Course Title: Alternative Energy Fundamentals
Course Number: EGE3903

course description:
This multidisciplinary introductory course in alternative energy is taught by faculty from the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and chemistry departments. Energy usage past and present is surveyed including an overview of the major fuels and how they are transported and used. Energy conversion such as internal combustion engines, steam generators, turbines, and electric motors will be introduced along with energy storage. A brief look at future energy sources and the environmental impact/pollution from fuel usage will be addressed.

Students will be provided broad insight into fuel cell science, technology, system design, and operation including electrochemistry and electro catalysis, cell degradation, nature of fuel cell electrodes and electrolytes, fuels, and fuel processing. The power electronics portion of the course will cover power transmission: large scale and small scale: AC vs. DC, phasors, resistance, capacitance, inductance, impedance, transformers, AC power transmission: average values, pulse-width modulation, filters, DC power transmission, circuits with inductance, semiconductor switches: diodes, BJTs, MOSFETs, IGBTs, transformers as energy storage devices, state-space averaging, per-cycle analysis, switch-mode DC power supplies: buck converters, boost converters, buck-boost converters, Cuk converters, thyristors, MOVs, snubbers, AC inverters, rotating electric machines.

Prerequisites: Either EEE2123 [Circuits and Electronics] or EEE2114 [Circuits 1] AND CHM1223 University Chemistry 1.