Case Study: Tokyo University of Technology advances sustainable power research with Hexagon Cradle CFD

Contributing to the building of sustainable society with zero electricity loss through both simulation and experiments

Tokyo University of Technology's Energy Application Laboratory, led by Professor Shigeyuki Takagi, was researching ways to build a more sustainable society by improving the efficiency of power electronics and converting waste heat into electricity. A key challenge was designing and optimizing devices like thermoelectric generators and power converters, which required a deep understanding of complex thermal flows to maximize power output and prevent overheating. To meet this challenge, the laboratory turned to Hexagon's simulation software, scSTREAM.

Using Hexagon's scSTREAM thermo-fluid analysis software, the team was able to visualize heat flow and thermal distribution within their power generation devices. This allowed them to optimize the configuration of components like cooling fins and fans to maximize the temperature difference critical for power generation. The solution provided a cost-effective way to narrow down experimental targets and sensibly understand complex thermal relationships. Hexagon's tools contributed directly to the lab's research, which aims to generate between 100 W and 1 kW of power from waste heat and improve the energy-saving capability of their on-campus co-generation system by approximately 20%.

Tokyo University of Technology

Shigeyuki Takagi

Professor