Graham L. Morrison

Verified

Graham verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

Verified

Graham verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

Learn more

• Bachelor of Engineering, Phd
• Professor Emeritus at UNSW Sydney

Air Source Heat Pumps used in domestic water heating are being heavily incentivised such that there has been a 600% increase in Australian installations in the past 4 years. The technology is identified as key in reducing supplementary energy for the supply of thermal loads. The modelling methods used to quantify the energy savings have historicall...

PoolHeat calculates heat loss from outdoor and indoor swimming pools and models the performance of swimming pool heating systems. PoolHeat is a thermal analysis package for evaluating temperatures and energy flows in indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Operating characteristics can be determined for pools with the following heating systems • Unheat...

Solar and heat pump water heater performance rating methods are specified in Australian and New Zealand standard AS/NZS 4234 Heated water systems – Calculation of energy consumption produced by Australian and New Zealand standards committee CS-028 [1]. Direct testing of solar and heat pump water heating systems under outdoor conditions is possible....

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Emeritus Professor Graham de Vahl Davis on 24th December 2019. Graham was a passionate man with great intellect and wit. He had so many passions - from his research in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and heat transfer to communal engagement and leadership, family, arts, culture and travel...

As an alternative to conventional tracking solar thermal trough systems, one may use line focus Fresnel reflector systems. In a conventional Fresnel reflector design, each field of reflectors is directed to a single tower. However, efficient systems of very high ground utilisation can be setup if a field of reflectors uses multiple receivers on dif...

The performance of a water-in-glass evacuated tube solar water heater is investigated for operation as a solar preheater using the International Standard test method ISO9459-2. The annual performance is evaluated for a range of locations. Factors influencing the operation of water-in-glass collector tubes are discussed.

Solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems are currently under rapid development and deployment due to their potential to reduce fossil fuel use and to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector – a sector which is responsible for ∼40% of the world energy use. The available technologies on the market for thermally driven cooling systems...

Solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems are currently under rapid development and deployment due to their potential to reduce the use of fossil fuel resources and to alleviate greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector – a sector which is responsible for ∼40% of the world energy use. Absorption chiller technology (traditionally powered by natu...

POOLHEAT is a thermal analysis package for evaluating temperatures and energy flows in indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Operating characteristics can be determined for pools with the following heating systems  Unheated outdoor pool.  Gas heating.  Heat pump heating.  Solar collector heating.  Solar collector heating with gas or heat pump bac...

The feasibility of solar-powered multi-effect LiBr-H2O absorption chillers is investigated under different climate conditions, and three configurations of solar absorption chillers are proposed with respect to the type of the chiller. In the first configuration, a single-effect absorption chiller is coupled with evacuated tube collectors (ETCs), wh...

The present work investigates the feasibility of solar heating and cooling (SHC) absorption systems based on combining three types of LiBr–H2O absorption chillers (single-, double-, and triple-effect) with common solar thermal collectors available on the market. A single-effect chiller is coupled with evacuated tube collectors (ETCs) – SHC1. A doub...

This paper presents energetic, economic, and environmental (3E) analyses of four configurations of solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems based on coupling evacuated tube collectors with a single-effect LiBr-H2O absorption chiller. In the first configuration (SHC1), a gas-fired heater is used as the back-up system, while a mechanical compression c...

In this paper, a detailed simulation model of a solar-powered triple-effect LiBr-H2O absorption chiller is developed to supply both cooling and heating demand of a large-scale building, aiming to reduce the fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in building sector. TRNSYS 17 is used to simulate the performance of the system over a typ...

Solar-assisted cooling technology has enormous potential for air-conditioning applications since both solar energy supply and cooling energy demand are well correlated. Unfortunately, market uptake of solar cooling technologies has been slow due to the high capital cost and limited design/operational experience. In the present work, different desig...

Liquid sodium presents a possibility for improved economics in concentrating solar thermal power plants. As the melting temperature of metallic sodium is above ambient temperatures (97.8 °C), melting of sodium in components will at times be necessary. A solid–liquid phase change model has been developed using Fluent for metallic sodium. The model w...

This study investigates the techno-economic feasibility of solar-powered absorption cooling and heating systems for a large-sized hotel building in Sydney, Australia. The proposed plant primarily consists of evacuated tube solar collectors, a hot water storage tank, a single-effect absorption chiller, and a backup gas burner. Dynamic simulation of...

Conjugate heat and mass transfer processes across membrane heat exchangers of variable mass transportation resistance were investigated numerically. One half of flow channel for the hot stream and another for the adjacent cold stream were simulated. Effects of channel height, Reynolds number and flow direction on heat exchanger thermal effectivenes...

