Power and Energy Commons^™

Exploring The Potential Of Pavegen’S Kinetic Energy Generating Floor For Sustainable Energy Solutions: A Proposal For Cal Poly Slo, Brandon J. Cuneo

Construction Management

This paper proposes the installation of Pavegen's kinetic energy generating floors at Cal Poly’s campus as a sustainable energy solution. Pavegen has developed a pioneering technology that converts footsteps into clean and renewable energy. The versatility of these floors is demonstrated through successful implementations in various settings, such as transportation hubs and public spaces, generating power from foot traffic. Collaborations with Schneider Electric, installation at Dupont Circle, and integration at Heathrow Airport showcase the potential for sustainable urban infrastructure. This paper outlines research conducted on Pavegen and similar solutions, including communication with company representatives and examining proposed installation locations at …

Full-Scale Testing Of Power Transfer Roadways, Oscar Moncada

Purdue Road School

A dynamic wireless power transfer roadway refers to the integration of wireless power transfer technology into a new and existing road infrastructure to provide motive power, battery charging, or both to electric vehicles. The objective of this presentation is to evaluate the mechanical and thermal performance of the system when incorporated in both flexible and rigid pavement structures.

Fem Eem Dataset: Optimising Retrofitted Insulation For Irish Residential Building Walls, Rakshit D. Muddu, Aimee Byrne, Anthony Robinson Dr.

Datasets

A large number of combinations of Irish wall types, insulation materials, and heating fuel types were produced to compare the multiple variables which influence Optimal Insulation Thickness values. The total cost (TC) and carbon emission (CE) at optimum insulation thickness (OIT) for all combinations of insulation material and three types of fuel are considered. The dataset presents OIT for solid wall, cavity wall and cavity block wall types located in Monaghan, Dublin, and Kerry.

Resiliency Of Levee-Protected Power Networks To Flooding In A Changing Climate Integrating Environmental Justice, Seyed Saeed Miraee-Ashtiani

Theses and Dissertations

Electric power system (EPS) is an integral part of infrastructure systems. Ensuring its resiliency to extreme weather events and natural hazards is crucial to protect the safety, economy and public health. Recorded and projected data show an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events and natural hazards attributed to a changing climate. It is critical to ensure the integrity of the aging infrastructure systems and to promote environmental justice by shrinking the energy-equity gap to lower power outages in disadvantaged communities.

An important aspect is the resiliency interdependency of EPS to other critical infrastructure systems, an aspect …

Skip The Grid: Giving Power To Navajo Nation, Ryan J. Schacherbauer

Construction Management

Skip the Grid is a project organized by Heart of America, a nonprofit, looking to improve the education and overall wellbeing of children and their families. Many residents within Navajo Nation do not have access to continuous power and rely on temporary generators or car battery to obtain any kind of electricity. Heart of America partnered with the Red Mesa School District to identify families that did not have power, which was impacting the children’s ability to complete their online schoolwork. This senior project was comprised of an interdisciplinary team responsible for installing a working solar system on twelve homes …

Optimizing Speed Profiles For Sustainable Train Operation With Wayside Energy Storage Systems, Leon A. Allen

Dissertations

Large hauling capability and low rolling resistance has put rail transit at the forefront of mass transportation mode sustainability in terms of congestion mitigation and energy conservation. As such, rail vehicles are one of the least energy-intensive modes of transportation and least environmentally polluting. Despite, these positives, improper driving habits and wastage of the braking energy through dissipation in braking resistors result in unnecessary consumption, extra costs to the operator and increased atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions.

