Search results for: installation cost
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 6485

Search results for: installation cost

6425 Analysis of the Feasibility of Using a Solar Spiral Type Water Heater for Swimming Pool Application in Physiotherapy and Sports Centers

Authors: G. B. M. Carvalho, V. A. C. Vale, E. T. L. Cöuras Ford

Abstract:

A heated pool makes it possible to use it during all hours of the day and in the seasons, especially in physiotherapies and sports centers. However, the cost of installation, operation and maintenance often makes it difficult to deploy. In addition, the current global policy for the use of natural resources from energy sources contradicts the most common means of heating swimming pools, such as the use of gas (Natural Gas and Liquefied Petroleum Gas), the use of firewood or oil and the use of electricity (heat pumps and electrical resistances). In this sense, this work focuses on the use of solar water heaters to be used in swimming pools of physiotherapy centers, in order to analyze their viability for this purpose in view of the costs linked to the medium and/or long term heating. For this, materials of low cost, low weight, easy commercial acquisition were used besides easy manufacture. Parameters such as flow, temperature distribution, efficiency and technical-economic feasibility were evaluated.

Keywords: heating, water, pool, solar energy, solar collectors, temperature, efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 166
6424 Corellation between Soil Electrical Resistivity and Metal Corrosion Based on Soil Types for Structure Designs

Authors: L. O. A. Oyinkanola, J.A. Fajemiroye

Abstract:

Soil resistivity measurements are an important parameter employed in the designing earthing installations. Thus, The knowledge of soil resistivity with respect to how it varies with related parameters such as moisture content, Temperature and depth at the intended site is very vital to determine how the desired earth resistance value can be attained and sustained over the life of the installation with the lowest cost and effort. The relationship between corrosion and soil resistivity has been investigated in this work. Varios soil samples: Sand, Gravel, Loam, Clay and Silt were collected from different spot within the vicinity.

Keywords: Corrosion, resistivity, clay, hydraulic conductivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 564
6423 Maintenance Alternatives Related to Costs of Wind Turbines Using Finite State Markov Model

Authors: Boukelkoul Lahcen

Abstract:

The cumulative costs for O&M may represent as much as 65%-90% of the turbine's investment cost. Nowadays the cost effectiveness concept becomes a decision-making and technology evaluation metric. The cost of energy metric accounts for the effect replacement cost and unscheduled maintenance cost parameters. One key of the proposed approach is the idea of maintaining the WTs which can be captured via use of a finite state Markov chain. Such a model can be embedded within a probabilistic operation and maintenance simulation reflecting the action to be done. In this paper, an approach of estimating the cost of O&M is presented. The finite state Markov model is used for decision problems with number of determined periods (life cycle) to predict the cost according to various options of maintenance.

Keywords: cost, finite state, Markov model, operation and maintenance

Procedia PDF Downloads 533
6422 Improved Throttled Load Balancing Approach for Cloud Environment

Authors: Sushant Singh, Anurag Jain, Seema Sabharwal

Abstract:

Cloud computing is advancing with a rapid speed. Already, it has been adopted by a huge set of users. Easy to use and anywhere access like potential of cloud computing has made it more attractive relative to other technologies. This has resulted in reduction of deployment cost on user side. It has also allowed the big companies to sell their infrastructure to recover the installation cost for the organization. Roots of cloud computing have extended from Grid computing. Along with the inherited characteristics of its predecessor technologies it has also adopted the loopholes present in those technologies. Some of the loopholes are identified and corrected recently, but still some are yet to be rectified. Two major areas where still scope of improvement exists are security and performance. The proposed work is devoted to performance enhancement for the user of the existing cloud system by improving the basic throttled mapping approach between task and resources. The improved procedure has been tested using the cloud analyst simulator. The results are compared with the original and it has been found that proposed work is one step ahead of existing techniques.

Keywords: cloud analyst, cloud computing, load balancing, throttled

Procedia PDF Downloads 249
6421 Off-Shore Wind Turbines: The Issue of Soil Plugging during Pile Installation

Authors: Mauro Iannazzone, Carmine D'Agostino

Abstract:

Off-shore wind turbines are currently considered as a reliable source of renewable energy Worldwide and especially in the UK. Most of the operational off-shore wind turbines located in shallow waters (i.e. < 30 m) are supported on monopiles. Monopiles are open-ended steel tubes with diameter ranging between 4 to 6 m. It is expected that future off-shore wind farms will be located in water depths as high as 70 m. Therefore, alternative foundation arrangements are needed. Foundations for off-shore structures normally consist of open-ended piles driven into the soil by means of impact hammers. During pile installation, the soil inside the pile may be mobilized by the increasing shear strength such as to prevent more soil from entering the pile. This phenomenon is known as soil plugging, and represents an important issue as it may change significantly the driving resistance of open-ended piles. In fact, if the plugging formation is unexpected, the installation may require more powerful and more expensive hammers. Engineers need to estimate whether the driven pile will be installed in a plugged or unplugged mode. As a consequence, a prediction of the degree of soil plugging is required in order to correctly predict the drivability of the pile. This work presents a brief review of the state-of-the-art of pile driving and approaches used to predict formation of soil plugs. In addition, a novel analytical approach is proposed, which is based on the vertical equilibrium of a plugged pile. Differently from previous studies, this research takes into account the enhancement of the stress within the soil plug. Finally, the work presents and discusses a series of experimental tests, which are carried out on small-scale models piles to validate the analytical solution.

