Friday 7 June 2019 - 9:00 to 12:00

Exam "Sustainable Energy and Rational Use of Energy"

prof. Jer*en Beeckman

Name: Student number:

Program

This exatn is 'open book'- You can us€ the syllabus, ir*luding all the noles from the closs. No smartphones or
tablels (or anythingwith awireless connection) are admitted as calculator. Only 'traditional' calculators wilhout
w ire le s s c anrrc ctivily are a I lowed.

Solve and answer all questions on these papers. If you have insfficient place below the question, you can continue
writing on the back side. Pleasefirst solve the question on scrap paper and then copy your an^ywer on these papers.

Question 1: Solar power

()n a certain day in Ghent, the Sun is in the South at an angle of 50o above the horizon. At that moment,
the irradiance on a surface that is pointed towards the Sun is 800 Wmz.
1. Calculate the absorption coefEcient of the atmosphere, assuming that the atmosphere is a uniform
layer with thickness l0 km. d:
2. Calculate the irradiance on a horizontal surface at that moment.
On a roof in Ghent with an angle of 30" perfectly pointing towards the South, 10 solar panels with a
total surface area of 16 m2 are installed with a total peak power of 3.2 kW.
3. What is the efficiency of the solar panels?
4. What is the eleckical power generated by the solar panels at that moment?

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Question 2: Nuclear power and rvind power

In the table below, you can find the data of the electricity production in Germany for the week of Monday
15 December 2014.

Eio Uran BC Gas P5t Wind Solar

rrrn, po!,ver (GVV) 4.27 6.57 7.35 2.96 3.65 0.01 5.32 0
max. power(GW) 1.48 12.08 19.93 2t.65 12.34 3.27 27.68 4.6
,,^reekly energy (TWh) 0.12 1.0 1.86 2.49 1.95 0.95 0.15 2.82 0.09

Questions:
1. Suppose that the nuclear electricity production is purely due to the fission of 235U with an efficiency
of 35%. How much grarn235lJ was used in that week? How much gram of 235U per second was used
at maximum power?

2. Suppose that the maximum power for wind in this table is equal to the total installed wind power.
What was the capacity factor for wind power in that week?

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Question 3: Hydro enerry

In a Belgian newspaper, an article appeared that reports on a study for building a tidal barrage for
electricity generation. ln the article, it was said that (translated from Dutch):
Thanlrs to the tidal height difference in the river Scheldt (Schelde) it is possible to supply electricity for
2600 hotxeholds. On a yearly basis, this amounts to a saving of 7500 tonnes of COz.

1. Based on the very badly defined unit "electricity consumption of one household": how much kWh
per year and how much ayerage power in W are we talking about? Based on these numbers, calculate
your own estimate of how much tonnes of COz can be saved yearly.

2. In the Westerschelde near Antwerp, the tidal height difference is 3.5 m. Calculate the required surface
area of water that is necessary for the above values. Note that the tidal cycle follows the moon cycle,
resulting in 2 times flood tide and 2 times ebb tide in about 25 hours. Note also that a practical system
will require about 4 times the theoretical minimum surface area.

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Question 4: Rational heating

A heat pump based on propane as coolant works at temperatures of40"C (condensation ofcoolant) and
5oC (evaporation of coolant).

1. What is the theoretical COP (coefficient of performance) of this heat pump?

The heat pump takes heat from ground water with a ternperature of 12"C, which after the heat pump is
cooled down to 8oC. The maximum useful amount of heat that the heat pump can produce is 45 kW.

2. What is the volumetric flow rate of the ground water when the pump is working at maximum power?

In practice, the heat pump only works at half of the theoretical COP. In a simplified model, we assume
that this is because half of the electrical power is lost as heat (due to friction in motor, pumps,
compressor, etc.). In a first model (model A) this heat is wasted. In another model, we assume that this
electrical loss can be used as useful heat (model B).

3. For each of the models, calculate the electrical power necessary to supply 45 kW.

ModelA Model B

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Question 5: Short questions

Due to the sunspot cycle and due to the elliptic orbit of Earth around the Sun, there is a variation in the
power per surface area that reaches Earth. For the A.M.0 irradiance, this amounts to a variation of 95
Wmz. Suppose (of course, this does not happen in reality) that the Earth's temperature is following this Y
change in irradiance. Use the value for the aibedo and the greenhouse factor for Ea$h to calculate the L- ? Tg
q <Y''ltlU\ *
temperature variation. Circle the correct answer: t.

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4 different locations are available to place wind turbines. At these different locations, the wind
distribution is completely different. The graphs below show the probability function for the wind speed.
Order the different locations in terms the average wind power that is available.

(a) (b)

p{r) p(v)

zfi v {m/s) 20 v (m/s)

(c) (d)

pdv) p{v)

20 v (m/s) 2a v (m/s)

Lowest available wind Highest available wind

p0wer ---\ power

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In figure I 1.9 in the course notes, it can be seen that a car with a combustion engine (with one person
inside) uses about 80 kwh/100 p-km. An electric car with one person uses about 15 kWh/100 p-km.
Give two reasons why an electric car is much more efficient than a car with a combustion engine.

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The figure below contains different graphs:

r The spectrum of the solar inadiation at sea level (A.M.I.5).

. The response of the human eye.
r The spectrum of a black body at 23.9"C.
r The transmission of different 'ideal' types of glazing for buildings (type 1 andtype2)
no

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tryavckagth {micronsters)

1. What is the power (in W per m2) emitted by a black body that has the blackbody spectrum in the
graph?

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2. The transmission of both types of glazing is quasi zero for the black body at 23.9"C. What is the
resulting effe$?

o The albedo effect

[The greenhouse effect

o Absorption of sunlight

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