Search results for: Renewable Energy

Authors: Marjan Mahdavi-Roshan, Arsalan Salari, Mahbobeh Gholipour

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Hypertension is one of the important reasons of morbidity and mortality in countries, including Iran. It has been shown that hypertension is a consequence of the interaction of genetics and environment. Nutrients have important roles in the controlling of blood pressure. We assessed dietary habit and anthropometric status in patients with hypertension in the north of Iran, and that have special dietary habit and according to their culture. This study was conducted on 127 patients with newly recognized hypertension and the 120 normotensive participants. Anthropometric status was measured and demographic characteristics, and medical condition were collected by valid questionnaires and dietary habit assessment was assessed with 3-day food recall (two weekdays and one weekend). The mean age of participants was 58 ± 6.7 years. The mean level of energy intake, saturated fat, vitamin D, potassium, zinc, dietary fiber, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, copper and magnesium was significantly lower in the hypertensive group compared to the control (p < 0.05). After adjusting for energy intake, positive association was observe between hypertension and some dietary nutrients including; Cholesterol [OR: 1.1, P: 0.001, B: 0.06], fiber [OR: 1.6, P: 0.001, B: 1.8], vitamin D [OR: 2.6, P: 0.006, B: 0.9] and zinc [OR: 1.4, P: 0.006, B: 0.3] intake. Logistic regression analysis showed that there was not significant association between hypertension, weight and waist circumference. In our study, the mean intake of some nutrients was lower in the hypertensive individuals compared to the normotensive individual. Health training about suitable dietary habits and easier access to vitamin D supplementation in patients with hypertension are cost-effective tools to improve outcomes in Iran.

Keywords: hypertension, north of Iran, dietary intake, weight

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Hendrick Maxil Zárate Rocha, Ricardo da Silva Pereira, Manoel Fernandes Martins Nogueira, Carlos R. Pereira Belchior, Maria Emilia de Lima Tostes

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This study investigates experimentally the effects of hydrogen addition in the intake manifold of a diesel generator operating with a 7% biodiesel-diesel oil blend (B7). An experimental apparatus setup was used to conduct performance and emissions tests in a single cylinder, air cooled diesel engine. This setup consisted of a generator set connected to a wirewound resistor load bank that was used to vary engine load. In addition, a flowmeter was used to determine hydrogen volumetric flowrate and a digital anemometer coupled with an air box to measure air flowrate. Furthermore, a digital precision electronic scale was used to measure engine fuel consumption and a gas analyzer was used to determine exhaust gas composition and exhaust gas temperature. A thermopar was installed near the exhaust collection to measure cylinder temperature. In-cylinder pressure was measured using an AVL Indumicro data acquisition system with a piezoelectric pressure sensor. An AVL optical encoder was installed in the crankshaft and synchronized with in-cylinder pressure in real time. The experimental procedure consisted of injecting hydrogen into the engine intake manifold at different mass concentrations of 2,6,8 and 10% of total fuel mass (B7 + hydrogen), which represented energy fractions of 5,15, 20 and 24% of total fuel energy respectively. Due to hydrogen addition, the total amount of fuel energy introduced increased and the generators fuel injection governor prevented any increases of engine speed. Several conclusions can be stated from the test results. A reduction in specific fuel consumption as a function of hydrogen concentration increase was noted. Likewise, carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (HC) decreased as hydrogen concentration increased. On the other hand, nitrogen oxides emissions (NOx) increased due to average temperatures inside the cylinder being higher. There was also an increase in peak cylinder pressure and heat release rate inside the cylinder, since the fuel ignition delay was smaller due to hydrogen content increase. All this indicates that hydrogen promotes faster combustion and higher heat release rates and can be an important additive to all kind of fuels used in diesel generators.

Keywords: diesel engine, hydrogen, dual fuel, combustion analysis, performance, emissions

Procedia PDF Downloads 348

Authors: M. N. Khajavi, S. Nasiri, E. Farokhi, M. R. Bavir

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Alcohol fuels are renewable, have low pollution and have high octane number; therefore, they are important as fuel in internal combustion engines. Percentage detection of these alcoholic fuels with gasoline is a complicated, time consuming, and expensive process. Nowadays, these processes are done in equipped laboratories, based on international standards. The aim of this research is to determine percentage detection of different fuels based on vibration analysis of engine block signals. By doing, so considerable saving in time and cost can be achieved. Five different fuels consisted of pure gasoline (G) as base fuel and combination of this fuel with different percent of ethanol and methanol are prepared. For example, volumetric combination of pure gasoline with 10 percent ethanol is called E10. By this convention, we made M10 (10% methanol plus 90% pure gasoline), E30 (30% ethanol plus 70% pure gasoline), and M30 (30% Methanol plus 70% pure gasoline) were prepared. To simulate real working condition for this experiment, the vehicle was mounted on a chassis dynamometer and run under 1900 rpm and 30 KW load. To measure the engine block vibration, a three axis accelerometer was mounted between cylinder 2 and 3. After acquisition of vibration signal, eight time feature of these signals were used as inputs to an Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). The designed ANFIS was trained for classifying these five different fuels. The results show suitable classification ability of the designed ANFIS network with 96.3 percent of correct classification.

Keywords: internal combustion engine, vibration signal, fuel composition, classification, ANFIS

Procedia PDF Downloads 399

Authors: Mohammed I.A. Al-Neemi, Mohammed S.B., Al-Hlawee, Ilham N. Ezaddin, Soz A. Faris, Omer E. Fakhry, Heemen S. Mageed

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This objective of this study was to measure the effect of replacing different levels of animal protein concentrate with Red Tiger shrimp meal (RTSM: 60 % crude protein, 2400 M.E kcal/kg and the source of RTSM was imported from china) in the broiler starter diets. A total 300 broiler chicks (Ross-308) were randomly assigned in treatments dietary contained three different levels of RTSM (0.00, 4.16 and 8.32 %) in experimental diet with a completely randomized design (CRD). Each treatment included four replicates (floor pens) and 25 broilers in each replication (Pen). Therefore, floor space for each boilers was 900 cm2. Initially, the broilers where exposed to a continues lighting of 23:30 hours and dark period of 30 minutes in each 24 hours. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum to the broilers throughout the experimental period (1-21 days). The results of this study indicated that body weight (B.W.), body weight gain (B.W.G), conversion ratio of feed, protein and energy (F.CR, P.C.R and E.C.R) were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased by complete substituting (RTSM) for animal protein concentration (third treatment). Mortality percentage significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased for third dietary treatment. No significant differences were found for feed, protein and energy intake among treatments during the experimental period (three weeks). In conclusion, (RTSM) could be included to 4.16% in the broiler starter diet or substitute the protein Red Tiger shrimp as alternative of protein animal protein concentrate as much as 50%.

