Numerical Modeling and Technico-Economic Analysis of a Hybrid Energy Production System for Self-Consumption: Case of Rural Area in the Comoros

This study aims to provide electricity to a remote village in the Union of Comoros that has been affected by energy problems for over 40 years. The study uses a 50 kW diesel generator, a 10 kW wind turbine, 1500 kW photovoltaic solar panels, a converter, and storage batteries as the proposed sources. The main objective of this study is to conduct a detailed analysis and optimization of a hybrid diesel and renewable energy system to meet the electricity demand of a remote area village of 800 to 1500 inhabitants located in the north of Ngazidja Island in Comoros. The study uses the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewable (HOMER) Pro to conduct simulations and optimize the analysis using meteorological data from Comoros. The results show that hybrid combination is more profitable in terms of margin on economic cost with a less expensive investment. With a diesel cost of $1/L, an average wind speed of 5.09 m/s and a solar irradiation value of 6.14 kWh/m2/day, the system works well with a proportion of renewable energy production of 99.44% with an emission quantity of 1311.407 kg/year. 99.2% of the production comes from renewable sources with an estimated energy surplus of 2,125,344 kWh/year with the cost of electricity (COE) estimated at $0.18/kWh, presenting a cost-effective alternative compared to current market rates. These results present better optimization of the used hybrid energy system, satisfying energy demand and reducing the environmental impact.

PV-Wind-Diesel System for Energy Supply on Remote Area Applied for Telecommunication Towers in Comoros

The Comoros is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean located in the Mozambique Channel between the African continent and Madagascar. Geographically Comoros is composed of four islands: Grande Comores, Anjouan, Mohéli and Mayotte (under French administration). Apart from Mayotte, the others three independent islands commonly known as the Union of the Comoros are suffering from energy stress since their independence year 1975 until nowadays. The energy supplied and distributed by the national electricity company, SONELEC produced by diesel engines, is not stable with so much load shedding all the time. This instability energy leads to a lack of a phone network in some telecommunications towers connected to grid. The majority of telecommunications towers are located in rural areas not connected to grid and running on diesel generators, which once again leads to a problem with the telecommunications network when diesel engines fail. The two competing companies which operate in the field of telecommunications in the Comoros, namely Comores Télécom, a national public company and Telma, the private one, are still unable to ensure the provision of the telecommunications network on a regular basis. This is why we propose in the present work, a sizing of hybrid system composed essentially of a diesel generator, a wind turbine and a photovoltaic solar system with storage in batteries for supplying telecommunications towers in order to permanently ensure the provision of the telecommunications network for the well-being of the population. Our future energy must be based on non-polluting energies with significant resources. Renewable energies are the best candidates but with intermittent production especially in rural areas not connected to the national electricity grid whose energy demand is more important to meet the needs of the population. The aim of this work is the sizing of a hybrid system composed of a diesel generator, a wind turbine and a photovoltaic solar system with storage in batteries for supplying telecommunications towers located in rural areas in the Comoros. In fact, to verify the performance of the hybrid system, a numerical study has been carried out with the HOMER 2.68 Beta software using meteorological data from the Comoros. The results obtained show that this hybrid combination is more profitable in the margin of economic cost and environmental assessments with a less expensive investment. These results also show a better optimization of Wind/PV/Battery of the hybrid system used, satisfying the demand and contributing to the preservation of the environment to fight against climate change with a low cost of energy.

