Power and Energy Commons^™

Energy Sources And The Production Of Electricity In The United States, David Manukjan

Honors College Theses

The current sources of energy that the United States uses to produce electricity are costly, extremely damaging to the environment, and cause us to rely on other countries for our energy needs. The Obama Administration has begun working on replacing coal and oil with cleaner sources of energy. Over the last decade, alternative energy sources have been slowly gaining popularity as the American public learns more about climate change. However, the U.S. government will not use renewable energy as a complete substitute for fossil fuels in the immediate future because of their higher market price. The world is struggling to …

Modeling And Analysis Of A Photovoltaic System With A Distributed Energy Storage System, Anthony Winston Ma

Master's Theses

As California continues to integrate more renewable energy into its electrical system, the state has experienced a corresponding rise in photovoltaic system installations. PV arrays are a unique source of power generation in that they are affected by the location of the sun, shading, and temperature changes. These characteristics make solar one of the most highly variable forms of renewable energy. In order to improve solar power’s consistency, PV systems require a supplemental source of power. The primary focus of this paper is to determine if distributed energy storage systems can be used to reduce the effect of solar intermittency. …

Monitoring And Regression Based Modelling Of End Winding Vibration In Large Synchronous Generators., David Shally

Masters

This research project was set up to monitor, on an ongoing basis, the condition of the end windings and their support structures of a 288 MVA 2-pole synchronous generator with a known end winding vibration problem Excessive vibration at the end windings was caused by the natural frequencies of individual end bars (local) and of the entire end winding structure (global) being at or close to the magnetic forcing frequency of 100 Hz. Resonant vibration such as this has been a cause of major failures in machines of the same type in the past, resulting in significant down time ranging …

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 …

Wireless Energy Monitoring System, Federico Alejandro Foglia

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Monitoring, controlling, and managing the energy usage in houses or buildings are tasks that not many electric power companies can do with the exception of a few. This sort of operations may be important to households who want to monitor and possibly even control and manage their own electrical energy usage. For this thesis, an open source Wireless Energy Monitoring System was implemented, primarily based on the OpenEnergyMonitor project. The goal of this thesis is to provide a very simple, scalable, and reliable monitoring system that is capable of reading current and voltage from any electrical panel of any building. …

A Robust Decentralized Load Frequency Controller For Interconnected Power Systems, Lili Dong, Yao Zhang, Zhiqiang Gao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A novel design of a robust decentralized load frequency control (LFC) algorithm is proposed for an inter-connected three-area power system, for the purpose of regulating area control error (ACE) in the presence of system uncertainties and external disturbances. The design is based on the concept of active disturbance rejection control (ADRC). Estimating and mitigating the total effect of various uncertainties in real time, ADRC is particularly effective against a wide range of parameter variations, model uncertainties, and large disturbances. Furthermore, with only two tuning parameters, the controller provides a simple and easy-to-use solution to complex engineering problems in practice. Here, …

Efficiency Performance Improvement Using Parallel Dc-Dc Converters With A Digital Controller, Daniel Forbes

Master's Theses

A system to improve efficiency performance of a DC-DC converter is simulated and built. The proposed system combines multiple DC-DC converters in parallel and implements a digital control scheme and load-share controller. A model of the system is developed in MATLAB Simulink and the model demonstrates the improved converter’s efficiency particularly at low load conditions. This simulation is then designed into a hardware system running three DC-DC converters in parallel, controlled by a microcontroller and a load-share controller. The hardware also confirms the simulation results, although some hardware refinements are evident as simulation results are superior. The system is designed …

Dynamic Modelling Of Single Phase Grid Connected Photovoltaic System, Gopi Krishna Ari

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) power systems have been sustaining an exponential growth rate during the past decade. This steep growth is driven by a growing concern about climate change, the adoption of an aggressive regional renewable portfolio standard, rebates and tax incentives, and reduction in PV system cost. One of the main technical barriers that can ultimately limit further PV penetration is the fast variations in the PV system's output power induced by cloud transients. Such events are known to cause voltage fluctuations which may lead to excessive operations of voltage regulation equipment and light flickering.

