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Techno-Economic Analysis Of A Utility-Scale Solar Power Plant In Bhutan., Minjur

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) technology, which captures energy from the sun, is a rapidly growing technology. Bhutan’s heavy dependence on a single energy source, hydropower, has become a significant concern for energy security. To address this, the Government of Bhutan intends to diversify energy sources using alternative renewable sources.

This research determined that Bhutan has the total potential to develop 3 gigawatts (GW) of solar power based on the utilization of about 7,100 acres of suitable land. The study also identified Tenchhekha, near the capital city of Thimphu, as a potential solar power plant location, with a capacity of 4.85 MWp …

การประเมินประสิทธิภาพของอาคารเขียว: กรณีศึกษาในกรุงเทพมหานครและปริมณฑล, นภัสสร แพรกอุดม

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยฉบับนี้มีจุดประสงค์เพื่อประเมินประสิทธิภาพด้านคุณภาพของสภาวะแวดล้อมภายในอาคารของอาคารเขียวและอาคารสำนักงานทั่วไปในกรุงเทพมหานครและปริมณฑล และประเมินค่าใช้จ่ายด้านการใช้พลังงานของระบบระบายอากาศและระบบปรับอากาศภายในอาคาร โดยดำเนินการตรวจวัดทั้งเชิงวัตถุวิสัยและตรวจวัดเชิงอัตวิสัย ภายในอาคารเขียว 3 อาคาร และอาคารสำนักงานทั่วไป 1 อาคาร โดยใช้เครื่องมือตรวจวัดคุณภาพอากาศภายในอาคารและแบบสอบถาม จากการศึกษาแสดงให้เห็นว่ามีความแตกต่างกันของผลการตรวจวัดอย่างมีนัยสำคัญหว่างอาคารเขียว และผลการตรวจวัดในบางอาคารเกินค่าเฝ้าระวังฯ โดยเฉพาะ PM2.5 (16.67-40.26 µg/m3) เนื่องจากมลพิษภายนอกอาคารและพฤติกรรมของผู้ใช้อาคาร ผลจากแบบประเมินแสดงให้เห็นว่าผู้ใช้อาคารส่วนมากพึงพอใจกับคุณภาพของสภาวะแวดล้อมโดยรวม ส่วนข้อมูลผลกระทบทางสุขภาพวิเคราะห์โดยใช้ Odd Ratio พบว่า ผู้ใช้อาคารที่มีระดับมลพิษสูงมีโอกาสเกิดอาการทางสุขภาพมากกว่าผู้ใช้อาคารที่ได้รับสัมผัสในระดับที่ต่ำกว่า ในส่วนของค่าไฟฟ้าจากระบบปรับอากาศ อาคารสำนักงานทั่วไปมีค่าสูงที่สุดเมื่อเปรียบเทียบกับอาคารเขียว โดยการบริหารจัดการอาคารที่ไม่เหมาะสมและนโยบายการประหยัดพลังงานที่ไม่มีประสิทธิภาพอาจส่งผลกรทบต่อคุณภาพของสภาวะแวดล้อมภายในอาคารให้แย่ลงได้ โดยสรุป คุณภาพอากาศภายนอกอาคารและพฤติกรรมของผู้ใช้อาคารเป็นปัจจัยสำคัญที่ส่งผลกระทบต่อประสิทธิภาพของอาคารในด้านคุณภาพของสภาวะแวดล้อมภายในอาคารของอาคารเขียวได้

Endoscopic Image Super-Resolution Algorithm Using Edge And Disparity Awareness, Mansoor Hayat

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Integrating Stereo Imaging technology into endoscopic procedures marks a significant leap forward in medical imaging. This technology equips surgeons with enhanced depth perception and intricate views of internal structures, improving diagnostic accuracy and surgical precision. However, implementing stereo imaging in endoscopy presents certain challenges, such as low- resolution and blurred images that can compromise the quality of medical diagnoses and interventions. To address these issues, our research has developed a cutting-edge endoscopic image super-resolution model. This model incorporates a feature extraction module and a sophisticated cross-view feature interaction module, specifically designed to tackle the complexities of endoscopic images. It was …

Influence Of Tidal Current On Heavy Metal Dynamics In The Chao Phraya River Estuary, Kansiri Silrat

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The Chao Phraya River estuary, a vital ecological and economic region in Thailand, faces significant contamination challenges due to anthropogenic activities. This study aims to investigate the influence of tidal currents on the dynamics of heavy metals (HMs) in the estuarine ecosystem, focusing on cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn). A sampling was conducted over two tidal periods on April 29-30, 2021, including both surface and vertical water samples and surface sediment collected at multiple tidal currents. The results reveal notable variations in HMs concentrations influenced by tidal cycles. For water samples, cadmium concentrations ranged …

Process Design And Evaluation Of Value-Added Chemical Production From Crude Glycerol Obtained From Biodiesel Industry, Piyawan Thanahiranya

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Excessive glycerol, a major by-product of biodiesel industry, has been increasingly utilized as a platform chemical feedstock for production of value-added chemicals. Accordingly, this study aims to simulate the productions of propionic acid (PA), succinic acid (SA), and dihydroxyacetone (DHA) from glycerol via fermentation. For PA production, diluents and extractants as well as techniques in the back-extraction are investigated, whereas the techniques of reactive extraction and direct crystallization, as well as the use of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as an electron acceptor for SA production are investigated. Meanwhile, the effects of carbon source types and glycerol types on the DHA productivity …

Quantifying Fibronectin Mechanical Properties Using Antibody-Mediated Optical Tweezing (Amot), Caleb Dalton

Theses and Dissertations

Despite decades of investigations into fibronectin (FN) fibrillogenesis, fibril mechanics remain unclear. One of the most important roles for FN fibrils is in the arena of cellular mechanotransduction. Numerous studies have demonstrated that cells sense and respond to the mechanical properties of their surroundings; since FN fibrils are a major constituent of the ECM that links cells to their surroundings, mechanotransduction cannot be fully understood without understanding the mechanical properties of FN fibrils. In this proposal, a novel biomechanical assay is developed to probe isolated FN fibrils and quantify their response to specific loading conditions. This will be accomplished by …

Computational Modeling Of Temporal Eeg Responses To Cyclic Binary Visual Stimulus Patterns, Connor M. Delaney

Theses and Dissertations

The human visual system serves as the basis for many modern computer vision and machine learning approaches. While detailed biophysical models of certain aspects of the visual system exist, little work has been done to develop an end-to-end model from the visual stimulus to the signals generated at the visual cortex measured via the scalp electroencephalogram (EEG). The creation of such a model would not only provide a better understanding of the visual processing pathways but would also facilitate the design and evaluation of more robust visual stimuli for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). A novel experiment was designed and conducted where …

Unveiling Similarities And Differences Between Cutaneous And Ocular Melanomas, Abdallah Badou, Nour El Imane Issam Salah, Mohamed Elbelhadji

Health Sciences

Melanomas are outstandingly aggressive cancers, still their incidence is increasing. They can occur in the skin as cutaneous melanoma or in the eye as ocular melanoma. Their pathogenesis is generally similar; however, the prognosis of ocular melanoma patients is still poor, due to its special genetic profile and tumor microenvironment. Here we review the similarities and differences between cutaneous and ocular melanoma, with a focus on their prognostic significance, their molecular signature, and their tumor microenvironment, in order to understand the strategies adopted to escape immune response. Gathering and understanding available knowledge of melanomas and their specificities may help to …

Graphical User Interface For Evidential Reasoning Models, Rohin Gopalakrishnan

Master's Projects

The Capri system is an evidential reasoning system based on the belief function calculus to support automated reasoning and decision making in uncertain environments. Example domains of application include, medical diagnosis, as well as identifying biological biomarkers. The purpose of this project is to build a Python web-based and app-based Graphical User Interface (GUI), called PyGrapher, that facilitates building graphical evidential reasoning models. The graphical models built using PyGrapher will then be converted to a form that is suitable for input to the Capri system. The PyGrapher system provides an intuitive means to build and manipulate evidential reasoning models as …

Quantifying The Effects Of Hvac Operation To Mitigate Aerosol Concentration In A Classroom Using Cfd, Scott Deprez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is a complex mechanical system for the transition of air between outdoor and indoor areas. These systems are directly responsible for temperature, humidity, and air flow into any given space, thereby providing a level of comfort to those who live indoors. These systems account for 52 percent of U.S. energy consumption. When designing HVAC systems, indoor air quality (IAQ) is the main focus for achieving safe and clean air, such as in the case of airborne diseases. HVAC systems are responsible for the flow of air in indoor spaces and thereby expand the transmissible …

Sustainability Leadership For The Energy Transition: A Case Study Of Role-Playing To Enhance Authentic Learning, Anthony Paul Heynen, Elliot J Tonkes

Practice Papers

To lead the energy transition, effective sustainability leadership requires a spectrum of skills, knowledge and understanding across technical, financial and even political disciplines. An innovative, authentic learning initiative has been designed and implemented in which Master of Sustainable Energy students conducted team-based role-playing activities, responding to a realistic, hypothetical energy policy scenario in the form of a government announcement and other mock collateral. Groups were assigned the personas of a range of industry stakeholders and prepared presentations (and accompanying media statements and position papers) for a mock online media conference. The initiative leveraged the diversity of the cohort, enabling constructive …

A Survey To Evaluate Laboratory Activities Across An Undergraduate Engineering Degree Programme: Data From Five Years Showing Repeatability And Sensitivity, Peter Johnson

Practice Papers

Laboratory activities are an essential part of an undergraduate engineering education. This paper focuses on evaluating the student experience of laboratory activities. We present a laboratory-specific survey used with large cohorts of students (200) about laboratory activities across an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering degree programme. The key question we try to answer is whether the results of the survey can be used to inform teaching decisions such as which activities need improvement; how to improve them; and to validate these interventions.

We present nine common questions that were used to evaluate activities across a programme. We present five years of data …

Assessment Of Different Platforms For Online Virtual Lab Demonstrations, Owen M Clarkin, Anne Morrissey, Muhannad Ahmed Obeidi, Alma Ryan

Practice Papers

As we move to a more sustainable world, expansion of education is key to the eradication of poverty (SDG1) and societal inequalities (SDG10). Global expansion of tertiary education offers opportunities to deliver Sustainable Development Goals by providing wide access to education in flexible learning environments. However, the quality of education (SDG4) must be maintained and enhanced as it is key to a partnership for the goals (SDG17). While increased learning online can facilitate achievement of these SDGs, there is also a move, within the education sector, to a constructivist approach and a more active learning environment. Interactive virtual learning environments …

Difference In Bioimpedance Across The Knee In Un-Injured Young Adults, Patrick J. Atkinson, Theresa Atkinson, Allison Seeley, Seerut Dhillon

Mechanical Engineering Publications

Background

Knee injuries induce swelling and resolution of swelling may be a useful factor in identifying states of healing and time to return to sports activities. Recent work has suggested that bioimpedance can provide an objective measure of swelling following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and therefore may also provide guidance for clinical decision-making following knee injury. This study measures knee bioimpedance in young, active people to help define baseline variability and factors that influence limb to limb differences.

Methods

Bioimpedance was measured via sensors placed at the foot/ankle and thigh, in positions similar to those suggested for monitoring post-TKA swelling. …

Opportunities Of Iot In Fog Computing For High Fault Tolerance And Sustainable Energy Optimization, A. Reyana, Sandeep Kautish, Khalid Abdulaziz Alnowibet, Hossam Zawbaa, Ali Wagdy Mohamed

Articles

Today, the importance of enhanced quality of service and energy optimization has promoted research into sensor applications such as pervasive health monitoring, distributed computing, etc. In general, the resulting sensor data are stored on the cloud server for future processing. For this purpose, recently, the use of fog computing from a real-world perspective has emerged, utilizing end-user nodes and neighboring edge devices to perform computation and communication. This paper aims to develop a quality-of-service-based energy optimization (QoS-EO) scheme for the wireless sensor environments deployed in fog computing. The fog nodes deployed in specific geographical areas cover the sensor activity performed …

Prediction Of Blast-Induced Ground Vibrations: A Comparison Between Empirical And Artificial-Neural-Network Approaches, Luis F. Velasquez

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Ground vibrations are a critical factor in the rock blasting process. The instantaneous load application exerted by the gas pressure during the detonation process acts on the blasthole walls creating dynamic stresses in the adjacent rock. This triggers different sorts of stress waves, mainly divided into two categories: body and surface waves. The first comprises the P and the S waves, while the second comprises Rayleigh waves. These waves spread concentrically starting at the blast location and move along the ground surface and its interior, being attenuated as they reach further distances.

In most cases, and accepting the hypothesis that …

Mitigating Supply Chain Disruptions In Retail Discount Department Stores, Anthony T. Patton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Supply chain disruptions can have adverse effects on business outcomes. Retail industry supply chain leaders are concerned with supply chain disruptions because supply chain disruptions can lead to dissatisfied customers and loss of profits. Grounded in game theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies four retail industry supply chain leaders in Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana implemented to mitigate the effects of supply chain disruptions. Data were collected using semistructured virtual interviews with four retail industry supply chain leaders and a review of company documents. Through thematic analysis, four themes emerged: (a) choosing appropriate inventory …

Optimizing Constraint Selection In A Design Verification Environment For Efficient Coverage Closure, Vanessa Cooper

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Human Factors Training Implications For Urban Air Mobility Operations, Kendall Carmody, Bhoomin Chauhan, Maureen Namukasa, Vivek Sharma, Gervaughn Berkel, Yarisse Adorno, Meredith Carroll

Aeronautics Faculty Publications

Advanced air mobility (AAM), of which urban air mobility (UAM) is a subset, signifies an exciting and advanced mode of air transportation that combines novel aircraft configurations with progressive levels of automation to offer convenient and efficient modes of air transportation (Mitchell et al., 2021). The design of these innovative aircraft will utilize advanced autonomous systems and are proposed to minimize pilot training requirements and scale operations (Mathur et al., 2019; Thipphavong, 2018). Further, the operational context of UAM will be characterized by low-altitude flights, single pilot operations, unique weather phenomena such as mechanical turbulence, and novel propulsion systems. Early …

Pronostic Of Colo-Rectal Cancer (Crc) Using Machine Learning Models On Organoids Derived Of Patient, Claudia Andrea Leiva Acevedo

ICT

Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is a globally prevalent and deadly carcinoma, necessitating advanced treatment approaches. Despite ongoing advancements, the mortality rate remains high. Various biological models, including animal studies, cell lines, and the emerging organoid model, contribute to understanding molecular mechanisms. Organoids, 3D cultures derived from tumor epithelial cells, offer advantages such as enhanced diversity, genetic modification, and extended culture capabilities. Recent applications of machine learning (ML) in predicting CRC treatment responses using organoids and tissue data indicate a promising avenue for advancing personalized therapies.

Integrating The Spatial Pyramid Pooling Into 3d Convolutional Neural Networks For Cerebral Microbleeds Detection, Andre Accioly Veira

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Cerebral microbleeds (CMB) are small foci of chronic blood products in brain tissues that are critical markers for cerebral amyloid angiopathy. CMB increases the risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage and ischemic stroke. CMB can also cause structural damage to brain tissues resulting in neurologic dysfunction, cognitive impairment, and dementia. Due to the paramagnetic properties of blood degradation products, CMB can be better visualized via susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).CMB identification and classification have been based mainly on human visual identification of SWI features via shape, size, and intensity information. However, manual interpretation can be biased. Visual screening …

Novel Nickel-Loaded Activated Carbon Cathodes For Hydrogen Production In Microbial Electrolysis Cells, Daniel Alejandro Moreno Jimenez

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) can electrochemically produce green hydrogen from waste streams. Although MECs are excellent options for implementing an energy recovery process while treating wastewater, the cathode side still hinders practical applications. Platinum (Pt) has been the top reference for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in MECs, however, Pt is not practical due to the high capital cost. Inexpensive nickel-loaded activated carbon (Ni/AC) cathodes were recently developed for replacing Pt in MECs and have shown comparable performance to Pt. This dissertation aims to breakthrough the current cathode challenges regarding the catalytic activity, manufacturing, and operational concept toward a cost-competitive scaling-up …

Business Meeting Report (Secretary's And Treasurer's Report), Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Embeddable Soil Moisture Content Sensor Based On Open–End Microwave Coaxial Cable Resonator, Jing Guo, Yan Tang, Yongji Wu, Chen Zhu, Jie Huang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Paper, We Propose and Demonstrate a Novel Corrosion-Resistant, Embeddable Open-End Coaxial Cable Soil Moisture Sensor. This Microwave Resonator is Constructed using Two Reflectors Along the Coaxial Line. the First Reflector is a Metal Post at the Signal Input End, Short-Circuiting the Inner Conductor to the Outer Conductor. the Second Reflector Comprises a Welded Metal Plate Parallel to the Open-End of the Coaxial Line, Maintaining a Fixed Gap. a Moisture-Sensitive Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Film is Inserted into This Gap. the Resonance Frequency of the Open-End Coaxial Cable Resonator is Highly Dependent on the Fringe Capacitance, Which Varies with Soil …

