Energy Systems Commons^™

Sustainable Tiny Home, Abigail Jessica Jones, Vince John Bugni, Sean Robert Paddy, Cameron Michael Gross

Mechanical Engineering

As housing prices and environmental concerns continue to increase, many people are looking for cheaper and more sustainable ways to live. A solution to both problems is building homes with smaller footprints which incorporate renewable energy and water-reclamation systems. In addition, adding a roof pond system to the dwelling also reduces the need for heating and cooling. The roof pond system uses a water bladder on the roof which acts as a heat-sink and moveable insulation panels. This document contains the process for our final design along with results from testing the verification prototype.

Cal Poly Wind Power: Wind Turbine Prototype, Sophie A. Spencer, Maggie Nevrly, Michael Reyna, Loi Q. Nguyen

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Wind Power (CPWP) club is competing in the Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The CWC is hosted annually by NREL to increase the number of skilled workers prepared to work in the wind energy industry. Our senior project team is one of several design teams contributing to the CPWP prototype turbine design including the pitching mechanism, blade design, generator, and shaft. The scope of this project is to design the yaw mechanism, tower, and nacelle. The goal is to create components that function well with other planned components and are …

Consumer-Ready Insulated Solar Electric Cooker, Simon Ford, Sachin Gokhale, Brendan Lynn, Richard Nguyen

Mechanical Engineering

An insulated solar electric cooker, or ISEC, converts solar energy into electricity to cook food, boil water, provide heat or even help charge batteries. In this project, the focus is an ISEC with a phase change material (PCM) that helps store heat when the solar energy input is minimal, such as after the sun has set. Although a successful ISEC already exists that utilizes PCM, this product can be improved in many ways. The specific revisions investigated in this report are the improvement of the thermal efficiency with the implementation of a vacuum-sealed outer pot, the reduction of the overall …

Sustainable Energy Storage, Jacob S. Grillo, Alyse C. Coonce, Jack R. Linchey, Nick P. Schnorr

Mechanical Engineering

This Final Design Review document covers the work we, students at California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo, have performed in collaboration with Mr. Harish Bhutani and Dr. Mohammad Noori. The project’s intent is to create an energy storage system for off-grid and developing region applications using alternative technologies to lithium-ion battery storage. We plan to manufacture and assemble a scale model of the energy storage system to prove effectiveness and practicality. This system will store enough energy to power basic appliances and essential devices for a house or community. The chosen design direction will be a flywheel, as …

Smud Solar Regatta, Logan Garby, Nam Le, Jacob Singer, Alejandro Carrera, Laura Casas

Mechanical Engineering

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) hosts the Solar Regatta every year in Rancho Seco, CA, a competition which consists of teams building a solar powered boat to compete in three races: the sprint race, endurance race, and slalom race. The Cal Poly Solar Regatta team was informed mid-project by SMUD that the competition has been canceled once again for spring 2021, but the team decided to move forward with the construction of the boat. The previous Cal Poly team from 2019/2020 designed the hull and propulsion system of the boat. The 2020/2021 team worked with the previous team in …

Performance And Economical Analysis Of Different Insulating Materials Used To Reduce The Heat Load Of An Existing Residential Building, Radwa A. El-Awadly, Ahmed A. Abdel-Rehim

Mechanical Engineering

The energy consumption from the residential sector is an important element which has an impact on the total energy consumption in any country. The heating and air conditioning loads can be reduced through many means. Using thermal insulation in buildings does not only contribute in reducing the required air conditioning system size, but also in reducing the annual energy cost for the whole building. In this case, the energy saving varies according to the building type, the climatic conditions at which the building is located as well as the type of the insulating material used. In the present study, an …

Effect Of Dust And High Temperature On Photovoltaics Performance In The New Capital Area, Engy Elshazly, Ahmed A. Abdel-Rehim, Amr Abdel Kader, Iman El-Mahallawi

Mechanical Engineering

The trend for integrating solar Photovoltaic Panels as an alternative renewable and sustainable energy source is growing in Egypt, North Africa and the Middle East. However, these efforts are not widely accepted by the society due to their lower efficiencies. The efficiency of the photovoltaic panels is affected by many environmental parameters, which have a negative impact on system efficiency and cost of energy, dust and increased panel temperatures being the most serious. This work presents the results of a case study conducted at The British University in Egypt at El-Sherouk city to study the effect of different parameters such …

An Experimental Study Of A Hemi-Spherical Solar Collector Under Egyptian Climate, Mohamed Ebaid, Salma Salah, Ahmed A. Abdel-Rehim