In this paper, simulation of a linear Fresnel rooftop mounted concentrating solar collector is presented. The system is modeled with the transient system (TRNSYS) simulation program using the typical meteorological year file containing the weather parameters of four different cities in Australia. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to deter...

Natural convection in fluid-filled enclosures driven solely by a temperature difference represents an important phenomenon due to its numerous engineering applications. Applications span diverse fields such as passive solar heating, solar collectors and the energy efficient design of buildings. In this paper, we study convection inside a rooftop co...

Published at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X1300368X The design of central receivers in solar thermal power plants is critical for efficient plant operation and sufficient operational lifetimes. The high, non-uniform concentration ratios used in central receivers lead to high, non-uniform receiver temperatures. For the...

The thermal performance of a Z shape enthalpy heat exchanger utilising 70 gsm Kraft paper as the heat and moisture transfer surface has been investigated. Effects of different inlet air humidity ratio conditions on the heat exchanger effectiveness and on the energy recovered by the heat exchanger have been the main focus of this investigation. A ty...

A CFD model which supports conjugate heat and mass transfer problem representation across the membrane of air-to-air energy recovery heat exchangers has been developed. The model consists of one flow passage for the hot stream and another for the adjacent cold stream. Only half of each flow passage volume has been modelled on each side of the membr...

Solar water heating in Australia from first documented solar water heater in 1941 by Morse and Bates in North Qld, first commercial applications from early 1950’s by S W Hart (Solahart) Beasley Small and others to future developments.

In solar thermal systems, heat loss can significantly reduce the efficiency and consequently the cost effectiveness. It is therefore vital to fully understand the nature of the heat loss mechanisms. This paper describes the thermal performance of a new low-cost solar thermal micro-concentrating collector (MCT), which uses linear Fresnel reflectors,...

The thermal performance of a Z shaped enthalpy heat exchanger utilizing 45gsm Kraft paper as the heat and moisture transfer surface for HVAC energy recovery is experimentally investigated through temperature and moisture content measurements.A mathematical model is developed and validated against the experimental results using the effectiveness-NTU...

Concentrating solar thermal systems offer a promising method for large scale solar energy collection. Although concentrating collectors are generally thought of as large-scale stand-alone systems, there is a huge opportunity to use novel concentrating solar thermal systems for rooftop applications such as domestic hot water, industrial process heat...

Presentation of Solar Thermal Energy developments and applications in Australia.

An experimental study was conducted to determine the overall heat transfer coefficient of a wrap around coil condenser soldered to the exterior surface of a water tank in a heat pump water heater (HPWH). The experimental data showed that the heat transfer coefficient did not significantly vary during the heat pump's operation. Numerical and computa...

Concentrating solar thermal systems offer a promising method for large scale solar energy collection. It is feasible to use concentrating solar thermal systems for rooftop applications such as domestic hot water, industrial process heat and solar air conditioning for commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. This paper describes the therm...

A novel new design of a roof-integrated solar concentrating collector is presented. It provides a thermal system for rooftop applications such as domestic hot water, industrial process heat and solar air conditioning for commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. This paper describes the thermal performance of a new low-cost solar thermal...

Concentrating solar thermal systems offer a promising method for large scale solar energy collection. Although concentrating collectors are generally thought of as large-scale stand-alone systems, there is a huge opportunity to use novel concentrating solar thermal systems for rooftop applications such as domestic hot water, industrial process heat...

Concentrating solar thermal systems offer a promising method for large scale solar energy collection. Although concentrating collectors are generally thought of as large-scale stand-alone systems, there is a huge opportunity to use novel concentrating solar thermal systems for rooftop applications such as domestic hot water, industrial process heat...

Deployment Challenges for Renewable Energy Water Heating in Australia

The thermal performance of an enthalpy/membrane heat exchanger is experimentally investigated. The heat exchanger utilizes a 60gsm Kraft paper as the heat and moisture transfer surface for HVAC energy recovery. The heat exchanger sensible, latent and total effectiveness have been determined through temperature and moisture content measurements. The...

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are good candidates for portable energy sources with a fast response to load changes, while being compact as a result of their capability to provide a high power density. Hydrogen constitutes the fuel for the PEMFC and can be obtained in situ to avoid transportation and safety problems. An efficient meth...

In the past decade there has been a significant increase in the use of linear concentrating Fresnel collectors for large scale steam production. This paper describes a micro-concentrating Fresnel collector for use on building rooftops. The modules of this collector system are approximately 3 meters long by 1 meter wide and 0.3 meters high. Applicat...

