Alternative Energy Resources

Course guarantor:

Lecturer:

Tutor:

Supervisor:

Department of Nuclear Reactors

Synopsis:

This course allows students to get an overview of the problematic and basic information about sources and techniques of energy production. The main attention is focused on the principles of energy transformations, energy technologies and systems.

The students will be able to qualify the power sources features: usual thermal power plants, nuclear power plants, steam-gas cycles, geothermal, water and wind power, biomass, thermal pumps, solar power, fuel rods and sea power.

In this course, there are also included several measurements realized during one week intensive course, which will be focused on the problematic mentioned above.

Requirements:

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Syllabus of lectures:

1. Introduction, energy sources and possibilities if their use, classification and new trends

2. Fossil-fuel power plants and heating power plants, general principles, combustion, boilers

3. Fossil-fuel power plants and heating power plants, gas-steam cycle

4. Geothermal energy and energy of sea

5. Energy of water, principles, basic calculations, types of turbines, small hydroelectric plants

6. Wind energy, principles, types of wind turbines, wind power plant

7. Energy of biomass, types of use, biogas, combustion, pyrolysis

8. Heat pumps, principle, heat sources

9. Solar energy, theoretical backgrounds, solar heat technology, solar collectors

10. Solar energy, photovoltaic devices

11. Fuel cells, principles, fuel, history, technology

12. Fuel cells, technology of membranes, real aplications

13. Excursion

Syllabus of tutorials:

- measurement of photovoltaic device efficiency;

- measurement of solar collectors efficiency;

- measurement of heat pump performance factor;

- measurement of school wind power plant.

Study Objective:

Knowledge: basic knowledge of energy sources and energy production, principles of energy transformations and technology.

Abilities: review of energy sources features

Study materials:

Key references:

Dvořák, L. Sources and energy transformations, textbook, ČVUT Praha, 1992, (In Czech)

Recommended references:

Beranovský, Jiří; Truxa, Jan: Alternative energz fo your house, EkoWATT, Brno, 2003. ISBN 80-86517-59-4

Media and tools:

photovoltaic device, solar collectors, heat pump, school wind power plant

Note:

Further information:

No time-table has been prepared for this course

The course is a part of the following study plans: