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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering
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 …
Corgi: Compute Oriented Recumbent Generation Infrastructure, Christopher Allen Hunt
Corgi: Compute Oriented Recumbent Generation Infrastructure, Christopher Allen Hunt
Master's Theses
Creating a bicycle with a rideable geometry is more complicated than it may appear, with today’s mainstay designs having evolved through years of iteration. This slow evolution coupled with the bicycle’s intricate mechanical system has lead most builders to base their new geometries off of previous work rather than expand into new design spaces. This crutch can lead to slow bicycle iteration rates, often causing bicycles to all look about the same. To combat this, several bicycle design models have been created over the years, with each attempting to define a bicycle’s handling characteristics given its physical geometry. However, these …
Transient Small Wind Turbine Tower Structural Analysis With Coupled Rotor Dynamic Interaction, George R. Katsanis
Transient Small Wind Turbine Tower Structural Analysis With Coupled Rotor Dynamic Interaction, George R. Katsanis
Master's Theses
Structural dynamics is at the center of wind turbine tower design - excessive vibrations can be caused by a wide range of environmental and mechanical sources and can lead to reduced component life due to fatigue, noise, and impaired public perception of system integrity. Furthermore, periodic turbulent wind conditions can cause system resonance resulting in significantly increased structural loads. Structural vibration issues may become exacerbated in small wind applications where the analytical and experimental resources for system verification and optimization are scarce. This study combines several structural analysis techniques and packages them into a novel and integrated form that can …