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2018

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Articles 31 - 60 of 285

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Two-Level Surrogate-Assisted Differential Evolution Multi-Objective Optimization Of Electric Machines Using 3-D Fea, Narges Taran, Dan M. Ionel, David G. Dorrell Nov 2018

Two-Level Surrogate-Assisted Differential Evolution Multi-Objective Optimization Of Electric Machines Using 3-D Fea, Narges Taran, Dan M. Ionel, David G. Dorrell

Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications

A two-level surrogate-assisted optimization algorithm is proposed for electric machine design using 3-D finite-element analysis (FEA). The algorithm achieves the optima with much fewer FEA evaluations than conventional methods. It is composed of interior and exterior levels. The exploration is performed mainly in the interior level, which evaluates hundreds of designs employing affordable kriging models. Then, the most promising designs are evaluated in the exterior loop with expensive 3-D FEA models. The sample pool is constructed in a self-adjustable and dynamic way. A hybrid stopping criterion is used to avoid unnecessary expensive function evaluations.


Optimal Design Of A Switched Reluctance Motor With Magnetically Disconnected Rotor Modules Using A Design Of Experiments Differential Evolution Fea-Based Method, Vandana Rallabandi, Jie Wu, Ping Zhou, David G. Dorrell, Dan M. Ionel Nov 2018

Optimal Design Of A Switched Reluctance Motor With Magnetically Disconnected Rotor Modules Using A Design Of Experiments Differential Evolution Fea-Based Method, Vandana Rallabandi, Jie Wu, Ping Zhou, David G. Dorrell, Dan M. Ionel

Power and Energy Institute of Kentucky Faculty Publications

Switched reluctance (SR) machines are attractive because they present relatively high efficiency and torque density in spite of lacking permanent magnets. This paper focuses on a two-objective optimization of an external rotor SR motor with a stator that has concentrated coils and a rotor with magnetically isolated modules. The objectives are minimum loss and mass, and 11 independent dimensionless geometric variables are considered as inputs that affect them. A combined design of experiments (DOE) and differential evolution (DE) approach is proposed. The DOE methodology is used to reduce the search space by eliminating from consideration input variable values, leading to …


Removal Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes In An Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Treating Primary Clarifier Effluent At 20 °C, Anthony D. Kappell, Lee K. Kimbell, Matthew Seib, Daniel Elliott Carey, Melinda J. Choi, Tino Kalayil, Masanori Fujimoto, Daniel Zitomer, Patrick J. Mcnamara Nov 2018

Removal Of Antibiotic Resistance Genes In An Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Treating Primary Clarifier Effluent At 20 °C, Anthony D. Kappell, Lee K. Kimbell, Matthew Seib, Daniel Elliott Carey, Melinda J. Choi, Tino Kalayil, Masanori Fujimoto, Daniel Zitomer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBR) play a key role in future plans for sustainable wastewater treatment and resource recovery because they have no energy-intensive oxygen transfer requirements and can produce biomethane for renewable energy. Recent research results show that they can meet relatively stringent discharge limits with respect to BOD5 and TSS when treating municipal wastewater primary effluent. Sustainable used water recovery plans should also consider removal of unregulated pollutants. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) represent an important emerging contaminant due to public health concerns surrounding the spread of infections resistant to common antibiotics. Conventional activated sludge processes have demonstrated mixed …


Is There Space For Violence?: A Data-Driven Approach To The Exploration Of Spatial-Temporal Dimensions Of Conflict, Tin Seong Kam, Vincent Zhi Nov 2018

Is There Space For Violence?: A Data-Driven Approach To The Exploration Of Spatial-Temporal Dimensions Of Conflict, Tin Seong Kam, Vincent Zhi

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

With recent increases in incidences of political violence globally, the world has now become more uncertain and less predictable. Of particular concern is the case of violence against civilians, who are often caught in the crossfire between armed state or non-state actors. Classical methods of studying political violence and international relations need to be updated. Adopting the use of data analytic tools and techniques of studying big data would enable academics and policy makers to make sense of a rapidly changing world.


Application Of A Floating Membrane Algal Photobioreactor For Freshwater Aquaculture, Hsiang-Yang Shyu Oct 2018

Application Of A Floating Membrane Algal Photobioreactor For Freshwater Aquaculture, Hsiang-Yang Shyu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the global population grows, water and food demand also increase. The intensive aquaculture industry has helped to mitigate these problems. In order to make aquaculture sustainable, it is necessary to remove the abundant nutrients produced by fish in the water. In this study, the role of the microalga of Chlorella vulgaris in the Isolated Cultivation of Algal Resources Utilizing Selectivity (ICARUS) membrane photobioreactor was evaluated for nutrient control in the aquaculture system. The production of algal biomass, the removal rate of nutrients, and the impact of microalgae on cultured organisms were monitored during the operation of aquaculture systems. At …


An Implementation Of Weighted Least Squares Method In Central Bank Twitter Accounts Grew Prediction, Goran Bjelobaba, Ana Savic, Radosav Veselinovic, Hana Stefanovic Oct 2018

An Implementation Of Weighted Least Squares Method In Central Bank Twitter Accounts Grew Prediction, Goran Bjelobaba, Ana Savic, Radosav Veselinovic, Hana Stefanovic

UBT International Conference

This paper presents some advantages of using social media and social networks as an efficient way of Central Banks communication with target audience. The statistics given in this paper presents some leading banks based on number of followers on Twitter in 2018, showing that Indonesia’s Central Bank has more Twitter followers than any other monetary authority, beating out the Banco de Mexico, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Reserve Bank of India. In this paper some prediction of number of Twitter followers in Central Bank communication is also contributed, based on Weighted Least Squares method. An algorithm is implemented in …


Numerical Analysis Of Leakage Through Defective Geomembrane Liners In Embankment Dams, Sarper Demirdogen Oct 2018

Numerical Analysis Of Leakage Through Defective Geomembrane Liners In Embankment Dams, Sarper Demirdogen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Placing a geomembrane liner in the core of a dam is an alternative construction technique to traditional clay core types. This study aims to assess the performance of such internal geomembrane sealing systems in an earthen dam. Two-dimensional (2D) numerical analysis was performed to evaluate leakage through defective seams within an earthen dam. Five possible applications of internal geomembrane systems were initially modeled to locate the zero-pressure lines in an earthen dam. Then, another application where the geomembrane is placed on the upstream face was modeled to compare the upstream and internal geomembrane systems. The results of this study show …


The Role Of Forests In Securing Hydropower Needs Of Cambodia, Mohit Kaura Oct 2018

The Role Of Forests In Securing Hydropower Needs Of Cambodia, Mohit Kaura

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hydropower relies on protection of watersheds to regulate water and sediment yields. Deforestation accelerates the rate of soil erosion, thereby increasing the amount of river sediments heading to the dam's reservoir, decreasing the longevity of the dam. In Cambodia in particular, recent deforestation rates are among the largest on the planet, and forests are expected to disappear within the lifespan of proposed dams. The cost of protecting and restoring forested watersheds can be considered as an annual investment towards sustainable reservoir management and hydropower generation. A modeling framework is developed to estimate the sediment accumulation in reservoirs from deforestation-driven soil …


Elm-Som: A Continuous Self-Organizing Map For Visualization, Renjie Hu, Venous Roshdibenam, Hans J. Johnson, Emil Eirola, Anton Akusok, Yoan Miche, Kaj Mikael Björk, Amaury Lendasse Oct 2018

Elm-Som: A Continuous Self-Organizing Map For Visualization, Renjie Hu, Venous Roshdibenam, Hans J. Johnson, Emil Eirola, Anton Akusok, Yoan Miche, Kaj Mikael Björk, Amaury Lendasse

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This Paper Presents a Novel Dimensionality Reduction Technique: Elm-Som. This Technique Preserves the Intrinsic Quality of Self-Organizing Maps (Som): It is Nonlinear and Suitable for Big Data. It Also Brings Continuity to the Projection using Two Extreme Learning Machine (Elm) Models, the First One to Perform the Dimensionality Reduction and the Second One to Perform the Reconstruction. Elm-Som is Tested Successfully on Six Diverse Datasets. Regarding Reconstruction Error, Elm-Som is Comparable to Som While Bringing Continuity.


Engineering At San Jose State University, Fall 2018, San Jose State University, Charles W. Davidson College Of Engineering Oct 2018

Engineering At San Jose State University, Fall 2018, San Jose State University, Charles W. Davidson College Of Engineering

Engineering at San Jose State University

No abstract provided.


Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 60 Number 1, Fall 2018, Santa Clara University Oct 2018

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 60 Number 1, Fall 2018, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

24 - FOUND IN TRANSLATION The Pulitzer for editorial cartooning recognizes the tale of two Syrian refugee families. Here’s who translated their story. By Tracy Seipel and Tina Vossugh.

26 - LEGENDS OF THE COURT A pair of Bronco hoops legends: Steve Nash ’96, welcome to the Basketball Hall of Fame! Kurt Rambis ’80, on big-time break-ins—and a fan club like no other. Words by Mark Purdy and Sam Farmer. Illustrations by Victor Juhasz.

34 - A JOURNEY THROUGH THE HOLY LAND Israel, from a hazy gray sea to the House of Bread to the Hill of the Skull. Learning …


Evaluation Of Continuous, Low-Intensity Ultraviolet Irradiation For Biofilm Prevention, Stephanie Conrad Oct 2018

Evaluation Of Continuous, Low-Intensity Ultraviolet Irradiation For Biofilm Prevention, Stephanie Conrad

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

Biofilms occur when planktonic bacteria attach to a surface, forming a sticky, extracellular matrix that makes them difficult to remove. Biofilms are especially troublesome in water filtration membrane systems due to their strong adhesive properties. Once attached, biofilms cause a decrease in water production (biofouling) and an increase in membrane degradation. Traditional cleaning methods use harsh chemicals and require modules being taken offline, which reduces water production rates. Moreover, despite current cleaning efforts, irreversible biofouling inevitably leads to membrane module replacement. The implementation of low-intensity UV irradiation for biofilm prevention could decrease waste and increase production. However, while much is …


An Environmental Science And Engineering Framework For Combating Antimicrobial Resistance, Amy Pruden, Reinaldo E. Alcalde, Pedro J.J. Alvarez, Nicholas Ashbolt, Heather Bischel, Natalie L. Capiro, Emily Crossette, Dominic Frigon, Kassandra Grimes, Charles N. Haas, Kaoru Ikuma, Anthony D. Kappell, Timothy M. Lapara, Lee K. Kimbell, Mengyan Li, Xu Li, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Youngwoo Seo, Mark D. Sobsey, Emanuele Sozzi, Tala Navab-Daneshmand, Lutgarde Raskin, Maria Virginia Riquelme, Peter Vikesland, Krista Wigginton, Zhi Zhou Oct 2018

An Environmental Science And Engineering Framework For Combating Antimicrobial Resistance, Amy Pruden, Reinaldo E. Alcalde, Pedro J.J. Alvarez, Nicholas Ashbolt, Heather Bischel, Natalie L. Capiro, Emily Crossette, Dominic Frigon, Kassandra Grimes, Charles N. Haas, Kaoru Ikuma, Anthony D. Kappell, Timothy M. Lapara, Lee K. Kimbell, Mengyan Li, Xu Li, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Youngwoo Seo, Mark D. Sobsey, Emanuele Sozzi, Tala Navab-Daneshmand, Lutgarde Raskin, Maria Virginia Riquelme, Peter Vikesland, Krista Wigginton, Zhi Zhou

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

On June 20, 2017, members of the environmental engineering and science (EES) community convened at the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Biennial Conference for a workshop on antimicrobial resistance. With over 80 registered participants, discussion groups focused on the following topics: risk assessment, monitoring, wastewater treatment, agricultural systems, and synergies. In this study, we summarize the consensus among the workshop participants regarding the role of the EES community in understanding and mitigating the spread of antibiotic resistance via environmental pathways. Environmental scientists and engineers offer a unique and interdisciplinary perspective and expertise needed for engaging with other …


In-Situ Mechanical Characterization For Compacted Aggregates, Douglas Cortes, Paola Bandini Oct 2018

In-Situ Mechanical Characterization For Compacted Aggregates, Douglas Cortes, Paola Bandini

Publications

The evaluation of compacted unbound aggregate layers is perhaps the most common undertaking in transportation-related projects. The assessment of compaction compliance in engineered fills, subgrades, subbases, and bases in roadways and railways is central to ensure longevity of ground transportation infrastructure. In many cases, premature failures in roadways that originate in the unbound aggregate layers can be traced back to inadequate compaction. These failures are preventable, provided the problem areas can be identified by a suitable field test during construction. The most widely used method for compaction assessment during construction is the nuclear density gauge (NDG) test. While the device …


A Framework For Detecting Injected Influence Attacks On Microblog Websites Using Change Detection Techniques, Vishnu S. Pendyala, Yuhong Liu, Silvia M. Figueira Sep 2018

A Framework For Detecting Injected Influence Attacks On Microblog Websites Using Change Detection Techniques, Vishnu S. Pendyala, Yuhong Liu, Silvia M. Figueira

Computer Science and Engineering

Presidential elections can impact world peace, global economics, and overall well-being. Recent news indicates that fraud on the Web has played a substantial role in elections, particularly in developing countries in South America and the public discourse, in general. To protect the trustworthiness of the Web, in this paper, we present a novel framework using statistical techniques to help detect veiled Web fraud attacks in Online Social Networks (OSN). Specific examples are used to demonstrate how some statistical techniques, such as the Kalman Filter and the modified CUSUM, can be applied to detect various attack scenarios. A hybrid data set, …


Cultivating Third Party Development In Platform-Centric Software Ecosystems: Extended Boundary Resources Model, Brown C. Msiska Sep 2018

Cultivating Third Party Development In Platform-Centric Software Ecosystems: Extended Boundary Resources Model, Brown C. Msiska

The African Journal of Information Systems

Software ecosystems provide an effective way through which software solutions can be constructed by composing software components, typically applications, developed by internal and external developers on top of a software platform. Third party development increases the potential of a software ecosystem to effectively and quickly respond to context-specific software requirements. The boundary resources model gives a theoretical account for cultivation of third party development premised on the role of platform boundary resources such as application programming interfaces (API). However, from a longitudinal case study of the DHIS2 software ecosystem, this paper observes that no matter how good the boundary resources …


Telemetry Subsystem With Higher Access Duration For Leo Satellites, Jose L. Garcia Sep 2018

Telemetry Subsystem With Higher Access Duration For Leo Satellites, Jose L. Garcia

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Jose L. Garcia on September 10, 2018.


Creation Of Non-Electric Cooling System For Food Preservation In Peru, Eleanor Ott, Dr. Randy Lewis Sep 2018

Creation Of Non-Electric Cooling System For Food Preservation In Peru, Eleanor Ott, Dr. Randy Lewis

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Food preservation is an issue in third-world countries around the world where electricity and monetary means are not present to maintain a modern refrigerator. The short shelf life of unrefrigerated food items creates waste, requires time and energy with frequent trips to buy food, and lowers quality of life. Multiple solutions for this problem have been devised which are principally applicable in Asia and Africa. Implementation of these solutions has increased shelf-life of perishable foods and eliminated the need for daily trips to the market for food. A natural consequence has been increased profits, more educational opportunities for women, and …


A Comparative Analysis Of Key Elements Of The Strategic Decision-Making Process Across Construction Professional Services Firms: Evidence From The Irish Construction Industry, Oluwasegun O. Seriki, Roisin Murphy Dr Sep 2018

A Comparative Analysis Of Key Elements Of The Strategic Decision-Making Process Across Construction Professional Services Firms: Evidence From The Irish Construction Industry, Oluwasegun O. Seriki, Roisin Murphy Dr

