Search results for: energy managment

Authors: Benjamin Orimolade, Emily Draper

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The interest in all solid electrochromic devices (ECD) is ongoing. This is because these devices offer realistic applications of electrochromic materials in products such as sensors, windows and energy storage devices. The use of quasi-solid (gel) electrolytes for the construction of these ECDs is attractive because of their ease of preparation, availability, low cost, improved electrochromic performance, good ionic conductivity and prevention of leakages in ECDs. Herein, we developed a gel electrolyte consisting of polyacrylamide modified with succinonitrile for an ECD containing leucine-modified naphthalene diimide (NDI-L) as electrochromic material. The amount of succinonitrile in the gel was optimized, and the structure, surface morphology, and ionic conductivity of the electrolytes were assessed using microscopic techniques and electrochemical methods. The ECD fabricated with the gel electrolyte displayed good electrochromic performance with a fast switching response of up to 10 s and outstanding stability. These results add significant insight into understanding the inter- and intra-molecular interaction in succinonitrile gel electrolytes and provide a typical practicable high-performance gel electrolyte material for solid electrochromic devices.

Keywords: electrochromic device, gel electrolytes, naphthalene diimide, succinonitrile

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Authors: L. Chetibi, D. Hamana, T. O. Busko, M. P. Kulish, S. Achour

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TiO2 nanostructures have attracted much attention due to their optical, dielectric and photocatalytic properties as well as applications including optical coating, photocatalysis and photoelectrochemical solar cells. This work aims to prepare TiO2 nanofibers (NFs) on titanium substrate (Ti) by in situ oxidation of Ti foils in a mixture solution of concentrated H2O2 and NaOH followed by proton exchange and calcinations. Scanning Electron microscopy (SEM) revealed an obvious network of TiO2 nanofibers. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of these nanostructures revealed a broad intense band in the visible light range with a reduced near edge band emission. The PL bands in the visible region, mainly, results from surface oxygen vacancies and others defects. After irradiation with Ti+ ions (the irradiation energy was E = 140 keV with doses of 1013 ions/cm2), the intensity of the PL spectrum decreased as a consequence of the radiation treatment. The irradiation with Ti+ leads to a reduction of defects and generation of non irradiative defects near to the level of the conduction band as evidenced by the PL results. On the other hand, reducing the surface defects on TiO2 nanostructures may improve photocatalytic and optoelectronic properties of this nanostructure.

Keywords: TiO2, nanofibers, photoluminescence, irradiation

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Authors: Mohammadjavad Sotoudeheian

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Heart failure (HF) prevalence, as a global cardiovascular problem, is increasing gradually. A variety of molecular mechanisms contribute to HF. Proteins involved in cardiac contractility regulation, such as ion channels and calcium handling proteins, are altered. Additionally, epigenetic modifications and gene expression can lead to altered cardiac function. Moreover, inflammation and oxidative stress contribute to HF. The progression of HF can be attributed to mitochondrial dysfunction that impairs energy production and increases apoptosis. Molecular mechanisms such as these contribute to the development of cardiomyocyte defects and HF and can be therapeutically targeted. The heart's contractile function is controlled by cardiomyocytes. Calpain, and its related molecules, including Bax, VEGF, and AMPK, are among the proteins involved in regulating cardiomyocyte function. Apoptosis is facilitated by Bax. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis is regulated by this protein. Furthermore, cardiomyocyte survival, contractility, wound healing, and proliferation are all regulated by VEGF, which is produced by cardiomyocytes during inflammation and cytokine stress. Cardiomyocyte proliferation and survival are also influenced by AMPK, an enzyme that plays an active role in energy metabolism. They all play key roles in apoptosis, angiogenesis, hypertrophy, and metabolism during myocardial inflammation. The role of calpains has been linked to several molecular pathways. The calpain pathway plays an important role in signal transduction and apoptosis, as well as autophagy, endocytosis, and exocytosis. Cell death and survival are regulated by these calcium-dependent cysteine proteases that cleave proteins. As a result, protein fragments can be used for various cellular functions. By cleaving adhesion and motility proteins, calcium proteins also contribute to cell migration. HF may be brought about by calpain-mediated pathways. Many physiological processes are mediated by the calpain molecular pathways. Signal transduction, cell death, and cell migration are all regulated by these molecular pathways. Calpain is activated by calcium binding to calmodulin. In the presence of calcium, calmodulin activates calpain. Calpains are stimulated by calcium, which increases matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). In order to develop novel treatments for these diseases, we must understand how this pathway works. A variety of myocardial remodeling processes involve calpains, including remodeling of the extracellular matrix and hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes. Calpains also play a role in maintaining cardiac homeostasis through apoptosis and autophagy. The development of HF may be in part due to calpain-mediated pathways promoting cardiomyocyte death. Numerous studies have suggested the importance of the Ca2+ -dependent protease calpain in cardiac physiology and pathology. Therefore, it is important to consider this pathway to develop and test therapeutic options in humans that targets calpain in HF. Apoptosis, autophagy, endocytosis, exocytosis, signal transduction, and disease progression all involve calpain molecular pathways. Therefore, it is conceivable that calpain inhibitors might have therapeutic potential as they have been investigated in preclinical models of several conditions in which the enzyme has been implicated that might be treated with them. Ca 2+ - dependent proteases and calpains contribute to adverse ventricular remodeling and HF in multiple experimental models. In this manuscript, we will discuss the calpain molecular pathway's important roles in HF development.

