MSc — 2024 entry Sustainable Energy

Expected prior learning:  None. Module purpose:  To inform students as to the importance of renewable energy in the energy mix required for generation within nations. This is now becoming law in developed countries following the Kyoto agreement and green energy obligations. Students will learn as to the various energy generation options available from power scavengers for handheld calculators to energy generation to power the world’s energy need. Furthermore, an appreciation for the need for energy storage at all power levels will be discussed, with special emphasis on the materials requirements. Students will be able to examine next generation materials being proposed for meeting world's demand based on green energy.  

This module introduces students to the intricacies of sustainable development (SD) when applied in real life contexts, covering areas within environmental management, strategy, industrial ecology, and more. Using case studies, the module will cover the challenges in the integration and implementation of sustainable development. Guest speakers offer their organizational and field experiences as cases exemplifying challenges, progress and effective practice in putting SD principles into practice in diverse sectors and places. This reinforces and brings to life the conceptual learning done in the module and in the earlier Foundations and Frontiers module (ENGM064). The SDA module develops the ideas covered in ENGM064 and will facilitate a deepened understanding and consolidation of corporate environmental management, socioeconomic and political issues, spanning the public, private, and ‘third’ (civil society) sectors. This module is one of the components required for Associate Membership of IEMA and IES.

Solar Energy is quite wide and large subject. It based on different branches of science and technologies. The model is focused on photo-voltaic side of solar energy applications. It tries to deal with the subject from different angles of consideration; the physics base, technology development, technical work, system design and economics.  

This module is designed to provide necessary geotechnical design concepts of deep foundation and deep geological storage facilities related to some of the current and emerging energy projects. They include renewable energy systems (offshore and onshore wind turbine generator foundations), foundations for offshore oil and gas installations, geothermal energy pile foundation and nuclear power plant foundations There will also be specialised lectures on high level nuclear waste disposal and carbon geo-sequestration, methane hydrates and compressed air energy storage. It is expected that students taking this module have a background knowledge of soil mechanics and structural mechanics to the level of final year Bachelor of Engineering..

Wind energy is an emerging renewable technology that has received wide attention in the context of dealing with global energy demand and sustainable development. It is a broad subject encompassing several branches of science and engineering. This module is to introduce the concept, technical approaches, and the practical aspects in applications. 

Infrastructure systems play a crucial role towards sustainable development as they serve the needs of the society. An understanding of the three dimensions of sustainability, economic, environmental and social, is vital towards the planning, design and operation of sustainable infrastructure systems. This module evaluative frameworks that can capture economic, environmental and social constraints to understand the balance between these three dimensions towards the development of sustainable infrastructure projects. Particular focus is given to whole-life carbon accounting and life cycle assessment for assessing the environmental impact of infrastructure systems and multi-criteria decision analysis and environmental/social impact assessments, capable of capturing the three pillars of sustainability for holistic decision-making within the context of infrastructure. 

This module offers an introduction to industrial aerodynamics and wind engineering, covering applications of aerodynamics to areas beyond the classical aerospace ones. Particular focus is given to the main characteristics of natural winds, concentrating on four aspects: Meteorology and the atmospheric boundary layer Wind power aerodynamics Pollutant dispersion in the atmosphere Building aerodynamics The above applications are designed to introduce students to wider applications of aerodynamics not covered elsewhere in the aerospace and mechanical engineering programmes.

Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are defined by International Union for Conservation of Nature as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal challenges (e.g., climate change, water security or natural disasters) effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. NBS are increasingly used as a more sustainable way of managing environments or environmental systems. NBS use nature¿s own resources (clean air, water, plants, and soil) to provide cost-effective environmental, social, and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more diverse nature and natural features and processes into existing networks and infrastructure systems including cities, landscapes, and coastal areas, through site specific, locally adapted, resource-efficient interventions. Engineers are working to restore natural buffering systems (e.g., wetlands and tree canopies), utilise green infrastructure, and better manage natural areas to restore riparian corridors, create resilient coastal ecosystems, manage flood risk, enhance water quality and waste treatment, improve air quality, mitigate climate change and more. NBS are often seen as an alternative, more sustainable solution to hard engineered infrastructure solution (by fulfilling multiple services and / by having fewer adverse characteristics). However, NBS cannot be unilaterally implemented due to prevailing characteristics of the built and natural environments. The module will provide the knowledge and skills needed to explore, critically assess, and evaluate the ¿why¿, ¿how¿ and utility of NBS to protect, manage and restore ecosystems vulnerable to societal and environmental challenges. An important part of the module will be to critically assess, compare, and determine the feasibility of different solutions drawn from literature and case studies where NBS have been successful implemented. .The module will draw on the desire of communities to live in green spaces and explore options for engineers to design and integrate facilities within ecosystems in a way that benefits ecological and human health. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of NBS, the module will explore different environments (air, water, coastal, rural, and urban) ensuring the interaction between different research disciplines such as coastal management, wastewater treatment, air quality, material and infrastructure, and urban management.

