Power and Energy Commons^™

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.

Radiation Effects On Space Solar Cells At Various Earth And Jupiter Orbital Altitudes, Naazneen Rana

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Solar cells are used as the primary power source for earth-orbiting satellites and as a primary/secondary power source for various missions within the solar system. However, high energy particles from the sun, planetary magnetospheres, and the galaxy can affect the performance and life expectancy of the space solar cell and associated power systems. As the interests for interplanetary travel and the exploration of planets within our solar system increase, the need to understand a device’s performance within a particular planet’s environment is necessary. Therefore, this study will analyze the performance of space solar cells, particularly the SolAero IMM-α, at various …

Real Work With Real Consequences: Enlisting Community Energy Engineering As An Approach To Envisioning Engineering In Context, Michelle E. Jordan, Steve Zuiker, Wendy Wakefield, Mia Delarosa

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

This study describes an illustrative case study from a year-round program that positions middle and high school youth to explore the social value of energy systems in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods. Designed to center existing youth assets, interests and values, Community Energy Engineering (CEE) frames engineering as a tool that students can enlist in order to understand and interrogate their local socio-energy system while also acting to transform it. CEE partners with Title 1 schools in Latino/a neighborhoods in the U.S. southwest. CEE situates youth community-based solar energy innovation projects as consequential, evolving in and with historically contingent engineering …

On-Site And External Energy Harvesting In Underground Wireless, Usman Raza, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

Energy efficiency is vital for uninterrupted long-term operation of wireless underground communication nodes in the field of decision agriculture. In this paper, energy harvesting and wireless power transfer techniques are discussed with applications in underground wireless communications (UWC). Various external wireless power transfer techniques are explored. Moreover, key energy harvesting technologies are presented that utilize available energy sources in the field such as vibration, solar, and wind. In this regard, the Electromagnetic(EM)- and Magnetic Induction(MI)-based approaches are explained. Furthermore, the vibration-based energy harvesting models are reviewed as well. These energy harvesting approaches lead to design of an efficient wireless underground …

Design Of Dc-Link Vscf Ac Electrical Power System For The Embraer 190/195 Aircraft, Eduardo Francis Carvalho Freitas, Nihad E. Daidzic

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

A proposed novel DC-Link VSCF AC-DC-AC electrical power system converter for Embraer 190/195 transport category airplane is presented. The proposed converter could replace the existing conventional system based on the CSCF IDGs. Several contemporary production airplanes already have VSCF as a major or backup source of electrical power. Problems existed with the older VSCF systems in the past; however, the switched power electronics and digital controllers have matured and can be now, in our opinion, safely integrated and replace existing constant-speed hydraulic transmissions powering CSCF AC generators. IGBT power transistors for medium-level power conversion and relatively fast efficient switching are …

Radcool: A Web-Enabled Simulation Tool For Radiative Cooling, Yu-Wen Lin, Evan L. Schlenker, Zhiguang Zhou, Peter Bermel

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems can generate electricity from high-temperature heat sources via thermal radiation. However, the intense heating of a photovoltaic (PV) cell can greatly reduce the overall efficiency of the system. Therefore, it is critical to develop techniques to keep the PV cells close to ambient temperature without consuming energy. Radiative cooling is a passive technique that dissipates heat into remote space via thermal radiation. A simulation tool to predict the performance of radiative cooling systems would be particularly helpful in designing new experiments. The current TPV model simulation tool, TPVexpt, can calculate the theoretical performance of the TPV system. …

Carbon Removal And Optoelectronic Property Tuning In Copper Arsenic Sulfide Thin Films Through Ligand Exchange And Alloying, Louis R. Schroeder, Scott Mcclary, Rakesh Agrawal

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Solution processed thin film solar cells are attractive alternatives to conventional energy sources due to low waste generation, flexibility in substrate choice, and scalability. The novel semiconductor Cu3AsS4 in the enargite phase has a near ideal band gap of 1.4 eV and has earth abundant constituent elements; yet single-junction solar cells have yielded low efficiencies due to a secondary carbonaceous phase present, among other issues. This carbonaceous phase may be eliminated by exchanging the carbonaceous ligands with molecular metal chalcogenides. To characterize the ligand exchanged particles, UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and …

