Energy Systems Commons^™

Dual-Axis Solar Tracker, Bryan Kennedy

All Undergraduate Projects

Renewable energies, and fuels that are not fossil fuel-based, are one of the prolific topics of debate in modern society. With climate change now becoming a primary focus for scientists and innovators of today, one of the areas for the largest amount of potential and growth is that of the capturing and utilization of Solar Energy. This method involves using a mechanical system to track the progression of the sun as it traverses the sky throughout the day. A dual-axis solar tracker such as the one designed and built for this project, can follow the sun both azimuthally and in …

Footsteps Power Generator, Faisal Alonazi, Mohammed Aljohani

All Undergraduate Projects

This project was motivated by the need for a device that would generate electricity from human motion, especially footsteps. Electricity is a very important resource in our daily life. There are numerous sources from which generate electrical energy. The major sources of energy include but are not limited to coal, natural gas, petroleum, and nuclear energy. Most of these sources have adverse effects on the environmental inclusion such as air pollution; for example, from coal energy generation plants which then cumulatively leads to effects such as increase in rates of global warming. This project seeks to establish an environmentally friendly …

R/C Mini Baja Car: Drive Train And Steering, Carlton R. Mcdonald

All Undergraduate Projects

The purpose of the Baja R/C Car is to compete in the ASME eFX competition in a series of events to prove the functionality of the vehicle. This series of events includes the Slalom, Drag, and Baja race, The Slalom is a test in the steering capability of the vehicle, the Drag is a test in the acceleration of the vehicle in a straight line, and the Baja puts all factors together in a race to test every component of the vehicle. This project is about building an R/C car that not only functions, but also has maximum performance capabilities …

The Potentials Of Faecal Sludge Treatment Using Local Conditioners In Tanzania: A Review, Doglas Benjamin1

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Worldwide, every day human beings generate millions of tons of Faecal Sludge (FS), which is rich in water, nutrients, energy, and organic compounds. Yet FS is not being managed in a way that permits us to derive value from its reuse, while at the same time, millions of farmers struggle with depleted soils and lack of water. In most of the developing countries, energy for cooking is mainly derived from cutting of trees, either as wood or charcoal. Resource recovery and reuse from FS can create livelihoods, enhance food security, support green economies, reduce waste and contribute to cost recovery …

Stair Climbing Hand Truck, James Mcpherson

All Undergraduate Projects

Abstract

Getting a heavy object up a flight of stairs usually requires a team of two or more people. Even with a team of people, the task is often still difficult, dangerous, and possibly insurmountable by one person. This problem is especially prevalent in for those who are moving into apartment complexes. Most apartment complexes have many buildings with two or more floors of living quarters, and elevators are often missing. This project sought to offer a solution to this problem. The solution in question; a motorized hand-truck with 2, trigonal planar pinwheels in place of the stock wheels. The …

Autojack - Hydraulic Powertrain System, Tyce Vu

All Undergraduate Projects

A primary problem for mechanics and automotive enthusiasts is the risk associated with lifting and securing a vehicle with conventional jack stands. Often times, improper jack-stand installation results in the vehicle collapsing unexpectedly, causing injury and/or death. This problem can be minimized through the application of a newly re-designed vehicle lifting system. The conventional method for lifting cars is time consuming and can be unsafe in many circumstances. A better, safer, and more efficient lift design was needed; the AutoJack. The approach of the AutoJack design was entirely focused on the safety of lifting a vehicle. Safety was improved by …

Ares Cleaning System, Andy Sagers, John Cunningham, Peter Greig, Jack Glynn

Mechanical Engineering

In this Final Design Review, the team outlines the general scope of the ARES Cleaning System project and the final design direction chosen and built. This team consists of a group of four mechanical engineering students who have been tasked with designing and manufacturing an autonomous ARES cleaning system to help their sponsor, Fracsun, better track soiling losses measured at large solar arrays. They designed, conceptualized, manufactured, and tested throughout the project as they looked to create a final, functioning product. In creating this Final Design Review, they have identified how the product will perform the desired functions and what …

Optimization And Comparison Of Over-Expanded And Other High Efficiency Four-Stroke Spark-Ignited Boosted Engines, Zhuyong Yang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Recent fuel economy and emission regulations are the major concern of the research and development of modern internal combustion engine. Such technologies include variable valve timing (VVT), direct injection (DI), turbocharging, downsizing, and over-expanded cycle are used by many manufacturers to improve engine fuel economy or increase power density.