Solar irradiance variability, which can …

Electrochemical Preparation Of Nanostructural Pt-Ni And Pd-Ni Films For Ethanol Electro-Oxidation, Chen-Zhong Yao, Hui-Xuan Ma, Bo-Hui Wei

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Pt-Ni and Pd-Ni films were successfully prepared on Ti substrates by electrodeposition method. The porous Pt-Ni nanoflakes appeared to be uniform with the thickness of the slices about 10 ~ 20 nm. The porous Pd-Ni nanoparticles with a flower shape appeared to be uniform with the diameters of 50 ~ 60 nm. The XRD patterns also indicated that the Pd-Ni and Pt-Ni nanostructures have the poor crystallinity. The onset potentials of ethanol oxidation were negatively shifted to –0.74 V on Pt-Ni electrodes and –0.71 V on Pd-Ni electrodes, respectively. Addition of Ni could enhance catalytic activities and antitoxic properties …

Ethanol Electrooxidation On Pt/Mo2/Cnts Catalysts, Yu-Long Cheng, Jie Sun, Ji-Gang Li, Li-Gong Zhang, Tian Zhou, Geng Chang, Zhong-Chao Dong

Journal of Electrochemistry

The ethanol electrooxidation behaviors on Pt/MO₂/CNTs（M=Sn, Ti, Ce）and Pt/CNTs catalysts in H₂SO₄ solutions were researched by cyclic voltammetry. It has revealed that the catalysts with the addition of metal oxides presented higher electrooxidation activity for ethanol, in particular, the Pt/CeO₂/CNTs catalyst showed the best activity for ethanol electrooxidation intermediate. The Pt/SnO₂/CNTs catalyst demonstrated the best ethanol electrooxidation activity when considering the synthetic effects of such parameters as the onset oxidation potential, peak current densities and total oxidation area.

Preparation And Electrochemical Performance Of Mo-Doped Li3V2(Po4)3/C Cathode Materials, Zhi-Yuan Tang, Wei Yuan, Ji Yan, Wen-Feng Mao, Li Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

The molybdenum-doped Li₃V_2-xMo_x(PO₄)_3/C (x = 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03) cathode materials were prepared with a sol-gel method by using Li₂CO₃, NH₄H₂PO₄, V₂O₅ and MoO₃ as raw materials, and citric acid as both chelating reagent and carbon source. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses showed that the crystal structure of as-prepared samples is monoclinic with space group P2₁/n. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations indicated the uniform morphology for Li₃Mo_0.02V_1.98(PO₄) …

Synthesis And Electrochemical Properties Of Lifeso4F/Graphene Composite As Cathode Material For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Wei Guo, Ya-Xia Yin, Li-Jun Wan, Yu-Guo Guo

Journal of Electrochemistry

The LiFeSO₄F was successfully synthesized from the reactions of FeSO₄∙xH₂O (x=1, 4, 7) with LiF in tetraethylene glycol media through a facile low temperature method. The structures and microscopic features of the products were characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM. TGA result shows the good thermal stability of the as-prepared LiFeSO₄F. No diffraction peaks of the FeSO₄ are observed in the as-prepared products with the starting material of either FeSO₄∙4H₂O or FeSO₄∙7H₂O, which should be ascribed to delaying the release of H_{2 …}

Catalytic Activities Of Electrochemically Dealloyed Pt(Pd)-Cu Catalysts For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Rui-Zhi Yang, Strasser Peter, Toney Michael

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochemically dealloyed Pt(Pd)-Cu catalysts were prepared by electrochemical dealloying of Cu₃Pt(Pd) and their catalytic activities toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were studied in 0.1 mol·L^-1 HClO₄ . solutions. The structural features of the dealloyed Pt(Pd)-Cu were revealed by synchrotron-based anomalous X-ray diffraction (AXRD) and surface X-ray scattering (SXS) at an atomic scale. We established a relationship between the structure and the catalytic activity by comparing the ORR activity and the structure of dealloyed Cu₃Pt nanoparticles with similarly dealloyed Cu₃Pt thin films and Cu₃Pt(111). The enhancement in the activity of …

Electrocatalytic Oxidation Of Ethanol On Ni-P-Tio2 Composite Coating Electrodes, Guang-Hui Hu, Hai-Xia Zeng, Zhi-Gang Wei, Zhan-Chang Pan, Shu-Guang Xie, Yan-Di Zou

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Ni-P-TiO₂ composite coating electrodes with different contents of TiO₂ particulates were prepared by electroless plating technique from Ni-P plating bath containing TiO₂ powders on brass. Cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to test the electrochemical performance of Ni-P-TiO₂/Cu electrodes. It was indicated that the Ni-P-TiO₂/Cu electrodes exhibited very strong electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of ethanol in alkaline medium at ambient temperature. The electrocatalytic activity of ethanol oxidation on the Ni-P-TiO₂ electrodes depended on the amounts of TiO₂ in the coatings. The …