The course provides an introduction to nuclear energy generation and applications of nuclear science. Nuclear reactors, their physics and operation are described. Nuclear reactor safety case work is also discussed. Future potential energy generation mechanisms such including nuclear fusion will be discussed. The module will also present a range of applications of radioactivity measurement including aspects of Environmental Science and Medical Diagnogstics and treatment therapy. The module will include some aspects of calculus and first order differential equations.

Energy systems are becoming increasingly complex in terms of configuration, type of sources and distribution. The common challenges include the integration of fluctuating energy sources, disruption in energy demand and distribution bottlenecks. The inclusion of different, often disparate technologies associated with renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, bio-generation and hydrogen sources, and frequently opposing requirements of sustainability, economic viability and legislation impose further complexity and requirement for smart solutions at operational and design levels. This module covers a multidisciplinary space between energy engineering and information technology to support timely solutions in real-life environments. It consists of two parts: i) lectures covering fundamentals of energy networks (centralized vs distributed), energy supply chains and operational bottlenecks, energy integration and different optimization methods, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, and ii) supervised group project work to find example solutions by applying the methods taught in the first part. The information obtained in this module closely relates to all other modules in the programme (particularly Introduction to Renewable Energy Systems and Sustainable Energy Storage), which together provide a complete picture of the sustainable energy sector, from the fundamental principles to niche applications in designing autonomous smart energy systems based on AI.

Wind energy is an emerging renewable technology that has received wide attention in the context of dealing with global energy demand and sustainable development. It is a broad subject encompassing several branches of science and engineering. This module is to introduce the concept, technical approaches, and the practical aspects in applications. 

Infrastructure systems play a crucial role towards sustainable development as they serve the needs of the society. An understanding of the three dimensions of sustainability, economic, environmental and social, is vital towards the planning, design and operation of sustainable infrastructure systems. This module evaluative frameworks that can capture economic, environmental and social constraints to understand the balance between these three dimensions towards the development of sustainable infrastructure projects. Particular focus is given to whole-life carbon accounting and life cycle assessment for assessing the environmental impact of infrastructure systems and multi-criteria decision analysis and environmental/social impact assessments, capable of capturing the three pillars of sustainability for holistic decision-making within the context of infrastructure. 

Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are defined by International Union for Conservation of Nature as actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal challenges (e.g., climate change, water security or natural disasters) effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. NBS are increasingly used as a more sustainable way of managing environments or environmental systems. NBS use nature¿s own resources (clean air, water, plants, and soil) to provide cost-effective environmental, social, and economic benefits and help build resilience. Such solutions bring more diverse nature and natural features and processes into existing networks and infrastructure systems including cities, landscapes, and coastal areas, through site specific, locally adapted, resource-efficient interventions. Engineers are working to restore natural buffering systems (e.g., wetlands and tree canopies), utilise green infrastructure, and better manage natural areas to restore riparian corridors, create resilient coastal ecosystems, manage flood risk, enhance water quality and waste treatment, improve air quality, mitigate climate change and more. NBS are often seen as an alternative, more sustainable solution to hard engineered infrastructure solution (by fulfilling multiple services and / by having fewer adverse characteristics). However, NBS cannot be unilaterally implemented due to prevailing characteristics of the built and natural environments. The module will provide the knowledge and skills needed to explore, critically assess, and evaluate the ¿why¿, ¿how¿ and utility of NBS to protect, manage and restore ecosystems vulnerable to societal and environmental challenges. An important part of the module will be to critically assess, compare, and determine the feasibility of different solutions drawn from literature and case studies where NBS have been successful implemented. .The module will draw on the desire of communities to live in green spaces and explore options for engineers to design and integrate facilities within ecosystems in a way that benefits ecological and human health. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of NBS, the module will explore different environments (air, water, coastal, rural, and urban) ensuring the interaction between different research disciplines such as coastal management, wastewater treatment, air quality, material and infrastructure, and urban management.

