Systems modeling and simulation

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)...

Within the framework of a global policy to reduce the emissions produced by the transport sector - particularly road transport - IFPEN is focusing on a complementary option along with vehicle electrification: the use of hydrogen powertrains. However, the use of hydrogen in IC engines first requires a comprehensive understanding of different phenomena, associated, for example, with interactions between the fuel and air...

​​​​​​​The vast majority of oil refineries are equipped with a catalytic reforming unit that fulfils three main functions: production of high-octane oil cuts for gasoline production (known as reformates), production of aromatic-rich cuts containing fewer than 10 carbon atoms, used in the chemicals industry, and generation of dihydrogen, primarily used in hydrotreatment and hydrocracking units...

In catalytic processes, an active phase is necessary to accelerate the transformation of the molecules in the fluid treated. Most of the time, this catalytic agent is placed on a porous support with a large internal surface area, making it possible to host a large number of active sites within a small volume...

IFPEN uses numerous fluids in its fields of innovation for a variety of applications, ranging from renewable energy production to sustainable mobility. Many of the fluids are complex mixtures and the chemistry of their components (hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters, etc.) varies depending on the target application: combustion, cooling, lubrication, electrical insulation, etc.

The transport of colloidal particles in porous media is relevant to a number of fields, including geosciences and environmental engineering. Particle-matrix interactions can lead to deposit formation and accumulation, potentially damaging the medium and altering its permeability. (...) At IFPEN, the problem was originally studied for oil and gas production, but research has now been extended to include the fields of geothermal energy and geological storage of CO2.

Today, air quality is an issue of major concern when it comes to public health. To protect it, it is necessary to reduce emissions but also monitor global chemical changes taking place in the atmosphere. From the economic and safety points of view, it is also important to monitor industrial gas emissions. It was to tackle these different aspects that IFPEN’s researchers began developing a range of technological solutions, within the context of the Flair Suite™ project.