Honors Theses

Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2021

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Mechanical Engineering

First Advisor

Tejas Pandya

Second Advisor

Taiho Yeom

Third Advisor

Damian Stoddard

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This report is focused on the preliminary feasibility of portable solar-powered blood-storing refrigerators primarily based on calculations of energy required to maintain the temperature of the refrigerator, the electricity required throughout the day, calculating sufficiency of power supplied by the solar panel, and selection of battery for power storage. The method and the trend of a feasibility study involve the study of blood properties, separation of blood components after donation, and their storage conditions. Then, the portable size of the refrigeration has been proposed with three different compartments for storage of each blood component. The further methods involve the selection of insulating material for the refrigerator, calculations of the loss of the energy using thermal conductivity of the insulating material, studying refrigeration process and the energy required for the refrigeration, and selecting the solar panel and battery for the power supply with relevant feasibility calculations. The feasibility study led to the result that the proposed dimension of the refrigerator is portable enough to be carried by two soldiers or in a small golf cart. The proposed solar panel placed on the lid of the refrigerator can provide sufficient energy to maintain the temperature of the refrigerator throughout the day and night by using an appropriate battery with sufficient power storage capacity.

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