Keywords: calpain, heart failure, autophagy, apoptosis, cardiomyocyte

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Authors: Assal E. Haddad

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Food waste samples from Irbid were collected from 5 different sources for 12 weeks to characterize their composition in terms of four food categories; rice, meat, fruits and vegetables, and bread. Average food type compositions were 39% rice, 6% meat, 34% fruits and vegetables, and 23% bread. Methane yield was also measured for all food types and was found to be 362, 499, 352, and 375 mL/g VS for rice, meat, fruits and vegetables, and bread, respectively. A representative food waste sample was created to test the actual methane yield and compare it to calculated one. Actual methane yield (414 mL/g VS) was greater than the calculated value (377 mL/g VS) based on food type proportions and their specific methane yield. This study emphasizes the effect of the types of food and their proportions in food waste on the final biogas production. Findings in this study provide representative methane emission factors for Irbid’s food waste, which represent as high as 68% of total Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Irbid, and also indicate the energy and economic value within the solid waste stream in Irbid.

Keywords: food waste, solid waste management, anaerobic digestion, methane yield

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Authors: Seungwon Han, Sung young Yoo, Tae Wan Kim

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The objective of this study was to measure the changes in the photochemical response in the leaves of red pepper (Capsium annuum L.) after foliar fertilization of amino acid and small peptides derived from the waste egg. As a nitrogen fertilizer, waste eggs were incubated over one 1week and then degraded as amino acids and small peptides. The smaller peptides less than 20 kDa were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). MALDI-TOF-MS as a rapid analysis method was to show the molecular mass of degraded egg protein. The sequences of peptides were identified as follows; γ-Glu- Cys-γ-Glu-Cys-γ-Glu-Cys)-Ser and γ-Glu-Cys-γ-Glu-Cys-γ-Glu- Cys)-Gly. It was clearly illuminated that the parameters related to quantum yields for PSI electron transport (ΦRE1O, ΨRE1O, δRE1O) and RC/ABS have increased tendency by small peptide application. On the other hand, phenomenological energy fluxes (ABSO/CSM, TRO/CSM, ET2O/CSM, RE1O/CSM, DIO/CSM) have considerably fluctuated with foliar fertilization of small peptides. In conclusion, the small peptides can enhance the photochemical activities from photosystem II to photosystem I. This study was financially supported by RDA Agenda Project PJ 016196012022.

Keywords: electron transport, foliar fertilization, small peptide, waste egg

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Authors: Arfanara Najnin, Michael W. Roach, Jr., Dr. Jianhong Cecilia Xia

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The SkyCar Rapid Transit System (SRT) is an innovative intelligent transport system for the sustainable urban transport system. This system will increase the urban area network connectivity and decrease urban area traffic congestion. The SRT system is designed as a suspended Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system that travels under a guideway 5m above the ground. A driver-less passenger is via pod-cars that hang from slender beams supported by columns that replace existing lamp posts. The beams are setup in a series of interconnecting loops providing non-stop travel from beginning to end to assure journey time. The SRT forward movement is effected by magnetic motors built into the guideway. Passenger stops are at either at line level 5m above the ground or ground level via a spur guideway that curves off the main thoroughfare. The main objective of this paper is to propose an integrated Automated Transit Network (ATN) technology for the future intelligent transport system in the urban built environment. To fulfil the objective a 4D simulated model in the urban built environment has been proposed by using the concept of SRT-ATN system. The methodology for the design, construction and testing parameters of a Technology Demonstrator (TD) for proof of concept and a Simulator (S) has been demonstrated. The completed TD and S will provide an excellent proving ground for the next development stage, the SRT Prototype (PT) and Pilot System (PS). This paper covered by a 4D simulated model in the virtual built environment is to effectively show how the SRT-ATN system works. OpenSim software has been used to develop the model in a virtual environment, and the scenario has been simulated to understand and visualize the proposed SkyCar Rapid Transit Network model. The SkyCar system will be fabricated in a modular form which is easily transported. The system would be installed in increasingly congested city centers throughout the world, as well as in airports, tourist resorts, race tracks and other special purpose for the urban community. This paper shares the lessons learnt from the proposed innovation and provides recommendations on how to improve the future transport system in urban built environment. Safety and security of passengers are prime factors to be considered for this transit system. Design requirements to meet the safety needs to be part of the research and development phase of the project. Operational safety aspects would also be developed during this period. The vehicles, the track and beam systems and stations are the main components that need to be examined in detail for safety and security of patrons. Measures will also be required to protect columns adjoining intersections from errant vehicles in vehicular traffic collisions. The SkyCar Rapid Transit takes advantage of all current disruptive technologies; batteries, sensors and 4G/5G communication and solar energy technologies which will continue to reduce the costs and make the systems more profitable. SkyCar's energy consumption is extremely low compared to other transport systems.