Keywords: off-shore wind turbines, pile installation, soil plugging, wind energy

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6420 An Overview of Onshore and Offshore Wind Turbines

Authors: Mohammad Borhani, Afshin Danehkar

Abstract:

With the increase in population and the upward trend of energy demand, mankind has thought of using suppliers that guarantee a stable supply of energy, unlike fossil fuels, which, in addition to the widespread emission of greenhouse gases that one of the main factors in the destruction of the ozone layer and it will be finished in a short time in the not-so-distant future. In this regard, one of the sustainable ways of energy supply is the use of wind converters. That convert wind energy into electricity. For this reason, this research focused on wind turbines and their installation conditions. The main classification of wind turbines is based on the axis of rotation, which is divided into two groups: horizontal axis and vertical axis; each of these two types, with the advancement of technology in man-made environments such as cities, villages, airports, and other human environments can be installed and operated. The main difference between offshore and onshore wind turbines is their installation and foundation. Which are usually divided into five types; including of Monopile Wind Turbines, Jacket Wind Turbines, Tripile Wind Turbines, Gravity-Based Wind Turbines, and Floating Offshore Wind Turbines. For installation in a wind power plant requires an arrangement that produces electric power, the distance between the turbines is usually between 5 or 7 times the diameter of the rotor and if perpendicular to the wind direction be If they are 3 to 5 times the diameter of the rotor, they will be more efficient.

Keywords: wind farms, Savonius, Darrieus, offshore wind turbine, renewable energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 117
6419 Optimal Replacement Period for a One-Unit System with Double Repair Cost Limits

Authors: Min-Tsai Lai, Taqwa Hariguna

Abstract:

This paper presents a periodical replacement model for a system, considering the concept of single and cumulative repair cost limits simultaneously. The failures are divided into two types. Minor failure can be corrected by minimal repair and serious failure makes the system breakdown completely. When a minor failure occurs, if the repair cost is less than a single repair cost limit L1 and the accumulated repair cost is less than a cumulative repair cost limit L2, then minimal repair is executed, otherwise, the system is preventively replaced. The system is also replaced at time T or at serious failure. The optimal period T minimizing the long-run expected cost per unit time is verified to be finite and unique under some specific conditions.

Keywords: repair-cost limit, cumulative repair-cost limit, minimal repair, periodical replacement policy

Procedia PDF Downloads 365
6418 Faults in the Projects, Deviation in the Cost

Authors: S. Ahmed, P. Dlask, B. Hasan

Abstract:

There are several ways to estimate the cost of the construction project: simple and detailed. The process of estimating cost is usually done during the design stage, which should take long-time and the designer must give attention to all details. This paper explain the causes of the deviations occurring in the cost of the construction project, and determines the reasons of these differences between contractual cost and final cost of the construction project, through the study of literature review related to this field, and benefiting from the experience of workers in the field of building (owners, contractors) through designing a questionnaire, and finding the most ten important reasons and explain the relation between the contractual cost and the final cost according to these reasons. The difference between those values will be showed through diagrams drawn using the statistical program. In addition to studying the effects of overrun costs on the advancing of the project, and identify the most five important effects. According to the results, we can propose the right direction for the final cost evaluation and propose some measures that would help to control and adjust the deviation in the costs.

Keywords: construction projects, building, cost, estimating costs, delay, overrun

Procedia PDF Downloads 294
6417 Numerical Study Pile Installation Disturbance Zone Effects on Excess Pore Pressure Dissipation

Authors: Kang Liu, Meng Liu, Meng-Long Wu, Da-Chang Yue, Hong-Yi Pan

Abstract:

The soil setup is an important factor affecting pile bearing capacity; there are many factors that influence it, all of which are closely related to pile construction disturbances. During pile installation in soil, a significant amount of excess pore pressure is generated, creating disturbance zones around the pile. The dissipation rate of excess pore pressure is an important factor influencing the pile setup. The paper aims to examine how alterations in parameters within disturbance zones affect the dissipation of excess pore pressure. An axisymmetric FE model is used to simulate pile installation in clay, subsequently consolidation using Plaxis 3D. The influence of disturbed zone on setup is verified, by comparing the parametric studies in uniform field and non-uniform field. Three types of consolidation are employed: consolidation in three directions, vertical consolidation, horizontal consolidation. The results of the parametric study show that the permeability coefficient decreases, soil stiffness decreases, and reference pressure increases in the disturbance zone, resulting in an increase in the dissipation time of excess pore pressure and exhibiting a noticeable threshold phenomenon, which has been commonly overlooked in previous literature. The research in this paper suggests that significant thresholds occur when the coefficient of permeability decreases to half of the original site's value for three-directional and horizontal consolidation within the disturbed zone. Similarly, the threshold for vertical consolidation is observed when the coefficient of permeability decreases to one-fourth of the original site's value. Especially in pile setup research, consolidation is assumed to be horizontal; the study findings suggest that horizontal consolidation has experienced notable alterations as a result of the presence of disturbed zones. Furthermore, the selection of pile installation methods proves to be critical. A nonlinearity excess pore pressure formula is proposed based on cavity expansion theory, which includes the distribution of soil profile modulus with depth.

Keywords: pile setup, threshold value effect, installation effects, uniform field, non-uniform field

Procedia PDF Downloads 49
6416 Economic Forecasting Analysis for Solar Photovoltaic Application

Authors: Enas R. Shouman

Abstract:

Economic development with population growth is leading to a continuous increase in energy demand. At the same time, growing global concern for the environment is driving to decrease the use of conventional energy sources and to increase the use of renewable energy sources. The objective of this study is to present the market trends of solar energy photovoltaic technology over the world and to represent economics methods for PV financial analyzes on the basis of expectations for the expansion of PV in many applications. In the course of this study, detailed information about the current PV market was gathered and analyzed to find factors influencing the penetration of PV energy. The paper methodology depended on five relevant economic financial analysis methods that are often used for investment decisions maker. These methods are payback analysis, net benefit analysis, saving-to-investment ratio, adjusted internal rate of return, and life-cycle cost. The results of this study may be considered as a marketing guide that helps diffusion of using PV Energy. The study showed that PV cost is economically reliable. The consumers will pay higher purchase prices for PV system installation but will get lower electricity bill.

Keywords: photovoltaic, financial methods, solar energy, economics, PV panel

Procedia PDF Downloads 110
6415 A Review of the Major Factors of Cost Overrun in Construction Projects

Authors: Hassan Abdelgadir

Abstract:

Cost overruns have harmed the economies and reputations of several construction companies around the world. Many project management systems have been developed to keep track of a project's budget. However, due to several cost overrun difficulties in the construction industry, cost management is still deemed inadequate. As a result, the goal of this term paper is to identify and group prospective construction project cost overrun reasons based on their origin groups.Basically, all potential cost overrun elements were rigorously checked through 1iterature analysis before being divided into seven (7) groups of originating components, including project, contract, client, contractor, consultant, labor, and external. Each potential factor was completely defined with examples.

Keywords: construction projects, cost overruns, construction company, factors effect costoverruns

Procedia PDF Downloads 75
6414 Effect of DG Installation in Distribution System for Voltage Monitoring Scheme

Authors: S. R. A. Rahim, I. Musirin, M. M. Othman, M. H. Hussain

Abstract:

Loss minimization is a long progressing issue mainly in distribution system. Nevertheless, its effect led to temperature rise due to significant voltage drop through the distribution line. Thus, compensation scheme should be proper scheduled in the attempt to alleviate the voltage drop phenomenon. Distributed generation has been profoundly known for voltage profile improvement provided that over-compensation or under-compensation phenomena are avoided. This paper addresses the issue of voltage improvement through different type DG installation. In ensuring optimal sizing and location of the DGs, predeveloped EMEFA technique was made to be used for this purpose. Incremental loading condition subjected to the system is the concern such that it is beneficial to the power system operator.

Keywords: distributed generation, EMEFA, power loss, voltage profile

Procedia PDF Downloads 367
6413 An Analytical Method for Maintenance Cost Estimating Relationships of Helicopters Using Linear Programming

Authors: Meesun Sun, Yongmin Kim

Abstract:

Estimating maintenance cost is crucial in defense management because it affects military budgets and availability of equipment. When it comes to estimating maintenance cost of the deployed equipment, time series forecasting can be applied with the actual historical cost data. It is more difficult issue to estimate maintenance cost of new equipment for which the actual costs are not provided. In this underlying context, this study proposes an analytical method for maintenance cost estimating relationships (CERs) development of helicopters using linear programming. The CERs can be applied to a new helicopter because they use non-cost independent variables such as the number of engines, the empty weight and so on. In the Republic of Korea, the maintenance cost of new equipment has been usually estimated by reflecting maintenance cost to unit price ratio of the legacy equipment. This study confirms that the CERs perform well for the 10 types of airmobile helicopters in terms of mean absolute percentage error by applying leave-one-out cross-validation. The suggested method is very useful to estimate the maintenance cost of new equipment and can help in the affordability assessment of acquisition program portfolios for total life cycle systems management.

