Experienced Clean Energy /Power Manufacturing Cost Analysis Projects

• Photovoltaic / Solar Cell
  • Assessed a CIS thin film photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturing production scale-up for a major PV manufacturer.
  • Assessed an a-Si thin film photovoltaic roll-to-roll manufacturing process scale-up project for a major PV manufacturer.
• Fuel Cell
  • Assessed a leading fuel cell stack manufacturer PEM fuel cell manufacturing cost methodology and analysis.
  • Developed a on-board PEM fuel cell system manufacturing cost model for the Department of Energy (DOE). The model can performed the economies of scale analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, scenario analysis, and sensitivity analysis. Supported the DOE's PEM fuel cell cost analysis for more than five years.
  • Developed a a 5kW SOFC fuel cell stack manufacturing cost model for the SECA.
• Hydrogen Storage
  • Assessed the technology and cost feasibility for a serials of on-board hydrogen storage systems for the Department of Energy (DOE) including compressed hydrogen, metal hydrides, chemical hydrides, cryo-compressed hydrogen, liquid hydrogen, and activated carbon, etc.
• Lithium Ion Battery
  • Developed a Lithium Ion battery pack(18650 cell) manufacturing cost model for a major computer manufacturer.
  • Developed a plug hybrid electrical vehicle (PHEV) Lithium Ion battery pack manufacturing cost model for the DOE.
• Stirling Engine Power Generator
  • Developed a portable sterling engine power generation unit high volume manufacturing cost analysis for a commercial client.
• Wind Power
  • Developed a wind power generator cost model to analyze the energy cost for a commercial client.
• Hydro Power
  • Developed a small scale hydro power station feasibility research report for a commercial client.

Experienced Appliance Development Projects

• Residential Dishwasher
  • Led a multi million dollar residential appliance development project. The main development role was focused on competitor product evaluations, washing system development, motor/pump specification, wash arms development, control algorithm development, cycle development, and optimizing the prototype performance using Design of Experiments.
  • Led a dishwasher fast drying system development assignment. The assignment required the superior drying performance which means the china and silver wares are completely dry after the cycle. The development role was focused on blower and heat exchanger design.
  • Assessed the feasibility of redesigning a US dishwasher to meeting European standard with the minimum design changes for a major appliance manufacturer. A serials of AHAM and European standard tests were performed.
  • Conducted a pre-sale assignment to improve the dishwasher performance without infringing the related patents for a major appliance manufacturer. The preliminary prototype was built and a serials of AHAM and DOE standard tests were performed.

Test and Automation Control Using LabVIEW

• Developed a water heater test station for the Department of Energy. The test station can test six different water heaters at the same time. The tests continuously run 24 hours per day for 30 days. The test station used LabVIEW and National Instrument hardware.
• Trouble shooting a control software for a water heater butane test chamber using LabVIEW. The hardware and interface included PCI DAQ card, SCXI chassis, GPIB, etc.
• Developed test control software for a 20 million dollar Stirling engine R&D project using LabVIEW. In DAQ program, the hardware setting and logging data were stored in Access database. The needed data was saved into Excel data file using SQL query. In the control program, PID control algorithm was developed. The hardware and interface included PXI chassis, E serials DAQ card, SCXI chassis, GPIB, RS232, etc.
• Developed a test lab for a multimillion dollar dishwasher development project using LabVIEW. The lab was AHAM and DOE qualified and conducted four dishwasher tests at the same time. The hardware and interface included PCI DAQ card, SCXI chassis, USB GPIB, RS232, etc.
• Developed a dishwasher fast drying system test station for a potential client. The assignment requires the superior drying performance which means the china and silver wares are completely dry after the cycle. The temperature, relative humidity, power, energy, air flow rate were monitored and recorded during the test. The test station used LabVIEW and National Instrument hardware.
• Developed a residential oven prototype control and data acquisition program using LabVIEW. The complicated test plans were stored in a Excel file which would control the oven for the different tests automatically.
• Developed a RFID control system for a food packaging application. The RFID tag contains the information of type of food, weight, and recommended cooking processes. The new designed oven control system can scan the package tag, read the cooking procedure, and cook the food according to the procedure. The hardware and interface included PCI DAQ card, SCXI chassis, RS232, etc.
• Developed a product management database using Visual Basic / MS Access for an electronics manufacturer. The database can keep track senor and components in manufacturing floor. The database will be combined with their current ERP software to improve the quality and productivity.
• Led a new water heater field test data analysis assignment for California Energy Commission using Visual Basic. The assignment required to analyze 20 water heaters in five years day to day data log file and evaluate the efficiency performance. The data file size is about 2 G bytes.