Peter J. Schubert

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https://hdl.handle.net/1805/23991

Peter Schubert translates his research into practical solutions for affordable and reliable energy from renewable sources. The university created the spin-up company Green Fortress Engineering (GFE) to commercialize his intellectual property on waste-to-energy, hydrogen storage, and in-space resource utilization. The biomass gasifier he invented has been funded by the USDA, the Department of Energy, and the Army, and has earned five US patents. Using locally-available low-cost materials such as crop waste, food waste, and utility trimmings, his technology can produce electricity, heat, biochar, and hydrogen gas. The gasifier is called the Stalk Stoker, and is suitable for farms, factories, and facilities which have free or nuisance materials available.

The bio-hydrogen can be stored in a novel solid-state storage media for which Schubert holds four US patents. The research has been funded by the DOE and the National Science Foundation. GFE has received further development funds from private industry, subcontracting the research components to IUPUI while developing commercial applications for fuel cell vehicles and long-duration aerial drones. This approach is eight times better than batteries, and could revolutionize how we generate, store, and transport energy.

Schubert’s most out-of-this-world technology is converting mineral resources from the moon and asteroids into solar power satellites. When placed in a geosynchronous orbit they can beam power to cities on earth around the clock. With abundant clean and inexhaustible power to urban centers, paired with local waste-to-energy in rural and remote locales, this is another practical example of how IUPUI's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 29

