Theme Title

Advanced Building Integrated Solar Renewable Technologies

Theme Description
Energy use in buildings represents 40% of the total primary energy used in the EU. The
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) requires Member States to set minimum
energy performance requirements for buildings, taking into account the positive contribution
of renewable energy sources. Therefore developing building integrated renewable energy
technologies that offer effective energy alternatives is vital.
The proposed project should focus on the development of concept technologies and
processes that involve solar thermal, PV and or hybrid PV/Thermal systems. These should
address the areas of building integration, cost effectiveness, performance and application.
The functionality of the systems should not be confined to energy generation (heat,
electricity) but they should have the potential to contribute to other building needs such as
daylighting, thermal insulation, energy efficiency, storage and aesthetics.
The nature of the proposed project should be applied and have a relevance to current
building sector challenges. The project should encompass one or more of the following
activities:

design and fabrication of prototypes

experimental characterisation of prototypes
real time monitoring and evaluation
theoretical and/or computational modelling
Techno/economic/socio-analysis (Life Cycle Analysis etc.)

It is envisaged that the majority of work will be conducted at the Centre for Sustainable
Technologies but were appropriate and applicable evaluation may be conducted in other
European research centres through existing collaboration links.
Outline of the Research Environment in which this theme will take place e.g. facilities,
equipment etc
The project will be based at the Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST), University of
Ulster. Equipment, facilities and materials for prototype fabrication are all available in-house.
Consumables will be covered from existing consultancy funds owned by the supervisors.
Indoor experimentation will be carried out under the CST solar simulator facility. Outdoor
experimentation will be carried out in CST. For outdoor testing in heat dominated climates
established PhD Erasmus collaborations with the Universities or Patras (Greece), Napoli
(Italy), Limassol (Cyprus) and Lleida (Spain) can be utilised. Computer modelling will be
carried out using existing software tools.

http://beri.ulster.ac.uk/

Theme Title

Advanced Smart Glazing Systems

Theme Description
Advanced glazing and facade systems will form part of a mix of key building fabric
technologies for the delivery of new zero carbon buildings and the retrofitting of existing
buildings to meet current and future energy standards and carbon emission targets. The
Centre for Sustainable Technologies welcomes PhD projects that fall within this theme.
Windows are now seen as a critical building fabric element for controlling the energy
performance of the building. Thus there is a need to develop window technologies which act
as smart multifunction glazing components, that bring together the properties of excellent
thermal insulation, light control, and potentially energy harvesting. Potential solutions may
include the use of vacuum technology for insulation, renewables for energy harvesting and
novel materials or coatings for light control. The proposed solutions should have
applications in a range of climates and be applicable for both new and existing buildings
including those where the architectural merit of the building must be maintained. Areas such
as weight reduction, ease of installation and integration (particularly for building retrofitting),
and light transmission while meeting the building standards and conservation considerations
for heritage buildings are essential considerations for new products and systems.
Outline of the Research Environment in which this theme will take place e.g. facilities,
equipment etc
It is anticipated that the research would require a combination of laboratory experimental
development and characterisation work, field trialling in test sites and desk based work for
computer modelling. The facilities and equipment which would be used would include a
range of ultrasonic cleaning and soldering equipment, vacuum ovens and furnaces, test
equipment for thermal and optical characterisation such as a guarded hotbox calorimeter,
heat flow meter, thermal manikin, solar simulator, infrared thermography and stress analysis
equipment. In house computer models and proprietary software will be used for system
design and simulation. Other facilities will include the use of onsite terraced test houses for
field trialling.

http://beri.ulster.ac.uk/

Theme Title

An Investigation into the Management Impacts of the Second Stage of

the Restricted Procedure in Relation to Different Organisation Sizes

Theme Description
Recently the European Union has carried out a consultation into the impact of its
procurement strategy on small to medium sized organisations (SMEs). This project will
investigate the impact of procurement strategy on all sizes of organisations in at least two
European Union (EU) countries. The second stage of the most commonly used restricted
procedure stipulated in European Union Directive which will be transposed into UK law
through revised Public Procurement Regulations 2015 will be examined in depth and a
model produced to assist SMEs in procurement management.
Outline of the Research Environment in which this theme will take place e.g. facilities,
equipment etc
The proposed research would require office-based facilities for literature searching and
Microsoft Office based applications to produce the model. It is expected that the empirical
data will be gathered through on-line questionnaires and Delphi Groups.

http://beri.ulster.ac.uk/
Theme Title
Compact Thermal Energy Storage

Theme Description
Renewable and alternative energy sources are non-dispatchable energy sources, which are
they are usually dependent upon natural cycles and climatic events to convert energy.
Society requires dispatchable energy and hence why fossil fuels are so convenient.
Renewable energy generation is limited by current energy storage systems. If we are to fully
develop the economic potential of renewable energy we need energy storage technologies,
covering both electrical and thermal energy. Research activities in energy storage should
ultimately promote local energy production and reduce dependence on imported energy
while stimulating local employment such as in rural areas.
The Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST) has expertise in the areas of thermal energy
storage and energy markets. Thermochemical energy storage has been in the limelight of
the international compact thermal energy storage community. It is also developing expertise
in the area of chemical energy storage. Externally funded projects that are currently
undertaken by CST include:

Einstein energy storage linked to district heating and heat pumps,

MERITS thermochemical seasonal energy storage,

SPIRE storage and renewable energy.

Academics in the energy storage area have expertise in the following:

market modelling,
energy modelling,
chemical engineering and sorption technologies,
thermal energy storage experimentation.
We welcome PhD proposals in these areas.

http://beri.ulster.ac.uk/
Theme Title
High Temperature Vapour Compression Heat Pumps & Energy
Storage
Theme Description
This research addresses the need to decarbonise waste heat recovery in industry. Thus the
theme will address the development of vapour compression heat pumps with the ability to
deliver heat up to 200C for industrial processes utilising waste heat sources at <100C.
Thus the choice of working fluids and equipment (compressors, heat exchangers, expansion
devices) is crucial to the success of this project. In addition, the heat may need to be stored
for later use to meet demand side management/response considerations. Therefore storage
options for high temperature applications need to be researched. Issues including cost,
materials compatibility, rates of heat transfer and energy density will require investigation.
Outline of the Research Environment in which this project will take place e.g.
facilities, equipment etc
The Centre for Sustainable Technologies has dedicated heat pump research laboratories
including appropriate instrumentation and facilities to address the needs of high temperature
heat pump development and energy storage materials assessment including a differential
scanning calorimeter to measure enthalpy changes. You will be joining a team of
researchers addressing the needs of the RCUK i-STUTE project in which Ulsters role is the
development of heat pumps and energy storage for demand side management across
domestic and industrial applications.

http://beri.ulster.ac.uk/