Energy Systems Commons^™

Optimization And Control Of Arrays Of Wave Energy Converters, Jianyang Lyu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Wave Energy Converter Array is a practical approach to harvest ocean wave energy. To leverage the potential of the WEC array in terms of energy extraction, it is essential to have a properly designed array configuration and control system. This thesis explores the optimal configuration of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) arrays and their optimal control. The optimization of the WEC array allows both dimensions of individual WECs as well as the array layout to varying. In the first optimization problem, cylindrical buoys are assumed in the array where their radii and drafts are optimization parameters. Genetic Algorithms are used for …

Paddle Mixer-Extrusion Reactor For Torrefaction And Pyrolysis, Stas Zinchik

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This work is focused on the fundamental understanding and the development of paddle mixer reactors (or modified screw augers). This work will contribute to the effort of the thermal conversion of biomass and wastes. We developed and studied two paddle systems (i) 25-mm lab-scale (up to 1 kg/hr) and (ii) 101-mm pilot-scale (up to 100 kg/hr). Thermal behavior of the two systems was studied and it was estimated that the lab-scale system has a high heating rate of up to 530 °C/s. Residence times were thoroughly measured and were determined as a function of rotation frequency and volume fraction. We …

Modeling Of Thermal Dynamics In Chevrolet Volt Gen Ii Hybrid Electric Vehicle For Integrated Powertrain And Hvac Optimal Operation Through Connectivity, Nehal Doshi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Integrated thermal energy management across system level components in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is currently an under explored space. The proliferation of connected vehicles and accompanying infrastructure in recent years provides additional motivation to explore opportunities in optimizing thermal energy management in EVs and HEVs with the help of this newly available connected vehicle data. This thesis aims to examine and analyze the potential to mitigate vehicle energy consumption and extend usable driving range through optimal control strategies which exploit physical system dynamics via controls integration of vehicle subsystems.

In this study, data-driven and physics-based models …

Networked Microgrid Optimization And Energy Management, Robert S. Jane

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Military vehicles possess attributes consistent with a microgrid, containing electrical energy generation, storage, government furnished equipment (GFE), and the ability to share these capabilities via interconnection. Many military vehicles have significant energy storage capacity to satisfy silent watch requirements, making them particularly well-suited to share their energy storage capabilities with stationary microgrids for more efficient energy management. Further, the energy generation capacity and the fuel consumption rate of the vehicles are comparable to standard diesel generators, for certain scenarios, the use of the vehicles could result in more efficient operation. Energy management of a microgrid is an open area of …

Pyrolysis Of Fiber-Plastic Waste Blends, Shreyas Kolapkar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The main objective of this work is to investigate fast pyrolysis of fiber and plastic feedstocks in order to understand the synergistic effect from their co-pyrolysis. In this on-going work, fiber, plastic and their blend are characterized and pyrolysis oil is produced from them in the fast batch pyrolysis reactor. Based on a heat transfer model it is shown that results of oil produced from batch reactor will be applicable to the continuous paddle reactor. From feedstock characterization, chlorine was observed particularly in the plastic feedstock. Thus, chlorine removal method using torrefaction and high shear mixing was implemented and was …

Modelling And Analysis Of Chevy Volt Gen Ii Hybrid Vehicle In Electric Mode, Kaushik Surresh

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The technical report discusses the high fidelity modelling of the powertrain of Chevy Volt Gen II Hybrid Vehicle in the Electric Mode. The overall objective of the powertrain model was to predict total energy consumed within 5% of experimental data for different drive cycles in Charge Depleting Mode. The following powertrain elements were modelled in Matlab and Simulink using parameters and performance maps provided by General Motors: battery, E-Motor, TPIM power electronics, transmission auxiliary pumps and spin losses.

