Energy Systems Commons^™

Thermolysis And Kinetics Of Scrap Tyre And Bagasse For Energy Utilization, Petro Ndalila

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The increase of energy demand has brought concern to find alternative fuel that will at least sustain the requirement. Bagasse and scrap tyre are waste generated in our industrial activities, which can be used in energy production to subsidize the demand. This paper, aim to study the decomposition behaviour and kinetics of biomass (bagasse) and scrap tyre as preliminary stage of fuel sample analysis to be considered for energy production in gasification/combustion or pyrolysis facilities. The behaviour demonstrated with thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), shows that all samples have high volatile amount release, 84.21% for bagasse and 85.08% for scrap tyre, which …

Analysis Of Power Efficiency Of A Direct-Driven Locally Fabricated Permanent Magnet Ac Generator For Small-Scale Wind Power Applications In Tanzania, Mussa Iddi Mgwatu Dr.

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The use of direct-driven permanent magnet alternating current (AC) generators offers the opportunity to reduced costs and increased system efficiency. This type of generator could be the best alternative for rural population whom are not connected to the national grid. To improve the design and efficiency of locally fabricated generators, it is imperative to characterize both their mechanical and electrical parameters. This paper presents the analysis of power efficiency of the synchronous permanent AC generator locally fabricated in Tanzania. In this case, load resistance and rotational speed are characterized using designed experiment. The output current and voltage of the generator …

Experimental Investigation Of Mist Film Cooling And Feasibility Study Of Mist Transport In Gas Turbines, Reda M. Ragab

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the modern advanced gas turbines, the turbine inlet temperature may exceed 1500°C as a requirement to increase power output and thermal efficiency. Therefore, it is imperative that the blades and vanes are cooled so they can withstand these extreme temperatures. Film cooling is a cooling technique widely used in high-performance gas turbines. However, the film cooling effectiveness has almost reached plateau, resulting in a bottleneck for continuous improvement of gas turbines' efficiency.

In this study, an innovative cooling scheme, mist film cooling is investigated through experiments. A small amount of tiny water droplets with an average diameter about 10-15 …

A Study On The Integration Of A Novel Absorption Chiller Into A Microscale Combined Cooling, Heating, And Power (Micro-Cchp) System, Scott J. Richard

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the application of micro-CCHP systems that utilize a 30 kW gas microturbine and an absorption chiller. Engineering Equation Solver (EES) is used to model a novel single-effect and double-effect water-lithium bromide absorption chiller that integrates the heat recovery unit and cooling tower of a conventional CCHP system into the chiller’s design, reducing the cost and footprint of the system. The results of the EES model are used to perform heat and material balances for the micro-CCHP systems employing the novel integrated chillers, and energy budgets for these systems are developed. While the thermal performance of existing CCHP …

Applying Best Practices To Florida Local Government Retrofit Programs, Florida Solar Energy Center, Janet Mcilvaine

FSEC Energy Research Center®

In some communities, local government and non-profit entities have funds to purchase and renovate distressed, foreclosed homes for resale in the affordable housing market. Numerous opportunities to improve whole house energy efficiency are inherent in these comprehensive renovations. BA-PIRC worked together in a multiyear field study making recommendations in individual homes, meanwhile compiling improvement costs, projected energy savings, practical challenges, and labor force factors surrounding common energy-related renovation measures. The field study, Phase 1 of this research, resulted in a set of best practices appropriate to the current labor pool and market conditions in central Florida to achieve projected annual …

Low-Cost Scheffler Solar Concentrator For The Developing World, Darren Sholes, Jason Morgan, Nicholas Fuller

Mechanical Engineering

This report will outline an approach to design, test, and build a low-cost Scheffler solar concentrator to be used for safer, sustainable and cost effective cooking in the developing world. The function of Scheffler concentrators and a proposed method to create one in an economic, environmentally conscious manner is summarized. If successful, the design will be presented in a way that is readily and freely available to anyone in the world. The authors have examined existing technology and researched the availability and cost of different materials. Analysis was performed in order to verify the feasibility of the different design ideas …

Investigation Of Compressed Air Energy Storage Efficiency, James W. Keeney

Master's Theses

This study investigates Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) application in the

electrical power and transportation industries. Information concerning current CAES projects is

presented. A thorough thermodynamic analysis of the CAES process is completed; including

theoretical efficiency determination for several variants of the compression and expansion

processes. Industry claimed efficiencies ranging from 26% to 82% are presented and explained.