Chemical Classification By Monitoring Liquid Evaporation Using Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometer With Microwave Photonics, Abhishek Prakash Hungund, Bohong Zhang, Anand Nambisan, Wassana Naku, Rex E. Gerald, Jie Huang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Identification of liquids is essential in chemical analysis, safety, environmental protection, quality control, and research. A novel liquid identification system based on Microwave Photonics (MWP) measured time transient evaporation signals is investigated. An extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometer (EFPI) based optical probe using single-mode fiber (SMF) is proposed to monitor evaporation of different liquids. The MWP system is used to measure the optical path changes during liquid evaporation due to its high sensitivity, selectivity, and Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). The measured S21 continuous wave (CW) time Magnitude and Phase signals were processed to extract features such as histogram and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) …

Three-Dimensional Environmentally Sustainable Neuromorphic Computing System Based On Natural Organic Memristor, Jinhui Wang, Feng Zhao, Mohammed Rafeeq Khan, Md Mehedi Hasan Tanim, Zoe Templin

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Three-dimensional environmentally sustainable neuromorphic computing system based on natural organic honey-memristor is proposed in this paper. The experimental results indicate the proposed systems have high inference accuracy over 90 % with device variation and nonlinearity. What is more, four conductance drift scenarios, ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) quantization effects, and different algorithms (VGG8 and DenseNet-40) are considered to further verify the proposed systems.

Winter Dynamics Of Storm Water Management Ponds And Winter Tolerance In Three Aquatic Plant Species, Patrick Strzalkowski

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The vast majority of the research into the performance of stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) has been performed in warm regions or during the warmer seasons in temperate regions. It is presumed that SWMPs are inactive in the winter as any potential stormwater is trapped in snow and ice. The main goal of this thesis was to test this presumption and to study the dynamics and performance of three SWMPs during the winter. Remote water level loggers were installed into the three SWMPs and daily grab samples from the influents and effluents were taken and analyzed for total phosphorus (TP), chloride, …

A Single-Cell Atlas Of Bovine Skeletal Muscle Reveals Mechanisms Regulating Intramuscular Adipogenesis And Fibrogenesis, Leshan Wang, Peidong Gao, Chaoyang Li, Qianglin Liu, Zeyang Yao, Yuxia Li, Xujia Zhang, Jiangwen Sun, Constantine Simintiras, Matthew Welborn, Kenneth Mcmillin, Stephanie Oprescu, Shihuan Kuang, Xing Fu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Background

Intramuscular fat (IMF) and intramuscular connective tissue (IMC) are often seen in human myopathies and are central to beef quality. The mechanisms regulating their accumulation remain poorly understood. Here, we explored the possibility of using beef cattle as a novel model for mechanistic studies of intramuscular adipogenesis and fibrogenesis.

Methods

Skeletal muscle single-cell RNAseq was performed on three cattle breeds, including Wagyu (high IMF), Brahman (abundant IMC but scarce IMF), and Wagyu/Brahman cross. Sophisticated bioinformatics analyses, including clustering analysis, gene set enrichment analyses, gene regulatory network construction, RNA velocity, pseudotime analysis, and cell-cell communication analysis, were performed to elucidate …

An Adaptive Image Restoration Algorithm Based On Hybrid Total Variation Regularization, Cong Thang Pham, Thi Thu Thao Tran, Hung Vi Dang, Hoai Phuong Dang

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

In imaging systems, the mixed Poisson-Gaussian noise (MPGN) model can accurately describe the noise present. Total variation (TV) regularization-based methods have been widely utilized for Poisson-Gaussian removal with edge-preserving. However, TV regularization sometimes causes staircase artifacts with piecewise constants. To overcome this issue, we propose a new model in which the regularization term is represented by a combination of total variation and high-order total variation. We study the existence and uniqueness of the minimizer for the considered model. Numerically, the minimization problem can be efficiently solved by the alternating minimization method. Furthermore, we give rigorous convergence analyses of our algorithm. …

Scalable And Continuous Fabrication Of Dendrimer Based Gene And Protein Delivery Systems, Joseph Johnston

Masters Theses

"Gene and protein therapeutics play critical roles in the drug market and represent the future of biopharmaceuticals. Polymeric nanoparticle-based gene/protein delivery systems are promising owing to their ability to protect the cargo from degradation, improving intracellular delivery and transfection efficiency as well as abundant sources and flexibility to be modified. Yet the successful industrialized production and clinical application of polymeric nanoparticle-based delivery systems have long been limited by unsatisfied delivery efficiency and the lack of reproducible and scalable methods for the preparation of uniform nanoparticles with good batch to batch consistency. To address the unsatisfied efficacy and difficulty in scale-up …