Engineering Commons^™

Power At Sea Develop Phase, Jake Lauer, Isabella Heinemann, Bailey Gargasz, Zachery Boyer

Mechanical Engineering

This project develops a renewable, wave-powered charging system designed to extend the mission duration of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles by eliminating the need for frequent manual battery replacement. Building upon a prior oscillating water column prototype from the CONCEPT phase, the team redesigned and tested an improved system capable of converting wave-induced air motion into electrical power using a Wells turbine. Key enhancements include doubling the column diameter to increase displaced air volume, integrating a flared inlet and bi-directional nozzle to improve airflow, and selecting corrosion-resistant materials suitable for long-term deployment in marine environments. Multiple prototypes were constructed and evaluated through …

Energy Efficiency Limits And Future Electricity Demand Of Computing Devices, Ricardo Pinto, Tiago Domingos, Paul E. Brockway, Matthew Kuperus Heun, Tânia Sousa

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

• ICT (information and communication technologies) represented 4% of the world electricity consumption in 2020; 
• Computing devices represented 2% of the world electricity consumption in 2020; 
• In recent scenarios datacentre electricity demand reaches 3% of world electricity in 2030, and more than 4% in 2035

Dataset To Analyzing Energy Use In 2 & 3d Imaging Systems And Workflows, Michael J. Bennett

Published Works

Analyzing Energy Use in 2D & 3D Imaging Systems and Workflows Dataset

CONTENTS: Z-WaveReportingProfiles; SessionInput; DroneFlights; SessionsComputed; Types; ByType; GrossSummaryUnweighted; WeightingSummary; Raw Sampling History Data

Hydropower Collegiate Competition 2026, Andres R. Arreola, Sammy D. Taporco, Kathryn E. Tinney, Ahmer S. Dhillon

Mechanical Engineering

The Hydropower Collegiate Competition (HCC) is sponsored by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and is meant to offer university students an opportunity to solve complex hydropower challenges, build industry connections, explore career connections, and obtain a greater knowledge of hydropower’s potential in the United States. For this year’s competition, our team investigated a potential in-conduit hydropower site in California. Our work included creating a design package for a crossflow turbine related to our selected site and completing the community connections challenge. We also completed a siting and design report, community connections report, design and siting …

Building Services Engineering May/June 2026

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Building Services Engineering March/April 2026

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Engineering 50 Years From Today: A Purdue Engineering Community Perspective, Arvind Raman

Purdue University Press Books

Since opening its doors in 1874, Purdue University’s College of Engineering and its graduates have been at the forefront of technological breakthroughs and are now poised to lead the next generation of engineers in the United States and around the globe. Featuring more than twenty-five essays from former Boilermakers, Engineering 50 Years From Today both celebrates the program’s 150th anniversary and looks ahead, exploring what the field of engineering might look like half a century from now. Leading luminaries from Purdue’s engineering community, including prominent university professors as well as innovators working in the private sector, reveal how technologies related …

Building Services Engineering January/February 2026

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

A New Highly Oxygen-Deficient And Cubic Pr3Zro8-Δ For Intermediate-Temperature Thermochemical Production Of Oxygen And Hydrogen, Jiaxin Lu, Yongliang Zhang, Luhong Chen, Yan Chen, Ke An, Yasser Shoukry, Xinfang Jin, Zhi-Hao Wang, Sai Mu, Kevin Huang

Faculty Publications

Two-step thermochemical cycles offer a clean route for hydrogen and oxygen production but are typically limited to high temperatures exceeding 1500 °C. Lowering operating temperatures would enable the use of alternative heat sources such as industrial waste heat. Here, we report Pr₃ZrO₈ as a new enabling material for efficient intermediate-temperature redox cycling, with thermal reduction at 900 °C in argon and steam oxidation at 400 °C. Pr₃ZrO₈ adopts a face-centered cubic structure similar to CeO₂ but exhibits significantly greater oxygen deficiency, achieving average oxygen and hydrogen fluxes of 331.7 and 70.3 µmol·g-1, respectively, …

Localized Air Pollution Impacts From Data Centers In Northern Virginia, Damian Pitt, Ivan Suen, Ellie Plisko

Institute for Sustainable Energy and Environment Publications and Presentations

This report examins the extent of air pollution emissions resulting from the use of backup generators at data centers in Northern Virginia, including both actual current emissions and potential future emissions, and how those emissions totals compare to other sources of air pollution in the Northern Virginia region. It also examines how exposure to data center emissions correlates with demographic characteristics such as race, income, and education.

