Search results for: energy efficiency in historical buildings

Authors: Naomi Grigoryan, Alexandros Loutsioli Daskalakis, Anna Elisse Uy, Yihe Huang, Aude Laurent (Webanck)

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In response to the building and construction sectors accounting for a third of all energy demand and emissions, the European Union has placed new laws and regulations in the construction sector that emphasize material circularity, energy efficiency, biodiversity, and social impact. Existing design tools assess sustainability in early-stage design for products or buildings; however, there is no standardized methodology for measuring the circularity performance of building components. Existing assessment methods for building components focus primarily on carbon footprint but lack the comprehensive analysis required to design for circularity. The research conducted in this paper covers the parameters needed to assess sustainability in the design process of architectural products such as doors, windows, and facades. It maps a framework for a tool that assists designers with real-time sustainability metrics. Considering the life cycle of building components such as façades, windows, and doors involves the life cycle stages applied to product design and many of the methods used in the life cycle analysis of buildings. The current industry standards of sustainability assessment for metal building components follow cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA), track Global Warming Potential (GWP), and document the parameters used for an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Developed by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) is a methodology utilizing the data from LCA and EPDs to rate circularity, with a "value between 0 and 1 where higher values indicate a higher circularity+". Expanding on the MCI with additional indicators such as the Water Circularity Index (WCI), the Energy Circularity Index (ECI), the Social Circularity Index (SCI), Life Cycle Economic Value (EV), and calculating biodiversity risk and uncertainty, the assessment methodology of an architectural product's impact can be targeted more specifically based on product requirements, performance, and lifespan. Broadening the scope of LCA calculation for products to incorporate aspects of building design allows product designers to account for the disassembly of architectural components. For example, the Material Circularity Indicator for architectural products such as windows and facades is typically low due to the impact of glass, as 70% of glass ends up in landfills due to damage in the disassembly process. The low MCI can be combatted by expanding beyond cradle-to-grave assessment and focusing the design process on disassembly, recycling, and repurposing with the help of real-time assessment tools. Design for Disassembly and Urban Mining has been integrated within the construction field on small scales as project-based exercises, not addressing the entire supply chain of architectural products. By adopting more comprehensive sustainability metrics and incorporating uncertainty calculations, the sustainability assessment of building components can be more accurately assessed with decarbonization and disassembly in mind, addressing the large-scale commercial markets within construction, some of the most significant contributors to climate change.

Keywords: architectural products, early-stage design, life cycle assessment, material circularity indicator

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Authors: Chondrogianni Dimitra, Yorgos J. Stephanedes

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The impact of the economic crisis, coupled with the aging of the city's old core, is reflected in central Athens. Public and private users, residents, employees, visitors desire the quality upgrading of abandoned buildings and public spaces through environmental upgrading and sustainable mobility, and promotion of the international metropolitan character of the city. In the study, a strategy for reshaping the character and function of the historic Athenian triangle is proposed, aiming at its economic, environmental, and social sustainable development through feasible, meaningful, and non-landscaping solutions of low cost and high positive impact. Sustainable mobility is the main principle in re-planning the study area and transforming it into a “Low Pollution and Limited Vehicle Traffic Zone” is the main strategy. Τhe proposed measures include the development of pedestrian mobility networks by expanding the pedestrian roads and limited-traffic routes, of bicycle networks based on the approved Metropolitan Bicycle Route of Athens, of public transportation networks with new lines of electric mini-buses, and of new regulations for vehicle mobility in the historic triangle. In addition, complementary actions are proposed regarding the provision of Wi-Fi on fixed track media, development of applications that facilitate combined travel and provide real-time data, integration of micromobility (roller skates, Segway, Hoverboard), and its enhancement as a flexible means of personal mobility, and development of car-sharing, ride-sharing and dynamic carpooling initiatives.

Keywords: regeneration plans, sustainable mobility, environmental upgrading, athens historical triangle

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: E. Moradimaram, H. Sayehvand

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In recent years the increasing use of fossil fuels has led to various environmental problems including urban pollution, ozone layer depletion and acid rains. Moreover, with the increased number of industrial centers and higher consumption of these fuels, the end point of the fossil energy reserves has become more evident. Considering the environmental pollution caused by fossil fuels and their limited availability, renewable sources can be considered as the main substitute for non-renewable resources. One of these resources is the Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs). These cycles while having high safety, have low maintenance requirements. Combining the ORCs with other systems, such as ejector and reheater will increase overall cycle efficiency. In this study, ejector and reheater are used to improve the thermal efficiency (ηth), exergy efficiency (η_ex) and net output power (w_net); therefore, the ORCs with reheater (RORCs) are proposed. A computational program has been developed to calculate the thermodynamic parameters required in Engineering Equations Solver (EES). In this program, the analysis of the first and second law in RORC is conducted, and a comparison is made between them and the ORCs with Ejector (EORC). R245fa is selected as the working fluid and water is chosen as low temperature heat source with a temperature of 95 °C and a mass transfer rate of 1 kg/s. The pressures of the second evaporator and reheater are optimized in terms of maximum exergy efficiency. The environment is at 298.15 k and at 101.325 kpa. The results indicate that the thermodynamic parameters in the RORC have improved compared to EORC.

