Full-time study

4 years

doc. Ing. Pavel Rudolf, Ph.D.

Chairman :
doc. Ing. Pavel Rudolf, Ph.D.
Councillor internal :
prof. Ing. Jan Jedelský, Ph.D.
doc. Ing. Zdeněk Jegla, Ph.D.
doc. Ing. Jaroslav Katolický, Ph.D.
prof. Ing. Jiří Pospíšil, Ph.D.
Councillor external :
Ing. Milan Kořista, Ph.D. (Siemens, o.z. Industrial Turbomachinery, Brno)

The aim of the doctoral study in the suggested programme is:
• Training of creative highly educated workers in the field of energy engineering and closely related engineering fields, who will be prepared to work in research and development in industrial companies, research institutes and organizations in our country and abroad.
• To enable the doctoral student to develop talent for creative activities and further development of a scientific or engineering personality. To ensure the development of his ability to process scientific knowledge in the field of study and related fields.
• Graduates will be able to do independent scientific work, especially in the field of applied but also basic research.
• The doctoral student is guided not only to gain knowledge in the field studied, but also to its further development.
• The focus of the study is primarily on basic and applied research in the following areas: design, development and operation of energy and fluid machines and equipment, combustion, environmental engineering, process engineering, fluid mechanics, thermomechanics.
• The graduate has a very good knowledge of field theory and modern approaches in the field of computational and experimental modeling.
• The graduate has skills and abilities in the field of publishing and sharing R&D results in Czech and especially English.

• The profile of the graduate corresponds to the current state of scientific knowledge in the field of energy engineering and allows him to further develop research in the field.
• The graduate is a creative personality capable of independent and team scientific work, has sufficient skills for the preparation, implementation and management of R&D projects.
• The graduate is able to transfer results between basic and applied research and collaborate in multidisciplinary international scientific teams.
• During the study, the doctoral student will gain broad knowledge and skills in the field of fluid flow, heat transfer, design and operation of energy machines, equipment and systems.
• It is assumed that graduates will find employment as R&D workers in academic research organizations or in research institutes and departments of applied research of industrial enterprises in the Czech Republic and abroad, in ordinary and senior positions.

The graduate of the doctoral study programme in Energy Engineering will be prepared for independent and team R&D work in the academic environment, research organizations or research departments of industrial companies in the field of energy, both domestic and foreign.
The graduate will have a comprehensive view of current challenges and problems in the field of energy and will be able to respond by analysing the issue, design of appropriate models or technical measures and equipment. Therefore, they will be a suitable candidate not only for positions in the field of R&D, but also in public administration, consulting companies or managerial positions of companies focusing on energy.

See applicable regulations, DEAN’S GUIDELINE Rules for the organization of studies at FME (supplement to BUT Study and Examination Rules)

The rules and conditions of study programmes are determined by:
BUT STUDY AND EXAMINATION RULES
BUT STUDY PROGRAMME STANDARDS,
STUDY AND EXAMINATION RULES of Brno University of Technology (USING "ECTS"),
DEAN’S GUIDELINE Rules for the organization of studies at FME (supplement to BUT Study and Examination Rules)
DEAN´S GUIDELINE Rules of Procedure of Doctoral Board of FME Study Programmes
Students in doctoral programmes do not follow the credit system. The grades “Passed” and “Failed” are used to grade examinations, doctoral state examination is graded “Passed” or “Failed”.

Brno University of Technology acknowledges the need for equal access to higher education. There is no direct or indirect discrimination during the admission procedure or the study period. Students with specific educational needs (learning disabilities, physical and sensory handicap, chronic somatic diseases, autism spectrum disorders, impaired communication abilities, mental illness) can find help and counselling at Lifelong Learning Institute of Brno University of Technology. This issue is dealt with in detail in Rector's Guideline No. 11/2017 "Applicants and Students with Specific Needs at BUT". Furthermore, in Rector's Guideline No 71/2017 "Accommodation and Social Scholarship“ students can find information on a system of social scholarships.

The newly proposed doctoral study programme in Energy Engineering is being created as a new one within the institutional accreditation of the field of education "Energy". It follows on from the bachelor's degree in the specializations of the bachelor's study programme in Energy and the subsequent master's degree programmes in Energy and Thermofluid Engineering and Process Engineering. It is an education combining solid theoretical foundations in applied mechanics, design of power machines, design and operation of power systems, knowledge and skills in computational and experimental modelling in the field of power engineering and applied fluid mechanics and thermomechanics.
In the case of applicants from other faculties or universities, it is necessary that they master the above-mentioned disciplines at the level taught in these programmes.

1. A computer model of a hydrogen filling station utilizing renewable energy

   One of the obstacles to the development of hydrogen mobility is the infrastructure for hydrogen refueling; particularly in remote, sparsely populated areas. In such areas, hydrogen refueling stations, producing hydrogen from renewable energy sources, can be installed as the sparsely populated areas provide suitable conditions for installation of renewable energy sources (solar PV, wind turbines, small hydro). Such hydrogen refueling stations can also function as the electric vehicle charging stations. For this purpose, they can be supplemented with battery storage and fuel cells for the conversion of hydrogen into electricity (depending on the available power supply and other requirements). The aim is to create a computer model of such a complex refueling station with the possibility of using the model for energy optimization of the entire technology used in the filling station.

   Tutor: Charvát Pavel, doc. Ing., Ph.D.