Current Atkinson cycle technology in the production engine is mainly realized by an advanced valvetrain system to reduce the effective compression ratio while maintaining the same expansion ratio. Another approach to realize over-expanded cycle engine is to utilize a multi-link cranktrain mechanism. Although the Atkinson cycle was originally patented in the …

Low Temperature Desiccants In Atmospheric Water Generation., Sunil Gupta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Surging global water demand as well as changes to weather patterns and over exploitation of natural water sources, such as ground water, has made potable water a critical resource in many parts of the World already – one rapidly heading towards a crisis situation. Desalination has been adopted as a solution – this is however energy intensive and impractical for most of the developing countries - those most in need of water. A renewable source of energy is solar thermal and solar photovoltaic. A plentiful source of water is the humidity in the atmosphere. This research is to push the …

Exercise Machine Generator, Duane Harbick

All Undergraduate Projects

Exercise “spinning bikes” and bicycle training stands are common ways to maintain fitness and train for cycling. This exercise necessitates the user putting work into the machine by means of pedaling. In many instances the work put into exercise bikes and training stands is not taken advantage of. The objective of this project is an attempt to make use of some of the energy that a person would usually expend during exercise by building a generator that interfaces with multiple spinning bikes and training stands. It uses a synchronous pulley system to interface with the exercise machine and spin a …

Development Of A Dynamic Cfd Model For Offshore Oscillating Water Columns With Non-Linear Interactions, Ken O'Connell

Theses

This thesis focuses on the development of a state of the art modelling technique for offshore Oscillating Water Column (OWC) type Wave Energy Converters (WEC) using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Current literature indicates a limited amount of work has been completed on studying these devices containing non-linear time dependent flow phenomenon. Initially, a 2D Numerical Wave Tank (NWT) is studied to reduce discretisation error in order to reproduce accurately propagating waves. Further development into a 3D domain permits the geometrical requirements of an OWC type spar buoy to be included.

In parallel, a single Degree of Freedom (DOF) model is …

Development Of An Excel® Rocket Simulator For Application In Middle School, High-School, And University Stem Education, Melvin Lee Hortman

All Master's Theses

Water rocket activities are one of the most popular STEM activities used in primary, secondary, and higher education yet are void of engineering, though engineering is heavily implied in the STEM acronym. This study investigated the amount of engineering present in water rocket activities, and options for emphasizing engineering more in water rocket activities using an open-platform flight simulator for use by educators to enable students to predict flight parameters of a water rocket they designed, and test those predictions against experimental data. The simulator was constructed in Excel® with many functions, but the function validated in this study was …

Nfpa Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge, Ean H. Dickerhoof

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Every year the National Fluid Power Association hosts a Fluid Powered Vehicle Challenge, this exposes students from universities all around the United States to the power and possibilities of hydraulics. This year the University of Akron’s team of engineers set out to design a bicycle that would be competitive and innovative in all aspects of the competition. In order to accomplish this, the designed bicycle must excel in three categories of competition; a sprint race, an endurance race, and an efficiency challenge.

To accomplish this task the University of Akron’s team of engineers used a lightweight bicycle frame with many …

Power Maximization Of A Three-Phase Hydrokinetic Turbine, Matthew Carleson

Senior Theses

As Earth`s expendable resources dwindle, the need for alternative, renewable energy sources grows. Out of this need, an old favorite source is rising in popularity: small water turbines. Water-driven turbines first began as a means for turning mills and eventually evolved into massive dams that can power whole regions. This project focused on the construction of, and testing the properties of, a small pico-hydro power turbine. By using compressed air to drive the turbine, a representation of the peak power output was measured, serving as a basis for determining the value of pico-power systems in regards to the world`s current …

