Technologies for tomorrow's electric power generation

Abstract

In order to glean some insight into the likely trends in the next 50 years of power generation, the major trends of the last 50 years are reviewed first of all. It is noted that not only were all the power generating systems in operation today being researched in the 1960s, but so were most of those now being discussed for the future. The major trends in generation have all been driven by political and environmental considerations rather than by radically new ideas.For the next 50 years, in a new environment of concern about climate change and security of electricity supply, new technology must be developed to make some more of the options economically viable. This article surveys most of the systems now being considered and picks out a few of the enabling technologies. With such a broad subject, selectivity in the choice of sources is inevitable: this review draws preferentially upon papers published in the Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy over the last 10 years.

Post‐disturbance haulout behaviour of harbour seals

“…Development of marine renewable energy technology has led to increased levels of construction activity in the marine environment that, in some cases, results in avoidance behaviour by marine mammals (Dahne et al, 2013;Russell et al, 2016). Tidal turbine deployments are best suited to areas where tidal streams are restricted topographically, resulting in faster currents and therefore a higher energy yield (Lawn, 2009), meaning that sites identified for deployment are often close to shore. The commitment of many countries to an increased reliance on marine renewable energy is likely to lead to an increase in the development of technologies that potentially have a negative impact on the marine environment.…”

“…Of those technologies, tidal turbine arrays are expected to become an established technique, with several projects already at an advanced stage (Lewis et al, 2011). Tidal turbine deployments are best suited to areas where tidal streams are restricted topographically, resulting in faster currents and therefore a higher energy yield (Lawn, 2009), meaning that sites identified for deployment are often close to shore. For species where marine habitat use overlaps with inshore areas identified as suitable for tidal turbine deployments there is a need to assess the impact on these species before the construction phase commences.…”

Development and validation of a computational model for design analysis of a novel marine turbine

“…1,2 Therefore, the utilisation of marine turbines offers a unique opportunity to extract energy from oceans and seas. 3 Currently, the marine energy systems are at the proof-of-concept or part-system R&D stage, whereas for the wind industry, the horizontal axis, three-bladed variable-speed turbine is by far the most dominant concept. 4,5 Therefore, none of the marine energy systems are mature enough to be considered as the dominant concept, and many different concepts are still under development for wave and tidal energy conversion systems.…”

Optimization design for mechanical seals in reactor coolant pumps based on a fluid–solid strong-interaction model

“…The rapid development of the nuclear energy is once more taking place [1]. The reactor coolant pump (RCP) is one of the kernel equipments of the nuclear islands, and it is used to circulate the primary coolants in the systems and ensure that adequate coolants pass through the cores of the pressurized water reactor power plants.…”