Keywords: affordability analysis, cost estimating relationship, helicopter, linear programming, maintenance cost

Procedia PDF Downloads 139
6412 Tunnel Convergence Monitoring by Distributed Fiber Optics Embedded into Concrete

Authors: R. Farhoud, G. Hermand, S. Delepine-lesoille

Abstract:

Future underground facility of French radioactive waste disposal, named Cigeo, is designed to store intermediate and high level - long-lived French radioactive waste. Intermediate level waste cells are tunnel-like, about 400m length and 65 m² section, equipped with several concrete layers, which can be grouted in situ or composed of tunnel elements pre-grouted. The operating space into cells, to allow putting or removing waste containers, should be monitored for several decades without any maintenance. To provide the required information, design was performed and tested in situ in Andra’s underground laboratory (URL) at 500m under the surface. Based on distributed optic fiber sensors (OFS) and backscattered Brillouin for strain and Raman for temperature interrogation technics, the design consists of 2 loops of OFS, at 2 different radiuses, around the monitored section (Orthoradiale strains) and longitudinally. Strains measured by distributed OFS cables were compared to classical vibrating wire extensometers (VWE) and platinum probes (Pt). The OFS cables were composed of 2 cables sensitive to strains and temperatures and one only for temperatures. All cables were connected, between sensitive part and instruments, to hybrid cables to reduce cost. The connection has been made according to 2 technics: splicing fibers in situ after installation or preparing each fiber with a connector and only plugging them together in situ. Another challenge was installing OFS cables along a tunnel mad in several parts, without interruption along several parts. First success consists of the survival rate of sensors after installation and quality of measurements. Indeed, 100% of OFS cables, intended for long-term monitoring, survived installation. Few new configurations were tested with relative success. Measurements obtained were very promising. Indeed, after 3 years of data, no difference was observed between cables and connection methods of OFS and strains fit well with VWE and Pt placed at the same location. Data, from Brillouin instrument sensitive to strains and temperatures, were compensated with data provided by Raman instrument only sensitive to temperature and into a separated fiber. These results provide confidence in the next steps of the qualification processes which consists of testing several data treatment approach for direct analyses.

Keywords: monitoring, fiber optic, sensor, data treatment

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6411 Numerical Study of Partial Penetration of PVDs In Soft Clay Soils Treatment Along With Surcharge Preloading (Bangkok Airport Case Study)

Authors: Mohammad Mehdi Pardsouie, Mehdi Mokhberi, Seyed Mohammad Ali Zomorodian, Seyed Alireza Nasehi

Abstract:

One of the challenging parts of every project, including prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs), is the determination of the depth of installation and its configuration. In this paper, Geostudio 2018 was used for modeling and verification of the full-scale test embankments (TS1, TS2, and TS3), which were constructed to study the effectiveness of PVDs for accelerating the consolidation and dissipation of the excess pore-pressures resulting from fill placement at Bangkok airport. Different depths and scenarios were modeled and the results were compared and analyzed. Since the ultimate goal is attaining pre-determined settlement, the settlement curve under soil embankment was used for the investigation of the results. It was shown that nearly in all cases, the same results and efficiency might be obtained by partial depth installation of PVDs instead of complete full constant length installation. However, it should be mentioned that because of distinct soil characteristics of clay soils and layers properties of any project, further investigation of full-scale test embankments and modeling is needed prior to finalizing the ultimate design by competent geotechnical consultants.

Keywords: partial penetration, surcharge preloading, excess pore water pressure, Bangkok test embankments

Procedia PDF Downloads 207
6410 Matrix Completion with Heterogeneous Cost

Authors: Ilqar Ramazanli

Abstract:

The matrix completion problem has been studied broadly under many underlying conditions. The problem has been explored under adaptive or non-adaptive, exact or estimation, single-phase or multi-phase, and many other categories. In most of these cases, the observation cost of each entry is uniform and has the same cost across the columns. However, in many real-life scenarios, we could expect elements from distinct columns or distinct positions to have a different cost. In this paper, we explore this generalization under adaptive conditions. We approach the problem under two different cost models. The first one is that entries from different columns have different observation costs, but within the same column, each entry has a uniform cost. The second one is any two entry has different observation cost, despite being the same or different columns. We provide complexity analysis of our algorithms and provide tightness guarantees.

Keywords: matroid optimization, matrix completion, linear algebra, algorithms

Procedia PDF Downloads 109
6409 Productive Efficiency in Asean Banking

Authors: Suhartono Suhartono

Abstract:

Issue of cost efficiency is then becoming pivotal point because public expect cost of banking operation reducing and benefited of consumers. This study examines the determinants of cost efficiency of banks operating in 8 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This study uses economics theory approach to examine the existence of economies of scale in the ASEAN Banking market especially on its impact on cost efficiency. We apply concept of average cost (AC) as a proxy for the cost efficiency. We find that economies of scale is existing in the banking market indicating scale and scope economies should be considered in the industrial policy. The stronger capital position is also positive to efficiency means stronger capitalized banks are more efficient. Bank that remunerates better tend to be more efficient as result economic capital effect.

Keywords: cost efficiency, ASEAN, economies of scale, issue of cost

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6408 Conceptual Design of Gravity Anchor Focusing on Anchor Towing and Lowering

Authors: Vinay Kumar Vanjakula, Frank Adam, Nils Goseberg

Abstract:

Wind power is one of the leading renewable energy generation methods. Due to abundant higher wind speeds far away from shore, the construction of offshore wind turbines began in the last decades. However, installation of offshore foundation-based (monopiles) wind turbines in deep waters are often associated with technical and financial challenges. To overcome such challenges, the concept of floating wind turbines is expanded as the basis from the oil and gas industry. The unfolding of Universal heavyweight gravity anchor (UGA) for floating based foundation for floating Tension Leg Platform (TLP) sub-structures is developed in this research work. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) for a three-year (2019-2022) research program called “Offshore Wind Solutions Plus (OWSplus) - Floating Offshore Wind Solutions Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.” It’s a group consists of German institutions (Universities, laboratories, and consulting companies). The part of the project is focused on the numerical modeling of gravity anchor that involves to analyze and solve fluid flow problems. Compared to gravity-based torpedo anchors, these UGA will be towed and lowered via controlled machines (tug boats) at lower speeds. This kind of installation of UGA are new to the offshore wind industry, particularly for TLP, and very few research works have been carried out in recent years. Conventional methods for transporting the anchor requires a large transportation crane vessel which involves a greater cost. This conceptual UGA anchors consists of ballasting chambers which utilizes the concept of buoyancy forces; the inside chambers are filled with the required amount of water in a way that they can float on the water for towing. After reaching the installation site, those chambers are ballasted with water for lowering. After it’s lifetime, these UGA can be unballasted (for erection or replacement) results in self-rising to the sea surface; buoyancy chambers give an advantage for using an UGA without the need of heavy machinery. However, while lowering/rising the UGA towards/away from the seabed, it experiences difficult, harsh marine environments due to the interaction of waves and currents. This leads to drifting of the anchor from the desired installation position and damage to the lowering machines. To overcome such harsh environments problems, a numerical model is built to investigate the influences of different outer contours and other fluid governing shapes that can be installed on the UGA to overcome the turbulence and drifting. The presentation will highlight the importance of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) numerical model in OpenFOAM, which is open-source programming software.

Keywords: anchor lowering, towing, waves, currrents, computational fluid dynamics

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6407 Financial Modeling for Net Present Benefit Analysis of Electric Bus and Diesel Bus and Applications to NYC, LA, and Chicago

Authors: Jollen Dai, Truman You, Xinyun Du, Katrina Liu

Abstract:

Transportation is one of the leading sources of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Thus, to meet the Paris Agreement 2015, all countries must adopt a different and more sustainable transportation system. From bikes to Maglev, the world is slowly shifting to sustainable transportation. To develop a utility public transit system, a sustainable web of buses must be implemented. As of now, only a handful of cities have adopted a detailed plan to implement a full fleet of e-buses by the 2030s, with Shenzhen in the lead. Every change requires a detailed plan and a focused analysis of the impacts of the change. In this report, the economic implications and financial implications have been taken into consideration to develop a well-rounded 10-year plan for New York City. We also apply the same financial model to the other cities, LA and Chicago. We picked NYC, Chicago, and LA to conduct the comparative NPB analysis since they are all big metropolitan cities and have complex transportation systems. All three cities have started an action plan to achieve a full fleet of e-bus in the decades. Plus, their energy carbon footprint and their energy price are very different, which are the key factors to the benefits of electric buses. Using TCO (Total Cost Ownership) financial analysis, we developed a model to calculate NPB (Net Present Benefit) /and compare EBS (electric buses) to DBS (diesel buses). We have considered all essential aspects in our model: initial investment, including the cost of a bus, charger, and installation, government fund (federal, state, local), labor cost, energy (electricity or diesel) cost, maintenance cost, insurance cost, health and environment benefit, and V2G (vehicle to grid) benefit. We see about $1,400,000 in benefits for a 12-year lifetime of an EBS compared to DBS provided the government fund to offset 50% of EBS purchase cost. With the government subsidy, an EBS starts to make positive cash flow in 5th year and can pay back its investment in 5 years. Please remember that in our model, we consider environmental and health benefits, and every year, $50,000 is counted as health benefits per bus. Besides health benefits, the significant benefits come from the energy cost savings and maintenance savings, which are about $600,000 and $200,000 in 12-year life cycle. Using linear regression, given certain budget limitations, we then designed an optimal three-phase process to replace all NYC electric buses in 10 years, i.e., by 2033. The linear regression process is to minimize the total cost over the years and have the lowest environmental cost. The overall benefits to replace all DBS with EBS for NYC is over $2.1 billion by the year of 2033. For LA, and Chicago, the benefits for electrification of the current bus fleet are $1.04 billion and $634 million by 2033. All NPB analyses and the algorithm to optimize the electrification phase process are implemented in Python code and can be shared.

Keywords: financial modeling, total cost ownership, net present benefits, electric bus, diesel bus, NYC, LA, Chicago

Procedia PDF Downloads 51
6406 Mercury Contamination of Wetland Caused by Wastewater from Chlor-Alkali Industry

Authors: Mitsuo Yoshida

Abstract:

A significant mercury contamination of soil/sediment was unveiled by an environmental monitoring program in a wetland along La Plata River, west to Montevideo City, Uruguay. The mercury contamination was caused by industrial wastewater discharged from a chlor-alkali plant using a mercury-cell process. The contamination level is above 60 mg/kg in soil/sediment. Most of mercury (Hg) in the environment is inorganic, but some fractions are converted by bacteria to methylmercury (MeHg), a toxic organic compound. MeHg biologically accumulates through a food-chain and become serious public health risk. In order to clarify the contaminated part for countermeasure operation, an intervention value of mercury contamination of sediment/soil was defined as 15 mg/kg (total Hg) by the authority. According to the intervention value, mercury contaminated area in the La Plata site is approximately 48,280 m² and estimated total volume of contaminated sediments/soils was around 18,750 m³. The countermeasures to contaminated zone were proposed in two stages; (i) mitigation of risks for public health and (ii) site remediation. The first stage is an installation of fens and net around the contamination zone, for mitigating risks of exposure, inhalation, and intake. The food chain among wetland-river ecosystem was also interrupted by the installation of net and fens. The state of mercury contamination in La Plata site and plan of countermeasure was disclosed to local people and the public, and consensus on setting off-limit area was successfully achieved. Mass media also contribute to share the information on the contamination site. The cost for countermeasures was borne by the industry under the polluter-pay-principle.

Keywords: chlor-alkali plant, mercury contamination, polluter pay principle, Uruguay, wetland

Procedia PDF Downloads 138
6405 Case Study; Drilled Shafts Installation in Difficult Site Conditions; Loose Sand and High Water Table

Authors: Anthony El Hachem, Hosam Salman

Abstract:

Selecting the most effective construction method for drilled shafts under the high phreatic surface can be a challenging task that requires effective communication between the design and construction teams. Slurry placement, temporary casing, and permanent casing are the three most commonly used installation techniques to ensure the stability of the drilled hole before casting the concrete. Each one of these methods has its implications on the installation and performance of the drilled piers. Drilled shafts were designed to support a fire wall for an Energy project in Central Texas. The subsurface consisted of interlayers of sands and clays of varying shear strengths. The design recommended that the shafts be installed with temporary casing or slurry displacement due to the anticipated groundwater seepage through granular soils. During the foundation construction, it was very difficult to maintain the stability of the hole, and the contractor requested to install the shafts using permanent casings. Therefore, the foundation design was modified to ensure that the cased shafts achieve the required load capacity. Effective and continuous communications between the owner, contractor and design team during field shaft installations to mitigate the unforeseen challenges helped the team to successfully complete the project.

Keywords: construction challenges, deep foundations, drilled shafts, loose sands underwater table, permanent casing

Procedia PDF Downloads 193
6404 Development and Range Testing of a LoRaWAN System in an Urban Environment

Authors: N. R. Harris, J. Curry

Abstract:

This paper describes the construction and operation of an experimental LoRaWAN network surrounding the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. Following successful installation, an experimental node design is built and characterised, with particular emphasis on radio range. Several configurations are investigated, including different data rates, and varying heights of node. It is concluded that although range can be great (over 8 km in this case), environmental topology is critical. However, shorter range implementations, up to about 2 km in an urban environment, are relatively insensitive although care is still needed. The example node and the relatively simple base station reported demonstrate that LoraWan can be a very low cost and practical solution to Internet of Things type applications for distributed monitoring systems with sensors spread over distances of several km.

