conventional sources of energy biography

• Conventional And Nonconventional Sources Of Energy

Conventional and Non-conventional Sources of Energy

Energy is the ability of a physical system to perform work. We use energy in our daily lives from various sources for doing work. We use muscular energy for carrying out physical work, electrical energy for running multiple appliances, chemical energy for cooking food, etc. For this, we need to know the different energy sources to obtain energy in its usable form. This article will familiarize you with two important sources of energy: conventional energy and non-conventional energy.

Sources of Energy

• Conventional Sources
• Non-Conventional Sources

Conventional Sources of Energy

Conventional Sources of Energy are also known as non-renewable sources of energy and are available in limited quantity apart from hydro-electric power. Further, it is classified under commercial and non-commercial energy.

Commercial Energy Sources

Coal, electricity and petroleum are known as commercial energy since the consumer needs to pay its price to buy them.

Coal is the most important source of energy. There are more than 148790 coal deposits in India, and between 2005-2006, the annual production went up to 343 million tons. India is the fourth-largest coal-producing country, and the deposits are primarily found in Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bengal.

Oil and Natural Gas

Oil is considered liquid gold and one of the crucial energy sources in India and the world. Oil is primarily used in planes, automobiles, trains and ships. The total oil production in India was 0.3 million tons in 1950-51, which increased up to 32.4 million tons in 2000-01. It is mainly found in Assam, Gujarat and Mumbai.

Electricity

Electricity is a common form of energy used for domestic and commercial purposes, and it is mainly utilized in electrical appliances like fridges, T.V, washing machines and air conditioning.

The major sources of power generation are:

• Nuclear Power
• Thermal Power
• Hydro-electric power

Non-commercial Energy Sources

Generally, the freely available energy sources are considered non-commercial energy sources. Examples of non-commercial energy sources include straw, dried dung, firewood./p>

Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

Non-conventional sources are also known as renewable sources of energy . Examples of non-conventional sources of energy include solar energy, bioenergy, tidal energy and wind energy.

Solar Energy

Solar Energy is produced by sunlight. The photovoltaic cells are exposed to sunlight based on the form of electricity that needs to be produced. The energy is utilized for cooking and distillation of water.

Wind Energy

Wind energy is generated by harnessing the power of wind and mostly used in operating water pumps for irrigation purposes. India stands as the second-largest country in the generation of wind power.

Tidal Energy

Tidal energy is generated by exploiting the tidal waves of the sea. This source is yet to be tapped due to the lack of cost-effective technology.

Difference Between Conventional and Non-conventional Sources of Energy

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Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

What are the advantages of conventional energy sources, what are the disadvantages of conventional energy sources, what are the advantages of non-conventional sources of energy, what is the importance of the non-conventional source of energy, which is the largest non-conventional source of energy.

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What are the safest and cleanest sources of energy?

Fossil fuels are the dirtiest and most dangerous energy sources, while nuclear and modern renewable energy sources are vastly safer and cleaner..

All energy sources have negative effects, but they differ enormously in size: as we will see, fossil fuels are the dirtiest and most dangerous, while nuclear and modern renewable energy sources are vastly safer and cleaner. From the perspectives of both human health and climate change, it matters less whether we transition to nuclear power or renewable energy and more that we stop relying on fossil fuels.

Energy has been critical to human progress over the last few centuries. As the United Nations rightly says : “energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today.”

But while energy brings us massive benefits, it’s not without its downsides. Energy production can have negative impacts on human health and the environment in three ways.

The first is air pollution : millions of people die prematurely every year as a result of air pollution . Fossil fuels and the burning of biomass — wood, dung, and charcoal — are responsible for most of those deaths.

The second is accidents . This includes accidents in the mining and extraction of fuels — coal, uranium, rare metals, oil, and gas. It also includes accidents in transporting raw materials and infrastructure, the construction of the power plant, or its maintenance.

The third is greenhouse gas emissions : fossil fuels are the main source of greenhouse gases, the primary driver of climate change. In 2020, 91% of global CO 2 emissions came from fossil fuels and industry. 1

No energy source is completely safe. All have short-term impacts on human health, either through air pollution or accidents, and they all have long-term impacts by contributing to climate change.

But, their contribution to each differs enormously. Fossil fuels are both the dirtiest and most dangerous in the short term and emit the most greenhouse gases per unit of energy. This means that there are thankfully no trade-offs here: low-carbon energy sources are also the safest. From the perspective of both human health and climate change, it matters less whether we transition to nuclear power or renewable energy and more that we stop relying on fossil fuels.

Nuclear and renewables are far, far safer than fossil fuels

Before we consider the long-term impacts of climate change, let’s look at how each source stacks up in terms of short-term health risks.

To make these comparisons fair, we can’t just look at the total deaths from each source: fossil fuels still dominate our global electricity mix, so we would expect that they would kill more people.

Instead, we compare them based on the estimated number of deaths they cause per unit of electricity . This is measured in terawatt-hours. One terawatt-hour is about the same as the annual electricity consumption of 150,000 citizens in the European Union. 2

This includes deaths from air pollution and accidents in the supply chain. 3

Let’s look at this comparison in the chart. Fossil fuels and biomass kill many more people than nuclear and modern renewables per unit of electricity. Coal is, by far, the dirtiest.

Even then, these estimates for fossil fuels are likely to be very conservative. They are based on power plants in Europe, which have good pollution controls and are based on older models of the health impacts of air pollution. As I discuss in more detail at the end of this article, global death rates from fossil fuels based on the most recent research on air pollution are likely to be even higher.

Our perceptions of the safety of nuclear energy are strongly influenced by two accidents: Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986 and Fukushima in Japan in 2011. These were tragic events. However, compared to the millions that die from fossil fuels every year, the final death tolls were very low. To calculate the death rates used here, I assume a death toll of 433 from Chernobyl, and 2,314 from Fukushima. 4 If you are interested, I look at how many died in each accident in detail in a related article .

The other source heavily influenced by a few large-scale accidents is hydropower. Its death rate since 1965 is 1.3 deaths per TWh. This rate is almost completely dominated by one event: the Banqiao Dam Failure in China in 1975, which killed approximately 171,000 people. Otherwise, hydropower was very safe, with a death rate of just 0.04 deaths per TWh — comparable to nuclear, solar, and wind.

Finally, we have solar and wind. The death rates from both of these sources are low but not zero. A small number of people die in accidents in supply chains — ranging from helicopter collisions with turbines, fires during the installation of turbines or panels, and drownings on offshore wind sites.

People often focus on the marginal differences at the bottom of the chart — between nuclear, solar, and wind. This comparison is misguided: the uncertainties around these values mean they are likely to overlap.

The key insight is that they are all much, much safer than fossil fuels.

Nuclear energy, for example, results in 99.9% fewer deaths than brown coal; 99.8% fewer than coal; 99.7% fewer than oil; and 97.6% fewer than gas. Wind and solar are just as safe.

Putting death rates from energy in perspective

Looking at deaths per terawatt-hour can seem abstract. Let’s try to put it in perspective.

Let’s consider how many deaths each source would cause for an average town of 150,000 people in the European Union, which — as I’ve said before — consumes one terawatt-hour of electricity per year. Let’s call this town ‘Euroville’.

If Euroville were completely powered by coal, we’d expect at least 25 people to die prematurely every year from it.  Most of these people would die from air pollution.

This is how a coal-powered Euroville would compare with towns powered entirely by each energy source:

• Coal: 25 people would die prematurely every year;
• Oil: 18 people would die prematurely every year;
• Gas: 3 people would die prematurely every year;
• Hydropower: In an average year, 1 person would die;
• Wind: In an average year, nobody would die. A death rate of 0.04 deaths per terawatt-hour means every 25 years, a single person would die;
• Nuclear: In an average year, nobody would die — only every 33 years would someone die.
• Solar: In an average year, nobody would die — only every 50 years would someone die.

The safest energy sources are also the cleanest

The good news is that there is no trade-off between the safest sources of energy in the short term and the least damaging for the climate in the long term. They are one and the same, as the chart below shows.

In the chart on the left-hand side, we have the same comparison of death rates from accidents and air pollution that we just looked at. On the right, we have the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per unit of electricity production.

These are not just the emissions from the burning of fuels but also the mining, transportation, and maintenance over a power plant’s lifetime. 5

Again, coal is the dirtiest fuel. It emits much more greenhouse gases than other sources — more than a hundred times more than nuclear.

Oil and gas are also much worse than nuclear and renewables but to a lesser extent than coal.

Unfortunately, the global electricity mix is still dominated by fossil fuels: coal, oil, and gas account for around 60% . If we want to stop climate change, we have a great opportunity in front of us: we can transition away from them to nuclear and renewables and also reduce deaths from accidents and air pollution as a side effect. 6

This transition will not only protect future generations, but it will also come with huge health benefits for the current one.

Methodology and notes

Global average death rates from fossil fuels are likely to be even higher than reported in the chart above.

The death rates from coal, oil, and gas used in these comparisons are sourced from the paper of Anil Markandya and Paul Wilkinson (2007) in the medical journal, The Lancet . To date, these are the best peer-reviewed references I could find on the death rates from these sources. These rates are based on electricity production in Europe.

However, there are three key reasons why I think that these death rates are likely to be very conservative, and the global average death rates could be substantially higher.

• European fossil fuel plants have strict pollution controls . Power plants in Europe tend to produce less pollution than the global average and much less than plants in many low-to-middle-income countries. This means that the pollution generated per unit of electricity will likely be higher in other parts of the world.
• In other countries, more people will live closer to power plants and be exposed to more pollution . If two countries produce the same amount of coal power and both have the same pollution controls, the country where power plants are closer to urban centers and cities will have a higher death toll per TWh. This is because more people will be exposed to higher levels of pollution.Power plants in countries such as China tend to be located closer to cities in many countries than they are in Europe, so we would expect the death rate to be higher than the European figures found by Markandya and Wilkinson (2007). 7
• More recent research on air pollution suggests the health impacts are more severe than earlier research suggested . The analysis by Markandya and Wilkinson was published in 2007. Since then, our understanding of the health impacts of air pollution has increased significantly. More recent research suggests the health impacts are more severe. My colleague, Max Roser, shows this evolution of the research on air pollution deaths in his review of the literature here .Another reason to suspect that the global average rates are much higher is the following: if we take the death rates from Markandya and Wilkinson (2007) and multiply them by global electricity production, the resulting estimates of total global deaths from fossil fuel electricity are much lower than the most recent research.If I multiply the Markandya and Wilkinson (2007) death rates for coal, oil, and gas by their respective global electricity outputs in 2021, I get a total death toll of 280,000 people . 8 This is much lower than the estimates from more recent research. For example, Leliveld et al. (2018) estimate that 3.6 million die from fossil fuels yearly. 9 Vohra et al. (2021) estimate more than double this figure: 8.7 million. 10 Not all deaths from fossil fuel air pollution are due to electricity production. But we can estimate how many deaths do. In a recent paper, Leliveld and his colleagues estimated the breakdown of air pollution deaths by sector. They estimate that 12% of all air pollution deaths (from fossil fuels and pollution from other sources) come from electricity production. 11

By my calculations, we would expect that 1.1 million to 2.55 million people die from fossil fuels used for electricity production each year. 12 The estimates we get from Markandya and Wilkinson (2007) death rates undercount by a factor of 4 to 9. This would suggest that actual death rates from fossil fuels could be 4 to 9 times higher. That would give a global average death rate from coal of 93 to 224 deaths per TWh .Unfortunately, we do not have more up-to-date death rates for coal, oil, and gas to reference here, but improved estimates are sorely needed. The current death rates shown are likely to be underestimated.

We need a timely global database on accidents in energy supply chains

The figures we reference on accidents from nuclear, solar, and wind are based on the most comprehensive figures we have to date. However, they are imperfect, and no timely dataset tracking these accidents exists. This is a key gap in our understanding of the safety of energy sources — and how their safety changes over time.

To estimate death rates from renewable energy technologies, Sovacool et al. (2016) compiled a database of energy-related accidents across academic databases and news reports. They define an accident as “an unintentional incident or event at an energy facility that led to either one death (or more) or at least $50,000 in property damage,” which is consistent with definitions in the research literature.

This raises several questions about which incidents should and shouldn’t be attributed to a given energy technology. For example, this database included deaths related to an incident in which water from a water tank ruptured during a construction test at a solar factory. It’s not clear whether these supply chain deaths should or shouldn’t be attributed to solar technologies.

The comparability of these incidents across the different energy technologies is, therefore, difficult to assess with high certainty. One additional issue with this analysis by Sovacool et al. (2016) is that its database search was limited to English reports or non-English reports that had been translated. Some of these comparisons could therefore be a slight over- or underestimate. It is, however, unlikely that the position of these technologies would change significantly — renewable and nuclear technologies would consistently come out with a much lower death rate than fossil fuels. Consistent data collection and tracking of incidents across all energy technologies would greatly improve these comparisons.

We need improved estimates of the health impacts of the mining of minerals and materials for all energy sources

The figures presented in this research that I rely on do not include any health impacts from radiation exposure from the mining of metals and minerals used in supply chains.

While we might think that this would only have an impact on nuclear energy, analyses suggest that the carcinogenic toxicity of other sources — including solar, wind, hydropower, coal, and gas are all significantly higher across their supply chains. 13

These figures only measure workers' potential exposure to toxic elements. They do not give us estimates of potential death rates, which is why we do not include them in our referenced figures above.

However, the inclusion of these figures would not change the relative results, overall. Fossil fuels — coal, in particular — have a higher carcinogenic toxicity than both nuclear and renewables. Hence the relative difference between them would actually increase, rather than decrease. The key insight would still be the same: fossil fuels are much worse for human health, and both nuclear and modern renewables are similarly safe alternatives.

However, estimates of the health burden of rare minerals in energy supply chains are still an important gap to fill, so that we can learn about their impact and ultimately reduce these risks moving forward.

This article was first published in 2017. It was last updated in July 2022 based on more recent analysis and estimates of energy safety. Figures for the carbon intensity of different electricity sources were updated in March 2024 based on the most recent analysis of lifecycle emissions from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

​​Pierre Friedlingstein, Matthew W. Jones, Michael O'Sullivan, Robbie M. Andrew, Dorothee, C. E. Bakker, Judith Hauck, Corinne Le Quéré, Glen P. Peters, Wouter Peters, Julia Pongratz, Stephen Sitch, Josep G. Canadell, Philippe Ciais, Rob B. Jackson, Simone R. Alin, Peter Anthoni, Nicholas R. Bates, Meike Becker, Nicolas Bellouin, Laurent Bopp, Thi Tuyet Trang Chau, Frédéric Chevallier, Louise P. Chini, Margot Cronin, Kim I. Currie, Bertrand Decharme, Laique M. Djeutchouang, Xinyu Dou, Wiley Evans, Richard A. Feely, Liang Feng, Thomas Gasser, Dennis Gilfillan, Thanos Gkritzalis, Giacomo Grassi, Luke Gregor, Nicolas Gruber, Özgür Gürses, Ian Harris, Richard A. Houghton, George C. Hurtt, Yosuke Iida, Tatiana Ilyina, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Atul Jain, Steve D. Jones, Etsushi Kato, Daniel Kennedy, Kees Klein Goldewijk, Jürgen Knauer, Jan Ivar Korsbakken, Arne Körtzinger, Peter Landschützer, Siv K. Lauvset, Nathalie Lefèvre, Sebastian Lienert, Junjie Liu, Gregg Marland, Patrick C. McGuire, Joe R. Melton, David R. Munro, Julia E.M.S Nabel Shin-Ichiro Nakaoka, Yosuke Niwa, Tsuneo Ono, Denis Pierrot, Benjamin Poulter, Gregor Rehder, Laure Resplandy, Eddy Robertson, Christian Rödenbeck, Thais M Rosan, Jörg Schwinger, Clemens Schwingshackl, Roland Séférian, Adrienne J. Sutton, Colm Sweeney, Toste Tanhua, Pieter P Tans, Hanqin Tian, Bronte Tilbrook, Francesco Tubiello, Guido van der Werf, Nicolas Vuichard, Chisato Wada Rik Wanninkhof, Andrew J. Watson, David Willis, Andrew J. Wiltshire, Wenping Yuan, Chao Yue, Xu Yue, Sönke Zaehle, Jiye Zeng. Global Carbon Budget 2021, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 2021.