Pipe insulation between the collector and storage tank on pumped storage (commonly called split), solar water heaters can be subject to high temperatures, with a maximum equal to the collector stagnation temperature. The frequency of occurrence of these temperatures is dependent on many factors including climate, hot water demand, system size and e...

Appropriate pipe insulation on domestic, pumped storage (split), solar water heating systems forms an integral part of energy conservation measures of well engineered systems. However, its importance over the life of the system is often overlooked. This study outlines the findings of computer modelling to quantify the energy and cost savings by usi...

The idea of combining photovoltaic and solar thermal collectors (PVT collectors) to provide electrical and heat energy is an area that has, until recently, received only limited attention. Although PVTs are not as prevalent as solar thermal systems, the integration of photovoltaic and solar thermal collectors into the walls or roofing structure of...

This paper evaluates the performance of narrow-gap vertical mantle heat exchangers with a two-pass arrangement for use in pumped-circulation solar water heaters. Both measured mantle side and tank side heat transfer correlations have been developed and implemented in a TRNSYS model of a complete solar water heater incorporating this type of heat ex...

The performance of water-in-glass evacuated tube solar water heaters is evaluated using experimental measurements of optical and heat loss characteristics and a simulation model of the thermosyphon circulation in single-ended tubes. The performance of water-in-glass evacuated tube solar collector systems are compared with flat plate solar collector...

The characteristics of a falling film heat exchanger for use on the collector loop heat exchanger in a pumped solar water heater have been assessed, and a TRNSYS model has been developed for evaluating long-term performance. The falling film heat exchanger is based on a conventional gas storage water heater tank with the gas combustion tube convert...

The characteristics of falling film heat exchangers for pumped-circulation solar water heaters have been investigated experimentally and numerically. Mantle side and tank side heat transfer correlations have been developed and can be implemented in solar simulation programs such as TRNSYS to predict the long-term performance of a complete solar wat...

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are good candidates for portable energy sources with a fast response to load changes, while being compact as a result of their capability to provide a high power density. Hydrogen constitutes the fuel for the PEMFC and can be obtained in situ to avoid transportation and safety problems. An efficient metho...

This study presents a new concept that combines microtechnology with solar thermal energy to provide a free portable energy source. A water-methanol mixture flows through an array of parallel microchannels which are fabricated into a silicon matrix using conventional micro-fabrication techniques. A vacuum layer is interposed between the channels an...

Experimental and numerical investigations were undertaken to develop a correlation for natural circulation flow rate through single-ended water-in-glass evacuated tubes mounted over a diffuse reflector. The circulation flow rate was correlated in terms of solar input, tank temperature, collector inclination and tube aspect ratio. The sensitivity of...

The performance of a solar-boosted heat pump water heater (HPWH) operating under full load and part load conditions was determined in an outdoor experimental study. The system utilised flat unglazed aluminium solar evaporator panels to absorb solar and ambient energy. Absorbed energy was transferred to the water tank by means of the heat pump and a...

DOMESTIC SOLAR WATER HEATING - REBATE PROGRAMS & REC Solar water heater product types Greenhouse gas impact Rebates & Renewable Energy Certificates

A transient model of the performance eof water-in-glass evacuated tubular solar water heaters is presented. The model uses measured optical and heat loss characteristics of the evacuated tubes and a new thermosyphon circulation correlation for single ended evacuated tubes. The model is used to predict the performance of typical water-in-glass evacu...

The Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) is a concept for a large-scale line-focus solar concentrator for use in thermal power stations. A linear analogue of the 'central receiver' concept, it incorporates novel single-axis-tracking mirrors together with a line-focus direct-steam-generation thermal receiver. A transient model of direct steam g...

New two-phase flow modelling undertaken for the Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector solar steam generator gives significantly improved agreement with published experimental results for a comparable system. Modelling is extended to include losses in connecting pipe-work, bends and valves, and updated pressure drop and heat transfer correlations are emp...

Australia & China Energy Symposium Sydney 2006

Process heat produced by solar collectors can contribute significantly in the conservation of conventional energy resources, reducing CO2 emission, and delaying global warming. One of the major problems associated with solar process heat application is fluctuation in system temperature during unsteady state radiation conditions which may cause sign...

As an alternative to conventional tracking solar thermal trough systems, one may use line focus Fresnel reflector systems. In a conventional Fresnel reflector design, each field of reflectors is directed to a single tower. However efficient systems of very high ground utilisation can be setup if a field of reflectors uses multiple receivers on diff...

