermal energy?
The geothermal modelling group has developed computer models of many
geothermal systems in New Zealand and overseas, including Wairakei, Ohaaki
and Ngawha. Results from these models help understand the properties and
structure of these reservoirs. This in turn helps geothermal reservoir
engineers optimise future development plans for these resources. The group
collaborates with counterparts at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories in
California to further develop the capabilities of the computer modelling
codes they use. The modelling software used in the geothermal modelling
group is being applied to model possible production of natural gas from
hydrate deposits which lie off the New Zealand coastline.
Removing and recovering heat from aluminium smelting
cells
- In aluminium production, metal is produced in cells that
operate at temperatures above 950°C. There is a delicate balancing act
involved in managing the heat – enough energy needs to be supplied to keep
the working fluid (electrolyte) in a liquid state, while at the same time
removing heat from the cell exterior to ensure that the materials the cell
is constructed from do not suffer heat damage. On top of this, modern
smelters are required to operate at higher production rates, thus requiring
more energy input and heat extraction, and are under increasing pressure to
reduce their overall energy usage.
The Light Metals Research Centre has developed and patented the Shell Heat
Exchanger cooling technology, that are compact and efficient air-driven heat
exchangers capable of providing controlled cooling of smelter cell
sidewalls. They allow peak shell temperature reductions of 50-100oC, which
enables the operator to significantly increase amperage and hence
productivity in the cell while retaining other operational benefits,
including a cooler operating cell and allowing waste heat recovery of
100-200 kW per cell. The goals are to enable smelters to increase production
without the substantially increased capital cost of new cells and ultimately
to recover energy.
Biodiesel from tallow
- Biodiesel is more expensive than petroleum derived diesel
fuels. One of the causes of the cost difference is that conventionally,
biodiesel is produced in abatch like process. The reaction time of
this process can reach up to one hour, depending on the reaction conditions
used. Costs are further increased by the need for high grade feed stock,
which can also be very expensive.
The main objective of this project is to improve the economic viability of
manufacturing biodiesel through a combined approach:
• use of a continuous reactor to improve the reaction rate
• using tallow, a waste by-product of the meat processing industry, as the
fat feedstock for the process.
A new continuous reactor is being developed. Tallow is introduced into the
reactor as a fine droplet spray and reacts with methanol at an optimum
temperature. This reduced the reaction time from an hour to a few
seconds. This new continuous process is able to use any fat or oil as
feedstock, including those containing impurities, making this form of
biodiesel a cost-effective fuel which utilises an abundant waste product.
Biodiesel options for New Zealand
- It is widely accepted that New Zealand (and the world)
will need to move to renewable transport fuels in the future. New Zealand
has many resources for this option including tallow from meat processing and
alcohols from plant and milk by products.
At the same time there is increasing concern about the possible harmful
effects of engine exhaust emissions on human health and the environment. The
question is: are emissions from engines fuelled with renewables less harmful
than those fuelled conventionally?
The Energy and Fuels Research Unit has undertaken detailed measurements of
particulate matter and polyaromatic hydrocarbon emissions. These have been
done for engines operating on biogas and on gasoline/kerosene blends. The
first of these is a valuable renewable fuel sourced from organic waste and
the second is an adulterated fuel commonly used in some South Asian
countries. Similar emissions from renewable fuels of relevance to New
Zealand are being investigated. The fuels include biodiesel (sourced from
vegetable or tallow) and alcohols potentially sourced from milk by-products
or woody matter.
Engineering Science
- With internationally renowned researchers, we have one
of the best department research records in New Zealand, and continue to
excel in bioengineering, fluid dynamics, operations research, signal
processing and solid mechanics.
The core research of the department is the construction of mathematical
models of a wide variety of engineering problems, together with their
solution. These procedures can be broadly categorised under the headings of
Bioengineering, Mechanics and Operations Research. Geothermal, reservoir engineering and environmental
fluids
- Focusing on research, teaching and consulting activities
related to geothermal energy, particularly on the numerical simulation of
geothermal reservoirs.
A major focus of this group is carrying out research, teaching and
consulting activities related to geothermal energy, with a particular focus
on the numerical simulation of geothermal reservoirs.
The group is also active in research in petroleum reservoir engineering,
coal bed methane extraction and carbon sequestration.
The environmental fluid research activities include computer modelling of
tidal flows and the dispersal of pollutants in rivers and estuaries.
Fluid dynamics
- Advancing our understanding of flow phenomena through
mathematical, computational and experimental means
Research areas
The Fluid Dynamics Group within the Department of Engineering
Science conducts internationally-recognised research in a number of
different areas, which include:
- petroleum engineering
- geothermal fluid dynamics
- microfluidics
- acoustics, turbulence
- convection in porous media
- biofluid dynamics
- environmental fluid dynamics.
The group is committed to advancing our understanding of flow phenomena
through mathematical, computational and experimental means, and applying
that knowledge in beneficial ways through close contact with industrial
partners
Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory
- The Geotechnical Engineering Laboratory is a modern
research and teaching facility housing several different facilities for
evaluating soil and rock properties and has good data logging facilities.
We have a 250 kN servo hydraulic load frame used for static and cyclic
testing, several Ko tri-axial cells, tri-axial equipment for small strain
evaluation of soil stiffness, the ability to perform stress path tri-axial
testing, and equipment for preparing and testing rock specimens.
We are able to measure soil suction and evaluate the thermal response of
soils.
Geotechnical numerical analysis software (FLAC, PLAXIS and the GeoStudio
Suite) is also available.
Access is available for CPT testing and we do WAK and SASW field measurement
of soil stiffness.
We also use the Mobile Field laboratory equipment to measure the dynamic
response of foundations and we participate in the NZ NEES (NZNEES@Auckland)
facility.
Scanning electron microscope and micro CT scanning equipment is available in
the Faculty of Engineering.