Conference Session

Design Based Energy Education

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Oxana S Pantchenko, University of California at Santa Cruz; Tiffany Wise-West P.E., University of California Santa Cruz; Michael S. Isaacson, University of California, Santa Cruz; Ali Shakouri Shakouri, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

Paper ID #5673Enhancing Student Learning Through a Real-World Project in a RenewableEnergy Courses CourseDr. Oxana S Pantchenko, University of California at Santa CruzMs. Tiffany Wise-West P.E., University of California Santa Cruz My civil engineering background is in utility infrastructure planning, design and project management, specializing in urban water and energy systems. Broadly, I am interested in the sociocultural and political economic dimensions of community-based natural resource management. My current research work is focused on sustainable municipal infrastructure projects, ranging from renewable energy to

Conference Session

Topics in Biomass and Gasification Processes

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Madhumi Mitra Ph.D, University of Maryland Eastern Shore; Abhijit Nagchaudhuri, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Corinne Johnson Rutzke, Corinne Rutzke

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

courses and currícula; 3) motivate and inspire students topursue careers in the STEAM disciplines with appreciation of sustainable issues; and 4)strengthening collaborations with existing partners as well as school systems for future projects(both research and education) on bioenergy and bio-based products and global climate change.Each NBBEP partner offers internships (summer field experience) and a NBBEP Institute duringthe summer at their site, immediately following the three-week enrichment and planning effortheld at Cornell University where all the site instructors and project leaders participate. This paperfocuses on the summer institute on Bioenergy and Bioproducts held at UMES led by the authors.2.0 NBBEP and the Kolb’s Experiential

Conference Session

Topics in Biomass and Gasification Processes

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Drew Witte, IUPUI; Peter J. Schubert, IUPUI

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

America, can be seen from space, and is full. It is scheduled to closein October 20134. NYC has shifted all their MSW transfer stations to the waterfront, to providemore options for export of trash5. The “City that Never Sleeps” is already the biggest exporter inthe US, sending trash as far away as Indiana and Texas. In the European Union, available spacefor new landfills has already vanished, and has sparked huge interest in converting waste intoenergy, thereby solving two problems at the same time6. In the US, a few waste-to-energy(WTE) projects are either being planned or are in pilot scale operation. For thermal energy only,a number of “mass burn” facilities exist which combust trash to produce steam, although theenvironmental suitability of

Conference Session

Topics in Biomass and Gasification Processes

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wookwon Lee, Gannon University; Harry R. Diz, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

threeengineering departments.Even though the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET mandates that engineeringprograms demonstrate that students achieve “(d) ability to function on multidisciplinary teams,”most senior design projects at our institution are discipline specific. Although the ECEdepartment actively promotes interdisciplinary projects and collaboration among students fromits two programs, computer engineering and electrical engineering it is in general challenging forall projects to be interdisciplinary. When planning an interdisciplinary senior design experienceamong three engineering departments, there were significant institutionalized obstacles to beovercome. It was quickly realized that even the timing and structure of the senior

Conference Session

Training and Workforce Needs in the Energy Sector

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hayrettin B Karayaka, Western Carolina University; Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

weighed equally to determine the overall student eligibility ranking. Thecandidates were later contacted with official scholarship offer letters. The selection of fivecandidates out of top nine was realized in three rounds of contacting of two weeks of timeperiods. The recipients included four incoming freshmen and one existing university student.Finally, to implement an evaluation plan with the purpose of measuring this project’s earlyimpact in attracting and retaining students for careers in nuclear power, a first semester intakesurvey of not only award candidates but their peers recruited into the Engineering andEngineering Technology program was conducted. In this paper, we discuss the details of thisprogram as it was implemented in the first

Conference Session

Topics in Energy Management

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jaime Ramos-Salas P.E., University of Texas, Pan American; Emmanuel Benitez, University of Texas, Pan American; Leonel Aguilera, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

acquisition systemwith energy management is a small step onto having a micro scale smart grid in our laboratory.Another main reason for developing this project is to have laboratories for student teachings,other projects, and master’s theses. We are planning to have up-to-date laboratories andassignments with engineering tasks which are not taught in other courses. One of our laboratoryassignment plans is to educate our undergraduate students in the programming softwareLabVIEW.We feel that LabVIEW is becoming very popular in the engineering field and it is a good idea tohave our students exposed to it.We have developed a laboratory assignment which is a reduced form of our data acquisitionsystem. This lab will introduce the students to instrument

Conference Session

Topics in Energy Management

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Esther T. Ososanya, University of the District of Columbia; Sasan Haghani, University of the District of Columbia; Wagdy H Mahmoud, University of the District of Columbia

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

monitor daily electricity consumption has becomeincreasingly important with the ever growing demands for energy. Monitoring and quantifyingpower consumption enables engineers to notice problems with systems while in operation, andalso better plan future systems from the data gathered. As a result, power quality (PQ)measurement concepts are evolving from instantaneous metering to continuous monitoring andrecent developments in measurement technology make PQ monitoring systems more powerful.This equates to the construction and utilization of more flexible, compact and intelligent PQsystems.The goal of this project was to design, construct and test a monitoring system that is cost-effective, reliable and easily deployable in any environment. The