Keywords: SkyCar, rapid transit, Intelligent Transport System (ITS), Automated Transit Network (ATN), urban built environment, 4D Visualization, smart city

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Authors: Tovondahiniriko Fanjirindratovo, Olga Ramiarinjanahary, Paulisimone Rasoavonjy

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The sunshine duration, which is the sum of all the moments when the solar beam radiation is up to a minimal value, is an important parameter for climatology, tourism, agriculture and solar energy. Its measure is usually given by a pyrheliometer installed on a two-axis solar tracker. Due to the high cost of this device and the availability of global radiation on a horizontal surface, on the other hand, several studies have been done to make a correlation between global radiation and sunshine duration. Most of these studies are fitted for the northern hemisphere using a pyrheliometric database. The aim of the present work is to list and assess all the existing methods and apply them to Reunion Island, a tropical region in the southern hemisphere. Using a database of ten years, global, diffuse and beam radiation for a horizontal surface are employed in order to evaluate the uncertainty of existing algorithms for a tropical region. The methodology is based on indirect comparison because the solar beam radiation is not measured but calculated by the beam radiation on a horizontal surface and the sun elevation angle.

Keywords: Carpentras method, data fitting, global radiation, sunshine duration, Slob and Monna algorithm, step algorithm

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Authors: Dita Aviana Dewi, Heri Muji, Dian Nur Amalia, Nanung Agus Fitriyanto

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Utilization of cow feces as a source of alternative energy can be done with turn it as briquettes. Cow feces generate heat around 4000 Cal/g and the methane gas (CH4) are quite high. Methane gas is one of the essential elements in briquettes which serve as the ignition, so that is resulting briquettes combustible. This study aims to know the difference of the composition of the constituents of briquette moisture content and density. Dairy cattle feces used as the main ingredient with additional material from the waste of the agricultural industry in the form of husk. This study was conducted with three treatments, namely T0= feces 1: husk 1, T1= feces 2: husk 1, and T2= feces 3: husk 1. Each treatment was replicated three times. The experimental design used was Complete Random Design Pattern in line with testing of Dunnet. The observed variables are moisture content and density of the briquettes. Results of this study showed an average moisture content of T0 is 31,17%, T1 is 28,14%, and T2 is 49.95%. The average density of briquettes at T0 is 1,0787 g/cm3, T1 is 1,1448 g/cm3, and T2 is 1,1133 g/cm3. Summary of the study is to take the difference of the composition of the feces and the husk do not have significant effects on moisture content and density of briquettes (p < 0.05).

Keywords: dairy cattle feces, briquette, moisture, density

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Authors: Faisal Bin Alam

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Most of the manufacturing entities cause negative footprint to nature that demand due attention. Textile industries have one of the longest supply chains and bear the liability of significant environmental impact to our planet. Issues of environmental safety, scarcity of energy and resources, and demand for eco-friendly products have driven research to search for safe and suitable alternatives in apparel processing. Consumer awareness, increased pressure from fashion brands and actions from local legislative authorities have somewhat been able to improve the practices. Objective of this paper is to reveal the best selection of raw materials and methods of production, taking environmental sustainability into account. Methodology used in this study is exploratory in nature based on personal experience, field visits in the factories of Bangladesh and secondary sources. Findings are limited to exploring better alternatives to conventional operations of a Readymade Garment manufacturing, from fibre selection to final product delivery, therefore showing some ways of achieving greener environment in the supply chain of a clothing industry.

Keywords: textile and apparel, environmental sustainability, supply chain, production, clothing

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Authors: Nuray Güzeler, Elif Ari, Gözde Konuray, Çağla Özbek

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The consumption of functional foods is very common. For this reason, many products which are probiotic, prebiotic, energy reduced and fat reduced are developed. In this research, physicochemical and microbiological properties of functional kefir, kefir yogurt and chickpea yogurt were examined. For this purpose, pH values, titration acidities, viscosity values, water holding capacities, serum separation values, acetaldehyde contents, tyrosine contents, the count of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria count and mold-yeast counts were determined. As a result of performed analysis, the differences between titration acidities, serum separation values, water holding capacities, acetaldehyde and tyrosine contents of samples were statistically significant (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences on pH values, viscosities, and microbiological properties of samples (p > 0.05). Consequently industrial production of functional kefir yogurt and chickpea yogurt may be advised.

