SOLAR STEAM BOILER

STRUCTURAL DESIGN (PHASE-2)

3/21/2012

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, COMPUTER SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LOS ANGELES,

ME-559 ADVANCED REHAB DESIGN & INTERNSHIP (WINTER 2012) PROFESSOR SAMUEL LANDSBERGER

TEAM MEMBERS: JIGAR PATEL ROBERTO MORALES DEEP BRAHMBHATT

SOLAR STEAM BOILER- STRUCTURAL DESIGN

CAL STATE L.A. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SOLAR STEAM BOILER- STRUCTURAL DESIGN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank Professor Samuel Landsberger for giving us the opportunity to work under his guidance and giving us the moral support. We would also like to thank Sheila Blaise(E.E.) to give us proper direction and standing besides us in any problems. We would also like to thank Mr. Ben Hakim, Ale Del Rio, SWEM team members and all other seniors who made this working model. Without their initiative it would not be possible to rebuild this solar steam boiler.

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SOLAR STEAM BOILER- STRUCTURAL DESIGN

ENERGY:
Energy causes things to happen around us. Look out the window. During the day, the sun gives out light and heat energy. At night, street lamps use electrical energy to light our way. When a car driven by, it is being powered by gasoline, a type of stored energy. So basic definition of Energy can be given as Energy Is the Ability to Do Work. There are so many sources that we can use the different form of energies to utilize it in our daily work. Generally in todays modern latest technological world, almost all the countries use the energy that is produced by burning of fossil fuels. We will not go much in detail of those fossil fuels as we covered them in our first report of the Solar Steam Boiler Electronic tracking unit. Fossil fuels take millions of years to make. We are using up the fuels that were made more than 300 million years ago before the time of the dinosaurs. Once they are gone they are gone. So, it's best to not waste fossil fuels. They are not renewable; they can't really be made again. We can save fossil fuels by conserving energy and using alternative energy which is produced by the natural resources of energy like solar energy, wind power, Ocean Energy conversion, biological waste etc.

ABOUT SOLAR ENERGY:

Solar energy is the cleanest, most abundant, renewable energy source available. And the U.S. has some of the richest solar resources shining across the nation. Today's technology allows us to capture this power in several ways giving the public and commercial entities flexible ways to employ both the heat and light of the sun. Solar energy can be produced on a distributed basis, called distributed generation, with equipments located on rooftops or on ground-mounted fixtures close to where the energy is used. Large-scale concentrating solar power systems can also produce energy at a central power plant. We know that the sun is simply our nearest star. Without it, life would not exist on our planet. We use the sun's energy every day in many different ways. The amount of solar radiant energy falling on a surface per unit area per unit time is called irradiance. The mean extraterrestrial irradiance normal to the solar beam on the outer fringes of the earths atmosphere is approximately 1.35 KW/m2. The earth and its atmosphere receive continuously

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SOLAR STEAM BOILER- STRUCTURAL DESIGN

1.7X1017 W of radiation from the sun. A world population of 10 billion with a total power need per person of 10KW would require about 1011 KW of energy. It is thus apparent that the solar energy could provide the energy needs of all the people on earth.

WAYS TO USE SOLAR ENERGY:

There are four ways we harness solar energy: photovoltaic (converting light to electricity), heating and cooling systems (solar thermal), concentrating solar power (utility scale), and lighting. Active solar energy systems employ devices that convert the sun's heat or light to another form of energy we use. Passive solar refers to special siting, design or building materials that take advantage of the sun's position and availability to provide direct heating or lighting. Passive solar also considers the need for shading devices to protect buildings from excessive heat from the sun.

LIMITATIONS OF SOLAR ENERGY:

1) In the engineering design of equipment for solar energy utilization, the flux density which makes necessary large surfaces to collect solar energy for large scale utilization is low. 2) The larger the surfaces the more expensive the delivered energy becomes. 3) Total solar energy reaching the earth is made up of two parts: energy in the direct beam and the diffuse energy from sky. Most manmade solar collectors can convert only directed energy. The amount of direct energy depends on the cloudiness and the position of the sun. 4) The practical limitation that is not apparent from the microscopic energy view is that most of the solar energy falls on remote areas and would therefore require some means of transportation to be useful to the industrialized nations. The mean amount of energy available on horizontal plane is the continental desert areas in the equator and poles. The highest annual mean irradiance is 300 W/m2 in the Red Sea area.