2. Development of a balloon burner

   The subject of the study is an atmospheric gas multi-jet burner used for balloon flying. These burners have been developing slowly for decades and the old and proven concept today does not meet the requirements for a comfortable flight. The problem areas are in particular: to reduce water condensate from the air on the fuel exchanger tubes, black flame burnout, poor air access, Radiant heat reduction, flame geometry requirements with respect to the application, Noise reduction These are a number of conflicting requirements that require a systematic approach and a sufficient understanding of the problem. The work will include a theoretical analysis and create a mathematical-physical model of processes, including experimental verification (description, system identification) and modeled first one burner segment), later or the entire burner. Experimental and mainly simulation methods will be used in the development. The doctoral student has a task - describe phenomenologically relevant phenomena, quantify relevant quantities (by measurement, calculation) - propose promising solutions with regard to efficiency and technical, economic, legislative and other constraints. The topic has full technical and material support, especially laboratory equipment, technology and material for experiments. Partial financial support of the student from the project is expected. The topic is related to one or more existing or submitted projects and is solved in cooperation with the company BALÓNY KUBÍCEK spol. s r.o. It is assumed that several months of internship abroad, participation in technical seminars and presentations at conferences.

   Tutor: Jedelský Jan, prof. Ing., Ph.D.

3. Development of advanced spray solutions for CO2 capture

   Separation and gas cleaning applications that are based on liquid sorbents rely on efficient mass transfer in gas-liquid contactors. Liquid atomization is frequent method of increasing the interfacial area in processes where mechanical, thermal or chemical interaction of the liquid with surrounding gas takes place. Several atomizer types (pressure-swirl and twin-fluid atomizers, multi-nozzle plate, or flat-jet arrays) have been proposed and installed in spray towers particularly for CO2 capture with absorption using alkanolamine solutions and aqueous ammonia. The maximization of the interfacial area is the universal primary requirement in gas–liquid absorptive mass transfer operations. For spray scrubbing, the atomizer should produce a uniform spray with drop diameters small enough to generate large interfacial area and at the same time large enough to prevent excessive entrainment. The available literature does not answer what spraying methods suits these aspects best. Several strategies will be studied for uniform film/droplets production and mass transfer enhancement between gas and liquid phases. The main target will be reduction of the spray polydispersisty with selection of the most competitive atomization technique and its further development in line with modification of liquid rheology (non-Newtonian liquids, organic additives). Enhancement of the turbulent mixing process via external field force (ultrasonic irradiation induction, vortex flow in the spray tower) are additional options. Sensitivity of the CO2 capture process to the above aspects will be studied. The topic has full technical and material support, especially laboratory equipment, technology and material for experiments. Partial financial support of the student from the project is expected. The topic is related to an existing or submitted project. The possibility of several months of internship abroad, participation in technical seminars and presentations at conferences is expected.

   Tutor: Jedelský Jan, prof. Ing., Ph.D.

4. Fuel nozzles of small turbine engines

   Fuel systems of small turbine engines use various methods of fuel supply to the combustion chamber, so there are different fuel nozzle designs, such as pressure swirl nozzles (simplex / duplex), evaporator tubes, spraying rings or airblast nozzles. Fuel nozzles are a very important part of the whole system, their proper function is a must to ensure sufficient engine efficiency and the fuel nozzle requirements are very high. The fuel system must deliver the exact and actually needed fuel amount to the combustion chamber. It is important to ensure good atomization and evaporation of the fuel and its mixing with the air in the entire speed range (engine control range) and especially at start-up. The work aims to classify the fuel nozzles used in turbine engines with a maximum thrust of up to 5000 N (or take-off power up to 600 kW) and to focus on a detailed description of the evaporator system and its modifications. The main subject of the work is the development and testing of the existing evaporator nozzle. The doctoral student will prepare a test stand for nozzle operation, equip it with the necessary sensors and will examine the characteristics of these systems in a given range of operating conditions (eg temperature mapping, determining the control range), assess their suitability for specific purposes and further develop the system with a focus on its problematic aspects. The tasks include: technical research and analysis of published technical solutions, their systematic comparison, evaluation of advantages and disadvantages, range of control parameters and energy requirements, description of design solutions and individual parts, analysis and physical description of their function, design and preparation of test stand for nozzle operation , functional analysis and approximate calculation of energy (heat) balance of the evaporator nozzle The topic has full technical and material support, especially laboratory equipment, technology and material for experiments. Partial financial support of the student from the project is expected. The topic is related to an existing or submitted project. The possibility of a several-month internship abroad, participation in technical seminars and presentations at conferences is expected. The work will be solved within the project and in cooperation with the company PBS Velká Bíteš. The practical part of the work will be carried out in PBS testing laboratories and in BUT laboratories.

   Tutor: Jedelský Jan, prof. Ing., Ph.D.

5. Preparation and combustion of liquid fuels in the combustion chambers of turbine engines

   The energy requirements of aircraft propulsion will for a long time require high-energy-density resources, ie especially turbine propulsion. The growing demands on the ecology, economics of operation and performance parameters require the continuous development of these devices, better understanding and advanced control of the processes that affect their function. At the workplace, we have long been engaged in research and development of nozzles for spraying aviation fuels into the combustion chambers of turbine engines. After solving the design of the nozzles themselves and the mechanical interaction of the spray with the surrounding gas, it is necessary to deal with other phases of the process, ie fuel evaporation and combustion, including modern trends in turbo engines. The current ambition is to create a workplace that will enable this research and development of advanced jet engines. The doctoral student will solve the preparation of the test equipment, perform experiments on it using modern optical diagnostics and in combination with CFD simulations will contribute to a better understanding of relevant processes. The topic has full technical and material support, especially laboratory equipment, technology and material for experiments. Partial financial support of the student from the project is expected. The topic is related to one or more existing or submitted projects and is addressed in cooperation with PBS Velká Bíteš. The possibility of a several-month internship abroad, participation in technical seminars and presentations at conferences is expected.

   Tutor: Jedelský Jan, prof. Ing., Ph.D.