Engineering Commons^™

Transimpedance Amplifier For Polymer Photodiodes, Sheridan Knighton

Electrical Engineering

Dr. Braun’s students in the Polymer Electronics Lab currently have a way to measure the light intensity from their light emitting devices however it consumes an unnecessary amount of space and power. I offer to improve upon the existing transimpedance circuit that Dr. Braun currently uses, reducing the total space occupied by the circuit and the power consumption of the current setup. The transimpedance circuit measures the incidence light intensity from the polymer-based photo detector and outputs an accurate, discrete, and measurable voltage. The current setup however utilizes two 20V wall warts for the positive and negative rails of the …

Life Cycle Assessment Projection Of Photovoltaic Cells: A Case Study On Energy Demand Of Quantum Wire Based Photovoltaic Technology Research, Shilpi Mukherjee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With increasing clean-energy demand, photovoltaic (PV) technologies have gained attention as potential long-term alternative to fossil fuel energy. However, PV research and manufacture still utilize fossil fuel-powered grid electricity. With continuous enhancement of solar conversion efficiency, it is imperative to assess whether overall life cycle efficiency is also being enhanced. Many new-material PV technologies are still in their research phase, and life cycle analyses of these technologies have not yet been performed. For best results, grid dependency must be minimized for PV research, and this can be accomplished by an analytical instrument called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

LCA is the …

Analysis And Optimization Of The Scheffler Solar Concentrator, Simone Alberti

Master's Theses

The Scheffler reflector is a new solar concentrator design which maintains a fixed focus while only having a single axis tracking mechanism. This design makes the construction and operation of high temperature solar concentrators accessible to developing nations. In this project, I wrote computer simulation codes to better understand the dynamics and the effect of deformation or deviations from ideal conditions in order to define necessary manufacturing and operational tolerances. These tools and knowledge drove the prototyping of new reflector concepts by myself and other students on my team. A fiberglass prototype was able to drive the cost of a …

Solar Power Deployment: Forecasting And Planning, Mohana Shandal Alanazi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rapid growth of Photovoltaic (PV) technology has been very visible over the past decade. Recently, the penetration of PV plants to the existing grid has significantly increased. Such increase in the integration of solar energy has brought attention to the solar irradiance forecasting. This thesis presents a thorough research of PV technology, how solar power can be forecasted, and PV planning under uncertainty.

Over the last decade, the PV was one of the fastest growing renewable energy technologies. However, the PV system output varies based on weather conditions. Due to the variability and the uncertainty of solar power, the …

Solar Sail Trajectory Design In The Earth-Moon Circular Restricted Three Body Problem, Ashwati Das

Open Access Theses

The quest to explore the Moon has helped resolve scientific questions, has spurred leaps in technology development, and has revealed Earth's celestial companion to be a gateway to other destinations. With a renewed focus on returning to the Moon in this decade, alternatives to chemical propulsion systems are becoming attractive methods to efficiently use scarce resources and support extended mission durations. Thus, an investigation is conducted to develop a general framework, that facilitates propellant-free Earth-Moon transfers by exploiting sail dynamics in combination with advantageous transfer options offered in the Earth-Moon circular restricted multi-body dynamical model. Both periodic orbits in the …

All Purpose Mobile Gps, James C. Smith, Matt Weege, Kevin Peters

Electrical Engineering

The aim of the All Purpose Mobile GPS (The System) is to create a GPS tracking device that can accurately record location and calculate velocity, distance traveled and elevation change even when the satellite signal is lost. This data can later overlay on existing internet-based maps illustrating a trip to oneself or others. The portable tracker consumes very little power achieving several days’ worth of power in a single charge. A solar cell provides a quick battery boost in a pinch. SD Card storage increases compatibility with computers and other forms of data transfer. Data processing, such as viewing the …

Bike Safe: An Automatic Turn Signal System, Betty He Chan, Ricardo Alberto Duran

Electrical Engineering

Bicycles are vehicles that do not require a license to operate and share the road with cars, motorcycles, and other fast moving vehicles. An improper lane change from a bicyclist, such as one without any warning, can lead to great injury or death (especially after sundown). Bike Safe addresses this safety concern by providing a low-cost device that mimics the warning system motorists’ use every day. The system consists of a red brake light and amber turning signal lights that mounts to the rear of the bike, as well as a white headlamp that mounts to the front handlebars. The …

Application Of A High-Performance Optically Enhanced Solar Thermal Collector System, Timothy H. Cameron

Honors Theses

In an effort to make Union College a more environmentally friendly campus, this research project focuses on the application of Union’s liquid-based solar thermal collector system. The motivation for this research project is due to the increasing demand for renewable energy sources in order to decrease our society’s dependence on fossil fuels. The system features nine, 16-tube, evacuated tube solar modules which absorb radiant solar energy from the sun. Through a two loop system, thermal energy is stored in water within two-80 gallon storage tanks. This research project involves the design, construction, and analysis of two applications in order to …

Retrofitting Two Solar Hot Water Systems For Year Round Operation, Zachary A. Cook

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Solar energy in a variety of applications is again becoming more widely used. Solar collectors have been installed during the construction of two Utah State University buildings: Wetlands Discovery located in Kaysville, Utah and Swaner Nature Preserve located in Park City, Utah. While these systems are capable of capturing a significant amount of solar energy, problems have been encountered when the demand is less than the system’s capacity. This project report documents the problems encountered while operating the two solar water heating systems and how the systems were modified to be operational year round under typical operating conditions. The peak …

Gis-Based Suitability Modeling And Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis For Utility Scale Solar Plants In Four States In The Southeast Us, Kata Tisza

All Theses

Photovoltaic (PV) development shows significantly smaller growth in the Southeast U.S., than in the Southwest; which is mainly due to the low cost of fossil-fuel based energy production in the region and the lack of solar incentives. However, the Southeast has appropriate insolation conditions (4.0-6.0 KWh/m2/day) for photovoltaic deployment and in the past decade the region has experienced the highest population growth for the entire country. These factors, combined with new renewable energy portfolio policies, could create an opportunity for PV to provide some of the energy that will be required to sustain this growth. The goal of the study …

Modeling And Fault Detection In Dc Side Of Photovoltaic Arrays, Mohd Akram

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fault detection in PV systems is a key factor in maintaining the integrity of any PV system. Faults in photovoltaic systems can cause irrevocable damages to the stability of the PV system and substantially decrease the power output generated from the array of PV modules. Among'st the various AC and DC faults in a PV system, the clearance of the AC side faults is achieved by conventional AC protection schemes,the DC side, however , there still exists certain faults which are difficult to detect and clear. This paper deals with the modeling, detection and classification of these types of DC …