Keywords: Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), Organic Rankine Cycle with Reheater (RORC), Organic Rankine Cycle with Ejector (EORC), exergy efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 166

Authors: Jeffrey A. Lavarias, Jessie C. Elauria, Arnold R. Elepano, Engelbert K. Peralta, Delfin C. Suministrado

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Shelling process is one of the primary processes and critical steps in the processing of chocolate or any product that is derived from cocoa beans. It affects the quality of the cocoa nibs in terms of flavor and purity. In the Philippines, small-scale food processor cannot really compete with large scale confectionery manufacturers because of lack of available postharvest facilities that are appropriate to their level of operation. The impact of this study is to provide the needed intervention that will pave the way for cacao farmers of engaging on the advantage of value-adding as way to maximize the economic potential of cacao. Thus, provision and availability of needed postharvest machines like mechanical cacao sheller will revolutionize the current state of cacao industry in the Philippines. A mechanical cacao sheller was developed, fabricated, and evaluated to establish optimum shelling conditions such as moisture content of cocoa beans, clearance where of cocoa beans passes through the breaker section and speed of the breaking mechanism on shelling recovery, shelling efficiency, shelling rate, energy utilization and large nib recovery; To establish the optimum level of shelling parameters of the mechanical sheller. These factors were statistically analyzed using design of experiment by Box and Behnken and Response Surface Methodology (RSM). By maximizing shelling recovery, shelling efficiency, shelling rate, large nib recovery and minimizing energy utilization, the optimum shelling conditions were established at moisture content, clearance and breaker speed of 6.5%, 3 millimeters and 1300 rpm, respectively. The optimum values for shelling recovery, shelling efficiency, shelling rate, large nib recovery and minimizing energy utilization were recorded at 86.51%, 99.19%, 21.85kg/hr, 89.75%, and 542.84W, respectively. Experimental values obtained using the optimum conditions were compared with predicted values using predictive models and were found in good agreement.

Keywords: cocoa beans, optimization, RSM, shelling parameters

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: Fabian Velasquez, John Espitia, Henry Hernadez, Sebastian Escobar, Jader Rodriguez

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Non-centrifuged cane sugar (NCS) is a concentrated product obtained through the evaporation of water contain from sugarcane juice inopen heat exchangers (OE). The heat supplied to the evaporation stages is obtained from the cane bagasse through the thermochemical process of combustion, where the thermal energy released is transferred to OE by the flue gas. Therefore, the optimization of energy usage becomes essential for the proper design of the production process. For optimize the energy use, it is necessary modeling and simulation of heat transfer between the combustion gases and the juice and to understand the major mechanisms involved in the heat transfer. The main objective of this work was simulated heat transfer phenomena between the flue gas and open heat exchangers using Computational Fluid Dynamics model (CFD). The simulation results were compared to field measured data. Numerical results about temperature profile along the flue gas pipeline at the measurement points are in good accordance with field measurements. Thus, this study could be of special interest in design NCS production process and the optimization of the use of energy.

Keywords: mathematical modeling, design variables, computational fluid dynamics, overall thermal efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Landry Tchambou Tchouongsi, Appolinaire Derbetini Vondou

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This study describes the local Hadley circulation (HC) during the December-February (DJF) and June-August (JJA) seasons, respectively, in Central Africa (CA) from the divergent component of the mean meridional wind and also from a new method called the variation of the ψ vector. Historical data from the ERA5 reanalysis for the period 1983 to 2013 were used. The results show that the maximum of the upward branch of the local Hadley circulation in the DJF and JJA seasons is located under the Congo Basin (CB). However, seasonal and horizontal variations in the mean temperature gradient and thermodynamic properties are largely associated with the distribution of convection and large-scale upward motion. Thus, temperatures beneath the CB show a slight variation between the DJF and JJA seasons. Moreover, energy transport of the moist static energy (MSE) adequately captures the mean flow component of the HC over the tropics. By the way, the divergence under the CB is enhanced by the presence of the low pressure of western Cameroon and the contribution of the warm and dry air currents coming from the Sahara.

Keywords: Circulation, reanalysis, thermodynamic, local Hadley.

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Authors: Habib Ur Rahman Habib

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Renewable energy resources are being realized as suitable options in hybrid energy planning for on-grid and micro grid. In this paper, operation, planning and optimal design of on-grid distributed energy resources based hybrid system are investigated. The aim is to minimize the cost of the overall energy system keeping in view the environmental emission and minimum penetration of conventional energy resources. Seven grid connected different case studies including diesel only, diesel-renewable based, and renewable based only are designed to perform economic analysis, operational planning and emission. Sensitivity analysis is implemented to investigate the impact of different parameters on the performance of energy resources.

Keywords: data management, renewable energy, distributed energy, smart grid, micro-grid, modeling, energy planning, design optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 464

Authors: Golshid Gilani, Albert De La Fuente, Ana Blanco

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Sustainability assessment of new and existing buildings has generated a growing interest due to the evident environmental, social and economic impacts during their construction and service life. Façades, as one of the most important exterior elements of a building, may contribute to the building sustainability by reducing the amount of energy consumption and providing thermal comfort for the inhabitants, thus minimizing the environmental impact on both the building and on the environment. Various methods have been used for the sustainability assessment of buildings due to the importance of this issue. However, most of the existing methods mainly concentrate on environmental and economic aspects, disregarding the third pillar of sustainability, which is the social aspect. Besides, there is a little focus on comprehensive sustainability assessment of facades, as an important element of a building. This confirms the need of developing methods for assessing the sustainable performance of building façades as an important step in achieving building sustainability. In this respect, this paper aims at presenting a model for assessing the global sustainability of façade systems. for that purpose, the Integrated Value Model for Sustainable Assessment (MIVES), a Multi-Criteria Decision Making model that integrates the main sustainability requirements (economic, environmental and social) and includes the concept of value functions, used as an assessment tool.

Keywords: façade, MCDM, MIVES, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 349

Authors: R. Monteiro, A. Abarca

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Large scale seismic risk assessment has become increasingly popular to evaluate the physical vulnerability of a given region to seismic events, by putting together hazard, exposure and vulnerability components. This study, developed within the scope of the EU-funded project ITERATE (Improved Tools for Disaster Risk Mitigation in Algeria), explains the steps and expected results for the development of an integrated seismic risk model for assessment of the vulnerability of residential buildings in Northern Algeria. For this purpose, the model foresees the consideration of an updated seismic hazard model, as well as ad-hoc exposure and physical vulnerability models for local residential buildings. The first results of this endeavor, such as the hazard model and a specific taxonomy to be used for the exposure and fragility components of the model are presented, using as starting point the province of Blida, in Algeria. Specific remarks and conclusions regarding the characteristics of the Northern Algerian in-built are then made based on these results.

Keywords: Northern Algeria, risk, seismic hazard, vulnerability

Procedia PDF Downloads 208

Authors: Rosa Christodoulaki, Irene Koronaki, Panagiotis Tsekouras

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The aim of this study is to analyze the energy performance of a spherical Stationary Reflector / Tracking Absorber (SRTA) solar concentrator. This type of collector consists of a segment of a spherical mirror placed in a stationary position facing the sun and a cylindrical absorber that tracks the sun by a simple pivoting motion about the center of curvature of the reflector. The energy analysis is performed through the development of a dynamic simulation model in TRNSYS software that calculates the annual heat production and the efficiency of the SRTA solar concentrator. The effect of solar concentrator design features and characteristics, such the reflector material, the reflector diameter, the receiver type, the solar radiation level and the concentration ratio, are discussed in details. Moreover, the energy performance curve of the SRTA solar concentrator, for various temperature differences between the mean fluid temperature and the ambient temperature and radiation intensities is drawn. The results are shown in diagrams, visualizing the effect of solar, optical and thermal parameters to the overall performance of the SRTA solar concentrator throughout the year. The analysis indicates that the SRTA solar concentrator can operate efficiently under a wide range of operating conditions.

Keywords: concentrating solar collector, energy analysis , stationary reflector, tracking absorber

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Pejman Hosseiniun, Rose Shayeghi, Alireza Farzaneh, Abolghasem Ghasempour

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Using LED lamps as lighting resources with new technology in designing lighting systems has been studied in this article. In this respect a history of LED emergence, its different manufacturing methods and technologies were revised, then their structure, light production line, its application and benefits in lighting industry has been evaluated. Finally, there is a comparison between these lamps and ordinary lamps to assess light parameters as well as energy consumption using DIALux software. Considering the results of analogies LED lamps have lower consumption and more lighting yield, therefore they are more economically feasible. Color variety, longer usage lap (circa 10 years) and compatibility with DC voltages are other LED lamps perquisites.