Mechanical Engineering

Traditional flat plate collectors have shown, under many investigations, low system operating efficiency, which prompted the idea of designing new solar collectors operating with higher efficiency. Such designs include spherical, hemi-spherical, cylindrical, or rhombic solar collectors. The current study experimentally investigates the performance of a stationary newly designed hemi-spherical solar collector in comparison with a flat plate solar collector with the same surface area and weather conditions. This target has been achieved through designing and manufacturing a hemi-spherical collector, followed by analyzing its performance under normal operating conditions of Egyptian climate. The Hemi-spherical solar collector showed a maximum efficiency of …

Energy And Exergy Analysis For Stationary Solar Collectors Using Nanofluids: A Review, Mahmoud Eltaweel, Ahmed A. Abdel-Rehim

Mechanical Engineering

Fossil fuels demonstrate pollution effects and significant emissions on the atmosphere, which made the use of clean, renewable sources of energy a necessity. Renewable energy has many sources, but the most promising and cheapest energy source is solar energy, which has led to a focus on efficient solar energy harvesting to be cheaper for public use. Stationary solar collectors like evacuated tube and flat-plate solar collectors are the most commonly used solar collectors for their simplicity of installation and maintenance. They are mostly used for domestic applications such as solar water heaters. Nanofluids can improve the thermal properties of the …

Numerical Investigation Of The Thermal Performance Of An Axially Rotating Internally Finned Receiver Tube Of A Parabolic Trough Concentrator, Andrew S. Tanious,, Ahmed A. Abdel-Rehim

Mechanical Engineering

Enhancement of the thermal performance of the parabolic trough receiver tube is one of the approaches to energy sustainability. In the present work, the thermal performance of an axially rotating receiver tube equipped with internal flat longitudinal fins is studied. The effects of both the fin height and the rate of axial rotation are investigated at low values of axial Reynold’s number. The numerical analysis is held at various rotation rates using ANSYS Fluent. The numerical findings showed that the effect of the axial rotation on the internally finned receiver tube is not significant yet negative where a maximum reduction …

Recent Advances In Preparation And Testing Methods Of Engine-Based Nanolubricants: A State-Of-The-Art Review, Sayed Akl, Sherif Elsoudy, Ahmed A. Abdel-Rehim, Serag Salem, Mark Ellis

Mechanical Engineering

Reducing power losses in engines is considered a key parameter of their efficiency improvement. Nanotechnology, as an interface technology, is considered one of the most promising strategies for this purpose. As a consumable liquid, researchers have studied nanolubricants through the last decade as potential engine oil. Nanolubricants were shown to cause a considerable reduction in the engine frictional and thermal losses, and fuel consumption as well. Despite that, numerous drawbacks regarding the quality of the processed nanolubricants were discerned. This includes the dispersion stability of these fluids and the lack of actual engine experiments. It has been shown that the …

Cal Poly Microgrid Fixed Pv Array, Christopher L. Ewert, Justin R. Syracuse, Donald A. Syracuse, Jason M. Kehl

Mechanical Engineering

The Mechanical Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo would like an adjustable, fixed angle solar panel mount to help educate students on basic solar energy principles. Our team has developed a unique sawhorse design utilizing ideation techniques and design selection tools. The selected design allows for multiple panel adjustability and control of both azimuth and tilt angle. Safety concerns are addressed with action plans to mitigate risk. Concept prototypes to justify gearbox functionality and subsystem cohesion was utilized to reduce manufacturing issues. Manufacturing began in March 2020 and proceed through until the end of the …

Thermal Energy Storage For Load Shifting, Jordan Benton Lopez Corley, Weston Cruz Montgomery, Taylor Glenn Harms

Mechanical Engineering

The following document accounts for the progress made in the prototype development of our design solution since the Critical Design Review, and our group’s response to recent world events which greatly impacted planned activities. Our design challenge is to develop a thermal energy storage system which will sequester the energy from a photovoltaic (PV) array during the day and allow for its dispersal at night in the form of near boiling water. Looking at our user’s needs, we broke our design solution into four components: water heating, storage, distribution, and controls. Research of all components was conducted to ascertain which …

Portable Calorimeter For Fire Experiments, Kayla Collins, Kara Hewson, Christopher Chen, Joel Keddie