Simulation of the Hygrothermal Behavior of a Building Envelope Based on Phase Change Materials and a Bio-Based Concrete

Phase Change Materials(PCMs)have high thermal inertia,and hemp concrete(HC),a bio-based concrete,has strong hygroscopic behavior.In previous studies,PCM has been extensively combined with many materials,however,most of these studies focused on thermal properties while neglecting hygroscopic aspects.In this study,the two materials have been combined into a building envelope and the related hygrothermal properties have been studied.In particular,numerical studies have been performed to investigate the temperature and relative humidity behavior inside the HC,and the effect of adding PCM on the hygrothermal behavior of the HC.The results show that there is a high coupling between temperature and relative humidity inside the HC,since the relative humidity changes on the second and third days are different,with values of 8%and 4%,respectively.Also,the variation of relative humidity with temperature indicates the dominant influence of temperature on relative humidity variation.With the presence of PCM,the temperature variation inside the HC is damped due to the high thermal inertia of the PCM,which also leads to suppression of moisture evaporation and thus damping of relative humidity variation.On the second and third days,the temperature changes at the central position are reduced by 4.6%and 5.1%,compared to the quarter position.For the relative humidity change,the reductions are 5.3%and 5.4%on the second and third days,respectively.Therefore,PCM,with high thermal inertia,acts as a temperature damper and has the potential to increase the moisture buffering capacity inside the HC.This makes it possible for such a combined envelope to have both thermal and hygric inertia.

Performance Analysis of a Solar Continuous Adsorption Refrigeration System

A study is conducted on the performances of a solar powered continuous-adsorption refrigerator considering two particular days as references cases,namely,the summer solstice(June 21st)and the autumn equinox(September 21st).The cooling capacity,system performance coefficient and the daily rate of available cooling energy are assessed.The main goal is to compare the performances of a solar adsorption chiller equipped with a hot water tank(HWT)with an equivalent system relying on solar collectors with no heat storage module.The daily cooling rates for the solar refrigerator are found to be 102.4 kWh and 74.3 kWh,respectively,on June 21st and on September 21st,using a total collector’s area of 43.47 m2.The corresponding values for the adsorption chiller equipped with a hot water tank of 2 m3(and using a total collector’s area of 72.45 m2),are 127.1 kWh and 106.13 kWh,respectively.

A Methodology to Reduce Thermal Gradients Due to the Exothermic Reactions in Resin Transfer Molding Applications

Resin transfer molding(RTM)is among the most used manufacturing processes for composite parts.Initially,the resin cure is initiated by heat supply to the mold.The supplementary heat generated during the reaction can cause thermal gradients in the composite,potentially leading to undesired residual stresses which can cause shrinkage and warpage.In the present numerical study of these processes,a one-dimensional finite difference method is used to predict the temperature evolution and the degree of cure in the course of the resin polymerization;the effect of some parameters on the thermal gradient is then analyzed,namely:the fiber nature,the use of multiple layers of reinforcement with different thermal properties and also the temperature cycle variation.The validity of this numerical model is tested by comparison with experimental and numerical results in the existing literature.

Numerical Study on the Resin Transfer Molding Curing Process for Thick Composites Materials

The successful manufacture of thick composites is challenging since the highly exothermic nature of thermoset resins and limited temperature control make avoiding the onset of detrimental thermal gradients within the composite relatively difficult.This phenomenon is mainly caused by exothermic heat reactions.The so-called Michaud's model has been largely used in the literature to reduce the gap between experience and simulation with regard to the effective prediction of the temperature cycle in these processes.In this work,another solution is proposed to simulate the curing process for thick composites,namely preheating the resin to activate the curing reaction before resin injection into the mold.A good agreement between the experiment and the simulation is found.Moreover,in order to minimize the thermal gradient in the final composite,the thermophysical properties of the fiber and the torque(temperature,time)of the Plate have been varied leading to interesting results.

Performance of a Solar-Biomass Adsorption Chiller

A dynamic model is presented for a chiller working with a composite adsorbent(silica activated carbon/CaCl2)–water pair in a solar-biomass cooling installation.The main objective is determining a link between two possible evaporator configurations and the refrigerator’s performances.The two considered evaporators work at different pressure levels.The related time evolution profiles of temperature,pressure and water content are studied.Moreover,the effects of hot water inlet temperature and cooling water inlet temperature on the specific cooling capacity(SCP)and coefficient of performance(COP)are predicted by means of numerical simulations.The results show that an increase in the temperature of hot water and a decrease in the temperature of the cooling water allow an increase in COP and SCP.In particular,for a hot water inlet temperature of 85°C and a cooling water inlet temperature of 40°C,the COP and Qev are 0.67 and 4.3 kW,respectively.