This study presents an intelligent method for the optimization of the number and locations of wayside energy storage system (WESS) units that maximize the …

Environmental Design And Optimization Of Modular Hydropower Plants, Colin Sasthav

Doctoral Dissertations

This research aimed to understand the pathways to cost-effective and sustainable low-head hydropower. Designing viable hydropower projects requires optimization across many economic, environmental, and social outcomes. However, existing run-of-river hydropower design models often focus on economic performance and customizing technologies for high-head diversion schemes. Standard modular hydropower is a new design approach that uses standardized rather than custom-designed technologies to achieve economies of scale. Oak Ridge National Laboratory established a conceptual outline for module classes based on functions, such as generation modules and fish passage modules, but further research was needed to identify how modules should be selected and operated …

Installation Of Electrical System For Paso Robles Police Department, Peter D. Strykers, Jacob M. Studebaker

Construction Management

This paper outlines the process that Peter Strykers and Jacob Studebaker went through to set up the lighting and power system for the Paso Robles Police Department gun range located off highway 46. Before our installation, the gun range had zero lighting so the officers could not use it after sunset. We allowed the officers to light the gun range with outdoor LED lights, light up both the storage units on site, and have access to multiple outlets inside and out of the storage units. The power source that the electrical system runs on comes from a Kubota generator because …

Foam-Based Floatovoltaics: A Potential Solution To Disappearing Terminal Natural Lakes, Koami Soulemane Hayibo, Joshua M. Pearce

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Terminal lakes are disappearing worldwide because of direct and indirect human activities. Floating photovoltaics (FPV) are a synergistic system with increased energy output because of water cooling, while the FPV reduces water evaporation. This study explores how low-cost foam-based floatovoltaic systems can mitigate the disappearance of natural lakes. A case study is performed on 10%–50% FPV coverage of terminal and disappearing Walker Lake. Water conservation is investigated with a modified Penman-Monteith evapotranspiration method and energy generation is calculated with an operating temperature model experimentally determined from foam-based FPV. Results show FPV saves 52,000,000 m3/year of water and US$6,000,000 at 50% …

The Greenest Solar Power? Life Cycle Assessment Of Foam-Based Flexible Floatovoltaics, Koami Soulemane Hayibo, Pierce Mayville, Joshua M. Pearce

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

This study presents a life cycle analysis (LCA) of a 10 MW foam-based floatovoltaics (FPV) plant installed on Lake Mead, Nevada, U.S. A material inventory of the flexible crystalline silicon (c-Si)-based module involved massing and determination of material composition of the module's encapsulation layers with ATR/FTR spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The LCA was performed using SimaPro and the results were interpreted in terms of cumulative energy demands, energy payback time, global warming potential, GHG emissions, and water footprint including negative values for reduced evaporation. A sensitivity analysis was performed on the lifetime of the modules and the foam-based racking. The …

A Moment In The Sun: Solar Nowcasting From Multispectral Satellite Data Using Self-Supervised Learning, Akansha Singh Bansal, Trapit Bansal, David Irwin

Publications

ABSTRACT

Solar energy is now the cheapest form of electricity in history. Unfortunately,

signi.cantly increasing the electric grid’s fraction of

solar energy remains challenging due to its variability, which makes

balancing electricity’s supply and demand more di.cult. While

thermal generators’ ramp rate—the maximum rate at which they

can change their energy generation—is .nite, solar energy’s ramp

rate is essentially in.nite. Thus, accurate near-term solar forecasting,

or nowcasting, is important to provide advance warnings to

adjust thermal generator output in response to variations in solar

generation to ensure a balanced supply and demand. To address the

problem, this paper develops a …

Análisis De Alternativas De Aprovechamiento De Materiales Que Componen A Los Medidores De Energía Eléctrica, Julián David Amaya Ríos, David Alexis Solano Cortés

Ingeniería Ambiental y Sanitaria

El cambio de medidores de energía convencionales a medidores de energía inteligentes en Colombia, es un paso a la transición de energías renovables, que a su vez, genera problemáticas en el sector de gestión de residuos sólidos. Esto debido a que los residuos de los medidores son Residuos de Aparatos y Electrónicos (RAEE) y usualmente se disponen como un residuo ordinario, sin tener presente que, aparte de ser un residuo peligroso (el cual requiere un tratamiento especial), muchos de los materiales de sus componentes son reciclables. Es por ello que, el presente proyecto de investigación realiza una recopilación de información …