Thermal Characterization Of Magnetic Components, Jiazhou Zhong, Veda Samhitha Duppalli, Scott D. Sudhoff Professor

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Thermal limits are crucial constraints in the design of power magnetic components. As the power density of magnetic components continues to increase, cooling becomes more critical. Our research focuses on solving for the amount of cooling needed for a particular magnetic component. During the research process, a low-velocity wind tunnel designed and built from the ground up is used to form uniform and controlled conditions for the test components. Thermal Equivalent Circuit (TEC) and parameter identification techniques are used in conjunction to yield temperature distribution results. The expected result is temperature data on various areas of the component under different …

Large Scale Monolithic Solar Panel Simulation - A Study On Partial Shading Degradation, Suhas V. Baddela, Xingshu Sun, Muhammad A. Alam

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Shadow-induced degradation is a major concern for both power output and long-term reliability in solar cells. Apart from the obvious fact that shading reduces the amount of solar irradiance available to solar panels, it may lead to formation of hot spots, where solar cells are forced to reverse breakdown with localized heating, and potentially, permanent damage. To get a better understanding of shadow-induced degradation, we develop an electro-thermal coupled simulator that can self-consistently solve the electrical and thermal distributions of solar panel under arbitrary shading conditions. The simulation framework consists of two part: a) compact models that can describe the …

Mixed Mesh/Nodal Magnetic Equivalent Circuit Modeling Of A Six-Phase Claw-Pole Automotive Alternator, Daniel C. Horvath

Open Access Theses

Magnetic equivalent circuits (MECs) have been employed by many researchers to model the relationship between magnetic flux and current in electromagnetic systems such as electric machines, transformers and inductors [1] ,[2]. Magnetic circuits are analogous to electric circuits where voltage, current, resistance and conductance are the respective counterparts of magneto-motive force (MMF), magnetic flux, reluctance and permeance. The solution of MECs can be accomplished with the plethora of techniques developed for electrical circuit analysis. Specifically, mesh analysis, based on Kirchoff’s Voltage Law (KVL), and nodal analysis, based on Kirchoffs Current Law (KCL), are two very common solution techniques. Once an …

Capacity Optimization Of Battery-Generator Hybrid Power System: Toward Minimizing Maintenance Cost In Expeditionary Basecamp/Operational Energy Applications, Jude C. Onwuanumkpe

Open Access Theses

Low and transient load condition are known to have deleterious impact on the efficiency and health of diesel generators (DGs). Extensive operation under such loads reduces fuel consumption and energy conversion efficiency, and contribute to diesel engine degradation, damage, or catastrophic failure. Non-ideal loads are prevalent in expeditionary base camps that support contingency operations in austere environments or remote locations where grid electricity is either non-existent or inaccessible. The impact of such loads on DGs exacerbates already overburdened basecamp energy logistics requirements. There is a need, therefore, to eliminate or prevent the occurrence of non-ideal loads. Although advances in diesel …

Temperature Dependence Of Electrical Performance Of Tritium Sourced Betavoltaic Cells, Darrell S. Cheu, Tom Adams, Shripad Revankar

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

There is an increasing need for devices that can be powered for extended periods of time where it is impossible for maintenance or replacement, such as pacemakers, long term space flight or undisturbed sensors for military use. Since 1971, most devices run off a Lithium-Iodide battery, which gives a high amount of power but could only last approximately 2 to 5 years, requiring frequent replacement. However, replacement is unnecessary for betavoltaic cells as they can last at least 20 years. Commercially available tritium betavoltaic cells provided by City Labs Inc. were tested at a temperature range of -50°C to 150°C …

Simulation Design For Photovoltaics Using Finite Difference Time Domain And Quadratic Complex Rational Function Methods, Jacob R. Duritsch, Haejun Chung, Peter Bermel