Isothermal and Isentropic efficiency baselines are developed. Energy density of compressed air

on both a mass and volume basis is compared to other energy storage methods. Best expected

efficiency of a hypothetical CAES system is determined to be 34% using currently achievable …

Advanced Visualization Techniques Of Hot-Jet Combustion Of Lean And Ultra-Lean Substances, Timothy I. Machin, Li Qiao

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Research has been conducted on ignition of natural gas as a potential replacement for fossil fuels. A reason natural gas is not widely used and adapted is because of the harmful emissions created when combusted in rich mixtures, but if the gas can be burned at a lean or ultra-lean equivalence ratio, these emissions can be reduced or even eliminated. One method of burning lean and ultra-lean substances is by use of hot-jet ignition. This method ignites the substance near its combustion temperature, reducing the harmful emissions. This method is not yet fully understood, and so research must be done …

Experimental Study Of Co2 Recycling Using Metal-Oxide Enhanced Coconut Char Gasification: Catalytic Effect Of Potassium Carbonate On Gasification, Mengqi Gao, Indraneel Sircar, Jay P. Gore

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Biomass gasification is an important process in the production of bio-derived fuels and renewable energy. Biomass gasification with CO₂ is an endothermic process requiring high temperatures, resulting in low process-efficiency. Metals found in the ash in biomass feedstock have shown rate-promoting effects on the C-CO₂ reaction and have motivated the study of low-temperature catalytic gasification. The present study investigates the catalytic effects of potassium (K) on the biomass gasification reactivity of a coconut-derived char (>99.9% carbon) within the temperature range of 600 – 1000 ^oC. A wet-impregnation technique is used to prepare K-treated chars. Gasification of …

Flexible Residential Test Facility: Impact Of Infiltration And Ventilation On Measured Heating Season Energy And Moisture Levels, Florida Solar Energy Center, Danny Parker

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Perhaps no residential topic has been discussed as much among building scientists as air infiltration and required mechanical ventilation. Usually, envelope tightening is recommended as an efficiency strategy for retrofitting an existing home. In humid climates, reducing infiltration can reduce summer moisture loads. However, during drier weather when the air conditioner is not running, lower infiltration can lead to potential condensation. Even though severe cold weather is rare in the Deep South, the prevalence of single-pane windows can lead to condensation events.

Energy And Economic Optimization To Achieve Near Zero Energy Homes In Europe: Implications Of Inclusion Of Lighting And Appliances, Florida Solar Energy Center, Danny Parker

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Achieving annual net zero energy use in homes has been demonstrated as feasible in dozens of monitored projects in the United States.[1] In particular, very low energy use homes in Europe have been proven within the Passivhaus approach.[2] Achieving 'nearly zero energy buildings' (NZEB) has also been established as a vital objective over the next decade within the European Union (EU) (Boermans et al., 2011). However, reaching this result at the lowest possible cost remains a key challenge around the world. Balancing renewable power generation with energy efficiency will be vital in Europe as anticipated by Voss, Musall and Lichtmeß.[4] …

Technical Subtopic 2.1: Modeling Variable Refrigerant Flow Heat Pump And Heat Recovery Equipment In Energyplus, Florida Solar Energy Center, Richard Raustad

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The University of Central Florida/Florida Solar Energy Center, in cooperation with the Electric Power Research Institute and several variable-refrigerant-flow air conditioning (VRF AC) manufacturers, provided a detailed computer model for a VRF AC system in the United States Department of Energy's (U.S. DOE) EnergyPlus' building energy simulation tool. No other simulation tool currently has the capability to accurately model this state-of-the-art VRF heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Detailed laboratory testing and field demonstrations were performed to measure equipment performance and compare this performance with that predicted by the use of this new model through computer simulation.

This project …

Current Best Practices For High Performance, Deep Energy Retrofits In Florida Affordable Housing, Florida Solar Energy Center, Janet Mcilvaine

FSEC Energy Research Center®

In the fall of 2009, researchers at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) began working with affordable housing entities that were conducting major renovation projects in unoccupied, foreclosed homes. The study was funded by the Florida Energy Systems Consortium and the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America program. When components and equipment were being replaced because they were worn out, researchers provided savings projections for higher-efficiency choices. Savings were also projected for improvements that were strictly for energy efficiency, such as adding ceiling insulation. The best practices summarized in this document are a mixture of assessment, design, specification, quality assurance, …

Hers Index Scores As An Alternative Compliance Path For The 2015 Iecc, Florida Solar Energy Center, Philip W. Fairey

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The analysis presented here is an extension of a previous study on HERS Index Scores as they relate to various version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) by the same author. This extension of the previous study is designed to examine the impact of advanced, ultra-high efficiency appliances and high efficiency HVAC systems on HERS Index Scores as they relate to reductions in the HERS Index Scores that may be used as 'tradeoffs' against best practice envelope efficiencies.