An electric circuit based dynamic model of the Li-ion battery was developed. Static models of the E Motor, TPIM inverter, transmission auxiliary …

Investigation On The Potential Of A Co2 Capture System, Downstream Of The Aftertreatment System For A Heavy-Duty Engine Application, Murchana Pathak

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The transportation sector accounts for the second largest source of CO₂ emissions after power generation. New Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations are focusing on improving energy through reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This work investigates the potential of a CO₂ capture system downstream of an aftertreatment system for a heavy-duty engine application. Amine absorption has been described as one of the most effective ways to capture CO₂ from the exhaust for point sources. Therefore, using thermal-swing absorption process with potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) as the absorbent liquid, a process was analyzed …

The Interaction Of Ignition And In-Cylinder Flow On Flame Kernel Development And Its Impacts On Combustion In An Optically Accessible Direct Injection Engine, Yanyu Wang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A significant challenge facing spark-ignited (SI) engines to achieve higher efficiency via highly diluted combustion is the quickly increased combustion instability as the dilution level increases. The flow motion variation has been identified as a dominant factor that introduces combustion variability at highly diluted conditions. However, the detailed mechanism of how the variation in flow motion impacts the flame kernel development and introduces combustion instability is only partially understood. This research investigated the impacts of the in-cylinder flow on variability of the ignition and early flame kernel development in a single cylinder direct-injection spark-ignition (DI-SI) optically accessible engine and accessory …

Experimental And Modeling Study Of Particulate Matter Oxidation Under Loading Conditions For A Scr Catalyst On A Diesel Particulate Filter, Abhishek Jadav

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The heavy-duty diesel engines use a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC), a Catalyzed Particulate Filter (CPF), a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) with urea injection and a Ammonia Oxidation Catalyst (AMOX), to meet the US EPA 2010/2013 particulate matter (PM) and NO_x emission standards. However, it is not possible to achieve the 2015 California low NO_x standards with this arrangement. Hence, there is a need to improve the existing aftertreatment system. This can be achieved by coating the SCR catalyst on a diesel particulate filter (DPF), thus combining the PM filtration and NO_x reduction functionality into a single device. …

Physical Modeling Of Lithium-Ion Aging For Automotive Applications, Anurag Kamal

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis extends the full-scale electrochemical model for a Lithium-ion battery based on the porous electrode theory to incorporate aging mechanisms of solid electrolyte interface formation, cyclic electrode degradation, and lithium plating during overcharge, automotive vibrations, mechanical stress, and cell temperature, as reported in the existing literature. Further, the thesis presents the scope of the parameters used in the model to enable designers to extend the equations for new mechanisms and variability of other parameters.

An increased set of equations makes the complexity of the model even higher, and it would be very computationally complex to simulate this model. This …

Optimization And Control Of An Array Of Wave Energy Converters, Jianyang Lyu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This study explored optimal configuration of both the array layout and the dimension of each WEC in the array. The array contains heaving buoys with full interaction and exact hydrodynamics. Optimization of dimension was done on each WEC in the array with a given optimal layout, and a higher q-factor was achieved. Both impedance matching optimal control and derivative control were employed, which provides both theoretical maximum energy and a more realistic case. Then the work was expanded to optimization of both the array layout and the dimension of each WEC in the array. An average of 39.21% higher q-factor …

Spray And Combustion Studies Of High Reactivity Gasoline In Comparison To Diesel Under Advanced Compression Ignition Engine Conditions, Meng Tang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Gasoline compression ignition (GCI) technology has demonstrated great potentials in improving fuel economy and reducing engine-out NO_x and particulate matter emissions. Development and application of the GCI technology on multi-cylinder engines require both fundamental understandings of the gasoline spray combustion characteristics and accurate numerical tools. Due to the large differences in the thermo-physical and the chemical properties between gasoline and diesel range fuels, differences in the spray combustion characteristics between gasoline and diesel is expected. Reports on the gasoline spray combustion characteristics under conditions relevant to medium to heavy-duty engines are scarce and this dissertation aims to fill in …

A Study Of High Temperature Heat Pipes And The Impact Of Magnetic Field On The Flow Of Liquid Metal, Udit Sharma

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A study of high temperature heat pipe was conducted to understand its characteristics. A review of working fluid, temperature, wick structure, problems, operational limit and applications was done. Alkali metal were concluded as the most viable candidate for the working fluid.

