College of Engineering

Raj Patel College of Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Maureen H. Tang Chemical & Biological Engineering

An Exploration into Li-Zn Hybrid Aqueous Batteries

With the growing demand for renewable energies, efficient storage for the such energy must be addressed. One promising technology for stationary energy storage is that of hybrid aqueous ion batteries. A hybrid cell takes advantage of a different intercalating ion on each electrode instead of traditional batteries which tend to have the same ion intercalate between electrodes. Not only do these hybrid cells have high energy densities, but due to their aqueous nature, they also tend to be cheap and safe due to the lack of toxic organics. This project specifically explores the intercalation of multivalent zinc ions and monovalent lithium ions. This project explores the impacts of different cathodic materials, such as Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide and Lithium Iron Phosphate, and electrolytes, such as Lithium/Zinc Chloride and Lithium/Zinc Nitrate, on the effectiveness of the cell. This project involved optimizing, designing, and fabricating every component of the cell. Some preliminary results show that the system tends to be dependent on avoiding side reactions, such as the reduction of zinc or the reduction of nitrate, and as such future research will be focused on minimizing most side reactions in the system.

College of Engineering

Oludamilare Yinka-Adewale

College of Engineering

Civil Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Aghayere Abieyuwa

Civil, Architectural, & Environmental Engineering

Analysis of the Varying Complexity in Lateral Wind Load Calculation Under Different United States Codes and Standards

With a focus on optimization, many structural engineers have pondered the question: what is the necessity, if any, behind the increased complexity in lateral wind load calculations observed in newer building codes and standards? This research aims to answer that question.

The lateral wind loads on four sample buildings were calculated using the NYS 2001 code, ASCE 7-2010 load standard, and ASCE 7-2016 load standard. The sample buildings included a 3-story building, a 7-story building, a 10-story building, and a 15-story building, each with a 10 ft. floor-to-floor height and measuring 100 ft. x 100 ft. in plan. Overturning moment and base shears were then calculated with each code and for each sample building for increased comparison. The moments and base shears obtained using the three codes remained comparable for all heights up to 100 ft. Larger discrepancies in the moments and base shears calculated using the ASCE standards and the NYS code became evident as the building height increased beyond 100 ft., suggesting that for taller buildings, there is some validity to the complexity found in the newer codes. However, the increased complexity in the newer codes appear to be unwarranted for low to moderate height buildings.