Keywords: LED, lighting efficiency, lighting intensity, luminance

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Authors: Nurtati Soewarno, Dian Duhita

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The existence of civilization from the past is recognized by the left objects such as monuments, buildings or even a town. The relics were designed and made well, using the good quality material so it could persist a long period of time. At this moment, those relics are cultural heritage that must be preserved and the authenticity maintained. Indonesia, a country consist of various tribes with many cultural heritages, one of them is the city of Lasem. Lasem city lies in the northern part of Central Java since the Majapahit kingdom era (13th century) poses as a busy harbor city and a trading center. Lasem is one of the residences of Chinese immigrants in Java, seen by the domination of Chinese architectural building styles. The residential was built since the 15th century and the building has the courtyard which is different from other China’s building in another part of Java. This city loses ground since the trade activity experience difficulties during the Japanese colonial era and continues after the Indonesian independence time. Many Chinese people left Lasem city and let the buildings empty not maintained. This paper will present the result of observation to Chinese architectural style buildings in Lasem city which still hold out until this moment. Using typo morphology method, the case study is chosen based on the transformation type. The occurring transformation is parallel with adaptive reuse concept as an effort to revitalize the existence of the buildings. With this concept, it is expected that the buildings could be re functioned and the glory of the foretime Lasem city could be experienced again. Intervention from the local government is expected, issuing regulations, hoping the new building functions won’t ruin the cultural heritage but instead beautifies it.

Keywords: adaptive re-use, brown field area, building transformation, Lasem city

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Authors: S. M. A. Bekkouche, T. Benouaz, M. K. Cherier, M. Hamdani, M. R. Yaiche, N. Benamrane

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Most codes of building energy simulation neglect the humidity or well represent it with a very simplified method. It is for this reason that we have developed a new approach to the description and modeling of multizone buildings in Saharan climate. The thermal nodal method was used to apprehend thermoaeraulic behavior of air subjected to varied solicitations. In this contribution, analyzing the building geometry introduced the concept of index compactness as "quotient of external walls area and volume of the building". Physical phenomena that we have described in this paper, allow to build the model of the coupled thermoaeraulic behavior. The comparison shows that the found results are to some extent satisfactory. The result proves that temperature and specific humidity depending on compactness and geometric shape. Proper use of compactness index and building geometry parameters will noticeably minimize building energy.

Keywords: multizone model, nodal method, compactness index, specific humidity, temperature

Procedia PDF Downloads 414

Authors: Yun-Chung Yu, Yan-Wen Wang, Min-Sheng Liao, Joe-Air Jiang, Yuen-Chung Lee

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This paper proposes to use a Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) for a smart pest monitoring system which aims at the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) to improve the communication efficiency of the system. The oriental fruit fly is one of the main pests in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim. Different smart pest monitoring systems based on the Internet of Things (IoT) architecture have been developed to solve problems of employing manual measurement. These systems often use Octopus II, a communication module following the 2.4GHz IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee specification, as sensor nodes. The Octopus II is commonly used in low-power and short-distance communication. However, the energy consumption increase as the logical topology becomes more complicate to have enough coverage in the large area. By comparison, LoRaWAN follows the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) specification, which targets the key requirements of the IoT technology, such as secure bi-directional communication, mobility, and localization services. The LoRaWAN network has advantages of long range communication, high stability, and low energy consumption. The 433MHz LoRaWAN model has two superiorities over the 2.4GHz ZigBee model: greater diffraction and less interference. In this paper, The Octopus II module is replaced by a LoRa model to increase the coverage of the monitoring system, improve the communication performance, and prolong the network lifetime. The performance of the LoRa-based system is compared with a ZigBee-based system using three indexes: the packet receiving rate, delay time, and energy consumption, and the experiments are done in different settings (e.g. distances and environmental conditions). In the distance experiment, a pest monitoring system using the two communication specifications is deployed in an area with various obstacles, such as buildings and living creatures, and the performance of employing the two communication specifications is examined. The experiment results show that the packet receiving the rate of the LoRa-based system is 96% , which is much higher than that of the ZigBee system when the distance between any two modules is about 500m. These results indicate the capability of a LoRaWAN-based monitoring system in long range transmission and ensure the stability of the system.

Keywords: LoRaWan, oriental fruit fly, IoT, Octopus II

Procedia PDF Downloads 356

Authors: Kate Smith, Shuming Liu, Yi Liu, Dragan Savic, Gustaf Olsson, Tian Chang, Xue Wu

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In a water supply system, a great deal of care goes into sourcing, treating and delivering water to consumers, but less thought is given to the energy consumed during these processes. This study uses 2011 data to quantify energy use for urban water supply in China and investigates population density as a possible influencing factor. The objective is to provide information that can be used to develop energy-conscious water infrastructure policy, calculate the energy co-benefits of water conservation and compare energy use between China and other countries. The average electrical energy intensity and per capita electrical energy consumption for urban water supply in China in 2011 were 0.29 kWh/m3 and 33.2 kWh/cap•yr, respectively. Comparison between provinces revealed a direct correlation between energy intensity of urban water supply and population served per unit length of pipe. This could imply energy intensity is lower when more densely populated areas are supplied by relatively dense networks of pipes. This study also found that whereas the percentage of energy used for urban water supply tends to increase with the percentage of population served this increase is slower where water supply is more energy efficient and where a larger percentage of population is already supplied.

