The laboratory provides courses for the School of Mechanical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens. Our faculty staff organizes and participates in the educational process of various undergraduate and postgraduate courses offered by the university, either by leading or by contributing.
Course details: School of Mechanical Engineering, Undergraduate, 8th Semester
Teaching: Prof. Christos Tzivanidis, Asst. Prof. Konstantinos Braimakis, Dr. Georgios Zannis
The course provides an in-depth study of refrigeration cycles and modern cooling technologies. It begins with the mechanical vapor compression refrigeration cycle, including a detailed thermodynamic analysis of single-stage, two-stage, multistage, and cascade refrigeration cycles. Compressor types for vapor compression systems and their main technical characteristics are presented, along with commonly used refrigerants. Particular emphasis is placed on the operation of vapor compression refrigeration cycles under partial load conditions. The course then examines absorption refrigeration systems, focusing on lithium bromide–water and ammonia–water systems, as well as the thermodynamic analysis of absorption refrigeration cycles. Absorption refrigeration systems are also presented, including their operating principles, technical characteristics, and applications. Finally, cryogenic cooling and gas liquefaction systems are discussed, covering the Hamson–Linde, Kapitza, Claude, and Precooled Linde cycles, together with their thermodynamic analysis.
Course details: School of Mechanical Engineering, Undergraduate, 8th Semester
Teaching: Prof. Christos Tzivanidis, Asst. Prof. Konstantinos Braimakis, Dr. Georgios Zannis
The course addresses transport phenomena driven by molecular motion, with emphasis on both laminar and turbulent flow. It introduces the fundamental types of partial differential equations describing transport phenomena, including hyperbolic, parabolic, and elliptic equations. Variational methods are analyzed for the study of steady and transient transport processes, including the weak formulation, functional methods, the Ritz method, and weighted residual techniques. Special attention is given to the finite difference method, including discretization and the analysis of steady and transient diffusion and convection–diffusion problems. The course also covers the finite element method, both through the physical or direct formulation and through variational formulations, for steady and transient transport phenomena. The boundary element method is also examined. Topics such as error analysis, convergence, and stability of numerical methods are addressed, and illustrative computational programs are provided for each method. Additionally, students gain hands-on experience in the design and computational simulation of heat exchangers, including double-pipe exchangers, plate heat exchangers, and shell-and-tube exchangers, applying theoretical methods to practical heat transfer problems.
Course details: School of Mechanical Engineering, Undergraduate, 8th Semester
Teaching: Asst. Prof. K. Braimakis, Dr. Dimitrios Katsourinis
The main objective of the course is to provide an introduction and hands-on training in the thermal and chemical process simulation software Aspen Plus through practical applications conducted in the School’s PC Lab. Students become familiar with the modeling, analysis, and evaluation of complex energy and chemical systems.
Within the course framework, power cycles, refrigeration cycles, and mechanical vapor compression heat pumps are studied, along with combustion and gasification processes of gaseous and solid fuels. Applications of cryogenic cooling and gas liquefaction, waste heat recovery, and power generation cycles such as the Rankine cycle, gas turbines, and combined cycle power plants are also examined. The course further addresses processes for synthetic fuel and hydrogen production, as well as the design and analysis of separation and distillation columns.
Course details: School of Mechanical Engineering, Undergraduate, 9th Semester
Teaching: Prof. Christos Tzivanidis, Asst. Prof. Konstantinos Braimakis, Dr. Georgios Zannis
The course provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of solar energy and its utilization for thermal and electrical applications. It initially covers the characteristics of solar radiation and solar energy potential, as well as methods for calculating incident solar radiation both outside the Earth’s atmosphere and at ground level. A detailed presentation of flat-plate solar collectors follows, focusing on their geometric and construction characteristics, thermal analysis, and performance evaluation. Concentrating solar collectors are also examined, including their main types, operating principles, and thermal analysis and efficiency. The course further addresses the techno-economic optimization of solar thermal systems, presenting design principles and dynamic simulation methods. Topics include the calculation of the levelized cost of solar heat production and the application of the f-chart method. In addition, photovoltaic systems are introduced, covering their geometric and construction characteristics, as well as energy analysis and performance assessment. Finally, thermal energy storage in solar thermal systems is discussed, including sensible, latent, and thermochemical heat storage technologies.
