ESRU Facilities

Computing

ESRU operates a private network of workstations and PCs running Solaris, Linux and Windows. All undergraduate and postgraduate students have access to similar technology and, in addition, are able to make wireless connection to the university's network.

Laboratories

These cover all aspects of energy and the environment - from the fundamental properties of solids, liquids and gasses, to the production of power and heat from fossil fuels and renewable energy sources. The intention is to support teaching and research in relation to:

fundamentals, e.g. material hygrothermal behaviour;
climatology, e.g. solar irradiance and sky luminance;
modes of heat transfer, e.g. conduction, convection and radiation;
human comfort, e.g. air psychrometry;
conventional energy systems, e.g. for heating and cooling provision;
power production systems, e.g. fuel cells and engines;
solar and low temperature applications, e.g. photovoltaic cells;
mixed mode supply approaches, e.g. combined heat and power.

The laboratory is organised into 7 physical areas, with each area hosting thematic experiments. Examples of facilities operated in recent years are given below.

Laboratory Area One: Properties and States of Substances

Apparatus	Description
1	Guarded hot plate for conductivity determination.
2	Viscosity measurement using a Redwood viscometer.
3	PVT measurement for compressible and incompressible fluids.
4	Calorific value measurement via Boys, Coal and Junkers calorimeters.
5	Specific heat determination.
6	Surface emissivity and absorptivity measurement.
7	Solid and liquid diffusion measurement.
8	Shortwave absorption, transmission and reflection for transparent and translucent materials.
9	Humidity measurement.

Laboratory Area Two: Heat Transfer

Apparatus	Description
1	Conduction of heat in solids.
2	Radiative exchange including effects of surface properties, geometry and power spectrum.
3	Convection under laminar and turbulent boundary layers using Schlieren apparatus and coloured liquid tank.
4	Pool boiling heat transfer.
5	Condensation.

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Laboratory Area Three: Fluid Flow

Apparatus	Description
1	Reynold's experiment for laminar and turbulent flow.
2	Measurement of pipe friction and velocity profile.
3	Wind tunnel to measure external flows and surface pressure coefficients.
4	Measurement of lift, drag and stall.
5	Experiments with nozzles.
6	Fanno and Reighley apparatus for compressible flows.

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Laboratory Area Four: Mixtures

Apparatus	Description
1	Air/ vapour mixtures and psychrometry.
2	Combustion mixtures.

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Laboratory Area Five: HVAC Systems

Apparatus	Description
1	Boiler design and operation based on conventional and condensing boilers.
2	System design based on a boiler and rudimentary distribution network for heating and hot water.
3	Solar water heating using a water collector placed within the solar simulator.
4	Hilton vapour compression refrigeration system.
5	Air conditioning and refrigeration.
6	Air-to-air ventilation heat recovery.
7	Simple and advanced control system operation.
8	Ground and air source heat pumps

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Laboratory Area 6: Power and Propulsion Systems

Apparatus	Description
1	Various wind power experiments using the wind tunnel and small wind turbine.
2	Various photovoltaic experiments with poly-crystalline, mono-crystalline and amorphous silicon components when used in power only and combined power and heat modes.
3	Steam and air turbine.
4	Various engine tests relating to electrical power production and exhaust gas emissions.
5	Propulsion.
6	Combined heat and power.
7	PEM fuel cell.

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Laboratory Area Seven: Weather and Environment

Apparatus	Description
1	Weather monitoring procedures.
2	Air quality monitoring procedures.

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