Further information

Thermal turbomachines

In the first part of the lecture, the energy systems section deals with issues relating to global energy resources and their use, particularly in the provision of electrical energy. In addition to typical fossil and nuclear power plants for centralized power supply, concepts of combined heat and power generation for decentralized supply by means of combined heat and power plants, etc. are discussed and compared with the properties and potential of regenerative energy conversion concepts such as wind and hydroelectric power, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, geothermal energy and fuel cells.
The focus here is on presenting the potential, risks and economic viability of the various strategies for conserving resources and avoiding CO2 emissions.

Students will be able to:

• discuss and assess energy resources and reserves and their areas of application
• evaluate the use of energy sources for the provision of electrical energy
• explain the concepts and properties of combined heat and power, regenerative energy conversion and fuel cells and their areas of application
• explain and compare centralized and decentralized supply concepts
• weigh up the potential, risks and economic viability of the various strategies for conserving resources and reducing CO2 emissions
• name and evaluate the possibilities of using solar energy
• discuss the potential of geothermal energy and its use