Conference Session

Electrical Energy Courses, Labs, and Projects I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hirak C Patangia, University of Arkansas, Little Rock

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

, Curriculum1. INTRODUCTIONWith energy cost rising and the dangers of climate change due to energy-related greenhouseeffect, there has been a great national interest in renewable energy. Energy security has been apublic concern. Among the clean and green power sources, the photovoltaic solar power has thepotential to supply a significant fraction of electrical energy need. With the sky rocketing gasprice of past years, people are paying serious attention to alternate energy and this enthusiasmmust be carried on to undergraduate engineering education. As a cornerstone of his energy,environment, and economic plans, President Barack Obama urges the country to transform itsenergy system to make it greener and smarter. This project seeks to address such a

Conference Session

Electrical Energy Courses, Labs, and Projects II

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Ferris, Portland State University; Robert B Bass, Portland State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

c American Society for Engineering Education, 2013 A Power Systems Protection Teaching Laboratory for Undergraduate and Graduate Power Engineering EducationAbstractThe Electrical & Computer Engineering faculty at Portland State University has redesigned itsBS- and MS-level electrical engineering power systems programs. This paper focuses on thedevelopment of a new education laboratory for the redesigned 400/500-level power systemprotection course. Specifically, we discuss the educational goals of the laboratory, thecurriculum presented during the inaugural offering of the course, results from student surveysand our plans for refining the curriculum and expanding the laboratory.IntroductionMotivated by the growing

Conference Session

Topics in Biomass and Gasification Processes

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew J. Traum, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Kyle Pace; Jeremy R Anderson, EASENET

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

differences between the gasifier and the direct combustionburners used were significant. These differences presented many uncontrolled variables thatdetracted from quantitative comparison of the two processes. As described below in FutureWork, direct combustion experiments planned in upcoming classes will use a second vacuumbottle to eliminate geometric dissimilarities between the two systems.Wood Ash and Unburned FuelThe ash and unburned fuel remaining at the end of the combustion processes provided additionalcomparisons and efficacy measures between the gasifier and direct combustor. For completecombustion, biomass leaves trace amounts of ash, made up mostly of non-organic chemicals thatdo not burn. However, if inadequate oxygen was available to

Conference Session

Design Based Energy Education

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bill M. Diong, Southern Polytechnic State University; Scott J. Tippens, Southern Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

presented at the National Sustainable DesignExpo held on April 18 and 19, 2013, and we plan to present and/or publish a detailed technicalpaper about this PV module at a Solar Energy conference or in a Solar Energy journal. Fig. 5. The prototype module: (a) SolidWorks® model, and (b) actual device. Fig. 6. The standard panel being used as the baseline for energy collection comparison.ConclusionsA student team was assembled recently to participate in the EPA-sponsored P3 national designcompetition. The team’s objective is to design a fixed-tilt PV module, enclosing individualcolumns of solar cells that can separately track the sun. A preliminary design has been completed,and the team is performing tests to quantify the improvement upon

Conference Session

Topics in Energy Management

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Lau, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

fall2012. The plan is to limit each NZEH design to a fixed construction cost budget, and then tohave students do tradeoff analysis considering insulation levels, number and types of windows,type of heating/cooling system, solar water heating, and perhaps most importantly, overall size ofthe house. Construction cost data was developed from RSMeans along with consultations withcontractors and equipment suppliers. By constraining the project to be NZEH, the efficiencylevels that are economically justified are measurably higher than a more typical house designwhere current electricity prices are the basis for energy tradeoffs. Another way of saying this isthat putting in more insulation in the wall, for example, and reducing the electricity needed

Conference Session

Electrical Energy Courses, Labs, and Projects II

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hayrettin Bora Karayaka, Western Carolina University; Robert D. Adams, Western Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

graduates in the department of engineering and technology at WCU,developing an emphasis in electric power engineering plays a vital role in educating the nextgeneration of the region’s power industry workforce.To that end, an undergraduate curriculum development effort was planned and is projected totrain, prepare for research, and educate the students enrolled in the Department of Engineeringand Technology for careers in the power industry. The curriculum includes three fundamentalpower engineering courses: 1. Power Systems 2. Power Electronics 3. Electrical Machines and DrivesThis paper describes in detail the first pilot implementation of the Power Systems coursecomponent entitled “Modern Power Systems Analysis” for Electrical and

Conference Session

Electrical Energy Courses, Labs, and Projects I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ona Egbue, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla MO; Suzanna Long, Missouri University of Science & Technology; Ean-Harn Ng, Oregon State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

analysis of organizational principlesSynthesis: Synthesis dimension evaluates the ability to create, formulate, design. The threesubcategories within synthesis are production of a unique communication, production of a plan, Page 23.483.4or proposed set of operations, and derivations of a set of abstract relations. 3Evaluation: Evaluation dimension evaluates the ability to make judgment, including theevaluation in terms of internal evidence, and judgments in terms of external criteria.3, 4 In therevised Taxonomy, the number of dimensions in the Cognitive domains remains the same, withmodifications to

