Full PhD scholarship in Mechanical Engineering

PhD in Mechanical Engineering

Full Scholarship Available

Date: October 30th, 2015

Project: Modelling and design of a rotary vane expander for oil palm waste-fired organic Rankine cycle power plants

Degree: Ph.D.

Project Description:

The importance of renewable energy in the generation of electricity cannot be overstated considering the rising cost and environmental impacts of fossil fuels. ORC (organic Rankine cycle) system is a proven technology that can be used to convert renewable energy, such as low-temperature geothermal fluids, low-grade waste heat, biomass, and solar thermal energy, into electricity thanks to the use of working fluids with low boiling points, such as pentane, butane, R245fa, and R365mfc. Compared with the conventional steam power plants, the ORC system operates at incomparably low boiling temperatures and low pressures and thus the system is simple and easy to operate. The key component of the ORC is expander which critically influences the system efficiency. In this research project, we will first develop a computer simulation model of rotary vane expander for small size ORC machine for preliminary design and then CFD analysis will be conducted for detailed design.

Funding Arrangements:

Full scholarship is available for this project, including both tuition fee and stipend (RM 2,000 per month) for three years. Interested students should contact:

Dr Hyung-Chul Jung
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Curtin University, Sarawak
Phone: +60 85 443 939 ext. 3830
Email: jung.hc@curtin.edu.my