Conference papers

The Irish construction industry is experiencing a well-established growth phase following a prolonged recession. While the economic impact has been well documented, there remains less emphasis on discipline-specific studies pertaining to strategy within construction firms in Ireland. Additionally, evidence regarding strategic management within the construction sector is predominantly concentrated on contracting organisations, with less emphasis on highly knowledge-intensive professional service firms (PSFs). As the construction sector in Ireland continues its sustained growth, there have been increased calls within the industry for further collaboration between key stakeholders. However, exploring collaboration within project-centric firms without understanding the individual strategic decision-making processes within …


The Correlation Between Energy Cost Share, Human, And Economic Development Using Time Series Data From Australasia, Europe, North America, And The Brics Nations, Ryan Roberts, Josephine Kaviti Musango, Alan Colin Brent, Matthew K. Heun Sep 2018

The Correlation Between Energy Cost Share, Human, And Economic Development Using Time Series Data From Australasia, Europe, North America, And The Brics Nations, Ryan Roberts, Josephine Kaviti Musango, Alan Colin Brent, Matthew K. Heun

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

This paper investigates how a change in a region's energy cost share (ECS), a ratio of a region's energy expenditure as a fraction of its gross domestic product (GDP), affects the region's social and economic development. Nations from four regions of the world, namely Australasia, Europe, North America, and the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) were chosen for this study. Using time series data from the period of 1978 to 2010, the annual ECS of each country was compared to the year-on-year GDP change, as well as the components of the human development index (HDI). High …


Where There Is No Engineer - Designing For Community Resilience, Liam Mccarton, Sean O'Hogain Sep 2018

Where There Is No Engineer - Designing For Community Resilience, Liam Mccarton, Sean O'Hogain

Books/Book Chapters

Where There Is No Engineer – Designing for Community Resilience” is a design initiative coordinated by the Development Technology in the Community (DTC) Research Group, Technological University Dublin (DIT) and Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Ireland.

The programme is delivered in partnership with various development partners and Engineers Ireland. It provides participants with the opportunity to learn about design, teamwork and communication through real, inspiring, sustainable and crosscultural development projects. By participating in the programme, students and professionals will have the opportunity to design creative solutions to real life development projects. This initiative formed part of the DIT team submission which …


Landsliding Near Enguri Dam (Caucasus, Georgia) And Possible Seismoectonic Effects, Alessandro Tibaldi, Paolo Oppizzi, John S. Gierke, Thomas Oommen, Nino Tsereteli, Davit Odilavadze Aug 2018

Landsliding Near Enguri Dam (Caucasus, Georgia) And Possible Seismoectonic Effects, Alessandro Tibaldi, Paolo Oppizzi, John S. Gierke, Thomas Oommen, Nino Tsereteli, Davit Odilavadze

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Enguri dam and water reservoir, nested in southwestern Caucasus (Republic of Georgia), are surrounded by steep mountain slopes. At a distance of 2.5 km from the dam, a mountain ridge along the reservoir is affected by active deformations with a double vergence. The western slope, directly facing the reservoir, has deformations that involve a subaerial area of 1.2 km2. The head scarp interests the main Jvari-Khaishi-Mestia road with offset of man-made features that indicate slip rates of 2-9 cm/y. Static, pseudostatic and Newmark numerical analyses, based on field and seismological data, suggest different unstable rock volumes basing on the …


Application Of Project Management Method In Offshore Engineering, Bangyan Zhou Aug 2018

Application Of Project Management Method In Offshore Engineering, Bangyan Zhou

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.


Computational Thinking And Literacy, Sharin Rawhiya Jacob, Mark Warschauer Aug 2018

Computational Thinking And Literacy, Sharin Rawhiya Jacob, Mark Warschauer

Journal of Computer Science Integration

Today’s students will enter a workforce that is powerfully shaped by computing. To be successful in a changing economy, students must learn to think algorithmically and computationally, to solve problems with varying levels of abstraction. These computational thinking skills have become so integrated into social function as to represent fundamental literacies. However, computer science has not been widely taught in K-12 schools. Efforts to create computer science standards and frameworks have yet to make their way into mandated course requirements. Despite a plethora of research on digital literacies, research on the role of computational thinking in the literature is sparse. …


