MECA0037-1 : Thermal power stations and cogeneration

Study Programmes 2015-2016

MECA0037-1

Thermal power stations and cogeneration

Duration :

24h Th, 24h Pr, 12h Proj.

Number of credits :

Master in electro-mechanical engineering (120 ECTS)		5

Lecturer :

Pierre Dewallef, Angélique Léonard

Language(s) of instruction :

French language

Organisation and examination :

Teaching in the second semester

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Course contents :

The course introduces the basic principles of operation, thermodynamic modelisation and optimization of thermal power cycles used nowadays for electricity production from fossil, nuclear and some renewable fuels. Certain economic aspects such as the calculation of the cost of electricity are considered. The course is organized as follows:
1) Basic principles of thermodynamic analysis of steam and gas power cycles,
2) Gas turbine technologies,
3) Optimization of gas/steam combined cycles,
4) Advanced coal plants: supercritical plants and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC),
5) Cogeneration,
6) Fuel use
7) Carbon capture and storage technologies,
8) Economic aspects

Learning outcomes of the course :

At the end of the course, the student masters the techniques of modelization for the components used in steam, gas and combined power cycles. The modelization of losses and irrevesibilities as well as the off-design behavior are also considered.
The student is able to integrate these different components and to optimize their characteristics so as to maximize the cycle efficiency. The student has also learned to embed into the analysis the trade-off between operation costs and capital costs as well as the environmental constraints.
The concept of matching the energy production to the consumption and his influence on the cost of energy is also emphasized to the students.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills :

The course makes use of some concepts introduced in the course « Applied Thermodynamics and Introduction to Heat Engines » (MECA0002-1). The student should be familiar with the concepts derived from the first and second law of Thermodynamic and their applications to open systems in steady-state regime.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods :

The course is based on both theory sessions (30h) and exercise sessions (30h).

The general concepts and their formal expression are exposed during the theory sessions. Theoretical analysis is discussed and illustrated using practical applications from the industry.
During the exercise sessions, the students are invited to practice the techniques introduced during the theory sessions allowing the students to cope with design and optimization of power cycles in the frame of pre-studies.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :

Face-to-face learning (4 hours per week at the second semester)