Search results for: urban energy modelling with INSEL

Authors: X. Wang

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Timely and accurate information on urban building damage caused by earthquake is important basis for disaster assessment and emergency relief. Very high resolution (VHR) remotely sensed imagery containing abundant fine-scale information offers a large quantity of data for detecting and assessing urban building damage in the aftermath of earthquake disasters. However, the accuracy obtained using spectral features alone is comparatively low, since building damage, intact buildings and pavements are spectrally similar. Therefore, it is of great significance to detect urban building damage effectively using multi-source data. Considering that in general height or geometric structure of buildings change dramatically in the devastated areas, a novel multi-stage urban building damage detection method, using bi-temporal spectral, height and corner information, was proposed in this study. The pre-event height information was generated using stereo VHR images acquired from two different satellites, while the post-event height information was produced from airborne LiDAR data. The corner information was extracted from pre- and post-event panchromatic images. The proposed method can be summarized as follows. To reduce the classification errors caused by spectral similarity and errors in extracting height information, ground surface, shadows, and vegetation were first extracted using the post-event VHR image and height data and were masked out. Two different types of building damage were then extracted from the remaining areas: the height difference between pre- and post-event was used for detecting building damage showing significant height change; the difference in the density of corners between pre- and post-event was used for extracting building damage showing drastic change in geometric structure. The initial building damage result was generated by combining above two building damage results. Finally, a post-processing procedure was adopted to refine the obtained initial result. The proposed method was quantitatively evaluated and compared to two existing methods in Port au Prince, Haiti, which was heavily hit by an earthquake in January 2010, using pre-event GeoEye-1 image, pre-event WorldView-2 image, post-event QuickBird image and post-event LiDAR data. The results showed that the method proposed in this study significantly outperformed the two comparative methods in terms of urban building damage extraction accuracy. The proposed method provides a fast and reliable method to detect urban building collapse, which is also applicable to relevant applications.

Keywords: building damage, corner, earthquake, height, very high resolution (VHR)

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Authors: Eugene Benilov, Mikhail Benilov

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The Enskog-Vlasov (EV) equation is a widely used semi-phenomenological model of gas/liquid phase transitions. We show that it does not generally conserve energy, although there exists a restriction on its coefficients for which it does. Furthermore, if an energy-preserving version of the EV equation satisfies an H-theorem as well, it can be used to rigorously derive the so-called Maxwell construction which determines the parameters of liquid-vapor equilibria. Finally, we show that the EV model provides an accurate description of the thermodynamics of noble fluids, and there exists a version simple enough for use in applications.

Keywords: Enskog collision integral, hard spheres, kinetic equation, phase transition

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Authors: Victoria Goodall, Paul Fatti, Norman Owen-Smith

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Hidden Markov Models have become popular for the analysis of animal tracking data. These models are being used to model the movements of a variety of species in many areas around the world. A common assumption of the model is that the observations need to have regular time steps. In many ecological studies, this will not be the case. The objective of the research is to modify the movement model to allow for irregularly spaced locations and investigate the effect on the inferences which can be made about the latent states. A modification of the likelihood function to allow for these irregular spaced locations is investigated, without using interpolation or averaging the movement rate. The suitability of the modification is investigated using GPS tracking data for lion (Panthera leo) in South Africa, with many observations obtained during the night, and few observations during the day. Many nocturnal predator tracking studies are set up in this way, to obtain many locations at night when the animal is most active and is difficult to observe. Few observations are obtained during the day, when the animal is expected to rest and is potentially easier to observe. Modifying the likelihood function allows the popular Hidden Markov Model framework to be used to model these irregular spaced locations, making use of all the observed data.