La0.7Sr0.3Fe0.7Ga0.3O3-Δ As Electrode Material For A Symmetrical Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Zhibin Yang, Yu Chen, Chao Jin, Guoliang Xiao, Minfang Han, Fanglin Chen

Faculty Publications

In this research, La_0.7Sr_0.3Fe_0.7Ga_0.3O_3−δ (LSFG) perovskite oxide was successfully prepared using a microwave-assisted combustion method, and employed as both anode and cathode in symmetrical solid oxide fuel cells. A maximum power density of 489 mW cm⁻² was achieved at 800 °C with wet H₂ as the fuel and ambient air as the oxidant in a single cell with the configuration LSFG|La_0.8Sr_0.2Ga_0.83Mg_0.17O_3−δ|LSFG. Furthermore, the cells demonstrated good stability in H₂ and acceptable sulfur tolerance.

La0.6Sr1.4Mno4+Δ Layered Perovskite Oxide: Enhanced Catalytic Activity For The Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Yarong Wang, Zhibin Yang, Fanliang Liu, Chao Jin, Jiao Wu, Ming Shen, Ruizhi Yang, Fanglin Chen

Faculty Publications

Efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a critical factor to influence the performance of lithium–oxygen batteries. In this study, La_0.6Sr_1.4MnO_4+δ layered perovskite oxide as a highly active electrocatalyst for the ORR has been prepared, and a carbon-coating layer with thickness <5 nm has been successfully introduced to enhance the electronic conductivity of the as-prepared oxide. XRD, XPS, Raman, SEM and TEM measurements were carried out to characterize the crystalline structure and morphology of these samples. Rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) technique has been used to study catalytic activities of the as-prepared catalysts for the ORR in 0.1 M KOH media. RRDE results reveal that carbon-coated La_0.6Sr_1.4MnO_4+δ exhibits better catalytic activity for the ORR. For the carbon-coated La_0.6Sr_1.4MnO_4+δ, the ORR proceeds predominately via a direct four electron process, and a maximum cathodic current density of 6.70 mA cm⁻² at 2500 rpm has been obtained, …

Direct Synthesis Of Methane From Co2-H2O Co-Electrolysis In Tubular Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells, Long Chen, Fanglin Chen, Changrong Xia

Faculty Publications

Directly converting CO₂ to hydrocarbons offers a potential route for carbon-neutral energy technologies. Here we report a novel design, integrating the high-temperature CO₂–H₂O co-electrolysis and low-temperature Fischer–Tropsch synthesis in a single tubular unit, for the direct synthesis of methane from CO₂ with a substantial yield of 11.84%.

Redox Stable Anodes For Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Guoliang Xiao, Fanglin Chen

Faculty Publications

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) can convert chemical energy from the fuel directly to electrical energy with high efficiency and fuel flexibility. Ni-based cermets have been the most widely adopted anode for SOFCs. However, the conventional Ni-based anode has low tolerance to sulfur-contamination, is vulnerable to deactivation by carbon build-up (coking) from direct oxidation of hydrocarbon fuels, and suffers volume instability upon redox cycling. Among these limitations, the redox instability of the anode is particularly important and has been intensively studied since the SOFC anode may experience redox cycling during fuel cell operations even with the ideal pure hydrogen as …

Investigation Of Boiling Performance Of Graphene-Coated Surfaces, Daniel C. Stack

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In this Capstone Project, I sought to investigate the boiling performance of graphene-coated surfaces. Boiling was accomplished in a pool boiling chamber, with samples of graphene-coating SiO₂ wafers. I developed a procedure for graphene transfer for sample fabrication. Samples were prepared with graphene grown on copper substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Graphene was transferred from copper substrates to SiO­₂ wafers by a thermal release transfer tape. Copper was etched away from the tape-graphene combination by ferric chloride, and the tape was peeled away after heating, leaving graphene on the SiO₂ substrate. Contact angles were measured to …

Influence Of Crystal Structure On The Electrochemical Performance Of A-Site-Deficient Sr1-SNb0.1Co0.9O3-Δ Perovskite Cathodes, Yinlong Zhu, Ye Lin, Xuan Shen, Jaka Sunarso, Wei Zhou, Shanshan Jiang, Dong Su, Fanglin Chen, Zongping Shao