Per capita electricity consumption in the EU-27 in 2021 was around 6,400 kWh.

1 terawatt-hour is equal to 1,000,000,000 kilowatt-hours. So, we get this figure by dividing 1,000,000,000 by 6,400 ≈ 150,000 people.

The following sources were used to calculate these death rates.

Fossil fuels and biomass = these figures are taken directly from Markandya, A., & Wilkinson, P. (2007). Electricity generation and health . The Lancet , 370(9591), 979-990.

Nuclear = I have calculated these figures based on the assumption of 433 deaths from Chernobyl and 2,314 from Fukushima. These figures are based on the most recent estimates from UNSCEAR and the Government of Japan. In a related article , I detail where these figures come from.

I have calculated death rates by dividing this figure by cumulative global electricity production from nuclear from 1965 to 2021, which is 96,876 TWh.

Hydropower = The paper by Sovacool et al. (2016) provides a death rate for hydropower from 1990 to 2013. However, this period excludes some very large hydropower accidents that occurred prior to 1990. I have, therefore, calculated a death rate for hydropower from 1965 to 2021 based on the list of hydropower accidents provided by Sovacool et al. (2016), which extends back to the 1950s. Since this database ends in 2013, I have also included the Saddle Dam accident in Laos in 2018, which killed 71 people.

The total number of deaths from hydropower accidents from 1965 to 2021 was approximately 176,000. Of those, 171,000 were caused by the 1975 Banqian Dam failure in China.

I have calculated death rates by dividing this figure by cumulative global electricity production from hydropower from 1965 to 2021, which is 138,175 TWh.

Solar and wind = these figures are taken directly from Sovacool, B. K., Andersen, R., Sorensen, S., Sorensen, K., Tienda, V., Vainorius, A., … & Bjørn-Thygesen, F. (2016). Balancing safety with sustainability: assessing the risk of accidents for modern low-carbon energy systems . Journal of Cleaner Production , 112, 3952-3965. In this analysis, the authors compiled a database of as many energy-related accidents as possible based on an extensive search of academic databases and news reports and derived death rates for each source from 1990 to 2013. Since this database has not been extended since then, it’s not possible to provide post-2013 death rates.

UNSCEAR (2008). Sources and effects of Ionizing Radiation. UNSCEAR 2008 Report to the General Assembly with Scientific Annexes. Available online .

Report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. General Assembly Official Records, Sixty-eighth session, Supplement No. 46. New York: United Nations, Sixtieth session, May 27–31, 2013.

The main figures used in this analysis come from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Lifecycle Assessment of Electricity Generation Options , published in 2022.

These figures are similar to those published by the IPCC, and other energy organizations.

Schlömer S., T. Bruckner, L. Fulton, E. Hertwich, A. McKinnon, D. Perczyk, J. Roy, R. Schaeffer, R. Sims, P. Smith, and R. Wiser, 2014: Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

The figures for some technologies — such as solar — vary significantly depending on where they’re manufactured (and the country's electricity mix). Estimates range from around 23 grams CO 2 per kWh to 82 grams.

The carbon intensity of these technologies' production is likely to improve over time. The Carbon Brief provides a clear discussion of the significance of more recent lifecycle analyses in detail here .

Since oil is not conventionally used for electricity production, it is not included in the IPCC’s reported figures per kilowatt-hour. Figures for oil have, therefore, been taken from Turconi et al. (2013). It reports emissions in kilograms of CO2eq per megawatt-hour. Emissions factors for all other technologies are consistent with IPCC results. The range it gives for oil is 530–900: I have taken the midpoint estimate (715 kgCO2eq/MWh, or 715 gCO2eq/kWh).

Turconi, R., Boldrin, A., & Astrup, T. (2013). Life cycle assessment (LCA) of electricity generation technologies: Overview, comparability and limitations . Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews , 28, 555-565.

Burgherr, P., & Hirschberg, S. (2014). Comparative risk assessment of severe accidents in the energy sector . Energy Policy, 74, S45-S56.

McCombie, C., & Jefferson, M. (2016). Renewable and nuclear electricity: Comparison of environmental impacts. Energy Policy, 96, 758-769.

Hirschberg, S., Bauer, C., Burgherr, P., Cazzoli, E., Heck, T., Spada, M., & Treyer, K. (2016). Health effects of technologies for power generation: Contributions from normal operation, severe accidents and terrorist threat . Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 145, 373-387.

Luderer, G., Pehl, M., Arvesen, A., Gibon, T., Bodirsky, B. L., de Boer, H. S., … & Mima, S. (2019). Environmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of alternative power sector decarbonization strategies . Nature Communications, 10(1), 1-13.

Hertwich, E. G., Gibon, T., Bouman, E. A., Arvesen, A., Suh, S., Heath, G. A., … & Shi, L. (2015). Integrated life-cycle assessment of electricity-supply scenarios confirms global environmental benefit of low-carbon technologies . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(20), 6277-6282.

Xie, L., Huang, Y., & Qin, P. (2018). Spatial distribution of coal-fired power plants in China. Environment and Development Economics, 23(4), 495-515.

Coal: 24.62 deaths per TWh * 10,042 TWh = 247,000 deathsOil: 18.43 deaths per TWh * 852 TWh = 16,000 deathsGas: 2.82 deaths per TWh * 6,098 TWh = 17,000 deaths.This sums to a total of 280,000 people.

Lelieveld, J., Klingmüller, K., Pozzer, A., Burnett, R. T., Haines, A., & Ramanathan, V. (2019). Effects of fossil fuel and total anthropogenic emission removal on public health and climate . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(15), 7192-7197.

Vohra, K., Vodonos, A., Schwartz, J., Marais, E. A., Sulprizio, M. P., & Mickley, L. J. (2021). Global mortality from outdoor fine particle pollution generated by fossil fuel combustion: Results from GEOS-Chem . Environmental Research, 195, 110754.

Chowdhury, S., Pozzer, A., Haines, A., Klingmueller, K., Münzel, T., Paasonen, P., ... & Lelieveld, J. (2022). Global health burden of ambient PM2.5 and the contribution of anthropogenic black carbon and organic aerosols . Environment International, 159, 107020.

Leliveld et al. (2019) estimate that 8.8 million people die from all sources of air pollution each year. If we multiply this figure by 12%, we get 1.1 million people.Vohra et al. (2021) estimate that the death toll is 2.4 times higher than Leliveld et al. (2019). This would give a figure of 2.55 million deaths [1.1 million * 2.4]

UNECE (2021). Lifecycle Assessment of Electricity Generation Options . United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

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AP®︎/College Environmental science

Course: ap®︎/college environmental science   >   unit 5.

• Renewable and nonrenewable energy resources

Renewable and nonrenewable energy sources

• Global energy use
• Intro to energy resources and consumption
• Nonrenewable energy sources are those that are consumed faster than they can be replaced. Nonrenewable energy sources include nuclear energy as well as fossil fuels such as coal, crude oil, and natural gas. These energy sources have a finite supply, and often emit harmful pollutants into the environment.
• Renewable energy sources are those that are naturally replenished on a relatively short timescale. Renewable energy sources include solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal energy. They also include biomass and hydrogen fuels. These energy sources are sustainable and generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions than fossil fuels.

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Conventional Sources of Energy

‘Always surround yourself with positive energy’. You must have heard this phrase quite a lot; what is this energy we’re talking about? Do things have energy in them? And are these things conventional sources of energy? But, before that what are conventional sources of energy? How do we obtain this energy? Since all living beings use energy for various vital activities inside as well as outside their body. So, let us study about various conventional sources of energy below.

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What is energy.

Energy is one of the most important components of economic infrastructure. In a developing economy, the energy demand is high from sectors like agriculture , industry , residential and economical. Energy resources are very much necessary for the existence of mankind.

Classification of Energy Sources

Energy sources can be divided into two types based on how quickly can they be replenished:

• Conventional sources of Energy
• Non-conventional sources of Energ y

What is a conventional source of energy?

When we cannot reuse a source of energy after using it once we call them  “conventional sources of energy”  or “ non-renewable energy resources” . They are the most important conventional sources of energy. These include coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear energy. Oil is the most widely used source of energy.  Coal, petroleum and natural gas account for about 90% of world’s production of commercial energy and hydroelectric and nuclear power account for about 10%.

Browse more Topics under Sources Of Energy

• Non-Conventional Sources of Energy
• Nuclear Energy and Environmental Consequences of Energy

Types of Conventional Sources of Energy:

Coal is the most abundant conventional source of energy which could last for at least 200 years. It is a black-brown sedimentary rock. Formation of coal occurs when the remains of plants convert into lignite and then into anthracite. This involves a long process that takes place over a long period of time. Coal helps for various proposes such as heating of the house, as fuel for boilers and steam engines and for generation of electricity by thermal plants. It constitutes about 70% of total commercial energy consumption in the country.

Out of all the conventional sources of energy, oil is used abundantly all over. Considering, oil is one of the most important conventional sources of energy in India, the resources for same are even smaller. The extraction of oil from deposits is known as oil resources.

Petroleum and Natural Gas

Petroleum is the mixture of hydrocarbons like alkanes and cycloalkanes. In crude form black liquid is known as petroleum and the formation of a natural gas occurs when the gas comes in contact with petroleum layer. Natural gas is a mixture of 50-90% of Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane, and Hydrogen sulphide.  After refining and purifying crude petroleum, it is available as petrol, diesel, lubricating oil, plastic etc. Natural gas is also making a significant contribution to the household sector. It causes less air pollution as compared to other fossil fuel.

Rural people use the fuelwood for their day to day cooking which comes from natural forests and plantations. The availability of fuelwood has become difficult due to rapid deforestation. We can avoid this problem by planting more trees on degraded forest land, culturable wasteland, barren land grazing land.

Thermal Power Plant

Power stations burn a large number of fossil fuels to heat up water, to produce steam, which further runs the turbine to generate electricity. Transmission of electricity is more efficient than, transporting coal or petroleum over the same distance. It is called as the thermal plant because fuel is burnt to produce heat energy which is converted into electrical energy.

Nuclear energy

A small amount of radioactive substance can produce a lot of energy through the nuclear substances all over the world. In order to obtain nuclear energy, nuclear reactions are essential and there are about 300 nuclear reactions. Nuclear energy is one of the most environmentally friendly conventional sources of energy as it produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions during the production of electricity in comparison to sources like coal power plants. Although in case of accidents, this same nuclear energy releases in high amount in the environment. Also, the nuclear waste that remains is radioactive and hazardous.

Learn more about 5 Different types of Non-Conventional Sources of Energy here .

• The human race widely uses these conventional sources of energy and therefore the magnitude of usage is so high that the resources are depleting at an even faster rate.
• At present, many countries are overly dependent on fossil fuels to meet their requirement for power.
• The deposits of petroleum in our country are quickly exhausting and if it continues, there will be soon complete exhaustion of all the conventional sources of energy.

Solved Example for You

Q. Choose the source of energy which is different from others.

b. Falling Water

d. Petroleum

Sol: d. Petroleum

From the given options, wood, water, and wind are the renewable or conventional sources of energy, whereas petroleum is a limited and non-renewable source of energy.

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Sources of Energy

• Natural Sources of Energy
• Biogas Energy
• Tidal Energy
• Non-Renewable Energy
• Management of Natural Resources
• Solar Energy
• Renewable Energy
• Geothermal Energy
• Fossil Fuel

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Research Publications

Wind energy biography: a review of wind turbine technology and economics.

Wind energy is widely acknowledged as one of the most sustainable sources of electricity: environmental impacts are relatively low, further reductions in production costs are expected, the distribution of global wind resources is diverse, and the potential for market expansion is large.  Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions per unit of wind energy are approximately ninety percent less than emissions from conventional fossil fuel power sources, and bird population impacts and of noise pollution have been reduced significantly in recent years.  For these and other reasons, a range of policies have been adopted in various countries to promote wind energy development. 

A combination of technological improvements, cost reductions, and economic incentives has made wind energy the fastest growing source of electricity, with installed global capacity doubling approximately every three years over the last decade.  The state of the art turbine in 1989 was a 300 kW unit with a rotor diameter of 30 meters.  By 1999, 1.5 MW wind turbines with 70 meter rotor diameters were available, and today 4 to 5 MW turbines are under development.  Total installed global wind capacity was 4,844 MW by the end of 1995, and had increased over threefold to 17,706 MW by the end of 2000 (Ackerman and Söder 2002).  Today’s production costs are one-sixth the costs seen in the early 1980’s, averaging around $0.04 to $0.06 per kWh, and production costs are projected to drop to $0.027 to $0.045 per kWh by 2030 (this report). 

A variety of technological and economic issues underlie these impressive developments in wind energy.  Several extensive reviews of wind energy technology have recently been published and cover these developments from various perspectives.  Ackerman and Söder (2002) review recent global developments and major wind power characteristics.  A recent book by Manwell, McGowan and Rogers (2002) provides detailed information on the theory and analysis of wind turbine design and operation.  An updated version of Hau’s book on wind technology (2000) provides a detailed account of a range of issues, including turbine design, manufacturing and economics.  

This report is intended as a general primer on wind energy technology, with a focus on technological characteristics and how they relate to the economics of wind energy.  It draws upon the three major sources mentioned above, as well as a variety of additional sources, to provide a concise survey of four wind energy topics: 1) characteristics and extent of wind resources, 2) fundamentals of wind turbine technology, 3) intermittency of wind energy and the roles of transmission and storage, and 4) the economics of wind energy.  Within these topics, there is an emphasis on the theoretical aspects of converting wind energy into electricity, was well as subsequent conversion of electricity into hydrogen. 

Renewable Energy Sources

Melaina, Marc. 2004. Wind Energy Biography: A Review of Wind Turbine Technology and Economics. University of Michigan: Ann Arbor: 1-46.

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• Conventional and Non-conventional Sources of Energy

What is Energy?

The word 'Energy' defines the capacity or ability to do work . Energy exists in many forms, including Kinetic Energy, Electrical Energy, Thermal Energy, Potential Energy, Chemical Energy, Nuclear Energy, etc. Motion is associated with all forms of energy . For example – any object or body in motion has Kinetic Energy associated with it. According to the principle of Conservation of Energy or the first law of Thermodynamics, energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can only be changed from one form to another. There are two prime sources of energy, namely, the Conventional Sources of Energy, and the Non-conventional Sources of Energy.

Energy is a major part of life and not only just the economic infrastructure and hence this being the basic energy needed for almost all the needs in life it is true that the energy is being exhausted as days go by. Those energies that are continuously being formed in nature are termed nonconventional energy or also called renewable energy sources. These are of various types depending on their sources. Conventional energy on the other hand is based on fossils and hence these are possibly going to be extinct quite soon. Due to the energy sources being extinct quite soon it has become an important matter on how to save these energies.

Understanding the Conventional Sources of Energy

The Conventional Sources of Energy are also known as the non-renewable sources of energy, which are present in a limited quantity and are being consumed by human beings for many years now. These non-renewable sources of energy are the decaying matters, which take over hundreds of years to form, for example, coal, petroleum, etc. So, if they are depleted once, they can never be generated at a speed or pace, which could sustain their rate of consumption.

The conventional sources of energy can be further classified into two types, namely, the commercial energy sources and the non-commercial energy sources.

What are Commercial Energy Sources?

Commercial energy sources are those energy sources for which the consumer needs to pay the price for the consumption. For instance - coal, petroleum, oil, natural gas, and electricity.

