Tag: Civil Engineering

Von Mises Stress

Von Mises Stress

Von Mises Stress

04/16/18

“How can we more accurately predict an object’s failure?”

 

One of the most important duties of a design engineer is to ensure that objects do not fail. However, classical failure theory does not always suffice. Instead, we must use more advanced concepts. One example of this is the Von Mises Stress, which is characterized by a superposition of all of the stresses on the object. If the Von Mises Stress is greater than the yield stress, then failure will occur. The formula for Von-Mises Stress is given by sigma_v = sqrt (sigma_1^2+sigma_2^2+sigma_3^2-sigma_1*sigma_2-sigma_2*sigma_3-sigma_1*sigma_3), where sigma_v is the Von Mises Stress and sigma_1,sigma_2, and sigma_3 are all stress superposition values. The Von Mises Stress can be visualized as an ellipse in 2 and 3 dimensions.

Design for the Environment

Design for the Environment

Design for the Environment

04/14/18

“How can we design items so that they are not harmful to human health and the environment?”

 

Traditionally, human-made items and products have been designed without regard for the environment. However, how can we use our engineering mindset differently? Well, through one method known as Design for the Environment, items will be designed such that processing, manufacturing, packaging, and energy efficiency of their life-cycle will use as little resources as possible.

How Microgrids Can Help Communities Recover From Disasters

How Microgrids Can Help Communities Recover From Disasters

How Microgrids Can Help Communities Recover From Disasters

03/23/18

“How can we use microgrids to help communities recover from natural disasters?”

 

Communities all over the world are in danger of natural disasters. Whether it be the fires in California or the hurricane that recently Puerto Rico. However, how can we use our engineering mindset to help people endure these mishaps? Well, one of the most common problems with natural disasters is electricity generation or lack thereof. But with the advent of distributed resources and microgrids, communities can create their own energy and even sell it to one another! Therefore, distributed resources and microgrids to help communities recover from natural disasters.

How California Might Share its Renewable Resources

How California Might Share its Renewable Resources

How California Might Share its Renewable Resources

03/15/18

“Why and how might California share its renewable energy resources?”

 

For decades, the vast majority of energy in California has been controlled on it’s regional grid called CALISO. Because only California appointees can sit on its board, other U.S states have been reluctant to join. However, with the exponential rise of its solar energy resources, too much energy is being generated during the daytime. So much so, that California is thinking about working with its close neighbors Oregon, Washington, and Nevada to set up a regional energy grid. This way, overflowing energy from California can be sent to these states, and other forms of renewable energy can be traced back to California to manage its own demand!

Traffic Simulations

Traffic Simulations

Traffic Simulations

03/02/18

“Is it possible to simulate traffic to improve it?”

 

If you have ever ridden a car in a crowded area, then you probably have experienced traffic. It’s slow, annoying, and worst of all unsustainable. Because of this traffic engineers are trying to design better and better ways to assist people with their daily commutes. One of the tools that they use at their disposal is known as a traffic simulation. Traffic simulations use mathematical frameworks to model how travel moves and what can be done about it. With the data generated by these systems, urban planners can optimize future city designs, making our living space safer, quieter, and ultimately less congested!

Grid Defection

Grid Defection

Grid Defection

02/28/18

“Can Solar Plus Storage make the grid obsolete?”

 

In the 20th century, back when we were reliant on massive power plants to produce energy, if you wanted to have electricity in your home then you had to sign up an electrical utility. But with the advent of Solar Plus Storage Systems, this might become a thing of the past. Now that people can not only generate but store their own electricity at their home, there is no longer a need to be attached to the grid. In some cases, it’s actually cheaper to become off-grid! As a result, many people are undergoing grid defection and turning to generate their own electricity.

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting

02/16/18

“Can we make energy by just walking on floor tiles?”

 

The ground floor of a building is typically thought of being statics and unuseful. But can we use our engineering mindset to change this? Well, energy generation often requires some sort of change of state in a system to happen. And in buildings, one change that is always happening is people’s movement. Specifically, people seem to be stepping everywhere to get somewhere. With this motion, pressure is exerted on the ground of a building. And if we take a note from our knowledge of circuits, then we know that we can create an electric current through this pressure with piezoelectricity. Therefore, if we implement piezoelectric tiles in a building, we can create a Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting framework. Researchers at San Jose State University are studying this field, and are hoping to implement a working piezoelectric tile by the end of Spring 2019.

Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems

Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems

Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems

02/09/18

“How can we create a central management system for distributed energy resources?”

 

Without a doubt, distributed energy resources are the way of the future. With their ability to efficiently generated clean and renewable energy in optimal locations, they can make a truly sustainable civilization possible. However, if left unregulated, they can wreak havoc on the grid, and destroy an efficiency associated with them. So how can we use our engineering mindsets to solve this problem? Well, what if we were to create a centralized control system that could monitor and actuate upon these systems? Well, this is the main idea behind Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems, and are a very hot topic for the future of energy research!

R-Values (Construction)

R-Values (Construction)

R-Values (Construction)

01/21/18

“How can we measure a building material’s resistance to heat flow?”

 

One of a building’s primary functions is to insulate people from the outside world. And just as different materials are made of different atoms, different building materials are more efficient at producing insulation. So how can we quantify this? Well, let’s start by testing each material and assigning it a particular value. Engineers have done this and came up with the concept of the R-value. If you take a material of R-value x and one of R-value y and place one in front of the other then you will obtain a material with an R-value x + y. R-values are one of the fundamental components of modern-day construction