The impact of three parameters namely magnetic field, heat flux and temperature was analyzed on the performance of HTHP (High Temperature Heat Pipe). The presence of magnetic field had the most considerable impact on reducing the pumping limit of the heat pipe while the temperature had almost negligible effect. Magnetic field results in the pressure drop and adversely affect …

Modeling Mass And Thermal Transport In Thin Porous Media Of Pem Fuel Cells, Vinaykumar Konduru

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Water transport in the Porous Transport Layer (PTL) plays an important role in the efficient operation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Excessive water content as well as dry operating conditions are unfavorable for efficient and reliable operation of the fuel cell. The effect of thermal conductivity and porosity on water management are investigated by simulating two-phase ow in the PTL of the fuel cell using a network model. In the model, the PTL consists of a pore-phase and a solid-phase. Different models of the PTLs are generated using independent Weibull distributions for the pore-phase and the solid-phase. The …

The Impact Of Water Injection On Spark Ignition Engine Performance Under High Load Operation, Jeremy Worm

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

An experimental effort has been completed in which water injection was investigated as a means of enabling increases in engine output and high load efficiency. Water was injected into the intake port of a direct fuel injected, 4-cylinder, boosted engine with dual independent variable valve timing. The water was shown to increase volumetric efficiency and decrease the onset of knock which in turn enable more optimal combustion phasing. Both of these affects resulted increases in load of up to 5.5% at the same manifold pressure as the baseline case. The advancement of combustion phasing, combined with elimination of fuel enrichment …

Heat Transfer Analysis In A Paddle Reactor For Biomass Fast Pyrolyis, Ankith Ullal

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Heat transfer analysis was performed on a novel auger reactor for biomass fast pyrolysis. As part of this analysis, correlations for specific heat capacity and heat transfer coefficients for biomass (sawdust) and sand (used as heat transfer medium) were developed. For sand, the heat transfer coefficient followed a power law distribution with reactor fill level and temperature. For raw biomass, the heat transfer coefficient also showed similar dependence on fill level, but was independent of temperature up to 300°C. These correlations were used in a one dimensional heat transfer model developed to calculate the heating time and heating rate of …

The Role Of Active Flow-Control Devices In The Dynamic Aeroelastic Response Of Wind Turbine Rotors, Muraleekrishnan Menon Menon Muraleedharan Nair

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The significance of wind as a renewable source of power is growing with the increasing capacity of individual utility-scale wind turbines. Contemporary wind turbines are capable of producing up to 8 MW and consequently, their rotor sizes are rapidly growing in size. This has led to an increased emphasis on studies related to improvements and innovations in load-control methodologies. Most often than not, controlling the loads on an operational turbine is a precarious scenario, especially under high wind loading. The up-scaling of turbine rotors would thus benefit from a rationale change in load control through methodologies such as variable-speed stall, …

Impact Of Natural Gas Direct Injection On Thermal Efficinecy In A Spark Ignition Engine, James Sevik

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Interest in natural gas as an internal combustion engine fuel has been renewed due to its increasing domestic availability and stable price relative to other petroleum fuel sources. Natural gas, comprised mainly of methane, allows for up to a 25% reduction in engine out CO2 emissions due to a more favorable hydrogen-to-carbon ratio, relative to traditional petroleum sources. Traditional methods of injecting natural gas can lead to poor part-load performance, as well as a power density loss at full load due to air displacement in the intake manifold. Natural gas direct injection, which allows the fuel to be injected directly …

Model-Based Control Of Hybrid Electric Powertrains Integrated With Low Temperature Combustion Engines, Ali Soloukmofrad