Keywords: red tiger shrimp, broiler, starter diet, growth performance, animal protein concentrate

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Authors: Aina Barcelona, Carolyn Oldham, Jordi Colomer, Teresa Serra

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The loss of seagrass meadows worldwide is being tackled by formulating coastal restoration strategies. Seagrass loss results in a network of vegetated patches which are barely interconnected, and consequently, the ecological services they provide may be highly compromised. Hence, there is a need to optimize coastal management efforts in order to implement successful restoration strategies, not only through modifying the architecture of the canopies but also by gathering together information on the hydrodynamic conditions of the seabeds. To obtain information on the hydrodynamics within the patches of vegetation, this study deals with the scale analysis of the minimum lengths of patch management strategies that can be effectively used on. To this aim, a set of laboratory experiments were conducted in a laboratory flume where the plant densities, patch lengths, and hydrodynamic conditions were varied to discern the vegetated patch lengths that can provide optimal ecosystem services for canopy development. Two possible patch behaviours based on the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) production were determined: one where plants do not interact with the flow and the other where plants interact with waves and produce TKE. Furthermore, this study determines the minimum patch lengths that can provide successful management restoration. A canopy will produce TKE, depending on its density, the length of the vegetated patch, and the wave velocities. Therefore, a vegetated patch will produce plant-wave interaction under high wave velocities when it presents large lengths and high canopy densities.

Keywords: seagrass, minimum patch size, turbulent kinetic energy, oscillatory flow

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Nina Penkova, Kalin Krumov, Liliana Zashcova, Ivan Kassabov

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The insulating glass units (IGU) are widely used in the advanced and renovated buildings in order to reduce the energy for heating and cooling. Rules for the choice of IGU to ensure energy efficiency and thermal comfort in the indoor space are well known. The existing of internal loads - gage or vacuum pressure in the hermetized gas space, requires additional attention at the design of the facades. The internal loads appear at variations of the altitude, meteorological pressure and gas temperature according to the same at the process of sealing. The gas temperature depends on the presence of coatings, coating position in the transparent multi-layer system, IGU geometry and space orientation, its fixing on the facades and varies with the climate conditions. An algorithm for modeling and numerical simulation of thermal fields and internal pressure in the gas cavity at insulating glass units as function of the meteorological conditions is developed. It includes models of the radiation heat transfer in solar and infrared wave length, indoor and outdoor convection heat transfer and free convection in the hermetized gas space, assuming the gas as compressible. The algorithm allows prediction of temperature and pressure stratification in the gas domain of the IGU at different fixing system. The models are validated by comparison of the numerical results with experimental data obtained by Hot-box testing. Numerical calculations and estimation of 3D temperature, fluid flow fields, thermal performances and internal loads at IGU in window system are implemented.

Keywords: insulating glass units, thermal loads, internal pressure, CFD analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 270

Authors: Ricky Saputra, Rashmi Walvekar, Mohammad Khalid, Kaveh Shahbaz, Suganti Ramarad

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This particular study of interest aims to study the effect of coupling ultrasonic treatment with eutectic solvents in devulcanization process of waste rubber tyre. Specifically, three different types of Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) were utilized, namely ChCl:Urea (1:2), ChCl:ZnCl₂ (1:2) and ZnCl₂:urea (2:7) in which their physicochemical properties were analysed and proven to have permissible water content that is less than 3.0 wt%, degradation temperature below 200ᵒC and freezing point below 60ᵒC. The mass ratio of rubber to DES was varied from 1:20-1:40, sonicated for 1 hour at 37 kHz and heated at variable time of 5-30 min at 180ᵒC. Energy dispersive x-rays (EDX) results revealed that the first two DESs give the highest degree of sulphur removal at 74.44 and 76.69% respectively with optimum heating time at 15 minutes whereby if prolonged, reformation of crosslink network would be experienced. Such is supported by the evidence shown by both FTIR and FESEM results where di-sulfide peak reappears at 30 minutes and morphological structures from 15 to 30 minutes change from smooth with high voidage to rigid with low voidage respectively. Furthermore, TGA curve reveals similar phenomena whereby at 15 minutes thermal decomposition temperature is at the lowest due to the decrease of molecular weight as a result of sulphur removal but increases back at 30 minutes. Type of bond change was also analysed whereby it was found that only di-sulphide bond was cleaved and which indicates partial-devulcanization. Overall, the results show that DES has a great potential to be used as devulcanizing solvent.

Keywords: crosslink network, devulcanization, eutectic solvents, reformation, ultrasonic

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Radhamanohar Aepuru, R. V. Mangalaraja

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Flexible electronic devices have drawn potential interest and provide significant new insights to develop energy conversion and storage devices such as photodetectors and nanogenerators. Recently, self-powered electronic systems have captivated huge attention for next generation MEMS/NEMS devices that can operate independently by generating built-in field without any need of external bias voltage and have wide variety of applications in telecommunication, imaging, environmental and defence sectors. The basic physical process involved in these devices are charge generation, separation, and charge flow across the electrodes. Many inorganic nanostructures have been exploring to fabricate various optoelectronic and electromechanical devices. However, the interaction of nanostructures and their excited charge carrier dynamics, photoinduced charge separation, and fast carrier mobility are yet to be studied. The proposed research is to address one such area and to realize the self-powered electronic devices. In the present work, nanocomposites of inorganic nanostructures based on ZnO, metal halide perovskites; and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based nanocomposites are realized for photodetectors and nanogenerators. The characterization of the inorganic nanostructures is carried out through steady state optical absorption and luminescence spectroscopies as well as X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. The detailed carrier dynamics is investigated using various spectroscopic techniques. The developed composite nanostructures exhibit significant optical and electrical properties, which have wide potential applications in various MEMS/NEMS devices such as photodetectors and nanogenerators.

Keywords: dielectrics, nanocomposites, nanogenerators, photodetectors

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: A. Fernandez Zuvich, I. Gana Watkins, H. Zolotucho, H. Troiani, A. Caneiro, M. Prado, A. L. Soldati

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The study of actinide nanoparticles (NPs) has attracted the attention of the scientific community not only because the lack of information about their ecotoxicological effects but also because the use of NPs could open a new way in the production of nuclear energy. Indeed, it was recently demonstrated that UO2 NPs sintered pellets exhibit closed porosity with improved fission gas retention and radiation-tolerance , ameliorated mechanical properties, and less detriment of the thermal conductivity upon use, making them an interesting option for new nuclear fuels. In this work, we used a combination of diffraction and microscopy tools to characterize the morphology, the crystalline structure and the composition of UO2 nanoparticles doped with 10%wt Gd2O3. The particles were synthesized by a modified sol-gel method at low temperatures. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) studies determined the presence of a unique phase with the cubic structure and Fm3m spatial group, supporting that Gd atoms substitute U atoms in the fluorite structure of UO2. In addition, Field Emission Gun Scanning (FEG-SEM) and Transmission (FEG-TEM) Electron Microscopy images revealed the presence of micrometric agglomerates of nanoparticles, with rounded morphology and an average crystallite size < 50 nm. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) coupled to TEM determined the presence of Gd in all the analyzed crystallites. Besides, FEG-SEM-EDS showed a homogeneous concentration distribution at the micrometer scale indicating that the small size of the crystallites compensates the variation in composition by averaging a large number of crystallites. These techniques, as combined tools resulted thus essential to find out details of morphology and composition distribution at the sub-micrometer scale, and set a standard for developing and analyzing nanoparticulated nuclear fuels.

Keywords: actinide nanoparticles, burnable poison, nuclear fuel, sol-gel

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Authors: G. M. Contessa, L. Lepore, G. Gandolfo, C. Poggi, N. Cherubini, R. Remetti, S. Sandri

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Practical guidelines are provided in this work for the safe use of a portable d-t Thermo Scientific MP-320 neutron generator producing pulsed 14.1 MeV neutron beams. The neutron generator’s emission was tested experimentally and reproduced by MCNPX Monte Carlo code. Simulations were particularly accurate, even generator’s internal components were reproduced on the basis of ad-hoc collected X-ray radiographic images. Measurement campaigns were conducted under different standard experimental conditions using an LB 6411 neutron detector properly calibrated at three different energies, and comparing simulated and experimental data. In order to estimate the dose to the operator vs. the operating conditions and the energy spectrum, the most appropriate value of the conversion factor between neutron fluence and ambient dose equivalent has been identified, taking into account both direct and scattered components. The results of the simulations show that, in real situations, when there is no information about the neutron spectrum at the point where the dose has to be evaluated, it is possible - and in any case conservative - to convert the measured value of the count rate by means of the conversion factor corresponding to 14 MeV energy. This outcome has a general value when using this type of generator, enabling a more accurate design of experimental activities in different setups. The increasingly widespread use of this type of device for industrial and medical applications makes the results of this work of interest in different situations, especially as a support for the definition of appropriate radiation protection procedures and, in general, for risk analysis.

Keywords: instrumentation and monitoring, management of radiological safety, measurement of individual dose, radiation protection of workers

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Authors: Ziba Talaeizadeh, Taghi Ebadi

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Hospitals and medical centers generate a wide array of infectious waste on a daily basis, leading to pressing environmental concerns associated with proper disposal. Disposable plastic items and spun-bond clothing, commonly made from polypropylene, pose a significant risk of disease transmission, necessitating specialized waste management strategies. Incorporating these materials into bituminous asphalt production offers a potential solution, as it can modify asphalt mixtures and reduce susceptibility to cracking. This study aims to assess the crack resistance of asphalt mixtures modified with hospital spun-bond waste. Asphalt mixtures were prepared using the Marshall method, with spun-bond waste added in varying proportions (5% to 20%). The Semi-Circular Bending (SCB) test was conducted to evaluate asphalt fracture behavior under Mode I loading at controlled speeds of 5, 20, and 50 millimeters per minute and an average temperature of 25°C. Parameters such as fracture energy (FE) and Crack Resistance Index (CRI) were quantified. The results indicate that the addition of 10% to 15% spun-bond polypropylene polymer enhances the performance of the modified mixture, resulting in an 18% increase in fracture energy and an 11% reduction in cracking stiffness compared to the control sample. Further investigations involving factors like compaction level, bitumen type, and aggregate grading are recommended to address medical waste management and mitigate asphalt pavement cracking issues.

Keywords: asphalt cracking, hospital waste, semi-circular bending test, spun-bond

