An Investigation into the Options for Increasing the Extent of Energy Efficiency Knowledge and Skills in Engineering Education

Society is increasingly calling for professionals across government, industry, business and civil society to be able to problem-solve issues related to climate change and sustainable development as part of their work. In particular there is an emerging realisation of the fundamental need to swiftly reduce the growing demand for energy across society, and to then meet the demand with low emissions options. A key ingredient to addressing such issues is equipping professionals with emerging knowledge and skills to address energy challenges in all aspects of their work. The Council of Australian Governments has recognised this need, signing the National Partnership Agreement on Energy Efficiency in July 2009, which included a commitment to assist business and industry obtain the knowledge, skills and capacity to pursue cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities.2 Engineering will play a critical part among the professions, with Engineers Australia acknowledging that, ‘The need to make changes in the way energy is used and supplied throughout the world represents the greatest challenge to engineers in moving toward sustainability.’

Energy Efficiency Resources for Undergraduate Engineering Education: Final Report

This report presents the findings of an investigation of energy efficiency resources for undergraduate engineering education, undertaken by web-based research, conversations with educators, and a university survey. The investigation draws on the results of a number of previous investigations undertaken by the research team for NFEE related to energy efficiency education and presents the following findings and recommendations, as explained in greater detail in the body of the report. The findings suggest that even though certain EE concepts and principles have been identified by lecturers as being important there is little to no coverage of a number of these concepts in some programs/courses. Similarly, many topics relating to the most important EE workforce skills and significant shortages as identified in industry research, do not rate highly in terms of both perceived importance by lecturers, or coverage within existing courses. Overall, these findings suggest that despite growing awareness of the importance of EE in both industry and academia, the current depth and breadth of EE content in courses does not reflect this. It confirms that efforts in these areas can be better supported.

Energy Efficiency Graduate Attributes Project: Final Report

The Energy Efficiency (EE) Graduate Attributes Project focuses on engineering as a priority profession that has a significant role to play in addressing energy demand and supply issues in Australia. Specifically, this project aims to support embedding EE knowledge and skills throughout the engineering undergraduate curriculum, to help build capacity within the Australian workforce across major sectors of the economy, from mining, manufacturing and industrial applications to design, construction, maintenance and retrofitting built environments. The resultant report is intended to assist in future consultation with key groups such as Engineers Australia (EA), the Australian Council of Engineering Deans (ACED) and the eight EA colleges, to support systemic curriculum renewal and promote the design and development of high quality EE engineering education resources. The project is based on a whole-of-program outcomes-based approach to curriculum renewal, creating a transparent framework for integrating EE. This comprises collaborative consideration by academics and professional engineers who have experience in teaching and practising EE, to identify what students should learn to be equipped with relevant competencies by the time they graduate.

Microalgal growth characteristics and subsequent influence on dewatering efficiency

Dewatering of microalgal culture is a major bottleneck towards the industrial-scale processing of microalgae for bio-diesel production. The dilute nature of harvested microalgal cultures poses a huge operation cost to dewater; thereby rendering microalgae-based fuels less economically attractive. This study explores the influence of microalgal growth phases and intercellular interactions during cultivation on dewatering efficiency of microalgae cultures. Experimental results show that microalgal cultures harvested during a low growth rate phase (LGRP) of 0.03 d-1 allowed a higher rate of settling than those harvested during a high growth rate phase (HGRP) of 0.11 d-1, even though the latter displayed a higher average differential biomass concentration of 0.2 g L-1 d-1. Zeta potential profile during the cultivation process showed a maximum electronegative value of -43.2 ± 0.7 mV during the HGRP which declined to stabilization at -34.5 ± 0.4 mV in the LGRP. The lower settling rate observed for HGRP microalgae is hence attributed to the high stability of the microalgal cells which electrostatically repel each other during this growth phase. Tangential flow filtration of 20 L HGRP culture concentrated 23 times by consuming 0.51 kWh/m3 of supernatant removed whilst 0.38 kWh/m3 was consumed to concentrate 20 L of LGRP by 48 times.

