Browsing by Author "Sebitosi, A B"

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    Application of advances in automotive technologies to electrification in rural sub-Saharan Africa
    (2004) Sebitosi, A B; Pillay, Pragasen
    Continued lack of electrification in rural sub-Saharan Africa poses a major challenge. The consequences are well documented. Major research is required to redress the situation but the meagre financial and energy resources are major hurdles. In the meantime elsewhere in the first world, investment in research and innovation continue to attract investors. For example a massive automotive energy conservation research drive was initiated in the mid 1990's by a Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). The PNGV advanced three important public policy objectives: environmental protection, energy security, and U.S. economic competitiveness. To achieve this mammoth challenge they proceeded by re-examining automotive energy conservation right from first principles. Their centrepiece was a coordinated portfolio of hundreds of research projects by among others, 19 US Federal National Laboratories, United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR), automotive parts suppliers, university research facilities and a range of stakeholders. These were subsequently augmented by similar efforts in Europe and Japan. The thrust of this work draws parallels between an automobile and a remote village to consider the adaptation of the new automotive technologies to rural electrification. The author further augments this by additional contributions in load modelling, mini distribution network loss minimisation and energy economy by appropriate system configuration. The main issues that are shared by an automobile and a remote rural village can be revealed as finite energy resources without a supporting grid infrastructure, which must cope with, poor energy resource-to-need conversion technologies, adverse human factors, poor load factors, inefficient appliances and poor storage technologies, among others. These must all interact to meet objectives on service quality and the environment. Furthermore, the expected economies of scale in the automotive industry should subsequently make the adoption of these technologies affordable for rural applications.
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    An automotive interior lighting application using white light-emitting diodes
    (2008) Solomon, Ramzi; Pillay, Pragasen; Sebitosi, A B
    In this thesis the commercially available white light-emitting diode (LED) with its inherent efficiency, longevity and mechanical strength, is used to show, that success in energy efficiency can be obtained. Two cases are used to illustrate the need for efficient demand-side technology: the electricity shortages of the Western Cape Province in South Africa and a white LED pilot project in Namulonge, Uganda.
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    Design considerations for low pressure solar water heating in South Africa
    (2012) De Meyer, Oelof; Pillay, Pragasen; Sebitosi, A B; Okou, Richard
    This thesis investigates the application of solar water heating in South Africa. The solar water heating system investigated work on the thermosiphoning effect or natural convection. An extensive literature study has been undertaken to investigate this phenomena. The three partial differential equations (governing equations) are non-dimensionalized and a similarity solution is applied to obtain two coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations. These equations are then solved in MATLAB to obtain the velocity and temperature profiles. Two scenarios were considered, a vertical wall with a constant wall temperature and a vertical wall with a constant heat flux. LP SWH systems use vacuum tubes to absorb solar radiation and transfer it to the water, which is similar to the vertical wall with a constant heat flux. A simulation model has been developed for a LP SWH system which is able to simulate the system performance for a given geographical location, where the user can specify the system component attributes. Experiments on the system were conducted to validate the simulation model. The simulation model accompanies a 6-Step Design Guide developed to assist the user to design a system able to satisfy the consumer's hot water demand. The 6-Step Design Guide developed can be used in future design considerations for LP SWH systems in South Africa.
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    Load compensation : design of a real time analysis and control device
    (2001) Sebitosi, A B; Malengret, Michel
    The aim of this thesis is to produce a load compensator for a three-phase system. It should be simple, accurate and affordable. The three-phase load compensator design is based on a more recent definition of power factor. Attempts to establish a universally acceptable definition can be traced as early as 1920 at the 36th Annual convention of the American Institution of Electrical Engineers. Subsequently, a number of definitions have been adopted by different scholars. Each definition can lead to a different compensator solution. This problem, for example, is illustrated by Eammanuel [25].