Exposing Engineering Students To Renewable Energy Through Hands-On Experiments

Renewable energy is the most rapidly growing discipline in today’s business world and is commonly viewed as the main arena for research and development in various fields. This article summarizes the work and efforts of an educational project conducted at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU). A major goal of the project was to design renewable energy laboratories and expose engineering students to clean energy technologies. Through this project, the investigators engaged students in renewable energy applications through hands-on experiments, encouraged interdisciplinary collaboration, and better prepared students to enter the energy workforce. Meanwhile, the project also benefited engineering educators by exploring effective teaching methods in energy education.

Following the Sun: The pioneering years of solar energy research at The Australian National University 1970—2005

In 1970 a small group of physicists at The Australian National University decided to veer away from the accepted and expected directions in energy research and pursued the emerging discipline of solar energy. Over the next decade ANU joined a small cluster of research institutions, including the CSIRO, UNSW and the University of Sydney, to emerge as a world leader in solar energy technology. This book traces the history of solar energy research at ANU over 35 years from its origin, its sometimes controversial early stages, through its flagship projects to its current status as one of the world’s best known solar energy research establishments. It is as much a story of the future as it is a history: Following the sun is the story of how an idea to pursue what was in 1970 a new and unpopular research path has come to underpin sustainable development in the 21st Century

Floating solar panel park

Treball desenvolupat dins el marc del programa 'European Project Semester'.This Final Report is the culmination of a four month long design study on floating solar panel park feasibility in Vaasa, Finland. The Floating Ideas Team was tasked with coming up with a design that would not only work, but also make a profit. The team focused a lot of time on initial research, an iterative design process, and experiments to gather information that could not be found during the research phase. In this report, one can expect to find the major findings from research in many different areas such as location, panel design, flotation design, cooling techniques, and efficiency adding techniques. The first takeaway is that implementing floating solar parks in Finland would require adding efficiency techniques such as mirrors or concentrators. Second, how the panels are placed means a lot in a location so far north. Placing the panels far away from each other and horizontally will reduce the negative impact of shadows. And third, the rotation of the structure is important in increasing efficiency. Multiple axis tracking is not necessary, but tracking in the vertical axis can add a 50% increase in power generated. This research then lead into the defining of four initial designs which were eventually paired down into one. The largest factors leading to the change in design were the combination of rotation and anchoring methods, the flotation structure, and the structure required hold the panel modules together. In the end, the final design is a modular circular design with panels and mirrors to help add efficiency, approximately 37%. From there, an economic and environmental feasibility study was done and for both, this design was deemed feasible for Finland. With the design, detailed in this report, it would be possible to implement this and make a profit off of it, leading the team to believe that this should be implemented in places looking for alternatives for renewable energy production

Drying of faecal sludge from ventilated-improved pit latrines( VIP latrines) using solar thermal energy.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines are a basic form of sanitation in South Africa. The main challenge facing the application of VIP latrines is the gradual fill up of the pit due to usage. A sustainable way of treating FS remains from sanitation systems is by using solar energy. This project is focused on the characterisation of solar drying for FS treatment. A solar thermobalance was designed and constructed to investigate the solar and open-air sun drying of FS. Mass variations, temperature, humidity and solar irradiance properties were monitored during the drying process. The drying experiments for solar drying were conducted with the following variables: weather conditions; air temperature; airflow velocity; sample thickness and surface area. The experiments were carried out in October and November 2017. The drying kinetics were observed to be influenced by the weather conditions, air temperature and air flow rate, but the sample thickness and surface area of the sample did not have any significant effect on the drying rate, under the explored conditions. Solar drying recorded drying rates which averaged 0.892 kg/h.m2 across the investigated parameters and were comprised between 0.622 to 1.135 kg/h.m2, whereas open-air drying averaged a drying rate of 0.479 kg/h.m2, varying in the range 0.686 - 0.078 kg/h.m2. The faecal sludge was found to dry best under sunny conditions, 30 oC air temperature and 0.5 m/s air flowrate. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was also conducted to characterise the influence of solar and open-air sun drying on the physico-chemical characteristics of faecal sludge. Density, shrinkage, thermal conductivity and heat capacity showed great dependence on the final moisture content which depended on the employed drying conditions. Crusting and cracking of the samples were observed to occur, and their intensity depended on the investigated conditions and were suspected to affect the drying rate in specific experimental conditions. This is shown in the lower drying rates for 1.0 m/s air flow rate and 60 oC air temperature. Odour strength increased with lower final moisture content. In summary, the application of solar energy for drying proved to be a feasible option for the treatment of FS. Drying in a solar thermal system with controlled conditions of air properties will consist in an improvement on the current sludge dehydration practices, such as the drying beds (open-air drying)