Procedia PDF Downloads 56

Authors: Sylvana A. Vega, Cesar E. Huilinir, Carlos J. Gonzalez

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Co-digestion in anaerobic biodigesters is a technology improving hydrolysis by increasing methane generation. In the present study, the dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is numerically analyzed using Ansys Fluent software for agitation in a full-scale Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) biodigester during the co-digestion process. For this, a rheological study of the substrate is carried out, establishing rotation speeds of the stirrers depending on the microbial activity and energy ranges. The substrate is organic waste from industrial sources of sanitary water, butcher, fishmonger, and dairy. Once the rheological behavior curves have been obtained, it is obtained that it is a non-Newtonian fluid of the pseudoplastic type, with a solids rate of 12%. In the simulation, the rheological results of the fluid are considered, and the full-scale CSTR biodigester is modeled. It was coupling the second-order continuity differential equations, the three-dimensional Navier Stokes, the power-law model for non-Newtonian fluids, and three turbulence models: k-ε RNG, k-ε Realizable, and RMS (Reynolds Stress Model), for a 45° tilt vane impeller. It is simulated for three minutes since it is desired to study an intermittent mixture with a saving benefit of energy consumed. The results show that the absolute errors of the power number associated with the k-ε RNG, k-ε Realizable, and RMS models were 7.62%, 1.85%, and 5.05%, respectively, the numbers of power obtained from the analytical-experimental equation of Nagata. The results of the generalized Reynolds number show that the fluid dynamics have a transition-turbulent flow regime. Concerning the Froude number, the result indicates there is no need to implement baffles in the biodigester design, and the power number provides a steady trend close to 1.5. It is observed that the levels of design speeds within the biodigester are approximately 0.1 m/s, which are speeds suitable for the microbial community, where they can coexist and feed on the substrate in co-digestion. It is concluded that the model that more accurately predicts the behavior of fluid dynamics within the reactor is the k-ε Realizable model. The flow paths obtained are consistent with what is stated in the referenced literature, where the 45° inclination PBT impeller is the right type of agitator to keep particles in suspension and, in turn, increase the dispersion of gas in the liquid phase. If a 24/7 complete mix is considered under stirred agitation, with a plant factor of 80%, 51,840 kWh/year are estimated. On the contrary, if intermittent agitations of 3 min every 15 min are used under the same design conditions, reduce almost 80% of energy costs. It is a feasible solution to predict the energy expenditure of an anaerobic biodigester CSTR. It is recommended to use high mixing intensities, at the beginning and end of the joint phase acetogenesis/methanogenesis. This high intensity of mixing, in the beginning, produces the activation of the bacteria, and once reaching the end of the Hydraulic Retention Time period, it produces another increase in the mixing agitations, favoring the final dispersion of the biogas that may be trapped in the biodigester bottom.

Keywords: anaerobic co-digestion, computational fluid dynamics, CFD, net power, organic waste

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Authors: Sih-Li Chen, Chih-Hao Chen, Chi-Tong Chan

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Poor ventilation and high carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations lead to the formation of sick buildings. This problem cannot simply be resolved by introducing fresh air from outdoor environments because this creates extra loads on indoor air-conditioning systems. Desiccants are widely used in air conditioning systems in tropical and subtropical regions with high humidity to reduce the latent heat load from fresh air. Desiccants are usually used as a packed-bed type, which is low cost, to combine with air-conditioning systems. Nevertheless, the pressure drop of a packed bed is too high, and the heat of adsorption caused by the adsorption process lets the temperature of the outlet air increase, bringing about an extra heat load, so the high pressure drop and the increased temperature of the outlet air are energy consumption sources needing to be resolved. For this reason, the gas-solid fluidised beds that have high heat and mass transfer rates, uniform properties and low pressure drops are very suitable for use in air-conditioning systems.This study experimentally investigates the performance of silica gel fluidized bed device which applying to an air conditioning system. In the experiments, commercial silica gel particles were filled in the two beds and to form a fixed packed bed and a fluidized bed. The results indicated that compared to the fixed packed bed device, the total adsorption and desorption by amounts of fluidized bed for 40 minutes increased 20.6% and 19.9% respectively when the bed height was 10 cm and superficial velocity was set to 2 m/s. In addition, under this condition, the pressure drop and outlet air temperature raise were reduced by 36.0% and 30.0%. Given the above results, application of the silica gel fluidized bed to air conditioning systems has great energy-saving potential.

Keywords: fluidized bed, packed bed, silica gel, adsorption, desorption, pressure drop

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Authors: Keyur Raval, Steffen Krohn, Bruno Moerschbacher

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Chitin, the biopolymer of the N-acetylglucosamine, is the most abundant biopolymer on the planet after cellulose. Industrially, chitin is isolated and purified from the shell residues of shrimps. A deacetylated derivative of chitin i.e. chitosan has more market value and applications owing to it solubility and overall cationic charge compared to the parent polymer. This deacetylation on an industrial scale is performed chemically using alkalis like sodium hydroxide. This reaction not only is hazardous to the environment owing to negative impact on the marine ecosystem. A greener option to this process is the enzymatic process. In nature, the naïve chitin is converted to chitosan by chitin deacetylase (CDA). This enzymatic conversion on the industrial scale is however hampered by the crystallinity of chitin. Thus, this enzymatic action requires the substrate i.e. chitin to be soluble which is technically difficult and an energy consuming process. We in this project wanted to address this shortcoming of CDA. In lieu of this, we have modeled a fusion protein with CDA and an auxiliary protein. The main interest being to increase the accessibility of the enzyme towards crystalline chitin. A similar fusion work with chitinases had improved the catalytic ability towards insoluble chitin. In the first step, suitable partners were searched through the protein data bank (PDB) wherein the domain architecture were sought. The next step was to create the models of the fused product using various in silico techniques. The models were created by MODELLER and evaluated for properties such as the energy or the impairment of the binding sites. A fusion PCR has been designed based on the linker sequences generated by MODELLER and would be tested for its activity towards insoluble chitin.

Keywords: chitin deacetylase, modeling, chitin binding domain, chitinases

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Authors: Chongtham Jiten, K. Chandramani Singh, Radhapiyari Laishram

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Nanocrystalline powders of the lead-free piezoelectric material, tantalum-substituted potassium sodium niobate (K0.5Na0.5)(Nb0.9Ta0.1)O3 (KNNT), were produced using a Retsch PM100 planetary ball mill by setting the milling time to 15h, 20h, 25h, 30h, 35h and 40h, at a fixed speed of 250rpm. The average particle size of the milled powders was found to decrease from 12nm to 3nm as the milling time increases from 15h to 25h, which is in agreement with the existing theoretical model. An anomalous increase to 98nm and then a drop to 3nm in the particle size were observed as the milling time further increases to 30h and 40h respectively. Various sizes of these starting KNNT powders were used to investigate the effect of milling time on the microstructure, dielectric properties, phase transitions and piezoelectric properties of the resulting KNNT ceramics. The particle size of starting KNNT was somewhat proportional to the grain size. As the milling time increases from 15h to 25h, the resulting ceramics exhibit enhancement in the values of relative density from 94.8% to 95.8%, room temperature dielectric constant (εRT) from 878 to 1213, and piezoelectric charge coefficient (d33) from 108pC/N to 128pC/N. For this range of ceramic samples, grain size refinement suppresses the maximum dielectric constant (εmax), shifts the Curie temperature (Tc) to a lower temperature and the orthorhombic-tetragonal phase transition (Tot) to a higher temperature. Further increase of milling time from 25h to 40h produces a gradual degradation in the values of relative density, εRT, and d33 of the resulting ceramics.