Keywords: hidden Markov Models, irregular observations, animal movement modelling, nocturnal predator

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Authors: Nasiruddin Khan

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The increased use of caffeinated beverages and energy drink is posing threat to all ages and gender especially, younger adults. There is a lack of scientific evidence in Oman regarding caffeine and energy drink consumption. Our study aims to demonstrate the prevalence, pattern, knowledge and awareness, and side effects of caffeine intake among university students. This cross-sectional study including (N=365) apparently healthy male and female Omani university students aged 18-30 years, was carried out from February 2018-June 2018. A self-administered questionnaire with various sections was used to obtain information. The prevalence of caffeinated beverage consumption was commonly high among participants (97%). The males preferred Nescafe, coffee (both p < 0.001), espresso (p < 0.022), and soda (p < 0.008) while females consumed more tea (p < 0.029). The awareness about negative health impact of caffeine intake was significantly higher in females rather than males (p < 0.002). The overall prevalence of energy drink consumption was 42.1% (n=149), and higher in males (75%, p < 0.001). More males consumed 3-5 and > 5 cans/day while females used 1-2 cans/day. The starting age of energy drink use was higher in females (16-20 years (51.1%)) as compared to males (11-15 years (33.3%)). Females were more aware of caffeine as energy drink ingredient (p < 0.036) than males. The major source of information about enery drink was family and friends (58.3%). Red Bull was the commonly used brand (55.5%) among participants. Common reasons for high energy drink consumption were energy boost (68.4 %), taste (62.9%), reduce fatigue (52.1%), and better performance (47.3%). Females reported breathing problem, and abnormal heart beat (p < 0.004, 0.054, respectively), while more males reported irritability than females (p < 0.052). The prevalence of caffeinated beverage and energy drink consumption is high among participants. The awareness, and knowledge among university student is not satisfactory and needs immediate action to avoid excess use of such consumption.

Keywords: energy drink, caffeinated beverages, awareness, Oman

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Authors: Jiun-Horng Tsai, Shi-Jie, Nieh

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Fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) has become an important issue all over the world over the last decade. Annual mean PM₂.₅ concentration has been over the ambient air quality standard of PM₂.₅ (annual average concentration as 15μg/m³) which adapted by Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA). TEPA, therefore, has developed a number of air pollution control measures to improve the ambient concentration by reducing the emissions of primary fine particulate matter and the precursors of secondary PM₂.₅. This study investigated the potential improvement of ambient PM₂.₅ concentration by the TEPA program and the other scenario for further emission reduction on various sources. Four scenarios had been evaluated in this study, including a basic case and three reduction scenarios (A to C). The ambient PM₂.₅ concentration was evaluated by Community Multi-scale Air Quality modelling system (CMAQ) ver. 4.7.1 along with the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) ver. 3.4.1. The grid resolutions in the modelling work are 81 km × 81 km for domain 1 (covers East Asia), 27 km × 27 km for domain 2 (covers Southeast China and Taiwan), and 9 km × 9 km for domain 3 (covers Taiwan). The result of PM₂.₅ concentration simulation in different regions of Taiwan shows that the annual average concentration of basic case is 24.9 μg/m³, and are 22.6, 18.8, and 11.3 μg/m³, respectively, for scenarios A to C. The annual average concentration of PM₂.₅ would be reduced by 9-55 % for those control scenarios. The result of scenario C (the emissions of precursors reduce to allowance levels) could improve effectively the airborne PM₂.₅ concentration to attain the air quality standard. According to the results of unit precursor reduction contribution, the allowance emissions of PM₂.₅, SOₓ, and NOₓ are 16.8, 39, and 62 thousand tons per year, respectively. In the Kao-Ping air basin, the priority for reducing precursor emissions is PM₂.₅ > NOₓ > SOₓ, whereas the priority for reducing precursor emissions is PM₂.₅ > SOₓ > NOₓ in others area. The result indicates that the target pollutants that need to be reduced in different air basin are different, and the control measures need to be adapted to local conditions.