Evaluation Of Site Variability And Its Application In Design, Abu Hakim Muhammad Hasan Faisal Aug 2018

Evaluation Of Site Variability And Its Application In Design, Abu Hakim Muhammad Hasan Faisal

LSU Master's Theses

Geotechnical characterization has an important role in engineering geology as well as in implementation of any project. There are several variables and uncertainties involved in characterizing a project site. Four different sources of uncertainties represent the characterization of geotechnical variability, which include spatial variability, measurement error, statistical error and model bias. Spatial variability is expressed in terms of the mean, variance, and scale of fluctuation. Several statistical techniques such as the Gauge R & R, which includes X-Bar/R and ANOVA, and the Second Moment can be applied to compute site variability in terms of the coefficient of variations. Measurement error …


Sensitivity Analysis Of Steep Wave Riser With Internal Flow, Zhen Liu, Haiyan Guo Aug 2018

Sensitivity Analysis Of Steep Wave Riser With Internal Flow, Zhen Liu, Haiyan Guo

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Offshore fields, specifically, deepwater oil and gas reserves, have been receiving increasing attention with the increasing consumption of petroleum products. Marine risers are critical to the petroleum industry. The steep wave riser (SWR) is becoming increasingly popular as its use has provided a solution for oil and gas exploration in water depths where traditional rigid risers could not tolerate the environmental loads or would have become very costly. A numerical model of an SWR with internal flow is built based on the slender rod model and the finite element method. The Newton-Raphson and the Newmark- methods are used to solve …


Usu Engineering Professor Elected To Agu Fellowship | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering Aug 2018

Usu Engineering Professor Elected To Agu Fellowship | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Veteran educator, engineer and hydrologist Dr. David Tarboton has been named a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.


Climate-Informed Environmental Inflows To Revive A Drying Lake Facing Meteorological And Anthropogenic Droughts, Mojtaba Sadegh Aug 2018

Climate-Informed Environmental Inflows To Revive A Drying Lake Facing Meteorological And Anthropogenic Droughts, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The rapid shrinkage of Lake Urmia, one of the world’s largest saline lakes located in northwestern Iran, is a tragic wake-up call to revisit the principles of water resources management based on the socio-economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The overarching goal of this paper is to set a framework for deriving dynamic, climate-informed environmental inflows for drying lakes considering both meteorological/climatic and anthropogenic conditions. We report on the compounding effects of meteorological drought and unsustainable water resource management that contributed to Lake Urmia’s contemporary environmental catastrophe. Using rich datasets of hydrologic attributes, water demands and withdrawals, as well …


Rotary Pump Speed Modulation To Produce Pulsatile Flow And Ventricular Volume Unloading., Connor Joseph Smith Aug 2018

Rotary Pump Speed Modulation To Produce Pulsatile Flow And Ventricular Volume Unloading., Connor Joseph Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Continuous-flow (CF) left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have gained widespread clinical acceptance as a treatment option for advanced heart failure (HF); however, they have also been associated with an increased risk of adverse events, including gastrointestinal bleeding, aortic insufficiency, and hemorrhagic stroke. It has been hypothesized that the increase in adverse event incidence may be due in part to diminished vascular pulsatility and high shear stress when CF-LVADs are operated at fixed speeds. Previous studies have shown that pump speed modulation generates greater levels of pulsatility in rotary pumps than when operated at fixed speeds. The objective of this …


Design And Analysis Of A Parabolic Trough Solar Concentrator, George N. Skouras Aug 2018

Design And Analysis Of A Parabolic Trough Solar Concentrator, George N. Skouras

Master's Theses

A prototype solar desalination system (SODESAL) with a parabolic-trough solar concentrator (PTSC) and evacuated tube was designed and analyzed to determine the solar thermal capabilities for small-scale distillation and energy generation. A proof-of-concept study verified that distillation is possible with the system as designed, however a rupture occurred in the copper heat-pipe heat exchanger due to overheating. The internal temperatures of an aluminum heat transfer fin were measured inside an evacuated tube typically used in solar water heater systems to understand the lateral heat distribution and identify possible causes of the rupture. Solar radiation was measured for both the summer …