Direct Energy Conversion discusses both the physics behind energy conversion processes and a wide variety of energy conversion devices. A direct energy conversion process converts one form of energy to another through a single process. The first half of this book surveys multiple devices that convert to or from electricity including piezoelectric devices, antennas, solar cells, light emitting diodes, lasers, thermoelectric devices, and batteries. In these chapters, physical effects are discussed, terminology used by engineers in the discipline is introduced, and insights into material selection is studied. The second part of this book puts concepts of energy conversion in a more abstract framework. These chapters introduce the idea of calculus of variations and illuminate relationships between energy conversion processes.This peer-reviewed book is used for a junior level electrical engineering class at Trine University. However, it is intended not just for electrical engineers. Direct energy conversion is a fascinating topic because it does not fit neatly into a single discipline. This book also should be of interest to physicists, chemists, mechanical engineers, and other researchers interested in an introduction to the energy conversion devices studied by scientists and engineers in other disciplines.

As the finite capacity and pollution problems of fossil fuels grow more pressing, new sources of more sustainable energy are being developed. Materials for energy conversion devices summarises the key research on new materials which can be used to generate clean and renewable energy or to help manage problems from existing energy sources.The book discusses the range of materials that can be used to harness and convert solar energy in particular, including the properties of oxide materials and their use in producing hydrogen fuel. It covers thermoelectric materials and devices for power generation, ionic conductors and new types of fuel cell. There are also chapters on the use of such materials in the immobilisation of nuclear waste and as electrochemical gas sensors for emission control.With its distinguished editors and international team of contributors, Materials for energy conversion devices is a standard reference for all those researching and developing a new generation of materials and technologies for our energy need. - Detailed coverage of solar energy and thermoelectric conversion - Comprehensive survey of new developments in this exciting field - Edited by leading experts in the field with contributions from an international team of authors

Solar energy conversion requires a different mind-set from traditional energy engineering in order to assess distribution, scales of use, systems design, predictive economic models for fluctuating solar resources, and planning to address transient cycles and social adoption. Solar Energy Conversion Systems examines solar energy conversion as an integrative design process, applying systems thinking methods to a solid knowledge base for creators of solar energy systems. This approach permits different levels of access for the emerging broad audience of scientists, engineers, architects, planners, and economists. Traditional texts in solar energy engineering have often emerged from mechanical or chemical engineering fields. Instead, Solar Energy Conversion Systems approaches solar energy conversion from the perspectives of integrative design, environmental technology, sustainability science, and materials science in the wake of amazing new thin films, polymers, and glasses developed by the optoelectronics and semiconductor industries. This is a new solar text for the new generation of green job designers and developers. It's highlighted with vignettes that break down solar conversion into useful stories and provides common points of reference, as well as techniques, for effective estimation of evolving technologies. - Contextualizes solar conversion for systems design and implementation in practical applications - Provides a complete understanding of solar power, from underlying science to essential economic outcomes - Analytical approach emphasizes systems simulations from measured irradiance and weather data rather than estimations from "rules of thumb" - Emphasizes integrative design and solar utility, where trans-disciplinary teams can develop sustainable solar solutions that increase client well-being and ecosystems services for a given locale

Fundamentals of Renewable Energy Systems goes beyond theoretical aspects of advances in renewable energy and addresses future trends. By focusing on the design of developing technologies, relevant operation and detailed background and an understanding of the application of power electronics and thermodynamics processes in renewable energy, this book provides an analysis of advancing energy systems. The book will be of interest to engineering graduates, researchers, professors and industry professionals involved in the renewable energy sector and is ideal for advanced engineering courses dealing with renewable energy, sources, thermal and electrical energy production and sustainability. With increasing focus on developing low carbon energy production, audiences need to have the engineering knowledge and practical skills to develop and implement creative solutions to engineering problems encountered with renewable energy technologies. By looking at renewable energy capture and conversion, system design and analysis, project development and implementation, each modular chapter examines recent advances in specific renewable energy systems with detailed methods, calculations and worked examples. - Includes recent techniques used to design and model different renewable energy sources (RES) - Demonstrates how to use power electronics in renewable systems - Discusses how to identify, design, integrate and operate the most suitable technologies through key problems

Included are 344 unclassified references on devices utilizing nuclear energy in the production of auxiliary power. The coverage includes nuclear batteries, thermoelectric cells, thermionic cells, and all phases of the SNAP program, although not all SNAP devices employ direct conversion. References from Nuclear Science Abstracts (NSA) through December 15, 1961, are included.

Emerging Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage presents the state-of-art of emerging materials for energy conversion technologies (solar cells and fuel cells) and energy storage technologies (batteries, supercapacitors and hydrogen storage). The book is organized into five primary sections, each with three chapters authored by worldwide experts in the fields of materials science, physics, chemistry and engineering. It covers the fundamentals, functionalities, challenges and prospects of different classes of emerging materials, such as wide bandgap semiconductors, oxides, carbon-based nanostructures, advanced ceramics, chalcogenide nanostructures, and flexible organic electronics nanomaterials. The book is an important reference for students and researchers (from academics, but also industry) interested in understanding the properties of emerging materials. - Explores the fundamentals, challenges and prospects for the application of emerging materials in the development of energy conversion and storage devices - Presents a discussion of solar cell and photovoltaic, fuel cell, battery electrode, supercapacitor and hydrogen storage applications - Includes notable examples of energy devices based on emerging materials to illustrate recent advances in this field

The book presents the latest power conversion and control technology in modern wind energy systems. It has nine chapters, covering technology overview and market survey, electric generators and modeling, power converters and modulation techniques, wind turbine characteristics and configurations, and control schemes for fixed- and variable-speed wind energy systems. The book also provides in-depth steady-state and dynamic analysis of squirrel cage induction generator, doubly fed induction generator, and synchronous generator based wind energy systems. To illustrate the key concepts and help the reader tackle real-world issues, the book contains more than 30 case studies and 100 solved problems in addition to simulations and experiments. The book serves as a comprehensive reference for academic researchers and practicing engineers. It can also be used as a textbook for graduate students and final year undergraduate students.

This unique compendium emphasizes key factors driving the performance of thermoelectric energy conversion systems. Important design parameters such as heat transfer at the boundaries of the system, material properties, and form factors are carefully analyzed and optimized for performance including the cost-performance trade-off. Numbers of examples are provided on the applications of thermoelectric technologies, e.g., power generation, cooling of electronic components, and waste heat recovery in wearable devices.This must-have volume also includes an interactive modeling software package developed on the nanoHUB (https: //nanohub.org/) platform. Professionals, researchers, academics, undergraduate and graduate students will be able to study the impact of material properties and key design parameters on the overall thermoelectric system performance as well as the large scale implementation in the society

Combining the two topics for the first time, this book begins with an introduction to the recent challenges in energy conversion devices from a materials preparation perspective and how they can be overcome by using atomic layer deposition (ALD). By bridging these subjects it helps ALD specialists to understand the requirements within the energy conversion field, and researchers in energy conversion to become acquainted with the opportunities offered by ALD. With its main focus on applications of ALD for photovoltaics, electrochemical energy storage, and photo- and electrochemical devices, this is important reading for materials scientists, surface chemists, electrochemists, electrotechnicians, physicists, and those working in the semiconductor industry.