Keywords: airborne PM₂.₅, community multi-scale air quality modelling system, control measures, weather research and forecasting model

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Authors: Xiaoxin Zhao

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Because of the long-time dual structure development in urban and rural areas, the rapid urbanization in China devours the rural resources and causes the unbalanced development of cities and the countryside. On one side, the urban sprawl is swallowing the villages in the peripheral area of cities and forms the ‘urban village’. On the other side, people from traditional and vernacular villages immigrate to the metropolis that their homeland becomes the ‘hollowed village’. In 2005, the national state council noticed the significance of rural development and promoted the ‘beautiful countryside’ project when Minsu was rising. In the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (2017), president Xi Jinping announces the importance of ‘rural revitalization’ and states that the relationship between urban and rural areas should be an integrated development model. However, most Minsu projects in China was invested and managed by individual or group investors and focused on the profits but not the vernacular culture and rural development, and enhanced the urban-rural distinction. This paper introduces two Minsu projects in China designed by star-architects and advertised by social network media as case studies through photos and public comments collections. Architects as the servant to the investors, designed fancy houses, brings the urban life mode but expelled the real vernacular lifestyle as a cultural experience in rural areas. Moreover, to advertise the Minsu hotel, the social media propagates a distorted value that ‘luxury is good taste’ and motivates the vanity of people. Lastly, to maximize the profits, the investors set a high price that caused another unbalanced development in rural area since the price for one night in the Minsu hotel may exceed the monthly income of a local inhabitant. With these material, the author discusses the problems in Chinese Minsu industry and argues that the media, architects and investors play the negative role in the separation between Minsu cultural tourism and rural population. As a result, the author points out the significance of rural population participation that sharing the profits with them if we take Minsu industry as a method for rural revitalization in China.

Keywords: Minsu, vernacular, rural development, rural population participation

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Authors: Adeiza Matthew, Oluwadamilola Abubakar

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Wood energy, also known as wood fuel, is a renewable energy source that is derived from woody biomass, which is organic matter that is harvested from forests, woodlands, and other lands. Woody biomass includes trees, branches, twigs, and other woody debris that can be used as fuel. Wood energy can be classified based on its sources, such as trees outside forests, residues from wood harvesting and conversion, and energy plantations. There are several policy frameworks that support the use of wood energy, including participatory forest management and agroforestry. These policies aim to promote the sustainable use of woody biomass as a source of energy while also protecting forests and wildlife habitats. There are several options for using wood as a fuel, including central heating systems, pellet-based systems, wood chip-based systems, log boilers, fireplaces, and stoves. Each of these options has its own benefits and drawbacks, and the most appropriate option will depend on factors such as the availability of woody biomass, the heating needs of the household or facility, and the local climate. In order to use wood as a fuel, it must be harvested and stored properly. Hardwood or softwood can be used as fuel, and the heating value of firewood depends on the species of tree and the degree of moisture content. Proper harvesting and storage of wood can help to minimize environmental impacts and improve wildlife habitats. The use of wood energy has several environmental impacts, including the release of greenhouse gases during combustion and the potential for air pollution from combustion by-products. However, wood energy can also have positive environmental impacts, such as the sequestration of carbon in trees and the reduction of reliance on fossil fuels. The regulation and legislation of wood energy vary by country and region, and there is an ongoing debate about the potential use of wood energy in renewable energy technologies. Wood energy is a renewable energy source that can be used to generate electricity, heat, and transportation fuels. Woody biomass is abundant and widely available, making it a potentially significant source of energy for many countries. The use of wood energy can create local economic and employment opportunities, particularly in rural areas. Wood energy can be used to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Properly managed forests can provide a sustained supply of woody biomass for energy, helping to reduce the risk of deforestation and habitat loss. Wood energy can be produced using a variety of technologies, including direct combustion, co-firing with fossil fuels, and the production of biofuels. The environmental impacts of wood energy can be minimized through the use of best practices in harvesting, transportation, and processing. Wood energy is regulated and legislated at the national and international levels, and there are various standards and certification systems in place to promote sustainable practices. Wood energy has the potential to play a significant role in the transition to a low-carbon economy and the achievement of climate change mitigation goals.

Keywords: biomass, timber, charcoal, firewood

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Authors: Kang Woobang

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The base of the column is not only a support but also the embodiment of profound symbolism full of cosmic energy. Finding the full jars from which various energy emanate at the Notre Dame of Paris and Saint-Germain-des-Pres in France, the author was so shocked. As the column is cosmic tree, from the Full Jar full with cosmic energy emerges the cosmic tree composed of shaft and capital.

