The flow through a forced circulation Z-type flat plate solar collector was investigated by means of combined experimental measurements and numerical simulations. The efficient operation of such collectors depends on the uniformity of the flow rate distribution among their riser tubes, while low pumping power demand is also sought. Mass flow rate measurements in the riser tubes were performed, utilizing a specially adapted ultrasound instrument for various values of total flow rates in the collector. By means of a commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code, laminar and turbulent flow models in different computational grids were tested and validated against the experiments. Appropriate metrics were introduced to quantify flow rate distribution non-uniformity among the risers, and pressure drop through the manifold was calculated. Parametric studies for flow conditions outside the experimental window were performed utilizing the CFD method in order to assess the effect of the Reynolds number in the flow distribution among the riser tubes. Furthermore, aiming to enhance flow rate uniformity, a methodology based on modifying the diameter of each riser tube was applied and successfully demonstrated. The proposed method can be employed in large solar collector arrays, either as stand-alone systems or as belonging to hybrid alternative sources of energy (ASE) systems, aiming to optimize their overall efficiency.

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is an important tool to quantitatively assess energy consumption and environmental impact of any product. Current research related to energy consumption in buildings moves towards Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB). In such a building, an important issue concerns the energy production by renewable sources, including on-site production. The most feasible way to achieve renewable energy utilization in a building level in Greece is by using rooftop Photovoltaic (PV) systems, also promoted in the last decade by the national legislation concerning energy conservation measures. Apart from cost-related issues and payback times, Embodied Energy (EE) and Embodied CO₂ (ECO₂) emissions have also to be considered against the anticipated corresponding savings. Using a particular PV system as a case study, its basic constitutive materials are determined and their masses are calculated. Embodied energy values are estimated by using embodied energy coefficients available in the international literature. Considering a specific geographic location in Greece for the building on which the PV is installed, the annual energy generated by the system is estimated based on its performance data and curves. The Energy and CO₂ Payback Times (EPBT and CO₂PBT) are estimated and assessed, as well as future work is suggested.

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is an important tool in current research to quantitatively assess energy consumption and environmental impact of a building. In the context of LCA, the Embodied Energy (EE) related to the building and the corresponding Embodied CO₂ emissions are valuable data. In such a case, these data concern the constitutive materials of the building and any subsystem, component or equipment in it. Usually, after calculating the mass of these materials, embodied energy values are estimated multiplying them by the corresponding EE coefficients concerning the production of these materials (EE_MP). However, apart from transportation energy costs, another part of EE is that consumed for the manufacturing of any item as a finished product. The present work focuses on the manufacturing EE (EEMFG) of central heating boilers in Hellenic dwellings. Six typical boilers of different types are studied. Each of them is analyzed to its constitutive materials and its EEMP is estimated. For four of them, the boiler house where it was constructed in Greece was visited and data were collected. Based on them the corresponding boiler EE_MFG values are estimated. The results concerning the EE for material production and manufacturing, as well as the results concerning the corresponding ECO₂ values are discussed and assessed. Benchmark values correlating EE and ECO₂ with the mass or the heat rate of the boiler are extracted.

Waste heat recovery is one of the main practices used to reduce the carbon footprint of the industrial sector regarding environmental concern. The supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO₂) cycle is one of the most attractive heat-to-power technologies; due to the abrupt variation in CO₂ properties in the vicinity of its critical point, small compression work is required and finally a high cycle efficiency is achieved. In the literature, among the various proposed layouts, the recompression s-CO₂ Brayton cycle is considered to be the most efficient one. The most critical component of such a cycle is definitely the main compressor, as the related usual design procedures have been developed in the past for ideal gas as a working fluid. This study presents a methodology for the preliminary design of a centrifugal compressor with a vaned diffuser, suitable for fulfilling the desired operating requirements of a particular supercritical CO₂ recompression Brayton cycle. Furthermore, it demonstrates the numerical investigation of the three-dimensional (3D) flow phenomena occurring in it, focusing on the investigation of possible condensation. To this end, a one-dimensional flow model was developed to provide information regarding the geometry of the compressor and predict its prospective performance. Commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software was then employed to examine the three-dimensional flow. The effect of accuracy in the evaluation of real gas properties approaching the critical point was examined, showing that a look-up table with more points around the critical point can reduce the numerical relative error by up to 0.3% for the value of specific heat capacity. In addition, the possibility of condensation occurrence was investigated at the impeller’s inlet, where the flow is accelerated. The supersaturation pressure ratio was defined and implemented in order to identify regions where static pressure is lower than saturation pressure, possibly leading to local two-phase flow.

A micro-energy harvesting device proposed in the literature was numerically studied. It consists of two bluff bodies in a micro-channel and a flexible diaphragm at its upper wall. Vortex shedding behind bodies induces pressure fluctuation causing vibration of the diaphragm that converts mechanical energy to electrical by means of a piezoelectric membrane. Research on enhancing vortex shedding was justified due to the low power output of the device. The amplitude and frequency of the unsteady pressure fluctuation on the diaphragm were numerically predicted. The vortex shedding severity was mainly assessed in terms of pressure amplitude. The CFD model set-up was described in detail, and appropriate metrics to assess the energy harvesting potential were defined. Several 2D cases were simulated to study the effect of the inlet Reynolds number and channel blockage ratio on the prospective performance of the device. Furthermore, the critical blockage ratio leading to the vortex shedding suppression was sought. A higher inlet velocity for a constant blockage ratio was found to enhance vortex shedding and the pressure drop. Great blockage ratio values but lower than the critical ones seemed to provide great pressure amplitudes at the expense of a moderate pressure drop. There is evidence that the field is fruitful for further research and relevant directions were provided.

A micro energy harvesting device proposed in the literature, is numerically studied. It consists of two bluff bodies in a micro-channel and a flexible diaphragm at its upper wall. Vortex shedding behind bodies induces pressure fluctuation causing vibration of the diaphragm that converts me-chanical energy to electrical by means of a piezoelectric membrane. Research on enhancing vortex shedding is justified due to the low power output of the device. Amplitude and frequency of un-steady pressure fluctuation on the diaphragm center are numerically predicted. Vortex shedding severity is mainly assessed in terms of pressure amplitude. The CFD model set-up is described in detail and appropriate metrics to assess energy harvesting potential are defined. Several cases are simulated to study the effect of inlet Reynolds number and channel blockage ratio on the prospec-tive performance of the device. Furthermore, the critical blockage ratio leading to vortex shedding suppression is sought. Higher inlet velocity for a constant blockage ratio is found to enhance vor-tex shedding and pressure drop. Great blockage ratio values, but lower than the critical one, seem to provide great pressure amplitudes in the expense of moderate pressure drop. There is evidence that the field is fruitful for research and relevant directions are provided.