Staff Profile
Dr Ben Wetenhall
Lecturer
Background
My research interest is decarbonising industrial processes and energy generation, primarily through transportation by pipeline of carbon dioxide (CO2) for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) schemes and hydrogen for use as an alternate energy source.
Some examples of previous research topics:
- Material and specification requirements for novel pipelines
- The impact of impurities on CO2 pipelines and shipping
- Pipeline failure frequency and consequence analysis (including developing analytical and CFD CO2 building ingress models)
- Hydraulic network design
- CCS network flexibility
- Pipeline fracture propagation
- The effect of injecting cold CO2 on the surrounding rock
Research
Carbon dioxide transportation
Hydrogen strorage and transportation
Mathematical modelling
More specifically:
- Transportation network design and optimistation
- Pipeline consequence analysis and failure frequency
- Dispersion modelling of CO2
- CO2 and H2 compression and liquefaction
- Hydraulic modelling and network flexibility
- Fracture propagation
- Heat transfer and phase behaviour
I welcome applications from prospective PhD students. If you are interested in projects in related areas, please contact me for further information.
Teaching
I contribute to the following modules as well as supervising undergraduate and postgraduate projects:
ENG1005 ThermoFluid Mechanics
ENG1007 Mechanics I
MAR2018 Marine Engineering II
MAR2020 Applications of Engineering II
MAR3037 Marine Engineering III
MAR3043-MAR3044-MAR3045-MAR3046 Project and Report
MAR8084 Dissertation
MAR8088 Group Project
Publications
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Articles
- Reppas N, Gui Y, Wetenhall B, Davie CT, Ma J. A fully coupled thermo‑hydro‑mechanical elastoplastic damage model for fractured rock. Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources 2024, 10, 29.
- Reppas N, Gui Y, Wetenhall B, Davie CT, Ma J. A fully coupled thermo‑hydro‑mechanical elastoplastic damage model for fractured rock. Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources 2024, 10, 29.
- Reppas N, Davie CT, Gui Y, Wetenhall B, Graham SP. The Effects of Cooling on Fine-Grained Sandstone in Relation to Wellbore Injection of Carbon Dioxide. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering 2023, 56, 7619-7637.
- Ng C, Tam ICK, Wetenhall B. Waste Heat Source Profiles for Marine Application of Organic Rankine Cycle. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 2022, 10(8), 1122.
- Xu J, Benson S, Wetenhall B. Comparative analysis of fatigue life of a wind turbine yaw bearing with different support foundations. Ocean Engineering 2021, 235, 109293.
- Lyons CJ, Race JM, Chang E, Cosham A, Wetenhall B, Barnett J. Validation of the NG-18 Equations for Thick Walled Pipelines. Engineering Failure Analysis 2020, 112, 104494.
- Reppas N, Gui YL, Wetenhall B, Davie CT, Ma J. Elasto-Plastic Behavior of Rock during Temperature Drop. International Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering 2020, 14(7), 177-184.
- Lyons CJ, Race JM, Wetenhall B, Chang E, Hopkins HF, Barnett J. Assessment of the Applicability of Failure Freqency Models for Dense Phase Carbon Dioxide Pipelines. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2019, 87, 112-120.
- Lyons CJ, Race JM, Adefila K, Wetenhall B, Aghajani H, Aktas B, Hopkins HF, Cleaver P, Barnett J. Analytical and computational indoor shelter models for infiltration of carbon dioxide into buildings: Comparison with experimental data. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2019, 92, epub ahead pf print.
- Wetenhall B, Race JM, Aghajani H, Barnett J. The Main Factors Affecting Heat Transfer Along Dense Phase CO2 Pipelines. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2017, 63, 86-94.
- Aghajani H, Race JM, Wetenhall B, Sanchez-Fernandez E, Lucquiaud M, Chalmers H. On the Potential for Interim Storage in Dense Phase CO2 Pipelines. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2017, 66, 276-287.
