2022 Design and Research Conference

Body Heat Energy Harvester

Team Name: Energy Scavengers

Team Members: Jonathan Bolyer, Alexander Cogburn, Ronald Martin, Ryan Sampite

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

For our project, we designed a high-visibility safety vest that improves on current solutions. It does this by utilizing light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, that increase the wearer’s visibility in addition to the standard reflective strips. This proves useful to public workers operating in low-visibility conditions. The vest operates using a unique power system designed entirely with passive components. A thermoelectric generator (TEG) harvests energy from body heat and outputs electrical power proportional to the temperature difference between the skin and the air. The device turns this power into a usable voltage, which then charges a battery. The longevity of the battery is increased by the device’s trickle-charging capability, resulting in less-frequent battery replacement. From what we were able to accomplish in this low-power application, this project also serves as a proof of concept for the utility of TEGs in applications with higher temperature differentials.

The Power Tower

Team Members: Logan Caviness, Justin Cutrera, Sergio Reyes, Leodegario Zuniga

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

The Power Tower is a portable power station that is capable of powering electronic devices when typical energy sources are inaccessible. It aims to help alleviate the downtime during power outages and serve recreational uses by supplying 120 V of AC power. The fundamental components in this design are a 12-volt lithium iron phosphate battery, an inverter, a charging circuit, and components to monitor battery life and instantaneous power draw. The lithium iron phosphate battery boasts an impressive energy capacity of 50 amp-hours, allowing our system to supply power for long durations of time to devices such as cell phone chargers, fans, and even small refrigerators. Incorporating safety features such as current, voltage, and power monitoring features with emergency shutoff options ensures proper safety for the product, consumer, and its surrounding environment. Overall, this system offers a smaller and safer alternative to the generic gasoline generator for times requiring portable sources of power.

Human Motion Energy Harvesting

Team Members: Deven Hymel, Pierce Miller, Nathan Rowley, Nicole Thibodaux

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

The focus of our project is harvesting energy from the natural motion of the human body. The harvested energy is stored in an internal battery and used to power devices through a 5 volt USB Type-A output. The entire system from energy harvesting to energy output is a self-contained device that is attached to a shin support-style strap to be worn on the lower leg. The system charges its internal battery when the user wearing it walks or runs. The energy is harvested by the linear oscillation of a permanent magnet through a series of copper coils, is rectified using full-wave rectifiers constructed out of Schottky diodes to minimize power losses, and is stored in a nickel-metal hydride battery for later use.

Hysteresis Exercise Bike

Team Members: Thomas McCarty, Ivan Selloriquez, Justin Rigby

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

The typical exercise bike is either stationary, using either hysteresis or air resistance to provide resistance to pedaling, or a regular bike, using gear ratios to increase resistance. We aim to combine the two types of exercise bikes to create a mobile exercise bike that will have adjustable magnetic hysteresis resistance. The Hysteresis Exercise Bike will allow the user to adjust the resistance provided by permanent magnets and will automatically adjust the resistance provided to accommodate for incline or decline. We are able to do this by utilizing a linear actuator that adjusts the level of magnetic pole alignment between the two sets of magnets. When the user is on an incline and gravity provides resistance, the magnetic resistance will engage to automatically decrease the magnetic resistance experienced by the user. In addition to this, the buttons on the handlebar will also provide convenience to preset the level of resistance while on a flat surface. This redesigned exercise bike provides health benefits at a lower cost than present alternatives.

Decentralized Security System

Team Members: Doshua Barksdale, Cameron Jolivette, Brock Kappel, David Washington

Advisors: Dr. Jinyuan Chen

Our team has constructed a camping security system that provides the end-user with a reliable and easy-to-use electric security barrier with minimal user input. We use multiple subsystems to establish the barrier: Passive infrared (PIR) sensors, transceivers, and Global Positioning System (GPS) units. PIR sensors are used to trigger an alarm once a sensor has detected a heat source crossing its line of detection, such as trespassing humans or wild animals, thus allowing our system to overcome false alerts caused by environmental factors. To ensure that our nodes are lined up correctly, each node utilizes an electromagnetic signal detector and light-emitting diode (LED). Once the end-user aligns the nodes correctly, each node will autonomously transmit its location to the end-user and alert whenever a breach of the barrier is detected. Using GPS and transceiver technology, the nodes are able to communicate (at a range of 5 meters) their longitude and latitude data and communicate when a security event has occurred to the other nodes and the end-user. This allows the end-user to look at any one node and know where the event occurred rather than just knowing that the barrier has been breached. Each node in our system will be battery-powered, overcoming the burden of being tethered to an outlet and allowing the nodes to be mobile.

