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Articles 1 - 30 of 68
Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Photovoltaics, Batteries, And Silicon Carbide Power Electronics Based Infrastructure For Sustainable Power Networks, Prahaladh Paniyil
Photovoltaics, Batteries, And Silicon Carbide Power Electronics Based Infrastructure For Sustainable Power Networks, Prahaladh Paniyil
All Dissertations
The consequences of climate change have emphasized the need for a power network that is centered around clean, green, and renewable sources of energy. Currently, Photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines are the only two modes of technology that can convert renewable energy of the sun and wind respectively into large-scale power for the electricity network. This dissertation aims at providing a novel solution to implement these sources of power (majorly PV) coupled with Lithium-ion battery storage in an efficient and sustainable approach. Such a power network can enable efficiency, reliability, low-cost, and sustainability with minimum impact to the environment.
The …
Solar Solution For Mini-Rover, Michaella Ochotorena, Derick Louie, Jonathan Cederquist, Collin Petersen, Cole Korchek
Solar Solution For Mini-Rover, Michaella Ochotorena, Derick Louie, Jonathan Cederquist, Collin Petersen, Cole Korchek
Mechanical Engineering
This project focuses on designing, building, and testing a functional prototype of a collapsible solar array on the mini Mars rover being developed by client and sponsor, Mr. Rich Murray. Although many previous collapsible solar arrays have been deployed for space missions, the previous solar-powered Mars rovers only deployed their arrays once upon landing. This solar array will be able to collapse and deploy multiple times to allow for greater rover mobility and stability when the rover is not charging. This system is critical to the success of the rover project because it provides power without which the rover cannot …
Baker/Koob Final Report: Solar Solution For Mini Mars Rover, Jonathan Cederquist, Cole Korchek, Derick Louie, Michaella Ochotorena, Collin Petersen
Baker/Koob Final Report: Solar Solution For Mini Mars Rover, Jonathan Cederquist, Cole Korchek, Derick Louie, Michaella Ochotorena, Collin Petersen
Mechanical Engineering
This project focused on designing, building, and testing a functional prototype of a collapsible solar array on the mini Mars rover being developed by client and sponsor, Mr. Rich Murray. Although many previous collapsible solar arrays have been deployed for space missions, the previous solar-powered Mars rovers only deployed their arrays once upon landing. This solar array will be able to collapse and deploy multiple times to allow for greater rover mobility and stability when the rover is not charging. This system is critical to the success of the rover project because it provides power without which the rover cannot …
Skip The Grid: Giving Power To Navajo Nation, Ryan J. Schacherbauer
Skip The Grid: Giving Power To Navajo Nation, Ryan J. Schacherbauer
Construction Management
Skip the Grid is a project organized by Heart of America, a nonprofit, looking to improve the education and overall wellbeing of children and their families. Many residents within Navajo Nation do not have access to continuous power and rely on temporary generators or car battery to obtain any kind of electricity. Heart of America partnered with the Red Mesa School District to identify families that did not have power, which was impacting the children’s ability to complete their online schoolwork. This senior project was comprised of an interdisciplinary team responsible for installing a working solar system on twelve homes …
Performance Loss Rate And Temperature Modeling In Predictive Energy Yield Programs For Utility-Scale Solar Power Plants, Katelynn M. Dinius
Performance Loss Rate And Temperature Modeling In Predictive Energy Yield Programs For Utility-Scale Solar Power Plants, Katelynn M. Dinius
Master's Theses
The Gold Tree Solar Farm, designed by REC Solar, has a rated output power of 4.5 MW and began operation in 2018 to provide electricity to Cal Poly’s campus. Gold Tree Solar Farm site terrain consists of rolling hills and uneven slopes. The uneven typography results in interrow shading, requiring a modified tracking control algorithm to maximize power production. Predicting a utility solar field’s lifetime energy yield is a critical step in assessing project feasibility and calculating project revenue. The MATLAB-based predictive power model developed for this field overpredicted power in the middle of the day. The purpose of this …
Solar Photovoltaic Iv Curve Tracer, Jonathan W. Skelly
Solar Photovoltaic Iv Curve Tracer, Jonathan W. Skelly
Electrical Engineering
The Solar Photovoltaic Current-Voltage (IV) Curve Tracer, sponsored by Cal Poly Professor Dale Dolan, characterizes solar array current vs. voltage curves for any given temperature and irradiance. The curve tracer is battery powered, and functions autonomously across loading conditions from short circuit to open load on any sub-450-watt solar array. The curve tracer supports separate data logging modes for both single cells and single modules to maximize data accuracy for each. For testing full strings of solar panels, up to 10 IV curves may be stored in persistent EEPROM memory. Stored data may be recalled later for output to a …
Hybrid Ac/Dc House, Vinh Q. Tran, Casey Winans, Erin O'Rourke
Hybrid Ac/Dc House, Vinh Q. Tran, Casey Winans, Erin O'Rourke
Electrical Engineering
The Hybrid AC/DC house is a proof of concept implementing a DC bus in residential power systems. The implementation of the DC bus is motivated by efficiency through a direct path for DC sources and loads. The avoidance of DC-to-AC and AC-to-DC conversions used in typical residential systems especially those with DC sources such as solar panels could experience higher efficiencies through only DC-to-DC conversions between the sources and the loads.