Lets talk about the worlds super power, United States of America. The map (Image-01) below shows the quality of U.S. solar resources compared to the two leading countries in solar energy, Germany and Spain.
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SOLAR STEAM BOILER- STRUCTURAL DESIGN

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CAL STATE L.A. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SOLAR STEAM BOILER- STRUCTURAL DESIGN

PHASE-2
(SOLAR STEAM BOILER THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN)

CAL STATE L.A. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SOLAR STEAM BOILER- STRUCTURAL DESIGN

THE SHORT HISTORY OF PHASE-1 WORK:

In Last quarter we had designed the electronic tracking unit for solar steam boiler. We want the whole parabolic dish to be move along with the motion of sun in the sky so that we can get more sun rays on reflector and we can heat up more water from the pipe going through the centre of reflector. Below is the image of the Electronic tracking unit:

Image-02

We had temporarily used the bread board to mount the photocells that are the two eyes who track the sun in the sky. We want to mount the tracker on the whole parabolic structure so that we can do experiments.

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Well the electronic circuit was designed in last quarter with help of Sheila Blaise. Now we need to move on with the experiments.

GOALS IN THIS QUARTER:

Our main goal is to connect the ETU with the reflector with help of mechanical instruments and synchronize them together so that we can track the sun with help of photocells mounted on the circuit and parallel to that we can get the rotation in the reflector in the direction of sun. The Whole structure with three main parts:

Structure to hold the pipes in centre Parabolic reflector

Base

Image-03 Before we mount our electronic tracking unit and do experiment, we need to get the whole structure to be ready that can hold the reflector. As said before this project was running since last 4 to 5 years. So many students worked on it, tried to improve the structure. At last what we have is the old structure base with not in so good condition, the dirty unpolished parabolic reflector, the steel truss with no perfect holes in it to mount it with parabolic reflector on base.

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Lets list out the step by step progress of this quarter on Solar Steam Boiler,

Shifting the whole structure along with its all possible founded parts from Professor Landsbergers lab to Sheilas Lab. So that we can work in more space and under proper guidance of Sheila as she has very keen and sharp knowledge of electromechanical devices

Take measurements of all structure and disassemble whole structure so that we can make necessary changes in it along with our new design parameters

Make the base very strong enough that it can sustain whole weight of reflector and other devices that will mount in future on reflectors

Change the existing bearings as its is of around 5 year old and not working properly. We need more reliable and heavy bearing

Change the position of shaft and insert it through the reflector at back side of reflector. Manufacture the shaft in machine shop Attach the steel truss at adjacent place so that later on we can use them to give support to the pipes passing through the reflector

Give mirror finishing to the reflector Mount the whole parabolic reflector along with shaft on north and south column respectively such that the bearing can be screwed on the respective column

Move the structure from Sheilas lab to Landsbergers lab for further experiments

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Now, the first thing we need to do is, gather all possible parts of this project. We gathered all the parts and we shift the whole structure in Sheilas lab so that we can work with more space in lab and under the proper guidance of Sheila. Image-04 below shows the basic parts of the SSB.

The Trusses designed by Mr. Ben Hakim, to hold the pipes of water in centre of reflector

The aluminum C channel along with the wood inserted in it

Image-04

Second step is, to disassemble the whole structure so that we can work on our designed parameters. We need to remove every attachment to the base designed by other students. We ordered the new Aluminum Rectangle bars and place them parallel to the older bars. Just cut the older bars from both ends join the whole new Aluminum bars with rest of the base. The new aluminum bars were ordered from Industrial Metal Supplies, Glendale, CA. The new bars were drilled at desired points to fit the roller under them so that one can easily move the whole structure with little push.

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THE OLD STRUCTURE V/S THE NEW STRUCTURE:

The structure to hold the parabolic reflector was designed before around 5 years by our seniors. They have used the wooden bars to give the strength to the base. The Image below shows the comparison between the older structure and the new structure that our team has designed. The new bars are then drilled and make holes through at the both ends so that we can insert the rollers under the whole structure to make the movement of whole structure very easy. It was not so tough task to disassemble the structure and apply new structure as per design requirement. But the whole process of getting estimate of new design material requirement, ordering new parts, delivery of new parts plays major role in project completion timeline.

Image-05- Old structural Base

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Image-06- The newly designed base of SSB

INSERTING BEARINGS AND SHAFT:

After completion of base with Aluminum bars, next step is to remove the older bearings and apply new one that can hold the shaft properly. The older bearings were about 5 years old and were not working properly. So decision is to change the bearing set. The new bearings inserted were strong enough and are bigger in diameter as we are changing the existing shaft also that it can sustain the load of whole dish reflector and the trusses. Before attaching bearing to the north and south column of the structure, the bearing should be passing through the shaft. The first job is to insert the shaft through the reflector. The image-07 shows the inserted shaft along with bearing inserted on it. The problem occurred while inserting shaft is, the holes made through the parabolic reflector back skeleton and the two of trusses were not in align and because of that we face much difficulty. Fortunately we made the shaft into two pieces from centre. So it can divide into two pieces. We inserted shaft from both different end and with help of few more hands we pushed the shaft to go through the reflector and attach it in the centre.