Conference Session

Design Based Energy Education

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alamgir A. Choudhury, Western Michigan University; Jorge Rodriguez PhD, MBA, Western Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

. Page 23.58.6 5 Table 1. Course Factor Table 2. Motor Efficiency Index4. Energy efficiency testing laboratoryA more detail energy efficiency laboratory is planned to test performance of a prototype, existingcomponents with variety of system configuration, and fluid power system designed in general (Figure 4). Page 23.58.7 6 Pump

Conference Session

Electrical Energy Courses, Labs, and Projects I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dale H. Litwhiler, Pennsylvania State University, Berks Campus; Elizabeth Wiggins-Lopez, PSU-Berks

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

savingfunction of an occupancy sensor in the room. The plan was to try to use the original occupancysensor device in some way. The next student project opportunity became apparent.The occupancy sensor used in this project is the DT-300 manufactured by WattStopper® 8. TheDT-300 requires 24VDC power, which is usually provided by the internal power supply of theaccompanying solid-state relay module. Now, however, the DT-300 could be powered from the24VDC microgrid. The problem remained how to control the room lighting from the occupancysensor output signal. The answer was to create infrared signals to send to the lighting controlunits that were already installed (and presented here as projects 1 and 2).The technical challenge with the infrared transmitter

Conference Session

Electrical Energy Courses, Labs, and Projects I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Al DUPE Mundy, United States Air Force Academy; Andrew Laffely, US Air Force Academy; Bryan John Cooper, United States Air Force; George York, U.S. Air Force Academy; Herbert L. Hess, University of Idaho, Moscow

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

accessible withminor effort. People interested in the mechanical aspects of the vehicle can clearly see how things areconnected and how they work. The vehicle has up to 1500 lbs. of towing capability, and can haul ouroff-road trailer which houses the energy harvesting and storage system.B. Vehicle Electric. We use a 325V LiFePo battery system to power a three-phase AC motor via a highpower DC-AC converter/controller. In addition to the high voltage system, the vehicle also uses astandard 12V system for lights and ignition.C. Energy Harvesting and Storage System. Housed in an commercial-off-the-shelf off-road trailer, thisportion of the EES is currently at the prototype stage and plans to harvest energy from a combination ofsolar, wind, and human

Conference Session

New Concepts for Alternative and Renewable Energy Courses

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Radian G Belu, Drexel University (Tech.)

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

rapid progress in renewable energyutilization, there is a great need for trained professionals with adequate knowledge in this area tobe able to plan, design and operate RES systems, and perform analytic evaluation of their impacton power systems to which they are connected1-5. On the other hand, electric power systems,electric transmission and distribution systems are undergoing rapid changes due to deregulation,the penetration of dispersed and distributed energy resources (DER), renewable energygeneration and power electronics technologies, and the adoption of efficient computation,communications and control mechanisms. Due to these facts together with the interest of keepingstudents abreast of the current scientific and technological

Conference Session

Electrical Energy Courses, Labs, and Projects I

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faruk Yildiz, Sam Houston State University; Keith L. Coogler, Sam Houston State University; Bill Crockford, Sam Houston State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

provides air conditioning to the mainlaboratory building classroom and office area. Students decided to use an Air Conditioner(HVAC) unit to test the TEG unit and do simulation according to the temperature environment inthe unit. The simulation is a thermal analysis using the finite element method. There is nostructural analysis. The components are oriented out of plan with each other, not because ofstructural deformation, but because the hot and cold lines in the condenser unit were not parallelto each other and we wanted to avoid putting a mechanical load on the thermoelectric unit. Aflexible component was later added to the system to prevent mechanical loading of thethermoelectric module due to either thermal stress/strain or vibration. Here

Conference Session

New Concepts for Alternative and Renewable Energy Courses

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mehmet Sozen, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

their design analysis. The students who had a wind energy projectsintended to use INLWind Energy program but due to the location of their feasibility study theycould not obtain wind data in the format required by this program, and so they had to developtheir own analysis programs. The author is planning to continue making the use of these softwaretools in the aforementioned course with some improvements. Valuable lessons were learnedfrom this trial as to what kind of difficulties the students have encountered and what kind ofadjustments need to be made in order to make the use of these software tools both enjoyable andbeneficial to the education and training of the students.References1. Sözen, M., “From a Traditional Combustion Course to an

Conference Session

New Concepts for Alternative and Renewable Energy Courses

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Elizabeth (elisha) Mh Garcia, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Deanna L Bergondo, United States Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Energy Conversion and Conservation

recommended toincorporate electronic library resources into the online learning management system used inconjunction with this course in order to involve the U.S. Coast Guard Academy library more instudent learning.Currently, this seminar has been proposed to be offered again in the spring of 2014 with the sameinstructors as 2012. The online learning management system is planned to be used to directlylink to the library in order to encourage students to use well-vetted resources as primaryreferences for the research during this course. Additionally, the order of presentations will beconsidered and shared with each of the presenters, so that there is not too much overlap betweenpresentations, such as the emphasis on the U.S. regulatory system for