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Browsing by Subject "Recycling"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Collection of Heat Loss in Photovoltaic System by Parallelly Connected Thermoelectric Network
    (2022-06) Erickson, Joel
    The goal of this work is to increase solar cell efficiency by efficiently combining the electric power of a solar cell and a thermoelectric generator into a single two terminal hybrid device. This work presents a method of achieving this by dividing the thermoelectric generator into smaller thermoelectric generators, forming a parallelly connected network with them, and connecting this network in series with the solar cell. An equivalent circuit model was developed for this device scheme and compared with experimental data. The data show some support of the model, but fine evaluation of the model’s accuracy was hindered by limitations in the experimental setup. If thermoelectric generator efficiency increases in the future, it may become practical to combine thermoelectric generators with solar cells. Providing a method for combining the two power sources at the cellular level may be important for simplifying and improving systems that use these photovoltaic/thermoelectric hybrids.
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    Investigation of the thermal parameters of reclaimed asphalt materials with applications to asphalt recycling
    (2014-08) DeDene, Christopher D.
    Asphalt concrete is the third most widely used resource in the world, next to Portland Cement Concrete and water. In the United States alone, over 550 million tons of hot mix asphalt (HMA) are produced at more than 4,000 asphalt plants across the country. With over 94% of the paved roads in the United States surfaces with asphalt concrete, it's safe to say asphalt pavement is what America drives on. However, a majority of today's pavement projects are geared towards rehabilitation and reconstruction of existing pavements, rather than construction of new roads. While it is true that asphalt pavement is 100% recyclable and it is the most recycled material in America, the reality is most roads contain no more than 20% recycled material. There are many factors that prohibit new road construction in excess of 20% recycled content, and this thesis aims to explore just one of those factors - the thermodynamics of hot mix asphalt pavement recycling. Most research that is investigating the use of high amounts of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) have been based on empirical trials. This work has approached the issue of pavement recycling by measuring the thermal properties of recycled asphalt, examining the thermodynamic limits of asphalt drum mixing, and by modeling asphalt mixing drums using finite element techniques to determine the amount of time required to achieve full melting inside of asphalt drums. It was found that for many different drum configurations, there is insufficient retention time for RAP to reheat. This insufficient heating could cause premature failures in asphalt pavements using high percentages of RAP. A secondary goal of this thesis is to explore the benefits of using the waste mining material, taconite tailings, in new asphalt pavements. This research shows there is thermodynamic benefit gained by using taconite tailings because they can be heated faster than traditional aggregates. This heating supplies more heat to RAP, which in turn, may allow for more of the recycled asphalt pavement to be incorporated into new asphalt pavements.
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    Monuments of Trash Art Project (MoTAP)
    (2013-05-28) Gravening, Tanya; Boudewyns, Deborah K. Ultan
    Tanya Gravening makes art that focuses on the problems caused by plastic pollution. Monuments of Trash Art Project (MoTAP) is a series of paintings, sculptures, and functional art objects to raise consciousness of plastic pollution. The creative process of MoTAP includes an opportunity for people to participate in the project by collecting plastic trash, which is then used to construct the art work.
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    Source, Winter 2009
    (University of Minnesota Extension, 2009) University of Minnesota Extension