2010 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings
In this paper we describe the formation and administration of a new minor in hydrogen and fuel ce... more In this paper we describe the formation and administration of a new minor in hydrogen and fuel cell technology at Michigan Technological University. To receive the 16 credit minor, students are required to satisfy requirements in four areas, which are: Participation in multiple semesters of the Alternative Fuels Group Enterprise, where students work on hands-on integration, design, and/or research projects in hydrogen and fuel cells Taking a fuel cell course Taking a lecture or laboratory course on hydrogen energy Taking discipline-specific elective courses In addition to describing the minor, the paper will also describe the content of the Alternative Fuels Group Enterprise as well as the fuel cell and hydrogen energy courses.
In this project, we report on the development of energy modules for use in the chemical, mechanic... more In this project, we report on the development of energy modules for use in the chemical, mechanical, or electrical engineering curriculum. This project follows on our successful development of hydrogen and fuel cell related modules. We base the module design in a format which enables students to apply principles from their core classes to learn about traditional and alternative energy technology. Each module contains an introduction, problem motivation and background, example problem statement, example problem solution, and a homework problem statement. Instructors can obtain the solutions from the lead author by email. Both the fuel cell and energy modules have been used at Michigan Technological University in the following manner: * Short lecture on a chemical engineering (or energy) topic * Handout of a module to serve as an in-class problem * Instructor helps students work through the example problem and apply to the homework problem * The homework problem is due at a future cla...
ASME 2010 8th International Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology Conference: Volume 2, 2010
There is a strong need for a transformative curriculum to train the next generation of engineers ... more There is a strong need for a transformative curriculum to train the next generation of engineers who will help design, construct, and operate fuel cell vehicles and the associated hydrogen fueling infrastructure. In this poster we discuss how we integrate fuel cell and hydrogen technology into the project-based, hands-on learning experiences in engineering education at Michigan Technological University. Our approach is to involve students in the learning process via team-based interactive projects with a real-world flavor. This project has resulted in the formation of an “Interdisciplinary Minor in Hydrogen Technology” at Michigan Technological University. To receive the 16 credit minor, students are required to satisfy requirements in four areas, which are: • Participation in multiple semesters of the Alternative Fuels Group Enterprise, where students work on hands-on integration, design, and/or research projects in hydrogen and fuel cells. • Enrolling in a fuel cell course. • Enro...
The objective of this project was four-fold. First, we developed new courses in alternative energ... more The objective of this project was four-fold. First, we developed new courses in alternative energy and hydrogen laboratory and update existing courses in fuel cells. Secondly, we developed hydrogen technology degree programs. Thirdly, we developed hydrogen technology related course material for core courses in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. Finally, we developed fuel cell subject material to supplement the Felder & Rousseau and the Geankoplis chemical engineering undergraduate textbooks. Background: There is a need to educate students on the advantages and disadvantages of a hydrogen economy. This is important since hydrogen has been proposed for use in transportation applications as a replacement fuel for gasoline, with fuel cells replacing the internal combustion engine. This project developed a curriculum focused on hydrogen technology and hydrogen fuel cells. Current efforts are focused on curriculum development in two areas: new course development and development of modules that can be used to supplement the traditional curriculum with information about hydrogen and fuel cell technology. The modules are available on a Michigan Technological University website. During the course of this project, over 480 students were taught about hydrogen and fuel cells. Status: This is the final technical report for this three year project. Over course of the project, progress has been made on several fronts which will now be described.
He received a B.S. Engineering degree from Michigan Tech in 1982 and has also worked as a Trainin... more He received a B.S. Engineering degree from Michigan Tech in 1982 and has also worked as a Training Specialist, Project Engineer, and Project Manager. He has over 25 years experience instructing and coordinating Unit Operations and Plant Operations Laboratory, implementing distributed control and data acquisition systems, and designing pilot-scale processing equipment.
2019 20th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL), 2019
DC microgrids can have many destabilizing and ill-behaving elements. In this paper a fuzzy-logic ... more DC microgrids can have many destabilizing and ill-behaving elements. In this paper a fuzzy-logic control algorithm is implemented to stabilize a DC microgrid while demonstrating improved management of an energy storage system when compared against a tradition proportional-integral control algorithm. Simulation and hardware results of a DC microgrid comprised of a variable power source, stochastic impedance load, a fixed ballast and a stabilizer unit (lead acid battery and ultra-capacitor bank) will be demonstrated.