Keywords: chickpea yogurt, kefir, kefir yogurt, milk

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Authors: Ahmad K. Samaila, Basant K. Jha

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This study is devoted to investigate the effect of transpiration on transient as well as steady-state natural convection flow of a reactive viscous fluid in a vertical channel formed by two infinite vertical parallel porous plates. The Boussinesq assumption is applied and the nonlinear governing equations of energy and momentum are developed. The problem is solved numerically using implicit finite difference method and analytically for steady-state case using perturbation method. Solutions are presented in graphical form for fluid temperature, velocity, and skin-friction and wall heat transfer rate for various parametric values. It is found that velocity, temperature, rate of heat transfer as well as skin-friction are strongly affected by mass leakage through the porous plates.

Keywords: transpiration, reactive viscous fluid, porous plates, natural convection, suction/injection

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Authors: Kai Liu

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Remote sensing-derived land surface temperature (LST) can provide an indication of the temporal and spatial patterns of surface evapotranspiration (ET). However, the spatial resolution achieved by existing commonly satellite products is ~1 km, which remains too coarse for ET estimations. This paper proposed a model that can disaggregate coarse resolution MODIS LST at 1 km scale to fine spatial resolutions at the scale of 250 m. Our approach attempted to weaken the impacts of soil moisture and growing statues on LST variations. The proposed model spatially disaggregates the coarse thermal data by using a non-linear model involving Bowen ratio, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and photochemical reflectance index (PRI). This LST disaggregation model was tested on two heterogeneous landscapes in central Iowa, USA and Heihe River, China, during the growing seasons. Statistical results demonstrated that our model achieved better than the two classical methods (DisTrad and TsHARP). Furthermore, using the surface energy balance model, it was observed that the estimated ETs using the disaggregated LST from our model were more accurate than those using the disaggregated LST from DisTrad and TsHARP.

Keywords: Bowen ration, downscaling, evapotranspiration, land surface temperature

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Authors: David Julian Bernal Melgarejo

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Inland Waterway Transportation (IWT) is playing an important role in national transport systems, water transportation is considered to be safe, energy efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transport, considering all the benefits of IWT the Colombian government is planning to restore the Magdalena’s River navigability, embrace waterway transportation in Colombia could strength competitiveness while reduce most of the transport externalities. However, the current situation of the Magdalena deplorable, the most important river of Colombia has been abandoned for decades and the solution is beyond of a single administrative entity. This paper analyzes the outcomes of the Navigation And Inland Waterway Action and Development in Europe (NAIADES) program as a prospective to develop a sustainable program in Colombia. In order to guarantee the long-term future, and the adaptability of the program a research based on individual interviews with stakeholders and policy experts were carried out, findings support the idea of lack of integration within governmental institution, develop marketing strategies and human resources.

Keywords: inland waterway transportation, logistics, sustainability, multimodal transport systems, water transportation

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Authors: Adnan Alhathal Alanezi, Alanood A. Alsarayreh

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A direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) system was modeled using various angles for the membrane unit and a Reynolds number range of 500 to 2000 in this numerical analysis. The Navier-Stokes, energy, and species transport equations were used to create a two-dimensional model. The finite volume method was used to solve the governing equations (FVM). The results showed that as the Reynolds number grows up to 1500, the heat transfer coefficient increases for all membrane angles except the 60ᵒ inclination angle. Additionally, increasing the membrane angle to 90ᵒreduces the exit influence while increasing heat transfer. According to these data, a membrane with a 90o inclination angle (also known as a vertical membrane) and a Reynolds number of 2000 might have the smallest temperature differential. Similarly, decreasing the inclination angle of the membrane keeps the temperature difference constant between Reynolds numbers 1000 and 2000; however, between Reynolds numbers 500 and 1000, the temperature difference decreases dramatically.

Keywords: direct contact membrane distillation, membrane inclination angle, heat and mass transfer, reynolds number

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Authors: M. Doumi, K. Tahir, A. Miloudi, A. G. Aissaoui, C. Belfedal, S. Tahir

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This paper presents a three-phase grid-connected photovoltaic generation system with unity power factor for any situation of solar radiation based on voltage-oriented control (VOC). An input voltage clamping technique is proposed to control the power between the grid and photovoltaic system, where it is intended to achieve the maximum power point operation. This method uses a Perturb and Observe (P&O) controller. The main objective of this work is to compare the energy production unit performances by the use of two types of controllers (namely, classical PI and Sliding Mode (SM) Controllers) for the grid inverter control. The proposed control has a hierarchical structure with a grid side control level to regulate the power (PQ) and the current injected to the grid and to obtain a common DC voltage constant. To show the effectiveness of both control methods performances analysis of the system are analyzed and compared by simulation and results included in this paper.