Mechanical Engineering

Executive Summary

An oxygen consumption calorimeter works by measuring the heat release rate of a burning substance. This value is calculated by measuring the oxygen and byproducts in smoke from afire.In order to get these values two types of sensors were used. A non-dispersive infrared sensor (NDIR) that measured CO and CO2 and a zirconium O2 sensor were used to find their respective gas concentrations.The design to calculate the heat release rate is focused on maximizing sensor accuracy and portability while simplifying the manufacturing by using off-the-shelf components. The goal included making the system simple to recreate and package in …

Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge, Jacob Torrey, Kayla Londono, Bryson Chan, Aaron Trujillo

Mechanical Engineering

The FPVC combines mechanical engineering disciplines to design and manufacture a vehicle that utilizes hydraulic power. The FDR covers the final manufacturing process and verification processes developed during the front end of research and analysis built upon the Critical Design Review (CDR) and the PDR (Preliminary Design Review). This report showcases the design decisions and extensive research that supports the continuing efforts by the Team Pump My Ride, to build upon the accomplishments of Cal Poly’s previous team, The Incompressibles. The FDR presents how Team Pump My Ride produced the design changes from the CDR and PDR to achieve improvements …

Indirect Thermosiphon Flat-Plate Solar Collector Performance Based On Twisted Tube Design Heat Exchanger Filled With Nanofluid, Mahmoud Eltaweel, Hazem Hussien, Ahmed A. Abdel-Rehim

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Energetic And Exergetic Analysis Of A Heat Pipe Evacuated Tube Solar Collector Using Mwcnt/Water Nanofluid, Mahmoud Eltaweel, Ahmed A. Abdel-Rehim

Mechanical Engineering

Increasing the energy demand and the limited availability of conventional energy sources are the main challenges to secure the human future. Solar energy is an attractive source of energy to ensure the sustainability of energy in this world for now and for the future. Evacuated tube solar collector is a solar thermal collector mostly used for domestic applications. The replacement of the working fluid with nanofluid can enhance the heat transfer even for low temperature applications. The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and water nanofluid as working fluid in evacuated tube solar collector is used to experimentally investigate the energy …

Numerical Investigation Of Darrieus Wind Turbine With Slotted Airfoil Blades, Ahmed Elbaz, Omar Sherif Mohamaed, Ahmed Abdelhamid Ibrahim, Ahmed Khaled Etman, Amr A. Abdelfattah

Mechanical Engineering

Low starting torque is considered as one of the major drawbacks of Darrieus type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT). Design optimization to overcome this problem by modifying the airfoil geometry has received great attention by the wind energy community. Moreover, efforts have been directed towards augmenting the power coefficient of the turbine. In the present work, the effect of employing slotted airfoil as turbine blade on the performance and starting characteristics has been investigated. The slot parameters; slot location, angle of inclination, and dimensions, were optimized for NACA 0018 airfoil which is commonly used in Darrieus turbines. The flow over …

Heat: Hydraulic And Electric Animation Team, Tyler J. Couvrette, Michael J. Cain, Sara T. Novell, Dexter K. Yanagisawa

Mechanical Engineering

Each New Years’ Day, the Cal Poly Rose Float presents a flower-covered float to the world at the Tournament of Roses parade. This floral display, paired with moving mechanical animations, shows off Cal Poly to the world. This project strove to keep Cal Poly on the cutting edge of technology both in parade floats, and in engineering, by creating a completely electric-powered animation system.

To accomplish this, a group of students set out to make the fully electric animation system that can power both the hydraulic and electric mechanisms on the Float. This was accomplished through months of planning and …

Insulated Solar Electric Cooker With Phase Change Thermal Storage Medium, Justin Brett Unger, Nathan Robert Christler, Matthew Weeman, Marcus Edward Strutz

Mechanical Engineering

This final design review document outlines the senior design project carried out by a team of four mechanical engineering students at the California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo under the sponsorship of Dr. Peter Schwartz of the Cal Poly Physics department. The aim of this project was to improve upon the design of previously developed Insulated Solar Electric Cookers (ISECs) by adding a thermal storage system to allow for quicker cook times and the ability to cook food at non-peak solar hours. The team’s goal was to develop a working prototype utilizing a phase change medium as the …

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 …

Energy And Exergy Analysis Of A Thermosiphon And Forced-Circulation Flat-Plate Solar Collector Using Mwcnt/Water Nanofluid, Mahmoud Eltaweel, Ahmed A. Abdel-Rehim