Plasmonic effect of annealed gold islands for improving efficiency of organic solar cells

Embedding metallic nanoparticles in organic solar cells can enhance the photoabsorption through light trapping processes. This paper investigates how gold islands obtained by annealing 1–5 nm thick Au layers affect the photoabsorption. Using finite-difference time-domain simulations, the cell efficiency for various island geometries and thicknesses are analyzed and the properties of the islands for maximal photocurrent are discussed. It is shown that a careful choice of size and concentration of gold islands could contribute to enhance the power conversion efficiencies when compared to standard organic solar cell devices. The conclusions are then compared to experimental data for thermally annealed gold islands in bulk heterojunction solar cells. The results of this paper will contribute to the optimization of plasmonic organic solar cell systems and will pave the way for the development of highly efficient organic solar cell devices.

Non-market use and non-use values for preserving ecosystem services over time : a choice experiment application to coral reef ecosystems in New Caledonia

Non-use values (i.e. economic values assigned by individuals to ecosystem goods and services unrelated to current or future uses) provide one of the most compelling incentives for the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. Assessing the non-use values of non-users is relatively straightforward using stated preference methods, but the standard approaches for estimating non-use values of users (stated decomposition) have substantial shortcomings which undermine the robustness of their results. In this paper, we propose a pragmatic interpretation of non-use values to derive estimates that capture their main dimensions, based on the identification of a willingness to pay for ecosystem protection beyond one's expected life. We empirically test our approach using a choice experiment conducted on coral reef ecosystem protection in two coastal areas in New Caledonia with different institutional, cultural, environmental and socio-economic contexts. We compute individual willingness to pay estimates, and derive individual non-use value estimates using our interpretation. We find that, a minima, estimates of non-use values may comprise between 25 and 40% of the mean willingness to pay for ecosystem preservation, less than has been found in most studies.

The competitive market for assurance engagements on greenhouse gas statements : is there a role for assurers from the accounting profession?

In response to current and increasing demand for assurance on greenhouse gas statements, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) released an exposure draft of a new assurance standard, ISAE 3410 'Assurance on a Greenhouse Gas Statement' (IFAC 2011), to provide comprehensive guidance on these types of greenhouse gas (GHG) assurance engagements. Internationally, approximately 50 percent of GHG statements are independently assured. The related assurance market is competitive, with the accounting profession and those outside the profession currently holding approximately equal shares. This paper highlights the characteristics of GHG assurance engagements that warrant multi-disciplinary teamwork, the unique and interdependent skill-sets that different practitioners bring to these engagements, and the market forces that create a demand for diverse providers.

Market segmentation : insights for changing children's physical activity behaviour

Market segmentation has received relatively limited attention in social marketing, particularly within the context of changing children’s physical activity behaviour. This is an important area of investigation given growing concern over childhood obesity globally. The present research aims to extend current understanding of the applicability of market segmentation within this context. The results of a two-step cluster analysis on data from 512 respondents of an online survey show three distinct segments of caregivers, each with unique beliefs about their primary school children walking to/from school. The results demonstrate the validity of employing the process of market segmentation within this social context and provide further insights for targeting the identified segments through tailored social marketing programs.

The performance of diversified emerging market equity funds

We investigate the performance of globally diversified emerging market equity funds during the first decade of the twenty-first century. A vast majority of these funds do not outperform the market benchmark even before transaction costs. The systematic risk of most of the funds is similar to that of the market benchmark portfolio, which may suggest that they aim to offer diversification benefits rather than seeking superior risk-adjusted returns through active management. We do not find any evidence of market timing ability amongst these funds. Finally, whilst we detect persistence in performance, this result is driven mainly by the poorly performing funds.

Coil enhancements for high efficiency wireless power transfer applications

Achieving high efficiency with improved power transfer range and misalignment tolerance is the major design challenge in realizing Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) systems for industrial applications. Resonant coils must be carefully designed to achieve highest possible system performance by fully utilizing the available space. High quality factor and enhanced electromagnetic coupling are key indices which determine the system performance. In this paper, design parameter extraction and quality factor optimization of multi layered helical coils are presented using finite element analysis (FEA) simulations. In addition, a novel Toroidal Shaped Spiral (TSS) coil is proposed to increase power transfer range and misalignment tolerance. The proposed shapes and recommendations can be used to design high efficiency WPT resonator in a limited space.