Keywords: grid connected photovoltaic, MPPT, inverter control, classical PI, sliding mode, DC voltage constant, voltage-oriented control, VOC

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Authors: Xu Xiao China, Xu Lei China

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After the 1990s, the concept of urban sustainable development has been increasing attention in urban planning and urban design. High carbon city, not a sustainable city construction model, has become an important problem which restricts the sustainable development of the city. Therefore, low-carbon city construction is the urgent need to solve the problem, and China is one of the core areas of low-carbon city construction in the world. The research work of low-carbon cities were participated by the Chinese government and academic institutes on theory and practice since 2007, and nowadays it comes to a practice stage with six low-carbon pilot provinces and 36 low-carbon pilot cities identified. To achieve the low-carbon target, developing low-carbon energy, adopting non-pollution technique, constructing green buildings and adopting ecolife-style are suggest by the government. Meanwhile, besides a new standard system and a new eco-environmental status evaluation method, the government also established the Chinese urban development institute including the Low-Carbon City Group. Finally, we want to transform the modern industrial civilization into an ecological civilization and realize sustainable urban development.

Keywords: low-carbon city, China, development practice, system construction, urban sustainability

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Authors: Ivan Ravlich, Ivan Linscott, Sigrid Close

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The experimental search for spin coupling in General Relativity via torsion has been inconclusive. In this work, further experimental avenues to test dynamic torsion are proposed and evaluated. In the extended theory, by relaxing the torsion free condition on the metric connection, general relativity is reformulated to relate the spin density of particles to a new quantity, the torsion tensor. In torsion theories, the spin tensor and torsion tensor are related in much the same way as the stress-energy tensor is related to the metric connection. Similarly, as the metric is the field associated with the metric connection, fields can be associated with the torsion tensor resulting in a field that is either propagating or static. Experimental searches for static torsion have thus far been inconclusive, and currently, there have been no experimental tests for propagating torsion. Experimental tests of propagating theories of torsion are proposed utilizing various spin densities of matter, such as interfaces in superconducting materials and plasmas. The experimental feasibility and observable bounds are estimated, and the most viable candidates are selected to pursue in detail in a future work.

Keywords: general relativity, gravitation, propagating torsion, spin density

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Authors: S. M. Anowarul Haque, Md. Asiful Islam

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Electrical load forecasting is considered to be one of the most indispensable parts of a modern-day electrical power system. To ensure a reliable and efficient supply of electric energy, special emphasis should have been put on the predictive feature of electricity supply. Artificial Neural Network-based approaches have emerged to be a significant area of interest for electric load forecasting research. This paper proposed an Artificial Neural Network model based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm for improved electric load forecasting for Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The forecasting model is developed and simulated on the MATLAB environment with a large number of training datasets. The model is trained based on eight input parameters including historical load and weather data. The predicted load data are then compared with an available dataset for validation. The proposed neural network model is proved to be more reliable in terms of day-wise load forecasting for Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

Keywords: load forecasting, artificial neural network, particle swarm optimization

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Authors: Ali Zain Ul Abadeen, Arshad Hussain

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Roads are considered as the national capital, and huge developmental budget is spent on its construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation. Due to proliferating traffic volume, heavier loads and challenging environmental factors, the need for high-performance asphalt pavement is increased. In this research, the asphalt mixture was modified with carbon nanotubes ranging from 0.2% to 2% of binder to study the effect of CNT modification on rutting potential and fatigue life of asphalt mixtures. During this study, the conventional and modified asphalt mixture was subjected to a uni-axial dynamic creep test and dry Hamburg wheel tracking test to study rutting resistance. Fatigue behavior of asphalt mixture was studied using a four-point bending test apparatus. The plateau value of asphalt mixture was taken as a measure of fatigue performance according to the ratio of dissipated energy approach. Results of these experiments showed that CNT modified asphalt mixtures had reduced rut depth and increased rutting and fatigue resistance at higher percentages of carbon nanotubes.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, fatigue, four point bending test, modified asphalt, rutting

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Authors: Jafar Akbari, Masoud Rismanchian, Samira Ramezani

