Design And Optimization Of A Wave Energy Harvester Utilizing A Flywheel Energy Storage System

This thesis details the design and optimization of a buoy used to collect renewable energy from ocean waves. The proposed buoy is a point absorber—a device that transforms the kinetic energy of the vertical motion of surface waves into electrical energy. The focus of the research is on the mechanical system used to collect the energy, and methods to improve it for eventual use in an actual wave energy harvester. A flywheel energy storage system was utilized in order to provide an improved power output from the system, even with the intermittent input of force exerted by ocean waves. A series of laboratory prototypes were developed to analyze parameters that are important to the success of the point absorb mechanical system. By introducing a velocity-based load control scheme in conjunction with flywheel energy storage, it was seen that the average power output by the prototype was increased. The generator load is controlled via a relay switch that removes electrical resistance from the generator—this sacrifices time during which power is drawn from the system, but also allows the buoy to move with less resistance. A simulation model was developed in order to analyze the theoretical wave absorber system and optimize the velocity threshold parameters used in the load control. Results indicate that the power output by the system can be substantially improved through the use of a flywheel energy storage control scheme that engages and disengages the electrical load based on the rotational velocity of the flywheel system. The results of the optimization are given for varying-sized generator systems input into the simulation in order to observe the associated trends

Roles of non-coding RNA in sugarcane-microbe interaction

Studies have highlighted the importance of non-coding RNA regulation in plant-microbe interaction. However, the roles of sugarcane microRNAs (miRNAs) in the regulation of disease responses have not been investigated. Firstly, we screened the sRNA transcriptome of sugarcane infected with Acidovorax avenae. Conserved and novel miRNAs were identified. Additionally, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) were aligned to differentially expressed sequences from the sugarcane transcriptome. Interestingly, many siRNAs aligned to a transcript encoding a coppertransporter gene whose expression was induced in the presence of A. avenae, while the siRNAs were repressed in the presence of A. avenae. Moreover, a long intergenic non-coding RNA was identified as a potential target or decoy of miR408. To extend the bioinformatics analysis, we carried out independent inoculations and the expression patterns of six miRNAs were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR). Among these miRNAs, miR408—a copper- microRNA—was downregulated. The cleavage of a putative miR408 target, a laccase, was confirmed by a modified 50RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) assay. MiR408 was also downregulated in samples infected with other pathogens, but it was upregulated in the presence of a beneficial diazotrophic bacteria. Our results suggest that regulation by miR408 is important in sugarcane sensing whether microorganisms are either pathogenic or beneficial, triggering specific miRNA-mediated regulatory mechanisms accordingly

Lipid (per) oxidation in mitochondria:an emerging target in the ageing process?

Lipids are essential for physiological processes such as maintaining membrane integrity, providing a source of energy and acting as signalling molecules to control processes including cell proliferation, metabolism, inflammation and apoptosis. Disruption of lipid homeostasis can promote pathological changes that contribute towards biological ageing and age-related diseases. Several age-related diseases have been associated with altered lipid metabolism and an elevation in highly damaging lipid peroxidation products; the latter has been ascribed, at least in part, to mitochondrial dysfunction and elevated ROS formation. In addition, senescent cells, which are known to contribute significantly to age-related pathologies, are also associated with impaired mitochondrial function and changes in lipid metabolism. Therapeutic targeting of dysfunctional mitochondrial and pathological lipid metabolism is an emerging strategy for alleviating their negative impact during ageing and the progression to age-related diseases. Such therapies could include the use of drugs that prevent mitochondrial uncoupling, inhibit inflammatory lipid synthesis, modulate lipid transport or storage, reduce mitochondrial oxidative stress and eliminate senescent cells from tissues. In this review, we provide an overview of lipid structure and function, with emphasis on mitochondrial lipids and their potential for therapeutic targeting during ageing and age-related disease

Implementación de un aplicativo para dispositivos móviles que permita administrar el mapa del delito y controlar rutas inseguras en el Distrito del Tambo