The performance of a membrane based heat exchanger utilizing porous paper as the heat and moisture transfer surface in HVAC energy recovery systems is investigated. A mathematical model is developed and validated against the experimental results. This model can be used as a design aid to predict the heat exchanger performance if the design paramete...

Solar Thermal Electric plants without storage are being developed that use low cost Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar array technology already developed for a coal saving project in Australia, but with the addition of a dedicated steam turbine and generator. A number of improvements to the array technology have been introduced, and are...

The characteristics of falling film heat exchangers for pumped-circulation solar water heaters are investigated. Both falling film side and tank side heat transfer correlations have been developed from outdoor product tests. The TYPE 60 tank routine in the TRNSYS model was modified to incorporate the new non-dimensional correlations for predicting...

Solar Thermal Electric plants without storage are being developed that use low cost Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar array technology already developed for a coal saving project in Australia, but with the addition of a dedicated steam turbine and generator. A number of improvements to the array technology have been introduced, and are...

The flow field and heat transfer characteristics of vertical mantle heat exchangers with a two pass flow configuration have been studied. A rectangular mantle was used as a simplified model for experimental flow visualisation and numerical investigation. The simulated flow field was found to be in good agreement with the experimental obtained dye s...

What is a heat pump water heater? How does it work? Solar performance?

The flow field and heat transfer characteristics of vertical mantle heat exchangers with a two pass flow configuration have been studied. A rectangular mantle was used as a simplified model for experimental flow visualisation and numerical investigation. The simulated flow field was found to be in good agreement with the experimental obtained dye s...

Overall research - valuate the performance and of a pumped circulation solar water heater with a vertical mantle heat exchanger - investigate the heat transfer characteristics of a range of mantle designs

The performance of a membrane-based heat exchanger utilizing porous paper as the heat and moisture transfer media is presented. The measured performance is compared with a plastic film heat exchanger. This novel heat exchanger is used in ventilation energy recovery systems. The results show that the sensible effectiveness is higher than the latent...

Solar thermal energy systems currently provide over 70 GW (Giga watts) of energy supply capacity worldwide saving equivalent to 7 billion litres of oil each year-capacity that is expanding at over 25 % each year, according to the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. This dramatic growth is driven by different needs and s...

A comprehensive study has been undertaken to better understand the thermal conditions within high power, radio frequency (r.f.) signal amplifiers. Here, the results of two aspects of this study are presented in detail. First, laboratory and field experiments were conducted to determine the junction temperatures of the main heat dissipating componen...

In high power amplifiers, the understanding of heat transfer phenomena is critical to ensure components operate within acceptable temperature limits. System operational reliability has been shown to reduce considerably when individual components are allowed to exceed maximum-rated junction temperatures. Of particular interest in this study are high...

This paper evaluates the characteristics of water-in-glass evacuated tube solar water heaters including assessment of the circulation rate through single ended tubes. A numerical model of the heat transfer and fluid flow inside a single-ended evacuated tube has been developed assuming no interaction between adjacent tubes in the collector array. Fl...

The flow structure inside the inner tank and inside the mantle of a vertical mantle heat exchanger was investigated using a full-scale tank designed to facilitate flow visualisation. The flow structure and velocities in the inner tank and in the mantle were measured using a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CF...

Procedures adopted as ISO standards cover three broad categories 1. Rating test based on indoor test data 2. Outdoor testing procedures Performance test for solar only systems Performance test for solar plus supplementary systems 3. Outdoor testing and annual performance modelling Component testing and computer simulation System tests and computer...

The effectiveness of a Z type flow membrane based heat exchanger utilizing porous paper as the heat and moisture transfer media used in ventilation energy recovery systems is presented. A mathematical model is developed and validated against the experimental results. The moisture transfer resistance of the paper is determined using permeability mea...

The performance of a membrane based heat exchanger utilizing porous paper as the heat and moisture transfer media used in ventilation energy recovery systems is presented. A mathematical model was developed and validated against the experimental results. This model can be used for design aide to predict the effectiveness of the heat exchanger. Furt...

The characteristics of narrow gap vertical mantle heat exchangers with a two passes arrangement used for solar water heating systems has been studied. A rectangular cavity was used as a simplified model for experimental flow visualization and CFD numerical investigation. The numerical velocity vectors have good agreement in flow structure with the...

The performance of water-in-glass evacuated tube solar water heaters is evaluated using experimental measurements of optical and heat loss characteristics and a simulation model of the thermosiphon circulation in single-ended tubes. The performance of water-in-glass evacuated tube solar collector systems are compared with flat plate solar collector...

