Thermal Engineering

Description

The doctoral programme in Thermal Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) has been taught since academic year 1989-1990 due to the initiative of a group of lecturers from the Department of Heat Engines at the UPC. Their aim was to propose quality third-cycle studies, focused on deepening knowledge of basic and applied subjects that would serve as scientific and technical support in research tasks in the field of thermal mechanical engineering. See www.cttc.upc.edu http://mmt.upc.edu/?set_language=es

The goal of the programme is to provide basic training in subjects that constitute the scientific and technical support for research, development and innovation in the field of thermal mechanical engineering. The aim is also to provide operational scientific principles that enable correct resolution and a rational basis for design and construction problems in equipment for the generation, transfer and/or recovery of thermal energy from any source of industrial application. The core of knowledge is formed by thermodynamic concepts and the creation of models of heat transfer and mass phenomena.

Doctoral students gain solid training in basic subjects focused on mathematical formulation, numerical resolution and experimental validation of basic phenomena of fluid dynamics and heat and mass transfer. Subjects include: natural and forced convection, turbulence modelling, combustion, two-phase gas-liquid flow, solid-liquid phase change, radiation, porous media, flow dynamics, heat transfer and computational mass (CFD and HT), and high-performance computing (parallelisation).

In addition, doctoral students are encouraged to apply these subjects to some of the social and/or industrial fields in which their development is influenced by a command of the above phenomenologies and methodologies. That is:

I. Cooling (cooling systems using vapour compression, hermetic compressors, absorption cooling systems, etc.)
II. HVAC (ventilation, heating, air conditioning, pollutant diffusion in buildings and clean rooms, etc.)
III. Active and passive solar systems (high-efficiency flat solar collectors using transparent, insulating materials, façades of glazed buildings and with ventilation channels like curtain walls, high-temperature solar ovens, etc.)
IV. Heat exchangers (double pipe, casing and pipes, evaporators, condensers, compact, cooling towers, boilers, etc.)
V. Thermal energy storage systems (for sensitive and/or latent heat using phase-change materials, etc.)
VI. Wind generators
VII. etc.

There is feedback between the teaching activities, basic and applied research activities, and technology transfer that doctoral students could be involved in during the programme.