En el Perú la inseguridad ciudadana es uno de los grandes motivos de temor para la población, este problema se ha ido visibilizando a través de los años por diversos motivos, tales como la falta de trabajo, la ausencia de principios en la sociedad, una inadecuada educación, entre otros. Dada esta problemática, las comisarías tienden a organizarse a través de listados de denuncias y la administración de trámites burocráticos, los cuales en su mayoría son lentos y con registros desactualizados , incumpliendo su rol de salvaguardar a la seguridad ciudadana. Ante ello, la solución que propuso la presente investigación es un aplicativo móvil que dé soporte informático al mapa del delito que administra una comisaría, proporcionando información actualizada para la seguridad de los ciudadano

Novel Design Of An Ocean Wave Power Device Utilizing A Bi-Directional Turbine

This paper details an innovative design for a wave energy harvester that converts the heaving motion of waves into electrical power. The conceptual design utilizes a unique bi-directional turbine system that develops a torque in a given direction, independent of whether the fluid is moving upward or downward. The result is power production both as the buoy is heaved upward by a wave as well as while the buoy falls after the wave passes. Although a Wells turbine is a bi-directional turbine currently in use, the proposed bi-directional design, unlike the Wells turbine, is intended to use the ocean water as the working fluid. In addition, in the proposed design, stator blades redirect the fluid to flow nearly parallel to the blade angle, as opposed to the nearly perpendicular flow that acts on the Wells blade. A simple computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed bi-directional design, indicating a 22.3% torque increase over a NACA 0012 Wells turbine blade of equal size. ©2010 IEEE

Implementación de un aplicativo para dispositivos móviles que permita administrar el mapa del delito y controlar rutas inseguras en el Distrito del Tambo

TesisEn el Perú la inseguridad ciudadana es uno de los grandes motivos de temor para la población, este problema se ha ido visibilizando a través de los años por diversos motivos, tales como la falta de trabajo, la ausencia de principios en la sociedad, una inadecuada educación, entre otros. Dada esta problemática, las comisarías tienden a organizarse a través de listados de denuncias y la administración de trámites burocráticos, los cuales en su mayoría son lentos y con registros desactualizados , incumpliendo su rol de salvaguardar a la seguridad ciudadana. Ante ello, la solución que propuso la presente investigación es un aplicativo móvil que dé soporte informático al mapa del delito que administra una comisaría, proporcionando información actualizada para la seguridad de los ciudadano

A Novel Design Of Wave Energy Harvest Device With Flywheel Energy Storage System

This paper describes a novel design of a wave energy harvest device that utilizes a flywheel energy storage (FES) system to yield increased power generation. The buoy design is moored to the ocean floor via a cable; as the buoy is heaved vertically by ocean waves, the cable rotates a pulley which in turn drives the rotor of an onboard generator. A ratchet within the pulley allows the rotor to only be turned in one direction. To prevent large tensions from begin imposed on the cable by the back torque from the generator, a flywheel energy storage system is used. As the buoy is heaved vertically by incident waves, the electric load on the generator is removed, resulting in all of the energy extracted by the buoy to be stored in the flywheel system. Consequently the buoy is less restricted by high tensions and able to closely follow the motion of the waves, even while using a large generator with a high back torque coefficient. As the buoy moves downward after being heaved, the load is re-coupled to the generator, transferring the energy stored by the flywheel to the generator. Essentially the FES system trades power generation time for improved buoy motion. The focus of the paper is not to optimize the design of the buoy, but rather demonstrate the effectiveness of the FES system for the buoy design with arbitrary parameters. Simple simulations for a small buoy confirm the effectiveness of the proposed flywheel energy storage system - without it the wave energy harvest device produced only 90.0 watts of power, but with it the device produced 180.3 watts - an improvement of 100%. This improvement is based on a small generator with low back torque coefficient; for a large-scale design and stronger generator, the benefits are expected to be even greater

Flywheel Energy Storage System With Functionally Gradient Nanocomposite Rotor

Flywheel energy storage (FES) devices have been a popular method of energy storage because of their low maintenance requirements and ability to charge and release substantial amounts of energy in a short period of time. The amount of energy stored in an FES device mainly depends on the angular velocity of the rotor. The objective of the rotor design is to maximize the angular velocity while maintaining the structural integrity. This paper studies the hypothetical value of maximum energy storage for different rotor materials. The analysis of the von Mises stress suggests the possibility of designing a functionally gradient nanocomposite rotor that is stronger at the inner radius and weaker at the outer radius. With this design, the material cost will be lower and the integrity of the structure will not be compromised. © 2010 IEEE