Course details: School of Mechanical Engineering, Undergraduate, 9th Semester
Teaching: Prof. Christos Tzivanidis, Asst. Prof. Konstantinos Braimakis, Dr. Georgios Zannis
The course covers methodologies for calculating cooling loads, including the Cooling Load Temperature Difference/Cooling Load Factor (CLTD/CLF) method and the Radiant Time Series (RTS) method. Psychrometrics are examined in detail, including the psychrometric chart, space air-conditioning processes, air humidification and dehumidification, and state changes represented on the psychrometric chart. The course also addresses building air-conditioning systems, focusing on the sizing of air-conditioning duct networks and mechanical ventilation design. Finally, advanced air-conditioning systems are presented, including central air-handling units, variable fluid flow systems, and large-scale HVAC units for building installations.
Course details: School of Mechanical Engineering, Undergraduate, 9th Semester
Teaching: Prof. Christos Tzivanidis, Asst. Prof. Konstantinos Braimakis, Dr. Georgios Zannis
The course focuses on the design principles of passive buildings, with emphasis on the thermal envelope, insulation, windows and glazing systems, thermal bridges, and airtightness. Mechanical ventilation systems with heat recovery are analyzed, along with bioclimatic design principles, aiming to achieve thermal comfort with minimal mechanical systems. Real-world passive building projects are presented, including performance monitoring and evaluation. An introduction to the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) software is provided, covering its structure and basic functionalities for the energy design of passive buildings. The finite difference method is examined for the analysis of steady-state and transient heat transfer in the building envelope. The course also covers building mechanical systems, including solar thermal systems, heat pumps, air-conditioning systems, and photovoltaic systems, as well as the design of construction details. Finally, innovative envelope technologies are presented, such as thermochromic and cool coatings, as well as phase change materials (PCMs). Advanced building construction technologies are also discussed, including prefabrication in renovation, energy storage, and building interaction with the energy grid.
Course details: School of Mechanical Engineering, Undergraduate, 9th Semester
Teaching: Prof. Sotirios Karellas, Asst. Prof. K. Braimakis, Dr. Andreas Nikoglou
This course provides a comprehensive overview of energy storage technologies and their applications. It covers mechanical solutions such as pumped hydro storage, compressed air energy storage, liquid air energy storage, and flywheels, as well as electrochemical technologies including conventional batteries and flow batteries. Electrical storage methods, such as superconducting systems and supercapacitors, and chemical storage solutions, including hydrogen storage, green hydrogen, and Power-to-X technologies, are also examined. The course further explores thermal energy storage through sensible and latent heat as well as thermochemical processes, along with its applications, including Power-to-heat technologies, high-temperature heat pumps, and district heating networks. Finally, students will gain familiarity with the techno-economic analysis of energy storage and PV-battery systems—both stand-alone and grid-connected—for residential and industrial applications, and with the optimization of energy dispatch strategies.
Course details: IPS “Energy Production and Management”, Post-graduate, Spring Semester
Teaching: Prof. Christos Tzivanidis, Asst. Prof. Konstantinos Braimakis, Dr. Georgios Zannis
The course provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of solar energy and its utilization for thermal and electrical applications. It initially covers the characteristics of solar radiation and solar energy potential, as well as methods for calculating incident solar radiation both outside the Earth’s atmosphere and at ground level. A detailed presentation of flat-plate solar collectors follows, focusing on their geometric and construction characteristics, thermal analysis, and performance evaluation. Concentrating solar collectors are also examined, including their main types, operating principles, and thermal analysis and efficiency. The course further addresses the techno-economic optimization of solar thermal systems, presenting design principles and dynamic simulation methods. Topics include the calculation of the levelized cost of solar heat production and the application of the f-chart method.
Our Laboratory offers a continuously updated list of available thesis topics for undergraduate and postgraduate students of the School of Mechanical Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, as well as for students from other academic institutions.
The proposed thesis topics cover a wide range of research areas related to renewable energy systems, passive techniques for deep energy retrofitting of buildings, storage systems, and power production systems. Through their diploma or master’s thesis, students have the opportunity to engage in real research problems, work with modern experimental and numerical tools, and contribute to ongoing research activities of the Laboratory.
For more information on available thesis topics contact the Laboratory Professors.
