Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion

Projects

The purpose of the term projects is to research and study an energy conversion technology in greater depth than possible in class. The project should incorporate thermodynamic analysis if dealing with thermal energy as well as the energy source/fuel, methods of conversion, targeted power range, political and economic constraints, and competing technologies. A technical report and a presentation session will be the final deliverables for the project.

General Notes

1. Consult the literature and use good engineering judgment (based on science not speculation). Be analytical, use data, statistics and graphics, but quote only meaningful data. Give proper citations.
2. The project scope should be analytical/technical and be based on the tools learned in the class. While economic and policy considerations are important and can be briefly addressed, they should not be the focus of the project.
3. Grading of the project: 9% midterm report + 20% final report + 5% presentation
4. You are not allowed to work on a topic directly connected to your prior or current thesis, UROP, RA, or industrial work.
5. You are not allowed to use consultants other than the class staff and project supervisors.

Topic: Storage, Stationary or Mobile, at Different Scales

Choose thermal, chemical, electrical, mechanical storage or a combination. Apply to a bike, car, (off-grid) house/building/MIT, grid-level, renewable power plant, city/country. Select a technology, review recent developments and do design analysis to your selected application.

Example: Using H₂ as a Transportation Fuel

1. Background material may include: Why use H₂ as a transportation fuel, pros and cons.

   How: Sources and production methods of H₂, distribution, local and onboard storage, how will it be used in a powertrain, i.e., in engines, fuel cells, turbines? Prospects for success or improvement.

2. Which part of the problem do you propose to focus your analysis on?

   Example of problems include: production: from fossil, nuclear, renewable, etc.; production efficiency, cost, etc.; storage: high pressure, liquid, porous material, storage efficiency, weight, cost, charging and discharging efficiency, etc.; utilization: engines, FC; hybrid: cost, efficiency.

3. Your analysis results:

   Show the evidence that a certain combination of technologies is promising, e.g., if hydrogen is produced using _____, stored in _____, used in _____ conversion technology, the overall efficiency is acceptable _____.

Timeline

1. By Lecture 5, form teams of two students and select a specific topic in storage (or propose a related topic).
2. By Lecture 7, send an email to TA with the team members, project title, role of each team member, and a single paragraph describing your project.
3. By Lecture 15, submit a report, max 10-page long single-space with figures, summarizing background, relevant literature, and proposed focus of your analysis.
4. By Lecture 25, submit the final report, including background and analysis. Report length is 25 pages max, single-space with figure. Extra material can be included in Appendices.
5. On Lecture 26, project presentation. Presentation length is 20 minutes including Q&A.