AutoGreenhouse

Team Members: Maritza Gaeta, Alyssa Huddleston, Grayson Martin, Ansley Sewell

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

The AutoGreenhouse is an enclosed system designed to optimize plant growth by controlling the environment of the supported plants. This control is achieved using a programmable logic controller (PLC) to autonomously monitor and control three environmental factors of a greenhouse: volumetric water content (VWC), relative humidity, and temperature. Each of these environmental factors is measured using a sensor that transmits an analog electrical signal to the PLC. The PLC is programmed to receive the signal and convert the analog value to its appropriate unit of measurement. The VWC of the soil is measured using a capacitive soil moisture sensor calibrated to output the percent VWC. The atmospheric water content is measured using a humidity sensor calibrated to output percent relative humidity. Finally, the temperature inside the system is measured using an infrared temperature sensor calibrated to output °F. Using this sensor data, the system adjusts the environmental conditions of the AutoGreenhouse enclosure according to the setpoints defined by the user via a human-machine interface (HMI). The PLC is also used to control various correction devices such as a fan, a water sprinkler system, and a light bulb. These devices are programmed to respond based on real-time data received from each sensor in order to keep the system within the set parameters

Thermal Energy Recapture Device for Use in Photovoltaic Cells

Team Name: Team [REDACTED]

Team Members: Christopher Aubert, Brian Faga, Evan Goldsmith, Luke Roger

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

Our project is a system that will recapture thermal energy that accumulates on a solar panel. That energy will then be used to power a control system to aid in optimizing the panel primarily by generating suggestions on re-orienting the panel. We recapture the thermal energy using thermoelectric generators (TEGs) connected across the solar panel to convert from thermal energy to DC power. From the TEGs, the power is passed through a 5-volt step-up converter into a battery; the energy is stored until a sufficient charge is accumulated to power our system. From there, this system will power an Adafruit Metro Mini microcontroller to act as the processor for the control system of our project. The processor is connected to an array of integrated circuit temperature sensors that measure a temperature gradient throughout the panel. This data is stored on an external solid drive card for data logging. This data is also used to estimate the relative positioning of the panel to the sun and create a recommendation on how to re-orient the panel for optimum performance with assistance from a digital gyroscope.

Lithium-Ion Battery Management System

Team Members: Devin Cerame, Ryan Miller, Layne Naquin, Zachary Reine

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

There are many modern applications for lithium-ion batteries; however, they are not always properly maintained. When charging lithium-ion batteries, they are at risk of overcharge, charge imbalance, thermal runaway, and rupture. Systems at this scale often monitor battery charging conditions but offer little to no protection against overheating and do not have the ability to detect possible gas leaks or ruptures. To account for this, we have implemented a liquid cooling system, gas leak detection, balance charging, and overcurrent protection to ensure safe operation. The lithium-ion battery pack we constructed for testing is compact and light. It has ratings of 60V max output voltage, 12A max charge current, 70A max discharge current, and 8000mAh capacity, which we feel is appropriate for typical small motor driving applications. Our system monitors, controls, and displays information regarding supplied current, voltage, temperature, and air quality. We have this information accessible via Bluetooth to allow the user easy access to the information in practice. We have also implemented liquid cooling to improve the cooling over time by 100 percent to 300 percent when compared to normal air cooling along with disconnects to stop the charging process if a possible rupture or thermal runaway event is detected.

