Solar Senior Projects
Senior Projects Focus Solar Technology Solutions
CE-CERT was also the scene of three solar energy senior projects this
spring. The projects were tested at the Center with the potential for
becoming examples of research demonstration projects under the Center’s
Southern California Research Initiative for Solar Energy (SC-RISE).
One team designed a built a solar salt water desalination system
intended to provide sufficient drinking water for a small community.
Salt water was heated to boiling in a tube running the length of a
parabolic trough solar collector. The steam was then directed to a
condenser/evaporator and then to a condenser unit where fresh water was
captured. This team consisted of Chihiro Iwahashi, Bethany Richie, Nico
Schulte, Selcuk Sindir, and Raymond Vallido.
Another team, including Alejandra Moreno-Aguilar and Shanel Chand, demonstrated a solar appliance designed to act as a household cooking range. Their solar collector was designed to deliver hot motor oil to a salt storage tank where the heat could be used for cooking.
The third team devised design to produce a solar thermal wind generator. The apparatus was designed to use the sun's energy to create a pressure gradient inside which would generate wind pressure to turn a turbine to create electricity. This senior project was developed by Kevin Guevarra, Henry Hsu and Jason Miller.