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Once the shaft is inserted in the reflector, net step is to insert the bearings on shaft on both ends. We need to leave at least 7 to 8 inch distance between the steel truss and the bearings.

Image-07-Shaft inserted through the reflector along with bearing

The shaft is smooth but still small bump on the surface can create the friction with the inner diameter of the bearings and plays major role by stopping the bearing sliding on the shaft. Best thing to do finishing of shaft. We had used sandpapers to give the shaft smooth and effective fine finishing. This process is lengthy and quite time taking. After almost spending half day on the shaft finishing, finally we bring it in machine shop and put it on lathe while turning with higher speed, the finishing process is done. Later on, the bearings can slide easily on the shaft. The image below shows the shaft with lathe finishing has dull finishing as compared to rest of the shaft.

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Image-08-Dull finishing of shaft where fine finishing applied on Lathe machine as compared to rest of the shaft

MOUNTING ON COLUMNS:
Next step is to clean the reflector and give the mirror finishing as it is the main part that captures the sun rays and concentrate them on pipes from which the water is going to flow. The images below shows the comparison between the reflector condition before and after cleaning and buffering the reflector how much it is shiny.

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Image-09- mirror finishing the reflector The next step is to mount the whole structure on the north and south column respectively. That job was really tough. With only 2 hands that job is impossible, so we have asked for help to ME559 class to get more hands. And with help of other students we mount the structure on the column and screw the bearings on the columns respectively. The image below shows the reflector mounted on the structure.

The shaft going through the reflector and passing through bearings

The bearing attached with the south column

Image-10- The reflector mounted on columns

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LETS GO TO LANDSBERGERS LAB:

After completion of major work, its time to move the whole structure back to Professor Landsbergers lab. Almost all new experiments will take place in his lab, so its necessary to move the whole assembly. While talking it out from the Sheilas lab, we were facing much more unexpected difficulties. We come to know that the height of the whole structure after assembly is more than the height of the lab door. We cannot take it out unless we disassemble it and take out each part individually. New idea brings sparks in mind, bring a saw and cut the steel truss of the upper end to get the required height. By doing that we can reduce the weight of dish and reduce the height of overall structure also. After cutting one truss, the second one also sliced through to make the both side of truss of equal height. The images below shows the change is truss structure before slicing and after slicing.

Image-11-Trusses before slicing and after slicing horizontally

After cutting the trusses on both sides, the structure is ready to move in professor Landsbergers Lab.
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THE FUTURE EXPANSION:

The next step is applying the mechanical parts that are going rotate the reflector along with the motion of the sun. The basic idea is to apply Chain and pulley mechanism. For that we need some gears, if necessary smaller and bigger gears according to the gear reduction, sprockets, DC motor to drive the assembly, limit switches, heat sinks to apply on transmitters of pulse width modulator circuit to keep them cool, etc. For now we need some mechanism that can hold the shaft along with bearing tightly that the motor should not have to apply more force to rotate the reflector. For that we think of making block type clamps for both north and south end columns to keep the shaft in center and screw them from upper and lower end such that the momentum in shaft is reduced while applying load on it. Below are some drawing for those blocks which are still under construction in machine workshop. We are hoping that those blocks would be ready by next quarter so that we can start work on it and try to finish the final goal as soon as possible.

Image-12-CAD representation of the block clamps

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There is one more thing to explain is, the blocks are made according to the holes in bicycle gears. These holes when drilled must be aligning to the gear. Because of the bicycle gear has the holes in pentagon pattern; the distance of each hole from centre is not equal as compared to the circular section. Below is the image that explains how the distance is not same from center.

Image-18- Spider arm details with bicycle gear The future expansion also includes the design of sheet metal plates that holds the vacuum tubes in the centre of the reflector so that the reflected sun rays direct acting upon the vacuum tube and boil the water inside it. By end of next quarter our final aim is to rotate the reflector along with sun in sky and also several experiments on heating the water. In this quarter we had worked on structural design of the SSB, which taught us some great skills that are useful as a mechanical engineer like how to drill, how to do finishing on lathe, welding, slicing, etc. We are really very thankful to Sheila Blaise to give us moral support and 24X7 she was ready to help us.

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REFERENCES:

1. Principles of Solar Engineering - by Dr. Yogi Goswami, Frank Kreith, Jan F. Kreider 2. http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Concentrating/concentrating.htm 3. http://wims.unice.fr/wims/wims.cgi?module=tool/geometry/paratrough 4. http://www.redrok.com/led3xassm.htm#led3xc3 5. http://astro.u-strasbg.fr/~koppen/10GHz/wind.html 6. http://www.ecogeek.org/solar-power/514 7. http://www.seia.org/cs/about_solar_energy 8. http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter15.html

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