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Photovoltaics (PV) can in principle supply enough renewable energy to offset a great deal of fossil fuel usage. To achieve this transition, it is critical to develop improved PV cells with decreased material costs and improved efficiencies. This goal can be greatly facilitated by a tool simulating the absorption and efficiency of experimentally relevant 3-D PV designs made of realistic materials, including those that have not yet been discovered. By incorporating the quadratic complex rational function algorithm (QCRF) with the finite difference time domain methods (FDTD), simulations can include frequency response and optical properties, while allowing full customization of tandem …

Wireless Power Transfer To A Small, Remote Control Boat, Mark M. Oscai, Michael D. Sinanis, Abbas Semnani, Dimitrios Peroulis

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Over the past few decades, researchers have explored and implemented methods of wireless power transmission to operate devices that traditionally have been powered using plug-in power supplies and batteries. It is with this objective in mind that we built a boat, which is powered wirelessly from a field of harvestable energy. This project sought to develop a wirelessly powered remote control boat to be a proof of concept for the idea of wireless power transfer. Our criteria for success is that the boat should receive sufficient power to run anywhere in a 2.5 meter squared area. Having defined the field …

Polymer-Based Thermoelectric Devices, Stuart W. Hilsmier, Edward P. Tomlinson, Bryan Boudouris

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Currently, over 50% of all energy generated in the US is lost as waste heat, and thermoelectric generators offer a promising means to recoup some of this energy, if their efficiency is improved. While organic thermoelectric materials lack the efficiency of their inorganic counterparts, they are composed of highly abundant resources and have low temperature processing conditions. Recently, a new class of redox-active polymers, radical polymers, has exhibited high electrical conductivity in an entirely amorphous medium. In addition, these radical polymers have a simple synthetic scheme and can be highly tunable to provide desired electrical properties. In this study, the …

Solar-Combined Thermoelectric Power Generation Simulator, Hemanth Mullangi Chenchu, Kazuaki Yazawa, Je-Hyeong Bahk

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Photovoltaic (PV) devices are gaining popularity in harnessing solar energy as a form of sustainable energy source to generate electricity. However, these devices including tandem PV cells are limited to utilizing only high energy photons from the solar spectrum. This curtails their efficiency restricting them from being employed in mega Watts scale power generation. This study develops a software tool that allows engineers to tap into the wasted wavelengths of the spectrum by adding a thermoelectric (TE) module and a bottoming steam turbine cycle thus spreading the use of the spectrum. The tool allows investigating how power output and thus …

Radical Polymers As Anodic Charge Extraction Layers In Small Molecule Organic Photovoltaic Devices, Krystopher S. Jochem, Aditya G. Baradwaj, Bryan W. Boudouris

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices based on the copper (II) phthalocyanine(CuPc)/ fullerene(C₆₀) system are an innovative photovoltaic technology optimal for situations requiring low-cost, transparent, and flexible devices. Furthermore, the high degree of reproducibility of this system allows for the ready study of new OPV technologies. Here, we have used this system to elucidate systematic structure-property-performance relationships for a new OPV anode modifier. The addition of interfacial modifier materials between the organic CuPc/C₆₀ layers and the metallic anode drastically can improve efficiency. Radical polymers are a class of polymers with aliphatic backbones and pendent stabilized radical groups. Here, we …

Medical Applications Of Mrc, Kyle Thackston, Henry Mei, Pedro Irazoqui

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Consistent powering is a limiting reagent for many medical implants and sensors. Powering in-vivo devices in animal studies requires either transcutaneous wiring (limiting mobility and increasing the chance of infection) or an implanted battery (limited lifetime and limits size of device). Wireless power transfer (WPT) would be able to overcome these challenges and permit the use of more advanced implantable devices in a research setting. Magnetic resonance coupling (MRC), an advanced form of inductive charging, allows good transfer efficiencies over significant air gaps, but works best a specific location and frequency, limiting mobility in animal studies. Using band-pass filter theory, …