Keywords: china, electrical energy use, water-energy nexus, water supply

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Authors: Sahil Imtiyaz

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One of the biggest challenges has emerged from the ever-expanding, dynamic, and instantaneously changing space-Big Data; and to find a data point and inherit wisdom to this space is a hard task. In this paper, we reduce the space of big data in Hamiltonian formalism that is in concordance with Ising Model. For this formulation, we simulate the system using dye laser in FORTRAN and analyse the dynamics of the data point in energy well of rhodium atom. After mapping the photon intensity and pulse width with energy and potential we concluded that as we increase the energy there is also increase in probability of tunnelling up to some point and then it starts decreasing and then shows a randomizing behaviour. It is due to decoherence with the environment and hence there is a loss of ‘quantumness’. This interprets the efficiency parameter and the extent of quantum evolution. The results are strongly encouraging in favour of the use of ‘Topological Property’ as a source of information instead of the qubit.

Keywords: big data, optimization, quantum evolution, hamiltonian, dye laser, fermionic computations

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: Amir Sattari

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For newly produced houses and energy renovations, an energy calculation needs to be conducted. This is done to verify whether the energy consumption criteria of the house -to reach the energy targets by 2020 and 2050- are in-line with the norms. The main purpose of this study is to confirm whether easy to use energy calculation software or hand calculations used by small companies or individuals give logical results compared to advanced energy simulation program used by researchers or bigger companies. There are different methods for calculating energy consumption. In this paper, two energy calculation programs are used and the relation of energy consumption with solar radiation is compared. A hand calculation is also done to validate whether the hand calculations are still reasonable. The two computer programs which have been used are TMF Energi (the easy energy calculation variant used by small companies or individuals) and IDA ICE - Indoor Climate and Energy (the advanced energy simulation program used by researchers or larger companies). The calculations are done for a standard house from the Swedish house supplier Fiskarhedenvillan. The method is based on having the same conditions and inputs in the different calculation forms so that the results can be compared and verified. The house has been faced differently to see how the orientation affects energy consumption in different methods. The results for the simulations are close to each other and the hand calculation differs from the computer programs by only 5%. Even if solar factors differ due to the orientation of the house, energy calculation results from different computer programs and even hand calculation methods are in line with each other.

Keywords: energy calculation, energy consumption, energy simulation, IDA ICE, TMF energi

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Authors: Ali Khoshraftar, S. A. Hashemi

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This paper is focused on the advantages of Viscoelastic Dampers (VED) to be used as energy-absorbing devices in buildings. The properties of VED are briefly described. The analytical studies of the model structures exhibiting the structural response reduction due to these viscoelastic devices are presented. Computer simulation of the damped response of a multi-storey steel frame structure shows significant reduction in floor displacement levels.

Keywords: dampers, seismic evaluation, steel frames, viscoelastic

Procedia PDF Downloads 488

Authors: Debasis Sarkar

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This paper aims to apply the Grasshopper-Optimization-Algorithm (GOA) for designing and developing a Net-Zero-Energy residential building for a mega-city like Ahmedabad in India. The methodology implemented includes advanced tools like Revit for model creation and MATLAB for simulation, enabling the optimization of the building design. GOA has been applied in reducing cooling loads and overall energy consumption through optimized passive design features. For the attainment of a net zero energy mission, solar panels were installed on the roof of the building. It has been observed that the energy consumption of 8490 kWh was supported by the installed solar panels. Thereby only 840kWh had to be supported by non-renewable energy sources. The energy consumption was further reduced through the application of simulation and optimization methods like GOA, which further reduced the energy consumption to about 37.56 kWh per month from April to July when energy demand was at its peak. This endeavor aimed to achieve near-zero-energy consumption, showcasing the potential of renewable energy integration in building sustainability.

Keywords: grasshopper optimization algorithm, net zero energy, residential building, sustainable design

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Authors: Mehran Nozari-Asbemarz, Italo Pisano, Simin Arshi, Edmond Magner, James J. Leahy