Expected prior learning:  None. Module purpose:  To inform students as to the importance of renewable energy in the energy mix required for generation within nations. This is now becoming law in developed countries following the Kyoto agreement and green energy obligations. Students will learn as to the various energy generation options available from power scavengers for handheld calculators to energy generation to power the world’s energy need. Furthermore, an appreciation for the need for energy storage at all power levels will be discussed, with special emphasis on the materials requirements. Students will be able to examine next generation materials being proposed for meeting world's demand based on green energy.  

This module introduces students to the intricacies of sustainable development (SD) when applied in real life contexts, covering areas within environmental management, strategy, industrial ecology, and more. Using case studies, the module will cover the challenges in the integration and implementation of sustainable development. Guest speakers offer their organizational and field experiences as cases exemplifying challenges, progress and effective practice in putting SD principles into practice in diverse sectors and places. This reinforces and brings to life the conceptual learning done in the module and in the earlier Foundations and Frontiers module (ENGM064). The SDA module develops the ideas covered in ENGM064 and will facilitate a deepened understanding and consolidation of corporate environmental management, socioeconomic and political issues, spanning the public, private, and ‘third’ (civil society) sectors. This module is one of the components required for Associate Membership of IEMA and IES.

Solar Energy is quite wide and large subject. It based on different branches of science and technologies. The model is focused on photo-voltaic side of solar energy applications. It tries to deal with the subject from different angles of consideration; the physics base, technology development, technical work, system design and economics.  

This module is designed to provide necessary geotechnical design concepts of deep foundation and deep geological storage facilities related to some of the current and emerging energy projects. They include renewable energy systems (offshore and onshore wind turbine generator foundations), foundations for offshore oil and gas installations, geothermal energy pile foundation and nuclear power plant foundations There will also be specialised lectures on high level nuclear waste disposal and carbon geo-sequestration, methane hydrates and compressed air energy storage. It is expected that students taking this module have a background knowledge of soil mechanics and structural mechanics to the level of final year Bachelor of Engineering..

This module offers an introduction to industrial aerodynamics and wind engineering, covering applications of aerodynamics to areas beyond the classical aerospace ones. Particular focus is given to the main characteristics of natural winds, concentrating on four aspects: Meteorology and the atmospheric boundary layer Wind power aerodynamics Pollutant dispersion in the atmosphere Building aerodynamics The above applications are designed to introduce students to wider applications of aerodynamics not covered elsewhere in the aerospace and mechanical engineering programmes.

The course provides an introduction to nuclear energy generation and applications of nuclear science. Nuclear reactors, their physics and operation are described. Nuclear reactor safety case work is also discussed. Future potential energy generation mechanisms such including nuclear fusion will be discussed. The module will also present a range of applications of radioactivity measurement including aspects of Environmental Science and Medical Diagnogstics and treatment therapy. The module will include some aspects of calculus and first order differential equations.

Energy systems are becoming increasingly complex in terms of configuration, type of sources and distribution. The common challenges include the integration of fluctuating energy sources, disruption in energy demand and distribution bottlenecks. The inclusion of different, often disparate technologies associated with renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind, bio-generation and hydrogen sources, and frequently opposing requirements of sustainability, economic viability and legislation impose further complexity and requirement for smart solutions at operational and design levels. This module covers a multidisciplinary space between energy engineering and information technology to support timely solutions in real-life environments. It consists of two parts: i) lectures covering fundamentals of energy networks (centralized vs distributed), energy supply chains and operational bottlenecks, energy integration and different optimization methods, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, and ii) supervised group project work to find example solutions by applying the methods taught in the first part. The information obtained in this module closely relates to all other modules in the programme (particularly Introduction to Renewable Energy Systems and Sustainable Energy Storage), which together provide a complete picture of the sustainable energy sector, from the fundamental principles to niche applications in designing autonomous smart energy systems based on AI.