Faculty Publications

The creation of A-site cation defects within a perovskite oxide can substantially alter the structure and properties of its stoichiometric analogue. In this work, we demonstrate that by vacating 2 and 5% of Asite cations from SrNb_0.1Co_0.9O_3-δ (SNC1.00) perovskites (Sr_1-sNb_0.1Co_0.9O_3-δ,s = 0.02 and 0.05; denoted as SNC0.98 and SNC0.95, respectively), a Jahn–Teller (JT) distortion with varying extents takes place, leading to the formation of a modified crystal lattice within a the perovskite framework. Electrical conductivity, electrochemical performance, chemical compatibility and microstructure of Sr_1-sNb_0.1Co …

Ni-Doped Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6-Δ As Anode Materials For Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Guoliang Xiao, Siwei Wang, Ye Lin, Zhibin Yang, Minfang Han, Fanglin Chen

Faculty Publications

10% Ni-doped Sr₂Fe_1.5Mo_0.5O_6-δ with A-site deficiency is prepared to induce in situ precipitation of B-site metals under anode conditions in solid oxide fuel cells. XRD, SEM and TEM results show that a significant amount of nano-sized Ni-Fe alloy metal phase has precipitated out from Sr_1.9Fe_1.4Ni_0.1Mo_0.5O_6-δ upon reduction at 800^◦C in H₂. The conductivity of the reduced composite reaches 29 S cm⁻¹ at 800^◦C in H₂. Furthermore, fuel cell performance of the composite anode Sr_{1.9 …}

An Applied Numerical Simulation Of Entrained-Flow Coal Gasification With Improved Sub-Models, Xijia Lu

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The United States holds the world's largest estimated reserves of coal and is also a net exporter of it. Coal gasification provides a cleaner way to utilize coal than directly burning it. Gasification is an incomplete oxidation process that converts various carbon-based feedstocks into clean synthetic gas (syngas), which can be used to produce electricity and mechanical power with significantly reduced emissions. Syngas can also be used as feedstock for making chemicals and various materials.

A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) scheme has been used to simulate the gasification process for many years. However, many sub-models still need to be developed …

Rebounder Fatigue Test Machine, Caroline Reeves, Will Robertson, Ethan Flory

Mechanical Engineering

JumpSport, a company that designs and sells trampolines and trampoline accessories, has sponsored this senior project team to design, build, and test a trampoline fatigue test machine. The machine must simulate a person jumping on the trampoline to test the life of JumpSport’s fitness trampolines and kids’ trampolines. Partway through the design process, the objectives were altered and this senior project team was tasked with merging with another Cal Poly senior project group to create an all-inclusive test machine to accommodate both full-trampoline testing and individual bungee cord testing.

The final design is centered on a slider crank linkage driven …

Static Balancing Of The Cal Poly Wind Turbine Rotor, Derek Simon

Master's Theses

The balancing of a wind turbine rotor is a crucial step affecting the machine’s performance, reliability, and safety, as it directly impacts the dynamic loads on the entire structure.

A rotor can be balanced either statically or dynamically. A method of rotor balancing was developed that achieves both the simplicity of static balancing and the accuracy of dynamic balancing. This method is best suited, but not limited, to hollow composite blades of any size. The method starts by quantifying the mass and center of gravity of each blade. A dynamic calculation is performed to determine the theoretical shaking force on …

Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6-Δ – Sm0.2Ce0.8O1.9 Composite Anodes For Intermediate-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Beibei He, Ling Zhao, Shuxiang Song, Tong Liu, Fanglin Chen, Changrong Xia

Faculty Publications

Sr₂Fe_1.5Mo_0.5O_6−δ (SFM) perovskite is carefully investigated as an anode material for solid oxide fuel cells with LaGaO₃-based electrolytes. Its electronic conductivity under anodic atmosphere is measured with four-probe method while its ionic conductivity is determined with oxygen permeation measurement. Samaria doped ceria (SDC) is incorporated into SFM electrode to improve the anodic performance. A strong relation is observed between SDC addition and polarization losses, suggesting that the internal SFM-SDC contacts are active for H₂ oxidation. The best electrode performance is achieved for the composite with 30 wt% SDC addition, resulting …