Keywords: long-range, wireless, sensor, network

Procedia PDF Downloads 137
6403 Assessment of the Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Potential Installation Area on Residential Buildings: Case Study of Amman, Jordan

Authors: Jenan Abu Qadourah

Abstract:

The suitable surface areas for the ST and PV installation are determined based on incident solar irradiation on different surfaces, shading analysis and suitable architectural area for integration considering limitations due to the constructions, available surfaces area and use of the available surfaces for other purposes. The incident solar radiation on the building surfaces and the building solar exposure analysis of the location of Amman, Jordan, is performed with Autodesk Ecotect analysis 2011 simulation software. The building model geometry within the typical urban context is created in “SketchUp,” which is then imported into Ecotect. The hourly climatic data of Amman, Jordan selected are the same ones used for the building simulation in IDA ICE and Polysun simulation software.

Keywords: photovoltaic, solar thermal, solar incident, simulation, building façade, solar potential

Procedia PDF Downloads 140
6402 Direct Cost of Anesthesia in Traumatic Patients with Massive Bleeding: A Prospective Micro-Costing Study

Authors: Asamaporn Puetpaiboon, Sunisa Chatmongkolchart, Nalinee Kovitwanawong, Osaree Akaraborworn

Abstract:

Traumatic patients with massive bleeding require intensive resuscitation. The actual cost of anesthesia per case has never been clarified, so our study aimed to quantify the direct cost, and cost-to-charge ratio of anesthetic care in traumatic patients with intraoperative massive bleeding. This study was a prospective, observational, cost analysis study, conducted in Prince of Songkla University hospital, Thailand, with traumatic patients, of any mechanisms being recruited. Massive bleeding was defined as estimated blood loss of at least one blood volume in 24 hours, or a half of blood volume in 3 hours. The cost components were identified by the micro-costing method, and valued by the bottom-up approach. The direct cost was divided into 4 categories: the labor cost, the capital cost, the material cost and the cost of drugs. From September 2017 to August 2018, 10 patients with multiple injuries were included. Seven patients had motorcycle accidents, two patients fell from a height and another one was in a minibus accident. Two patients died on the operating table, and another two died within 48 hours. The median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 8. The median intraoperative blood loss was 3,500 ml. The median direct cost, per case, was 250 United States Dollars (2017 exchange rate), and the cost-to-charge ratio was 0.53. In summary, the direct cost was nearly half of the hospital charge, for these traumatic patients with massive bleeding. However, our study did not analyze the indirect cost.

Keywords: cost, cost-to-charge ratio, micro-costing, trauma

Procedia PDF Downloads 148
6401 Damage Cost for Private Property by Extreme Wind over the past 10 Years in Korea

Authors: Gou-Moon Choi, Woo-Young Jung, Chan-Young Yune

Abstract:

Recently, the natural disaster has increased worldwide. In Korea, the damage to life and property caused by a typhoon, heavy rain, heavy snow, and an extreme wind also increases every year. Among natural disasters, the frequency and the strength of wind have increased because sea surface temperature has risen due to the increase of the average temperature of the Earth. In the case of extreme wind disaster, it is impossible to control or reduce the occurrence, and the recovery cost always exceeds the damage cost. Therefore, quantitative estimation of the damage cost for extreme wind needs to be established beforehand to install proactive countermeasures. In this study, the damage cost for private properties was analyzed based on the data for the past 10 years in Korea. The damage cost curve was also suggested for the metropolitan cities and provinces. The result shows the possibility for the regional application of the damage cost curve because the damage cost of the regional area is estimated based on the cost of cities and provinces.

Keywords: damage cost, extreme wind, natural disaster, private property

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6400 Analysis of Behavior and Determinants of Cost Stickiness in Manufacturing Companies in Indonesia

Authors: Farizy Yunaz, Catur Sasongko

Abstract:

This research aims to provide the empirical evidence regarding cost stickiness behavior and its determinants on listed manufacturing companies. Hypothesis testing is performed using pooled least square method. The result concludes that there is cost stickiness behavior in selling, general and administrative costs. In term of determinants, firm-specific adjustment costs measured by asset intensity and employee intensity have significant positive impact on the level of cost stickiness. Meanwhile, earnings target and leverage have significant negative impact on the level of cost stickiness. However, the management empire building incentives measured by free cash flow has no significant positive impact.

Keywords: adjustment cost, cost behavior, cost stickiness, earnings target, leverage, management empire building incentive

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6399 Cost Effectiveness and Performance Study of Perpetual Pavement Using ABAQUS

Authors: Mansour Fakhri, Monire Zokaei

Abstract:

Where there are many demolitions on conventional asphalt pavements, heavy costs are paid to repair and reconstruct the pavement roads annually. Recently some research has been done in order to increase the pavement life. Perpetual pavement is regarded as one of them which can improve the pavement life and minimize the maintenance activity and cost. In this research, ABAQUS which is a finite element software is implemented for analyzing and simulation of perpetual pavement. Viscoelastic model of material is used and loading wheel is considered to be dynamic. Effect of different parameters on pavement function has been considered. Because of high primary cost these pavements are not widely used. In this regard, life cost analysis was also carried out to compare perpetual pavement to conventional asphalt concrete pavement. It was concluded that although the initial cost of perpetual pavement is higher than that of conventional asphalt pavement, life cycle cost analysis during 50 years of service life showed that the performance of this pavement is better and the whole life cost of that is less.

