Dr Trevor Pryor

Room: PhSc/2.041

Research

Simulation, analysis, monitoring and testing of Remote Area Power Supply Systems and components; Energy Management

Projects

Development of a Pyranometer Calibration Facility at MUERI

(In collaboration with Mr Nigel Wilmot)

This project will utilise the radiation measurement equipment at MUERI to develop a facility for the calibration of pyranometers at MUERI. The equipment involved will be an active cavity radiometer, pyrheliometers and pyranometers. The various methods of calibration detailed in the literature will be investigated and an operational system will be developed at MUERI. The work will involve developing an understanding of the principles of operation of the different devices, learning how to use the various devices and data acquisition equipment, putting together the calibration facility, characterising the accuracy of the final system developed at MUERI and developing on operating manual for the MUERI system. Depending on the time available the project may also begin characterising the spectral content of the solar radiation resource in Perth using a MUERI Spectroradiometer.

Options for Reducing the Energy Consumption of Refrigerators

(In collaboration with Mr Nigel Wilmot)

Refrigerators are one of the main energy consuming devices in the standard household. This project will investigate the performance of standard refrigerators at different ambient temperatures, using the constant temperature test facility at MUERI. The effect of parameters such as the frequency of door openings will be investigated. Experiments will need to be designed to test the effects of these parameters. A soft start device for refrigerator motors will be assessed and other options for reducing the energy consumption of the domestic refrigerator will be investigated. The effect of such soft start devices in terms of introducing harmonics on the power lines will also be investigated.

Further Validation of RAPSIM using Field Data

(In collaboration with )

RAPSIM is a simulation program developed at MUERI for calculating the performance of hybrid remote area power supply (RAPS) systems. These systems can derive their power from photovoltaic arrays, wind turbines, diesel generators or batteries. With such simulation programmes it is important that their predictions be compared with the performance of actual systems in the field. There is a growing database of results from RAPS systems and this project will seek to gather a significant amount of such data and compare the real results with those predicted by RAPSIM. Using such analyses the models within RAPSIM will be assessed and areas for improvement will be identified. The results using RAPSIM will also be compared with those from other programs such as Hybrid2.

Estimation of Load Profiles for RAPS Systems

(In collaboration with Mr Nigel Wilmot)

An important starting point for the design of any RAPS system is the determination of the electrical load profile that applies to the situation under consideration. This project seeks to develop procedures for producing realistic load profiles from a list of appliances and expected usage patterns for those appliances. It will involve both theoretical studies of appliance usage together with field monitoring to measure actual load profiles.

The Comparative Costs of Water Pumping by Solar, Wind and Diesel Pumps

The project will investigate the cost of water pumping in remote areas. In particular the use of solar pumps, traditional windmills, wind-electric pumps and diesel driven pumps will be addressed. Cost and performance data for a variety of systems and for a variety of head/flow situations will be obtained and life cycle analyses of the options developed. The overall objective is to define the areas on the head/flow diagram where the various systems are most economic. Some limited testing of solar pumps may be undertaken at MUERI or other available locations.

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