ABSTRACTCreep strengths and ductilities of boron-doped nickel aluminides are significantly improv... more ABSTRACTCreep strengths and ductilities of boron-doped nickel aluminides are significantly improved by small additions of hafnium. Since creep failure in these alloys proceeds by growth and coalescence of grain boundary cavities, effects of Hf additions on the compositions of grain boundaries and creep cavity surfaces were examined using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). In order to facilitate intergranular fracture in the AES analysis chamber, gage sections from creep specimens were hydrogen charged and copper plated. Grain boundaries in crept specimens were not flat, and the grains did not exhibit a normal polyhedral appearance. The overall levels of boron detected on the fracture surfaces of the creep specimens were significantly higher than those from uncrept specimens. Additionally, boron was found to segregate more strongly to the grain boundaries while higher concentrations of residual sulfur and phosphorus were detected on the cavity surfaces in both alloys. These results a...
Scanning AES analyses of the fracture surface containing a starved LME crack front reveal that ga... more Scanning AES analyses of the fracture surface containing a starved LME crack front reveal that gallium is present on the cleavage-like fracture, but not on either the transition zone or the ductile overload region. The gallium concentration decreases gradually from the crack origin to the tip of the starved crack, at which point it falls abruptly to undetectable levels in the transition zone. AES analyses of the cleavage-like region also show that the gallium is most highly concentrated along the fracture steps. The shape of the transition zone indicates that these steps on the fracture surface retard the crack front, which «bows out» in between these steps. Perhaps most importantly, AES analyses indicate that a gallium coverage on the order of one monolayer is sufficient to sustain propagation of the LME crack
2018 IEEE 19th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL), 2018
This paper compares the step-change-in-load switching behavior of a linear inductor boost convert... more This paper compares the step-change-in-load switching behavior of a linear inductor boost converter circuit to that of a boost converter containing a non-linear or saturable inductor. The transition time between load states is minimized when the converter switch is controlled to be fully on or fully off (bang-bang) for pre-determined periods of time. The results show the saturating inductor converter switches nearly three times faster, is approximately an order of magnitude smaller in size, exhibits less load voltage droop during load transition and has lower inductor (copper) losses. These benefits however, come at the cost of higher peak switching currents.
2010 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings
In this paper we describe the formation and administration of a new minor in hydrogen and fuel ce... more In this paper we describe the formation and administration of a new minor in hydrogen and fuel cell technology at Michigan Technological University. To receive the 16 credit minor, students are required to satisfy requirements in four areas, which are: Participation in multiple semesters of the Alternative Fuels Group Enterprise, where students work on hands-on integration, design, and/or research projects in hydrogen and fuel cells Taking a fuel cell course Taking a lecture or laboratory course on hydrogen energy Taking discipline-specific elective courses In addition to describing the minor, the paper will also describe the content of the Alternative Fuels Group Enterprise as well as the fuel cell and hydrogen energy courses.
In this project, we report on the development of energy modules for use in the chemical, mechanic... more In this project, we report on the development of energy modules for use in the chemical, mechanical, or electrical engineering curriculum. This project follows on our successful development of hydrogen and fuel cell related modules. We base the module design in a format which enables students to apply principles from their core classes to learn about traditional and alternative energy technology. Each module contains an introduction, problem motivation and background, example problem statement, example problem solution, and a homework problem statement. Instructors can obtain the solutions from the lead author by email. Both the fuel cell and energy modules have been used at Michigan Technological University in the following manner: * Short lecture on a chemical engineering (or energy) topic * Handout of a module to serve as an in-class problem * Instructor helps students work through the example problem and apply to the homework problem * The homework problem is due at a future cla...
ASME 2010 8th International Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology Conference: Volume 2, 2010
There is a strong need for a transformative curriculum to train the next generation of engineers ... more There is a strong need for a transformative curriculum to train the next generation of engineers who will help design, construct, and operate fuel cell vehicles and the associated hydrogen fueling infrastructure. In this poster we discuss how we integrate fuel cell and hydrogen technology into the project-based, hands-on learning experiences in engineering education at Michigan Technological University. Our approach is to involve students in the learning process via team-based interactive projects with a real-world flavor. This project has resulted in the formation of an “Interdisciplinary Minor in Hydrogen Technology” at Michigan Technological University. To receive the 16 credit minor, students are required to satisfy requirements in four areas, which are: • Participation in multiple semesters of the Alternative Fuels Group Enterprise, where students work on hands-on integration, design, and/or research projects in hydrogen and fuel cells. • Enrolling in a fuel cell course. • Enro...