Keywords: ABAQUS, lifecycle cost analysis, mechanistic empirical, perpetual pavement

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6398 Design Components and Reliability Aspects of Municipal Waste Water and SEIG Based Micro Hydro Power Plant

Authors: R. K. Saket

Abstract:

This paper presents design aspects and probabilistic approach for generation reliability evaluation of an alternative resource: municipal waste water based micro hydro power generation system. Annual and daily flow duration curves have been obtained for design, installation, development, scientific analysis and reliability evaluation of the MHPP. The hydro potential of the waste water flowing through sewage system of the BHU campus has been determined to produce annual flow duration and daily flow duration curves by ordering the recorded water flows from maximum to minimum values. Design pressure, the roughness of the pipe’s interior surface, method of joining, weight, ease of installation, accessibility to the sewage system, design life, maintenance, weather conditions, availability of material, related cost and likelihood of structural damage have been considered for design of a particular penstock for reliable operation of the MHPP. A MHPGS based on MWW and SEIG is designed, developed, and practically implemented to provide reliable electric energy to suitable load in the campus of the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, (UP), India. Generation reliability evaluation of the developed MHPP using Gaussian distribution approach, safety factor concept, peak load consideration and Simpson 1/3rd rule has presented in this paper.

Keywords: self excited induction generator, annual and daily flow duration curve, sewage system, municipal waste water, reliability evaluation, Gaussian distribution, Simpson 1/3rd rule

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6397 Techno-Economic Analysis of Offshore Hybrid Energy Systems with Hydrogen Production

Authors: Anna Crivellari, Valerio Cozzani

Abstract:

Even though most of the electricity produced in the entire world still comes from fossil fuels, new policies are being implemented in order to promote a more sustainable use of energy sources. Offshore renewable resources have become increasingly attractive thanks to the huge entity of power potentially obtained. However, the intermittent nature of renewables often limits the capacity of the systems and creates mismatches between supply and demand. Hydrogen is foreseen to be a promising vector to store and transport large amounts of excess renewable power by using existing oil and gas infrastructure. In this work, an offshore hybrid energy system integrating wind energy conversion with hydrogen production was conceptually defined and applied to offshore gas platforms. A techno-economic analysis was performed by considering two different locations for the installation of the innovative power system, i.e., the North Sea and the Adriatic Sea. The water depth, the distance of the platform from the onshore gas grid, the hydrogen selling price and the green financial incentive were some of the main factors taken into account in the comparison. The results indicated that the use of well-defined indicators allows to capture specifically different cost and revenue features of the analyzed systems, as well as to evaluate their competitiveness in the actual and future energy market.

Keywords: cost analysis, energy efficiency assessment, hydrogen production, offshore wind energy

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6396 Aesthetic Embodiment of the Visual and/or Non-Visual: the Becoming of a Spatial Installation Exhibition Influenced by Shamanic Healing

Authors: Ningfei Xiao, Simon Twose, Hannah Hopewell

Abstract:

In urban settings worldwide, artists and researchers have drawn from shamanic healing, providing insightful responses to the environment. This project is a transdisciplinary creative research project where architecture and art practice draw from shamanic healing and provide the potential to expand knowledge of public space and inspire more aesthetic explorations of public spatial visions. The research started from the encounters with the Ewengki/Evenki shaman tribe in settlement areas of northern China in 2019 and extended through the partnerships with Maori artists in Poneke Aotearoa, New Zealand, in 2023. Based on the learnings and collaborations with female indigenous tradition practitioners and the healing that the researcher received from the land, a spatial installation exhibition was developed in this project. Indigenous practices are intricately woven with contemporary technology, merging visuals, soundscapes, and other non-visual aesthetics influenced by the researcher's personal experiences of embodied shamanic healing with brainwave generative technology. This synthesis seeks to ritualize and reimagine future public spaces, encompassing streetscapes and greenscapes from China to Aotearoa, and fostering connections between urbanized human body, mind, spirit, and land. In doing so, the project presents a feminist posthuman inquiry into how individuals perceive materiality within the context of a future city. Grounded in creative research and embodied methodologies, this paper focuses on the conceptual and autoethnographic aspects of visual-non-visual aesthetics and their creative representation. Through the exploration of aesthetics beyond the visual realm within urban and spatial contexts, this project showcases the spatial installation exhibition as an example of shamanic influence and related response to public space through embodied artistry and transdisciplinary creative inquiry.

Keywords: aesthetic, embodiment, visual and/or non-visual, spatial installation, shamanic healing, public space

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