Description: This poster discusses research on transitioning coal-fired power plants into combined solar and wind energy power plants. Using a combination of solar power during the day and wind energy at night, the author is attempting to eliminate coal from society's energy equation by transforming coal-fired power plants into renewable energy based power plants. The power output of the plant before and after this transformation will be examined using a combination of data analysis and evaluation of a case study performed on an actual power plant. The effect of this transformation on the revenue stream of the power plant will also be reviewed to determine if this project would be beneficial to power companies. Many researchers have already begun looking for ways to make coal-fired plants more environmentally friendly via an implementation of wind or solar energy alongside the traditional coal-fired design. An assessment of their different approaches has provided a foundation from which the author has established the author's own designs.

Description: This poster discusses a research study of thermal properties of irradiation-induced stainless steels used in the development of nuclear reactors. In the development of nuclear power reactors, the use of metals able to withstand high temperatures and induced radiation is paramount. Molecular decomposition, embrittlement and swelling at the grain level of such materials are a consequence of intense neutron bombardment. Materials such as stainless steel T91 and oxide dispersed steel (ODS) are widely used in nuclear reactors. Mechanical and thermal properties at the grain level of these materials under irradiation have not been sufficiently demonstrated, for which the understanding and modeling of such parameters may lead to better maintenance of nuclear power plants, further development of newer materials and alloys, and material failure prediction. The purpose of this research is to further investigate the conduction of stainless steels at the grain level when subjected to intense radiation and high temperatures for efficient heat exchanger design and prediction of material failure.

Description: This paper discusses Mechanical and Energy Engineering curriculum. Abstract: The continuing expansion of the new College of Engineering at the University of North Texas (UNT) has created an opportunity to establish a new Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering and an excellent occasion for the establishment of innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to engineering education. The explicit addition of Energy to the Mechanical Engineering curriculum is a new model of engineering education that parallels the innovations of our current Learning to Learn (L2L) project oriented concept course with the addition of innovative approaches for mechanical engineering and emphasis on energy engineering education. The new Mechanical and Energy Engineering (MEE) baccalaureate-level program will provide the intellectual foundation for successful career preparation and lifelong learning for the students. This innovative curriculum has been designed with a system-level approach to ME-based design., on the fundamentals of undergraduate level energy engineering within the mechanical engineering discipline, and will provide experiential-oriented approaches for the better understanding of classical mechanical engineering principles. It will also provide a new interdisciplinary ME curriculum approach to the most important energy technology areas. We are going to present the curriculum and discuss components of the program from freshman to to senior ...

Description: This paper discusses electrowetting solar cell. Abstract: A solar concentrator was developed using a novel optofluidic system. With two immiscible fluids (water and silicone oil) in a transparent cell of aperture size 10mm x 10mm, the authors can actively control the contact angle along the fluid-fluid-solid tri-junction line and hence the orientation of the fluid-fluid interface via electrowetting With 1 wt% KCl and 1 wt% SDS (Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate) added into DI water, the orientation of the water-silicone oil interface can be successfully modulated between 0º and 26º, deflecting sunlight within the incidence angle of 0º-15º. Without any mechanical moving parts, this dynamic liquid prism allows the device to adaptively track both the daily and seasonal changes of the Sun's orbit, i.e., dual-axis tracking. This invention reduces capital costs for concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) and increases operational efficiency by eliminating the power consumption of mechanical tracking. Most importantly, the elimination of bulky tracking hardware and quiet operation will allow extensive residential deployment of concentrated solar power. In comparison with traditional silicon-based PV solar cells, the electrowetting-based self-tracking technology will generate ~70% more green energy with a 50% cost reduction. The success of this program has huge market impacts and will enable ...