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Integrating electrolytic synthesis with renewable energy makes it feasible to address urgent environmental and energy challenges. Conventional water electrolyzers concurrently produce H₂ and O₂, demanding additional procedures in gas separation to prevent contamination of H₂ with O₂. Moreover, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is sluggish and has a low overall energy conversion efficiency, does not deliver a significant value product on the electrode surface. Compared to conventional water electrolysis, integrating electrolytic hydrogen generation from water with thermodynamically more advantageous aqueous organic oxidation processes can increase energy conversion efficiency and create value-added compounds instead of oxygen at the anode. One strategy is to use renewable and sustainable carbon sources from biomass, which has a large annual production capacity and presents a significant opportunity to supplement carbon sourced from fossil fuels. Numerous catalytic techniques have been researched in order to utilize biomass economically. Because of its safe operating conditions, excellent energy efficiency, and reasonable control over production rate and selectivity using electrochemical parameters, electrocatalytic upgrading stands out as an appealing choice among the numerous biomass refinery technologies. Therefore, we propose a broad framework for coupling H2 generation from water splitting with oxidative biomass upgrading processes. Four representative biomass targets were considered for oxidative upgrading that used a hierarchically porous CoFe-MOF/LDH @ Graphite Paper bifunctional electrocatalyst, including glucose, ethanol, benzyl, furfural, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). The potential required to support 50 mA cm-2 is considerably lower than (~ 380 mV) the potential for OER. All four compounds can be oxidized to yield liquid byproducts with economic benefit. The electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose to the value-added products, gluconic acid, glucuronic acid, and glucaric acid, was examined in detail. The cell potential for combined H₂ production and glucose oxidation was substantially lower than for water splitting (1.44 V(RHE) vs. 1.82 V(RHE) for 50 mA cm-2). In contrast, the oxidation byproduct at the anode was significantly more valuable than O₂, taking advantage of the more favorable glucose oxidation in comparison to the OER. Overall, such a combination of HER and oxidative biomass valorization using electrocatalysts prevents the production of potentially explosive H₂/O₂mixtures and produces high-value products at both electrodes with lower voltage input, thereby increasing the efficiency and activity of electrocatalytic conversion.

Keywords: biomass, electrocatalytic, glucose oxidation, hydrogen evolution

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Authors: Bibi Somayeh Aliakbari, Niknaz Kachooei, Fatemeh Amiri Najafabadi

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According to the results of contemporary urbanism, social living moved into buildings and the quality of urban space has been declining. But still, there are life in open public space and it is one of reason attendance and activities of people in open public spaces.The purpose of this research is finding reason creation friendly public space in urban spaces and also use these in new urban spaces.The research methodology consisted of a qualitative model based on observation and graphical analysis. In this paper case study is public space historical, moderns in urban scales and local scales in Iran.This paper shows that Existence of friendly public space in cities cause is attendance and activities of people in open public spaces that it is reason the revitalization of public open spaces in cities.

Keywords: public space, public open space, friendly public space, Iran

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Authors: Mehrzad Soltani, Pegah Rezaei

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In the endeavor to construct cities that are not only thriving but also environmentally responsible, effective urban planning and architectural design assume paramount significance. The focal point of this pursuit is the harnessing of urban renewable energy. By embracing sustainable practices such as the integration of solar panels into the urban landscape and the establishment of smart grids, cities are poised to confront head-on the dual challenge of surging energy demands and pressing environmental concerns. Urban renewable energy solutions offer a multifaceted approach to these issues. Firstly, they usher in a clean and sustainable source of energy, reducing the cities' ecological footprint while ensuring a continuous power supply. This transition to eco-friendly energy is also intrinsically linked to enhanced spatial utilization, thereby streamlining the efficiency of urban areas. Moreover, it spurs the adoption of sustainable transportation alternatives, diminishing the reliance on fossil fuels and mitigating air pollution. However, the significance of integrating renewable energy solutions transcends the realm of urban sustainability. It embodies a holistic approach towards creating cities that harmoniously coexist with the natural environment while catering to the needs and aspirations of their inhabitants. In essence, prioritizing sustainability in urban planning and architectural design has evolved from a choice to a necessity, one that not only safeguards the cities' well-being but also fosters a better quality of life for their residents. Thus, it is imperative that we acknowledge the transformative potential of these innovations as we pave the way towards the cities of the future.

Keywords: sustainability, smart grids, solar panel, urban planning, environmental concerns

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Authors: Abdelhak Bouchakour, Mustafa Brahami, Layachi Zaghba

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The use of photovoltaic energy offers an inexhaustible supply of energy but also a clean and non-polluting energy, which is a definite advantage. The geographical location of Algeria promotes the development of the use of this energy. Indeed, given the importance of the intensity of the radiation received and the duration of sunshine. For this reason, the objective of our work is to develop a data-processing tool (software) of calculation and optimization of dimensioning of the photovoltaic installations. Our approach of optimization is basing on mathematical models, which amongst other things describe the operation of each part of the installation, the energy production, the storage and the consumption of energy.

Keywords: solar panel, solar radiation, inverter, optimization

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Authors: Danlei Yang, Luofeng Huang