Coal: Without any second thoughts, coal is indeed the most vital source of energy. The formation of coal takes place when dead plant matter decays into peat (accumulation of partially decayed organic matter or vegetation) which is converted into coal by pressure and heat over millions of years. Coal is mostly composed of Carbon. It has variable amounts of other elements also, like Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Sulphur, and Oxygen.

Natural Gas and Oil: Natural gas is one of the most crucial sources of energy in the world whereas oil is considered to be liquid gold. Oil is formed from a large number of tiny animals and plants, which when die, get trapped at the bottom of the sea under multiple layers of sand and mud, and get exposed to heat and pressure. It is widely used in trains, ships, automobiles, and planes. Natural gas is formed when several layers of decomposing animal and plant matter are exposed to intense pressure and heat over millions of years under the surface of Earth. It is used for various purposes, including cooking, heating, and electricity generation.

Electricity: Electricity is a form of energy, in which there is a flow of electrons (electric charge) in one direction. Electricity can be produced using fossil fuels (coal and petroleum), nuclear power, and renewable alternatives (solar, wind, or hydropower). As a common source of energy, electricity is commonly used for commercial and domestic purposes. The electricity is primarily utilized in electrical appliances, including refrigerators, air conditioners (AC), TV, and washing machines. 

The Prime Sources of Power Generation are as follows

Nuclear Power

Hydro-electric Power

Thermal Power

Thermal Power: By utilizing coal and oil, thermal power is generated at several power stations. The production of thermal power is the conversion of fuel into heat. It is generated using thermal generators and specifically designed furnaces. A thermal power plant burns fuels for boiling water and making steam. The steam produced then spins a turbine connected to a generator that weaves electricity.

Hydroelectric Power: Hydroelectric power is generated or produced with the help of constructing dams above the flowing rivers, for example, Bhakra Nangal Project and Damodar Valley Project. Flowing water creates energy that can be further captured and eventually turned into electricity. Water is released from the reservoir and then flows through a turbine. The turbine spins the water and activates a generator, which produces electricity.

Nuclear Power: Nuclear power plants use uranium and plutonium as fuel, which is less expensive than coal. The vast majority of electricity from Nuclear Power is produced via nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and nuclear decay reactions.

Understanding the Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

Also referred to as the renewable sources of energy, the non-conventional sources of energy refer to those energy sources, which are replenished by natural processes, that too continuously. The non-conventional sources of energy can’t be exhausted easily and can be generated at a constant rate for their use over and over again. Furthermore, these energy sources do not pollute the environment and natural surroundings and require less expenditure. A few examples of non-conventional sources of energy include wind energy, tidal energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, and biomass energy. The reason why they are also called renewable sources of energy lies in the fact that they can be produced or generated through natural processes, at a rate greater than or equal to the rate of their consumption.

What are Non-Commercial Energy Sources?

In general, non-commercial energy sources are those energy sources that are freely available, and the consumers don't need to pay the price for their consumption. A few examples of non-commercial energy sources include firewood, straw, dried dung, etc.

Solar Energy: Solar energy is the energy produced or generated by sunlight. Based on the form of energy that needs to be produced or generated, the photovoltaic cells are exposed to sunlight. Solar energy is widely utilized for the distillation of water and cooking purposes.

Wind Energy: Wind energy is the energy generated or produced by harnessing the power of the wind. It is widely utilized in the operation of water pumps for irrigation purposes. India is the second-largest producer of wind power in the world.

Tidal Energy: Tidal energy is the energy produced or generated by exploiting the tidal waves of the sea. As a non-conventional source of energy, tidal energy is still left to be tapped due to the lack of cost-effective technology.

Advantages of Non-Conventional Energy over Conventional Energy

Nonconventional energy also called the renewable source of energy is an indigenous source that is available and has a significant impact on local and regional economic industries.

There is also a huge scope of research in the nonconventional energy source sectors regarding its future and its utilization in science and other applications.

The power plants that are based on nonconventional energy do not have much high fuel cost and are hence much more affordable for people and industries.

Renewable energy has low energy density and is also helpful in reducing pollution and providing a sustainable environment to live in.

It requires a short gestation period and a low amount to be invested.

FAQs on Conventional and Non-conventional Sources of Energy

1. What is geothermal energy and how is it beneficial?

The name geothermal has been coined by two words one being geo which means rocks or soil and the other word thermal indicates heat. Hence this energy is obtained by hot rocks that are present in the earth’s crust. The geothermal wells that are present tend to release greenhouse gases that are trapped inside the earth’s crust. These emissions however are very low in energy as compared to those obtained by fossil fuels. These also have low running costs as they tend to save at least 80 percent of fossil fuels and hence also reduce global warming and pollution.

2. What are the main uses of solar energy and why is it in high demand?

Solar energy is highly useful nowadays and some of its main uses can be provided a follows:

The solar cooker uses the power of the sun to transfer the heat from the source to the bottom of the vessel while going through the secondary reflector.

Solar energy is also used in solar heaters where it is used to heat waters without using either electricity or gas

Solar cells are those that use solar energy to power electricity.

Solar calculators are also available that use solar energy to perform all functions

Due to all these uses solar energy is in high demand recently.

3. What does biomass energy consist of and is it possible to create biomass energy even at homes?

Biomass energy is made up of completely organic matter such as the wastes obtained from plants,  animals, wood, sewage, and other such substances. All of this waste matter burns and produces heat energy which then is useful in generating electricity. The chemical composition tends to vary generally however most of the biomass energy consists of 25% lignin and 75% of carbohydrates or sugar matter. Biomass energy that is produced is highly beneficial in cooking, lighting, and the generation of electricity. The residue which is left after the biogas is removed is manure which is good for various plants’ growth.  This energy made of waste that is readily available at home can be produced as long as the instrument is available.

4. Why are non-conventional energies important to humans?

As there is an increase in the consumption of energy the population is highly dependent on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. There is a need to secure these energy supplies for the distant future since there is increasing scarcity and the prices are also increasing day by day. It is hence required that we use more renewable energy sources than non-renewable ones. It is hence required that humans depend more on non-conventional energies than on conventional energies. There is also a separate department by the government named the “Department of non-conventional sources of energy” that overlooks this matter.

5. What is the importance of learning about the Conventional and Non-conventional Sources of Energy?

With the increase in industrialization and the growth in population, the energy demand is ever-increasing. To meet this demand the conventional sources might be very scarce and hence the non-conventional sources help us depend less on the conventional sources of energy. Vedantu also makes sure that students understand how the conventional sources being low now need to be saved. Students can also take a look at the Vedantu NCERT Solutions for Physics in order to learn more about this.

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11: Conventional and Sustainable Energy

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 106563

• Matthew R. Fisher
• Oregon Coast Community College via OpenOregon

Learning Objectives

• Outline the history of human energy use
• Understand the challenges to continued reliance on fossil energy
• Outline environmental impacts of energy use
• Understand the global capacity for each non-renewable energy source
• Evaluate the different energy sources based on their environmental impact
• Understand the key factors in the growth of renewable energy sources

Chapter Outline

• 11.1 Challenges and Impacts of Energy Use
• 11.2 Non-Renewable Energy Sources
• 11.3 Renewable Energy Sources
• 11.4 Combined Heat and Power as an Alternative Energy Source

Thumbnail image - Wind farm near Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2014 wind power met 39% of electricity demand in Denmark.

• Accountancy
• Business Studies
• Commercial Law
• Organisational Behaviour
• Human Resource Management
• Entrepreneurship
• CBSE Class 12 Indian Economic Development Notes

Chapter 1: Indian Economy on the Eve of Independence

• Indian Economy on the eve of Independence
• Agriculture Sector on the Eve of Independence
• Industrial Sector on the Eve of Independence
• Foreign Trade and Demographic Condition on the Eve of Independence
• Occupational Structure and Infrastructure on the Eve of Independence
• Policies of British Rulers that led to Exploitation of Indian Economy
• Impact of Partition on the Indian Economy

Chapter 2: Indian Economy (1950-1990)

• Indian Economy (1950-1990): Economic System adopted by Independent India
• Economic Planning during 1950-1990
• India’s Five Year Plan
• Evaluation (Achievements and Failures) of Economic Planning till 1991
• Agriculture during 1950-1990
• Policies or Measures to Solve Agricultural Problems during 1950-1990
• Green Revolution: Impacts, Achievements and Shortcomings
• Debate Over Subsidies to Agriculture
• Industries during 1950-1990
• Industrial Policy Revolution, 1956
• Foreign Trade during 1950-1990|Trade Policy: Import Substitution
• P.C. Mahalanobis and His Contribution

Chapter 3: Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation: An Appraisal

• Economic Reforms: Need and Criticism of Economic Reforms
• New Economic Policy 1991: Objectives and Components
• Liberalisation: Meaning, Economic Reforms Adopted by Indian Government and Objectives
• Privatisation: Meaning, Disinvestment, Rationale and Obstacles to Privatisation in India
• Globalisation: Meaning, Advantages, Disadvantages and Types
• World Trade Organisation (WTO): Features, Functions and Objectives
• Impact of Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation
• Concept and Features of Demonetization
• What is GST? Types, Features, Benefits, Input Tax Credit, GST Council

Chapter 4: Poverty

• Poverty : Meaning, Characteristics, and Measures
• Difference between Relative Poverty and Absolute Poverty
• Poverty Line: Meaning, Determination, Types and Criticism
• Trends and Dimensions of Poverty in India
• Impact and Causes of Poverty
• What are the Government Approach to remove Poverty?
• Poverty Alleviation Programmes in India
• Measures to Remove Poverty
• Anti-Poverty Measures

Chapter 5: Human Capital Formation in India

• Human Capital Formation: Meaning, Sources, Role and Importance
• Difference between Physical Capital and Human Capital
• Sources of Human Capital Formation
• Problems of Human Capital Formation
• Role of Human Capital on Economic Growth
• Difference between Human Capital and Human Development
• Human Capital Formation in India: Growth of the Education Sector in India

Chapter 6: Rural Development

• Rural Development: Meaning, Significance, Process and Evaluation
• Rural Credit: Meaning, Purpose, Need, Sources and Critical Appraisal
• Sources of Rural Credit
• Agricultural Marketing: Meaning, Measures, Defects and Alternate Marketing Channels
• Agricultural Diversification: Needs, Benefits and Types
• Organic Farming: Meaning, Benefits, Challenges and Future Prospects of Organic Farming

Chapter 7: Employment: Growth, Informalisation and Other Issues

• Employment: Meaning, Importance, Basic Terms of Employment and Participation of people in Employment
• Forms of Employment: Self and Wage Employment
• Distribution of Employment
• Growth and Changing Structure of Employment
• Informalisation of Indian Workforce
• Difference between Formal Sector and Informal Sector
• Unemployment: Meaning, Types, Causes, Effects and Remedial Measures
• Unemployment and its Types

Chapter 8: Infrastructure

• Infrastructure: Meaning, Characteristics, Importance and Types
• Energy Infrastructure
• Difference between Commercial and Non-commercial Sources of Energy

Conventional vs Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

• Health Infrastructure in India
• Power Infrastructure: Sources, Challenges and Measures to meet Power Crisis
• Difference between Economic Infrastructure and Social Infrastructure

Chapter 9: Environment and Sustainable Development

• Environment: Meaning, Functions, and Reasons for Environmental Crisis
• Environmental Degradation in India
• Causes and Impact of Environmental Degradation
• What are the measures to control Environmental Degradation ?
• Sustainable Development: Meaning, Objectives and Strategies

Conventional and Non-Conventional Sources of Energy are the two types of sources of energy. Conventional Sources of Energy refer to the traditional form of power/energy production sources and include fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, oil, etc. However, Non-Conventional Sources of Energy refer to the newer and less commonly used sources of energy that have the potential to play a crucial role in fulfilling future needs. These include renewable energy sources like wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectric, etc.

What is Conventional Source of Energy?

The sources of energy that are in use for a long and can be stored are known as Conventional Sources of Energy. These are non-renewable sources of energy. For example, coal, natural gas, electricity, thermal power, cow dung, straw, etc. Even in the present times, many industries use coal and oil. Commercial and Non-commercial Sources of Energy are known as Conventional Sources of Energy.

What is Non-conventional Source of Energy?

The sources of energy which have only recently come into use are known as Non-conventional Sources of Energy. These sources are renewable sources of energy. For example, wind energy, solar energy, bio-gas, tidal power, and geo-thermal energy. As India is a tropical country, its potential to produce non-conventional sources of energy is almost unlimited. Although it is possible if the already available appropriate cost-effective technologies are used. However, as these sources of energy are inexhaustible, besides facing the problem of heavy cost and management, harnessing and storing them also involves a lot of problems. This is the reason why these sources are generally not used in industries.

Conventional v/s Non-Conventional Sources of Energy

Conventional and non-conventional sources of energy – faqs, what are the benefits of conventional sources of energy.

Conventional Sources of Energy provides high energy density, have well-established distribution networks and infrastructure, are reliable, and can provide constant energy supply.

What are the drawbacks of Non-Conventional Sources of Energy?

Non-Conventional Sources of Energy involves high initial setup cost for infrastructure, can be intermittent, and are dependent on weather conditions. Besides, some of the sources may also require large land areas or may have negative impact on the environment.

Which is better, Conventional or Non-Conventional Sources of Energy?

Various factors including cost, availability, environmental impact, and technological advancements plays a key role in deciding between conventional and non-conventional sources of energy. However, at present times, people are preferring non-conventional sources over conventional sources, as they are more sustainable and have the potential to mitigate climate change.

How can we contribute to the use of non-conventional sources of energy?

Following things can be done to contribute to the use of non-conventional sources of energy: We can install solar panels at our homes for electricity generation. We can invest in appliances that are energy-efficient, helping in the reduction of overall energy consumption. We can also contribute by supporting the initiatives and policies, promoting the adoption of renewable sources of energy at every level (local, national, and international).

What are the emerging Non-Conventional Sources of Energy?

Some of the emerging Non-Conventional Sources of Energy include, wave energy, tidal energy, hydrogen fuel cells, and Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC).

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Renewable & Non-Conventional Sources Of Energy

• February 6, 2016
• Sep 27, 2019
• Energy Sources , General Science

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Renewable & Non-Conventional Sources Of Energy

With reference to two non-conventional energy sources called ‘coal bed methane’ and ‘shale gas’, consider the following ‘statements:

• Coal bed methane is the pure methane gas extracted from coal seams, while shale gas is a mixture of propane and butane only that can be extracted from fine-grained sedimentary rocks.
• In India abundant coal bed methane sources exist, but so far no shale gas sources have been found.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

• Both 1 and 2
• Neither 1 nor 2

CBM = Methane

Shale gas = Lot of Methane + Little Ethane, Propane, & Butane + very little carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen sulfide .

Abundant shale reserves occur in India.

Biomass [Conventional Source]

• Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from plant and animal waste.
• The energy from biomass (biomass conversion) is released on burning or breaking the chemical bonds of organic molecules formed during photosynthesis.
• Biomass fuels can be used directly or they can be transformed into more convenient form and then used.

Sources of biomass

• By-products from the timber industry, agricultural crops and their byproducts, raw material from the forest, major parts of household waste and wood.
• Solid Biomass fuels: Wood logs and wood pellets, charcoal, agricultural waste (stalks and other plant debris), animal waste (dung), aquatic plants (kelp and water hyacinths) urban waste (paper, cardboard and other combustible materials).

Conversion to gaseous and liquid biofuels

• Biomass can be converted into alcohol (liquid biofuels) by distillation.
• Liquid Biofuels: Ethanol, Methanol, Gasoho, Biodiesel .
• Gaseous Biofuels: Synthetic natural gas ( biogas ), Wood gas: Methane – 70% and CO2 – 30%.
• Instead of burning loose biomass directly, it is more practical to compress it into briquettes (compressing them into blocks of a chosen shape) improve its utility and convenience of use.
• Such biomass in the biomass briquettes can be used as fuel in place of coal in traditional furnaces or in a gasifier.
• A gasifier converts solid fuels into a more convenient-to-use gaseous fuel called producer gas.

