Introduction

Dr Ben Wetenhall works in the area of CO₂ transportation with impurities. BW was the Principal Investigator and is a Co-Investigator on the EPSRC projects FleCCSnet and S-Cape. He is the lead author of the IEAGHG report "Impact of CO₂ impurity on CO₂ compression, liquefaction and transportation"  and was a researcher on the MATTRAN (EPSRC) and COOLTRANS (National Grid) projects. He has conducted consultancy work for National Grid Carbon including work on ductile fracture control for CO₂ pipelines with impurities.

BW's current research involves modelling wind and buoyancy driven CO₂ ingress into a building following a release using computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

Background

Wind and buoyancy ventilation, CCS pipeline transportation, hydraulic modelling, heat transfer, ductile fracture propagation, phase behaviour, CO₂ compression and liquefaction, CFD.

Research Interests

Carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon dioxide transportation, fracture propagation, hydraulic modelling, dispersion of CO₂, buoyancy and wind driven ventilation, heat transfer, phase behaviour, CO₂ compression and liquefaction.

Current Work

FLECCSNET, Flexible CCS Pipeline Networks

S-CAPE, Shelter and Escape in the Event of a Release of CO2 from CCS Infrastructure.

Previous Work

MATTRAN project, Materials for Next Generation CO2 Transport Systems.

COOLTRANS, Dense Phase CO2 Pipeline Transportation. 

IEAGHG, Impact of CO₂ impurity on CO₂ compression, liquefaction and transportation.

Current Modules

MAR8045 Fundamentals of Subsea Engineering

ENG1005 ThermoFluid Mechanics

ENG1007 Mechanics I

MAR2018 Marine Engineering II (Heat transfer and fluids)

MAR2020 Applications of Engineering II

SFY0008 IT and Communications

• Xu J, Benson S, Wetenhall B. Comparative analysis of fatigue life of a wind turbine yaw bearing with different support foundations. Ocean Engineering 2021, 235, 109293.
• Reppas N, Gui Y, Wetenhall B, Davie C, Ma J. Wellbore stability analysis during CO₂ injection considering elastoplastic and continuous damage effects. In: 11th Conference of Asian Rock Mechanics Society ARMS11. 2021, Beijing: Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd.
• Reppas N, Gui YL, Wetenhall B, Davie CT, Ma J. Elasto-Plastic Behavior of Rock during Temperature Drop. International Journal of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering 2020, 14(7), 177-184.
• Lyons CJ, Race JM, Chang E, Cosham A, Wetenhall B, Barnett J. Validation of the NG-18 Equations for Thick Walled Pipelines. Engineering Failure Analysis 2020, 112, 104494.
• Reppas N, Gui YL, Wetenhall B. A general review on rock stability due to CO₂ injection. In: 53rd U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium. 2019, New York City, NY, USA: American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA).
• Lyons CJ, Race JM, Adefila K, Wetenhall B, Aghajani H, Aktas B, Hopkins HF, Cleaver P, Barnett J. Analytical and computational indoor shelter models for infiltration of carbon dioxide into buildings: Comparison with experimental data. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2019, 92, epub ahead pf print.
• Lyons CJ, Race JM, Wetenhall B, Chang E, Hopkins HF, Barnett J. Assessment of the Applicability of Failure Freqency Models for Dense Phase Carbon Dioxide Pipelines. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2019, 87, 112-120.
• Li Y, Wu D, Wetenhall B. Pressure drop study on an Organic Rankine System utilizing LNG. In: 10th International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE2018). 2019, Hong Kong, China: Elsevier.
• Wetenhall B, Race JM, Aghajani H, Sanchez-Fernandez E, Naylor M, Lucquiaud M, Chalmers H. Considerations in the Development of Flexible CCS Networks. Energy Procedia 2017, 114, 6800-6812.
• Aghajani H, Race JM, Wetenhall B, Sanchez-Fernandez E, Lucquiaud M, Chalmers H. On the Potential for Interim Storage in Dense Phase CO₂ Pipelines. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2017, 66, 276-287.
• Wetenhall B, Race JM, Aghajani H, Barnett J. The Main Factors Affecting Heat Transfer Along Dense Phase CO₂ Pipelines. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2017, 63, 86-94.
• Saad A, Aghajani H, Wetenhall B, Ahmed I. A thermal analysis of a CO₂ transportation pipeline: A design configuration for optimum onshore transportation. In: PSIG Annual Meeting 2016. 2016, Vancouver, British Columbia: Pipeline Simulation Interest Group (PSIG).
• Wetenhall B, Aghajani H, Benson S, Chalmers H, Ferrari MC, Li J, Race JM. Impact of CO₂ Impurity on CO₂ Compression, Liquefaction and Transportation. Cheltenham: IEAGHG, 2016. 2016/01.
• Sanchez-Fernandez E, Naylor M, Lucquiaud M, Wetenhall B, Aghajani H, Race JM, Chalmers H. Impacts of geological store uncertainties on the design and operation of flexible CCS offshore pipeline infrastructure. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2016, 52, 139-154.
• Wetenhall B, Aghajani H, Chalmers H, Benson SD, Ferrari M-C, Li J, Race JM, Singh P, Davison J. Impact of CO₂ impurity on CO₂ compression, liquefaction and transportation. In: 12th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, GHGT-12. 2014, Austin, Texas: Elsevier.
• Wetenhall B, Race JM, Downie MJ. The Effect of CO₂ Purity on the Development of Pipeline Networks for Carbon Capture and Storage Schemes. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control 2014, 30, 197-211.
• Wetenhall B, Race JM, Downie MJ. The Effect of Impurities on a Simplified CCS Network. In: PSIG. 2013, Prague.
• Race JM, Wetenhall B, Seevam P, Downie MJ. Towards a CO₂ Pipeline Specification: Defining Tolerance Limits for Impurities. Journal of Pipeline Engineering 2012, 11(3), 173-190.
• Race JM, Wetenhall BW, Downie MJ. Towards a CO₂ Pipeline Specification: Defining Tolerance Limits for Impurities. In: The Third International Forum on Transportation of CO2 by Pipeline. 2012, Newcastle upon Tyne.
• Tatar R, Wetenhall B. SQCD vacua and geometrical engineering. In: 16th International Conference on Supersymmetry and the Unification of Fundamental Interactions (SUSY08). 2009, Seoul, Korea: American Institute of Physics.
• Tatar R, Wetenhall B. SQCD vacua and geometrical engineering. Physical Review D 2008, 77, 046007.
• Tatar R, Wetenhall B. Metastable vacua and complex deformations. Physical Review D 2007, 76, 126011.
• Tatar R, Wetenhall B. Metastable Vacua, Geometrical Engineering and MQCD Transitions. Journal of High Energy Physics 2007, 02, 020.