A Parametric Study On Power Variation For Model Wind Turbine Arrays, Dominic Delucia

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents the results of wind tunnel experiments performed for various model wind turbine arrays. The aim is to understand how siting affects power output. To optimize wind farm efficiency the experiments vary the parameters of the model wind turbines and the layout of the wind turbine array. The parameters include the alignment, height, spacing, and the rotational direction of the model wind turbines. These experiments employ mechanical torque sensors to simultaneously measure the torque and rotor angular velocity, which yields a direct measurement of the fluid mechanical power extracted by the turbine at multiple locations. For a 4 …

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 …

Aspen Plus Simulation Of Biomass Gasification In A Steam Blown Dual Fluidised Bed, Wayne Doherty, Anthony Reynolds, David Kennedy

Book/Book Chapters

The efficient utilisation of biomass resources is of utmost importance. Biomass gasification offers much higher efficiencies than combustion. Gasification is a process in which a fuel is converted to a combustible gas (syngas). A dual fluidised bed gasifier known as the fast internally circulating fluidised bed (FICFB) was selected. It has been demonstrated at industrial scale and data is readily available for model validation. An Aspen Plus model was developed to simulate the FICFB gasifier. The model is based on Gibbs free energy minimisation and the restricted equilibrium method was used to calibrate it. The model has been validated and …

Numerical Modeling Of Heat Pipe Radiator And Fin Size Optimization For Low And No Gravity Environments, Virginia Ruth Bieger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A heat-pipe radiator element has been designed and modeled to study the efficiency of heat transfer for low and no gravity environments, like in lunar environments. The advantages of using heat pipe includes the significant weight reducing and heat transfer efficiency. The heat transfer can be enhanced by the use of condenser sections with attached fins.

A series of various geometries of solid fins and heat pipes with and without fins were modeled using FLUENT®. This was done to determine the validity of using a heat pipe in lieu of a solid fin projection. A heat pipe had a 25 …

The Next Step Toward Widespread Residential Deep Energy Retrofits, Florida Solar Energy Center, Janet Mcilvaine

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction (BA-PIRC) has been working with affordable housing entities to identify cost-effective technical pathways to achieve energy savings levels of 30% and safeguard or enhance indoor air quality (IAQ), durability, and comfort (McIlvaine et al. 2012; Fairey and Parker 2012).

The Effect Of Microencapsulated Phase-Change Material On The Compressive Strength Of Structural Concrete, Chad Norvell, David J. Sailor, Peter Dusicka

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Latent heat energy storage through phase-change materials (PCMs) is one possible strategy to control interior temperatures in buildings, improve thermal comfort, and passively reduce building energy use associated with heating and cooling. While PCMs integrated into building structure elements have been studied since the 1970s, challenges of integrating PCMs into building materials while maintaining their heat storage benefits have limited their application in practice. The recent introduction of microencapsulated phase-change materials provides the energy storage capability of PCMs in micron-scale, chemically-inert capsules that can be easily integrated into composite materials such as gypsum wallboard and concrete. The size and physical …

Heating Effects Through Harmonic Distortion On Electric Cables In The Built Environment, Kevin O'Connell

Doctoral

Under ideal circumstances, electric power supply voltage and current waveforms should be sinusoidal. However, this is very seldom the case in the built environment, due to the proliferation of non-linear loads. Examples of non-linear loads are those containing switched mode power supplies, reactors and electronic rectifiers/inverters. Common devices such as personal computers, fluorescent lighting, electric motors, variable speed drives, transformers and reactors and virtually all other electronic equipment are examples of non-linear loads. Non-linear loads are the norm in the built environment rather than the exception. Such loads produce complex current and voltage waves and simple spectral analysis of these …

Improvement Of Hydraulic Press For Vegetable Oil Expression In Rural Areas, I. P. Bateebe