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Powertrain electrification including hybridizing advanced combustion engines is a viable cost-effective solution to improve fuel economy of vehicles. This will provide opportunity for narrow-range high-efficiency combustion regimes to be able to operate and consequently improve vehicle’s fuel conversion efficiency, compared to conventional hybrid electric vehicles (HEV)s. Low temperature combustion (LTC) engines offer the highest peak brake thermal efficiency reported in literature, but these engines have narrow operating range. In addition, LTC engines have ultra-low soot and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, compared to conventional compression ignition and spark ignition (SI) engines. This dissertation concentrates on integrating the LTC engines (i) in …

Development Of A High-Fidelity Model And Kalman Filter Based State Estimator For Simulation And Control Of Nox Reduction Performance Of A Scr Catalyst On A Dpf, Venkata Rajesh Chundru

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Reduction of emissions and improving the fuel consumption are two prime research areas in Diesel engine development. The present after-treatment systems being used for emissions control include diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) for NO, HC and CO oxidation along with catalyzed particulate filters for PM (particulate matter) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for controlling NOx emissions. Recently an after-treatment system called SCR catalyst on a DPF capable of simultaneously reducing both NOx and PM emissions has been developed in order to reduce the overall size of the after-treatment system.

The goal of this proposed research is to create a state estimator …

Predictive Control Of Power Grid-Connected Energy Systems Based On Energy And Exergy Metrics, Meysam Razmara

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Building and transportation sectors account for 41% and 27% of total energy consumption in the US, respectively. Designing smart controllers for Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems and Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) can play a key role in reducing energy consumption. Exergy or availability is based on the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics and is a more precise metric to evaluate energy systems including HVAC and ICE systems. This dissertation centers on development of exergy models and design of model-based controllers based on exergy and energy metrics for grid-connected energy systems including HVAC and ICEs.

In this PhD dissertation, …

An Experimental Investigation Of The Effect Of Temperature And Space Velocity On The Performance Of A Cu-Zeolite Flow-Through Scr And A Scr Catalyst On A Dpf With And Without Pm Loading, Vaibhav Kadam

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Abstract The heavy-duty diesel (HDD) engines use the diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), catalyzed particulate filter (CPF) and urea injection based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems in sequential combination, to meet the US EPA 2010 PM and NOₓ emission standards. The SCR along with a NH₃ slip control catalyst (AMOX) offer NOₓ reduction >90 % with NH₃ slipHowever, there is a strong desire to further improve the NOₓ reduction performance of such systems, to meet the California Optional Low NOₓ Standard implemented since 2015. Integrating SCR functionality into a diesel particulate filter (DPF), by coating the SCR catalyst on the DPF, …

Comparison Of Ignition Delays And Liquid Penetrations Of Jp-8, Synthetic Jp-8, And A Jp-8 Surrogate Under Diesel Engine Conditions, Kyle Yeakle

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The U.S. Army and many NATO affiliates have adopted a ‘one fuel forward fuel policy’ (OFF). The goal of the OFF policy is reducing the logistics and cost involved with providing fuel for military vehicles. With this policy, the logical choice fuel is military grade jet petroleum, JP-8, because of the fuel constraints of turbo-jet engines. This requirement has made it necessary to run military compression ignited engines on JP-8. To reduce the Army’s reliance on petroleum based fuels an alternative fuel, synthetic JP-8, derived from coal and made in the Fischer-Tropsch production method is allowed to be blended up …

On The Aerodynamic Properties Of Slotted-Flap Flow-Control Devices For Wind Turbine Applications, Muraleekrishnan Menon Menon Muraleedharan Nair

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Wind energy is growing at a fast pace and utility-scale wind turbines growing in size with increasing rotor diameters. To sustain development of up-scaled wind turbines of tomorrow there is a need for innovation in load control methodologies. This thesis research targets an assessment of the aerodynamic properties of airfoil sections specifically intended for wind turbine applications, featuring them with flow-control devices. The use of fractional chord trailing-edge flaps as slotted-flap devices on aerodynamically active parts of a turbine blade were studied. As modular devices attached externally on existing blade designs, they comfortably form a cost-effective means for active load …

