PhD Studentship: Concentrating Solar Mirror for High Temperature Solar Power

Project title: Concentrating solar mirror for high temperature solar power  

Supervisory Team: Gerald Muller

Project description

Solar power is a major component of the drive towards a CO₂ free power generation. Today, photovoltaics are probably the most important technology in this field. Solarthermal power has comparatively high costs, due to the complexity of the installations,

Parabolic mirrors or “solar dishes” have been built to concentrate solar energy into the focal point of the mirror here, a Stirling engine generates electric power from the heat. This technology is fairly well developed. It does however have several disadvantages: the Stirling engine has to move with the mirror, which makes the installation complex. Heat storage is not possible because the engine must move with the mirror. And, every solar dish must have its own engine, which increases the costs.

In Southampton, we developed a variation of the solar dish whereby the light is collimated by a second, smaller mirror, and transmitted through a central hole in the main mirror. Here, the light beam is diverted by a plane mirror towards a receiver. Initial tests shows the validity of the concept.

In this 3.5 year fully-funded PhD project, you will develop the concentrating mirror system further, Tests will be conducted using laser beams and sunlight to determine the actual performance. Power transmission via a light beam will be assessed. Computer simulations and experiments will be conducted to develop a receiver / storage unit which is currently assumed to be a “black body” type arrangement. The power generation with a central Stirling engine will be analysed. The project will result in a novel high temperature concentrating solar power system with a sun-to-wire efficiency significantly higher than that of a PV installation.

We are looking for a driven applicant with a strong Bachelors and/or Masters degree in Physics or Engineering, and expertise and interest in thermodynamics and in renewable energy, and who is also motivated to widen their knowledge to understand the complex renewable energy system development which involves theory as well as components design and testing.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Gerald Muller, Water and Environmental Engineering Research Group, Email: g.muller@soton.ac.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 2465.

Entry Requirements

A very good undergraduate degree (at least a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent).

Closing date: applications should be received no later than 01 August 2023 for standard admissions, but later applications may be considered depending on the funds remaining in place.

Funding: For UK students, Tuition Fees and a stipend of £17,668 tax-free per annum for up to 3.5 years.

How To Apply

Apply online: Search for a Postgraduate Programme of Study (soton.ac.uk). Select programme type (Research), 2023/24, Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, next page select “PhD Engineering & Environment (Full time)”. In Section 2 of the application form you should insert the name of the supervisor Gerald Muller

Applications should include:

• Research Proposal
• Curriculum Vitae
• Two reference letters
• Degree Transcripts/Certificates to date

For further information please contact: feps-pgr-apply@soton.ac.uk

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