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Cultivation of oil producing crops especially Jatropha and croton as source of vegetable oil for biodiesel production is being encouraged in rural areas. To recover oil from seed, manual press is the feasible method in rural areas where there is no electricity. Research was conducted to improve hydraulic oil press machine for rural application. Factors affecting oil recovery were found to be: moisture content of seeds, operating pressure, seed oil content, and the amount of seeds pressed per batch. Percentage oil recovery was improved by reducing diameter of press cylinder, hence increasing expression pressure, and either reducing amount of seed …

Lunalight - Bringing Light To The Expanding World, Gabriela M. Igel, Daniel J. Patrick, Kimberley M. Smith

Materials Engineering

The LunaLight, a solar rechargeable light and cell phone charger, addresses the lack of access to electricity faced by 1.4 billion of the world’s population (International Finance Corporation). The LunaTech team has developed a product that is bright, simple, compact, versatile and competitive with existing products. Through a partnership with the non-profit organization One Million Lights, LunaTech has improved a previous team’s design to address user feedback, concerns of durability, and manufacturability.

The LunaLight design includes a 5 component plastic housing held together by 4 screws, a surface mounted PCB, a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery, one high-brightness LED, a solar panel, …

Design, Construction And Evaluation Of A Low Head Hydroelectric Turbine For Canals, Sean Phillip Ellenson

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Means of hydroelectric power generation today typically require state or federal funding, massive construction projects and high head differentials with the use of a dam. With thousands of miles of canals and waterways at our disposal, it is necessary to find a cost effective way of generating a substantial amount of power from low-head hydroelectric power sources.

This senior project details research on low-head hydroelectric power generation, along with the design, construction and evaluation of a twisted Savonius hydroelectric turbine. Sizing optimizations for a twisted Savonius turbine were performed, and the hydroelectric power generation unit was constructed, including a housing …

High Temperature Filter Test Unit Upgrades, Blair Frandeen, Will Schill, Erick Shewmaker, Joshua Turgeon

Mechanical Engineering

The purpose of this project was to improve the existing High Temperature Filter Test Unit (HTTU) by optimizing performance and adding new features. These features include viewing ports and a camera system for observation of tests, a leak detection system, and a flame impingement system. Additional considerations included improving the current operation of the HTTU by reducing test time and energy loss. The HTTU is designed to test High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters at temperatures up to 1300 ˚F, creating conditions which simulate a fire in a chemical processing facility. The HTTU was originally built as a Cal Poly …

Design Of An Energy Efficient Virtual End Node Client Using Openadr2.0a And Smap, Kevin Navero

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

Demand Response (DR) describes the set of actions taken to impose a reduction in electrical loads to stabilize the power grid and decrease costs. It is used when power grid emergencies or extremely high demand and congestion, threaten the electricity supply-demand balance. Automated Demand Response (ADR) describes a web-based control system that triggers DR events automatically by signaling other pre-programmed control systems. This project intends to use the OpenADR2.0 specifications provided by the OpenADR Alliance to construct an open source Virtual End Node (VEN) client to retrieve DR signals. The Simple Measurement and Actuation Profile (sMAP) software is also used …

Low Speed Alternator Design, Scott Merrick

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Micro Hydropower System, Christpher Neally, Ian Verstuyft

Electrical Engineering

The micro hydropower project strives to meet the needs of a specific village in northern Thailand in partnership with Engineers Without Borders. Specifically, the electrical side of the system must be designed to convert the mechanical power of a flowing river that is turning a turbine into sustainable and dependable power. Currently available hydropower systems will be considered, analyzed, and tailored to suit the specific needs of the community in need. The system to be designed will be flexible enough to demonstrate proof-of-concept with the limited maximum generable power in lab while having the ability to be easily scaled for …

Hvac Lab, Adrian Leon, Wes Allen

Mechanical Engineering

The Cal Poly Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Department was donated a fume hood so that it could be used for educational purposes in the lab. The fume hood was not fully set up and only ran in a constant volume mode; the fan ran at full speed with no feedback to reduce air flow. A fume hood can be opened or closed using the sash; air flowing through the sash opening must always be above a certain speed. As the sash is closed the opening grows smaller and the speed of the air increases. Two additional modes of …

Cal Poly Brocade Challenge 2013, Chandler Morehardt, Alexa Coburn, Juan Silva, Kerry Sun, Greg Wang, Raul Chagoya, Jd Torres

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.