DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF BI-AXIAL SOLAR TRACKER USING ARDUINO

Solar energy is a renewable free source of energy that is inexhaustible and sustainable, unlike fossil fuels that are finite. Research is being performed for the development of more efficient systems by absorbing maximum sun light and converting it into electrical power.The purpose of this work is to make more efficient solar panels for photovoltaic perpendicular rays of the sun throughout the year.This includes the design and implementation of research-based Arduino dual axis solar tracking system. The development of experimental setup is comprised of two parts: hardware and software. During hardware development phase, four light dependent resisters have been installed in “+ shaped “mounting on the top of solar panel. Two DC geared motors have been fixed to rotate the solar panel in mutually perpendicular axis to each other so that the plane of each solar panel remains normal to the incident rays of the sun all the time in a day. Firstly, a code in C language is developed and fed to the microcontroller “Arduino UNO”. The graphical user interface (GUI) is developed in “Lab VIEW” and connected with microcontroller to examinethe real time displacement of solar panel in both axes by the feedback information of LDR sensors. This allows two-axis tracking of solar energy and the solar panel is capable of producing electrical energy with sunlight throughout the whole day.Therefore, average power produced by biaxial solar tracker in a day is 20.98% more than that by simple static system

Comparative Study of White Layer Characteristics for Static and Rotating Workpiece during Electric Discharge Machining

EDMed (Electric Discharge Machined) surfaces are unique in their appearance and metallurgical characteristics, which depend on different parameter such as electric parameters, flushing method, and dielectric type. Conventionally, in static workpiece method the EDM (Electric Discharge Machining) is performed by submerging both of the tool and workpiece in dielectric liquid and side flushing is provided by impinging pressurized dielectric liquid into the gap. Another flushing method has been investigated in this study, in which, instead of side flushing the rotation motion is provided to the workpiece. Surface characteristics for both flushing methods are determined and compared in this study. The investigated surface characteristics are: surface roughness, crater size, surface morphology, white layer thickness and composition. These investigations are performed using optical and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). Statistical confidence limits are determined for scattered data of surface roughness. It is found that the white layer thickness and surface roughness are directly proportional to discharge current for both flushing methods. The comparison has shown that the side flushing of statics workpiece gives thicker white layer and lower surface finish as compared to the flushing caused by the rotation of workpiec

CEMENT INDUSTRY PREFERENCES FOR CAPTIVE POWER PLANTS IN PERSPECTIVE OF CURRENT ENERGY CRISES OF PAKISTAN

In the current wake of energy deficiency, senior management of Pakistan Cement Industry is forced to look for non-conventional sources for electricity generation. Comparative study of captive power plant (CPP) options may help the top management in decision making and highlight the industry preferences for installation of new CPPs. This paper presents an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) based multidimensional approach to select the CPP’s for cement industry and to prioritize the factors affecting this selection. The CPP’s shortlisted for this analysis include; Coal Fired CPP (CF-CPP), Refused Derived Fuel CPP (RDF-CPP) and Waste Heat Recovery CPP (WHR-CPP). The AHP routines are modelled in respective software. Data specific models are solved using the data collected from top management of different cement plants in Pakistan. The quantitative data for alternative power plants with respect to each criterion has been collected from different data bases. AHP results show that Pakistan cement industry has a strong demand for non-conventional CPP’s and the top management is giving high priority to factors like ‘Automation’ and ‘Performance’ while installing the CPP’s. Management is not much sensitive about the associated initial costs. The paper concludes with a ranking list in which WHR-CPP is at the top while RDF-CPP and CF-CPP are at the second and third place respectively. The results may help the policy makers of international CPP manufacturing firms and national cement industries in their future strategic decisions

Captive Power Plant Selection for Pakistan Cement Industry in Perspective of Current Energy Crises: A Fuzzy-AHP Approach

Based on the prevailing energy crisis, it is reasonable for the Cement industry of Pakistan to look for alternate sources of electricity generation. The decision of selecting a CPP (Captive Power Plant) depends on a broad variety of parameters which may be conflicting to each other. A comparative evaluation of these CPP?s should be helpful for industry, particularly if the applied methodology can handle with the real world ambiguities and imprecisions associated with the data pools and expert opinions. This paper utilizes an F-AHP (Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process) based multi-attribute framework to prioritize the affecting parameters and assign rankings to the CPP alternatives. The CPP?s recommended by experts for this study are RDF-CPP (Refused Derived Fuel CPP), CF-CPP (Coal Fired CPP) and WHR-CPP (Waste Heat Recovery CPP). The factors affecting the decision of selecting the optimum CPP are prioritized by the experts using our F-AHP approach. Real world quantitative data is extracted from different online resources and financial reports of cement companies in Pakistan. The F-AHP model is flexible enough to deal with a variety of inputs including qualitative scales, crisp values and standard fuzzy numbers. The model is solved and a sensitivity analysis is performed in respective software. This study shows that non-conventional CPPs are highly demanded for cement industry in Pakistan and while selecting these CPPs, management gives high priority to factors like 'automation' and 'environment' whereas associated "initial cost" is not given much weight in decision making.In concluding ranking list, WHR-CPP is at the top and CF-CPP is at the bottom. This study may facilitate decision makers of cement industry in Pakistan and international CPP manufacturers alike in their forthcoming strategic decision