Keywords: perovskite, dielectric, ceramics, high-energy milling

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Authors: Julian Iliev

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The recent release of The Matrix Resurrections persuaded many film scholars that The Matrix trilogy had lost its appeal and its concepts were largely outdated. This study examines the human pods and growing fields in the trilogy. Their functionality is compared to Michel Foucault’s concept of docile bodies: linking fictional and contemporary worlds. This paradigm is scrutinized through surveillance literature. The analogy brings to light common elements of hidden surveillance practices in technologies. The comparison illustrates the effects of body manipulation portrayed in the movies and their relevance with contemporary surveillance practices. Many scholars have utilized a close reading methodology in film studies (J.Bizzocchi, J.Tanenbaum, P.Larsen, S. Herbrechter, and Deacon et al.). The use of a particular lens through which media text is examined is an indispensable factor that needs to be incorporated into the methodology. The study spotlights both scenes from the trilogy depicting the human pods and growing fields. The functionality of the pods and the fields compare directly with Foucault’s concept of docile bodies. By utilizing Foucault’s study as a lens, the research will unearth hidden components and insights into the films. Foucault recognizes three disciplines that produce docile bodies: 1) manipulation and the interchangeability of individual bodies, 2) elimination of unnecessary movements and management of time, and 3) command system guaranteeing constant supervision and continuity protection. These disciplines can be found in the pods and growing fields. Each body occupies a single pod aiding easier manipulation and fast interchangeability. The movement of the bodies in the pods is reduced to the absolute minimum. Thus, the body is transformed into the ultimate object of control – minimum movement correlates to maximum energy generation. Supervision is exercised by wiring the body with numerous types of cables. This ultimate supervision of body activity reduces the body’s purpose to mere functioning. If a body does not function as an energy source, then it’s unplugged, ejected, and liquefied. The command system secures the constant supervision and continuity of the process. To Foucault, the disciplines are distinctly different from slavery because they stop short of a total takeover of the bodies. This is a clear difference from the slave system implemented in the films. Even though their system might lack sophistication, it makes up for it in the elevation of functionality. Further, surveillance literature illustrates the connection between the generation of body energy in The Matrix trilogy to the generation of individual data in contemporary society. This study found that the three disciplines producing docile bodies were present in the portrayal of the pods and fields in The Matrix trilogy. The above comparison combined with surveillance literature yields insights into analogous processes and contemporary surveillance practices. Thus, the constant generation of energy in The Matrix trilogy can be equated to the consistent data generation in contemporary society. This essay shows the relevance of the body manipulation concept in the Matrix films with contemporary surveillance practices.

Keywords: docile bodies, film trilogies, matrix movies, michel foucault, privacy loss, surveillance

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Authors: Jadon Matthiasa, Cindy Donga, Ali Al Jibouria, Hsin Kuo

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The environmental impact of emissions from the Covanta Waste-to-Energy facility in Burnaby, BC, was comprehensively evaluated, focusing on the dispersion of air pollutants and the subsequent assessment of heavy metal contamination in surrounding soils. A Gaussian Plume Model, implemented in MATLAB, was utilized to simulate the dispersion of key pollutants to understand their atmospheric behaviour and potential deposition patterns. The MATLAB code developed for this study enhanced the accuracy of pollutant concentration predictions and provided capabilities for visualizing pollutant dispersion in 3D plots. Furthermore, the code could predict the maximum concentration of pollutants at ground level, eliminating the need to use the Ranchoux model for predictions. Complementing the modelling approach, empirical soil sampling and analysis were conducted to evaluate heavy metal concentrations in the vicinity of the facility. This integrated methodology underscored the importance of computational modelling in air pollution assessment and highlighted the necessity of soil analysis to obtain a holistic understanding of environmental impacts. The findings emphasized the effectiveness of current emissions controls while advocating for ongoing monitoring to safeguard public health and environmental integrity.

Keywords: air emissions, Gaussian Plume Model, MATLAB, soil contamination, air pollution monitoring, waste-to-energy, pollutant dispersion visualization, heavy metal analysis, environmental impact assessment, emission control effectiveness

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Authors: G. K. Awari, Vishwajeet V. Ambade, S. W. Rajurkar

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The field of additive manufacturing is growing, and discoveries are being made. 3D printing machines are also being developed to accommodate a wider range of 3D printing materials, including plastics, metals (metal AM powders), composites, filaments, and other materials. There are numerous printing materials available for industrial additive manufacturing. Such materials have their unique characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. In order to avoid errors in additive manufacturing, key elements such as 3D printing material type, texture, cost, printing technique and procedure, and so on must be examined. It can be complex to select the best material for a particular job. Polylactic acid (PLA) is made from sugar cane or cornstarch, both of which are renewable resources. "Black plastic" is another name for it. Because it is safe to use and print, it is frequently used in primary and secondary schools. This is also how FDM screen printing is done. PLA is simple to print because of its low warping impact. It's also possible to print it on a cold surface. When opposed to ABS, it allows for sharper edges and features to be printed. This material comes in a wide range of colours. Polylactic acid (PLA) is the most common material used in fused deposition modelling (FDM). PLA can be used to print a wide range of components, including medical implants, household items, and mechanical parts. The mechanical behaviour of the printed item is affected by variations in infill patterns that are subjected to compressive tests in the current investigation to examine their behaviour under compressive stresses.

Keywords: fused deposition modelling, polylactic acid, infill density, infill pattern, compressive strength

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Authors: Abdul Murad Zainal Abidin, Tuan Suhaimi Salleh, Siti Nor Azila Khalid, Noryati Mustapa

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Quarry dust is a quarry end product from rock crushing processes, which is a concentrated material used as an alternative to fine aggregates for concreting purposes. In quarrying activities, the rocks are crushed into aggregates of varying sizes, from 75mm until less than 4.5 mm, the size of which is categorized as quarry dust. The quarry dust is usually considered as waste and not utilized as a recycled aggregate product. The dumping of the quarry dust at the quarry plant poses the risk of environmental pollution and health hazard. Therefore, the research is an attempt to identify the potential of quarry dust as an alternative building material that would reduce the materials and construction costs, as well as contribute effort in mitigating depletion of natural resources. The objectives are to conduct material characterization and evaluate the properties of fresh and hardened engineering brick with quarry dust mix proportion. The microstructures of quarry dust and the bricks were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the results suggest that the shape and surface texture of quarry dust is a combination of hard and angular formation. The chemical composition of the quarry dust was also evaluated using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and compared against sand and concrete. The quarry dust was found to have a higher presence of alumina (Al₂O₃), indicating the possibility of an early strength effect for brick. They are utilizing quarry dust waste as replacement material has the potential of conserving non-renewable resources as well as providing a viable alternative to disposal of current quarry waste.