Uses of biomass

• In the developed world biomass is becoming important for applications such as combined heat and power generation.
• Biomass energy is gaining significance as a source of clean heat for domestic heating and community heating applications.

Advantages of biomass energy

• Burning of biomass does not increase atmospheric carbon dioxide because to begin with biomass was formed by atmospheric carbon dioxide and the same amount of carbon dioxide is released on burning.
• Biomass is an important source of energy and the most important fuel worldwide after coal, oil and natural gas.
• Biomass is renewable and is abundantly available on the earth in the form of firewood, agricultural residues, cattle dung, city garbage etc.
• Bio-energy, in the form of biogas, which is derived from biomass, is expected to become one of the key energy resources for global sustainable development.

Bagasse as biofuel

• Indian sugar mills are rapidly turning to bagasse, the leftover of cane after it is crushed and its juice extracted, to generate electricity.
• This is mainly being done to clean up the environment, cut down power costs and earn additional revenue.

Biogas plant

• The biogas plant consists of two components: a digester (or fermentation tank) and a gas holder.
• The gas holder cuts off air to the digester (anaerobiosis) and collects the gas generated.
• Any biodegradable (that which can be decomposed by bacteria) substance can be fermented anaerobically (in absence of oxygen) by methane-producing (methanogenic) bacteria.
• Cowdung or faeces are collected and put in a biogas digester or fermenter (a large vessel in which fermentation can take place).
• A series of chemical reactions occur in the presence of methanogenic bacteria (CH4 generating bacteria) leading to the production of CH4 and CO2.

Petro crops (Plants)

• Recent researches suggest that hydrocarbon producing plants can become alternative energy sources, which can be inexhaustible and ideal for liquid fuel.
• These plants called petroplants/petrocrops can be grown on land which are unfit for agriculture and not covered with forests. Jatropa curcas is an important petro plant.
• Biocrude can be obtained by tapping the latex of Jatropa curcas.
• Biocrude is a complex mixture of liquids, terpenoids, triglycerides, phytosterols waxes, and other modified isoprenoid compounds.
• Hydro cracking of biocrude can convert it into several useful products like gasoline (automobile fuel), gas oil and kerosene.
• Some potential Petro-crop species belong to family Asclepiadaceae and Euphorbiaceae .

Geothermal Energy

• Geothermal energy is natural heat from the interior of the earth that can be used to generate electricity as well as to heat up buildings.
• The core of the earth is very hot and it is possible to make use of this geothermal energy.
• These are areas where there are volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers, and methane under the water in the oceans and seas.
• In some countries, such as in the USA water is pumped from underground hot water deposits and used for heating of houses.
• Geothermal resource falls into three major categories: i) Geopressurized zones, ii) hot-rock zones and iii) Hydrothermal convection zones. Of these three only the first is currently being exploited on a commercial basis.

Geothermal energy in India

• In India, Northwestern Himalayas and the western coast are considered geothermal areas.
• The Geological Survey of India has already identified more than 350 hot spring sites, which can be explored as areas to tap geothermal energy.
• The Puga valley in the Ladakh region has the most promising geothermal field.

Environmental impact of geothermal energy

• Geothermal energy can pose several environmental problems which includes on-site noise, emissions of gas and disturbance at drilling sites.
• The steam contains hydrogen sulphide gas, which has the odour of rotten eggs, and cause air pollution.
• The minerals in the steam are also toxic to fish and they are corrosive to pipes, and equipment, requiring constant maintenance.

Hydrogen Energy

• Many scientists believe that the fuel for the future is hydrogen gas.
• When hydrogen gas burns in the air or in fuel cells, it combines with oxygen gas to produce non-polluting water vapour and fuel cells directly convert hydrogen into electricity.
• Widespread use of hydrogen as fuel would greatly reduce the problem of air pollution and danger of global warming because there will not be any CO2 emission.
• Hydrogen may be a clean source of energy but getting large amount of pure hydrogen for commercial purposes is a problem because hydrogen is present in combination with other elements such as oxygen, carbon and nitrogen thus hydrogen has to be produced from either water or organic compounds like methane etc. requiring large amounts of energy. This is a very costly proposition.
• Producing hydrogen from algae in large scale cultures is possible. It may be possible to control photosynthesis so that green algae are able to produce hydrogen through the process of photosynthesis.
• Hydrogen is a pollution free, cost effective manner and if technologies such as fuel cells can be made cost effective, then hydrogen has the potential to provide clean, alternative energy for diverse uses, including lighting, power, heating, cooling, transportation and many more.

Fuel Cell Technology

• Fuel cells are highly efficient power-generating systems that produce electricity by combining fuel (hydrogen) and oxygen in an electrochemical reaction.
• Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert the chemical energy of a fuel directly and very efficiently into electricity (DC) and heat, thus doing away with combustion.
• Hydrogen and phosphoric acid are the most common type of fuel cells, although fuel cells that run on methanol, ethanol, and natural gas are also available.
• The most suitable fuel for such cells is hydrogen or a mixture of compounds containing hydrogen.
• A fuel cell consists of an electrolyte sandwiched between two electrodes. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the other, and they react electrochemically to generate electricity, water, and heat.
• Though rapid progress has been made; high initial cost is still the biggest hurdle in the widespread commercialization of fuel cells.
• The rapidly depleting fossil fuel sources of energy and escalating demand of energy have made it necessary to look for alternative sources of energy that are known as renewable or inexhaustible. We can define inexhaustible energy resources as ‘those resources which can be harnessed without depletion’. Most of these resources are free from pollution and some of them can be used at all places. These renewable energy resources are also known as non-conventional or inexhaustible or alternate energy sources. These energy sources are solar, flowing water, wind, hydrogen and geothermal. We get renewable solar energy directly from the sun and indirectly from moving water, wind and biomass. Like fossil fuels and nuclear power, each of these alternatives renewable sources of energy has their own advantages and disadvantages. We are going to discuss some of them in detail.

Solar Energy

• Direct solar energy can be used as heat, light, and electricity through the use of solar cells.
• Direct use of solar energy can be used through various devices broadly directed into three types of systems a) passive, b) active c) photovoltaic.

Passive solar energy

• As you know some of the earliest uses of solar energy were passive in nature such as to evaporate sea water for producing salt and to dry food and clothes.
• In fact solar energy is still being used for these purposes. The more recent passive uses of solar energy is for cooking, heating, cooling and for the day lighting of homes and buildings.

Active use of solar energy

• Active solar heating and cooling systems rely on solar collectors which are usually mounted on roofs.
• Such systems also requires pumps and motors to move the fluids or blow air by fan in order to deliver the captured heat.
• A number of different active solar heating systems are available. The main application of these systems is to provide hot water, primarily for domestic use.

Solar cells or photovoltaic technology

• Solar energy can be converted directly into electrical energy (direct current, DC) by photovoltaic (PV) cells commonly called solar cells.
• Photovoltaic cells are made of silicon and other materials. When sunlight strikes the silicon atoms it causes electrons to eject. This principle is called as ‘ photoelectric effect ’.
• A typical solar cell is a transparent wafer that contains a very thin semiconductor.
• Sunlight energizes and causes electrons in the semiconductor to flow, creating an electrical current.

With reference to technologies for solar power production, consider the following statements:

• ‘Photovoltaics’ is a technology that generates electricity by direct conversion of light into electricity, while ‘Solar Thermal’ is a technology that utilizes the Sun’s rays to generate heat which is further used in electricity generation process.
• Photovoltaics generates Alternating Current (AC), while Solar Thermal generates Direct Current (DC).
• India has manufacturing base for Solar Thermal technology, but not for Photovoltaics.

Which of the statements given above is / are correct?

• 2 and 3 only

Explanation:

Photoelectric effect = When light strikes on a material, electrons are dislodged [photons dislodge electrons].

Photovoltaic = The dislodged electrons if channeled through a conductor will create electric current (voltage Or potential difference) = Solar Panels . [Electric current is nothing but movement of electrons from high potential to low potential area (more electrons to less electrons region)]

Solar thermal = converting light into heat = solar cooker, solar water heater .

Photovoltaics generate direct current (DC). [Rotating = AC, Stationary = DC. Electric generator, wind turbine generate AC while solar panels generate DC]

Solar thermal is mostly used for water heating purposes. Electricity can be generated by using hot water steam to rotate turbine = AC current.

In India both solar panels and solar cookers are manufactured. [Remember Indian – USA WTO ‘domestic content’ dispute?]

Answer: a) 1 only

Tidal energy.

• Tidal power projects attempt to harness the energy of tides as they flow in and out.
• The main criteria for a tidal power generation site are that the mean tidal range must be greater than 5 metres.
• The tidal power is harnessed by building a dam across the entrance to a bay or estuary creating a reservoir.
• As the tide rises, water is initially prevented from entering the bay. Then when tides are high and water is sufficient to run the turbines, the dam is opened and water flows through it into the reservoir (the bay), turning the blades of turbines and generating electricity.
• Again when the reservoir (the bay) is filled, the dam is closed, stopping the flow and holding the water in reservoir when the tide falls (ebb tide), the water level in the reservoir is higher than that in the ocean.
• The dam is then opened to run the turbines (which are reversible), electricity is produced as the water is let out of the reservoir.
• The dams built to harness the tidal power adversely affect the vegetation and wildlife.

Hydropower Energy

• Hydroelectric power uses the kinetic energy of moving water to make electricity.
• Generation of electricity by using the force of falling water is called hydroelectricity or hydel power. It is cheaper than thermal or nuclear power.
• Dams are built to store water at a higher level; which is made to fall to rotate turbines that generate electricity.
• One of the greatest advantages of hydropower is that once the dam is built and turbines become operative, it is relatively cheap and clean source of energy.
• Hydropower also has some disadvantages, building of dam seriously disturbs and damages the natural habitats and some of them are lost forever.

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)

• The ministry was established as the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources in 1992. It adopted its current name in October 2006.
• The Ministry is mainly responsible for
• research and development,
• intellectual property protection, and
• international cooperation, promotion, and coordination in renewable energy sources such as wind power, small hydro, biogas, and solar power.
• To develop and deploy new and renewable energy for supplementing the energy requirements of India.
• Bring in Energy Security;
• Increase the share of clean power;
• Increase Energy Availability and Access;
• Improve Energy Affordability; and
• Maximise Energy Equity.

Initiatives

Jawaharlal nehru national solar mission (jnnsm).

• Remote Village Lighting Programme
• National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP)
• Solar Lantern Programme LALA
• Solar thermal energy Demonstration Programme
• National Biomass Cookstoves Initiative (NBCI)[8]
• National Offshore Wind Energy Authority

Key functional area

Indian renewable energy development agency (ireda).

• Integrated Rural Energy Programme (IREP);
• Commission for Additional Sources of Energy (CASE);
• Also known as the National Solar Mission
• To establish India as a global leader in solar energy, by creating the policy conditions for its diffusion across the country as quickly as possible.
• To promote ecologically sustainable growth while addressing India’s energy security challenges.
• Major contribution by India to the global effort to meet the challenges of climate change .
• One of the several initiatives that are part of National Action Plan on Climate Change .
• The program was inaugurated in 2010.
• Initial target was 20GW by 2022 and it was increased to 100 GW in 2015 Union budget.
• Long term goal: Global leader in solar energy; maximum in energy production.
• Immediate goal: Setting up an enabling environment for solar technology penetration in the country.

Targets are set for three phases

• First phase 2010-13
• Second phase 2013–17
• Third Phase 2017–22
• At each stage progress will be reviewed and roadmap for future targets will be adopted.
• Total target of 100,000 MW by 2022 .
• MNRE has proposed to achieve it through 40,000 MW through Rooftop Solar Projects and 60,000 MW through Large and Medium Scale solar projects.

Domestic content controversy

• Guidelines for the solar mission mandated cells and modules for solar PV projects based on crystalline silicon to be manufactured in India.
• This accounts to over 60% of total system costs.
• For solar thermal, guidelines mandated 30% project to have domestic content.
• A vigorous controversy emerged between power project developers and solar PV equipment manufacturers.
• The former camp prefers to source modules by accessing highly competitive global market to attain flexible pricing, better quality, predictable delivery and use of latest technologies.
• The latter camp prefers a controlled/planned environment to force developers to purchase modules from a small, albeit growing, group of module manufacturers in India.
• Manufacturers want to avoid competition with global players and are lobbying the government to incentivize growth of local industry.
• US Trade Representative has filed a complaint at World Trade Organization challenging India’s domestic content requirements citing discrimination against US exports.
• WTO ruled in favor of USA.
• IREDA is a Mini Ratna (Category – I) Government of India Enterprise.
• It is under the administrative control of MNRE.
• IREDA is Public Limited Government Company established as a Non-Banking Financial Institution in 1987 engaged in promoting, developing and extending financial assistance for setting up projects relating to new and renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency/ conservation with the motto: “ Energy For Ever ”.
• To give financial support to specific projects and schemes for generating electricity and / or energy through new and renewable sources and conserving energy through energy efficiency.
• To increase IREDA’s share in the renewable energy sector by way of innovative financing.

With reference to the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), which of the following statements is/are correct?

• It is a Public Limited Government Company.
• It is a Non – Banking Financial Company.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

• Neither 1 or 2

Answer: c) Both 1 and 2

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photo volcanic cell produce dc current while photo thermal cell produce ac current

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Non-Conventional Energy: Definition, Sources, Potential, Growth

Introduction to Non-conventional Energy Sources

Non-conventional sources include solar , wind , tidal, geothermal, biogas and atomic energy. These energy sources are more equitably distributed and eco-friendly cheaper energy. 

Let’s explore each of these non-conventional sources of energy more extensively

Utilizing Solar Power in India

• Sun rays tapped in photovoltaic cells can be converted into energy, known as solar energy. 
• The two effective processes considered to be very effective to tap solar energy are photovoltaics and solar thermal technology . 
• Benefits of Solar Energy: It is cost competitive, environment friendly and easy to construct, generally used more in appliances like heaters, crop dryers, cookers, etc. 
• The Growing Popularity of Non-conventional Solar Energy: Solar energy is fast becoming popular in rural and remote areas as it is 7% more effective than coal or oil based plants and 10% more effective than nuclear plants. 
• Solar Power Potential: The western part of India has greater potential for the development of solar energy in Gujarat and Rajasthan. 

Non-conventional Triumph: Potential and Growth of Wind Energy in India and Globally

• The mechanism of converting kinetic energy of wind , through turbines, into electrical energy is simple. 
• Besides these, local winds, land and sea breezes can also be used to produce electricity. 
•  It has issued wind potential maps at 50 m, 80 m and 100 m and presently, in the process of assessing wind potential at 120 m above ground level. 
• The latest assessment indicates gross wind power potential of 302 GW in the country at 100 meters above ground level.
• The country’s potential of wind power generation exceeds 200 gigawatts. India now ranks as a “wind super power” in the world. 
• Strategic Initiative: The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is developing wind energy in India to lessen the burden of oil import bills. 
• Wind power plant at Lamba in Gujarat in Kachchh is the largest in Asia.  
• The largest wind farm cluster is located in TamilNadu from Nagarcoil to Madurai.  
• Apart from these, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and Lakshadweep have important wind farms. 
• Nagarcoil and Jaisalmer are well known for effective use of wind energy in the country.
• Non-conventional Global Wind Energy Leaders: Wind farms are found in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, UK, USA and Spain are noted for their wind energy production.

Tidal and Wave Energy for a Sustainable Future in India 

• Since the beginning of the 17th & 18th century, persistent efforts have been made to create a more efficient energy system from the ceaseless tidal waves and ocean currents. 
• Oceanic tides can be used to generate electricity. 
• In India, the Gulf of Kachchh, provides ideal conditions for utilizing tidal energy. 
• A 900 MW tidal energy power plant is set up here by the National Hydropower Corporation.