We while the air pollution emissions from individual data centers is minor, the collective impact from the 100+ such facilities in the Northern Virginia region is significant. Notably, the cumulative emissions exposure in …

Powering The Machine, Draining The Planet: Whether U.S. Environmental Law Is Equipped To Regulate The Energy And Water Demands Of Ai Data Centers, Michael Marcu

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Artificial intelligence (AI) data centers have become one of the United States' fastest-growing and least-regulated sources of environmental stress. In 2024 alone, U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity more than the entire nation of Pakistan and consumed an estimated 17 billion gallons of water (IEA, 2025; Berkeley Lab, 2024). By 2030, electricity demand from these facilities is projected to reach 426 TWh, a 133% increase in six years (Pew Research Center, 2025). This paper examines whether the existing U.S. environmental regulatory framework put by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the …

Energy Efficient Windows Using Pvme, James S. Bronstrup

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This Honors Project aims to improve window energy efficiency using the thermoplastic polymer PVME (polyvinyl methyl ether), which displays temperature-dependent transparency that can be adjusted by mixing it with water and salt to reduce heat transfer through a window. The objective is to determine the optimal PVME water-salt ratios for placement inside a windowpane, evaluate energy savings compared to a traditional argon-filled window, and compare estimated costs. A small-scale model will test different concentrations for various climates, with heat transfer measured by temperature indicators via a LabQuest. Building on research by Yang Zhou at Nanyang Technological University, who used a …

From Test Tracks To Carbon Tracks: Evaluating The Carbon Emissions Of Autonomous Vehicle Development, Sarah Deniz

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Autonomous vehicle (AV) development has seen a sharp increase in the past 10 years, and there is a significant energy cost of training AVs to meet safety regulations. The training process includes virtual simulation training as well as physical training on public roads and within private testing facilities. The high energy expenditure associated with AV training has a respective environmental cost that can be quantified as a lifetime “carbon debt” of released carbon emissions. The environmental sustainability of AVs has not been thoroughly studied in currently available literature, and this paper showcases a model that quantifies the total “carbon debt” …

Power Solutions For Large Loads: Mastering Electrical Supply For New Industrial Facilities, Chris Boyer, William Bourgeois, Skyler Bryant

Mavs Open Press Open Educational Resources - Archive

The next 25 years will see unprecedented growth in U.S. electricity demand, driven primarily by data centers for AI and industrial electrification. This surge presents unique challenges for power generation, especially for large loads requiring hundreds of megawatts to gigawatts from a single location. Conventional grid expansion is inadequate, prompting the need for innovative, flexible, and sustainable solutions. This book explores the opportunities, challenges, and hybrid generation strategies to support the evolving landscape of large-scale electric loads.

Building Services Engineering November/December 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Building Services Engineering September/October 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Study Of Mechanical Properties Of 3d Printed Advanced Polymer, R. Kumaresan, D. Ramasamy, W.S.W. Harun, Sivaraos Sivaraos, Semin Semin, Krishnan Kanny, Habeeb Hattab Habeeb

The Nexus of Sustainability and Energy Technology Journal

This thesis focuses on the mechanical behaviour of ABS which is an advanced polymer material produced by 3D printing. The ABS specimens used in this work were prepared by fused deposition modelling (FDM) to compare the compressive and tensile strength with ASTM D 695. Critical settings within the range of 3D printing process including layer height, fill angle and density were adjusted to investigate the impact on ABS mechanical properties. The effects of these parameters are observed to have a profound impact on the strength and the stiffness of the printed specimens. Further, the optimal conditions for ABS print were …

Unlocking Potential: A Case Study Of Solar Photovoltaic Growth And Challenges In Bangladesh, Kaniz Farhana, Borhan Uddin Khan, Aditya Bhattacharjee, Abu Shadate Faisal Mahamude

The Nexus of Sustainability and Energy Technology Journal

This case study looks at the design and technology of photovoltaic cells and assesses Bangladesh’s advancements in using solar energy, including government programs. Because of Bangladesh’s continuous industrialization and population increase, the country’s energy needs are rising quickly. These issues can be resolved by solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, which provide a renewable energy source because of their adaptability, minimal environmental impact, and fuel independence. Due to its advantageous location, Bangladesh receives a significant amount of solar energy every day, which makes solar photovoltaic cells a viable choice. The Bangladeshi government has taken several steps to encourage solar energy, and organizations …

Advanced Microstructured Batio3-Embedded Pvdf–Hfp/Peo Film For Enhanced Triboelectric Interface In Self-Sufficient Energy Generation And Sensing, Rigobert Ybarra, Diego De Leon, Michael Moreno, Cesar Sanchez, Fernando Viesca, Kevin Alejandro, Shishir Timilsena, Nicholas Dimakis, Joseph H. Dumont, Tommy Rockward, Tarik J. Dickens, Md. Wasikur Rahman, Mohammed Jasim Uddin

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The global reliance on fossil fuels and natural gas has largely dominated the energy production field, but due to finite resource depletion and escalating greenhouse gas emissions, the immediate exploration of sustainable energy alternatives to mitigate climate change and ensure resource security has been a major concern. There has been extensive research into other more renewable methods of energy production, such as wind and hydropower. Of these current energy generation types, there are many areas of untapped potential from the mechanical movements generated ambiently not only in the large scale of power generation but also on a smaller scale. The …