Synthesizing Bismuth Telluride Nanowires In A Large Scale And Investigating The Energy Filtering Effect By Blending Bismuth Telluride Nanowires And Silver Nanoparticle In Thermoelectrics, Henka Darsono, Haiyu Fang, Yue Wu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

More than 50% of the energy sources becomes “waste” energy generally dissipated to the atmosphere in the form of heat. Thermoelectric effect is a conversion of temperature difference to electric voltage and can be used to convert the wasted heat to useful work. Nanomaterials have great potentials in the field of thermoelectric effect since they have properties that can allow higher efficiency in converting this wasted heat to electricity as compared to bulk materials. The purpose of this project is to develop a method to synthesize bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃) nanowires on a large scale and incorporate …

Stanford Stratified Structure Solver (S4) Simulation Tool, Chang Liu, Xufeng Wang, Peter Bermel

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The Stanford Stratified Structure Solver (S4) developed in 2012 allows for fast, accurate prediction of optical propagation through complex 3D structures. However, there have been two key challenges preventing wider use to date: the use of a specialized control language, and the difficulty of incorporating realistic materials parameters. In this project, both concerns have been addressed. We have constructed a graphical user interface as an alternative, using the open-source Rappture platform on nanoHUB. This has been combined with a comprehensive materials database known as PhotonicsDB, which incorporates materials optical data drawn from carefully vetted sources. An Octave script file was …

Thread Based Battery For Low Power E-Textile Applications, Pranav Laxmanan, Girish Chitnis, Rahim Rahimi, Babak Ziaie

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Textile electronic systems, or e-textiles, are on the rise but their utility is limited by its power demand. Potential applications include point-of-care diagnostic systems that would enable medical monitoring at the site of care. A small, inexpensive, and easy to use battery would enhance the capabilities of e-textile. Here we propose a thread based battery that attempts to satisfy these requirements. The thread based battery uses chemistry similar to an alkaline battery. The fabrication process involves patterning of current collector (silver epoxy or carbon ink) followed by zinc electroplating and manganese dioxide deposition. Thread present in between these two electrodes …

2-Dimensional Personal Motion Energy Harvester For Low Power Electronics, Manuel Gutierrez, Sean Scott, Dimitrios Peroulis

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In a lab, it becomes crucial to have a way to monitor that lab workers aren’t exposed to too much radiation. Such a device that detects this should have an energy harvester so that batteries aren’t required. The need for an energy harvester that generates power from a user’s movements in 2 dimensions is needed. This energy harvester is needed to power a radiation monitor. An energy harvester that generates power based off movements in 2 dimensions was developed. The energy harvester was created through a series of prototypes. Each prototype was built from a CAD drawing and a stereolithography …

Fundamentals Of Pv Efficiency Interpreted By A Two-Level Model, Muhammad A. Alam, Mohammad Ryyan Khan

Birck and NCN Publications

We consider the physics of photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion in a two-level, atomic PV and explain the conditions for which the Carnot efficiency is reached and how it can be exceeded. The loss mechanisms—thermalization, angle entropy, and below-bandgap transmission—explain the gap between Carnot efficiency and the Shockley-Queisser limit. Techniques developed to reduce these losses (e.g., solar concentrators, tandem cells, etc.) are reinterpreted using a simple two-level model. Remarkably, this simple model captures the essence of PV operation and reproduces the key results and important insights that that have been previously obtained using more complicated derivations.

Assessing The Engineering Performance Of Affordable Net-Zero Energy Housing, Jordan P. Wallpe

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to evaluate affordable technologies that are capable of providing attractive, cost-effective energy savings to the housing industry. The research did so by investigating the 2011 Solar Decathlon competition, with additional insight from the Purdue INhome. Insight from the Purdue INhome verified the importance of using a three step design process to design a net-zero energy building. In addition, energy consumption values of the INhome were used to compare and contrast different systems used in other houses.