- Wetenhall B, Race JM, Aghajani H, Sanchez-Fernandez E, Naylor M, Lucquiaud M, Chalmers H. Considerations in the Development of Flexible CCS Networks. Energy Procedia 2017, 114, 6800-6812.
- Sanchez-Fernandez E, Naylor M, Lucquiaud M, Wetenhall B, Aghajani H, Race JM, Chalmers H. Impacts of geological store uncertainties on the design and operation of flexible CCS offshore pipeline infrastructure. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2016, 52, 139-154.
- Wetenhall B, Race JM, Downie MJ. The Effect of CO2 Purity on the Development of Pipeline Networks for Carbon Capture and Storage Schemes. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2014, 30, 197-211.
- Race JM, Wetenhall B, Seevam P, Downie MJ. Towards a CO2 Pipeline Specification: Defining Tolerance Limits for Impurities. Journal of Pipeline Engineering 2012, 11(3), 173-190.
- Tatar R, Wetenhall B. SQCD vacua and geometrical engineering. Physical Review D 2008, 77, 046007.
- Tatar R, Wetenhall B. Metastable Vacua, Geometrical Engineering and MQCD Transitions. Journal of High Energy Physics 2007, 02, 020.
- Tatar R, Wetenhall B. Metastable vacua and complex deformations. Physical Review D 2007, 76, 126011.
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Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)
- Wetenhall B, Race J, Adeflia K, Aktas B, Aghajani H, Lyons C, Reppas N. Suitability and optimisation of analytical indoor shelter model used for infiltration of carbon dioxide for typical dwellings. In: 16th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, GHGT-16. 2022, Lyon, France.
- Reppas N, Davie C, Wetenhall B, Gui YL, Ma J. Numerical simulation of triaxial experimental results on Sandstone using critical state mechanics. In: 56th US Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium. 2022, Santa Fe, New Mexico: American Rock Mechanics Association.
- Reppas N, Gui Y, Wetenhall B, Davie C, Ma J. Wellbore stability analysis during CO2 injection considering elastoplastic and continuous damage effects. In: 11th Conference of Asian Rock Mechanics Society ARMS11. 2021, Beijing: Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd.
- Li Y, Wu D, Wetenhall B. Pressure drop study on an Organic Rankine System utilizing LNG. In: 10th International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE2018). 2019, Hong Kong, China: Elsevier.
- Reppas N, Gui YL, Wetenhall B. A general review on rock stability due to CO2 injection. In: 53rd U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium. 2019, New York City, NY, USA: American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA).
- Saad A, Aghajani H, Wetenhall B, Ahmed I. A thermal analysis of a CO2 transportation pipeline: A design configuration for optimum onshore transportation. In: PSIG Annual Meeting 2016. 2016, Vancouver, British Columbia: Pipeline Simulation Interest Group (PSIG).
- Wetenhall B, Aghajani H, Chalmers H, Benson SD, Ferrari M-C, Li J, Race JM, Singh P, Davison J. Impact of CO2 impurity on CO2 compression, liquefaction and transportation. In: 12th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, GHGT-12. 2014, Austin, Texas: Elsevier.
- Wetenhall B, Race JM, Downie MJ. The Effect of Impurities on a Simplified CCS Network. In: PSIG. 2013, Prague.
- Race JM, Wetenhall BW, Downie MJ. Towards a CO2 Pipeline Specification: Defining Tolerance Limits for Impurities. In: The Third International Forum on Transportation of CO2 by Pipeline. 2012, Newcastle upon Tyne.
- Tatar R, Wetenhall B. SQCD vacua and geometrical engineering. In: 16th International Conference on Supersymmetry and the Unification of Fundamental Interactions (SUSY08). 2009, Seoul, Korea: American Institute of Physics.
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Report
- Wetenhall B, Aghajani H, Benson S, Chalmers H, Ferrari MC, Li J, Race JM. Impact of CO2 Impurity on CO2 Compression, Liquefaction and Transportation. Cheltenham: IEAGHG, 2016. 2016/01.