Keywords: full picher or jar, transcendental or supernatural birth from yonggi, yonggimun, yonggissak

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Authors: Joyraj Chakraborty, Geoffrey Ottoy, Jean-Pierre Goemaere, Lieven De Strycker

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Sensor swarms can be a cost-effectieve and more user-friendly alternative for location based service systems in different application like health-care. To increase the lifetime of such swarm networks, the energy consumption should be scaled to the required localization accuracy. In this paper we have investigated some parameter for energy model that couples localization accuracy to energy-related sensor parameters such as signal length,Bandwidth and sample frequency. The goal is to use the model for the localization of undetermined environmental sounds, by means of wireless acoustic sensors. we first give an overview of TDOA-based localization together with the primary sources of TDOA error (including reverberation effects, Noise). Then we show that in localization, the signal sample rate can be under the Nyquist frequency, provided that enough frequency components remain present in the undersampled signal. The resulting localization error is comparable with that of similar localization systems.

Keywords: sensor swarms, localization, wireless sensor swarms, scalable energy

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Authors: Athanasios A. Gavrilidis, Mihai R. Nita, Larissa N. Stoia, Diana A. Onose

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Contemporary global environmental challenges must be primarily addressed at local levels. Cities are under continuous pressure as they must ensure high quality of life levels for their citizens and at the same time to adapt and address specific environmental issues. Innovative solutions using natural features or mimicking natural systems are endorsed by the scientific community as efficient approaches for both mitigating climate change effects and the decrease of environmental quality and for maintaining high standards of living for urban dwellers. The aim of this study was to assess whether Romanian cities’ authorities are considering nature-based innovation as solutions for their planning, management, and environmental issues. Data were gathered by applying 140 questionnaires to urban authorities throughout the country. The questionnaire was designed for assessinglocal policy makers’ perspective over the efficiency of nature-based innovations as a tool to address specific challenges. It also focused on extracting data about financing sources and challenges they must overcome for adopting nature-based approaches. The gather results from the municipalities participating in our study were statistically processed, and they revealed that Romanian city managers acknowledge the benefits of nature-based innovations, but investments in this sector are not on top of their priorities. More than 90% of the selected cities have agreed that in the last 10 years, their major concern was to expand the grey infrastructure (roads and public amenities) using traditional approaches. When asked how they would react if faced with different socio-economic and environmental challenges, local urban managers indicated investments nature-based solutions as a priority only in case of biodiversity loss and extreme weather, while for other 14 proposed scenarios, they would embrace the business-as-usual approach. Our study indicates that while new concepts of sustainable urban planning emerge within the scientific community, local authorities need more time to understand and implement them. Without the proper knowledge, personnel, policies, or dedicated budgets, local administrators will not embrace nature-based innovations as solutions for their challenges.

Keywords: nature based innovations, perception analysis, policy making, urban planning

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Authors: Razia Sultana

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The chapter investigates the roles of local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in climate change adaptation through grassroots innovation in urban slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The section highlights green infrastructure as an innovative process to mitigate the challenges emanating from climate change at the bottom of the pyramid. The research draws on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 11 NGOs and 2 CBOs working in various slums in Dhaka. The study explores the activities of local agencies relating to urban green infrastructure (UGI) and its possible mitigation of a range of climate change impacts: thermal discomfort, heat stress, flooding and the urban heat island. The main argument of the chapter is unlike the Global North stakeholders’ activities relating to UGI in cities of the Global South have not been expanded on a large scale. Moreover, UGI as a risk management strategy is underutilised in the developing countries. The study finds that, in the context of Bangladesh, climate change adaptation through green infrastructure in cities is still nascent for local NGOs and CBOs. Mostly their activities are limited to addressing the basic needs of slum communities such as water and sanitation. Hence urban slum dwellers have been one of the most vulnerable groups in that they are deprived of the city’s basic ecological services. NGOs are utilizing UGI in an innovative way despite various problems in slums. For instance, land scarcity and land insecurity in slums are two key areas where UGI faces resistance. There are limited instances of NGOs using local and indigenous techniques to encourage slum dwellers to adopt UGI for creating sustainable environments. It is in this context that the paper is an attempt to showcase some of the grassroots innovation that NGOs are currently adopting in slums. Also, some challenges and opportunities are discussed to address UGI as a strategy for climate change adaptation in slums.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, green infrastructure, Dhaka, slums, NGOs