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The integration of digital twin technology with renewable energy systems offers an innovative approach to predicting and optimising performance throughout the entire lifecycle. A digital twin is a continuously updated virtual replica of a real-world entity, synchronised with data from its physical counterpart and environment. Many digital twin companies today claim to have mature digital twin products, but their focus is primarily on equipment visualisation. However, the core of a digital twin should be its model, which can mirror, shadow, and thread with the real-world entity, which is still underdeveloped. For a floating solar energy system, a digital twin model can be defined in three aspects: (a) the physical floating solar energy system along with environmental factors such as solar irradiance and wave dynamics, (b) a digital model powered by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, and (c) the integration of real system data with the AI-driven model and a user interface. The experimental setup for the floating solar energy system, is designed to replicate real-ocean conditions of floating solar installations within a controlled laboratory environment. The system consists of a water tank that simulates an aquatic surface, where a floating catamaran structure supports a solar panel. The solar simulator is set up in three positions: one directly above and two inclined at a 45° angle in front and behind the solar panel. This arrangement allows the simulation of different sun angles, such as sunrise, midday, and sunset. The solar simulator is positioned 400 mm away from the solar panel to maintain consistent solar irradiance on its surface. Stability for the floating structure is achieved through ropes attached to anchors at the bottom of the tank, which simulates the mooring systems used in real-world floating solar applications. The floating solar energy system's sensor setup includes various devices to monitor environmental and operational parameters. An irradiance sensor measures solar irradiance on the photovoltaic (PV) panel. Temperature sensors monitor ambient air and water temperatures, as well as the PV panel temperature. Wave gauges measure wave height, while load cells capture mooring force. Inclinometers and ultrasonic sensors record heave and pitch amplitudes of the floating system’s motions. An electric load measures the voltage and current output from the solar panel. All sensors collect data simultaneously. Artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms are central to developing the digital model, which processes historical and real-time data, identifies patterns, and predicts the system’s performance in real time. The data collected from various sensors are partly used to train the digital model, with the remaining data reserved for validation and testing. The digital twin model combines the experimental setup with the ANN model, enabling monitoring, analysis, and prediction of the floating solar energy system's operation. The digital model mirrors the functionality of the physical setup, running in sync with the experiment to provide real-time insights and predictions. It provides useful industrial benefits, such as informing maintenance plans as well as design and control strategies for optimal energy efficiency. In long term, this digital twin will help improve overall solar energy yield whilst minimising the operational costs and risks.

Keywords: digital twin, floating solar energy system, experiment setup, artificial intelligence

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Authors: Adam Y. Sulaiman, Gerard I.Obasi, Roma Chang, Hussein Sayed Moghaieb, Ming J. Huang, Neil J. Hewitt

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Residential air-conditioning units are essential for quality indoor comfort in hot climate countries. Nevertheless, because of their non-renewable energy sources and the contribution of ecologically unfriendly working fluids, these units are a major source of CO2 emissions in these countries. The utilisation of sustainable technologies nowadays is essential to reduce the adverse effects of CO2 emissions by replacing conventional technologies. This paper investigates the feasibility of running an off-grid solar-powered air-conditioning bed unit using three low GWP refrigerants (R32, R290, and R600a) to supersede conventional refrigerants.A prototype air conditioning unit was built to supply cold air to a canopy that was connected to it. The assembled unit was designed to distribute cold air to a canopy connected to it. This system is powered by two 400 W photovoltaic panels, with battery storage supplying power to the unit at night-time. Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software is used to mathematically model the vapor compression cycle (VCC) and predict the unit's energetic and exergetic performance. The TRNSYS software was used to simulate the electricity storage performance of the batteries, whereas the IES-VE was used to determine the amount of solar energy required to power the unit. The article provides an analytical design guideline, as well as a comprehensible process system. Combining a renewable energy source to power an AC based-VCC provides an excellent solution to the real problems of high-energy consumption in warm-climate countries.

Keywords: air-conditioning, refrigerants, PV panel, energy storages, VCC, exergy

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Authors: Juan Luis Leal, Rafael Maestre, Ovidio López

Abstract:

As innovation progresses, more possibilities are made available to increase the efficiency and reach of solutions for Smart Cities, most of which require the data provided by the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and may even have higher power requirements such as motors or actuators. A reliable power supply with the lowest maintenance is a requirement for the success of these solutions in the long term. Energy harvesting, mainly solar, becomes the solution of choice in most cases, but only if there is enough power to be harvested, which may depend on the device location (e.g., outdoors vs. indoor). This is the case of Smart Waste Containers with compaction systems, which have moderately high-power requirements, and may be installed in places with little sunlight for solar generation. It should be noted that waste is unloaded from the containers with cranes, so sudden and irregular movements may happen, making wired power unviable. In these cases, a wireless power supply may be a great alternative. This paper proposes a cost-effective two coil resonant wireless power transfer (WPT) system and describes its implementation, which has been carried out within an R&D project and validated in real settings with smart containers. Experimental results prove that the developed system achieves wireless power transmission up to 35W in the range of 5 cm to 1 m with a peak efficiency of 78%. The circuit is operated at relatively low resonant frequencies, which combined with enough wire-to-wire separation between the coil windings, reduce the losses caused by the proximity effect and, therefore, allow the use of common stranded wire instead of Litz wire, this without reducing the efficiency significantly. All these design considerations led to a final system that achieves a high efficiency for the desired charging range, simplifying the energy supply for Smart Containers as well as other devices that may benefit from a cost-effective wireless charging system.