NaXMYFe(Cn)6(M=Fe, Co, Ni): A New Class Of Cathode Materials For Sodium Ion Batteries, Jiang-Feng Qian, Min Zhou, Yu-Liang Cao, Han-Xi Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Three types of Prussian blue compounds, Na_xM_yFe(CN)₆ (M = Fe, Co, Ni), were prepared simply by solution precipitation method and tested as cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. X-ray diffraction and SEM measurements demonstrated that the prepared materials, namely, NaFeFe(CN)₆, Na₂CoFe(CN)₆, and Na₂NiFe(CN)₆, exhibited a perfect cubic structure with a particle size of several tens nanometers. Cyclic voltammetric and galvanostatic cycling tests revealed very different electrochemical behaviors of these three materials. The specific capacities of NaFeFe(CN)₆ and Na₂CoFe(CN)₆ could reach 113 mAh·g …

Synthesis Of Lini0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 For Lithium Ion Batteries And The Mechanism Of Capacity Fading At High Temperature, Wen Liu, Miao Wang, Ji-Tao Chen, Xin-Xiang Zhang, Heng-Hui Zhou

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Ni-rich cathode materials, LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂, have been synthesized by Co-precipitation and high-temperature solid-phase sintering method. Constant current charge-discharge tests showed high discharge capacity of 179.2 mAh·g^-1 in the 3.0~4.4 V at 0.2C. However, at 55 °C the LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂ experienced the dramatic capacity fading after 100 charge-discharge cycles. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Atomic Emission Spectroscopy have been employed to study the capacity fading mechanism of LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂ cycled at high temperature in range of high-voltage charge and …

Electrochemical Performances Of Carbon-Coated Na2Ti6O13 Nanotubes, Guo-Ran Li, Shuai Sun, Xue-Ping Gao

Journal of Electrochemistry

With rutile TiO₂ and NaOH as starting materials, the Na₂Ti₆O₁₃ nanotubes were prepared by a hydrothermal reaction. The carbon-coated Na₂Ti₆O₁₃ nanotubes were obtained by treating the Na₂Ti₆O₁₃ nanotubes for 4 h in glucose aqueous solutions containing 0.1 mol·L^-1 NaOH. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microcopy (TEM). The results showed that the dimensions of carbon-coated Na₂Ti₆O₁₃ nanotubes were 14 ~ 19 nm of outer diameter, 2 ~ 5 …

Synthesis And Electrochemical Properties Of Yttrium-Doped Lini0.49Mn1.49Y0.02O4, Xian-Wen Zhang, Zheng-Xi Zhang, Li Yang, Shao-Hua Fang, Long Qu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The LiNi_0.49Mn_1.49Y_0.02O₄ cathode material was synthesized using the citric acid-assisted sol-gel method by partial substitutions of Ni and Mn with Y in the LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ material. The influences of Y doping on the structure and electrochemical properties were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge tests and AC impedance spectroscopy. The results showed that the introduction of Y into the LiNi_0.5Mn_1.5O₄ greatly improved the cycle performance and rate capability. When the charge and discharge current was 1 C in the potential …

Template-Free Synthesis Of Porous Nio Hierarchical Structure For High Performance Supercapacitors, Yun Huang, Zhong Wu, Xin-Bo Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

A facile and template-free hydrothermal method is proposed to successfully synthesize porous NiO hierarchical structure, which is found to be assembled from ultrathin NiO nanosheets. As for electrochemical pseudocapacitor application, the obtained material exhibits not only high specific capacitances of 435 F·g^-1 at 20 mV·s^-1 and 367 F·g^-1 at 10 A·g^-1, but also holds a good electrochemical stability over 1000 cycles at a current rate of 20 mV·s^-1. These results suggest that the hierarchical structured porous NiO is a promising supercapacitor electrode material.

Electrochemical Reduction Of Co2 On Sn/Cu Electrodes, Chen-Chen Zhao, Jian-Wei Guo, Li Wang, Xiang-Ming He, Cheng Wang, Zhi-Xiang Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Sn/Cu electrodes were prepared by electroplating method and their morphologies under different galvanization current densities were determined by SEM. In alkali, the effects of Sn/Cu electrodes on the activities towards hydrogen evolution and electrochemical reduction of CO₂ were investigated in alkaline solutions using a three-electrode system. These results indicated that the Sn/Cu electrodes prepared at 10 mA/cm² and 15 mA/cm² showed good activities, while that prepared at 15 mA/cm² was even better in activities. The synergetic structure of the Sn/Cu electrode to be beneficial to electrochemical reduction of CO₂ has been pointed out.