Keywords: building materials, cement replacement, quarry microstructure, quarry product, sustainable materials

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Mustafa Dagbasi, Olusola Bamisile, Adii Chinedum

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The objective of this work is to examine and compare the economic and environmental feasibility of 40MW photovoltaic (PV) power plant and 40MW parabolic trough (PT) power plant to be installed in two different cities, namely Nicosia and Famagusta in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The need for using solar power technology around the world is also emphasized. Solar radiation and sunshine data for Nicosia and Famagusta are considered and analyzed to assess the distribution of solar radiation, sunshine duration, and air temperature. Also, these two different technologies with same rated power of 40MW will be compared with the performance of the proposed Solar Power Plant at Bari, Italy. The project viability analysis is performed using System Advisor Model (SAM) through Annual Energy Production and economic parameters for both cities. It is found that for the two cities; Nicosia and Famagusta, the investment is feasible for both 40MW PV power plant and 40MW PT power plant. From the techno-economic analysis of these two different solar power technologies having same rated power and under the same environmental conditions, PT plants produce more energy than PV plant. It is also seen that if a PT plant is installed near an existing steam turbine power plant, the steam from the PT system can be used to run this turbine which makes it more feasible to invest. The high temperatures that are used to produce steam for the turbines in the PT plant system can be supplemented with a secondary plant based on natural gas or other biofuels and can be used as backup. Although the initial investment of PT plant is higher, it has higher economic return and occupies smaller area compared to PV plant of the same capacity.

Keywords: solar power, photovoltaic plant, parabolic trough plant, techno-economic analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Luciana C. Ramos, Leandro J. Sousa, Antônio Ferreira da Silva, Valéria Gomes Oliveira Falcão, Suzana T. Cunha Lima

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The commercial production of biodiesel using microalgae demands a high-energy input for harvesting biomass, making production economically unfeasible. Methods currently used involve mechanical, chemical, and biological procedures. In this work, a flocculation system is presented as a cost and energy effective process to increase biomass production of Phaeodactylum tricornutum. This diatom is the only species of the genus that present fast growth and lipid accumulation ability that are of great interest for biofuel production. The algae, selected from the Bank of Microalgae, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia (Brazil), have been bred in tubular reactor with photoperiod of 12 h (clear/dark), providing luminance of about 35 μmol photons m^-2s^-1, and temperature of 22 °C. The medium used for growing cells was the Conway medium, with addition of silica. The seaweed growth curve was accompanied by cell count in Neubauer camera and by optical density in spectrophotometer, at 680 nm. The precipitation occurred at the end of the stationary phase of growth, 21 days after inoculation, using two methods: centrifugation at 5000 rpm for 5 min, and electro-flocculation at 19 EPD and 95 W. After precipitation, cells were frozen at -20 °C and, subsequently, lyophilized. Biomass obtained by electro-flocculation was approximately four times greater than the one achieved by centrifugation. The benefits of this method are that no addition of chemical flocculants is necessary and similar cultivation conditions can be used for the biodiesel production and pharmacological purposes. The results may contribute to improve biodiesel production costs using marine microalgae.

Keywords: biomass, diatom, flocculation, microalgae

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Authors: Auswell Amfo-Antiri, Esther Eshun, Theresa A. Amu

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Cooking Bambara groundnut (Bambara beans) is time and energy-consuming. Over time, some substances have been used to help reduce cooking time and save energy. This experimental study was carried out to find ways of reducing the cooking time of Bambara groundnut using selected organic substances. Twenty grams (20g) each of fresh pawpaw leaves, guava leaves, ginger, onion, and palm kernel were cooked with five samples of 200g of the creamy variety of raw Bambara groundnut. A control was cooked without any organic substance added. All six samples were cooked with equal quantities of water (4L); the gas mark used for cooking the samples was marked 5, the highest for the largest burner, using the same cooking pot. Gas matter. The control sample used 192 minutes to cook thoroughly. The ginger-treated sample (AET02) had the shortest cooking time of 145 minutes, followed by the onion-treated sample (AET05), with a cooking time of 157 minutes. The sample cooked with Palm kernel (AET06) and Pawpaw (AET04) used 172 minutes and 174 minutes, respectively, while sample AET03, cooked with Guava, used 185 minutes for cooking. The difference in cooking time for the sample treated with ginger (AET02) and onion (AET05) was 47 minutes and 35 minutes, respectively, as compared with the control. The comparison between Control and Pawpaw produced [p=0.163>0.05]; Control and Ginger yielded [p=0.006<0.05]; Control and Kernel resulted in [p=0.128>0.05]; Control and Guava resulted in [p=0.560>0.05]. The study concluded that ginger and onions comparatively reduced the cooking time for Bambara ground nut appreciably. The study recommended that ginger and onions could be used to reduce the cooking time of Bambara groundnut.

Keywords: cooking time, organic substances, ginger, onions, pawpaw leaves, guava leaves, bambara groundnut

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Authors: Spada Alessia, Fiore Mariantonietta, Lamonaca Emilia, Contò Francesco

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Bioeconomy can give the chance to face new global challenges and can move ahead the transition from a waste economy to an economy based on renewable resources and sustainable consumption. Air pollution is a grave issue in green challenges, mainly caused by anthropogenic factors. The agriculture sector is a great contributor to global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions due to lacking efficient management of the resources involved and research policies. In particular, livestock sector contributes to emissions of GHGs, deforestation, and nutrient imbalances. More effective agricultural research systems and technologies are crucial in order to improve farm productivity but also to reduce the GHGs emissions. Using data from FAOSTAT statistics and concern the EU countries; the aim of this research is to evaluate the impact of ASTI R&D (Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators) on GHGs emissions for countries EU in 2015 by generalized propensity score procedures, estimating a dose-response function, also considering a set of covariates. Expected results show the existence of the influence of ASTI R&D on GHGs across EU countries. Implications are crucial: reducing GHGs emissions by means of R&D based policies and correlatively reaching eco-friendly management of required resources by means of green available practices could have a crucial role for fair intra-generational implications.

