Version 2 Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras PhD Project Template Use one form per project Please complete & submit to international@nuigalway.ie as soon as possible, and by 27/11/2012 In your email, begin the subject line with [SWB] (be sure to use square brackets) to ensure that your email is filed correctly. Emails will be automatically filed PI name & contact details: Dr Rory Monaghan School: Energy Systems Engineering Has project been agreed with head (or nominee) of proposed registration school? n/a Research Centre / group affiliation: Member of: Informatics Research Unit for Sustainable Energy (IRUSE) Combustion Chemistry Centre (C3) Research group / centre http://www.nuigalway.ie/iruse/ website: http://c3.nuigalway.ie/ PI website / link to CV: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=10194626&trk=tab_pro http://c3.nuigalway.ie/staff/rory_monaghan.html Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max): Advanced numerical techniques (CFD & reduced-order modelling) for thermo-fluid energy applications Analysis & modelling of sustainable energy pathways & technology options Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web): Smarter Building Energy: generating reduced-order models from CFD simulations for fast, efficient, flexible and accurate simulations of building energy use Over 40% of global energy use is consumed in the heating, cooling and lighting of buildings. In an era of high energy prices, import dependency, scarce resources and environmental concern, improving the energy efficiency of buildings represents an enormous opportunity to address some of the most pressing issues facing society. Computational modelling is an essential technique for reducing energy use in buildings through improved original design and better understanding of energy use throughout a building's lifetime. In order to be sufficiently accurate, these models, which include computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques, can be highly computationally expensive and require impractical amounts of end-user expertise and time. Reduced-order models (ROMs), which are fast and easy to use, represent an entirely different approach to building energy modelling, but are frequently of such a simplified nature that they are only applicable to specific circumstances under which their governing assumptions are valid. This project proposes to adapt techniques developed in the field of combustion modelling to combine the CFD and ROM approaches into a single method, which benefits from the advantages of both. The CFD-ROM method involves the following steps: (1) CFD simulation of the building zone or Version 2 Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras room in question, (2) application of a set of criteria to the CFD simulation from which is automatically extracted a ROM, (3) use of the ROM to rapidly model energy use for a wide range of conditions. From a single CFD simulation, a ROM can be generated and used for modelling hundreds of different sets of conditions. This method has been developed and used successfully by the applicant and industrial collaborators in the field of combustion modelling. Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway: Work with IRUSE, an internationally-renowned energy modelling and informatics research group Work as part of the Ryan Institute for environment, marine & energy research, one of the largest interdisciplinary groups in this field in Europe Very strong and active research links to industry in this technology area, e.g. United Technologies Research Centre, Intel, Cylon Controls, and to global academia, e.g. Georgia Tech, Politecnico di MIlano Work will be performed in NUI Galway’s Engineering Building, the largest engineering education facility in Ireland Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above: Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply: Mechanical Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area: Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only one (tick box): Engineering and other technological areas Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)/Physical Sciences (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences) Health and Biomedical Sciences / Clinical, Pré-clinical and Health Sciences Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing Aerospace Pharmaceuticals Sustainable Agricultural Production Oil, Gas and Coal Renewable Energy X Minerals, Minerals Technology Biotechnology Nanotechnology and New Materials Technologies for Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters Bioprospecting and Biodiversity Marine Sciences Creative Industry New technologies in constructive engineering Version 2 Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders arrangements): Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): Y Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): N Suitable for either/Don’t know: N