An Examination Of Grid Stability As It Relates To The Increased Integration Of Inverter-Based Resources, Daniel Voss
An Examination Of Grid Stability As It Relates To The Increased Integration Of Inverter-Based Resources, Daniel Voss
Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses
There is currently a growing interest in increasing the amount of renewable energy resources connected to the bulk electric system (BES) that stems from various environmental, political, and social concerns. However, the differences between conventional generation resources and inverter-based resources (IBR)—namely wind and solar—pose new issues that make this increased integration a larger problem. In other studies, the increased penetration of renewable energy resources has resulted in weak-grid systems that are more susceptible to collapse. This comes as a result from the inability for IBRs to effectively provide enough reactive power, an effect especially apparent during fault conditions, which the …
Performance And Economics Of Solar Inverters And Module Level Power Electronics In A 1 Mw Photovoltaic System, Maxwell Criswell
Performance And Economics Of Solar Inverters And Module Level Power Electronics In A 1 Mw Photovoltaic System, Maxwell Criswell
Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses
Photovoltaic solar panels convert sunlight to electricity in the form of direct current; therefore, a necessary component of every photovoltaic system is an inverter to convert the electricity to usable alternating current. There are various commercially available inverter technologies manufactured today such as microinverters, string inverters, and central inverters, as well as module level power electronic devices such as DC optimizers that are capable of improving system performance in string and central inverter systems. This thesis compares the performance and economics of five different inverter and module level power electronic systems through model simulation using Helioscope software. The five alternatives …
Solar Soiling Mitigation, Claire Desmith
Solar Soiling Mitigation, Claire Desmith
Electrical Engineering
This senior project aims to mitigate performance losses that occur in Photovoltaic (PV) systems due to soiling of the panels. Soiling is the natural occurrence of debris accumulation on panels, depending on local climate conditions. Soiling loss refers to efficiency lost due to dirt and dust accumulation on the panels. The debris reduces system output by shading on a smaller scale. In addition to uniform soiling, corner soiling is observed in framed modules as debris collects in the corners of the modules. While solutions currently exist to clean modules to mitigate soiling losses, these solutions are often expensive and time …
Study Of Renewable Energy Penetration On A Benchmark Generation And Transmission System, Oluwaseun M. Akeyo, Aron Patrick, Dan M. Ionel
Study Of Renewable Energy Penetration On A Benchmark Generation And Transmission System, Oluwaseun M. Akeyo, Aron Patrick, Dan M. Ionel
Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications
Significant changes in conventional generator operation and transmission system planning will be required to accommodate increasing solar photovoltaic (PV) penetration. There is a limit to the maximum amount of solar that can be connected in a service area without the need for significant upgrades to the existing generation and transmission infrastructure. This study proposes a framework for analyzing the impact of increasing solar penetration on generation and transmission networks while considering the responses of conventional generators to changes in solar PV output power. Contrary to traditional approaches in which it is assumed that generation can always match demand, this framework …
Exploring Renewable Energy Futures In Humboldt County Consistent With The Goals Of California’S Renewable Portfolio Standard, Amin M. Younes
Exploring Renewable Energy Futures In Humboldt County Consistent With The Goals Of California’S Renewable Portfolio Standard, Amin M. Younes
Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects
Humboldt County has abundant wind, solar, and biomass resources, but has made limited progress towards the state’s 2045 requirement of 100% clean electricity. A recently rejected onshore wind project showed that technically and economically viable projects can fall to social and political challenges, emphasizing the need for social considerations in renewable transitions. I therefore integrated community members’ preferences into modeling of RPS-consistent renewable energy scenarios in Humboldt County. My model suggests that offshore wind, utility-scale solar, distributed solar, and biomass power are technically and economically viable sources of significant local generation at varying costs.
