Master in Energy Engineering

Applications of fluid mechanics to energy engineering is an optional course within the master in Energy Engineering and is aimed to the students showing particular interest in fluid mechanics.

Some specific topics addressed only marginally in the basic courses of hydraulics and fluid mechanics will be addressed, in order to provide the students with the fundamental knowledge about turbulent flows, physical modelling and CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics).  Within the tutorials and the homework the students will have the opportunity to compare some commercial codes applied to practical applications relevant to energy engineering.

The course will cover the following topics: 

• Fundamentals of fluid turbulence

     - Interest of turbulent flows

     - Turbulent viscosity

     - Boundary layer

     - Free turbulence

     - Vortex dynamics

     - Homogeneous and isotropic turbulence

     - Direct and Large Eddy Simulation

     - Statistical models of turbulence

     - Overview of the major experimental techniques

• Computational fluid dynamics

     - Numerical simulation versus scale model test

     - 1D, 2D and 3D models, with focus on 3D

     - Detached Eddy Simulation (DES), Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS), including Reynolds stress

     - Role of boundary conditions, mesh and time step 

     - Quality standards

     - Introduction into ANSYS 

     - Application of ANSYS to energy engineering problems

The examination of the course is based on oral questions about the contents of the course and on the presentation and discussion of the homework, consisting in the numerical solution of a fluid mechanics application. The candidates are requested to apply the main principles and equations of fluid mechanics in order to solve technical problems. The oral examination includes questions to assess the knowledge and understanding of the course topics and the communication skills.