Computer simulation is a vital tool in innovation

Computer simulation technology has a vital role not only in helping us secure energy supplies, but also in reducing carbon emissions from homes and industry, says Stephen Chadwick.

Security of global energy supplies is problematic geographically, politically, economically and environmentally. Also, energy is wasted in all areas of commercial and private life – the UK, having once led the world in energy efficiency, recently slipped five places on a global index created by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, mainly because of industrial inefficiency (see bit.ly/UKEnergyEfficiency).

Making energy more efficiently and wasting less of it is of paramount importance to humanity’s wellbeing, but it is also a political tool. Many governments are under pressure to achieve independence from foreign energy supplies while attempting to comply with the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions.

The race for secure energy supplies is on; and it must be won – for a range of reasons.

In the past, energy transitions have always moved towards a higher density of energy: from animal power to coal in the 19th century, then to oil by 1910, followed by the large-scale growth of electricity and the introduction of nuclear power throughout the 20th century.

Currently some energy transitions are to a lower resource density, such as renewables, implying a greater cost of production.

Even oil can be considered decreasingly dense in energy because it requires increasing amounts energy to produce it. In the extreme case of corn-based biofuel as much as 90 per cent of the produced resource – in terms of energy – is spent in its production.

Fossil fuels, however, still dominate energy supply and they are expected to represent 75 per cent of global energy production in coming decades, down from their current 80 per cent. This is because fossil fuel remains the easiest resource to provide. The global population is heading towards 9 billion and needs ever more goods and services and the energy to provide them.

Currently, each person in the world produces an average of five tonnes of carbon emissions every year. And yet, in some countries, children resort to reading their schoolbooks at night using streetlights because they have no power at home.

Technology is racing to produce more from less, cut costs and waste and find new ways to produce and consume energy more efficiently. My company works with innovators in all industries across the world in every area of generation and consumption to bring solutions to fruition.

The need for speed

In every country, companies and planners must innovate faster to meet or beat the inevitable growth in energy demand and to balance that against carbon emissions.

A 10 per cent rise in energy demand is expected every decade and it is agreed that it can only be supplied by increasing efficiency of both production and consumption. The use of advanced simulation and visualisation technologies will become increasingly important. Whether you’re optimising planning for a whole city’s energy consumption, creating a product with less energy and that uses less energy, or building and operating a nuclear power plant, a carbon capture scheme, a mine or an oil rig, they can be modelled, visualised and simulated in 3D.

This allows all stakeholders and interest groups to better understand the often-complex concepts involved, and their implications. With this highly visual information they can then formulate better decisions about the available options.

Re-imagining the domestic boiler

According to the International Energy Agency, more efficient production and use of energy in buildings would be the single largest and most cost-effective contributor to cuts in carbon emissions. Buildings, it says, use 40 per cent of the world’s primary energy.

In the drive to make buildings more efficient, the idea of energy-positive houses – which produce more energy than they use by coupling effective insulation with more energy generation than consumption – is becoming increasingly popular.

3D simulations are essential in planning and predicting this positive energy balance. For instance, a UK firm developing a fuel cell-based combined heat and power generator has used 3D simulation to take the guesswork out of its innovation and the impact it could have on domestic energy efficiency.

The fuel cell relies on a careful balance of component materials, operating temperatures and fuel type to generate electricity from a chemical reaction. Using 3D simulation, the firm was able to experience the interaction of components and trial different operation scenarios, and to develop training for maintenance technicians and engineers who might work on the end product. It can now ensure that every physical prototype has predictable performance.

We believe that this highly efficient, price-competitive technology will make a strong contribution to lowering the carbon footprint of buildings in the future.

Deep ocean to sky high savings

But simulation is not just about supporting energy-efficient product innovation.

Coal and oil companies can use technologies like ours to model and optimise their equipment, improve operational efficiency, and maximise their use of reserves.

One major company is planning to process oil 4,000m below sea level to save the expense and engineering waste of bringing material other than oil to the surface.

Coal and other mineral mines can be digitally modelled in 3D with great accuracy to achieve extraction at the lowest possible cost. And in the renewables sector, wave, wind and PV systems are also being optimised and refined to help them operate at maximum efficiency.

Using multi-physics 3D in a collaborative manner – involving anyone from engineers to consumers – is helping people understand their products and how they fit into nature and life.

This accelerates innovation by letting people to share their knowledge and experience so they can build up a broad but detailed picture that presents the best routes to a viable energy future for mankind.

Stephen Chadwick, managing director, EuroNorth at Dassault Systemes