Negotiating Higher Education In The US: Voices Of Ghanaian Graduate Students At A Midwestern University

In this case study, there was an examination to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of social interactions experienced by Ghanaian Students with various actors in curricular and co-curricular departments and perceptions of the support during these social interactions. Recommendations were made for ways to enhance social interactions. Data for this qualitative study was collected using three methods; non-participant observation, interviews, and focus group discussions. Participants for the study were six Ghanaian international students and five service providers selected from departments across the campus of a university in the Midwest. It was found that there were systemic issues that were affected by institutional, social, and personal factors. The study revealed that most of the social interactions were inhibited by inadequate social and cultural intelligence. Findings indicated that actors were ill prepared for cross-cultural interactions due of insufficient opportunities for exposure, cultural awareness and consciousness. The research showed that in order to effectively address these issues, there is need for a re-socialization of all actors involved into an institutional culture that promotes social and cultural intelligence. Suggestions for change included increasing access to more interactive activities that promote and encourage all actors to have more opportunities for cross-cultural interactions. It would also create avenues for more cross cultural efficacy, assertiveness and proactivity in future social interactions. Participants concluded that in order to have successful academic outcomes and experiences, and xiv mitigate negative experiences, there was need for the institution to establish programs and policies that are geared towards enhancing cross-cultural relations and inter-cultural interactions. Also, all participating actors must be willing to embrace changes to become more assertive, proactive, and augment the social and cultural intelligences

Solar hydrogen system for cooking applications: Experimental and numerical study

This paper describes the development of a semi-empirical numerical model for a solar hydrogen system consisting of a proton exchange membrane electrolyser (PEM) powered by photovoltaic panels to produce hydrogen as fuel for cooking applications, focussing on Jamaica as a suitable case-study. The model was developed in TRNSYS and includes a novel numerical component based on FORTRAN to model the operation of the PEM electrolyser. The numerical component was developed based on operational data from a purpose constructed small-scale experimental rig. The numerical model was calibrated using data from the experimental rig powered by operational data from a photovoltaic panel system in the UK and predicted photovoltaic panel power data from Jamaica. For the test conditions, experiments indicated an electrolysis maximum efficiency of 63.6%. The calibrated model was used to develop a case study analysis for a small community in Jamaica with a daily cooking demand of 39.6kWh or 1.7kg of H2 gas. Simulations indicate that the H2 production plan is sufficient for the cooking needs of the case-study.This project is partly funded by ACP Caribbean & Pacific Research Programme for Sustainable Development of the European Union (EuropeAid/130381/D/ACT/ACP)

Addressing System Integration Issues Required for the Developmente of Distributed Wind-Hydrogen Energy Systems: Final Report

Wind generated electricity is a variable resource. Hydrogen can be generated as an energy storage media, but is costly. Advancements in power electronics and system integration are needed to make a viable system. Therefore, the long-term goal of the efforts at the University of North Dakota is to merge wind energy, hydrogen production, and fuel cells to bring emission-free and reliable power to commercial viability. The primary goals include 1) expand system models as a tool to investigate integration and control issues, 2) examine long-term effects of wind-electrolysis performance from a systematic perspective, and 3) collaborate with NREL and industrial partners to design, integrate, and quantify system improvements by implementing a single power electronics package to interface wild AC to PEM stack DC requirements. This report summarizes the accomplishments made during this project

Exergetic Evaluation of a High-Pressure Hydrogen Production System

This study presents exergetic assessment of a high-pressure hydrogen production system (HPS). The system considered in this study includes a high-pressure proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, two heat exchangers, a motor pump system, a circulation pump, and a hot water tank. In order to perform the main objective of this study, the following important parameters are taken into consideration: (1) the operating pressure (ranging from 1 to 200 bar), (2) the operating temperature (ranging from 70 to 80 °C), (3) dead-state temperature (assumed to be 25 °C), (4) the energy efficiency of the PEM electrolyzer (ranging from 0.5 to 1), (5) the pump efficiency (assumed to be 0.8), (6) mass flow rate of hydrogen from PEM electrolyzer (3 kg per hour), and (7) mass flow rate of pure water supplied to the PEM electrolysis (27 per hour). Considering all these parameters, exergy analysis is performed for the HPS. The results show that exergy efficiency of HPS increases with the rise of the operating pressure and temperature. It thus requires a higher amount of energy input. In this regard, there is a strong need to optimize the process. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014