Sustainable Design in Engineering

1
Sustainable Design in Engineering

• ECE 0909.403 - Lecture 6a
• Electronic Electricity and Nuclear Energy
• 26 February 2002
• Peter Mark Jansson PP PE MScEng

2
Aims

• Overview of Electronic Electricity
• Introduction to Nuclear Options
• Have a Quiz

3
Electronic Electricity

• PV (visible, UV and IR)
• Fuel Cells
• Thermoelectrics
• Piezoelectrics
• Thermoionic converters

4
Thermoelectrics

• Seebeck Effect, 1823
• Compass needle deflected if placed in vicinity of
  a closed loop formed from two dissimilar metal
  conductors when one of the junctions was heated
• Peltier Effect, 1835
• Complimentary effect, temperature change achieved
  when current passed through the junction,
  reversible with current direction

5
Commercial Thermoelectrics

• Radioisotope Thermoelectric generators (RTGs)
  1.3-6.6 eff. (1.3-5 watts)
• Fossil Fuel fired systems (15-550 watts)
• gt12,000 in operation
• Global Thermoelectrics industry leader
• Peltier devices (Melcor Corp)

6
Piezoelectrics

• Pierre and Jacques Curie, 1880
• Crystals develop surface charges when stressed
• Conversion of mechanical action to current flow
  and the reverse
• Current 222 Million market, 9 growth
• Barriers efficiency, cost and energy density

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Thermoionics

• Process by which electrons are removed from a
  conductor surface by the addition of thermal
  energy
• Very high temps (900-1750 oK)
• Overall efficiencies low (12-15)
• Space and terrestrial applications

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Present Nuclear Technology

• Boiling Water Reactor
• Pressurized Water Reactor

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Future Possibility?

• Pebble Bed

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Nuclear Waste

• Radionuclide T1/2 Half-life Decay Particle
• 233U uranium-232 1.59 x 109 years ?
• 239Pu plutonium-239 2.41 x 104 years ?
• 3H2 hydrogen-3, tritium 12.35 years ?-
• 90Sr strontium-90 29 years ?-
• 131I iodine-131 8.04 days ?-
• 137Cs cesium-137 30.17 years ?-
• 85Kr krypton-85 10.72 years ?-

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Fusion?

• Barriers Remain.
• Proof of scientific feasibility
• Economics of generation
• Materials damage from neutrons
• Materials availability