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Purpose: The photocatalytic degradation of pollutants is a novel technology with various advantages such as high efficiency and energy saving. In this research, the effects of operational variables on the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO₂ coated on nickel foam in the removal of toluene from the simulated indoor air have been investigated. Methods: TiO₂ film were prepared via the sol-gel method and coated on nickel foam. The characteristics and morphology were found using XRD, SEM, and BET technique. Then, the effects of relative humidity, UV-A intensity, the initial toluene concentration, TiO₂ loading, and the air circulation velocity on the photocatalytic degradation rate have been evaluated. Results: The optimal degradation of toluene has been achieved with loading 4.35 g TiO2 on the foam, 30% RH, 5.4 µW.cm−2 UV-A intensity, and 20 ppm initial concentration in the air circulation velocity of 0.15 fpm. Conclusion: The changes of toluene photocatalytic degradation rate have been studied at various times. Also, the kinetic behavior of toluene photocatalytic degradation has been investigated using Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) model.

Keywords: photocatalytic degradation, operational variables, tio₂, nickel foam, gaseous toluene, nanotechnology

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Authors: Sadiq Sani, Muhammad B. Ibrahim

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Watermelon rinds powder (WRP) and neem-tree leaves powder (NLP) were used as adsorbents for equilibrium adsorption isotherms studies for detoxification of methyl orange dye (MO) from simulated wastewater. The applicability of the process to various isotherm models was tested. All isotherms from the experimental data showed excellent linear reliability (R2: 0.9487-0.9992) but adsorptions onto WRP were more reliable (R2: 0.9724-0.9992) than onto NLP (R2: 0.9487-0.9989) except for Temkin’s Isotherm where reliability was better onto NLP (R2: 0.9937) than onto WRP (R2: 0.9935). Dubinin-Radushkevich’s monolayer adsorption capacities for both WRP and NLP (qD: 20.72 mg/g, 23.09 mg/g) were better than Langmuir’s (qm: 18.62 mg/g, 21.23 mg/g) with both capacities higher for adsorption onto NLP (qD: 23.09 mg/g; qm: 21.23 mg/g) than onto WRP (qD: 20.72 mg/g; qm: 18.62 mg/g). While values for Langmuir’s separation factor (RL) for both adsorbents suggested unfavourable adsorption processes (RL: -0.0461, -0.0250), Freundlich constant (nF) indicated favourable process onto both WRP (nF: 3.78) and NLP (nF: 5.47). Adsorption onto NLP had higher Dubinin-Radushkevich’s mean free energy of adsorption (E: 0.13 kJ/mol) than WRP (E: 0.08 kJ/mol) and Temkin’s heat of adsorption (bT) was better onto NLP (bT: -0.54 kJ/mol) than onto WRP (bT: -0.95 kJ/mol) all of which suggested physical adsorption.

Keywords: adsorption isotherms, methyl orange, neem leaves, watermelon rinds

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Authors: N. Yaiphaba, Elizabeth C. H.

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YPO₄ nanoparticles codoped with Eu³⁺(5 at.%) and Bi³⁺(0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 20 at.%) have been prepared in poly acrylic acid (PAA)-H₂O medium by hydrothermal synthesis by maintaining a temperature of 180oC. The crystalline structure of as-prepared and 500oC annealed samples transforms from tetragonal (JCPDS-11-0254) to hexagonal phase (JCPDS-42-0082) with increasing concentration of Bi³⁺ ions. However, 900oC annealed samples exhibit tetragonal structure. The crystallite size of the particles varies from 19-50 nm. The luminescence intensity increases at lower concentration of Bi³⁺ ions and then decreases with increasing Bi3+ ion concentrations. The luminescence intensity further increases on annealing at 500oC and 900oC. Further, 900oC annealed samples show sharp increase in luminescence intensity. Moreover, the samples follow bi-exponential decay indicating energy transfer from donor to the activator or non-uniform distribution of ions in the samples. The samples on excitation at 318 nm exhibit near white emission while at 394 nm excitation show emission in the red region. The as-prepared samples are redispersible and have potential applications in display devices, metal ion sensing, biological labelling, etc.

Keywords: charge transfer, sensitizer, activator, annealing

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Authors: Ana Paula Gomes Nogueira, Pietro Tonolini, Andrea Bonfanti

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Automotive braking systems must convert kinetic into thermal energy by friction. Nowadays, the disc brake system is the most widespread configuration on the automotive market, which its specific configuration provides a very efficient heat dissipation. At the same time, both discs and pads wear out. Different wear mechanisms can act during the braking, which makes the understanding of the phenomenon essential for the strategies to be applied when an increased lifetime of the components is required. In this study, a specific characterization approach was conducted to analyze the worn surfaces of commercial pad friction materials and its conterface cast iron disc after dynobench tests. Scanning electronic microscope (SEM), confocal microscope, and focus ion beam microscope (FIB) were used as the main tools of the analysis, and they allowed imaging of the footprint of the different wear mechanisms presenting on the worn surfaces. Aspects such as the temperature and specific ingredients of the pad friction materials are discussed since they play an important role in the wear mechanisms.

