Tynan Winters' Project Portfolio

1.) Supercapacitor Integration and Battery Management System (BMS) - Senior Project 2018 – 2019

 



Project Scope and Objectives:
Research, design and build a full-scale current collecting powertrain utilizing supercapacitors as the primary energy device for propelling the bogie when wayside power is not available. 

1.    Accelerate a 400lb bogie to 2mph with only wayside power
2.    Propel a 250kg bogie at 2mph using only supercapacitors to the next wayside pickup.
3.    Passively connect the wayside power rails with each current collector mechanism using a sloped rail.
4.    Recharge on-board energy storage within the amount of time it would take for a passenger to exit and a new passenger to enter (~two minutes).
5.    Safely control supercapacitor charging, discharging, state of charge and balancing using an off-the-shelf battery management system.

Project Results:
1.    Successfully accelerated the bogie with wayside power
2.    Successfully propelled the bogie using supercapacitors
3.    Successfully built the wayside pick up and current mechanism
4.    Successfully recharged the supercapacitors under 2 minutes
5.    Successfully utilized a BMS to control the safety of the supercapacitor bank

Sponsors:
Orion BMS (Ewert Energy Systems), SJSU Tower Foundation, SJSU Associated Students, Howland Technologies, Maxwell Technologies, Turpo Manufacturing, SJSU Central Shop, Elithion Inc.

2.) Wayside Power Pantograph Mechanism for Full-Scale Transportation Bogie  - Summer 2018 Internship

General project overview animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdUBZMcMVZM


Solar Skyways (Futran Systems) Intern, Summer 2018
Personally responsible for the design, code, testing and fabrication of current collectors and wayside power rails fixed to a full scale electric bogie.

This mechanism was designed to always maintain contact with the overhead catenery power rails through the upward force generated by each spring. A linear actuator was used to retract the mechanism during track switches (video above) via pulley. The actuator retracts and extends through a Hall effect sensor.


© 2018 • All content within this project is strictly the property of Tynan Winters and is not for public use without permission.


3.) 'Smart' Vertical Axis Wind Turbine - Class Project Lead Spring 2018


The purpose of this in-class project was to create an extremely efficient, small-scale turbine for high density urban cities where space and renewable energy are valuable resources.

Turbines require a large amount of energy to start motion. In our turbine, if low speeds were detected via hall sensor, we would send current into the generator, thus helping start motion. On the opposite end, if speeds were increasing to an unsafe speed, our turbine would send current to the opposing direction, slowing the turbine. 

 
Video showing how a change in wind direction reorients the linkage system.  

The wind vane creates a moment on the linkage system which orients the blades in the correct orientation to maximize overall efficiency. Each blades frontal cross sectional area, perpendicular to the direction of the wind, is increased or decreased to capture more of the winds energy or reduce drag forces, respectively. 

Video showing constant wind direction. 

 Verified working turbine via wind tunnel. 

© 2018 • All content within this project is strictly the property of Tynan Winters and is not for public use without permission.

Comments