Farouk Fardoun

Comparative Review Study on Elastic Properties Modeling for Unidirectional Composite Materials

© 2012 Younes et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Comparative Review Study on Elastic Properties Modeling for Unidirectional Composite Materials

Optimization of design parameters of a net zero energy home

A simple model for a detached house in Beirut is optimized using a building energy simulation program to minimize two objective functions: the annual thermal demand; and the difference between the total electrical load and the on-site electricity generated from the renewable energy system. The optimization variables are: insulation thickness of external walls and roof, thickness of roof reinforced concrete, size of windows on each façade, number of solar collectors of the domestic hot water system (SDHW), SDHW circulating pump flow rate, and number of panels of the Photovoltaic system (PV). The main optimization constraint adopted is the thermal comfort criterion. Results of the optimization shows that the exclusion of cost parameter may lead to unfeasible solutions even if the net zero balance is theoretically achieved.

Multi-objective decision making optimization of a residential net zero energy building in cold climate

The challenge in Zero energy building (ZEB) design is to find the best combination of design strategies that would face the energy performance problems of a particular building. This paper outlines the methodology and the cost-effectiveness potential for optimizing the design of net-zero energy building (NZEB) in a cold climate region in Lebanon; Cedars. Specifically, the non-sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is chosen in order to minimize thermal, electrical demands and life cycle cost (LCC) while reaching the net zero energy balance; and thus getting the Pareto-front. A ranking decision making technique (ELECTRE III) is applied to the Pareto-front so as to obtain one optimal solution. A wide range of energy efficiency measures are investigated, besides solar energy systems are employed to produce required electricity and hot water for domestic purposes. The results clearly indicate that, for designing a residential NZEB in cold climate, it is essential to minimize the space thermal load through a building envelope with high thermal performance. Envelop high level of insulation is an essential step to decrease the high heating demand. Building thermal loads are decreased by 33.19%. Moreover the LCC is decreased by 31.09%.

Heat pump designing and optimization tool

Heat pump systems can be found in high number of applications. These systems utilization include food preservation, heat removal from industrial processes such as chemical production, and numerous other special applications in the construction and manufacturing industries. Heat pump systems typically consist of many different components; each component may be produced by a different manufacturer. The operational data provided by the different manufacturers for each component is used by system designers to specify installation and operational procedures of the system. Often times, the optimum control of an individual piece of equipment results in sub-optimal system performance due to unforeseen interactions between the different system components. It is important to identify and monitor key parameters of the system, such as power consumption and refrigeration effect, in order to optimize the performance.

Different mathematical models of convection during phase change

The aim of this paper is to comprehensively study the mathematical modeling applied for phase change taking into consideration the convection in liquid state during melting. Different methods used to model the phase change with convective motion of liquid phase are discussed. First, models based on CFD (computational fluid dynamics) are presented; the solution of Navier-Stokes equations determines the effect of convection in a Newtonian fluid. Secondly, simplified methods are presented, where the convection in the liquid phase change material (PCM) is modeled without the need of the full solution of Navier-Stokes equations. It is clear that the methods based on CFD models are more accurate and express the realistic behavior of the convection effect; however their computational time is very long compared to simplified one.

Energy performance evaluation of geothermal boreholes

This paper presents the modeling of a geothermal heat pump system (GHP) with vertical borehole heat exchangers (BHE). It has been developed to study the feasibility of applying this system to cooling and heating buildings in Beirut using 3E evaluation criteria: energy, economy, and environment using TRNSYS simulation software. All model components are designed, two sizing methods are used for the pre-design of borehole heat exchangers, in which five cases are studied to select the proper BHE design, based on the evaluation of coefficient of performance, energy consumption, and the change in ground temperature. Simulation results achieve high efficiency of the modeled system; however, they point to a significant increase in the ground temperature. The feasibility analysis demonstrates that GHP system is economically and environmentally feasible compared to conventional air cooled heat pump system (AHP). In addition, the study of the effects of several design parameters of BHE on the performance of the GHP modeled system confirms that the length of BHE is the most critical design parameter, but the borehole separation spacing, the thermal conductivity of grout, and the borehole diameter also have an effect on the energy efficiency of the system. The findings obtained from this work assert on well-designed studies for any application of a GHP system in Beirut, taking into consideration effective solutions to reduce the increase in ground temperature.

Energy and environmental evaluation of solid oxide fuel cell system for tri-generation in residential applications

This study presents an evaluation of a solid oxide fuel system modeled with its energy balance of plant components in order to recover its exhaust waste heat and develop a combined cooling, heating, and power system. A hydrogen-fueled SOFC is modeled in MATLAB and a 3D drawn building are imported into TRNSYS where system performances are assessed. An optimization approach is employed to find the best system sizing. Energetic and environmental assessments shows better performance as the system size increases which suggests the necessity of an economic study application.