Geothermal Energy : Harnessing Earth’s Heat through Geothermal Energy for Sustainable Power Solutions 

• Definition: Geothermal energy refers to the heat and electricity produced by using the heat from the interior of the Earth. 
• Geothermal energy exists because the Earth grows progressively hotter with increasing depth. 
• Where the geothermal gradient is high, high temperatures are found at shallow depths. 
• Groundwater in such areas absorbs heat from the rocks and becomes hot. 
• The hot water that gushes out through the geyser wells is used to drive turbines and generate electricity. 
• The hot springs and geysers have been used since the medieval period. 
• The first successful (1890) attempt to tap the underground heat was made in the city of Boise, Idaho (U.S.A.), where a hot water pipe network was built to give heat to the surrounding buildings. This plant is still working. 

Harnessing Bio-energy for Sustainable Solutions and Environmental Benefits 

• Definition: Bio-energy refers to energy derived from biological products which includes agricultural residues, municipal, industrial and other wastes. 
• Diverse Applications of Biomass: It can be converted into electrical energy, heat energy or gas for cooking. 
• Higher Thermal Efficiency: Decomposition of organic matter yields gas, which has higher thermal efficiency in comparison to kerosene, dung cake and charcoal. 
• The plants using cattle dung are known as ‘Gobar gas plants’ in rural India provide twin benefits to the farmer in the form of energy and improved quality of manure.  
• It improves the quality of manure and also prevents the loss of trees and manure due to burning of fuel wood and cow dung cakes. 
• It also improves the economic life of rural areas in developing countries, reduces environmental pollution, enhances self-reliance and reduces pressure on fuel wood.  
• One such project converting municipal waste into energy is Okhla in Delhi.

In conclusion, non-conventional sources of energy like geothermal, tidal, wind, solar, and bio-energy play a pivotal role in fostering sustainability. These alternatives offer diverse applications, higher thermal efficiency, and significant environmental benefits. Embracing non-conventional energy sources is not just a choice for the present but a commitment to a more sustainable and eco-friendly future.

Also Read: Conventional Source of Energy: Power of Coal & Natural Gas in India

UPDATED :     

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Notes Energy Resources ICSE Class 10 Geography

Students should refer to Energy Resources ICSE Class 10 Geography notes provided below designed based on the latest syllabus and examination pattern issued by  ICSE . These revision notes are really useful and will help you to learn all the important and difficult topics. These notes will also be very useful if you use them to revise just before your Geography Exams. Refer to more  ICSE Class 10 Geography Notes  for better preparation.

ICSE Class 10 Geography Energy Resources Revision Notes

Students can refer to the quick revision notes prepared for Chapter Energy Resources Maps in Class 10 ICSE. These notes will be really helpful for the students giving the Geography exam in ICSE Class 10. Our teachers have prepared these concept notes based on the latest ICSE syllabus and ICSE books issued for the current academic year. Please refer to Chapter wise notes for ICSE Class 10 Geography provided on our website.

Energy Resources ICSE Class 10 Geography

Energy Resources ICSE Class 10 Geography Notes

Quick Review ➢ Conventional sources of energy are those sources of energy which are non-renewable, i.e. cannot be replenished once they are consumed e.g. coal, petroleum, electricity or hydel power and natural gas. ➢ Conventional sources of energy are hazardous to environment as they cause pollution. ➢ This source of energy is expensive. ➢ Coal is an organic sedimentary rock and is formed due to the accumulation and preservation of plant materials in a swamp environment, deltaic regions, coastal plains, etc. ➢ Coal is a combustible rock and an important fossil fuel but its reserves have depleted in the recent times due to its constant demand. ➢ Coal is widely used and the most important use is for the generation of electricity. ➢ India ranks third in the world in the production of coal. ➢ Raniganj in West Bengal is the oldest coalfield in India while Jharia in Jharkhand is the largest coalfield in India. ➢ In India, coal belongs to two geological ages- Gondwana Coalfields and Tertiary Coalfields. ➢ Gondwana coalfields mainly of bituminous type, makes upto 98% of the total reserves in India and is extensively available unlike Anthracite coal. ➢ The main advantages of Coal are : (i) It is a source of direct heat and energy for domestic purposes. (ii) It is one of the cheapest forms of energy making. (iii) It provides numerous raw materials to chemical industries like benzole, ammonia, coal tar, coal gas, etc. (iv) Coal is also a source of many by-products like coke, tar, ammonium sulphate, phenol, naphthalene, benzene, etc. ➢ The main disadvantages of Coal are : (i) Coal releases carbon dioxide which affects the environment leading to Greenhouse gas emissions and global warming effect. (ii) The coal reserves in India are scattered in small quantities. (iii) The transportation and production of coal is significantly high. (iv) Coal reserves are limited in India. ➢ Uses of Coal : (i) It is used primarily as an energy source either for heat or electricity. (ii) It is used to run railway locomotives, machines, dynamos and ship engines. (iii) It is used to produce electricity. Out of the various uses of coal, thermal power generation is the most important. (iv) Coal is essentially a requirement for the iron and steel industries. (v) It is also used for building materials like burning of bricks, potteries, in iron and brass foundries, etc. ➢ On the basis of the amount of carbon content, coal may be classified into four varieties or types- Anthracite, Bituminous, Lignite and Peat. ➢ Anthracite Coal : (i) It is a hard and compressed variety of coal with highest carbon content of 90%. (ii) It is associated with strongly deformed sedimentary rocks which were subjected to higher pressure and temperature. (iii) It ignites with difficulty but burns for a long time with a smokeless flame. (iv) It is lustrous, shiny and jet black in colour. (v) It has a heating value and leaves behind little ash after burning. (vi) It has high caloric value and is good for domestic use since it is smokeless. (vii) Anthracite coal is found only in Jammu and Kashmir. ➢ Bituminous Coal : (i) It is a black, hard, brittle and compact coal with 50% to 80% of carbon content in it. (ii) Due to high carbon content its calorific value is very high and it has low moisture content. (iii) It is used as steam coal, household coal, coking coal, gas coal, etc. (iv) Steam coal is the best bituminous coal since it contains 80% carbon in it. (v) Bituminous coal is black and lustrous and is a household coal as it is widely used for domestic purposes. (vi) It is relatively a soft coal and contains tar like substance called bitumen. (vii) The highest grade bituminous coal is the coking coal and is an important ingredient in iron and steel smelting in blast furnaces. (viii) Bituminous coal is found in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. ➢ Lignite Coal : (i) Lignite is also referred to as brown coal. (ii) It is a soft brown combustible sedimentary rock. (iii) It is a low grade coal due to its relative low heat content. (iv) It has a carbon content of only 40%. (v) It has high moisture content and is less combustible. (vi) It is found in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry. ➢ Peat Coal : (i) Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetative or organic matter which has undergone varying degree of decomposition and carbonisation. (ii) It contains high moisture and small percentage of volatile matter. (iii) It has less carbon content and is of inferior grade. (iv) The formation of Peat is the first step in the geological formation of other fossil fuels. (v) It is found in the regions of Nilgiri Mountain, in the Kashmir Valley and in the swampy areas of coastal plains.

➢ Petroleum : (i) Petroleum is derived from the Greek words ‘Petra’ meaning rock and ‘oleum’ which means oil. (ii) It is a naturally occurring liquid found beneath the Earth’s surface. (iii) It is a combination or mixture of hydrocarbons of organic compounds. (iv) Petroleum is a fossil fuel which is formed when huge quantities of dead organisms are buried beneath the sedimentary rock like shale, limestone, sandstone. (v) It is called Liquid Gold because not a single drop of crude petroleum goes waste or remains unused. (vi) Petroleum includes all liquid, gaseous and solid hydrocarbons. (vii) It is crude oil as a liquid, petroleum gas is called the natural gas and the solid forms of petroleum are called tar, bitumen, asphalt, etc. (viii) Some of the products of petroleum are petrol, diesel, lubricants, paraffin wax, slack wax, tar, kerosene, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), etc. (ix) By-products of petroleum are- Fertilizer, petroleum jelly, insecticide, soap, linoleum, perfume, etc. ➢ Advantages of Petroleum : (i) Petroleum has high density as it can generate 10,000 kcal of energy from 1 kg of burnt oil. (ii) Extraction of oil is easy and inexpensive due to new technologies used. (iii) Petroleum in the liquid form can be transported to long distances through pipes or vehicles. (iv) It has been the primary energy resource of all power plants and has broad areas for applications and thus has high demands for energy. (v) It is widely used as fuel for transportation on land, on sea and in the air. (vi) Petroleum is used for power generation. (vii) Its fuel derivatives include ethane, diesel, gasoline, kerosene and LPG. (viii) Petrochemicals are chemical products that are derived from petroleum after refining. (ix) Some examples of petrochemical products are- fertilizers, gasoline, synthetic rubber, synthetic fibre, explosives, dyes, crayons, paraffin wax, pesticides, perfume, paints, varnishes, phenol, PVC, lubricating oil, printing ink, film photography, carbon black, polystyrene, safety glass, herbicides, detergents, cosmetics, etc. ➢ Disadvantages of Petroleum : (i) Petroleum is an expensive product and is in high demand due to its limited supply. (ii) It is a natural fossil fuel and non-renewable. (iii) It is non-environment friendly as its burning and extracting generates Greenhouse Gasses that lead to pollution and Global Warming. (iv) It is highly inflammable and can cause fire. (v) It is harmful to the marine animals as during the extraction and transportation of oil if the oil spills in water, the marine animals die. ➢ Oil Refineries : (i) Oil refineries are industrial units where crude oil is refined and processed to produce useful products like gasoline, petroleum naphtha, LPG and diesel oil, asphalt base, etc. (ii) There are 21 oil refineries in India- 17 in the Public Sector and 2 in the Private Sector and 2 in the Joint Sector. (iii) In India, the maximum oil production is from the Assam- Arakan belt, the Gujarat-Cambay belt and the Mumbai High offshore zone. (iv) The main oil deposits in India, in accordance to their importance are : 1. Mumbai High 2. Oilfields of Eastern Region 3. Oilfields of Western Region (v) Mumbai High produces superior quality of crude oil as compared to Middle East countries. (vi) The oil in Mumbai High is drilled with the drillship Sagar Samrat which has a maximum drill depth of 20,000 feet. (vii) Oil refineries are located close to oil fields or near ports due to the following reasons- 1. To minimise the cost of transport 2. To avoid transportation of mineral oil to the interior places of the country as it is highly inflammable. (viii) Some of the oil refineries of India are- Mathura Refinery, Mumbai Refinery, Haldia Refinery, Barauni Refinery, Panipat Refinery, Digboi Refinery, Vishakhapatnam Refinery, Kochi Refineries, Jamnagar Refinery, etc. (ix) The oldest oilfield in India is Digboi oilfield situated in the Eastern Region of India. The other oilfields in this region are- Moran, Bappapung, Hausanpung and Hugirijang. (x) Cambay Basin in Gujarat is the main oilfield in the Western Region of India. (xi) The other important oilfields in Gujarat are Kalol, Koyali, Kosamba, Sanad, Kathana, Ankleshwar and Navgaon. ➢ Natural Gas : (i) Natural Gas is a mixture of gases which are rich in hydrocarbons. These gases are- methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, etc. found in the atmosphere. (ii) Natural Gas reserves are beneath the earth’s surface near the crude oil deposits. (iii) It is never used in its pure form. It is processed and then converted into cleaner fuel for consumption. (iv) It is mainly used as a fuel for generating electricity and heat. (v) Natural gas in compressed form is used as fuel for vehicles which is known as CNG (Compressed Natural Gas). (vi) Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is the gas which is supplied to household for cooking purposes. (vii) It is a by-product acquired after refining the crudeoil. (viii) The main constituents of LPG are butane and propane and are flammable mixtures of hydrocarbon gases. (ix) LPG is used as fuel for domestic purposes like for cooking and in vehicles. (x) The gas cylinder contains ethyl mercaptan, which gives out the foul smell, is added to LPG on purpose so that if there is any leakage it can be easily detected. (xi) LPG is also being replaced in some places with PNG (Piped Natural Gas) which is supplied through pipeline instead of storing in the cylinder. (xii) Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a fuel which is used in place of petrol, diesel and LPG. (xiii) In CNG, methane is stored at high pressure. (xiv) 3/4th of natural gas in India comes from Mumbai High and the remaining from Assam, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Tripura. ➢ Advantages of Natural Gas : (i) Natural Gas is considered to be environment friendly as it emits less carbon, i.e. about 60%-90% less smog producing pollutants. (ii) It can be stored safely and can be transported efficiently through pipelines, cylinders, etc a valuable or useful chemical substance that is formed naturally in the ground. (iii) It is reliable and is conveniently used for cooking and for running many appliances. (iv) It is cheaper and cleaner than petrol or diesel. (v) Natural Gas is colourless, odourless and lighter than air. (vi) Hydrogen and ammonia is produced from Natural Gas which is used for fertilizers, paints and plastics. (vii) It has abundance supply and has a good reserve for centuries to come. ➢ Disadvantages of Natural Gas : (i) Though found in plenty yet it is non-renewable due to its increasing demand. (ii) Possibility of leakage of gas is of high risk since it is colourless, odourless and tasteless. (iii) It is highly volatile and need to be handled carefully while transporting. (iv) The infrastructure for production and distribution is quite expensive which includes plumbing systems and specialized tanks. (v) In order to use it as fuel all constituents other than methane have to be extracted and this processing result in various by-products: hydrocarbons, sulfur, water vapour, carbon dioxide and helium and nitrogen. (vi) The mileage of natural gas used as fuels in cars is lower than petrol/diesel.

Know the terms ➢ Conventional sources of energy :  These are those sources of energy which are non-renewable. ➢ Coal-  It is an organic sedimentary rock and is formed due to the accumulation and preservation of plant materials in a swamp environment, deltaic regions, coastal plains, etc. ➢ Bituminous Coal :  It is a soft coal containing a tar like substance called bitumen. ➢ Volatile Matter :  In coal, it is those substances, other than moisture, that are given off as gas and vapour during combustion. ➢ Petroleum :  It is derived from the Greek words ‘Petra’ meaning rock and ‘oleum’ which means oil. ➢ Hydrocarbons :  It is a compound of hydrogen and carbon such as any of those which are the chief components of petroleum and natural gas. ➢ Greenhouse Gas :  A gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation, e.g. Carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons. ➢ Global Warming :  It is the increase of earth’s average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases. ➢ Natural Gas :  It is a mixture of gases which are rich in hydrocarbons, e.g. methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide.

TOPIC-2 Hydel Power Quick Review ➢ Hydropower is the most widely used renewable sources of energy to generate electricity. ➢ Hydroelectricity is produced from the energy that is released in the fast flowing water or when water falls from a height with a great force. ➢ Energy can be produced from tides by creating a reservoir or basin behind a barrage and then passing tidal water through turbines in the barrage to generate electricity. ➢ It is one of the best, cleanest and cheapest sources of energy. ➢ It plays an important role in reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions. ➢ There is very less possibility of causing pollution. ➢ Most of the hydroelectric power plants have a dam and a reservoir and its power generation depends on the head of water and the volume of water flowing towards the water turbine.

➢ Advantages of Hydel Power (i) There is less pollution due to absence of burning fuel. (ii) It is one of the best, cleanest and cheapest sources of energy. (iii) Less maintenance costs. (iv) It plays a big role in reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions. (v) It is reliable, renewable and sustainable. (vi) The reservoirs and dams built to produce hydroelectricity helps in saving and restoring water.

➢ Disadvantages of Hydel Power (i) It is expensive due to its high investment costs to build dams. (ii) Construction of dams can cause water access problems as it can change the water-table level. (iii) The building of large dams can cause serious geological damage like it can cause earthquakes. (iv) Displacement of people living in the villages and towns in the regions to be flooded loses their farms and business and is physically and psychologically disturbed.

➢ Bhakra Nangal Dam (i) It is the largest and most significant multipurpose project built in India on river Sutlej. (ii) It is a joint venture of the Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. (iii) Its main aim is to harness the water of river Sutlej for the benefit of the states mentioned.