Evaluation of unbiased competition contests gave a better understanding of how a house can realistically reach net-zero. Upon …

Improving Manufacturing Processes Through Energy Monitoring, Andrew Grzelak

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

Energy efficiency and sustainability are very popular topics in the current field of manufacturing. With the increase in use of automation technology as well as the recent growth in the area of energy management, there is much focus on the overall improvement of manufacturing processes. For this research a project was completed to create a system that could improve both process efficiency as well as decrease energy consumption. By taking a look at the machine level energy consumption of an automated piece of manufacturing equipment, by eliminating waste in process, both energy efficiency and operational efficiency can be improved.

Using …

Can Morphology Tailoring Improve The Open Circuit Voltage Of Organic Solar Cells?, Biswajit Ray, M. S. Lundstrom, Muhammad A. Alam

Birck and NCN Publications

While the effect of interfacial morphology on the short circuit current (I_SC) of organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) is well known, its impact on open circuit voltage (V_OC) and fill-factor (FF) are less clear. Since the output power of a solar cell Pout = I_SCV_OCFF, such understanding is critical for designing high-performance, morphology-engineered OPVs. In this letter, we provide an explicit analytical proof that any effort to radically improve V_OC by tailoring bulk heterojunction morphology is futile, because any increase in ISC due to larger interface area is counterbalanced by corresponding increase …

Lithium-Based Battery System Management And Balancing, William Joel Schmidt Iii

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

This thesis builds upon previous work completed for the design and evaluation of active lithium battery system management. Simulations were performed to provide a comparison for the hardware that was designed, built, and tested. An analysis of the simulation and hardware results was completed to support or disprove the initial hypothesis. A DC-DC converter was used as the source for the balancing current. Lithium polymer batteries with a 5Ah capacity were used for testing the designed hardware. The findings showed that there is a reduction in the system voltage swing during balancing as well as less time taken to decrease …

Electric Motor & Power Source Selection For Small Aircraft Propulsion, Jeremy Fehrenbacher, David L. Stanley, Mary E. Johnson Dr., Jeffrey Honchell

Purdue Polytechnic Directed Projects

The research conducted in this project is on electrical propulsion in aviation. A Cessna 172K aircraft with a Lycoming O-320-E2D piston engine serves as a baseline measurement. Investigation of the components required for electrical flight is performed, and components are selected based on market availability and operational performance criteria.

This research focuses on electrical propulsion in the aviation industry, and is tailored to aircraft within the General Aviation sector leading to the following research question: Can current electric motor and battery technologies conceptually support flight operations for a Cessna 172K in terms of aircraft performance criteria?

The results explore the …

A Compact Physical Model For Morphology Induced Intrinsic Degradation Of Polymer Based Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cell, Biswajit Ray, Muhammad A. Alam

Birck and NCN Publications

The gradual loss of efficiency during field operation poses a fundamental challenge for economic viability of any solar cell technology. Well known examples include light-induced degradation in Si-based cell (Staebler-Wronski effect), Cu diffusion in thin film (CIGS) cell, hot-spot degradation in series connected modules, etc. Here we develop a compact model for an intrinsic degradation concern for bulk heterojunction type organic photovoltaic (BH-OPV) cells that involve continued (thermal) phase segregation of the donor-acceptor molecules leading to characteristic loss of efficiency and performance. Our approach interprets a number of BH-OPV device degradation measurements within a common framework and suggests/rationalizes intuitive routes …

Transients In Power Systems, M. Belkhayat, J. Edwards, N. Hoonchareon, O. Marte, D. Stenberg, E. Walters

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technical Reports

Power system engineering largely focuses on steady state analysis. The main areas of power system engineering are power flow studies and fault studies - both steady state technologies. But the world is largely transient, and power systems are always subject to time varying and short lived signals. This technical report concerns several important topics in transient analyses of power systems. The leading chapter deals with a new analytical tool-wavelets-for power system transients. Flicker and electric are furnace transients are discussed in Chapters I1 and IV. Chapter 111 deals with transients from shunt capacitor switching. The concluding chapters deal with transformer …