Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Thermal Testing Of Building Insulation Materials, Eoghan Frawley, David Kennedy

Articles

This article explores the testing of building insulation materials and the development of a suitable testing apparatus.

Investigation Into The Possible Use Of An Oxygen Ion Transport Membrane Combustion Unit In An Oxyfired Power Plant, Kirsten Foy

Doctoral

It is generally recognised that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions damage the environment. Carbon capture and storage offers the possibility of using fossil fuels for power production without releasing C02. In the proposed ZEITMOP power plant cycle hydrocarbon fuel is burned in a mixture of oxygen and C02, allowing easy separation of combustion products to capture the C02 for sequestration. Oxygen ion transport membranes (OTMs) provide oxygen. The original configuration of the cycle requires an OTM air separation unit, in which oxygen is separated from air and mixed with CO2, and a separate combustion chamber, in which fuel is burned in …

Treating Water Contamination Using Ultraviolet Radiation To Control Cryptosporidium And E.Coli, Michael O'Hehir, David Kennedy, Thomas Dunphy

Articles

Concerns about the quality of drinking water in Ireland have come into sharp focus with the recent Cryptosporidium outbreak in Galway City. This article looks at how ultraviolet radiation can offer a potential solution in the control of Cryptosporidium contamination.

Introducing New Engineering Students To Mechanical Concepts Through An “Energy Cube” Project, Micheal O'Flaherty, Shannon Chance, Fionnuala Farrell, Christopher Montague

Conference papers

The objective of this paper is to describe a problem based learning module, called the “Energy Cube”, offered by Technological University Dublin that is designed to teach mechanical, building services and manufacturing engineering concepts to first year engineering students.

The Energy Cube project gives students hands-on experience in areas ranging from heat transfer, lighting and energy efficiency to industrial and product design. In the Energy Cube, students design and construct (using cardboard, clear plastic, and glue) a model of a building that admits as much daylight as possible while being energy efficient and aesthetically pleasing.

The students, working in teams …

Thermal Effectiveness Characteristics Of Low Approach Indirect Evaporative Cooling Systems In Buildings, Ben Costelloe, Donal Finn

Articles

Meteorological enthalpy analysis of temperate and maritime climates above latitude 45°N suggests that the water-side evaporative cooling technique has considerable unrealised potential with contemporary “high temperature” building cooling systems—such as chilled ceilings and displacement ventilation. As low approach conditions are the key to exploiting the cooling potential of the ambient air, thermal performance at such conditions needs to be investigated. To address the research issues, an industrial scale test rig, based on a low approach open cooling tower and plate heat exchanger and designed to maximise evaporative cooling potential, has been constructed. The thermal effectiveness of such systems (as a …

Slow Flow Between Concentric Cones, O. Hall, C. P. Hills, A. D. Gilbert

Articles

This paper considers the low-Reynolds-number flow of an incompressible fluid contained in the gap between two coaxial cones with coincident apices and bounded by a spherical lid. The two cones and the lid are allowed to rotate independently about their common axis, generating a swirling motion. The swirl induces a secondary, meridional circulation through inertial effects. For specific configurations complex eigenmodes representing an infinite sequence of eddies, analogous to those found in two-dimensional corner flows and some three-dimensional geometries, form a component of this secondary circulation. When the cones rotate these eigenmodes, arising from the geometry, compete with the forced …

Thermal Control Of An Occupied Room: Investigating The Use Of Carbon Dioxide Concentration As An Auxiliary Control Variable, Kevin O'Connell, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

This paper details the theoretical and experimental work done in the examination of the relationship between human generated carbon dioxide concentration and temperature rise in an occupied room. Generation of carbon dioxide by humans is linked to metabolic rate and heat generation. Therefore, carbon dioxide concentration may be used as an indicator of occupancy in a room. Typically, a heating control system will react slowly to changes in room occupancy if temperature is used as the process variable. The aim of the work was to establish if carbon dioxide concentration in the space could be used as an auxiliary control …