User-Friendly Audio Mixer Interface

Team Members: Richard Lallande, Christopher McCallon, Matthew Pozniak, Jack Wier

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

Streaming platforms have grown from 102,000 average concurrent viewers in 2012 to 2.81 million in 2021. With this surge in viewership and a clear demand for more content, audio and video equipment have become high in demand as well. Unfortunately, many inexperienced content creators are unfamiliar with high-quality audio equipment. This inexperience often results in lower production quality or the need to hire a production manager. Current solutions, such as the Yamaha MG10XU and GoXLR, are either overly complicated or reliant on software, which is susceptible to bugs and crashing. Our solution is to create a user-friendly audio mixer interface that will utilize custom, hardware-based audio equipment to allow the user to reliably adjust their microphone audio signal and interface with their computer. Using our knowledge of electrical engineering and understanding of the market, our senior design team has designed and produced a single piece of equipment that will receive an XLR input, apply the necessary tuning to the audio signal, and interface with a personal computer, all while maintaining a simple user interface.

Speed Control of an AC Induction Motor

Team Members: Kevin Claros-Mendez, Taylor Langley, Vitalii Prisienko

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

One of the most common setups for induction machines in industrial settings is the “direct on-the-line” connection, where fully-rated ac voltage is applied to the machine from the start. Induction machines in a “direct on-the-line” connection are exposed to seven to eight times the rated motor full-load current during the starting sequence, which puts a lot of thermal and mechanical stress on the machine, thereby reducing its lifetime. Our project presents an alternative to direct on-the-line connected three-phase induction machines by constructing a variable frequency drive (VFD). A VFD controls the frequency of the AC voltage supplied to the induction machine, allowing us to reduce the machine’s starting speed and reduce the machine’s starting current. Our prototype converts the supplied AC voltage into a DC voltage signal using a three-phase full-wave rectifier. The resulting DC signal’s ripple voltage is reduced using an LC filter. The smoothed DC signal is then converted into an AC sinusoidal signal using a three-phase inverter. The inverter circuit is controlled using a Basys 3 microcontroller, with the pulse width modulation technique (PWM). The frequency of the three-phase output signal has a range of 0 to 60 Hz, enabling us to control the starting motor speed.

Forest Fire Detection System

Team Members: Joel Albritton, Charles Cober, Michael Reichard, Johnathan Weatherford

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

Improved forest fire detection and tracking are greatly needed in our current society. As the number of people affected by forest fires increases, so do the costly, harmful, and deadly effects of these unmonitored blazes. Current forest fire detection methods cost a significant amount of money because of their reliance on satellite imaging and suffer from delays between the beginning of a fire event to when someone is alerted. Our proposed forest fire detection system utilizes a network of solar-powered smoke and carbon dioxide detectors that can wirelessly transmit gathered information (carbon dioxide concentrations, smoke concentrations, temperature, humidity, and wind speed) to a central directory. From here, the sensor readings are displayed in real-time on a ThingSpeak website that can be viewed from any location. The data collected from these sensors are used in an algorithm that alters the threshold value based on the wind speed and humidity. Our system aims to alert people before the fire turns into an uncontrollable force.

Automatic SCBA Refill System

Team Members: Casey Anderson, Garrett Kitchings, Peyton Matthews, Benjamin Mosery

Advisors: Dr. Prashanna Bhattarai and Dr. Matthew Hartmann

Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) tanks are a common item found in all fire departments; they are pressurized air containers used as a source of oxygen to aid breathing during a fire. Small departments fill these canisters by hand utilizing a cascade system of pressurized reserve tanks and air regulators. This project is to create an automatic refill control system that can be attached to existing cascade systems currently in use to refill pressurized air containers similar to SCBA tanks. The system has three pressures that can be adjusted internally to accommodate the varying pressures of SCBA tanks seen in the field. Additionally, the system is capable of filling three tanks simultaneously to any of these pressures. Through the use of a touch-screen human-machine interface (HMI), the user may select the desired air pressure and monitor the filling process. The primary component of the control system is the programmable logic controller (PLC). The PLC communicates with the HMI and actuates the appropriate solenoids through the desired regulator to fill the tank. For safety, the PLC also records the temperature and pressure of the tanks before and during filling. Lastly, canisters will be equipped with radio frequency identification tags, which once scanned by the system will automatically determine the appropriate air pressure and recorded filling history.