Energy and Environment

ID : 
26743
Course type : 
Dottorato
Academic year : 
2018/2019
Positions : 
9
Grant numbers : 
6
Number of scholarships financed by institutions : 
1
Number of scholarships financed by consortiums : 
0
Educational goals

In the next decades, nations will face issues related to energy and environment to ensure, at a global level, an actually sustainable development and growth, which combines the available resources with the respect for nature. Interdisciplinary, transnational and innovative knowledge and skills play a critical role as they allow facing complex issues that involve not only technological features, but also social, economic and environmental aspects. The PhD course in Energy and Environment provides multidisciplinary skills and knowledge, highly integrated, in order to form professional figures able to operate in the worlds of research, business, government institutions, both national and international, as well as cooperation. Those figures can deal, with an adequate cultural base, the challenge of energy development, in harmony with the environment and man, in an international context that sees the industrialized countries in the same way as emerging and developing countries. This objective is achieved through four educational addresses: the first is "Industrial and Environmental Technical Physics", the second is "Nuclear Engineering", the third is "Machinery and Systems for the Energy and the Environment", and the fourth is "Energy Saving and Distributed Micro-Generation". These four addresses, while differing in some specific contents, share a common base of knowledge and, above all, methodological approach that ensures a strong correlation among the different cultural fields represented by energy sciences, environment protection and development policies. The PhD course in Energy and Environment, which lasts three years, is organized in such a way that every student can take advantage of all the skills available within the several cultural addresses. The educational structure of the PhD course consists of a first phase, common to all the cultural addresses, in which the fundamentals of research will be treated, and in two subsequent phases, respectively aimed at deepening the topics typical of any cultural address and preparing the PhD thesis. The main topics which the educational address "Industrial and Environmental Technical Physics" deals with, will allow the student to acquire advanced research skills in the fields of applied thermodynamics, teoretical and computational thermofluid-dynamics, heat transfer, energetics, the rational use of energy, the use of renewable energy sources, environmental physics, applied acoustics and lighting engineering. Examples related to these topics are: the analysis of energy and technological innovation scenarios; the energy transformation thermodynamic analysis; the design of trigeneration systems; the design of thermal components and devices; the design and optimization of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; the design and optimization of fluid distribution systems; the study of the thermofluid-dynamic behavior of traditional and innovative equipment and systems; the study of new methods for the enhancement of heat transfer; the building physics; the energetic requalification of the built environment; the building envelope design techniques; the bioclimatic design strategies; the energy and environmental planning; the analysis of how the socio-economic and natural systems interact when sustainable development strategies are applied; the acoustic and lighting design of indoor and outdoor spaces; the comfort management in extreme environments; the study, design and realization of smart cities; the conservation and valorisation of the cultural heritage; the evaluation of the environmental impacts; the use of aerial systems (aircrafts, helicopters, baloons, spacecrafts) applied to the environment study and analysis; the measurement of thermal, fluid-dynamic and environmental quantities; the physical and mathematical modeling of processes, systems, equipment and buildings. The main objective of the educational address "Industrial and Environmental Technical Physics" is to form highly skilled personnel, capable to perform highly qualified research activities and to manage the technological innovation so as to improve the energy efficiency of systems and components, both traditional and innovative, employed in the production, distribution and final use of energy for heating and cooling applications, as well as to develop sustainable development models and new methods, devices and technologies aimed at the control of the natural and artificial environments. Such a professional profile will then be able: to perform and coordinate the advanced design of innovative systems and components; to coordinate research programs supported by the international, European and national communities; to coordinate programs developed in the fields of energy and environment by companies and public administrations; to coordinate the execution of environmental impact evaluations, and the development of plans for the environment protection and valorisation; to apply advanced aerospace technologies to the environmental monitoring and control; to collaborate to the development and promotion of sustainable development policies. The main topics in the "Nuclear Engineering" program will enable PhD students to develop advanced research skills on design, technology, construction and managementof high risk plants and, in particular, of the fission and fusion nuclear plants, as well as other applications of the nuclear technologies, for example in the biomedical field, mainly addressing aspects on thermal engineering, thermal-hydraulics, thermo-fluid-dynamics, energymanagement, safety and environmental impact. In particular, studies and researches include: innovative nuclear systems; systems for the management and conversion of radioactive waste; problems relating to the disposal of nuclear installations and laboratories; measurements and instrumentation for nuclear installations; radioisotope applications in industry and medicine; detection of environmental radioactivity; safety and radiation protection; modelling and design of components and systems in the energy, industrial and biomedical fields; mathematical and numerical techniques for the simulation of systems involving the use of particles; radiation and plasma technology; environmental protection and safety of high-risk installations. The learning objective of the "Nuclear Engineering" program aims to deepen the skills for calculation, design and operation of plants producing energy from nuclear fission and fusion, addressing in depth safety issues and the environmental impact, the risk analysis, and the reliability of the plants and of the fuel cycle. The preparation will allow to train a professional with high research capability to make use and develop models and methods for the description of the advanced physical and innovative engineering issues that are typical of nuclear applications, complex energy system, industrial and biomedical applications.The PhD student will acquire the skills to coordinate and manage research programs in companies involved in the design and manufacture of components and systems for energy plants, in the construction or disposal and decommissioning of nuclear and conventional laboratories; in institutions and energy companies in nuclear and conventional energy production; in research organizations in the energy sector, both in Italy and abroad; in design studies and risk analysis of complex energy systems, outside the nuclear field also. The research themes related to the "Machinery and Systems for the Energy and the Environment" specialization are oriented toward the development of advanced expertise in the sectors of conventional and renewable energy conversion technologies, modelling for the energy management in complex engineering systems and for the territorial energy planning, technologies for the environmental impact control in conversion processes, diagnostic and prognostic technologies applied to industrial systems and processes, computational thermo-fluid-dynamics applied to fluid machineries. Examples connected to the topics are: the development of numerical models for energy technologies simulation; the execution of numerical studies and experimental tests in basin (in cooperation with CNR-INSEAN) of ocean energy conversion plants; the execution of numerical studies and experimental tests in fluid bed gasifier for biomass gasification processes with Carbon Capture and Storage; the execution of numerical studies and experimental tests in stacks and a pilot plant (up to 1 kW) of high efficient conversion systems: fuel cells (SOFC, DMFC, PEMFC); the modeling of complex energy systems, with conventional and advanced renewable sources, in on- and off-grid environments; the energy and environmental territorial planning; the industrial processes and energy performance analysis using complex systems analysis tecniques and the analysis of performance dynamics in time; the application of Social Network Analysis techniques to sensor network; the analysis of the performance and the pollutant emissions of engines fuelled with straight vegetable oils and waste cooking oils; the development of synthetic models for turbomachinery design optimization; the computational thermo-fluid analysis of internal flows pertinent to turbomachinery and heat exchangers; the modeling of two-phase flows and prediction of erosion or/and deposit formation (in turbomachinery applications); the analysis, development and implementation of models for the finite element simulation of fluid-structure interaction phenomena in turbomachinery applications; the driving turbomachinery design to new solutions with in-house tailor-made numerical modelling (e.g. passive stall control in axial flow fans, virtual test rigs for ventilation systems); the applications of advanced LES, hybrid LES-RANS, URANS recipes to fluid dynamics and heat transfer problems (e.g. internal cooling of gas turbines, compressor aerodynamics); the cross-fertilization of flow solutions between different applications (e.g. stall control in axial fans with biomimicry-inspired leading edge). The educational objective of the "Machinery and Systems for the Energy and the Environment" sector is the training of a highly specialized professional, able to manage and conduct industrial R&D programmes, design technological innovation (processes and products) in the energy arena. As such the education focuses on competences and capabilities in the modelling, technologies and management of energy conversion systems and uses, and their environmental impacts and remedial strategies. The peculiar topics of the educational address "Energy Saving and Distributed Microgeneration" allow the student to develop the skills to propose innovative systems of power generation and distribution, based on the smart grid concept and on the small-size energy production systems distributed on the territory. In particular, will be developed: the modeling of production/consumption nodes of electric power, heat and cooling vectors, taking into account different configurations and types of power plants and model of cooperation between nodes; the identification of algorithms for self-organization of power grids with variable spatial and functional configuration in time; the proposal of communication and control protocols of distributed energy production, for a "real time" management of the energy demand, thus reducing the demand-supply gap. Examples related to these issues are: the evolution of production systems and energy consumption toward a logic of distribution and participation creating energy communities (cities, districts, small municipalities, small groups), in which it will be possible to develop a new awareness to the energy saving issues of a more consistent penetration of the production of energy from renewable sources; the participation of communities in international, national and local policy projects oriented to an efficient use of energy, by identifying short, medium and long term objectives and plans for the energy and environmental development at urban scale, also including the building systems and the sustainable mobility; the identification, design and implementation of pilot projects studying new and more efficient uses of energy and environmental resources in construction, urban planning, and sustainable mobility. The main objective of the educational address "Energy Saving and Distributed Microgeneration" is to form highly skilled personnel who, in the framework of the smart grid concept, is capable to design, realize and verify the structure, the management and the services of a distributed network of consumers and producers of electricity and thermal energy.

