Dirk Bouwmeester Lab - Quantum Optics and Quantum Information
Master Projects
The following master research projects are currently available.
Microwave plasma cavity characterisation for the Toroidal Electro-CHemistry (TECH) reactor
- Project available from: 1-9-2023
- Number of ECs: 36
- Remarks: The work is performed with DIFFER in Eindhoven in the TECH development team and close collaboration is expected.
In the TECH project, a microwave plasma reactor is under development which dissociates CO2 in CO and O2. CO can be converted to fuel, so this allows to store green electricity in fuel and to provide sustainable energy during grid power dips and for transportation. The reactor consists of a vessel sustaining a 6 kW microwave plasma and supporting a flow that passes the CO2 through the plasma. The design should reach high energy efficiency and conversion rate.
In this MSc project, the microwave cavity characteristics of the TECH plasma reactor are investigated. Simulations show a strong dependence of the cavity resonance frequencies on the characteristics of the plasma (plasma shape and conductivity). The project goal is to validate the simulations. First for an empty cavity, then with a material simulating the plasma and finally with plasma. For example, the cavity mode content can be measured with field probes at the wall, by observation of the plasma light, or determined from the cavity resonance spectrum.
The field probes must discriminate the modes reliably and allow a quantification of the power content of each mode. Optical images of the plasma could confirm the measured mode content. A challenge is how to relate the plasma image to the mode content.
The master project will close with an analysis of the plasma effects on the cavity modes and of the quality of the obtained plasma shape.
Flow measurement system for the Toroidal Electro-CHemistry (TECH) reactor
- Project available from: 1-9-2023
- Number of ECs: 36
- Remarks: The work is performed in the TECH development team with DIFFER in Eindhoven and close collaboration is expected.
In the TECH project, a microwave plasma reactor is under development which dissociates CO2 in CO and O2. CO can be converted to fuel, so this allows to store green electricity in fuel and to provide sustainable energy during grid power dips and for transportation.
The reactor consists of a vessel sustaining a 6 kW microwave plasma and supporting a flow that passes the CO2 through the plasma. The design should reach high energy efficiency and conversion rate.
In this MSc project, the flow characteristics of the TECH reactor are investigated. Simulations show a single, stable vortex for a range of flow settings. The project goal is to develop a set-up to measure this flow pattern in a transparent reactor model. A possible method is particle image velocimetry (PIV). Seed particles in the flow are observed by cameras from different angles. Their velocity vector is deduced from consecutive images. The measured velocity profile v(x) validates the flow simulations and allows optimisation of the reactor flow design.
The measurements are done on a Perspex vessel at pressures between 0.1 and 1 bar at room temperature. The system must image gas flows and include vessel refraction corrections. The master project closes with an analysis of the simulation quality by comparison with the flow measurements.