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Authors: Ghulam Haider Haidaree, Nsenda Lukumwena

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Most developing nations face energy production and supply problems. This is also the case of Afghanistan whose generating capacity does not meet its energy demand. This is due in part to high security and risk caused by war which deters foreign investments and insufficient internal revenue. To address the issue above, this paper would like to suggest an alternative and affordable way to deal with the energy problem. That is by converting Solid Waste to energy. As a result, this approach tackles the municipal solid waste issue (potential cause of several diseases), contributes to the improvement of the quality of life, local economy, and so on. While addressing the solid waste problem in general, this paper samples specifically one municipality which is District-12, one of the 22 districts of Kabul city. Using geographic information system (GIS) technology, District-12 is divided into nine different zones whose municipal solid waste is respectively collected, processed, and converted into electricity and distributed to the closest area. It is important to mention that GIS has been used to estimate the amount of electricity to be distributed and to optimally position the production plant.

Keywords: energy problem, estimation of electricity, GIS zones, solid waste management system

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Authors: Mahadev Bhise, Nabanita Majumder

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Recent studies have found association between air pollutants and mortality, particularly how concentration of air pollutant explains under-five mortality across the countries. Thus, the present study evaluates the relationship between Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission and under-five mortality, while controlling other well-being determinant of Under-five mortality in 100 countries using panel unbalanced cross sectional data. We have used PCSE and GMM model for the period 1990-2011 to meet our objectives. Our findings suggest that, the positive relationship between lagged periods of carbon dioxide and under-five mortality; the percentage of rural population with access of improved water is negatively associated with under-five mortality, while in case of urban population with access of improved water, is positively related to under-five mortality. Access of sanitation facility, food production index, GDP per capita, and concentration of urban population have significant negative impact on under-five mortality. Further, total fertility rate is significantly associated (positive) with under-five mortality which indicates relative change in fertility is related to relative change in under-five mortality.

Keywords: arbon dioxide (CO2), under-five mortality (0q5), gross domestic product (GDP), urban population, food production, panel corrected standard errors (PCSE), generalized method of moments (GMM)

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Authors: Wassana Naiyapo, Atichat Sangtong

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The processes in software development by Object Oriented methodology have many stages those take time and high cost. The inconceivable error in system analysis process will affect to the design and the implementation process. The unexpected output causes the reason why we need to revise the previous process. The more rollback of each process takes more expense and delayed time. Therefore, the good test process from the early phase, the implemented software is efficient, reliable and also meet the user’s requirement. Unified Modelling Language (UML) is the tool which uses symbols to describe the work process in Object Oriented Analysis (OOA). This paper presents the approach for automatically generated UML use case diagram and test cases. UML use case diagram is generated from the event table and test cases are generated from use case specifications and Graphic User Interfaces (GUI). Test cases are derived from the Classification Tree Method (CTM) that classify data to a node present in the hierarchy structure. Moreover, this paper refers to the program that generates use case diagram and test cases. As the result, it can reduce work time and increase efficiency work.

Keywords: classification tree method, test case, UML use case diagram, use case specification

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Authors: Mohammed Salahat, Steve Wade

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This paper presents and compares the SSDDD “Systematic Soft Domain Driven Design Framework” to DDD “Domain Driven Design Framework” as a soft system approach of information systems development. The framework use SSM as a guiding methodology within which we have embedded a sequence of design tasks based on the UML leading to the implementation of a software system using the Naked Objects framework. This framework has been used in action research projects that have involved the investigation and modelling of business processes using object-oriented domain models and the implementation of software systems based on those domain models. Within this framework, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is used as a guiding methodology to explore the problem situation and to develop the domain model using UML for the given business domain. The framework is proposed and evaluated in our previous works, a comparison between SSDDD and DDD is presented in this paper, to show how SSDDD improved DDD as an approach to modelling and implementing business domain perspectives for Information Systems Development. The comparison process, the results, and the improvements are presented in the following sections of this paper.

