The operation of everything in the universe needs a special "material"-energy. The earth is no exception. There are many kinds of energy sources on earth. But where does the earth's energy come from? The answer is that everything grows under the sun. Developing renewable energy is of strategic importance to achieve sustainable energy supply. Simulating natural photosynthesis is the ultimate goal of effi cient solar energy conversion. Photovoltaic technology has been widely used in industry and will be one of the major energy sources in the future. Developing new materials and structures, the photoelectric conversion effi ciency of solar cells will be improved day by day, and solar cells will attract more and more attention. This book presents principles of solar photovoltaic conversion, and introduces the physical and chemical processes involved. Mechanisms which affect solar cell performance are also discussed.

The second part of Bioenergy: Principles and Technologies continues the discussion of biomass energy technologies covering fuel ethanol production, pyrolysis, biomass-based hydrogen production and fuel synthesis, biodiesel, municipal solid water treatment and microbial fuel cells. With a combination of theories, experiments and case studies, it is an essential reference for bioenergy researchers, industrial chemists and chemical engineers.

With the development of societies fossil energy is no longer the only energy resource, and increasing attention had been paid to alternative energy. Biomass is considered to be one of the alternatives due to efficiency and low cost. This book presents biomass pyrolysis behavior for three main components: Cellulose, Hemicellulose and Lignin, and discusses the influence of mineral salts , zeolite catalysts and metal oxide on their pyrolysis.

Starting with an introduction to fractional derivatives and numerical approximations, this book presents finite difference methods for fractional differential equations, including time-fractional sub-diffusion equations, time-fractional wave equations, and space-fractional differential equations, among others. Approximation methods for fractional derivatives are developed and approximate accuracies are analyzed in detail.

Wind Turbine Airfoils and Blades introduces new ideas in the design of wind turbine airfoils and blades based on functional integral theory and the finite element method, accompanied by results from wind tunnel testing. The authors also discuss the optimization of wind turbine blades as well as results from aerodynamic analysis. This book is suitable for researchers and engineers in aeronautics and can be used as a textbook for graduate students.

Bioenergy: Principles and Technologies introduces biomass energy resources and then elaborates on bioenergy technologies including biomass combustion, biogas production, biomass briquettes and biomass gasification. With a combination of theories, experiments and case studies, the book is an essential reference for bioenergy researchers, industrial chemists and chemical engineers.

This book provides an up-to-date overview of mathematical theories and research results in non-Newtonian fluid dynamics. Related mathematical models, solutions as well as numerical experiments are discussed. Fundamental theories and practical applications make it a handy reference for researchers and graduate students in mathematics, physics and engineering. Contents Non-Newtonian fluids and their mathematical model Global solutions to the equations of non-Newtonian fluids Global attractors of incompressible non-Newtonian fluids Global attractors of modified Boussinesq approximation Inertial manifolds of incompressible non-Newtonian fluids The regularity of solutions and related problems Global attractors and time-spatial chaos Non-Newtonian generalized fluid and their applications

The book presents fundamentals of communication electronic circuits, including structure, principle, analyzing methodology, design and design software. Radio frequency amplifier, sinusoidal oscillator, amplitude modulation and demodulation, angular modulation and demodulation are described in detail. The book serves for learning and teaching but can also help researchers and professionals as reference.

This book provides the basic concepts and fundamental principles of dynamic systems including experimental methods, calibration, signal conditioning, data acquisition and processing as well as the results presentation. How to select suitable sensors to measure is also introduced. It is an essential reference to students, lecturers, professionals and any interested lay readers in measurement technology.

A comprehensive collection of fundamental principles and applications of analog electronic circuits, including semiconductor diodes, bipolar junction transistors, field-effect transistors (FETs), operational amplifiers, power amplifiers, and feedback circuits. With abundant practical examples, it is an essential reference for researchers, students and engineers in electronical engineering and information processing.

The book provides an up-to-date overview of modern control methods based on system models. Linear transformation of state vector, solution of state space model, stable analysis, state feedback and observer are discussed in detail. Throughout the book, computational problems are solved with MATLAB. The book is an essential text for graduate students and researchers in control engineering, mechanical, and electrical engineering.

A compact overview on signals and systems, with emphasis on analysis of continuous and discrete systems in time domain. Frequency-domain analysis, transform analysis and state-space analysis are also discussed in detail. With abundant examples and exercises to facilitate learning, it is an ideal texts for graduate students and lecturers in signal processing, and communication engineering.

A fundamental introduction to the delopment of random signal processing with an emphasis on analysis. Linear transformation, nonlinear transformation, spectral analysis of stationary and narrow band random process are discussed in detail. With abundant exercises, this book is an essential reference for graduate students, scientists and practitioners in electronical engineering and signal processing.

The book presents an up-to-date overview of C++ programming with object-oriented programming concepts, with a wide coverage of classes, objects, inheritance, constructors, and polymorphism. Selection statements, looping, arrays, strings, function sorting and searching algorithms are discussed. With abundant practical examples, the book is an essential reference for researchers, students, and professionals in programming.