Mechanical Engineering

The scientific community has focused on the use of nanofluids to enhance solar collectors' thermal efficiency. Solar energy is considered an extensively available energy resource with a weak effect on the environment. The flat-plate solar collector is considered to be the most common collector used, but the efficiency of the collector has limitations, such as the low effectiveness of the absorber in terms of energy absorption and the transmission of that energy to the working fluid. The flat-plate solar collector can be enhanced by replacing the working fluid with a nanofluid. Nanofluids are considered new media that exhibit thermophysical properties …

Energy Comparison Of Air Conditioning Split System Vs. Solar Absorption Systems For A Prototype Educational Building, Hesham Safwat

Mechanical Engineering

this paper aims to study solar energy in Egypt and its potential utilization in solar thermal cooling (absorption technique). The paper includes a detailed proposed solar absorption cooling system for one building located at the British University in Egypt with maximum cooling load of 141.3 ton. A detailed design using a design software (TRNSYS) is introduced to model the system and for optimization. A cost analysis is finally included to compare the overall costs of both the proposed cooling system and the current system.

Jfs Turbine Engine For Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering Department, Dorian Capps, Zoe Kai Tuggle

Mechanical Engineering

This project concerns the development of a gas turbine engine laboratory activity for use in one of Cal Poly’s technical elective courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department, ME 444: Combustion Engine Design. The class is taught by Dr. Patrick Lemieux, who is also in charge of the on-campus engines lab where the turbine engine will be installed. The engine itself is a JFS-100-13A turboshaft engine that will be coupled to an electric dynamometer inside of the dyno test cell. Students taking the ME 444 class, likely starting in Winter Quarter of 2018, will be able to perform hands-on experiments using …

Exploiting Modern Image Processing In Surface Flow Visualisation, Tarek Ihab Abdelsalam, Richard Williams, Grant Ingram

Mechanical Engineering

Surface flow visualisation is an experimental technique where the surface of interest is painted with an oil and dye mixture before a flow is applied to the object. In regions of high shear stress the oil/dye mixture is then removed and in regions of low shear stress the oil/dye mixture stays or builds up. The resulting pattern can be analysed to determine the structure near the surface under test, this is normally done in a qualitative manner with flow structures being identified based on the expertise of the experimentalist. Modern image processing tools can identify shapes and lines in pictures …

Photovoltaic Cooking In The Developing World, Tyler Watkins, Christopher O'Day, Omar Arriaga

Mechanical Engineering

The challenge of clean cooking is faced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. We present a cooking technology consisting of a solar panel directly connected to an electric heater in a well-insulated chamber. Assuming continued decrease in solar panel prices, we anticipate that in a few decades Solar Electric Cooking technologies will be the most common cooking technology for the poor. Appropriate use of insulation reduces the power demand making low-power Insulated Solar Electric Cooking systems already cost competitive.

Advanced Technologies For Sustainable Systems, Hesham Safwat

Mechanical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Fluid Analysis In Solar Heat Pipes, Ben Krumholz, Michael Agavo, William Dundon

Mechanical Engineering

Evacuated tube solar collectors are efficient systems that use heat pipes to facilitate heat transfer. They use incoming solar radiation to heat water. Professor Mason Medizade tasked the team with choosing a component of the system to research and test its influence on system performance. The team investigated the working fluid that runs through the heat pipes. Distilled water, acetone, and ethanol at a range of fill volumes form 1 mL to 11 mL were tested. The team's goal was to find a volume for each fluid to maximize performance of the system. Performance was defined as average temperature rise …

Disc Brake Energy Conversion, D. Coleman Badgley, Jeffrey W. Powell

Mechanical Engineering

The original goal of this project was to complete the design and building of a disc brake energy conversion project started by a former senior project team, and then spend a majority of the year performing testing in order to see if the device could be used to accurately calculate the Joule's constant. However, due to unforeseen complications and obstacles, the design and manufacturing portion of the project ended up taking much longer than anticipated. A majority of this time was spent designing the hydraulic plumbing system that would actuate the brakes. The previous team purchased some hydraulic parts and …

Me 350 Air Conditioning Experiment, Joshua Baida, Ellie Hallner, Tyler Eschenbach

Mechanical Engineering

In keeping with Cal Poly's focus on physically applying the concepts learned in the classroom, our team of engineering students has compiled a laboratory experiment displaying the basic thermodynamic cycle found in air conditioning systems. This vapor compression cycle is displayed on a visualization board that features all four major components of the system: the compressor, the evaporator, the condenser, and the throttling valve. Students will take measurements of temperature and pressure at each stage in the cycle and also gauge the power draw from the compressor to gain an understanding of how performance and electricity cost come into play …