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Effect of Environmental and Ultraviolet Degradation on the Albedo of Polyethylene Sheet Materials for Improved Energy Harvesting by Bifacial Photovoltaic Power Plants
Get PDFSolar energy farms typically utilize monofacial photovoltaic (mPV) cells in their arrays to capture direct sunlight to produce renewable energy. However, the efficiency of these farms can be increased by 2 – 6% through the implementation of bifacial photovoltaic cells (bPV). These bPV cells function by capturing incident ultraviolet (UV) light energy that is reflected off the surface to increase its overall energy production. The amount of UV energy that is reflected is dependent on the albedo value of surface, which is a measure of energy reflectance. In this study, samples of unreinforced polyethylene (PE), scrim-reinforced polyethylene (SR-PE), and woven polyethylene (W-PE) sheeting materials were tested to determine which had the highest albedo value as well as the most resistance to environmental degradation. Samples subjected to outdoor conditions were visited on a biweekly basis to measure their albedo values using an albedometer and to record any physical changes observed in the material. Samples were also placed in an accelerated weathering chamber in a laboratory which exposed the materials to continuous UV light in intervals of 20 hours. The results from testing determined that woven PE produced a 23% higher average albedo in comparison to the other candidate PE materials. Woven PE also demonstrated lower quantitative and qualitative environmental degradation. Based on these results, woven PE was concluded to be empirically superior as a ground albedo material among the materials tested in this study
A Guide for the Everyday Woman Surfer: How Surf Culture\u27s Patriarchy Marginalizes Ocean Lovers
Get PDFHumans are naturally drawn to the water by wind and tide. It is a place of solace that we have a desire to know deeply, yet we have kept one another from experiencing it through biases that perpetuate inequality. White-supremacist hegemony has historically kept communities of color from coastlines, women from lineups, and queer communities from participating in surf culture. As more people from all social groups return to the water through surfing in the 20th century, surf culture needs to adapt to become more inclusive. This paper outlines surf culture\u27s historical transition into whiteness and how female beauty standards as well as LGBTQ+ communities are affected by white racial dominance and how surf culture is transitioning to become more inclusive
Development of a Low-Cost Acoustic Gauge for Simultaneous Tide and Wave Measurement
Get PDFHigh-quality tide and wave data are essential in a variety of fields including coastal engineering, climate science, disaster response, and recreational activities. Accurate data are publicly accessible from government organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), however the high costs associated with deploying and maintaining their high accuracy gauges results in a deficit of localized data. Commercial gauges available starting at 350, interested parties can manufacture these gauges at a fraction of the price of comparable commercial options. Laboratory testing indicates individual measurement uncertainties of less than three centimeters for a 10-meter measuremen
Estimating the Impact of Infill Housing on Reduction in Vehicle Miles Traveled
Get PDFVehicle miles traveled (VMT) and its relationship with the built environment has been extensively studied. Most notably, five D variables of the built environment including density, diversity, design, destination accessibility, and distance to transit are the key variables included in this research to explain VMT generation from housing developments. This thesis uses prior research that developed robust statistical models and findings to create a framework to estimate VMT reduction affected by infill housing developed using incentives provided by the state compared to a regional comparator. The regional comparator is typically a suburban single-family housing development in the region. The models recommended for future application of the framework are based on ease of finding the data on variables included in the model and statistical robustness. The application of the framework in the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay Area regions of California shows that infill prototypes developed can generate an 11-27% reduction in VMT per capita. The findings are specific to a synthetic household defined for this study. The research provides ways to apply this framework to other regions of the state along with ideas to consider for future work. These ideas include exploring the VMT reduction potential based on households with different income levels appropriate for the regions, future modeling efforts, and selection of existing models. The findings of this thesis support that the combination of the five D variables can help attribute to a larger VMT reduction than the VMT reduction caused by the change of a single variable. When destinations are clustered, and jobs are available at a reasonable distance to the residence, a significant reduction in VMT is more achievable. The results inform public agencies on which locations are ripe for devoting further resources for incentivizing housing development to reach climate and housing goals