Keywords: agricultural research systems, dose-response function, generalized propensity score, GHG emissions

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Authors: Mohammed Lamine Benaouda

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This paper seeks to shed light on the African continent role with the crisis of natural gas supplies to European countries, which resulted from the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, by examining the case of re-launching the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline project Nigeria-Algeria, and clarifying the strategic importance This project is mutually beneficial in the long run. The paper relied on the analytical and statistical method in order to find out the the impact that the project represents on the huge needs of the European gas market on the one hand, and monitoring the various economic gains for Algeria and Nigeria on the other hand, in addition, the comparative approach to assess the possible effects of the success and feasibility of the project economy for all its beneficiaries. The paper founds that the complexity has multiplied in the global energy market in general and the European one in particular, following what the world witnessed from the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as the extreme importance of the poles of African countries in the arena of the international struggle over resources, which allows them a margin From maneuvering and regional and global influence in various fields. With regard to the research outcoms and the future scope, the researcher believes that the African continent, in light of international competition and conflict, as well as what the world is witnessing in terms of restoring balances of power in the current international system, will play very important roles, especially with its enormous natural and human capabilities, which enable it to Weighting future conflicts over energy and spheres of influence.

Keywords: algeria, nigeria, west africa, ECOWAS, gas supplies, russia, ukrain

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Authors: Elham Soltani Dehnavi

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In today’s compact cities, bringing daylighting and fresh air to buildings is a significant challenge, but it also presents opportunities to reduce energy consumption in buildings by reducing the need for artificial lighting and mechanical systems. Simple adjustments to building form can contribute to their efficiency. This paper examines how the relationship between the width and depth of the rooms in office buildings affects visual and thermal comfort, and consequently energy savings. Based on these evaluations, we can determine the best location for sedentary areas in a room. We can also propose improvements to occupant experience and minimize the difference between the predicted and measured performance in buildings by changing other design parameters, such as natural ventilation strategies, glazing properties, and shading. This study investigates the condition of spatial daylighting and thermal comfort for a range of room configurations using computer simulations, then it suggests the best depth for optimizing both daylighting and thermal comfort, and consequently energy performance in each room type. The Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR) is 40% with 0.8m window sill and 0.4m window head. Also, there are some fixed parameters chosen according to building codes and standards, and the simulations are done in Seattle, USA. The simulation results are presented as evaluation grids using the thresholds for different metrics such as Daylight Autonomy (DA), spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA), Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE), and Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) for visual comfort, and Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD), occupied Thermal Comfort Percentage (occTCP), over-heated percent, under-heated percent, and Standard Effective Temperature (SET) for thermal comfort that are extracted from Grasshopper scripts. The simulation tools are Grasshopper plugins such as Ladybug, Honeybee, and EnergyPlus. According to the results, some metrics do not change much along the room depth and some of them change significantly. So, we can overlap these grids in order to determine the comfort zone. The overlapped grids contain 8 metrics, and the pixels that meet all 8 mentioned metrics’ thresholds define the comfort zone. With these overlapped maps, we can determine the comfort zones inside rooms and locate sedentary areas there. Other parts can be used for other tasks that are not used permanently or need lower or higher amounts of daylight and thermal comfort is less critical to user experience. The results can be reflected in a table to be used as a guideline by designers in the early stages of the design process.

Keywords: occupant experience, office buildings, space depth, thermal comfort, visual comfort

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Charles Klein O. Gorit, Mark Tristan J. Quimque Jr., M. Cecilia V. Almeda, Concepcion M. Salvana

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Chitosan is a promising biopolymer commonly found in crustacean shells that has plausible effects in water purification and wastewater treatment. It is a primary derivative of chitin and considered second of the most abundant biopolymer prior to cellulose. Morphological analysis had been done using Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Microscopy (SEM/EDS), and due to its porous nature, it showcases a certain degree of porosity, hence, larger adsorption site of heavy metal. The Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy of the chitosan and ‘lead-bound’ chitosan, shows a relative increase of percent abundance of lead cation from 1.44% to 2.08% hence, adsorption occurs. Chitosan, as a nitrogenous polysaccharide, subjected to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis shows amide bands ranging from 1635.36 cm⁻¹ for amide 1 band and 1558.40 cm-1 for amide 2 band with NH stretching. For ‘lead-bound’ chitosan, the FT-IR analysis shows a change in peaks upon adsorption of Pb(II) cation. The spectrum shows broadening of OH and NH stretching band. Such observation can be attributed to the probability that the attachment of Pb(II) ions is in these functional groups. A column filter was devised with lead-bound chitosan to determine the zero point charge (pHzpc) of the biopolymer. The results show that at pH 8.34, below than the zpc level of literatures cited for lead which ranges from pH 4 to 7, favors the adsorption site of chitosan and its capability to adsorb traces amount of aqueous lead.

Keywords: chitosan, biopolymer, FT-IR, SEM, zero-point charge, heavy metal, lead ions

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Cagla Gul Guldiken, Levent Akyalcin, Hasan Ferdi Gercel

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Fuel cells are electrochemical devices which convert the chemical energy of hydrogen into the electricity. Among the types of fuel cells, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are attracting considerable attention as non-polluting power generators with high energy conversion efficiencies in mobile applications. Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) is one of the essential components of PEMFCs. Perfluorosulfonic acid based membranes known as Nafion® is widely used as PEMs. Nafion® membranes water dependent proton conductivity which limits the operating temperature below 100ᵒC. At higher temperatures, proton conductivity and mechanical stability of these membranes decrease because of dehydration. Polybenzimidazole (PBI), which has good anhydrous proton conductivity after doped with acids, as well as excellent thermal stability, shows great potential in the application of high temperature PEMFCs. In the present study, PBI polymers were synthesized by solution polycondensation at 190 and 210ᵒC. The synthesized polymers were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, and TGA. Phosphoric acid doped PBI membranes were prepared and tested in a PEMFC. The influences of reaction temperature on structural properties of synthesized polymers were investigated. Mechanical properties, acid-doping level, proton conductivity, and fuel cell performances of prepared phosphoric acid doped PBI membranes were evaluated. The maximum power density was found as 32.5 mW/cm² at 120ᵒC.