(iv) The Bhakra Nangal project comprises of : 1. Two dams at Bhakra and Nangal 2. Nangal Hydel Channel 3. Power Houses 4. Bhakra Canal System 5. Electric Transmission lines

(v) The Bhakra Dam : 1. It is one of the highest dams in the world. 2. Gobind Sagar is the name of the reservoir of Bhakra Dam. 3. It is the third largest water reservoir in India.

(vi) The Nangal Dam : 1. It has been constructed on river Sutlej about 13 kms downstream of the Bhakra Dam. 2. It is an auxiliary dam which serves as a balancing reservoir. 3. It is one of the longest cemented canals of the world. 4. Its main function is to turn the turbines of power houses located below the Nangal Dam.

(vii) The Power House : 1. It has been built to generate hydroelectricity from the water of river Sutlej. 2. There are four power houses at Ganguwal, Kotla, Right Bank power house and Left Bank power house. 3. All these power houses have an installed capacity of 1204 MW.

(viii) Bhakra Canal System : 1. The main Bhakra Canal is 174 km long. 2. It provides irrigation to 27.41 lakh hectares in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.

➢ Hirakud Dam : (i) Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River in Odisha state. (ii) It is one of the first multipurpose river valley projects in India. (iii) The dam was completed in 1953 but was formally inaugurated in 1957. (iv) The dam is the longest major earthen dam in Asia. (v) This project also provides irrigation for kharif and rabi crop in the districts of Sambalpur, Bargarh, Bolangir and Subarnapur. (vi) Due to successful irrigation provided by the dam, Sambalpur is called the Rice Bowl of Odisha. (vi) The dam can generate up to 307.5 MW of electrical power through its two power plants at Burla and Chiplima. (vii) The objectives of this dam are- 1. It helps to control floods in the Mahanadi delta. 2. It irrigates 75,000 square kilometers of land. 3. It generates electricity through many hydroelectric plants.

➢ The main objective of these multi-purpose projects are : (i) Provision of irrigation especially to areas of less rainfall areas. (ii) Generation of hydroelectricity to enhance industrial development besides other basic facilities. (iii) To control flooding in the Sutlej and Beas rivers. (iv) To develop river navigation to reduce pressure on the railways. (v) To provide pisciculture or fish culture. (vi) Soil Conservation through afforestation and increase the productivity of timber. (vii) Control of diseases by preventing water logging. (viii) To develop recreation centres and health resorts

Know the terms ➢ Hydropower :  It is a power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water. ➢ Hydroelectric Power Plant :  It is a hydropower system that uses a dam to store river water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity. ➢ Multipurpose Project :  It is a large scale hydro project designed to serve many purposes like irrigation, flood control, pisciculture, etc. ➢ Auxiliary Dam :  It is constructed to confine the reservoir created by a primary dam either to permit a higher water elevation and storage or to limit the extent of a reservoir for increased efficiency. ➢ Pisciculture :  It is the controlled breeding and rearing of fish. ➢ Afforestation :  The planting of new saplings in an area where there was no trees before

TOPIC-3 Non-Conventional Sources of Energy Quick Review ➢ Non-conventional sources of energy are that energy which is generated by solar energy, wind, tides, geothermal heat, nuclear energy, biomass including farm and animal waste and human excreta. ➢ They are renewable and inexhaustible and do not cause any environmental pollution. ➢ It is inexpensive and easy to maintain. ➢ The non- conventional sources of energy are gaining importance because of the increasing demand for energy and the fast depleting conventional sources like coal, petroleum, natural gas, etc. ➢ Solar Energy is the primary source of energy which is inexhaustible. ➢ To harness solar energy in India many techniques have been developed- (i) Solar Cells or Photovoltaic Cells : 1. Solar energy can be converted into electrical energy by using solar cells or photovoltaic cells. 2. The solar cell is a device that converts light energy into electrical energy. 3. These cells are made using a silicon wafer. 4. The light shining on the solar cell produces both a current and a voltage to generate electric power. 5. Solar cells are regarded as one of the key technologies towards a sustainable energy supply. 6. Solar cells are used in calculators, wrist watches, traffic signals street lighting, water pumps, etc.

(ii) Solar Cooker : 1. Solar cooking is done by the use of sun’s UV rays. 2. The UV rays enter the solar and convert into infrared light rays. 3. The food in the solar cooker is not cooked by the sun’s heat. It is the sun’s rays that are converted to heat energy that cook the food. 4. The heat energy is retained by the utensil and the food with a lid. 5. A new design of solar cooker has been invented which uses a spherical reflector instead of a plane mirror as the reflector has more heating effect and efficiency. (iii) Solar Water Heater : 1. Solar energy is best used for the heating of water. 2. A sun facing collector heats a working fluid that passes into a storage system for later use. 3. The plate is a simple glass-topped insulated box with a flat solar absorber made of sheet metal, attached to copper heat exchanger pipes. ➢ Advantages of Solar Energy : (i) It is a renewable and an inexhaustible source of energy. (ii) It is environment friendly. (iii) It can be used for varied purposes like electricity, heating, drying, etc. (iv) After the initial cost of installation its maintenance and repairing is less and inexpensive. (v) Solar energy save fossil fuels like coal and petroleum to generate electricity and also helps in reducing electricity bills. (vi) A solar energy system can be installed anywhere and solar panels can be easily placed in houses. ➢ Wind Energy or wind power is the process by which the wind is used to generate electricity. ➢ Through the windmills wind energy is produced. ➢ The wind turns the blades of the windmill, which spins the shaft and the turbine moves; turbines are connected to a generator and produces electricity. ➢ A wind farm is a group of wind turbines or windmills in the same location used for the production of electricity. ➢ The windmills are installed in open areas, in coastal regions or in hilly areas. ➢ There are both onshore and offshore wind farms. ➢ Onshore wind farm is an inexpensive source of electric power while offshore wind farms are steadier and stronger but its construction and maintenance costs are higher. ➢ They generate a large amount of electricity. ➢ The largest wind farm network in India is located from Nagarcoil to Madurai in Tamil Nadu. ➢ Muppandal wind farm, situated in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, is the second largest onshore wind farm in the world. ➢ Advantages of Wind Energy : (i) Wind energy is plentiful and is renewable. (ii) It is widely distributed. (iii) It is the cleanest of all and do not produce any greenhouse gas emissions during operation. (iv) It uses small areas of land and consumes no water. (v) It is an alternative to burning fossil fuels. (vi) The electricity produced by wind energy is used for domestic purposes and is economical. ➢ Tidal Energy is a form of hydropower that generates electricity through high tidal movements. ➢ Tidal energy can be harnessed from the tides in two ways- (i) By using the change in height of the tides (potential energy). (ii) By using the flow of water (kinetic energy). ➢ In-Stream Device or Tidal Stream Generator, Tidal Barrage, Dynamic Tidal Power and Tidal Lagoon are the four main categories of tidal power technology. ➢ Tidal stream generator makes use of the kinetic energy of moving water to power turbines. ➢ Tidal barrages make use of the potential energy in the difference in height between high and low tides. ➢ Tidal barrages are the oldest methods of tidal power generation. ➢ A barrage is built across a bay or a river that is subject to tidal flow. ➢ During high tides, the sea water flows into the reservoir of the barrage and turns the turbine which in turn produces electricity by rotating the generators. ➢  When the tides are low, the sea water stored in the barrage reservoir flows out in the sea and the flow of water turns the turbines in its process. ➢ Dynamic tidal power is a promising technology and proposes to build very long dams from coasts straight out into the sea or ocean, without enclosing an area. ➢ Tidal lagoons are independent enclosing barrages built on high level tidal estuary land that trap the high water and release it to generate power. ➢ Advantages of Tidal Energy : (i) Tidal energy is an inexhaustible source of energy. (ii) It is non-polluting and does not lead to any carbon emissions like fossil fuels. (iii) It is predictable since tides rise with great uniformity and energy can also be produced if the speed of water is slow. (iv) Once a tidal energy power plant is installed, its maintenance costs are extremely low. (v) The energy density of tidal energy is much higher than that of other forms of renewable energy like wind power. ➢ Geothermal Energy : Geothermal is derived from a Greek words ‘Geo’ which means earth and ‘Thermos’ meaning heat. It is the thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. ➢ Due to very high temperature below the earth’s crust, hot magmas from deep down below rises up and the temperature of water and rocks get increasingly hotter. This heated substance contains enormous energy and power and is tapped for creating geothermal energy. ➢ To obtain geothermal energy, a geothermal power plant has to be set up. A well has to be dug in a place where there is a good source of superheated fluid or magma. ➢ Pipes have to be fitted that would go down into the source and then the fluids would be forced upto the surface in order to produce the required steam. This steam would be used to rotate a turbine engine, thus generating electricity or geothermal power. ➢ Advantages of Geothermal Energy : (i) Geothermal energy is considered to be sustainable and renewable source of energy. (ii) It is inexpensive, reliable and easily accessible. (iii) It is environment friendly and emits less Greenhouse gases. (iv) Geothermal energy power plant requires low maintenance costs and the electricity bills are reduced. ➢ In India, Geothermal plants have the potential to harness about 12,000 MW. ➢ Geothermal Plants are located in Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh and Puga Valley in Ladakh. ➢ Nuclear Power : It is the energy that is created by nuclear reactions. ➢ Inside the nuclear reactor, energy is generated by means of a chain reaction involving uranium atoms. ➢ When the uranium atom is split into pieces, it releases heat and energy which is converted into electricity. ➢ Advantages of Nuclear Power : (i) Since single uranium can generate a lot of energy when it spilt, so it is found in abundance. (ii) It is clean and do not produce substantial Greenhouse Gases. (iii) It is reliable unlike solar energy which is dependent on weather. (iv) It is a viable alternative as fossil fuels are non-renewable. (v) Though there is an initial cost factor during installation but once it starts functioning it provides a cheap source of energy. (vi) The waste produced by nuclear power plants can be re-used and the waste can be turned to make useful materials like aircraft production. ➢ Biogas :  It is a mixture of different gases like methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. ➢ It is produced by processing residual waste from livestock, food production and effluents from industrial and municipal wastes. ➢ Biogas is produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen which is referred to as anaerobic digestion. ➢ A biogas plant can convert animal manure, vegetative matter, waste from agro industry and slaughter houses into combustible gas. ➢ The plants which use cattle dung are called Gobar Gas Plant. ➢ The biogas can be used for power generation, cooking, lighting, etc. ➢ Advantages of Biogas : (i) Biogas is a cheap and clean source of energy. (ii) It is non-polluting and reduces greenhouse gases. (iii) It is renewable source of energy. (iv) There is no storage problem since there is direct supply of gas from the plant. (v) The sludge left behind is a good fertilizer for pastures and meadows and is better from an ecological point of view. (vi) Leads to employment generation in rural areas. (vii) It produces enriched organic manure which can supplement or even replace chemical fertilizers.

Know the terms ➢ Non-conventional sources of energy :  These are that energy which is generated by solar energy, wind, tides, geothermal heat, nuclear energy, biomass, etc. ➢ Photovoltaic Cells :  It is a method for generating electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun. ➢ Wind Energy :  It is the process by which the wind is used to generate electricity. ➢ Wind Farm :  It is a group of wind turbines or windmills in the same location used for the production of electricity. ➢ Potential Energy :  It is an energy an object has because of its position relative to some other object. ➢ Kinetic Energy :  It is an energy possessed by an object in motion. ➢ Geothermal :  It is derived from a Greek word ‘Geo’ which means earth and ‘Thermos’ meaning heat.

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MCQ Questions for Class 10 Science Sources of Energy with Answers

Free PDF Download of CBSE Class 10 Science Chapter 14 Sources of Energy Multiple Choice Questions with Answers. MCQ Questions for Class 10 Science with Answers was Prepared Based on Latest Exam Pattern. Students can solve NCERT Class 10 Science Sources of Energy Multiple Choice Questions with Answers to know their preparation level.

Class 10 Science MCQs Chapter 14 Sources of Energy

MCQ on Sources of Energy Class 10 Question 1. Biogas is formed in the (a) presence of air only (b) presence of water only (c) absence of air only (d) presence of water and absence of air

2. Solar energy can be directly converted to elec-trical energy by which of the following de-vices? (a) solar cooker (b) solar heater (c) solar cell (d) solar geyser

3. Which of the following is the ultimate source of energy? (a) Water (b) Sun (c) Fossil fuels (d) Uranium

4. Which of the following gases is the main con-stituent of natural gas? (a) Methane (b) Ethane (c) Propane (d) Butane

5. Which element is used in solar cells? (a) Carbon (b) Silicon (c) Phosphorous (d) Sulphur

6. Ocean thermal energy is produced due to (a) pressure difference at different levels in the ocean. (b) temperature difference at different levels in the ocean. (c) energy stored by waves in the ocean. (d) tides rising out of the ocean.

7. A device in which electricity is produced by the process of controlled nuclear fission reaction is called (a) nuclear chain reaction (b) hydel power plant (c) nuclear reactor (d) thermal power plant

8. One major problem in harnessing nuclear energy is (a) converting nuclear energy into electrical energy. (b) sustaining the reaction. (e) splitting the nuclei. (d) disposing off spent fuel easily.

9. Spent slurry (Bio-waste after obtaining biogas) is used as (a) fuel (b) manure (c) food for livestock (d) used again for generating biogas

10. A good fuel should possess (a) high ignition temperature (b) moderate ignition temperature (c) high calorific value (d) both high calorific value and moderate ignition temperature

11. The variety of coal which has the highest car-bon content (a) Anthracite (b) Peat (c) Bituminous (d) Lignite

12. Unit of calorific value of a substance is (a) Kcal (b) Joules (c) J kg (d) J/kg

Fill in the Blanks

1. In the wind energy farms, the wind speed should be higher than ………. to maintain the required speed of the turbine. 2. The energy produced during controlled ………. reactions is used for generating electricity at nuclear power plants. 3. The energy available due to the difference in the temperature of water at the surface of the ocean and at deeper levels is called ………. . 4. Biogas is produced by the ………. of animal wastes or plant wastes in the presence of water. 5. Biogas is an excellent fuel as it contains 75% ………. along with other gases like ………., ………. and ………. .

1. 15 km/h 2. nuclear fission 3. Ocean thermal energy 4. anaerobic degradation 5. methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide

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• Published: 12 April 2024

On the crashworthiness analysis of bio-inspired DNA tubes

• Amir Najibi 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Liwen Zhang 1 , 2 &
• Dongli Zheng 1 , 2  

Scientific Reports volume  14 , Article number:  8531 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

• Aerospace engineering
• Civil engineering
• Mechanical engineering

This study presents a thorough numerical evaluation of the crashworthiness properties of a new bio-inspired DNA tubes (BIDNATs) with circular, elliptical, and rectangular cross-sections. Deformation and crashworthiness behaviors are evaluated using axial quasi-static crushing simulations by ABAQUS/Explicit (Abaqus 6.14, https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ ). The study compares the performance of conventional tubes with rectangular and elliptical cross-sections to DNA-inspired tubes. Increasing the rotation angle leads to more helices and a pronounced helix angle, resulting in lower initial peak force (IPF). However, lower cross-section aspect ratios generally have higher IPF and specific energy absorption (SEA) values. BIDNATs with rectangular cross-sections and a 540° rotation angle have the lowest SEA and IPF values across all aspect ratios. Notably, for the 110/100 aspect ratio, the SEA of E110/100 is 71% higher than the conventional tube. Overall, BIDNATs with elliptical cross-sections and a 360° rotation angle exhibit higher SEA values and lower IPF values, particularly for a width (W) of 100 mm. Conventional circular and elliptical tubes generally have SEA values exceeding 6 J/g, with only E110/100 surpassing this among DNA-inspired tubes. The NE110/100 tube has the highest SEA, surpassing E110/100 by 54%, while its IPF is 10% greater than DNA-inspired E110/100. It's worth noting that conventional circular and elliptical tubes have higher IPF values compared to their DNA-inspired counterparts. These findings offer valuable insights for engineers and researchers in the design of crash tubes to improve overall vehicle safety for both occupants and pedestrians.