Energy Resources Beyond Earth -- SSP from ISRU
(2014-11) Schubert, Peter J.
Executable Specs: What Makes One, and How are They Used?
(2006) Schubert, Peter J.; Vitkin, Lev; Winters, Frank
Model-based systems development relies upon the concept of an executable specification. A survey of published literature shows a wide range of definitions for executable specifications [1-10]. In this paper, we attempt to codify the essential starting elements for a complete executable specification-based design flow. A complete executable specification that includes a functional model as well as test cases, in addition to a traditional prose document, is needed to transfer requirements from a customer to a supplier, or from a systems engineer to electrical hardware and software engineers. In the complete form demonstrated here, sub-components of a functionally-decomposed system manifest as modular reuse blocks suitable for publication in functional libraries. The overarching definition provided by product architecture and by software architecture must also be harmoniously integrated with design and implementation. Using seven specific automotive examples, we illustrate effective ways in which executable specifications have been used in production-ready applications. Benefits of model-based development are captured, including earlier and more thorough testing, automatic document generation, and autocode generation.
Distributed Bio-Hydrogen Refueling Stations
(David Publishing, 2016) Schubert, Peter J.; Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
Hydrogen fuel cell cars are now available for lease and for sale. Renewable hydrogen fuel can be produced from water via electrolysis, or from biomass via gasification. Electrolysis is power-hungry with high demand from solar or wind power. Gasification, however, can be energy self-sufficient using a recently-patented thermochemical conversion technology known as I-HPG (indirectly-heated pyrolytic gasification). I-HPG produces a tar-free syngas from non-food woody biomass. This means the balance of plant can be small, so the overall system is economical at modest sizes. This makes it possible to produce renewable hydrogen from local agricultural residues; sufficient to create distributed refueling stations wherever there is feedstock. This work describes the specifics of a novel bio-hydrogen refueling station whereby the syngas produced has much of the hydrogen extracted with the remainder powering a generator to provide the electric power to the I-HPG system. Thus the system runs continuously. When paired with another new technology, moderate-pressure storage of hydrogen in porous silicon, there is the potential to also power the refueling operation. Such systems can be operated independently. It is even possible to design an energy self-sufficient farm where all electric power, heat, and hydrogen fuel is produced from the non-food residues of agricultural operations. No water is required, and the carbon footprint is negative, or at least neutral.
Seawater Flow Battery as Technology Platform
(TechConnect, 2014) Schubert, Peter J.; Fu, Y.; Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
Grid-level storage of renewable energy using electrolytes from seawater is a platform technology with multiple byproducts and use-case scenarios. The core application is to provide load-leveling for intermittent sources such as wind and solar. Membranes which conduct sodium to a cathode for energy storage yields chlorine gas, which can be sold. Discharging stored sodium produces electric power, and also sodium hydroxide and hydrogen gas. Hydrogen can be sold, or combined with stored chlorine gas in a H2-Cl2 fuel cell to boost the round-trip energy efficiency of the seawater flow battery system. Sodium hydroxide can be used in alkaline exchange membrane fuel cells. The brine from conventional desalination can be processed to produce sodium metal plus fresh water which can be released into the marine environment. Sodium metal extracted from the cathode can be used as an energy vector which, when combined with water, produces hydrogen on-demand for use in variable load applications such as fuel cell vehicles.
Robust Automated Airbag Module Calibration
(2001) Schubert, Peter J.
Increasing sophistication of electronic safety systems requires more advanced tools for design and optimization. Systems of safety products already being designed are becoming too interdependent to calibrate as stand-alone modules. Compounding this difficulty is the trend towards fewer test crashes and more sophisticated regulatory requirements. This paper presents a unified calibration approach to produce robust performance. First, the set of crash samples are extended using statistical techniques. Then an automated calibration tool using Genetic Algorithms is used to provide robust performance against deployment requirements. Finally, an expert systems is employed to ensure logical behavior. Together, these powerful methods yield calibrations which out-perform manual calibrations and can be completed in far less time.
Removing Crop Residues Without Hurting Soil
(2009) Schubert, Peter J.
Agricultural residue, the organic matter left over after grain harvesting, has the potential to replace a large fraction of our petroleum and coal use, making this a significant national benefit. However, agricultural residues also serve a useful function in farm soils, so it is important to understand the impact of removing some of these residues.
Model-based Development for Event-driven Applications using MATLAB: Audio Playback Case Study
(2007) Schubert, Peter J.; Vitkin, Lev; Braun, David
Audio playbacks are mechanisms which read data from a storage medium and produce commands and signals which an audio system turns into music. Playbacks are constantly changed to meet market demands, requiring that the control software be updated quickly and efficiently.
Math-Based Design of Sensing Bladders
(2006-04-03) Schubert, Peter J.; Saxena, Roopesh; Pinagapani, Sachi; Gopal, Madana
Through the use of finite-element modeling, pressure patterns on the underside of seat foam can be computed for a variety of occupants and seating positions. A design tool has been created which allows an engineer to evaluate different layouts for a pressure-sensing bladder in just minutes.
Nuclear Power from Lunar ISRU
(Juniper Publishers, 2019) Schubert, Peter J.; Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
Thorium on the lunar surface can be transmuted into fissile uranium suitable for a controlled chain reaction to provide heat. Thorium is fertile, requiring bombardment by neutrons to become a suitable nuclear fuel. Oxides of thorium are dense and can be concentrated and beneficiated from comminuted regolith via inertial or thermal means. A neutron flux can be provided by encasing thoria within a beryllium and graphite vessel, which emits neutrons upon exposure to gamma rays or galactic cosmic rays. After a brief period at protactinium the transmuted material becomes U-233, a desirable fuel because decay product half-lives are below 100 years. When compressed into fuel pellets the uranium oxide is configured into a reactor through which a working fluid can extract thermal power. With regolith tailings as shielding such a reactor can operate safely for 30 years. A century later, the site can be harvested for specialty elements and then made available for other uses. The advent of launch-safe nuclear rockets in space greatly expands the potential for in situ resource utilization, a space-based economy, and profitable exploitation of the asteroid belt.
Abandoned Mine Voids for Pumped Storage Hydro
(Juniper Publishers, 2019) Schubert, Peter J.; Izadian, Afshin; Wheeler, J. W.; Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology
Pumped Storage Hydro (PSH) is geographically limited but can expand greatly if abandoned subsurface coal mines are leveraged for the lower reservoir. Such lands are already permitted, generally less desirable, and found in regions eager for job creation. Vertical stacking of the upper and lower reservoirs is an efficient use of the land. Water can be raised by electric pumps as part of energy arbitrage; however, water can also be raised with Hydraulic Wind Turbines. HWTs are far less costly than traditional electric turbines, and start-up at lower wind speeds - thereby extending their geographic range. The HWT masts can serve double duty as tent poles to support translucent architectural fabric over the surface lake. This prevents evaporation and ingress of wildlife, and provides an interior space useful for non-electric revenue, such as aquaculture and greenhouses. Water cycled through the system can, in some cases, supplement local sources. Seepage through water tables replenishes clean water. Subsurface water is cool and can be circulated through server farms in data centers which represents a potential revenue source that can be started up well in advance of the primary energy storage operation. Combined, these factors bring an innovative solution to site selection, design, and engineering for PSH which promises accelerated commissioning and permitting, and low-cost operation. The bottom line for communities in Coal Country is more jobs and cheaper power.

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