Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Smud Solar Regatta, Logan Garby, Nam Le, Jacob Singer, Alejandro Carrera, Laura Casas

Mechanical Engineering

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) hosts the Solar Regatta every year in Rancho Seco, CA, a competition which consists of teams building a solar powered boat to compete in three races: the sprint race, endurance race, and slalom race. The Cal Poly Solar Regatta team was informed mid-project by SMUD that the competition has been canceled once again for spring 2021, but the team decided to move forward with the construction of the boat. The previous Cal Poly team from 2019/2020 designed the hull and propulsion system of the boat. The 2020/2021 team worked with the previous team in …

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 …

Using The Moment Of Inertia As A Means Of Better Controlling The Speed Of Wind Turbines, Garrett L. Muhlstadt

Honors Program Projects

In the following document, the possibility of using the moment of inertia as a means of speed control for a wind turbine is explored. This document gives an introduction to wind energy and current speed control methods. This information was obtained through databases found at Benner Library. Also, an experiment was used to collect data and determine the relationship between the moment of inertia and angular velocity of a turbine. A model turbine was fabricated and powered by a fan while a Logger Pro program was used to record the angular velocity of the turbine. The moment of inertia of …

Hybrid Diesel-Electric Drivetrain For Small Agricultural Field Machines, Joseph Jackson, Joseph S. Dvorak

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

In this project, a series electric drivetrain sized for small agricultural machinery was developed and tested. Electric drives have noted benefits in simplicity, controllability, integration with other electronics such as those that provide autonomous action, and in efficiency over a wide operating range. Their biggest drawback for agricultural use is the limited capacity of electrical energy storage. A series hybrid drivetrain provides a method to overcome these capacity constraints through the use of chemical energy storage. The series hybrid drivetrain in this research was designed using well-established components. It consisted of a diesel-electric generator, a lead acid battery pack, a …

Veloelectric: Creating A Device That Harvests Energy From Bicycles, Austin Hall, Daniel Stohr, Tj Fox

Mechanical Engineering

Long distance mountain bikers, bike-packers, and many bikers in developing countries rely on electrical devices for safety and communication. These specific groups of people operate in areas with little to no electricity, and often times have no power to sustain their devices. The purpose of this Cal Poly senior project, VeloElectric, was to design, build, and test a kinetic energy harvester for bicycles that can be used to charge common mobile devices via USB. This senior project team created a device that attaches directly to a bicycle and uses vibrations to generate energy, which in turn powers a variety of …

Technology Portal For Energy Efficient Buildings, Larry D. Hermanson, Daniel Studer, Annie Mroz

STAR Program Research Presentations

Project: Technology Portal for Energy Efficient Buildings

Date: August 2, 2012

Author: Larry Hermanson

Mentor: Daniel Studer

Cohort: Annie Mroz

Lab site: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Buildings account for 71% of the electricity demand and 39% of the primary energy consumption in the United States. The Commercial Buildings Group at NREL provides builders, designers and building owners accurate information to significantly improve the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings. The Technology Portal for Energy Efficient Buildings will increase the accessibility of standardized and credible energy performance data for all building systems, thereby allowing building owners to better evaluate …

Micro Hydro Power, Frederick J. Munster

Maine Collection

Micro Hydro Power

by Frederick J. Munster

Department of Economic and Community Development, August, Me. 1999 (?).

Contents: Introduction / History of Hydropower in Maine / Renewables / Why Micro Hydro / Determining Flow / Determining Head / Estimating Energy Potential / Hydro Turbines / Dams, Impoundments, Penstocks and Power Houses / Utility Interconnected Systems / Battery Charging Systems / Operation and Maintenance / Economics / Regulation of Hydro Development / For More Information / References