Mechanical Engineering Molten Salts Team, ME1 Zach Schneider Joey Cervantes Jeff Renslo Matt Norris Sam Vial Advisor: Bob Stiger Sponsor: IncSys, Robin Podmore Liaison: Larry Kite, IncSys
Due to the scarcity of firewood in many parts of Africa, a large number of families rely on solar reflectors and the power of the sun for their daily cooking needs. The drawback to this is that as the sun sets, their ability to cook meals is drastically diminished. MENG 1’s goal is to create a solar powered oven utilizing the excellent thermal properties of a molten salt to in essence create a “thermal battery.” The device will be able to receive high input from a solar reflector and in turn allow people to store and utilize this thermal energy for their cooking desires.
HotStart Engine Heater,ME2 Cory Geerdts Nate Adamski Kyle Martin Chris Lombardi Colin Flynn Advisor: Bob Stiger Sponsor: HotStart Liaison Engineer: Mickey Merritt
The extent of our project is to evaluate the implementation of using a commercial air source heat pump as a supplemental heater to HotStart’s electrical resistance heater to lower electrical energy consumption. HotStart is a Spokane based company that designs and manufactures engine heaters to keep engines at a uniform temperature, allowing them to start quickly. The prototype that we designed will ultimately be tested on the Caterpillar Generator Set used as a backup power source for the McCarthy Athletic Center to determine the cost savings involved with using the waste heat from the engine to heat the coolant in the engine to keep it ready for the start-up in the event of an emergency. P. 6 Gonzaga University School of Engineering & Applied Science