Deep Learning And Machine Learning Based Prediction Of Significant Wave Height Along The Grand Coast Of Dakar, Senegal, Dialo Diop, Xu Dongsheng, Sanjay Kumar Shukla

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Recently, deep learning (DL) has become an essential tool for processing large datasets and is playing a crucial role in scientific research. It significantly contributes to protecting the marine environment and forecasting oceanic phenomena. This study applies an autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) time series model to forecast significant wave heights (SWHs) at two beaches in Dakar, Senegal: Malika and Yoff. Additionally, the long short-term memory network (LSTM) is used for comparative analysis. Both models estimate SWH for future predictions ranging from 12 hours to 60 days. The study utilized ERA5 reanalysis data, comprising 52584 elements of SWH and …

Intelligent Energy Management Mechanisms For Electric Vehicles: A Review, Aziza I. Hussein

Effat Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper investigates intelligent methods used for energy management (EM) in Electric Vehicles (EV). The key role of EM in EVs to increase the performance of the vehicle and reduce Fuel Consumption (FC) thus producing less greenhouse effect. However, the used tactics had limitations. An introduced model of Intelligent Energy Management System (IEMS) for Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) was efficient for FC reduction. Whereas for IEMS Based on Kalman Filtering showed a low percentage of error. While EM using Tags Threshold Admission And Greedy Scheduling improves EV’s performance, but it can only manage energy per one EV. Another model …

Report On The First Year Of Operation Of Kentucky’S First Utility Wind Turbine, Lawrence E. Holloway, Sophia A. Hahn, Aron Patrick

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This report examines the first year’s operational data from Kentucky’s first utility wind turbine, the 37 m hub-height 90-kilowatt NPS100C-27, operated by the PPL Corporation Research and Development at their Renewable Integration Research Facility in Mercer County, Kentucky. During that year, the turbine was available 95% of the time, spinning 85% of the time, and generating power 78% of the time, and had a net capacity factor of 11%. This report analyzes the turbine performance and uses the collected wind data to project the performance of an example turbine more typical of larger commercial turbines recently installed elsewhere in the …

Building Services Engineering July/August 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Building Services Engineering May/June 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Skip The Grid Bringing Light To The Darkness And Bridging The Educational Gap In Navajo Nation, Robert Joseph Byrne

Construction Management

Skip The Grid is a unique project done in collaboration with many groups, including California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) students and faculty members, representatives from Solv Energy, Nextracker, Tribal Liaisons, Heart of America, and members of the Navajo Nation. This group delivered and installed solar panel systems accompanied by batteries, lights, and a small refrigerator. The Navajo Nation faces many problems, including higher poverty and unemployment rates when compared to the rest of the United States. The goal of the Skip The Grid project was to deliver sustainable, safe, and reliable power to homes of school-aged children in the …

Sustainability In The Cruising Industry: Innovations In Air Quality, Energy Efficiency, And Waste Management, Fikret Durmus, Mi Ran Kim

ICHRIE Research Reports

The cruise industry, a cornerstone of the global hospitality and tourism sector, faces increasing scrutiny over its environmental impact. As passenger numbers grow, so does the industry's responsibility to adopt sustainable practices. This report examines key innovations in air quality management, energy efficiency, and waste management, highlighting the industry's transition from historically high emissions and waste production to advanced sustainability initiatives. Key focus areas include evolving maritime regulations, adopting cleaner propulsion technologies, integrating energy-efficient solutions, and improving waste treatment practices. Findings indicate that industry leaders are investing in liquefied natural gas engines, exhaust gas cleaning systems, and onshore power supply …

Automated Solar Panel For Lmu Campus, Michael Hennessy, Jack Michaelis, Jack Leon, Nick Aiello, Mustafa Mozael

Honors Thesis

This Final Design Review outlines the design and implementation of an automated sun-tracking solar panel system for Loyola Marymount University's campus. The project aims to improve the efficiency of existing static solar panels by designing a new system of sun-tracking panels at a low cost and high power efficiency. The report covers the project's background, including LMU's current solar energy infrastructure and sustainability goals. It analyzes the advantages of automated solar panels over static ones, presenting comparative studies that demonstrate significant increases in energy capture. The report details the calculations for solar angle tracking, along with the mechanics and electronics …

Building Services Engineering March/April 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Wind Turbine Rotor Test Stand, Ashlen Brooke Sperry, Cayley Mckee, Kristofer Lee Pascua, Francisco Medina

Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Lemieux and the mechanical engineering department at Cal Poly are renowned for the countless projects that allow students to be a part of hands-on learning and the “Learn by Doing” experience. One such experience is the wind energy class that requires students to design, build, and test wind turbine rotors; however, a test stand for these rotors is needed. Dr. Lemieux and the senior project team will design and build a test stand that will enable the simultaneous testing of two student-designed rotors at the existing wind turbine site. In addition to energy measurement, Lemieux emphasizes the importance of …

Building Services Engineering January/February 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.