AS-963-23 Resolution to Revise the Course and Term Withdrawal Policy
Get PDFRescinds AS-103-80/IC, “Resolution Regarding Guidelines for Withdrawal from 31 Classes After the Census Date,” and further resolves that Cal Poly adopt the withdrawal policy attached to the resolution
AS-955-23 Resolution on Graduate Curriculum for Semester Conversion
Get PDFRevises the policy for blended programs described in the attached document, regarding the general policies on graduate curriculum for semesters, including masters degree programs and specializations
4-Band Personal EQ Device
Get PDFThe device is a 4-band EQ with 3.5mm audio input and output jacks. The device has 4 adjustable EQ bands. Each of the 4 bands are adjustable via knob potentiometers, and are able to boost or cut their respective center frequencies of 150Hz, 400Hz, 2500Hz, and 10kHz from -15dB to +15dB. The device is battery powered off of 1 9V battery and is able to function for 10 hours before needing to replace the batteries. The device has a Total Harmonic Distortion of less than 1% and a Signal to Noise Ratio greater than 60dB. Overall, this device allows music lovers of all sorts to be able to adjust the audio characteristics of their audio to suit their preferences with ease and without sacrifice of sound quality
Multi-Effects Analog Guitar Pedal
Get PDFThe Multi-FX Analog Guitar Pedal includes the analysis, design, performance, PCB layout, and packaging of an industry-standard effects pedal for an electric guitar. This project takes an analog input signal and utilizes analog circuitry to give the user the option to customize the way that their playing sounds. Effects include the options to add equalization filtering and distortion. The EQ filtering will allow the user to attenuate or gain certain frequencies divided into the 3 standard audio bands: bass (20-300 Hz), middle (300-4000 Hz), and treble (4-20 kHz). The soft-clipping distortion stage will allow the user to move around the level of distortion introduced to the signal. Other features include standard guitar pedal interface jacks and power stages as well as true bypass. The pedal will be able to be quickly switched between the effects signal and true bypass by stepping on a switch
Electronic Note-String Detector
Get PDFAs the virtual space has become a dominant part of everyone’s day-to-day lives, many normal face-to-face interactions and services have not yet been facilitated by adapting technology. One of these prevailing areas is music lessons. Over Zoom meetings, or other virtual platforms, it is tremendously challenging to teach students. These challenges include recognizing student mistakes audibly and visually, and being able to give confident feedback on the incorrect notes played by learning musicians. Without having to delve into improving the complex systems that would be required to improve audio, video, and connection quality of these connections, we have another solution that can more easily and affordably obviate these issues for learning guitar players.
This solution is the Electronic Note-String Detector. This product serves to not only register the notes that are played by the guitarist, but the exact strings and fret positions that are played. These string and fret positions will be recorded and displayed in a tablature format to provide feedback to both instructors and students. Instructors can more confidently recognize when students play incorrect notes, and can also assign out-of-class practice with valuable automated feedback to the students, with the ability to score performances immediately
The Impact of Language and Culture on Productivity: A Recommendation to Implement an Innovative Spanish Language Track
Get PDFProductivity is a popular focus of construction research because of its efforts to overcome a multitude of project related challenges. This research explores the intersection of language barriers, cultural differences, and productivity in the construction industry with a focus on the impact of bilingual management. It evaluates the impact of these factors on productivity and its beneficial relationship to multilingual management on diverse construction crews. The impending retirement of 40% of the construction labor force calls for proactive initiatives to manage the demographic shift shown by the growing composition of Hispanics in the workforce. The influence of language barriers on crew dynamics and productivity are explored and found to have indirect but significant impacts. Interviews with industry professionals reveal that bilingual leadership positively impacts crew morale, communication, and productivity. To address the evolving needs of the industry, an optional, accelerated Spanish language track tailored for undergraduate construction management students is proposed. The specialized track aims to equip students with practical language skills that will benefit individuals in both personal and professional life after college. The proposed program incorporates the foundational framework of the Spanish language and emphasizes the practical application it will serve students in the context of construction