The objective of this project was four-fold. First, we developed new courses in alternative energ... more The objective of this project was four-fold. First, we developed new courses in alternative energy and hydrogen laboratory and update existing courses in fuel cells. Secondly, we developed hydrogen technology degree programs. Thirdly, we developed hydrogen technology related course material for core courses in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. Finally, we developed fuel cell subject material to supplement the Felder & Rousseau and the Geankoplis chemical engineering undergraduate textbooks. Background: There is a need to educate students on the advantages and disadvantages of a hydrogen economy. This is important since hydrogen has been proposed for use in transportation applications as a replacement fuel for gasoline, with fuel cells replacing the internal combustion engine. This project developed a curriculum focused on hydrogen technology and hydrogen fuel cells. Current efforts are focused on curriculum development in two areas: new course development and development of modules that can be used to supplement the traditional curriculum with information about hydrogen and fuel cell technology. The modules are available on a Michigan Technological University website. During the course of this project, over 480 students were taught about hydrogen and fuel cells. Status: This is the final technical report for this three year project. Over course of the project, progress has been made on several fronts which will now be described.
He received a B.S. Engineering degree from Michigan Tech in 1982 and has also worked as a Trainin... more He received a B.S. Engineering degree from Michigan Tech in 1982 and has also worked as a Training Specialist, Project Engineer, and Project Manager. He has over 25 years experience instructing and coordinating Unit Operations and Plant Operations Laboratory, implementing distributed control and data acquisition systems, and designing pilot-scale processing equipment.
2019 20th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL), 2019
DC microgrids can have many destabilizing and ill-behaving elements. In this paper a fuzzy-logic ... more DC microgrids can have many destabilizing and ill-behaving elements. In this paper a fuzzy-logic control algorithm is implemented to stabilize a DC microgrid while demonstrating improved management of an energy storage system when compared against a tradition proportional-integral control algorithm. Simulation and hardware results of a DC microgrid comprised of a variable power source, stochastic impedance load, a fixed ballast and a stabilizer unit (lead acid battery and ultra-capacitor bank) will be demonstrated.
ABSTRACTCreep strengths and ductilities of boron-doped nickel aluminides are significantly improv... more ABSTRACTCreep strengths and ductilities of boron-doped nickel aluminides are significantly improved by small additions of hafnium. Since creep failure in these alloys proceeds by growth and coalescence of grain boundary cavities, effects of Hf additions on the compositions of grain boundaries and creep cavity surfaces were examined using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). In order to facilitate intergranular fracture in the AES analysis chamber, gage sections from creep specimens were hydrogen charged and copper plated. Grain boundaries in crept specimens were not flat, and the grains did not exhibit a normal polyhedral appearance. The overall levels of boron detected on the fracture surfaces of the creep specimens were significantly higher than those from uncrept specimens. Additionally, boron was found to segregate more strongly to the grain boundaries while higher concentrations of residual sulfur and phosphorus were detected on the cavity surfaces in both alloys. These results a...
Scanning AES analyses of the fracture surface containing a starved LME crack front reveal that ga... more Scanning AES analyses of the fracture surface containing a starved LME crack front reveal that gallium is present on the cleavage-like fracture, but not on either the transition zone or the ductile overload region. The gallium concentration decreases gradually from the crack origin to the tip of the starved crack, at which point it falls abruptly to undetectable levels in the transition zone. AES analyses of the cleavage-like region also show that the gallium is most highly concentrated along the fracture steps. The shape of the transition zone indicates that these steps on the fracture surface retard the crack front, which «bows out» in between these steps. Perhaps most importantly, AES analyses indicate that a gallium coverage on the order of one monolayer is sufficient to sustain propagation of the LME crack
2018 IEEE 19th Workshop on Control and Modeling for Power Electronics (COMPEL), 2018
This paper compares the step-change-in-load switching behavior of a linear inductor boost convert... more This paper compares the step-change-in-load switching behavior of a linear inductor boost converter circuit to that of a boost converter containing a non-linear or saturable inductor. The transition time between load states is minimized when the converter switch is controlled to be fully on or fully off (bang-bang) for pre-determined periods of time. The results show the saturating inductor converter switches nearly three times faster, is approximately an order of magnitude smaller in size, exhibits less load voltage droop during load transition and has lower inductor (copper) losses. These benefits however, come at the cost of higher peak switching currents.
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