Transient Thermoelectric Supercooling: Isosceles Current Pulses From A Response Surface Perspective And The Performance Effects Of Pulse Cooling A Heat Generating Mass, Alfred Piggott

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

With increased public interest in protecting the environment, scientists and engineers aim to improve energy conversion efficiency. Thermoelectrics offer many advantages as thermal management technology. When compared to vapor compression refrigeration, above approximately 200 to 600 watts, cost in dollars per watt as well as COP are not advantageous for thermoelectrics. The goal of this work was to determine if optimized pulse supercooling operation could improve cooling capacity or efficiency of a thermoelectric device. The basis of this research is a thermal-electrical analogy based modeling study using SPICE. Two models were developed. The first model, a standalone thermocouple with no …

Modeling Of Biomass Torrefaction And Pyrolysis And Its Applications, Jordan L. Klinger

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Utilizing biomass provides a possible near-term alternative solution for fossil energy dependence in both electricity generation and transportation. Though thermochemical conversion can produce solid/liquid fuels that are compatible in existing infrastructure, detailed scientific chemical and mechanistic understanding are still being developed. In contribution to these efforts, this work is focused on development of a semiempirical, lumped parameter, chemical kinetic model to describe the degradation of woody biomass.

The initial kinetic model was developed in the torrefaction region to describe the gas-phase evolution of products (water, organic acids, permanent gases, and furfural) through a three consecutive reaction model. In this model, …

Structural Analysis Of Integration Of A Non-Cylindrical Cng Fuel Tank, Prathamesh Prashant Deshpande

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The purpose of this study is to computationally model and analyze the vehicle frame which is mounted with a non-conventional, non-cylindrical compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel tank. Integration of this tank in the vehicle underbody will resolve the issue of reduced storage space which is observed in a conventional CNG powered vehicle. This research will ultimately result in making CNG a good alternative to gasoline and reducing the increasing dependency on a single fuel. This tank will be developed in two phases: phase I design of the tank will be a standard rectangular outer box shape with Schwarz P-surface inner …

Water Transport Through Porous Media And In Flow Channels Of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, Mehdi Mortazavi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell has been known as a promising power source for different applications such as automotive, residential and stationary. During the operation of a PEM fuel cell, hydrogen is oxidized in anode and oxygen is reduced in the cathode to produce the intended power. Water and heat are inevitable byproducts of these reactions. The water produced in the cathode should be properly removed from inside the cell. Otherwise, it may block the path of reactants passing through the gas channels and/or gas diffusion layer (GDL). This deteriorates the performance of the cell and eventually can cease …

Co-Electrophoretic Deposition Of Liquid Metal And Silicon For Lithium-Ion Battery Application, Hanfei Zhang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

A low cost electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process was successfully used for liquid metal thin film deposition with a high depositing rate of 0.6 µ/min. Furthermore, silicon nano-powder and liquid metal were then simultaneously deposited as the negative electrode of lithium-ion battery by a technology called co-EPD. The liquid metal was hoping to act as the matrix for silicon particles during lithium ion insertion and distraction. Half-cell testing was performed using as prepared co-EPD sample. An initial discharge capacity of 1500 mAh/g was reported for nano-silicon and galinstan electrode, although the capacity fading issue of these samples was also observed.

Comparative Analysis Of Efficiency And Operating Characteristics Of Automotive Powertrain Architectures Through Chassis Dynamometer Testing, Jeremy J. Anderson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The thesis "COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF EFFICIENCY AND OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTOMOTIVE POWERTRAIN ARCHITECTURES THROUGH CHASSIS DYNAMOMETER TESTING" was completed through a collaborative partnership between Michigan Technological University and Argonne National Laboratory under a contractual agreement titled "Advanced Vehicle Characterization at Argonne National Laboratory". The goal of this project was to investigate, understand and document the performance and operational strategy of several modern passenger vehicles of various architectures. The vehicles were chosen to represent several popular engine and transmission architectures and were instrumented to allow for data collection to facilitate comparative analysis. In order to ensure repeatability and reliability during testing, …