In interviews with energy-engaged residents, I …
Design And Development Of Laboratory Single-Axis Pv Module Tracker, Helen A. Rice, Delaney Berger, Avishek Maitra
Design And Development Of Laboratory Single-Axis Pv Module Tracker, Helen A. Rice, Delaney Berger, Avishek Maitra
Electrical Engineering
Solar energy is an integral part of the renewable energy industry. Advanced solar farms actively track solar movement and update solar panel angles to maximize the system’s output power. Cal Poly boasts its own Solar Farm that features a single-axis tracking system. Single-axis tracking aims to get panels as close to perpendicular as possible given the panel arrangements and given the time of year. Single-axis tracking is a more robust measurement and tracking option. Single-axis tracking systems usually only have East-West panel arc movement, following the sun’s rotation. Dual-axis trackers have both East-West and North-South panel arc movements. Dual-axis systems …
Single Axis Solar Panel Tracking Mount Using Stepper Motor And Accelerometer Positional Control, Ezra Pramono
Single Axis Solar Panel Tracking Mount Using Stepper Motor And Accelerometer Positional Control, Ezra Pramono
Electrical Engineering
Optimal solar panel systems rotate to track the sun, as solar panels operate at their maximum potential when the panel plane is completely normal to the sun’s rays. These tracking systems often using two axes of movement. This project is to design a system that will allow a solar panel to track the sun using only one rotational axis, which saves energy and uses fewer parts. The system tracks the entire range of the sun's motion and has positional feedback to allow control of the solar panel's angle. The position of the tracking system is controllable via an external computer. …
An Investigation Of Diode Failure, Nicholas James Adams
An Investigation Of Diode Failure, Nicholas James Adams
Physics
Solar electricity can be used to cheaply cook food and charge electronic devices. We investigate the viability of using diodes as heating elements for insulated solar electric cooking (ISEC). In addition, information on designing and constructing ISEC compatible phone chargers and rechargeable LED lighting systems is included.
Neca Ghana Project, Michael T. Klee
Neca Ghana Project, Michael T. Klee
Construction Management
Cal Poly’s motto is, “Learn by Doing" and for Cal Poly’s NECA Chapter, this isn’t simply a motto, but a directive for proactive change. For my senior project I will be leading the Cal Poly NECA chapter in the design, pre- fabrication and construction of a 5-7kw solar array, community center, ice production room and technology room in the remote fishing village of Agbokpa, Ghana. The solar array will power multiple industrial DC freezers, high efficiency LED lighting and charging stations while additionally powering water filtration and irrigation systems. Like many other fishing villages around the world, Agbokpa has no …
Dual-Axis Solar Tracker, Bryan Kennedy
Dual-Axis Solar Tracker, Bryan Kennedy
All Undergraduate Projects
Renewable energies, and fuels that are not fossil fuel-based, are one of the prolific topics of debate in modern society. With climate change now becoming a primary focus for scientists and innovators of today, one of the areas for the largest amount of potential and growth is that of the capturing and utilization of Solar Energy. This method involves using a mechanical system to track the progression of the sun as it traverses the sky throughout the day. A dual-axis solar tracker such as the one designed and built for this project, can follow the sun both azimuthally and in …
Microgrid-Enabled Reactive Power Support To Enhance Grid Economics, Sarhan Hasan
Microgrid-Enabled Reactive Power Support To Enhance Grid Economics, Sarhan Hasan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Reactive power plays an essential role in voltage control and stability in electric power systems. Various Volt/VAR techniques are utilized in electric power systems to maintain the voltage profile within defined acceptable limits and accordingly provide reliability and stability. Reactive power has been commonly generated through large-scale synchronous generators or distributed capacitor banks to provide proper transmission and distribution level system management, however, reactive power can be further used as an effective means to reduce total system operation cost. In this dissertation, an optimal reactive power model is proposed to determine the optimal nodal reactive powers that result in the …
Pv Mppt Water Pump Controller, Jacob R. Lamkin
Pv Mppt Water Pump Controller, Jacob R. Lamkin
Electrical Engineering