Electrochemical Properties Of The Keggin-Type Lacunary Heteropolysilicate Anion And Its Eectrocatalysis For H2O2 Reduction, Xi-Long Liu, Chun-Yan Wu, Fang Zhou, Hong-Sheng Liu, Ying-Jie Hua, Chong-Tai Wang, Xiao-Yang Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

Electrochemical properties of the Keggin-type lacunary heteropolysilicate anion SiW₁₁O₃₉^8- (SiW₁₁) and its indirect electrocatalysis for H₂O₂ reduction in the supporting electrolyte containing 0.1 mol·L^-1 NaHSO₄ and Na₂SO₄ solutions were investigated using cyclic voltammetry, square wave voltammetry and alternating current impedance spectroscopy. Experimental results indicated that SiW₁₁ showed two pairs of reversible redox waves on the glassy carbon (GC) electrode in an acidic solution. The electron transfer number corresponding to the two pairs of waves was one, and the proton transfer number involved was two during …

Buffering Pv Output During Cloud Transients With Energy Storage, Yacouba Moumouni

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

The Problem

• Photovoltaic output power can be affected by many factors including clouds passing overhead.

• Utilities in generally prefer a guaranteed power delivery level over some specified power delivery period.

• Power delivered during peak demand hours is generally more valued by utilities. For the Desert Southwest this is in the summertime afternoons. For the local area this will be defined as 1-5 pm for the three summer months.

• While battery power can be adapted to this problem, large batteries to be expensive.

Energy Consumption In Large Wastewater Treatment Plants As A Function Of Wastewater Strength, Timothy Newell, Jacimaria R. Batista, Sajjad Ahmad, Walter Johnson

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

Wastewater treatment (WWT) is an energy-intensive process. Strict standards for discharge often require energy intensive advanced treatment technologies. As a result, the number of plants using advanced treatment has increased (Figure 1).

Rising energy costs and concerns about greenhouse gas generation present a major incentive for tracking energy usage of WWT. Energy usage in plant, for instance, typically represents 18 to 30% of the operational budget.

Water efficient fixtures are also increasing loadings of organic matter to plants while lowering or maintaining overall liquid flow. The increased loadings have a significant impact on energy consumption.

Previous work has focused primarily …

Thermal Conductivity Measurement With 3Ω Method Background And Synopsis Of Its Implementation, Fiifi Blankson

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

ABSTRACT

Continued advances in nanostructured materials have made it necessary to develop materials with specific thermoelectric properties. The 3ω Method provides an accurate measurement of one such property, thermal conductivity. It will be used in this research to find high electrical conductivity alloys with low thermal conductivity.

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 …

Smart Home Prototype, Logistics & Planning, David G. Guzman^, Virgilio Gonzalez*

COURI Symposium Abstracts, Spring 2012

No abstract provided.

Schuyler County Resident's Attitudes Towards Growth Management Policies In The Time Of Natural Gas And Other Energy Developments, Sebastian Lippez-De Castro

MPA Capstone Projects 2006 - 2015

As the Wind farms industry grows in the region and the State of New York decides whether to allow natural gas drilling by using hydrofracking, these energy industries could create challenges in Schuyler County. As a result, local government officials need to know the opinions of their residents in order to propose and adopt regulations that not only enhance their ability to address the challenges created by the aforementioned industries but also reflect the interests of the community.

Patent Analysis For Smart Grid Development In The U.S, Abrahim Abdulsater, Bahareh Saatchi, Farshad Madani

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

By increasing demand for energy among nations the rate of fossil fuel consumption is boosting. The raise of fossil fuel consumption has motivated nations to gain some capabilities for the purpose of dealing with some consequences; the more fossil fuel consumption, the higher price for energy, and the higher rate of GHG as well. Recently smart grid technology has been introduced as a healing approach in terms of using energy more efficiently. This study made an effort to have some discussions around smart grid technology development in the United States by patent analysis and forecasting. The outcomes in both technology …

Multi-Term Approximation To The Boltzmann Transport Equation For Electron Energy Distribution Functions In Nitrogen, Yue Feng

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Plasma is currently a hot topic and it has many significant applications due to its composition of both positively and negatively charged particles. The energy distribution function is important in plasma science since it characterizes the ability of the plasma to affect chemical reactions, affect physical outcomes, and drive various applications. The Boltzmann Transport Equation is an important kinetic equation that provides an accurate basis for characterizing the distribution function—both in energy and space.

This dissertation research proposes a multi-term approximation to solve the Boltzmann Transport Equation by treating the relaxation process using an expansion of the electron distribution function …

Investigation Of New Hampshire Hydropower Potential, Maxwell Murray

Honors Theses and Capstones

The popularity of green and renewable energy has risen sharply in recent years, and hydropower has consistently been the most common form of renewable energy in both the US and the state of New Hampshire. As a result of this strong green movement, government organizations have seen increased pressure to produce figures to the public detailing the amount of hydropower potentially available in the country. Often these figures will depict very attractive numbers for the untapped hydropower potential in the country, yet the data do not seem realistic to anyone familiar with hydropower generation. This paper will attempt to de-rate …