Implementation And Usage Of Low-Cost Turbines For Power Generation In Water Networks, Luis Javier Ortiz Osornio

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The following APP is part of an investigation and development, carried out to design, and implement a hydroelectric turbine of horizontal axis, in order to generate electrical energy in rural areas, utilizing existing infrastructure or natural waterways such as irrigation canals, piping, rivers and streams. Every industrialized country, as well as, most of the developing nations, have a stake in agriculture and thus access to the infrastructure required for irrigation purposes. Artificial irrigation canals offer advantages such as a clean continuous flow, with the possibility of flow regulation: this together with their vast availability as agricultural infrastructure constitute the main …

An Improved Earned Value Management Method Integrating Quality And Safety, Brian Briggs

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The construction industry invests significant time and money to improve quality and safety while reducing cost and schedule impacts. The industry has a sincere desire to improve construction project management methods to improve efficiency. Historically, quality and safety underperformances result from undermanaged quality control and safety activities. The cost and schedule impacts associated with poor quality work have always had an impact on construction operations. The unprecedented challenges and uncertainties of COVID-19 highlighted the need to improve the Earned Value Management (EVM) method within construction to reflect these quality and safety activities. The central goal of this dissertation is to …

Design And Validation Of A High-Power, High Density All Silicon Carbide Three-Level Inverter, Zhongjing Wang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transportation electrification is clearly the road toward the future. Compared to internal combustion engine, the electrified vehicle has less carbon-dioxide emission, less maintenance costs and less operation costs. It also offers higher efficiency and safety margin. More importantly, it relieves human’s dependence on conventional fossil energy. In the electrification progress, the revolution of electric traction drive systems is one of the most important milestone. The traction system should keep high efficiency to avoid performance reduction. Moreover, the motor drive should be designed within limited space without sacrificing output power rating. Based on the road map from US Drive Electrical and …

Enercon Station Vacuum Pump Replacement, Clint Hembree, Jared D'Amico, Connor Moore, Paul Jeffrey Fontenot, Sydnee Castello, J.J. Clements

Senior Design Project For Engineers

This details the progress of the ENERCON pump replacement project as completed by the Kennesaw State University interdisciplinary senior design group. This project is a two-semester capstone effort for the engineering program at Southern Polytechnic School of Engineering, overseen by Dr. McFall during Fall 2020 and Dr. Khalid during Spring 2021 semesters. The 2020-2021 KSU Interdisciplinary Senior Design team was tasked with completing an Engineering Change Package (ECP) for existing vacuum pumps at ENERCON Station. The mechanical, electrical, and civil students worked together, performing evaluations on existing plant systems to ensure the plant could support the new vacuum pumps. By …

A Magneto-Mechanical Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Designed To Scavenge Ac Magnetic Field From Thermal Power Plant With Power-Line Cables, Quan Wang, Kyung-Bum Kim, Sang-Bum Woo, Yooseob Song, Tae-Hyun Sang

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Piezoelectric energy harvesters have attracted much attention because they are crucial in portable industrial applications. Here, we report on a high-power device based on a magneto-mechanical piezoelectric energy harvester to scavenge the AC magnetic field from a power-line cable for industrial applications. The electrical output performance of the harvester (×4 layers) reached an output voltage of 60.8 V_max, an output power of 215 mW_max (98 mW_rms), and a power density of 94.5 mW_max/cm³ (43.5 mW_rms/cm³) at an impedance matching of 5 kΩ under a magnetic field of 80 …

Vpeak: Exploiting Volunteer Energy Resources For Flexible Peak Shaving, Phuthipong Bovornkeeratiroj, John Wamburu, David Irwin, Prashant Shenoy