Keywords: domain-driven design, soft domain-driven design, naked objects, soft language

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Authors: Anyaogu Paul

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The study examines the problem of child labour in respect to National security in Nigeria. The current situation reflects a chronic urban poverty, which can compel parents and guardians to send their children and wards of school age to engage in income yielding activities to augment family income. The study sought to explain the basis of child labour, its causes and its effects on its victim and society at large. A social survey research design was employed to select the respondents. A sample size of 250 respondents was selected from targeted population of children below the age of 18 years. A questionnaire instrument was employed to collect data. An accidental sampling technique was employed to select the respondents. The findings revealed that child labour is on the increase and a serious threat to national security and social cohesion. The study recommends that the Nigerian government should enforce the laws on child labour and provide opportunities for job creation for urban dwellers. More so, government should also provide free and compulsory education at primary and secondary school levels of education.

Keywords: child labour, family income, national security, survey research

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Authors: Lee Jin-Eui, Kim Jin-OK, Han Seung-Hoon, Kim Nam-Jo

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Recently, there has been a growing interest in wellbeing where individuals pursue a healthy life. About the half of world population is living in cities, and the urban environment is negatively affecting the mental health of modern people. The stress level of urban dwellers continues to increase, and they pursue nature-based recreation activities to relieve their stresses. It was found that activities in green spaces are improving concentration, relieving mental stress, and positively affecting physical activities and social relationship, thus enhancing the quality of life. For that reason, studies have been continuously conducted on the role of nature, which is a green space for pursuing health and relieving the stress of urban dwellers. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of experiencing a restoration from nature-based outdoor recreation activities of urban dwellers on their quality of life for the groups with high and low-stress levels. The results of the analysis against visitors who trekked and climbed Mt. Bukhan National Park in Seoul, South Korea showed that the effect of perceiving restorative environment on relaxation, calmness and subjective vitality, and the effect of relaxation and calmness on the quality of life were similar in both groups. However, it was found that subjective vitality affected the quality of life in the group with the high-stress group, while it did not show a significant result in the low-stress group. This is because the high-stress group increased their belief in the future and themselves and vitality through nature-based outdoor activities, which in turn affected their quality of life, while people in the low-stress group normally have subjective vitality in their daily lives, not affected by nature-based outdoor recreation. This result suggests that urban dwellers feel relaxed and calm through nature-based outdoor recreation activities with perceived restorative environment, and such activities enhance their quality of life. Therefore, a wellbeing policy is needed to enhance the quality of life of citizens by creating green spaces in city centers for the promotion of public health.

Keywords: healing tourism, nature-based outdoor recreation, perceived restorative environment, quality of life

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Authors: Viktória Sugár, Zoltán Laczó, András Horkai, Gyula Kiss, Attila Talamon

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The majority of the building stock of Budapest inner districts was built around the turn of the 19^th and 20^th century. Although the structural stability of the buildings is not questioned, as the load bearing structures are in sufficient state, the secondary structures are aged, resulting unsatisfactory energetic state. The renovation of these historical buildings requires special methodology and technology: their ornamented facades and custom-made fenestration cannot be insulated or exchanged with conventional solutions without damaging the heritage values. The present paper aims to introduce and systematize the possible technological solutions for heritage respecting energy retrofit in case of a historical residential building stock. Through case study, the possible energy saving potential is also calculated using multiple renovation scenarios.

