Insight - Energy Science

Importance of low power electronic circuit design and its impact on energy consumption

Fazel Ziraksaz — 2023-09-15

In the modern world, Integrated Circuits (ICs) are an essential component of any electronic device, and it is practically impossible to imagine a world without them. When addressing energy consumption or environmental issues, many people, including researchers, tend to focus solely on power plants. However, today, there are billions of electronic devices, each containing numerous ICs, such as mobile phones, tablets, televisions, laptops, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, cars, and more. In other words, a large portion of our modern energy consumption is attributed to electronic devices. Thus, reducing power consumption in each of these devices could significantly impact global energy consumption and environmental pollution. This paper emphasizes the importance of low-power Integrated Circuits and their potential to reduce worldwide energy consumption. It also briefly explores relevant technologies that contribute to energy efficiency in circuits, avoiding unnecessary complexities.

Direct triboelectricity from friction of wheel tires on pavements

Anastasios Mouratidis — 2023-11-17

Energy consumption in road and street traffic is significant and increasing. A partial recovery of this energy is the objective of the research briefly presented in the present paper. The proposed technique is totally innovative and has not been investigated, even through laboratory research, anywhere else. It aims to harvest triboelectric energy generated while wheel tires are directly rubbed against a pavement surface where oppositely charged electrodes are properly attached. The laboratory testing device consists of a rotating wheel bearing a vehicle tire, set up adequately to move down to a solid bench where flat bars, rods or tubes, susceptible to being oppositely charged by pairs, are attached. Metals, such as copper, bronze and aluminum, developing high electrical conductivity, were used in most experiments, as electrodes. Triboelectricity tests, under different placement of the electrodes regarding the wheel, were conducted in the laboratory and provided noticeable values of electric potential. Even more promising seem the results obtained following an intermittent application of the wheel load. Further experimentation introducing a much bigger wheel load, a different tire texture and other test improvements are ongoing, aiming at higher values of electric potential.

The study on the self-cleaning property of hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane/nano-CaCO3 coating

Amirul Syafiq Bin Abdul Jaafar — 2023-12-01

Dust depositions always degrade the building’s value due to the growth of mold and fungi. Manual cleaning is required to clean the building glass frequently which is time-consuming and costly. Self-cleaning coating is an effective and practical way to reduce dust accumulation. Using the sol-gel method, this study synthesized the self-cleaning polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/nano-calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) coating. The coating recorded the water contact angle (WCA) of 99.5° ± 0.5°, indicating the hydrophobic property. The embedded nanoparticles create air pockets that reduce the adhesion between water droplets and glass surface. The hydrophobic coated glass showed the self-cleaning effect where the coating achieves a low dust haze of about 32% at the sliding angle 25°. The water contact angle (WCA) of the coating system degrades to 98.2° ± 1.2°, indicating the coated glass can maintain its hydrophobic property in the real environment after 1 month of outdoor exposure. In comparison, the bare glass showed large dust haze value above 50% due to the dust accumulation impact.

Feasibility of supplying electrical energy demands with off-grid hybrid renewable systems to supply a small hotel in the desert

Mohammad Golkar — 2023-12-19

Considering the world’s ever-increasing need for energy, as well as the limited resources, pollution, and climate change caused by fossil fuels, it shows the necessity of using renewable energies more than ever. Iran has many tourist attractions. It is difficult to supply energy to welfare places in some of these areas due to the long distance from the city or the vulnerable environment, so their energy supply system is designed independently of the grid. Using a diesel generator to supply electricity can be considered the first solution for a hotel’s off-grid system, but this scenario has high costs and causes pollution. The second way is to use renewable energies such as wind and solar, but these energies are not stable due to weather conditions. One suggestion to overcome the periodicity of renewable energy sources such as the sun and wind is to develop a hybrid energy system in which excess electrical energy can be converted and stored. These resources, together with energy storage, can provide a system with better reliability that is suitable for off-grid applications. In the third case, the diesel generator can be combined with renewable energy. In this article, the electricity supply is for a small hotel with an area of 3995 m² located in the Varzaneh desert of Isfahan province. The average electrical load required is 1530 kWh/day, and the peak load is 118.76 kW. The simulation of the system has been done with HOMER software, and the results have been categorized based on the three scenarios mentioned as well as the total net present cost of the system. With the obtained results, it is clear that the most optimal system is one with a combined supplier of a diesel generator, a photovoltaic panel, a wind turbine, and battery storage. The NPC value of this system is $1,995,016; the renewable rate is 87.1%; and its emissions are 84% lower than in the case where only the diesel generator supplier has them.

Fundamentals of different wind turbines for electricity generation and their modelling methods using different algorithms

Ranjbar Zohreh — 2023-08-30

Increased concern for the environment has led to the search for more environment-friendly energy sources so that wind energy can be used as an endless option for human consumption. Wind turbines offer a promising solution for off-grid areas. However, they have certain drawbacks associated with different configurations. Darrieus turbine is one type that can be more efficient than other types. The poor start-up performance of Darrieus turbines is one of the critical problems restricting its development. Another problem of this kind of wind turbine is tackled by identifying the optimization parameters, such as complex flow dynamics around the system. The present article reviews modeling vertical axis turbines methods and discusses the turbine’s operation by presenting the results of these methods. In this review, the authors have attempted to compile the main aerodynamic models that have been used for performance prediction and design of straight-bladed Darrieus-type VAWT. The main object of this study is to research the advantages and disadvantages of wind turbine modeling methods, and the selection of these methods depends on the purpose of the modeling.