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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Function And Dissipation In Finite State Automata - From Computing To Intelligence And Back, Natesh Ganesh Oct 2019

Function And Dissipation In Finite State Automata - From Computing To Intelligence And Back, Natesh Ganesh

Doctoral Dissertations

Society has benefited from the technological revolution and the tremendous growth in computing powered by Moore's law. However, we are fast approaching the ultimate physical limits in terms of both device sizes and the associated energy dissipation. It is important to characterize these limits in a physically grounded and implementation-agnostic manner, in order to capture the fundamental energy dissipation costs associated with performing computing operations with classical information in nano-scale quantum systems. It is also necessary to identify and understand the effect of quantum in-distinguishability, noise, and device variability on these dissipation limits. Identifying these parameters is crucial to designing …


Manufacturing And Testing The Permanent Magnet Linear Motor, Renjie Kang May 2019

Manufacturing And Testing The Permanent Magnet Linear Motor, Renjie Kang

Senior Theses

Controlled mechanical motion is vital in many useful applications in technology. Among them, linear motors have advantages over traditional rotating motors. In this work, we built a permanent magnet linear motor to test and measure its energy efficiency. A maximum 29% total energy efficiency, and 67% energy transfer rate, were detected. In addition, a C-shape support structure was added to the moving part in order to increase the moving accuracy. The tests show that, with the support structure, the fluctuation in the vertical direction decreases significantly, but the friction of the system slightly increases.


Consumer Engagement With Efficient And Renewable Energy Technology: Case Studies On Smart Meter Utilization And Support For A Community Anaerobic Biodigester System In Vermont, Samantha Whitney Lewandowski Jan 2018

Consumer Engagement With Efficient And Renewable Energy Technology: Case Studies On Smart Meter Utilization And Support For A Community Anaerobic Biodigester System In Vermont, Samantha Whitney Lewandowski

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Residential electricity consumption in the United States has many adverse impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions, dependence on fossil fuels, and costs. Efficient and renewable energy technologies have the potential to help mitigate some of these impacts, but appear to be under-utilized in the United States. One major barrier to expanding the deployment of these kinds of technologies and maximizing the benefits they can provide is a lack of consumer engagement. The overall purpose of this thesis is to better understand the extent to which efficient and renewable energy technologies are being engaged with and what factors may influence such …


A Human Side Of The Smart Grid: Behavior-Based Energy Efficiency From Renters Using Real-Time Feedback And Competitive Performance-Based Incentives, Daniel Fredman Jan 2018

A Human Side Of The Smart Grid: Behavior-Based Energy Efficiency From Renters Using Real-Time Feedback And Competitive Performance-Based Incentives, Daniel Fredman

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Our energy system is rapidly transforming, partially due to advances in internet and communications technologies that leverage an unprecedented amount of data. Industry proponents of the so-called “smart grid” suggest these technologies facilitate deeper engagement with end-users of energy (utility customers) that can in turn drive behavior-based changes and accelerate a renewable energy transition. While there has been progress in understanding how these technologies change consumer behavior using, for example, real-time feedback, it’s unclear how specific segments (e.g., renters) respond to these interventions; it’s also unclear why feedback is, or is not, producing changes in energy consumption. The literature suggests …


Optimisation Of Stand-Alone Hybrid Energy Systems For Power And Thermal Loads, Barun Kumar Das Jan 2018

Optimisation Of Stand-Alone Hybrid Energy Systems For Power And Thermal Loads, Barun Kumar Das

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Stand-alone hybrid energy systems are an attractive option for remote communities without a connection to a main power grid. However, the intermittent nature of solar and other renewable sources adversely affects the reliability with which these systems respond to load demands. Hybridisation, achieved by combining renewables with combustion-based supplementary prime movers, improves the ability to meet electric load requirements. In addition, the waste heat generated from backup Internal Combustion Engines or Micro Gas Turbines can be used to satisfy local heating and cooling loads. As a result, there is an expectation that the overall efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of …


Single Carrier Frequency Domain Equalization And Energy Efficiency Optimization For Mimo Cognitive Radio., Xiaohui Zhang Dec 2016

Single Carrier Frequency Domain Equalization And Energy Efficiency Optimization For Mimo Cognitive Radio., Xiaohui Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies two separate topics in wireless communication systems. One topic focuses on the Single Carrier Frequency Domain Equalization (SC-FDE), which is a promising technique to mitigate the multipath effect in the broadband wireless communication. Another topic targets on the energy efficiency optimization in a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) cognitive radio network. For SC-FDE, the conventional linear receivers suffer from the noise amplification in deep fading channel. To overcome this, a fractional spaced frequency domain (FSFD) receiver based on frequency domain oversampling (FDO) is proposed for SC-FDE to improve the performance of the linear receiver under deep fading …


Use Of Drone And Infrared Camera For A Campus Building Envelope Study, Raheem Taiwo Ariwoola May 2016

Use Of Drone And Infrared Camera For A Campus Building Envelope Study, Raheem Taiwo Ariwoola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Presently, there are concerns that buildings in the USA under-performs in terms of energy efficiency when compared with the original design specifications. A significant percentage of the energy loss in these buildings is associated with the building’s envelope. This study provides a qualitative and analytical understanding of the R-value, which indicates the thermal performance of the elements that make up a building envelope. Infrared thermography is used as a methodology to assess the thermal performance of envelopes of ten buildings on East Tennessee State University Campus. A Fluke Ti25 infrared hand-held camera and a DJI phantom-2 drone mounted with FLIR …


Design Of An Energy Efficient Virtual End Node Client Using Openadr2.0a And Smap, Kevin Navero Jun 2013

Design Of An Energy Efficient Virtual End Node Client Using Openadr2.0a And Smap, Kevin Navero

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Demand Response (DR) describes the set of actions taken to impose a reduction in electrical loads to stabilize the power grid and decrease costs. It is used when power grid emergencies or extremely high demand and congestion, threaten the electricity supply-demand balance. Automated Demand Response (ADR) describes a web-based control system that triggers DR events automatically by signaling other pre-programmed control systems. This project intends to use the OpenADR2.0 specifications provided by the OpenADR Alliance to construct an open source Virtual End Node (VEN) client to retrieve DR signals. The Simple Measurement and Actuation Profile (sMAP) software is also used …


Energy Dashboard Tool For Cal Poly Dormitories, Katie Zombro Jun 2013

Energy Dashboard Tool For Cal Poly Dormitories, Katie Zombro

Electrical Engineering

This project defines the needs, uses, and future projects (as well as business cases and procurement) of a University Housing dashboard tool, utilized by the Red Brick Dormitories on the Cal Poly campus. This easily accessed tool provides simple information regarding energy trending data, allowing for all student residents no matter their academic discipline, to understand their energy trends and opportunities for reduction. With the Energy Dashboard in place, Cal Poly’s red brick dormitories experienced savings ranging from 10%-20% from the 2011-2012 school year baseline, by the end of the 2012-2013 academic year. With the help of the Dashboard, competitions …