Keywords: fuel cell, high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane, polybenzimidazole, proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Gyula I. Tóth, Shaho Abdalla

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Even though numerical simulations indeed have a significant precursory/supportive role in exploring the disordered phase displaying no long-range order in pattern formation models, studying the stability properties of this phase and determining the order of the ordered-disordered phase transition in these models necessitate an analytical description of the disordered phase. First, we will present the results of a comprehensive statistical analysis of a large number (1,000-10,000) of numerical simulations in the Swift-Hohenberg model, where the bulk disordered (or amorphous) phase is stable. We will show that the average free energy density (over configurations) converges, while the variance of the energy density vanishes with increasing system size in numerical simulations, which suggest that the disordered phase is a thermodynamic phase (i.e., its properties are independent of the configuration in the macroscopic limit). Furthermore, the structural analysis of this phase in the Fourier space suggests that the phase can be modeled by a colored isotropic Gaussian noise, where any instant of the noise describes a possible configuration. Based on these results, we developed the general mathematical framework of finding a pool of solutions to partial differential equations in the sense of continuous probability measure, which we will present briefly. Applying the general idea to the Swift-Hohenberg model we show, that the amorphous phase can be found, and its properties can be determined analytically. As the general mathematical framework is not restricted to continuum theories, we hope that the proposed methodology will open a new chapter in studying disordered phases.

Keywords: fundamental theory, mathematical physics, continuum models, analytical description

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Authors: Nodar Kekelidze, David Kekelidze, Elza Khutsishvili, Bela Kvirkvelia

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The semiconductor devices are irreplaceable elements for investigations in Space (artificial Earth satellite, interplanetary space craft, probes, rockets) and for investigation of elementary particles on accelerators, for atomic power stations, nuclear reactors, robots operating on heavily radiation contaminated territories (Chernobyl, Fukushima). Unfortunately, the most important parameters of semiconductors dramatically worsen under irradiation. So creation of radiation-resistant semiconductor materials for opto and microelectronic devices is actual problem, as well as investigation of complicated processes developed in irradiated solid states. Homogeneous single crystals of InP-InAs solid solutions were grown with zone melting method. There has been studied the dependence of the optical absorption coefficient vs photon energy near fundamental absorption edge. This dependence changes dramatically with irradiation. The experiments were performed on InP, InAs and InP-InAs solid solutions before and after irradiation with electrons and fast neutrons. The investigations of optical properties were carried out on infrared spectrophotometer in temperature range of 10K-300K and 1mkm-50mkm spectral area. Radiation fluencies of fast neutrons was equal to 2·1018neutron/cm2 and electrons with 3MeV, 50MeV up to fluxes of 6·1017electron/cm2. Under irradiation, there has been revealed the exponential type of the dependence of the optical absorption coefficient vs photon energy with energy deficiency. The indicated phenomenon takes place at high and low temperatures as well at impurity different concentration and practically in all cases of irradiation by various energy electrons and fast neutrons. We have developed the common mechanism of this phenomenon for unirradiated materials and implemented the quantitative calculations of distinctive parameter; this is in a satisfactory agreement with experimental data. For the irradiated crystals picture get complicated. In the work, the corresponding analysis is carried out. It has been shown, that in the case of InP, irradiated with electrons (Ф=1·1017el/cm2), the curve of optical absorption is shifted to lower energies. This is caused by appearance of the tails of density of states in forbidden band due to local fluctuations of ionized impurity (defect) concentration. Situation is more complicated in the case of InAs and for solid solutions with composition near to InAs when besides noticeable phenomenon there takes place Burstein effect caused by increase of electrons concentration as a result of irradiation. We have shown, that in certain conditions it is possible the prevalence of Burstein effect. This causes the opposite effect: the shift of the optical absorption edge to higher energies. So in given solid solutions there take place two different opposite directed processes. By selection of solid solutions composition and doping impurity we obtained such InP-InAs, solid solution in which under radiation mutual compensation of optical absorption curves displacement occurs. Obtained result let create on the base of InP-InAs, solid solution radiation-resistant optical materials. Conclusion: It was established the nature of optical absorption near fundamental edge in semiconductor materials and it was created radiation-resistant optical material.

Keywords: InAs-InP, electrons concentration, irradiation, solid solutions

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Authors: Diego A. Romero Espinosa

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Thermal simulations are used to evaluate comfort and energy consumption of buildings. However, the performance of different urban forms cannot be assessed precisely if an environmental control system and user schedules are considered. The outcome of such analysis would lead to conclusions that combine the building use, operation, services, envelope, orientation and density of the urban fabric. The influence of these factors varies during the life cycle of a building. The orientation, as well as the surroundings, can be considered a constant during the lifetime of a building. The structure impacts the thermal inertia and has the largest lifespan of all the building components. On the other hand, the building envelope is the most frequent renovated component of a building since it has a great impact on energy performance and comfort. Building services have a shorter lifespan and are replaced regularly. With the purpose of addressing the performance, an urban form, a specific orientation, and density, a thermal simulation method were developed. The solar irradiation is taken into consideration depending on the outdoor temperature. Incoming irradiation at low temperatures has a positive impact increasing the indoor temperature. Consequently, overheating would be the combination of high outdoor temperature and high irradiation at the façade. On this basis, the indoor temperature is simulated for a specific orientation of the evaluated urban form. Thermal inertia and building envelope performance are considered additionally as the materiality of the building. The results of different thermal zones are summarized using the 'Degree day method' for cooling and heating. During the early phase of a design process for a project, such as Masterplan, conclusions regarding urban form, density and materiality can be drawn by means of this analysis.

Keywords: building envelope, density, masterplanning, urban form

Procedia PDF Downloads 141