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Introduction

Thin-walled metallic constructions have been extensively employed in the automotive, railroad, aircraft, and shipbuilding sectors due to their high energy absorption and remarkable lightweight qualities 1 , 2 . High kinetic energy from an impact is anticipated to be completely absorbed by energy-absorbing components through significant plastic deformation. This has led to the development of a wide variety of energy absorbers with a variety of various structural shapes, including simple and cone tubes 1 , 3 , 4 , grooved tubes 5 , 6 , 7 , combined tubes 8 , 9 , 10 , the origami tubes 11 , 12 , and Auxetic materials/structures 13 , 14 , 15 . The two simplest and most popular tubular shapes for energy absorption are regarded as circular and square cross sectional tubes. Two popular theoretical models for a circular tube were first suggested by Alexander 16 and Pugsley and Macaulay 17 in 1960. These theories have been improved by Grzebieta 18 , Wierzbicki et al. 19 , and Singace et al. 20 . Consequently, Abramowicz and Jones created the traditional theoretical models for the modes of circular and square tubes 21 . Square tubes have drawn a lot of interest as an energy absorber because, in comparison to the circular tubes, they are significantly simpler to attach to other structural parts and have lower initial peak forces 2 .

Over the years, thin-walled tubes have evolved from hollow, smooth walls to grooved and paper-folded forms, which have greatly enhanced their impact resistance. Given that the impact resistance of a metal thin-walled tube depends primarily on the dissipation of plastic energy and the initial peak force, having grooves and pre-folded paper is advantageous for improving impact resistance.

Abramowicz and Wierzbicki conducted experimental and theoretical research on multi-cornered mild steel tubes 22 , which showed that the mean crushing force of hexagonal tubes was greater than that of square tubes with the same mass. Later, other concave-section tubes were also suggested, including star and criss-cross tubes, which were demonstrated to deform more steadily and absorb more energy 23 , 24 . Li et al. conducted a study on the multi-objective optimization of sinusoidal cross-sections to improve the axial crashworthiness of double-hat tubes 25 . Another method for increasing the number of corners is the multi-cell arrangement, which outperforms conventional tubular absorbers in terms of energy absorption characteristics 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 . Chen and Wierzbicki's simplified super folding element (SSFE) approach was used to develop a traditional analytical solution for the mean crushing force of multi-cell tubes 29 , which Zhang and the team further updated the approach 30 , 31 .

Sun et al. 32 were the first to do the crashing analysis and multi-objective optimization for thin-walled structures with axially graded thickness. Later, Zhang et al. 33 conducted an experimental and numerical investigation on a tube with lateral graded thickness. A comprehensive numerical investigation on the axial crushing of multi-cell tubes with graded wall thickness was carried out by Fang et al. 34 , and the results showed that the thickness gradient in various places may significantly impact the crashing behavior of the graded multi-cell tubes. These studies showed that the axial gradient could significantly lower the initial peak crushing force while the lateral gradient could significantly increase the SEA of multi-cell tubes 35 , 36 . In addition, functionally graded geometry multi-cell tubes in which the size of the cells has changed gradually along with the lateral directions under axial crushing has been investigated by 37 . The improvement of the SEA due to the local buckling effect of the lateral cell geometry gradations is one of the advantageous of the proposed structure.

Moving from a hollow to a foam-filled design is another development tendency in thin-walled tubular structures 38 . Different types of the lightweight porous material as foams can be used to enhance the crashworthiness of the tubular structures during uni-axial and multi-axial crushing 39 . Yu et al. recently performed an experimental investigation of the static and dynamic axial crushing characteristics of an aluminum density-graded foam-filled tube 40 . In the most of the studies the interactions of foam and tube walls have been considered ideal and adding foam to the thin-walled tube increases the initial peak force that is undesirable for passenger cars; however, it increases the SEA 38 . Furthermore, the plate-lattice structural material-filled multilayer square tube exhibited significantly higher strength and specific energy absorption compared to the foam-filled tube 41 .

It is well known that structures with excellent energy absorption capabilities play a crucial role in impacts, and in engineering applications. Biomimetic structures, inspired by many biological structures in nature, have been shown to provide significant improvements in energy absorption capacity over conventional structures 25 , 42 . This has led people to develop a number of bio-inspired energy absorbers over time 43 , 44 . In nature, plant stems have unique morphologies that enable them to support weight, withstand wind loads, and effectively adapt to their surroundings. For instance, several creative bio-inspired multi-cell constructions were presented by Liu et al. 45 , Huang et al. 46 , Hu et al. 47 and Deng et al. 48 by imitating the traits of the stems of palm and bamboo trees. Gong et al. 49 proposed a different multi-cell tube that resembles plant stems and showed improved crashworthiness performance over conventional bi-tubular tubes. The improvement and reduction of the SEA and IPF were achieved through the introduction of a novel hierarchical gradient structure called the hexagon hierarchical gradient structure (HHGS), proposed by Chen et al. 50 , when subjected to oblique loads. Due to its low weight and tremendous strength, the forewing of a beetle is another remarkable bio-structure 42 , 51 . Because of this, several complex multi-cell energy absorbers have been developed 46 , 52 that imitate certain essential structural elements of beetle forewings.

Animal bones have been a significant source of bio-inspiration due to their unique characteristics for heavy load bearing. Therefore, certain cutting-edge multi-cell tubular components that demonstrate obvious advantages over the traditional thin-walled tubes have been proposed by imitating the graded architectures of animal bones 37 , 53 , 54 . Recently, an intriguing crash box that resembles the human femur, consists of an inner core packed with materials having a negative Poisson's ratio and an exterior shell that is concave, was created 55 . Furthermore, energy absorption characteristic of the multi-cell functionally graded aluminum foam-filled with graded thickness inspired from the human femur has been investigated by 56 .

Even though the preceding research showed several intriguing tubular energy absorbers, these structures have yet to be adequately investigated, hinting that their potential and capacity might be further explored. Through adaption to varied severe situations, biological systems such as plants and animals have created several unique bio-structures with high energy absorption and lightweight qualities. Over time, this has led humans to develop a variety of bio-inspired energy absorbers. Nature presents numerous inspiring examples of tubular structures with low density, great strength, and high energy absorption capacities, which inspire the construction of unique tubular structures with exceptional energy absorption capabilities 57 . Therefore, this work suggests a new tubular energy absorber called the bio-inspired DNA tube (BIDNAT), which is made up of the revolution of the inspired DNA helices. Quasi-static axial crushing and systematic numerical simulations are used to evaluate the deformation behavior and crashworthiness characteristics. The research is expected to broaden the bio-inspiration approach for creating some innovative energy absorption structures.

Structural design and analysis

This study aims to examine the energy absorption properties of the bionic DNA thin-walled tube. To achieve this, bionic DNA, which possesses a unique microstructure found in nature 58 , is utilized. Figure  1 shows the bionic shape of DNA, which serves as a model for this investigation. The study focuses on analyzing three different cross-sections: circular, elliptical, and rectangular. The width of the cross-section is varied while keeping the length constant, and vice versa. Furthermore, the bionic structure is employed to create the structural design of the thin-walled tube under different conditions, including two rotational angles (360° and 540°).

Bio-inspired DNA tubes (BIDNATs). ( a ) Real DNA [created by SOLIDWORKS 2016 ( www.solidworks.com )], ( b ) the simplified scheme [created by Biorender ( https://biorender.com/ )] and ( c ) inspired tubes with rotation angle of 360° [created by SOLIDWORKS 2016 ( www.solidworks.com )].

The tube models were precisely constructed using SolidWorks (SOLIDWORKS 2016, www.solidworks.com ) software, incorporating three distinct cross-sections, varying dimensions within each cross-section, and different rotation angles. To simulate the crashworthiness behaviors, the ABAQUS/Explicit (Abaqus 6.14, https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ ) finite element software was employed. Energy-absorbing tubes were designed for rectangular and elliptical cross-sections by manipulating the width while keeping the length constant, as well as by altering the length while maintaining the width. These crafted designs pave the way for further scientific exploration and analysis in the realm of energy absorption properties.

Tubes with circular cross-sections

For the sake of comparison the circular cross-section of the tube has been chosen (Fig.  2 a). Circular tubes have been found to have good SEA, thanks to their relatively uniform stress distribution and resistance to bending and buckling. In addition, the circular shape also allows for efficient space utilization and easier manufacturing processes, making them a popular choice in many industries 59 . However, the crashworthiness of circular tubes can still be further improved by optimizing their configuration. Consequently, the model shown in Fig.  2 a was built from five different sets of arbitrary radius dimensions.

Finite element models. ( a ) Five circular section tubes and [created by SOLIDWORKS 2016 ( www.solidworks.com )] and ( b ) the simulation model of a circular cross-section tube with boundary conditions [created by Abaqus 6.14, ( https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ )].

In the nomenclature of circular cross-section tubes, such as C110, the prefix "C" signifies the specific shape of a circular cross-section, while the numerical value "110" denotes the diameter of the circle. This naming convention can be universally applied to designate circular tubes with different diameters. It is important to highlight that, in order to maintain consistency and facilitate practical application, the height of all the tubes has been standardized at 250 mm and the wall thickness is 1 mm. This ensures uniformity and ease of comparison across various tube configurations.

• Numerical simulation

The energy absorption properties of circular tubes subjected to axial crush were meticulously investigated through the utilization of ABAQUS/Explicit (Abaqus 6.14, https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ ) finite element method (FEM) software. In this analysis, the material properties were defined as those of steel in the previous experimental study as dipected in Appendix 8 . The Young's modulus of the steel is determined to be 205 GPa, with a Poisson's ratio of 0.28 and a yield stress of 233 MPa.

Two rigid plates were tied at the top and bottom edge of the tube and a friction coefficient of 0.2 applied as the general contact 11 . The top and bottom rigid plates have been completely constrained, except for the top plate, which is capable of downward movement to crush the tubes. A thorough mesh convergence analysis was conducted, leading to the selection of a mesh size of 5mm for the 1 mm thickness of S4R shell elements (see Appendix). It is noteworthy that the results are not mesh sensitive due to the folding-governed pattern of the helices.

As illustrated in Fig.  2 b, the top rigid plate, meshed with R3D4 elements, was subjected to axial crushing against the tube at a controlled velocity of 2 m/s, following a smooth step amplitude curve. To ensure the validity of the quasi-static analysis, the focus is on the gradual deformation of materials, where the kinetic energy associated with the material's motion is considered small compared to its internal energy (typically 5–10%) 8 (see Appendix).

The material parameters for the following two different cross-sections of the all BIDNATs and the conventional ones are set in the same way as for the circular cross-section.

The validation of the crush process for metallic tubes has been extensively studied in the literature, and this issue is no longer considered challenging in the present day. However, manufacturing BIDNAT, except by metal forming and welding process, poses a difficulty. In this regard, the authors of this study refer to a previously published paper that shares the same material properties but with different dimensions and boundary conditions for the purpose of validation. The experimental tests conducted in this paper validates the square tube cross-sections which has been demonstrated in the Appendix 8 .

Elliptical and rectangular cross-section of the BIDNATs

In Fig.  3 , the graphical representation displays the BIDNAT characterized by the cross-sections of both elliptical and rectangular shapes. To examine the behavior and properties of these DNA structures, 18 distinct models were generated for elliptical and 18 for rectangular cross-sections with each model corresponding to a specific rotation angle of 360° or 540°. In addition 18 conventional elliptical and rectangular tubes have been simulated for comparison sake.

Dimensions and rotation angles of the BIDNAT, ( a ) the elliptical cross-section and ( b ) rectangular cross-section [created by Abaqus 6.14, ( https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ ) and SOLIDWORKS 2016 ( www.solidworks.com )].

Those BIDNATs, featuring elliptical cross-sections, exhibit a helical shell configuration. Conversely, the BIDNAT with a rectangular cross-section displays a sharper outer edge on its shell, and the chiral shape of its shell is more prominently observed. This comprehensive analysis, involving the utilization of SolidWorks (SOLIDWORKS 2016, www.solidworks.com ) software and incorporating the dimensional parameters outlined in Fig.  3 , provides insight into the structural variations and features of BIDNATs with different cross-sections.

The nomenclature used to designate various BIDNATs follows a specific pattern. As an example, let's consider the name "E150/60." In this case, the prefix "E" indicates that the tube possesses an elliptical cross-sectional shape. The subsequent numbers, "150" and "60," represent the length and width, respectively, of the major and minor diameters of the elliptical cross-section.

To further elaborate on the nomenclature, when an elliptical cross-section is accompanied by a rotation angle of 540°, it is denoted by the prefix "AE," with the letter "A" signifying a rotation angle of 540° and when an elliptical cross-section is accompanied by non-rotational angle, conventional elliptical tube, it is denoted by the prefix "NE".

The identical nomenclature system is applied to the BIDNATs featuring rectangular cross-sections. In this case, the designation "R" signifies the presence of a rectangular shape, with the first number representing the length and the second number representing the width of the cross-section.

Furthermore, when a rectangular cross-section is subjected to a rotation angle of 540°, it is denoted by the prefix "AR," with the letter "A" indicating the 540° rotation angle and when an rectangular cross-section is accompanied by non-rotational angle, conventional rectangular tube, it is denoted by the prefix "NR".

Moreover, the energy absorption characteristics of all the specimens have been simulated using the same procedure by ABAQUS/Explicit (Abaqus 6.14, https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ ) FEA. This model, originally developed for studying the energy absorption properties of circular cross-section tubes during axial crush, has been successfully adapted for investigating the behavior of BIDNATs with both elliptical and rectangular cross-sections.

Results and discussions

In this section, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of the quasi-static crashworthiness of circular, elliptical, and rectangular cross-sections, along with DNA-inspired crush-tubes featuring different cross-sections. Our investigation centers on analyzing force and energy absorption displacement diagrams, while thoroughly examining the various modes of deformation. Through this systematic parameter study, our objective is to achieve a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the crashworthiness characteristics displayed by these tubes.

Equation 1 illustrates several key crashworthiness indicators, including energy absorption (EA), specific energy absorption (SEA), and mean crush force (MCF), respectively 48 .

where \(F(x)\) is reaction force, \(m\) is the tube mass and \({l_1}\) , \({l_2}\) are crushed displacements calculated from zero to the assigned points.

Circular cross-sections

Figure  4 a depicts the axial crushing process of a cylindrical tube. The analysis focuses on the specific case of C110, revealing a gradual collapse of the cylinder wall, leading to the formation of a symmetrical and uniform shape. This symmetrical folding pattern demonstrates superior energy absorption efficiency compared to the formation of irregular folds during the crushing process. The findings highlight the advantageous nature of the observed symmetrical folding pattern in terms of energy absorption capabilities.

The axial crushing process of a cylindrical tubes, ( a ) deformation pattern [created by Abaqus 6.14, ( https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ )], ( b ) force–displacement, ( c ) energy absorption-displacement curves.

Figure  4 b,c illustrate the force–displacement (F–D) and energy absorption-displacement (EA-D) curves derived from the axial crush simulation of five distinct circular cross-section tubes. Investigation of F–D curves reveals that C150 exhibits the highest peak force, reaching approximately 93 kN. The F–D curves exhibit fluctuations attributed to symmetrical folding, while the final stage of crushing remains almost identical for all cross-sections, except for C130.

At the immersion of each fold, the force undergoes an initial increase followed by a subsequent decrease until the fold is fully completed and the next fold is immersed. This pattern is observable in Fig.  4 b, where each fold is depicted by of those fluctuations.

In Fig.  4 c, the energy absorption-displacement values are presented for five distinct cross-circular sectional sizes. Notably, the final energy absorption value for C140 surpasses that of the other cross-sections. This observation suggests that the energy absorption capacity of circular tubes generally exhibits a positive correlation with the circular radius except C140 tube.

Elliptical cross-sections

In this section the F–D and EA-D of the conventional and bio-inspired DNA tubes with elliptical cross-sections will be investigated.