In Situ Synthesis Of Ultrafine Ss-Mno2/Polypyrrole Nanorod Composites For High-Performance Supercapacitors, Jianfeng Zang, Xiaodong Li

Faculty Publications

We report a remarkable observation that is at odds with the established notion that β-MnO₂ was regarded as an undesirable candidate for supercapacitor applications. The specific capacitance of β-MnO₂ can reach as high as 294 F g⁻¹, which is comparable to the best crystallographic structure, like α-MnO₂. The key is to substantially decrease the size of β-MnO₂ powders to ultra small regime. We demonstrate a facile, simple, and effective approach to synthesizing ultrafine (<10 nm in diameter) β-MnO₂/polypyrrole nanorod composite powders for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. Our observation may encourage a revisit of the other good …

Characteristics Of The Hydrogen Electrode In High Temperature Steam Electrolysis Process, Chao Jin, Chenghao Yang, Fanglin Chen

Faculty Publications

YSZ-electrolyte supported solid oxide electrolyzer cells (SOECs) using LSM-YSZ oxygen electrode but with three types of hydrogen electrode, Ni–SDC, Ni–YSZ and LSCM–YSZ have been fabricated and characterized under different steam contents in the feeding gas at 850°C. Electrochemical impedance spectra results show that cell resistances increase with the increase in steam concentrations under both open circuit voltage and electrolysis conditions, suggesting that electrolysis reaction becomes more difficult in high steam content. Pt reference electrode was applied to evaluate the contributions of the hydrogen electrode and oxygen electrode in the electrolysis process. Electrochemical impedance spectra and over potential of both electrodes …

A Generic Bamboo-Based Carbothermal Method For Preparing Carbide (Sic, B4C, Tic, Tac, Nbc, TiXNb1-XC, And TaX Nb1-XC) Nanowires, Xinyong Tao, Yiping Li, Jun Du, Yang Xia, Yingchao Yang, Hui Huang, Yongping Gan, Wenkui Zhang, Xiaodong Li

Faculty Publications

Finding a general procedure to produce a whole class of materials in a similar way is a desired goal of materials chemistry. In this work, we report a new bamboo-based carbothermal method to prepare nanowires of covalent carbides (SiC and B₄C) and interstitial carbides (TiC, TaC, NbC, Ti_xNb_1−xC, and Ta_xNb_1−xC). The use of natural nanoporous bamboo as both the renewable carbon source and the template for the formation of catalyst particles greatly simplifies the synthesis process. Based on the structural, morphological and elemental analysis, volatileoxides or halides assisted …

Design And Development Of Rapid Battery Exchange Systems For Electric Vehicles To Be Used As Efficient Student Transportation, Jonathan A. Bevier

Master's Theses

Rapid battery exchange systems were built for an electric van and pedal assist electric bike as a method of eliminating the need to recharge the vehicles batteries in order to increase the feasibility of using electric propulsion as a method of efficient student transportation. After selecting proper materials it was found that the systems would need a protective coating to ensure consistent operation. 1020 cold rolled steel samples coated with multiple thicknesses of vinyl resin paint, epoxy resin paint, and powder coating were subjected to environmental wear tests in order to determine if the type and thickness of common protective …

An On-Sun Parametric Study Of Solar Hydrogen Production Using Wo3 Photoanodes, Christopher K. Halford

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The solar production of hydrogen using photoactive electrodes is a topic receiving much attention in recent years. The use of thin metal oxide films as photoanodes allows the water splitting reaction to occur at a much lower applied voltage than would be necessary with a straight electrolysis process. Researchers have reported up to 18% solar to hydrogen efficiencies over short periods. The University of Nevada Las Vegas in conjunction with the UK based firm Hydrogen Solar have developed a prototype of this type of cell using a WO3 photoanode. An on-sun test facility has been constructed by the UNLV Center …