Publications

Traditionally, utility companies have employed demand response for large loads or deployed centralized energy storage to alleviate the effects of peak demand on the grid. The advent of Internet of Things (IoT) and the proliferation of networked energy devices have opened up new opportunities for coordinated control of smaller residential loads at large scales to achieve similar benefits. In this paper, we present VPeak, an approach that uses residential loads volunteered by their owners for coordinated control by a utility for grid optimizations. Since the use of volunteer resources comes with hard limits on how frequently they can be used …

Peaktk: An Open Source Toolkit For Peak Forecasting In Energy Systems, Phuthipong Bovornkeeratiroj, John Wamburu, David Irwin, Prashant Shenoy

Publications

As the electric grid undergoes the transition to a carbon free future, many new techniques for optimizing the grid’s energy usage and carbon footprint are being designed. A common technique used by many approaches is to reduce the energy usage of the grid’s peak demand periods since doing so is beneficial for reducing the carbon usage of the grid. Consequently, the design of peak forecasting methods that predict when and how much peak demand will be seen is at the heart of many energy optimization approaches. In this paper, we present PeakTK, an open-source toolkit and reference datasets for peak …

Breaking Wave Hazard Estimation Model For The U.S. Atlantic Coast, Spencer T. Hallowell

Publications

As offshore wind development is in its infancy along the U.S. Atlantic Coast challenges arise due to the effects of strong storms such as hurricanes. Breaking waves on offshore structures induced by hurricanes are of particular concern to offshore structures due to high magnitude impulse loads caused by wave slamming. Prediction of breaking wave hazards is important in offshore design for load cases using long mean return periods of environmental conditions. A breaking wave hazard estimation model (BWHEM) is introduced that provides a means for assessing breaking hazard at long mean return periods over a large domain along the U.S. …

Assessment Of Cu(In, Ga)Se₂ Solar Cells Degradation Due To Water Ingress Effect On The Cds Buffer Layer, Deewakar Poudel, Benjamin Belfore, Shankar Karki, Grace Rajan, Sina Soltanmohammad, Angus Rockett, Sylvain Marsillac

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The effect of water ingress on the surface of the buffer layer of a Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cell was studied. Such degradation can occur either during the fabrication process, if it involves a chemical bath as is often the case for CdS, or while the modules are in the field and encapsulants degrade. To simulate the impact of this moisture ingress, devices with a structure sodalime glass/Mo/CIGS/CdS were immersed in deionized water. The thin films were then analyzed both pre and post water soaking. Dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) was performed on completed devices to analyze impurity diffusion …

Non-Conventional Vehicles As A Way Towards Carbon Neutrality In Iceland, Julia Sokolowska

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Paris Agreement’s chief objective is to protect the Earth and its inhabitants from a point of no return, when the effects of climate change will be so intense that they will shift the equilibrium of ecosystems. The distinctiveness of this international environmental treaty is that it does not impose climate change mitigation measures, but rather allows nation states to create their own set of measures, the NDCs, to reach the global warming of ‘well below 2oC’ by the end of the century. Thus, Iceland has submitted its own NDC, the Climate Action Plan 2018-2030, which has an ambitious goal of …

Design And Experiment Of A Sun-Powered Smart Building Envelope With Automatic Control, Qiliang Lin, Yanchu Zhang, Arnaud Van Mieghem, Yi-Chung Chen, Nanfang Yu, Yuan Yang, Huiming Yin

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research

A novel sun-powered smart window blind (SPSWB) system has been designed and developed for the smart control of building envelopes to achieve the optimal internal comfort with minimum energy expenditure. Its self-powered sensing, controlling, and actuation significantly simplify the installation and maintenance of the system. The energy is harvested by the attached thin-film photovoltaic cells, after which it is voltage-regulated for the permanent storage into a rechargeable battery with 55% energy efficiency. The excessive heat absorbed by the solar cells is dissipated by a PVdF-HFP porous coating with more than 9% temperature reduction. The smart control of the energy harvesting …

Photovoltaic Systems On Dairy Farms: Financial And Renewable Multi-Objective Optimization (Farmoo) Analysis, Michael Breen, J. Upton, Michael D. Murphy

Publications

No abstract provided.

