Professor Ahmed Kovacevic, City University of London

This research is designed to address the future of rotating compression technologies by developing methods to reduce energy consumption in order to respond to the short, medium and long-term development strategy of the industrial sponsor, Howden Compressors, a UK-based world-leader in fluid handling technologies. 20% of world energy is used for compression in refrigeration, air-conditioning, process gas and air handling systems. The limit to improve efficiency of these systems greatly depends on leakage losses through the gaps between rotating and stationary elements. Conventional approaches to minimize leakage gaps often lead to reliability issues due to thermal expansion of elements – thus alternative solutions are required to minimize losses and reduce costs. The core of this research is to fully understand the flow-heat-solid interaction in the leakage gaps and to develop novel rotating elements of larger capacities, self-regulating leakages and easy manufacturing to meet targets for reduction of compressors energy consumption. The key innovation of this research lies in the development of experimental and numerical methods to fully understand complex relationship of flow-heat-solid in gaps and the design of compressor elements with integrated mechanisms and sensor systems to remotely monitor and maximize efficiency without compromising on reliability. The major expected outcomes are three demonstrator systems: (i) a test facility and validated numerical methods of heat-flow-solid interactions in clearances; (ii) a scaled-down compressor prototype with novel rotor profiles and smart clearance management system; (iii) an industrial prototype with integrated remote monitoring and self-regulating systems for minimization of energy consumption and increased reliability.