Transcript RET Poster - CURENT Education

Bringing power technologies into high school classrooms,
first steps
Joe Foy, West High School, , Knoxville TN
Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electrical Energy Transmission Networks
(CURENT), Summer 2012 RET
Introduction
The emerging requirements and large
scale adoption of the Common Core
State Standards Initiative guide
educators toward curricula and
teaching strategies that will give
students a deep understanding of the
subject and the skills they need to
apply their knowledge. An important
set of applications are embodied in the
fascinating technologies of power
generation, transmission, and
distribution. The mathematics and
science of these technologies are
within reach of secondary school
students, and can easily be woven into
curricula.
Results
A set of four Power application worksheets will be provided to attendees at the
Tennessee Math Teachers Association (TMTA) annual conference in September.
A wind lab was defined and developed, it will be used in math and physics courses
during school year 2012 - 2013
Using Matlab to explore wind
data, and to create R-C
current, voltage, time output
file
Figure 1. (Program
#1): Matlab plot of
Butler wind data,
October 2011.
Composed from
measurements taken
every 10 minutes.
Figures 2. (Program
#2) Matlab code and
plot (left,), exported to
“.csv” file (below),
imported to TI84
calculators for use in
math classes (bottom)
Methods
The Summer 2012 CURENT RET effort has been
to develop first steps towards enabling teachers to use
power generation and transmission applications in the
context of Algebra 1, Algebra 2, PreCalculus and Physics
instruction. The efforts include:
- Learning basics of wind renewable energy source
Acknowledgments:
Figure 3
Transformer at
Ebeneezer Road
substation, a
large metal ratio.
Next Steps: Deeper and
wider
- Continue learning technologies of power
generation, transmission, and distribution,
especially those associated with renewable
energy.
- Distribute application problems to other math
and science teachers (September 2012 TMTA
conference, TBD Knox County inservice)
- Continue developing math and science
curriculum materials for secondary education
- Explore partnership co-training and internship
opportunities with local power generation and
distribution companies
References
Figure 4 (left) 161 kV
tower, Kingston Pike and
North Peters Road. Pole
with subtransmission
voltage on lower left of
photo.
Figures 5 (below)
Knoxville Utility Board
Peak demand data, TVA
and KUB diagram
- Definition of two renewable energy math and or
science labs
- Purchase lab and classroom materials which may be
used to enhance math and physics learning.
How big a battery is needed to store 10 hours of 900
MWatts of Power?
How much coal is needed per year to generate 900
MWatts of power?
How much U-235 is needed per year to generate 900
MWatts of power?
Why does TVA transmit at 161,000 Volts to KUB,
when KUB supplies at 13,200 Volts?
The mathematics and science of power
generation and electronics provide excellent
applications in secondary education classrooms.
These may be woven together across a course
and curriculum to challenge young minds to
study a fascinating set of technologies which are
very important to their futures.
Figure 5 taken from KUB Five Year Plan Presentation,
dated April 15, 2010
Common Core State Standards: Publisher: National
Governors Association Center for Best Practices,
Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington
D.C., Copyright Date: 20
Recognition
- Developing four application problems, cross
referenced with State Performance Indicators (SPIs)
- Acquiring basic knowledge of MATLAB, using
MATLAB to generate exponential data (RC circuit
voltage and capacitance) which can be imported into
TI84 calculators as models for math studies of
exponential functions.
Application Problems
Conclusions
The effort, attention to detail, and genuine passion for
RET learning by Dr. Chien-fei Chen, Co-Director of
Education and Diversity Program for the CURENT
Research Center merits particular notice and was
instrumental in the success of this RET effort.
Matlab, Instructor
TI84 Graphing Calculator, math class
For further information
Please contact Joe Foy [email protected]
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation and Department of
Energy under Grant No. 1041877. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material
are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.