The individual Ontologies of a Solar Power Tower Plant, a Solar Updraft Tower and a Transmission Tower are combined into one single Ontology. In order to fit to the integration context, the existing Ontologies were re-arranged and the combined Ontology extended. The process of integration and development of the combined ontology will be described in the following and is portrayed with the ontology modelling program Protégé.
What is the purpose?
The combined Ontology represents the concepts needed to provide a city and its inhabitants with energy – in a conventional and in a sustainable way. For this, different technologies are summarized, but the focus is especially taken towards renewable energy technologies. For this, diverse options are shown in order to facilitate and enhance the decision towards a sustainable energy generation and city supply, so that this Ontology provides a common understanding of information for the design of a Renewable Energy Park among people or even software agents.
What is the scope?
The combined Ontology includes the concepts such as power generation, power transportation, intermediate storage and possible materials as well as feasible combinations of these concepts in form of design options for a Renewable Energy Park.
The concept of power generation summarizes different recently used power generating technologies and distinguishes between conventional and renewable approaches. The main scope is to design a reliable, efficient and environmental-friendly energy generating system. Typically, renewable energies require a mixture of different technologies to adapt best to certain environmental conditions. Within the developed Ontology different configurations of sustainable energy supply are possible, but as defined in the Integration Context, a Renewable Energy Park Configuration always combines the technologies of a Solar Updraft Tower and a Solar Power Tower Plant.
The concept of power transportation summarizes different technologies for the transportation of either conventionally or a sustainably generated electricity. For the Renewable Energy Park Configuration Transmission Towers are always applied as a means of power transportation to the demanding city.
Moreover, solar systems require the option of storing the surplus heat of the day for the power generation at nights. Thus, the concept of intermediate storage summarizes the commonly used technologies of energy storage. In general, electrical energy can be stored thermally, chemically or mechanically before transforming it into electrical energy. For solar systems the thermal storage of heat in mediums as water or molten salt are preferred.
The components of the power generating and transporting system within the Renewable Energy Park Configuration can consist of various materials. The concept of main material summarizes all possible used materials. Concrete can be named as the main used material for the towers of the Solar Power Tower Plant and Solar Updraft Tower, while for the Transmission Towers steel is mainly applied. Furthermore, glass and plastic are needed as the main materials for the collector roof of the Solar Updraft Tower.
Who are the intended users?
The intended users of the ontology are urban planners, designers as well as electrical, mechanical and structural engineers, who take part in the multi-disciplinary development of a Renewable Energy Park and are responsible for bringing a sustainable energy supply into an urban context.
What is intended use?
The developed Ontology should be used as a knowledge representation by defining the state-of-art of energy generating technologies. This should serve as the basis for the design process and corresponding simulations of a sustainable energy supply.
See also:
Or main topics:
Integration Context and Individual Systems