{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37400"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37400","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Field fabrication of solar-thermal powered stream turbines for generation of mechanical power","abstract":"Providing adequate energy to developing countries is one of the greatest global technical challenges today. Fabrication is undergoing a revolution that parallels the digitization of computation and communications. Emerging affordable, \"desktop\" fabrication tools are providing the precision and repeatability necessary for regular people to design, manufacture, and install a system to convert solar thermal energy to useful work. In the spectrum of devices that use solar energy, this field-fabricated system exists in a space between crude solar cookers for heating food and complex, expensive photovoltaic cells. Computer control and high precision allows regular people to experimentally converge on a locally-appropriate design and implementation to solve the challenge of providing energy. This thesis describes a field producible, small-scale turbine that uses solar thermal energy to provide mechanical energy. I investigate a solar thermal steam-driven turbine system and build and evaluate several versions in field fabrication lab locations around the world. I consider the efficacy of deployment in rural developing areas.","abstract_html":"Providing adequate energy to developing countries is one of the greatest global technical challenges today. Fabrication is undergoing a revolution that parallels the digitization of computation and communications. Emerging affordable, "desktop" fabrication tools are providing the precision and repeatability necessary for regular people to design, manufacture, and install a system to convert solar thermal energy to useful work. In the spectrum of devices that use solar energy, this field-fabricated system exists in a space between crude solar cookers for heating food and complex, expensive photovoltaic cells. Computer control and high precision allows regular people to experimentally converge on a locally-appropriate design and implementation to solve the challenge of providing energy. This thesis describes a field producible, small-scale turbine that uses solar thermal energy to provide mechanical energy. I investigate a solar thermal steam-driven turbine system and build and evaluate several versions in field fabrication lab locations around the world. I consider the efficacy of deployment in rural developing areas.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sun, Amy (Amy Teh-Yu)"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Neil Gershenfeld."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006","date_published":"2006","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:21Z","subjects":["Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37400","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Neil Gershenfeld."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.other","label":"Dc Contributor Other","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sun, Amy (Amy Teh-Yu)"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2007-05-16T18:30:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2007-05-16T18:30:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2006"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37400"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2006.","Includes bibliographical references (p. 65)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Providing adequate energy to developing countries is one of the greatest global technical challenges today. Fabrication is undergoing a revolution that parallels the digitization of computation and communications. Emerging affordable, \"desktop\" fabrication tools are providing the precision and repeatability necessary for regular people to design, manufacture, and install a system to convert solar thermal energy to useful work. In the spectrum of devices that use solar energy, this field-fabricated system exists in a space between crude solar cookers for heating food and complex, expensive photovoltaic cells. Computer control and high precision allows regular people to experimentally converge on a locally-appropriate design and implementation to solve the challenge of providing energy. This thesis describes a field producible, small-scale turbine that uses solar thermal energy to provide mechanical energy. I investigate a solar thermal steam-driven turbine system and build and evaluate several versions in field fabrication lab locations around the world. I consider the efficacy of deployment in rural developing areas."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Field fabrication of solar-thermal powered stream turbines for generation of mechanical power"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Neil Gershenfeld."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences"],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Sun, Amy (Amy Teh-Yu)"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2007-05-16T18:30:49Z"],"dc:date.available":["2007-05-16T18:30:49Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2006"],"dc:description":["Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2006.","Includes bibliographical references (p. 65)."],"dc:description.abstract":["Providing adequate energy to developing countries is one of the greatest global technical challenges today. Fabrication is undergoing a revolution that parallels the digitization of computation and communications. Emerging affordable, \"desktop\" fabrication tools are providing the precision and repeatability necessary for regular people to design, manufacture, and install a system to convert solar thermal energy to useful work. In the spectrum of devices that use solar energy, this field-fabricated system exists in a space between crude solar cookers for heating food and complex, expensive photovoltaic cells. Computer control and high precision allows regular people to experimentally converge on a locally-appropriate design and implementation to solve the challenge of providing energy. This thesis describes a field producible, small-scale turbine that uses solar thermal energy to provide mechanical energy. I investigate a solar thermal steam-driven turbine system and build and evaluate several versions in field fabrication lab locations around the world. I consider the efficacy of deployment in rural developing areas."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37400"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences"],"dc:title":["Field fabrication of solar-thermal powered stream turbines for generation of mechanical power"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:21Z"}