Keywords: wear mechanism, surface characterization, brake tests, friction materials, disc brake

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Authors: Michael Okeke, Andrew Blyth

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Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) as the state of the art Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are used in many different critical infrastructures, from smart home to energy systems and from locomotives train system to planes. Security of SCADA systems is vital since many lives depend on it for daily activities and deviation from normal operation could be disastrous to the environment as well as lives. This paper describes how No-Trust-Zone (NTZ) architecture could be incorporated into SCADA Systems in order to reduce the chances of malicious intent. The architecture is made up of two distinctive parts which are; the field devices such as; sensors, PLCs pumps, and actuators. The second part of the architecture is designed following lambda architecture, which is made up of a detection algorithm based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Hadoop framework for data processing and storage. Apache Spark will be a part of the lambda architecture for real-time analysis of packets for anomalies detection.

Keywords: industrial control system (ics, no-trust-zone (ntz), particle swarm optimisation (pso), supervisory control and data acquisition (scada), swarm intelligence (SI)

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Authors: Achim Kampker, Heiner Hans Heimes, Mathias Ordung, Nemanja Sarovic

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A key component of the drive train of electric vehicles is the lithium-ion battery system. Among various other components, such as the battery management system or the thermal management system, the battery system mostly consists of several cells which are integrated mechanically as well as electrically. Due to different vehicle concepts with regards to space, energy and power specifications, there is a variety of different battery systems. The corresponding assembly lines are specially designed for each battery concept. Minor changes to certain characteristics of the battery have a disproportionally high effect on the set-up effort in the form of high change-related costs. This paper will focus on battery systems which are made out of battery cells with a prismatic format. The product architecture and the assembly process will be analyzed in detail based on battery concepts of existing electric cars and key variety-causing drivers will be identified. On this basis, several measures will be presented and discussed on how to change the product architecture and the assembly process in order to reduce change-related costs.

Keywords: assembly, automotive industry, battery system, battery concept

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Authors: Mohamed Amine Ferhat, Mohamed Nadjib Bouhatem, Farid Chemat

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One of the principal aims of sustainable and green processing development remains the dissemination and teaching of green chemistry to both developed and developing nations. This paper describes one attempt to show that “north-south” collaborations yield innovative sustainable and green technologies which give major benefits for both nations. In this paper we present early results from a solvent free microwave extraction (SFME) of essential oils using fresh orange peel, a byproduct in the production of orange juice. SFME is performed at atmospheric pressure without added any solvent or water. SFME increases essential oil yield and eliminate wastewater treatment. The procedure is appropriate for the teaching laboratory, and allows the students to learn extraction, chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis skills, and are expose to dramatic visual example of rapid, sustainable and green extraction of essential oil, and are introduced to commercially successful sustainable and green chemical processing with microwave energy.

Keywords: essential oil, extraction, green processing, microwave

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Authors: Mohamed Noureldin, Jinkoo Kim

Abstract:

In this study, a genetic algorithm was used to find out the optimum locations of the slit dampers satisfying a target displacement. A seismic retrofit scheme for a building structure was presented using steel plate slit dampers. A cyclic loading test was used to verify the energy dissipation capacity of the slit damper. The seismic retrofit of the model structure using the slit dampers was compared with the retrofit with enlarging shear walls. The capacity spectrum method was used to propose a simple damper distribution scheme proportional to the inter-story drifts. The validity of the simple story-wise damper distribution procedure was verified by comparing the results of the genetic algorithm. It was observed that the proposed simple damper distribution pattern was in a good agreement with the optimum distribution obtained from the genetic algorithm. Acknowledgment: This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2017R1D1A1B03032809).

Keywords: slit dampers, seismic retrofit, genetic algorithm, optimum design

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Authors: John N. Idenyi, Hadimundeen Abdallah, Abigeal D. Adeyemi, Jonathan C. Eya

Abstract:

Gut microbiomes play a significant role in the growth, metabolism, and health of fish. However, we know very little about the interactive effects of variations in dietary composition and temperature on rainbow trout gut microbiota. Exactly 288 rainbow trout weighing 45.6g ± 0.05 (average ± SD) were fed four isocaloric, isolipidic, and isonitrogenous diets comprising 40% crude protein and 20% crude lipid and formulated as 100 % animal-based protein (AP) and a blend of 50 fish oil (FO)/50 camelina oil (CO), 100 % AP and100 % CO, 100 % plant-based protein (PP) and a blend of 50FO/50CO or 100 % PP and 100 % CO in 14 or 18°C for 150 days. Gut content was analyzed using 16S rRNA gene and shotgun sequencing. The most abundant phyla identified regardless of diet were Tenericutes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Spirochaetes, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria, while Aeromonadaceae and Enterobacteriaceae were dominant families in 18°C. Moreover, gut microbes were dominated by genes relating to an amino acid, carbohydrate, fat, and energy metabolisms and influenced by temperature. The shared functional profiles for all the diets suggest that plant protein sources in combination with CO could be as good as the fish meal with 50/50 FO & CO in rainbow trout farming.