In this paper, a new general design philosophy for large, purely solar, thermal electric plants is discussed, with application to central electricity generation and desalination. This involves the mating of a low cost solar array technology called the Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) to very large low temperature Rankine cycle turbines and a...

Evaluation of flow circulation rate in single-ended evacuated tube solar collectors

The production of packaged solar water heaters is a significant industry in Australia. Major water heater manufacturers now see solar and heat pump water heaters as significant product lines. Domestic and commercial solar hot water collector production in 2004 was around 160,000 m2 The cumulative area installed up to 2004 is of the order of 1.2 mil...

Overall research - evaluating the performance of pumped circulation solar water heaters with vertical mantle heat exchangers - investigating a range of mantle designs  Preliminary stage: narrow gap mantle - outdoor and laboratory experiments - TRNSYS modelling

The effectiveness of a membrane based heat exchanger utilizing porous paper as the heat and moisture transfer media is presented. This novel heat exchanger is used in ventilation energy recovery systems. The results show that the sensible effectiveness is higher than the latent effectiveness. A mathematical model incorporating experimental moisture...

A comprehensive study has been undertaken to better understand the thermal conditions within high power, radio frequency (r.f.) signal amplifiers. The majority of the heat generated is dissipated from four high power transistors, mounted directly to a large extruded aluminum heat sink measuring 300mm long × 220mm wide × 72mm high. The transistors e...

Evacuated tube solar collectors have better performance than flat-plate solar collectors, in particular for high temperature operations. A number of heat extraction methods from all-glass evacuated tubes have been developed and the water-in-glass concept has been found to be the most successful due to its simplicity and low manufacturing cost. In t...

Seasonal performance evaluation methods for water heaters are reviewed and an experimental method for rating air-source heat pump water heaters is presented. The rating method is based on measured heat pump performance during heat-up operation of particular products rather than a generic simulation model of heat pump performance. The measured perfo...

A solar thermal power project that makes use of a compact linear Fresnel reflector array to concentrate solar radiation onto a stationary absorber cavity suspended above the array has been proposed. The cavity is trapezoidal in cross-section. The upper surface of the cavity is a flat plate absorber with steam tubes running behind it. The lower surf...

The production of packaged solar water heaters has developed into a significant industry in Australia. Domestic and commercial solar hot water collector production in 2004 is likely to exceed 160,000 m 2 and the annual conventional energy displaced by the cumulative installation is greater than 1000 GWh/year. The cumulative area installed up to 200...

This paper provides a review of some of the issues currently facing thermal designers of high power electronics. With the current market resistance to widely embrace advanced methods such as liquid cooling, air cooling will continue to be a popular choice (K. Azar, 8th THERMINIC workshop, 2002). As heat loads increase and system sizes reduce, furth...

This paper outlines experimental work and computational modelling that were undertaken to develop a correlation of natural circulation flow rate through single-ended evacuated tubes mounted over a diffuse reflector plate in a solar water heater system. The rate of natural circulation is correlated as a function of heat input, tank temperature, tube...

The characteristics of a narrow gap mantle heat exchanger on vertical tank for solar water heater was investigated. An unwrapped mantle excluding the storage tank was modelled numerically using the CFD modelling package. The predicted results show that the inlet jet impingement induced a small region of localised turbulence on the inlet adjacent wa...

Recently, low cost Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar thermal technology has been developed and is being installed at a project in Australia to provide thermal energy for preheating feed water in a coal fired generation station. The current array design generates saturated steam at 270°C, which heats feed water via a heat exchanger. The...

In this paper, the general design philosophy for a large 240 MW e pure solar storage plant is discussed. The proposed stand alone plant design will use the same low cost Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) array system previously reported (Mills et al, 2003; Hu et al, 2003) and currently being constructed for a coal fired plant preheating proje...

A comprehensive study has been undertaken to better understand the thermal conditions within high power, signal amplifiers. The majority of the heat is generated by four high power transistors, which have been shown to approach their maximum rated junction temperature of 200oC (1) under normal operating conditions. Numerical and experimental method...

In this paper, an evacuated tube collector system for domestic hot water and space heating has been designed using novel optics. The objective was not to gain increased performance as compared to a CPC using a similar reflector material, but to allow the possible use of glass reflector and also to deliver several practical benefits. The optical sys...

The performance of a membrane based heat exchanger utilizing porous paper as the heat and moisture transfer media is presented. The measured performance is compared with a plastic film heat exchanger. This novel heat exchanger is used in ventilation energy recovery systems. The results show that the sensible effectiveness is higher than the latent...