The Effect of the Fin Length on the Solidification Process in a Rectangular Enclosure with Internal Fins

The aim of the proposed work is to study the solidification process within a rectangular enclosure provided with three internal rectangular fins attached to the left vertical wall of the cavity.This latest is filled with a phase change material(PCM),initially liquid,at a temperature above its melting temperature.The solidification process was initiated by cooling the left wall and fins to a temperature lower than the melting temperature.In order to study and examine the thermal behavior and thermal performance of the proposed system,a mathematical model,based on the conservation equations of mass,momentum and energy was developed.The governing equations and their associated boundary and initial conditions were next adimensionalyzed.Therefore,several controlling parameters were appeared.The volume control method was used to discretize the equations.The resulting algebraic equations were solved iteratively.Numerical investigations were carried out to study and examine the effect of the dimensionless fin length on the hydrodynamic and thermal fields of the flow,the dimensionless heat flux,the solidified mass fraction and the dimensionless time of complete solidification.

Numerical Simulation of a Granular Flow on a Smooth Inclined Plane

Unlike most fluids,granular materials include coexisting solid,liquid or gaseous regions,which produce a rich variety of complex flows.Dense flows of grains driven by gravity down inclines occur in nature and in industrialprocesses.To describe the granular flow on an inclined surface,several studies were carried out.We can cite in particular the description of Saint-Venant which considers a dry granular flow,without cohesion and it only takes into account the substance-substrate friction,this model proposes a simplified form of the granular flow,which depends on the one side on the angle of inclination of the substrate with respect to the horizontal plane and on the other side on the thickness of the substance H.The numerical simulation we have developed is first based on the Saint-Venant model,it allowed us to visualize the variation of the speed according to the thickness of the substance(from 0 to H)and to deduce the average speed of the substance on an inclined plane.However,this restrictive model does not take into account the effect of particle friction on the flow and considers that the thickness H is constant.To make our simulation more realistic,we opted for the Savage-Hatter model.We took into account the variation of the thickness on the particles speed,in addition we have studied the effect of the variation of many parameters on the granular flow,namely the temperature and the roughness of the substrate,the density and the compactness of the substance,we found that the speed of the particles increases and the treatment time decreases with an increase in temperature.

Experimental investigation of hygrothermal behavior of wooden-frame house under real climate conditions

This paper deals with the experimental investigation of hygrothermal behavior of wooden-frame building enve-lope.The experiment was based on in-situ monitoring of a full size experimental monozone house built at the University of Lorraine.Variations in temperature and relative humidity inside and outside the envelope were logged simultaneously with local meteorological data.Results showed the high coupling between temperature and relative humidity variations within the envelope materials.An overall hygrothermal response of the wall highlighted an interesting hygrothermal dynamic behavior of the envelope which may contribute to mitigate variations of relative humidity inside the building.Nevertheless,relative humidity evolves within a range of values that can lead to mold growth at a certain position which may alter wooden envelope life.

Some Advances in Applications of Lattice Boltzmann Method for Complex Thermal Flows

Over the past two decades,there have been enormous advances in lattice Boltzmann(LB)numerical simulation and modelling.The lattice Boltzmann method has become a practical and promising tool for many fluid problems.A majority of recent studies have relied on numerical computations of isothermal flows.However,much less efforts have been devoted to complex thermal flows,such as flows in porous media subjected to external magnetic force,flows with temperature-dependent properties.In this paper,an overview is made based on some accomplishments in these numerical endeavours.Along with the paper’s sections,the state-of-the-art trend and the LBM advances in modelling and in computational aspects for specific classes of problems of major interest will be fully touched on.Concluding remarks are given and the axis of our future studies will be traced.