Keywords: aquafeed, aquaculture, microbiome, rainbow trout

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Authors: M. Balordi, G. Santucci de Magistris, F. Pini, P. Marcacci

Abstract:

The increasing of extreme meteorological events represents the most important causes of damages and blackouts of the whole electric system. In particular, the icing on ground-wires and overheads lines, due to snowstorms or harsh winter conditions, very often gives rise to the collapse of cables and towers both in cold and warm climates. On the other hand, the high concentration of contaminants in the air, due to natural and/or antropic causes, is reflected in high levels of pollutants layered on glass and ceramic insulators, causing frequent and unpredictable flashover events. Overheads line and insulator failures lead to blackouts, dangerous and expensive maintenances and serious inefficiencies in the distribution service. Inducing superhydrophobic (SHP) properties to conductors, ground-wires and insulators, is one of the ways to face all these problems. Indeed, in some cases, the SHP surface can delay the ice nucleation time and decrease the ice nucleation temperature, preventing ice formation. Besides, thanks to the low surface energy, the adhesion force between ice and a superhydrophobic material are low and the ice can be easily detached from the surface. Moreover, it is well known that superhydrophobic surfaces can have self-cleaning properties: these hinder the deposition of pollution and decrease the probability of flashover phenomena. Here this study presents three different studies to impart superhydrophobicity to aluminum, zinc and glass specimens, which represent the main constituent materials of conductors, ground-wires and insulators, respectively. The route to impart the superhydrophobicity to the metallic surfaces can be summarized in a three-step process: 1) sandblasting treatment, 2) chemical-hydrothermal treatment and 3) coating deposition. The first step is required to create a micro-roughness. In the chemical-hydrothermal treatment a nano-scale metallic oxide (Al or Zn) is grown and, together with the sandblasting treatment, bring about a hierarchical micro-nano structure. By coating an alchilated or fluorinated siloxane coating, the surface energy decreases and gives rise to superhydrophobic surfaces. In order to functionalize the glass, different superhydrophobic powders, obtained by a sol-gel synthesis, were prepared. Further, the specimens were covered with a commercial primer and the powders were deposed on them. All the resulting metallic and glass surfaces showed a noticeable superhydrophobic behavior with a very high water contact angles (>150°) and a very low roll-off angles (<5°). The three optimized processes are fast, cheap and safe, and can be easily replicated on industrial scales. The anti-icing and self-cleaning properties of the surfaces were assessed with several indoor lab-tests that evidenced remarkable anti-icing properties and self-cleaning behavior with respect to the bare materials. Finally, to evaluate the anti-snow properties of the samples, some SHP specimens were exposed under real snow-fall events in the RSE outdoor test-facility located in Vinadio, western Alps: the coated samples delay the formation of the snow-sleeves and facilitate the detachment of the snow. The good results for both indoor and outdoor tests make these materials promising for further development in large scale applications.

Keywords: superhydrophobic coatings, anti-icing, self-cleaning, anti-snow, overheads lines

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Authors: Junhong Feng, Wenyu Lu, Xinhong Cheng, Li Zheng, Yuehui Yu

Abstract:

The effects of proton irradiation on the properties of gate oxide were evaluated by monitoring the static parameters (such as threshold voltage and on-resistance) and dynamic parameters (Miller plateau time) of 1700V SiC VDMOS before and after proton irradiation. The incident proton energy was 3MeV, and the doses were 5 × 10¹² P / cm², 1 × 10¹³ P / cm², respectively. The results show that the threshold voltage of MOS exhibits negative drift under proton irradiation, and the near-interface traps in the gate oxide layer are occupied by holes generated by the ionization effect of irradiation, thus forming more positive charges. The basis for selecting TMiller is that the change time of Vgs is the time when Vds just shows an upward trend until it rises to a stable value. The degradation of the turn-off time of the Miller platform verifies that the capacitance Cgd becomes larger, reflecting that the gate oxide layer is introduced into the trap by the displacement effect caused by proton irradiation, and the interface state deteriorates. As a more sensitive area in the irradiation process, the gate oxide layer will be optimized for its parameters (such as thickness, type, etc.) in subsequent studies.

Keywords: SiC VDMOS, proton radiation, Miller time, gate oxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 91