The intention of this project is to create a low cost way to extract the maximum useful power from a PV module to power a water pump. This approach will yield maximum financial and technical accessibility for end users. The project was successful in powering a water pump from a PV module as desired, and the microcontroller driven control circuitry was capable of finding and maintaining operation at the maximum power point of the PV module. Due to the low performance of the buck converter used in this project, this approach was not as efficient as desired and would require …
Software-Defined Infrastructure For Iot-Based Energy Systems, Stephen Lee
Software-Defined Infrastructure For Iot-Based Energy Systems, Stephen Lee
Doctoral Dissertations
Internet of Things (IoT) devices are becoming an essential part of our everyday lives. These physical devices are connected to the internet and can measure or control the environment around us. Further, IoT devices are increasingly being used to monitor buildings, farms, health, and transportation. As these connected devices become more pervasive, these devices will generate vast amounts of data that can be used to gain insights and build intelligence into the system. At the same time, large-scale deployment of these devices will raise new challenges in efficiently managing and controlling them. In this thesis, I argue that the IoT …
Incorporating Battery Energy Storage Systems Into Multi-Mw Grid Connected Pv Systems, Vandana Rallabandi, Oluwaseun M. Akeyo, Nicholas Jewell, Dan M. Ionel
Incorporating Battery Energy Storage Systems Into Multi-Mw Grid Connected Pv Systems, Vandana Rallabandi, Oluwaseun M. Akeyo, Nicholas Jewell, Dan M. Ionel
Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications
This paper analyzes the configuration, design, and operation of multi-MW grid connected solar photovoltaic (PV) systems with practical test cases provided by a 10-MW field development. In order to improve the capacity factor, the PV system operates at its maximum power point during periods of lower irradiance, and the power output is limited to a rated value at high irradiance. The proposed configuration also incorporates a utility scale battery energy storage system (BESS) connected to the grid through an independent inverter and benefits of the experience gained with a 1-MW 2-MWh BESS large demonstrator. The BESS power smoothing and frequency …
Solar Irradiance Microforecasting, Austin Jeffrey Fite, Sara Naseem Kipps
Solar Irradiance Microforecasting, Austin Jeffrey Fite, Sara Naseem Kipps
Computer Engineering
In late winter quarter 2018 the University of New Mexico and Microgrid Labs provided the Cal Poly Electrical Engineering department with their prototype Solar Irradiance Microforecasting (SIMF) hardware. This hardware was provided to the University under the lone condition that data collected with it would be returned to Microgrid Labs to train their weather model. The goal of this senior project was to take the provided hardware and software and make it usable for students in the Cal Poly Electrical and Computer Engineering departments to hack and expand. The end goal with the hardware is near term cloud and weather …
Power Optimization Of Solar Powered Standalone Wireless Sensor System, Rajan Amatya
Power Optimization Of Solar Powered Standalone Wireless Sensor System, Rajan Amatya
Masters Theses
Wireless sensor systems are common in applications where harsh environmental conditions or remote locations make it difficult to run wires. Having these sensor systems self-powered is essential as it is difficult for battery replacement. Using solar as an alternative source of energy can be a medium to charge the battery in such scenarios. With an increasing number of portable devices powered by battery; more and more research is focused on low-power design technique. For this thesis, a microcontroller (Texas Instruments MSP432) was used along with a digital sensor (Bosch BME280) to provide temperature, pressure and humidity information, and Wi-Fi module …
Grid-Tied Solar System, Virginia Yan
Grid-Tied Solar System, Virginia Yan
Electrical Engineering
Distribution level solar energy generation has gained importance and popularity, because it helps create a sustainable electricity system while reducing the harmful environmental impacts our current power systems have. This project proposes an alternative energy source, a laboratory-scale grid-connected photovoltaic system. A KC120-1 solar panel produces 120 Watts maximum. A grid-tied solar power inverter does DC-to-AC conversion and minimizes energy transfer losses. The inverter also has an anti-islanding feature, which senses a power outage and prevents back-feeding through isolating the circuit. The circuit breakers isolate electrical components and protect the circuit. Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories SEL-751 feeder protection relay and SEL-735 …
Application Of Silicon Nanohair Textured P-N Junctions In A Photovoltaic Device, Michael Small
