CFD analysis of an air-based waste heat recovery solution for telecommunication base stations
Given the increasing deployment and thereby higher energy use of 5G mobile networks in Sweden, the objective of this master thesis project is to numerically investigate a novel heat pump-based waste heat recovery solution integrated with the electronics cabinet of the rooftop telecommunication base stations (BTSs).
Objective
The original thermal design of the electronic cabinet was dedicated to cooling the baseband unit (BBU) and other electronic devices. When renovating the design to fulfill the demands of both electronics cooling and heating supply at a desired temperature level, CFD analyses are needed to characterize the air circulation behavior and temperature profiles inside the cabinet. Students who carry out this master thesis project will perform CFD simulation and other relative heat transfer analyses on this novel waste heat recovery solution.
Background
Waste heat recovery from rooftop telecommunication base stations is a new concept whose existing literature and real applications are still rare. In order to recover the waste heat and use it for domestic heating, there is a need to redesign the heat exchanger or to implement a heat pump unit to lift the temperature of the waste heat up to a level required by heat supply systems in adjacent buildings. Techno-economic analyses of the integrated heating systems are also needed to deliver cost-effective renovations for the waste heat recovery. Led by Associate Professor Hatef Madani, a Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) funded research project has been carried out at the Division of Applied Thermodynamics to develop cost-effective heat recovery solutions integrated between telecommunication base stations and hydronic heating systems in buildings.
Associated with the research project, this master thesis project aims to conduct CFD analyses to reach an optimized thermal design of the heat recovery system mainly comprising of an air-to-water heat pump. A preliminary CFD model which has been already developed for the project will be provided to the students. The student will participate ongoing collaboration with AIT Austrian Institute of Technology on the CFD analyses and possibly a joint scientific paper with promising results.
Learning objectives
After the thesis has been performed the student should be able to:
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Develop a CFD model to simulate heat transfer in a telecommunication base station’s cabinet where cooling of electronics and recovery of waste heat occur at the same time
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Validate convective heat transfer models by experimental data
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Understand and apply measures used in thermal management systems to reduce backflow air mixing and to improve cooling efficiency
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Perform heat transfer analyses on thermal management and heat pump systems
Duration
Spring Semester 2025
How to apply
Contact persons listed below
Supervisor
Examiner