Neca Ghana Project, Michael T. Klee

Construction Management

Cal Poly’s motto is, “Learn by Doing" and for Cal Poly’s NECA Chapter, this isn’t simply a motto, but a directive for proactive change. For my senior project I will be leading the Cal Poly NECA chapter in the design, pre- fabrication and construction of a 5-7kw solar array, community center, ice production room and technology room in the remote fishing village of Agbokpa, Ghana. The solar array will power multiple industrial DC freezers, high efficiency LED lighting and charging stations while additionally powering water filtration and irrigation systems. Like many other fishing villages around the world, Agbokpa has no …

Analyzing Cost Effectiveness Of Photovoltaic Pavements, Ian N. Parks

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the largest consumer of energy within the Department of Defense (DoD). As such, the USAF is continually looking for ways to reduce consumption, as well improving network resiliency and assuring supply. One potential method for addressing these items is focusing on applications of renewable energy. A specific application of renewable energy that could greatly benefit the USAF if viable would be photovoltaic (PV) pavements. PV pavements would be able to capitalize upon the large swathes of pavements on Air Force (AF) installations, while not being hampered by other concerns such as clear zones …

Residential Thermal Storage And Cooling, Joao Marcelo Rocha Belmonte, Jacob Anderson, Andrew Clarke, Daphne Forester, Bianca Hardtke, Josh Hartman, Marc D. Compere

Sustainability Conference

No abstract provided.

Carbon-Based Interlayers In Perovskite Solar Cells, Aleksandr P. Litvin, Xiaoyu Zhang, Kevin Berwick, Anatoly V. Fedorov, Weitao Zheng, Alexander V. Baranov

Articles

Perovskites are solution-processed, high-performance semiconductors of interest in low-cost photovoltaics. The interfaces between the perovskite photoactive layers and the top and bottom contacts are crucial for efficient charge transport and minimizing trapping. Control of the collection of charge carriers at these interfaces is decisive to device performance. Here, we review recent progress in the realization of efficient perovskite solar cells using cheap, easily processed, stable, carbon-based interlayers. Interface materials including graphene, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, graphene quantum dots and carbon dots are introduced and their influence on device performance is discussed.

Fractional Order State Feedback Control For Improved Lateral Stability Of Semi-Autonomous Commercial Heavy Vehicles, Rasheed Mazen Abdulkader

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the growing development of autonomous and semi-autonomous large commercial heavy vehicles, the lateral stability control of articulated vehicles have caught the attention of researchers recently. Active vehicle front steering (AFS) can enhance the handling performance and stability of articulated vehicles for an emergency highway maneuver scenario. However, with large vehicles such tractor-trailers, the system becomes more complex to control and there is an increased occurrence of instabilities. This research investigates a new control scheme based on fractional calculus as a technique that ensures lateral stability of articulated large heavy vehicles during evasive highway maneuvering scenarios. The control method is …

Smart Charging Of Future Electric Vehicles Using Roadway Infrastructure, Sara Ahmed, Ethan Ahn, Mahmoud Reda Taha, Samer Dessouky, Moneeb Genedy, Daniel Fernandez, Ann Sebestian, Patience Raby

Data

Corresponding data set for Tran-SET Project No. 18ITSTSA03. Abstract of the final report is stated below for reference:

"Inspired by the fact that there is an immense amount of renewable energy sources available on the roadways such as mechanical pressure and frictional heat, this study presented the development and implementation of an innovative charging technique for future electric vehicles (EVs) by fully utilizing the existing roadways and the state-of-the-art nanotechnology and power electronics. The project introduced a novel wireless charging system, SIC (Smart Illuminative Charging), that uses LEDs powered by piezoelectric nanomaterials as the energy transmitter source and thin film …