Conventional elliptical cross-sections (NE)

In Fig.  5 a, we examine the crushing process of the NE110/100 specimen. During the initial stage, the folding pattern exhibits symmetry. However, subsequent observations reveal a shift towards a dominant folding pattern characterized by diamond formations.

( a ) Deformation process of a conventional elliptical cross-section tube with an aspect ratio of 110/100 [created by Abaqus 6.14, ( https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ )], ( b ) force–displacement, ( c ) energy absorption-displacement of the conventional elliptical cross-section tubes with W = 100 mm, ( d ) force–displacement and ( e ) energy absorption-displacement of the conventional elliptical cross-section tubes with L = 150 mm.

The F–D and EA-D of the conventional elliptical cross-section tubes are depicted in Fig.  5 . In Fig.  5 b, it is observed that the variation in the longest diameter of the ellipse does not have a discernible impact on the force–displacement curves during the initial stage of deformations.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the NE150/100 specimen exhibits the highest initial peak force, while the NE110/100 specimen demonstrates the highest final energy absorption. These results provide valuable insights into the distinctive characteristics and performance of these particular specimens. Similar to Fig.  4 , each fluctuation corresponds to the formation of a fold. In the case of NE110/100, the first and second folds exhibit symmetry, while the subsequent folds display a diamond shape.

BIDNAT with the elliptical cross-sections (E)

The technical analysis of the crushing simulation of the BIDNAT with an elliptical cross-section (E150/100) is depicted in Fig.  6 a. The axial collision process reveals that the collapse pattern is influenced by the rotation angle of the cross-section. Under the downward force exerted by the rigid plate, the elliptical cross-section DNA shell undergoes significant deformation. As the crushing process advances, the shell accumulates in disordered layers. Notably, the number of shell layers increases in the case of the BIDNA elliptical section tube with the rotation angle of 540°.

( a ) the axial crushing process of the E150/100 BIDNAT tube [created by Abaqus 6.14, ( https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ )], ( b ) force–displacement, ( c ) energy absorption-displacement of the elliptical cross-section BIDNATs, while the rotation angle of 360° and W = 100 mm, ( d ) force–displacement and e) energy absorption-displacement of the elliptical cross-section BIDNATs, while the rotation angle of 360° and L = 150 mm.

The F–D and EA-D curves for various DNA-inspired elliptical cross-section aspect ratios with a rotation angle of 360° are illustrated in Fig.  6 . It can be observed that increasing the larger diameter (L) of the ellipse leads to a decrease in energy absorption, while increasing the smaller diameter (W) results in an increase in energy absorption. Notably, the E110/100 configuration exhibits the highest IPF and EA due to its symmetrical cross-section and different folding patterns in comparison with other tubes.

BIDNAT with the elliptical cross-sections (AE)

The axial compression process of the AE150/100 BIDNAT, with the rotation angle of 540°, is depicted in Fig.  7 a. The increased number of helices in the tube facilitates its collapse, resulting in lower IPF and smoother mean crushing forces (MCF) in comparison with the angle of 360°.

( a ) The axial crushing process of the AE150/100 BIDNAT tube [created by Abaqus 6.14, ( https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ )], ( b ) force–displacement, ( c ) energy absorption-displacement of the elliptical cross-section BIDNATs ( the rotation angle of 540° and W = 100 mm), ( d ) force–displacement and ( e ) energy absorption-displacement of the elliptical cross-section BIDNATs (the rotation angle of 540° and L = 150 mm).

Among the specimens studied, the AE150/100 exhibits the highest IPF and final EA. Conversely, a significant reduction in IPF is observed when the larger diameter of the ellipse is increased, as depicted in Fig.  7 . On the other hand, increasing the smaller diameter of the ellipse has a less pronounced effect on IPF, and the AE150/60 specimen achieves the highest final EA, as shown in Fig.  7 d,e.

Rectangular cross-sections

This section will examine the F–D and EA-D of both conventional and bio-inspired DNA tubes that have rectangular cross-sections.

Conventional rectangular cross-sections (NR)

The folding process of the simple rectangular cross-section NR150/60 is illustrated in Fig.  8 . The folding patterns exhibit regularity, with three distinct folds consistently observable across all the cross-sections.

( a ) The axial crushing process of the NR150/60 tube [created by Abaqus 6.14, ( https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ )], ( b ) force–displacement, ( c ) energy absorption-displacement of the conventional rectangular cross-section tubes (W = 100 mm), ( d ) force–displacement, and e) energy absorption-displacement of the conventional rectangular cross-section tubes (L = 150 mm).

It is evident that the EA of all rectangular specimens is nearly identical, as depicted in Fig.  8 c,e; additionally, the highest IPF corresponds to the NR120/100 cross-section, as portrayed in Fig.  8 b.

BIDNAT with the rectangular cross-sections (R)

The simulation process of DNA tube crushing with a rotation angle of 360° and the rectangular cross-section is shown in Fig.  9 a. Taking R150/100, the deformation process as an example, its sharp edge helices have governed the crushing process and it will reduce the IPF for and smoother MCFs. The cross-sections with the width of 100 mm have shown lower IPF/MCF, which is desirable in crashworthiness characteristic of a structure (Fig.  9 b). Moreover, the EA of them are the same through the crushing process in contrast to length 150 mm that have different EA at 0.2 mm crush length (Fig.  9 c,e).

( a ) The axial crushing process of the R150/100 BIDNAT tube [created by Abaqus 6.14, ( https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ )], ( b ) force–displacement, ( c ) energy absorption-displacement of the rectangular cross-section BIDNATs (the rotation angle of 360° and L = 150 mm), ( d ) force–displacement and ( e ) energy absorption-displacement of the rectangular cross-section BIDNATs (the rotation angle of 360° and L = 150 mm).

Based on the observed F–D curves presented in Figs.  9 b,d, it is evident that the rectangular section of the bio-inspired DNA tubes with rotation angle of 360° has entered the third stage of energy absorption, which initiates at a deformation level of 0.15 mm.

BIDNAT with the rectangular cross-sections (AR)

The simulation depicted in Fig.  10 a shows the crushing of a DNA tube with the rotation angle of 540°, featuring a rectangular cross-section. Specifically, when considering the AR150/100 variant, the absence of distinct folds can be attributed to the local buckling of the shell. In this case, the crushing process is predominantly governed by the pre-fold pattern of the tubes. It is worth noting that this phenomenon is not limited to the AR150/100 cross-section but can also be observed in other cross-sectional configurations.

( a ) The axial crushing process of the AR150/100 BIDNAT tube [created by Abaqus 6.14, ( https://www.3ds.com/products-services/simulia/products/abaqus/ )], ( b ) force–displacement, ( c ) energy absorption-displacement of the rectangular cross-section BIDNATs (the rotation angle of 540° and L = 150 mm), ( d ) force–displacement and ( e ) energy absorption-displacement of the rectangular cross-section BIDNATs (the rotation angle of 540° and L = 150 mm).

Figure  10 b–e present the F–D and EA-D curves for the 540° rectangular cross-section BIDNATs. The tube exhibits constant width and varying length in one case (Fig.  10 b,c), constant length and varying width in another (Fig.  10 d,e).

The cross-sections with a width of 100 mm exhibit lower IPF/MCF in this bio-inspired structure, as seen in Fig.  10 b. Furthermore, by analyzing the F–D curves in Fig.  10 b,d, it becomes apparent that the rectangular cross-section of the BIDNATs, rotated at the angle of 540°, enters the third stage of energy absorption at lower crushing distance than the rotated angle of 360°.

Comparison of crashworthiness of three cross-sections

The initial peak force and specific energy absorption are crucial parameters in evaluating the crashworthiness of crash tubes. The initial peak force represents the maximum force experienced by the tubes at the beginning of a crash event. It provides insight into the tubes' ability to withstand and distribute impact forces. Specific energy absorption, on the other hand, measures the amount of energy the tubes can absorb per unit of their mass (Eq. 1).

By considering these criteria, engineers and researchers can better understand the performance of crash tubes and design structures that can effectively absorb energy, protect occupants, and minimize structural damage during crash events.

Figure  11 presents a comparison between various BIDNATs and conventional rectangular cross-section tubes with identical length-to-width aspect ratios, focusing on the IPF and SEA. The increased rotation angle has led to a greater number of helices and a more pronounced helix angle relative to the tube's axis, resulting in a decrease in IPF. Apart from NR110/100, the lower cross-section aspect ratios (L/W) generally exhibit higher IPF values and higher SEA values.

SEA and IPF comparison of the conventional rectangular cross-sections with BIDNATs.

As expected, the BIDNATs with rectangular cross-section and the rotation angle of 540° demonstrate the lowest SEA and IPF values across all aspect ratios. In certain aspect ratios like 150/90, 150/80, 150/70, and 150/60, the SEA value of the conventional rectangular cross-section tubes surpasses that of the BIDNATs, with an approximate 44% increase compared to the highest SEA in the 150/60 aspect ratio. Notably, for the 110/100 aspect ratio, the SEA of E110/100 is 71% higher than that of the conventional tube. Overall, the BIDNAT with elliptical cross-sections and the rotation angle of 360° exhibit higher SEA values and lower IPF values, particularly for W = 100 mm.

The comparison between the SEA and IPF of various tubes is depicted in Figs.  12 and 13 . These tubes consist of conventional circular, elliptical, and rectangular cross-sections, as well as BIDNA tubes. The conventional circular and elliptical tubes exhibit SEA values exceeding than 6 J/g, with only E110/100 surpassing this value among the DNA-inspired tubes. The NE110/100 tube boasts the highest SEA, surpassing E110/100 by 54%, while its IPF is 10% greater than the DNA-inspired E110/100. Notably, the conventional circular and elliptical cross-section tubes demonstrate higher IPF values when compared to the DNA-inspired counterparts.

Comparison of the specific Energy Absorption (SEA) among all specimens.

Comparison of the initial peak force (IPF) among all specimens.

Automotive crash boxes are vital components that enhance safety for vehicle occupants and pedestrians during collisions as demonstrated in Fig.  14 . They absorb and dissipate impact energy, reducing forces transferred to occupants and minimizing injuries 60 , 61 .

Various impact scenarios depicted with a schematic of the front-end of a passenger car.

Occupant safety

Crash boxes protect vehicle occupants during high-energy collisions by absorbing and distributing impact forces. They work alongside seat belts and airbags to mitigate the risk of head, chest, and lower extremity injuries 59 .

Pedestrian safety

Crash boxes are integrated into the front bumper area to reduce impact forces on pedestrians. They absorb energy and deform upon impact, minimizing leg injuries common in pedestrian accidents.

In recent times, the automotive industry has implemented more strict regulations regarding crash tests. These regulations have prompted automakers to enhance the structural integrity of the front end of vehicles, enabling them to effectively absorb and distribute impact forces. To meet these requirements, automakers have begun utilizing stiffer bumper beams and front cross members. However, it is equally crucial to consider the design of the front end with regards to pedestrian-leg-to-vehicle collisions, aiming to minimize the severity of injuries sustained by pedestrians. While the implementation of stiff bumper beams and crash boxes enhances the safety of vehicle occupants, they can exert significant forces on pedestrian legs. As a result, careful consideration must be given to the design of front crash boxes, highlighting the importance of the IPF.

This study introduces the concept of the BIDNAT as a potential solution for front crash boxes. Except for metal forming and welding procedures, one can consider hydroforming as one of the manufacturing methods for BIDNAT. The BIDNAT not only exhibits excellent energy absorption capabilities but also boasts a low IPF, making it a viable option. The SEA and IPF of BIDNATs can be controlled by adjusting parameters such as graded helix pitches, graded thicknesses and designate them in series 8 , offering flexibility in design and performance optimization.

Conclusions

This paper provides a comprehensive FE-simulation of the energy absorption properties of bio-inspired DNA thin-walled tubes with circular, elliptical, and rectangular cross-sections. The analysis focuses on investigating deformation modes, force–displacement curves, and energy absorption capabilities through experiments and simulations. Key findings from the study include:

Bio-inspired DNA tubes (BIDNATs) with elliptical and rectangular cross-sections showed lower initial peak forces and mean crushing forces compared to conventional tubes due to their helical geometry and sharp edges.

BIDNATs with 360° rotation angles exhibited better energy absorption performance than those with 540° rotation angles.

Among the specimens studied, the E110/100 BIDNAT demonstrated the highest initial peak force and final energy absorption.

While conventional circular and elliptical tubes showed higher specific energy absorption compared to most BIDNATs, the E110/100 BIDNAT achieved 71% higher specific energy absorption than the conventional rectangular tube with the same aspect ratio.

In summary, BIDNATs show potential as effective energy absorbers for applications like automotive crash boxes due to their tunable crashworthiness properties and relatively low initial peak forces, which can minimize pedestrian injuries. However, further optimizations are still needed to improve their energy absorption performance.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is supported by the Doctoral Scientific Research Foundation of the HUAT under Grant No. BK202205 and open fund of Hubei Key Laboratory of Automotive Power Train and Electronic Control under Grant No. ZDK12023B08.

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A.N.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision and Writing-Original draft preparation; L.Z.: Data curation, Investigation; D.Z.: Visualization.

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Najibi, A., Zhang, L. & Zheng, D. On the crashworthiness analysis of bio-inspired DNA tubes. Sci Rep 14 , 8531 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59258-2

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Received : 17 November 2023

Accepted : 08 April 2024

Published : 12 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59258-2

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Kentucky hires Mark Pope: BYU coach, player on Wildcats' 1995-96 national title team succeeds John Calipari

Pope, who won a national title with the wildcats, is a high-energy coach who spent the past nine years at utah valley and brigham young.

Kentucky has hired BYU's Mark Pope to become its next men's basketball coach, the school announced Friday. Pope and Kentucky quickly engaged on Thursday in the hours after Baylor's Scott Drew and UConn's Dan Hurley both turned down Kentucky's overtures. CBS Sports first reported the news.

Pope has signed five-year deal at an average of $5.5 million per season, before incentives, sources said. Pope replaces John Calipari, who on Tuesday officially left for Arkansas after 15 years in Lexington.

Welcome home, @CoachMarkPope ! Pope, a captain of the 1996 National Championship team, has returned to the @universityofky as the 23rd head coach of @KentuckyMBB ! https://t.co/5tDLhxKdTQ — Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthletics) April 12, 2024

The pick was not the obvious or expected one on account of Kentucky's historical standing in the sport. With Calipari leaving town, most anticipated the program to bring in a high-profile replacement with a résumé of NCAA Tournament success.

Pope is a Kentucky alumnus, however. He played for (and was a captain on) the famed 1995-96 championship team and has long coveted an opportunity to one day return to his alma mater. He has nine years of head coaching experience in D-I: four at Utah Valley, the past five at BYU. His career record is 187-108, with a 110-52 mark at BYU. Pope is 0-2 all time in the NCAA Tournament, though, a noticeable void nearly a decade into his career. He guided the Cougars to a No. 6 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament but fell in the first round to Duquesne.

Pope won out over other hot names, including Billy Donovan and Rick Pitino. Sources told CBS Sports that, despite Pitino and Donovan being buzzy would-be candidates attached to Kentucky as potential successors to Calipari, neither were aggressively pursued by UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart. The event that opened the door all the way for Pope was when Hurley definitively signaled he wasn't an option.  The 51-year-old Pope is a high-energy hire who had the backing and support of some former players, in addition to being Barnhart's favored choice in his secondary candidate list. Pope runs a fun system on the floor; his BYU teams finished top-20 at KenPom in three of his five seasons there. He overhauled his roster strategy and offensive philosophy this past season as well, which led to 23 wins and a top-15 offense in college basketball. 

Pope joins Joe B. Hall as the only men's basketball coaches — dating back to Hall of Famer Adolph Rupp in 1930 — to play for Kentucky and go on to coach the program. For Pope, it's a true dream job situation. A press conference to introduce Pope will be held Sunday at Rupp Arena. 

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