Future integration of photovoltaic power plants to the grid: a case study Azerbaijan

V dnešních podmínkách, kdy se dodávky energie každým dnem zvyšují, je nevyhnutelné obrátit se na udržitelné obnovitelné zdroje energie, abychom uspokojili energetické potřeby. Naše země má vysoký potenciál, pokud jde o solární energii, která je díky svým klimatickým charakteristikám a zeměpisné poloze jedním z obnovitelných zdrojů energie. Z tohoto důvodu je z hlediska energetického sektoru naší země zapotřebí plánování obnovitelné energie založené na přírodních zdrojích, které je integrováno do životního prostředí. Tato bakalářská práce se věnuje výzkumu vývoje fotovoltaických elektráren v Ázerbájdžánu. První část pojednává o celkovém přístupu k obnovitelným zdrojům energie (studijní případ jako solární energie) a druhá část se týká rozvoje fotovoltaických elektráren v Ázerbájdžánu. Význam projektu založeného na blízké budoucnosti pro získání dostatku energie bez využití neobnovitelných zdrojů energie.In today's conditions where energy supply is increasing day by day, it is unavoidable to turn to sustainable renewable energy sources in order to meet energy needs. Our country has a high potential in terms of solar energy, which is one of the renewable energy resources due to its climate characteristics and geographical location. For this reason, in terms of the energy sector of our country, there is a need for a renewable energy planning based on natural resources, which is integrated with the environment. This bachelor thesis dedicated to the research on development of photovoltaic power plants in Azerbaijan. First part is about the overall approach to the renewable energy sources(study case as solar energy) and the second part is about the development of photovoltaic power plants in Azerbaijan. The importance of project based on the close future to gain enough energy without utalization of unrenewable energy sources

Lab-Scale Circuit Breaker Module for Power System Laboratories

In this project, a circuit breaker that can simulate different types of power system faults is redesigned, constructed, and tested. They will then be implemented in power systems laboratory courses at Cal Poly. The project’s goal is to improve a previous circuit breaker design to help students better visualize how faults affect power systems in the real world. Two main improvements are made to the previous circuit breaker design. The first improvement is to power the breaker with a typical wall outlet adapter instead of the DC source from the Cal Poly power systems laboratory test benches. This lets the circuit breakers be used in settings other than at Cal Poly. This also reduces manufacturing costs for the circuit breaker to allow the Cal Poly EE department to afford more modules for increased student use. The adapter converts the AC wall voltage to a lower DC value than the test bench to allow for lower voltage ratings and thus lower costs of each component. The second improvement is to redesign the faceplate layout to appear more intuitive and linear by rearranging, connecting, or removing certain terminals. These changes allow students to more easily understand how current flows through the circuit breaker and makes wire setup and troubleshooting simpler. After the final circuit breaker was constructed, testing determined correct breaker functionality, and the circuit breaker can be replicated and used at reduced costs in future Cal Poly Electrical Engineering Labs

Adapting an Effective Interface for a Passive Solar System with a Truncated Pyramid Concentrator

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Science by Shirley M. Flinders on December 3, 2003

Study of Systems and Technology for Liquid Hydrogen Production Independent of Fossil Fuels

Based on Kennedy Space Center siting and logistics requirements and the nonfossil energy resources at the Center, a number of applicable technologies and system candidates for hydrogen production were identified and characterized. A two stage screening of these technologies in the light of specific criteria identified two leading candidates as nonfossil system approaches. Conceptual design and costing of two solar-operated, stand alone systems, one photovoltaic based on and the other involving the power tower approach reveals their technical feasibility as sited as KSC, and the potential for product cost competitiveness with conventional supply approaches in the 1990 to 1210 time period. Conventional water hydrolysis and hydrogen liquefaction subsystems are integrated with the solar subsystems

Solar thermal technology report, FY 1981. Volume 2: Technical

Detailed descriptions of the Department of Energy's Solar Thermal Technology Program projects and activities are given. A bibliography on solar energy conversion is included