Systems modeling and simulation

Building on knowledge acquired relating to alumina precipitation synthesis for heterogeneous catalyst supports, IFPEN’s teams set about working on pCAM synthesis for Li-ion batteries. These materials are indeed also obtained by precipitation in stirred tank reactors, which shares similarities with alumina synthesis (nucleation, growth and agglomeration phenomena). Nevertheless, they come with their own challenges and, consequently, with new research opportunities...

In chemical conversion processes implementing heterogeneous catalysis, the active phase, which accelerates molecular conversions, is often deposited on a porous support. Most of the time, this support has a large internal surface area, making it possible to host a large number of active sites within a small volume. Very often, the porous support is alumina, which needs to have adequate mechanical and thermal resistances and enhance mass and heat transfer. These properties are highly dependent on the texture of the support, which itself stems from its production process...

The thermal management of electric motors is an essential element in competitive low-carbon mobility, since more efficient cooling not only increases motor performance density (power or torque by mass), but also improves operational reliability by preventing deterioration phenomena (such as demagnetization)...

In the case of electrified vehicles, whether battery-powered (electric or hybrid) or powered by fuel cells (FC), power electronics (PE) converters play a major role, as they are used for a variety of functions. For example, they are used to drive electric motors, manage on-board energy or control traction battery recharging...

According to the WHO, 7 million premature deaths worldwide each year are linked to poor air quality, a problem to which road transport makes a significant contribution. Thanks to regulatory and technological developments, as well as the renewal of the vehicle fleet, emissions from this sector have certainly been falling in recent years. However, it remains a major contributor to the deterioration of air quality...

Driven by environmental and energy frugality challenges, there is growing interest in vehicle fuel efficiency and a reduction in the impact of mobility. While the promotion of alternative transport modes to cars remains the principal lever for change, much can still be done in terms of road traffic management. An IFPEN team worked on this subject as part of a thesis in collaboration with Gipsa-lab...

Wind energy accounts for an increasing share of the energy mix thank to the construction of wind farms designed to reduce investment and operating costs. However, within a farm, downstream wind turbines are exposed to the wakes of upstream rotors, leading to a reduction in their production and an increase in their fatigue stresses...

For around fifteen years now, IFPEN has been focusing on modeling conventional batteries to represent their nominal operation (electric and thermal behavior during normal operation), throughout their lifetime (...) and in the event of thermal runaway (failure, improper use)...