Exam - written

Giorno: 12/9/2018 Ora: 09:30 Aula: Aula Didattica del Dipartimento di Ingegneria Astronautica, Elettrica ed Energetica (DIAEE) - Area Fisica Tecnica - Primo Piano Indirizzo: via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Roma

Exam - Oral

Giorno: 20/9/2018 Ora: 09:30 Aula: Aula Didattica del Dipartimento di Ingegneria Astronautica, Elettrica ed Energetica (DIAEE) - Area Fisica Tecnica - Primo Piano Indirizzo: via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Roma

Committee

Membri effettivi

Prof. Fabio Giannetti - Sapienza Università di Roma
Prof. Fabrizio Cumo - Sapienza Università di Roma
Prof. Franco Rispoli - Sapienza Università di Roma
Prof. Giovanni Laneve - Sapienza Università di Roma
Prof. Massimo Coppi - Sapienza Università di Roma

Membri supplenti

Prof. Domenico Borello - Sapienza Università di Roma
Prof. Fabio Bisegna - Sapienza Università di Roma
Prof. Francesco Mancini - Sapienza Università di Roma
Prof.ssa Luisa Ferroni - Sapienza Università di Roma
Prof. Mauro Pontani - Sapienza Università di Roma

Department
Ingegneria astronautica, elettrica ed energetica
Phone contacts

+39 06/44585729, 06/49918644

Coordinator

Massimo Corcione (massimo.corcione@uniroma1.it)

Staff

Giuseppina Mazzapioda

School
Scienze e tecnologie per l’innovazione industriale
Ranking

© Sapienza Università di Roma - Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma - (+39) 06 49911 - CF 80209930587 PI 02133771002