Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

How To Recognize And Control Interfacial Phenomena That Hinder The Advancement Of Clean Energy Technologies, Corey Michael Efaw

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Nuclear energy and electrochemical energy storage, such as batteries, are key parts to the clean energy transition of critical infrastructure. This work aims to define, monitor, and modify interfacial layers that would improve the utility of materials in harsh environments seen in nuclear and energy storage applications. First, the studying of zirconium alloys, which is used as nuclear cladding, was done to better understand the degradation mechanisms within an extreme environment. High-resolution characterization techniques were used to correlate corrosion mechanisms to equivalent circuit models from novel in-pile electrochemical impedance spectroscopy sensors. Advancement in this sensor technology could provide further insight …

Direct Solar Absorption Nanoparticle Doped Membranes For A Hybrid Membrane Distillation And Photovoltaic Cell, Alejandro Espejo Sanchez

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The growing demand for clean water supplies is driving the need for an innovative approach of water desalination. Developing a method for treating water with high salinities is possible with membrane distillation (MD). Additionally, MD is very attractive for pairing with solar energy due to the low temperature requirements. The integration of a membrane distillation system with a photovoltaic (PV) system will result in the co-production of electricity and clean water, thereby improving the economics of MD. Such a hybrid system will directly absorb thermal energy in the membrane for desalination while taking advantage of the spectrally selective nature of …

Swarm Behavior To Mitigate Rebound In Air Conditioning Demand Response Events, Jason Yasuto Kuwada

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Thermostatically Controlled Loads (TCLs) have shown great potential for Demand Response (DR) events. However, it has been commonly seen that DR events using TCLs may cause demand rebound, especially in homogeneous populations. To further explore the potential for DR events, as well as the negative effects, a stability and resilience analysis were performed on multiple populations and verified with agent based modeling simulations.

At the core of this study is an added thermostat criterion created from the combination of a proportional gain and the average compressor operating state of neighboring TCLs. Where DR events in TCLs are commonly controlled by …

Local Peer-To-Peer Communication To Improve Demand Response In Residential Neighborhoods, Ryan Schwartz

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Increased electricity production from intermittent renewables presents a challenge to utilities. Since the grid has little ability to store energy, fluctuations in solar and wind generation require either an increase in generation from expensive sources or a reduction of demand. Demand Response (DR) programs focus on the latter and are designed to increase grid flexibility by allowing grid operators to modify when or how customers use electricity. For residential customers, this typically means shedding load during periods of high demand through a central controller temporarily shutting off air conditioning (AC) compressors. This type of DR can cause spikes in demand …

Thermoelectric Material Property Measurement For Flexible Films, Courtney Hollar

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The market for wearable electronics and implantable medical devices continues to grow. Within the next several years, the wearable electronic and implantable medical devices market will reach $31.2 billion and $73.9 billion, respectively. Currently, the most commonly used power source is the rigid lithium ion battery. In order to further optimize the devices, flexible autonomous power sources, such as thermoelectric generators, can replace traditional battery systems.

Flexible thermoelectric films were created using a wet deposition approach and synthesized into ink suitable for either spin coating or screen printing. This study focuses on Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity measurements. …

Small Scale Wind Turbine, Cameron Allen, Davis Gumbo, Mitchell Petronek, Scott Roskens

College of Engineering Presentations

The Department of Energy (DOE) has put together a collegiate wind competition to design, build, and market a small wind turbine (17.7in diameter rotor dimension). For our mechanical engineering senior design project our team will participate in this competition. Ten schools will compete in the competition in Las Vegas this May. Our team designed a wind turbine to produce power for ultraviolet light water purification in remote areas and during emergency situations. The turbine was designed to produce 10 watts at a wind speed between 5 and 14 m/s. The turbine is also equipped with an emergency brake that will …

Energy Performance Labeling For Commercial Buildings, Kelli Soll, John Gardner

John Gardner

This white paper provides an overview of commercial building energy performance indices for energy performance in commercial buildings and the extent to which these initiatives have proven effective at reducing energy use. This work focuses on energy performance, as opposed to features of building design associated with improved performance. As such, it will not address design-oriented rating systems such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) nor will it address building codes.

Net Energy Metering For Residences: Impacts Of Tariff Design, John Gardner

John Gardner

No abstract provided.

Carbon-Free Compressed Air Energy Storage, Dustin Andrew Shively

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The inherent intermittency of the two fastest growing renewable energy sources, wind and solar, presents a significant barrier to widespread penetration and replacement of fossil-fuel sourced baseload generation. These intermittencies range from short term ramp events experienced by wind farms to the diurnal fluctuation of solar installations. Traditionally, grid operators have had very little control over demand and full control over supply. With the increase in wind and solar based generation onto an electric grid comes a decrease in control of supply. Grid operators are required to have a certain amount of spinning reserve ready to respond when wind or …