Keywords: electromagnetic coupling, resonant wireless charging, smart recycling containers, wireless power transfer

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Authors: Christina Kalogirou

Abstract:

The main goal of this paper is to explore the thermal comfort conditions in traditional buildings during all seasons of the year taking into consideration various use patterns. For this purpose a dwelling of vernacular architecture is selected and data regarding the indoor and outdoor air and surface temperature as well as the relative humidity are collected. These measurements are conducted in situ during the period of a year. Also, this building is occupied periodically and a calendar of occupancy was kept (duration of residence, hours of heating system operation, hours of natural ventilation, etc.) in order to correlate the indoor conditions recorded with the use patterns via statistical analysis. Furthermore, the effect of the high thermal inertia of the stone masonry walls and the different orientation of the rooms is addressed. Thus, this paper concludes in some interesting results on the effect of the users in the indoor climate conditions in the case of buildings with high thermal inertia envelops.

Keywords: thermal comfort, in situ measurements, occupant behaviour, vernacular architecture

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Authors: Nidal Dwaikat

Abstract:

This work presents the development of alpha spectroscopy method with Solid-state nuclear track detectors using aluminum thin films. The resolution of this method is high, and it is able to discriminate between alpha particles at different incident energy. It can measure the exact number of alpha particles at specific energy without needing a calibration of alpha track diameter versus alpha energy. This method was tested by using Cf-252 alpha standard source at energies 5.11 Mev, 3.86 MeV and 2.7 MeV, which produced by the variation of detector -standard source distance. On front side, two detectors were covered with two Aluminum thin films and the third detector was kept uncovered. The thickness of Aluminum thin films was selected carefully (using SRIM 2013) such that one of the films will block the lower two alpha particles (3.86 MeV and 2.7 MeV) and the alpha particles at higher energy (5.11 Mev) can penetrate the film and reach the detector’s surface. The second thin film will block alpha particles at lower energy of 2.7 MeV and allow alpha particles at higher two energies (5.11 Mev and 3.86 MeV) to penetrate and produce tracks. For uncovered detector, alpha particles at three different energies can produce tracks on it. For quality assurance and accuracy, the detectors were mounted on thick enough copper substrates to block exposure from the backside. The tracks on the first detector are due to alpha particles at energy of 5.11 MeV. The difference between the tracks number on the first detector and the tracks number on the second detector is due to alpha particles at energy of 3.8 MeV. Finally, by subtracting the tracks number on the second detector from the tracks number on the third detector (uncovered), we can find the tracks number due to alpha particles at energy 2.7 MeV. After knowing the efficiency calibration factor, we can exactly calculate the activity of standard source.

Keywords: aluminium thin film, alpha particles, copper substrate, CR-39 detector

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Authors: Noha El-Gohary, Thanaa El-Shater, A. A. Mahfouz, M. M. Sakr

Abstract:

Searching for high power conversion efficiency and long lifetime are important goals when designing a power supply subsystem for satellite applications. To fulfill these goals, this paper presents a power supply subsystem for small satellites in which flywheel energy storage system is used as a secondary power source instead of chemical battery. In this paper, the model of flywheel energy storage system is introduced; a DC bus regulation control algorithm for charging and discharging of flywheel based on space vector pulse width modulation technique and motor current control is also introduced. Simulation results showed the operation of the flywheel for charging and discharging mode during illumination and shadowed period. The advantages of the proposed system are confirmed by the simulation results of the power supply system.

Keywords: small-satellites, flywheel energy storage system, space vector pulse width modulation, power conversion

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Authors: Carolina Rezende, Julio Cesar Neves Monteiro

Abstract:

Traditionally, History and fiction are considered to be opposing fields of study. While one is linked to the study of facts, things that have happened within the limits of ‘reality’, the other explores a made-up world, originated from imagination and fantasy. However, despite their apparent discrepancies, there is a fundamental trait that brings them closer. Historical narratives, similarly to fiction ones, are produced based on multiple interpretations of an event, which are transmitted in a rather subjective way by language. It is within this perspective of history and fiction intertwined that this paper aims to discuss the translation of historical facts in the graphic novel Angola Janga, by Marcelo D’Salete, as well as presenting it as a historical document. The novel, which is divided into 11 short stories, narrates the rebellions that took place in Serra da Barriga, between the 16th and 17th centuries, that resulted in the Guerra dos Palmares. The graphic novel in question is a result of the author’s 11-year historical and bibliographical research, which combines history and fiction in order to shed a light of the confrontation that history seems to overlook. Also, the book includes a foreword, glossary, chronological line of Guerra dos Palmares, as well as maps and references used by the author during his research. For that, a few segments from the book will be selected and translated in order to show such connection between history and fiction, and the discussion resulted from it will be based on the works of Southgate (2009), Pym (2001) and D’hulst (2001).

Keywords: graphic novel, history, fiction, Palmares

Procedia PDF Downloads 182