Application Of Silicon Nanohair Textured P-N Junctions In A Photovoltaic Device, Michael Small
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The goal of this project is to design and develop a fabrication process for a silicon photovoltaic device which incorporates a nanohair textured p-n junction. The silicon nanowires are etched into a silicon wafer, comprising an epitaxial p-layer on n-substrate, via metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE). The resulting nanowires contain p-n junctions that lie along the length of the vertical nanowires. This construct has the potential to increase the optical bandwidth of a silicon photovoltaic device by allowing a greater amount of short wavelength light to reach the junction. In addition, the MACE method of nanofabrication has the potential for decreasing …
Dc House Solar Panel Cleaner, Sarahanne Heredia, Sophia Deguia
Dc House Solar Panel Cleaner, Sarahanne Heredia, Sophia Deguia
Electrical Engineering
Solar panels lose 0.05% of their power conversion efficiency per day due to soil accumulation, according to an experiment conducted by the University of California, San Diego in 2013 [18]. The project is an electro-mechanical cleaning system that effectively and efficiently cleans solar panels at set intervals. A drip irrigation system with spray jets was attached to a water pump and Arduino, both powered by the DC House Project solar panel battery. The DC House solar panel was the targeted panel set up for the project. Several components of the design could have been chosen more optimally for the system; …
Analysis Of The Properties Of Supercapacitors And Possible Applications For The Technology, Vincent Oliveto
Analysis Of The Properties Of Supercapacitors And Possible Applications For The Technology, Vincent Oliveto
Honors Theses
Supercapacitors have a lot of excellent qualities that would make them a great substitute for batteries when it comes to electrical energy storage systems. Supercapacitors can discharge and charge very rapidly, they have a lifespan in the realm of millions of cycles, and they are much more efficient than batteries. Unfortunately, they cannot hold nearly as much charge as batteries. This paper seeks to further investigate the properties of supercapacitor technology and the best way to exploit these properties with the purpose of integrating them into renewable energy systems. There is currently a lot of research occurring around the world …
Developing A 1-Megawatt Photovoltaic Power Plant For Liberty University, Andrew Knudsen
Developing A 1-Megawatt Photovoltaic Power Plant For Liberty University, Andrew Knudsen
Senior Honors Theses
A photovoltaic power plant with a generation capacity of 1-megawatt is designed for Liberty University. Liberty University’s location and size are stated to provide context for the design. Design choices are presented, first with general information that is applicable to any photovoltaic plant design, then with significant factors that impact this design. Specific models of solar panels and inverters are selected after the necessary classifications are determined. The final design has 2,880 solar panels with a fixed angle 30⁰ above the horizon, has two central inverters, and takes up 2.57 acres. Future research is suggested for finances as well as …
Dc-To-Dc Buck Converter, Kyle Christopher Roman
Dc-To-Dc Buck Converter, Kyle Christopher Roman
Electrical Engineering
The growth of sustainable energy requires many components to work in harmony creating one efficient and effective system. Sustainable energy generation that produces a DC current varying in voltage requires a subsystem to convert voltage to a practical and usable value. The DC to DC Buck converter converts high DC solar generated voltage to a 12V output. This Modular -Level power electronic (MLPE) device performs as a solar charge controller for small lithium ion batteries. Fluctuating voltage levels generated by Photovoltaic cells makes the solar controller a critical part of the solar system. Regulating the DC voltage allows safe and …
Solar Powered Single-Axis Heliostat Active Solar Tracking Device, Mason Kyle Roberts
Solar Powered Single-Axis Heliostat Active Solar Tracking Device, Mason Kyle Roberts
Physics
As a means of cooking food, the burning of biomass accounts for over 4 million premature deaths in third world countries (“Household Air Pollution and Health”). The focus of this project was to explore an alternative that could utilize focused sunlight to cook food. A solar tracker was designed to be affixed to a parabolic, reflective, tilted single axis heliostat to follow the sun throughout the day and focus the reflected light to the bottom of a cooking surface. This surface became hot enough to for the preparation of food or boiling/sterilization of water.
A goal for each project was …