Keywords: energy efficiency, heritage, historical building, renovation

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Authors: Ahmed Al-Adaileh, Souheil Khaddaj

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Outcomes of exhaustion of natural resources started influencing each spirit on this planet. Energy is an essential factor in this aspect. To restore the circumstance to the appropriate track, all attempts must focus on two fundamental branches: producing electricity from clean and renewable reserves and decreasing the overall unnecessary consumption of energy. The focal point of this paper will be on lessening the power consumption in the household's segment. This paper is an attempt to give a clear understanding of a framework called Reduction of Energy Consumption in Household Sector (RECHS) and how it should help householders to reduce their power consumption by substituting their household appliances, turning-off the appliances when stand-by modus is detected, and scheduling their appliances operation periods. Technically, the framework depends on utilizing Z-Wave compatible plug-ins which will be connected to the usual house devices to gauge and control them remotely and semi-automatically. The suggested framework underpins numerous quality characteristics, for example, integrability, scalability, security and adaptability.

Keywords: smart energy management systems, internet of things, wireless mesh networks, microservices, cloud computing, big data

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Authors: Hamad Almohamadi, Abdulrahman AlKassem, Majed Alamoudi

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Dumping Aluminum (Al) waste into landfills causes several health and environmental problems. The pyrolysis process could treat Al waste to produce AlCl₃ and H₂. Using the Aspen Plus software, a techno-economic and feasibility assessment has been performed for Al waste pyrolysis. The Aspen Plus simulation was employed to estimate the plant's mass and energy balance, which was assumed to process 100 dry metric tons of Al waste per day. This study looked at two cases of Al waste treatment. The first case produces 355 tons of AlCl₃ per day and 9 tons of H₂ per day without recycling. The conversion rate must be greater than 50% in case 1 to make a profit. In this case, the MSP for AlCl₃ is $768/ton. The plant would generate $25 million annually if the AlCl₃ were sold at $1000 per ton. In case 2 with recycling, the conversion has less impact on the plant's profitability than in case 1. Moreover, compared to case 1, the MSP of AlCl₃ has no significant influence on process profitability. In this scenario, if AlCl₃ were sold at $1000/ton, the process profit would be $58 million annually. Case 2 is better than case 1 because recycling Al generates a higher yield than converting it to AlCl₃ and H₂.

Keywords: aluminum waste, aspen plus, process modelling, fast pyrolysis, techno-economic assessment

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Authors: Surajo Isa

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In as much as mathematics is important to national development, it is regrettable to note that in Nigeria Students academic achievement especially in public examinations remains poor. Among the several factors responsible for such a poor performance is the lack of bringing cultural elements into the conventional school mathematics. The design for this study is triangulation in nature which is set to examined 800 students From 20 School (40 each from male and female schools). Ten (10) male and ten (10) female schools consisting of 400 male and 400 female students to formed the experiment and control groups with a further sub-groping of samples to represent urban and rural settings for both male and female groups. While the experimental groups were taught using ethnomathematics techniques, the control groups were taught using conventional techniques, the results of a t-test for independent samples at p =0.05 level of significance with tcritical = 1.968 showed that (a) boys performed significantly better than girls (b) there is no significantly difference in performance between urban and rural girls (c) significant difference in academic performance was obtained between urban and rural boys. Generally, it was observed that teaching mathematics with ethnomathematics technique would help in great achievement in mathematics.

Keywords: ethnomathematics, achievement, gender, settlement

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Authors: Davood Karimipour

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Since long ago, Russia has been one of the most influential actors in regional equations in South West Asia. The geographic affinity of its vital interests with Western Asia has caused Moscow to have a high sensitivity to the balance of power in the Middle East, as its role in the Syrian crisis clearly demonstrated the importance. In recent years, Moscow has tried to use the energy diplomacy tool in maintaining the balance of power between the major powers in the region. The paper, based on the qualitative case study method, investigates how Russia’s energy diplomacy plays a role in the balance of regional forces in the Middle East, studying the country’s conduct towards Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel. The hypothesis presented that Russia, using energy tools, is trying to push the regional powers toward cooperation in order to increase the influence in the region, increase power in global markets, and controlling the US to restore power balance in the region. Its cooperation in the Iranian gas industry, the country’s relations with Saudis in the framework of OPEC, cooperation with the Turkish Kurds and the presence in the Israeli gas industry are an example of these Russian energy diplomacy initiatives in West Asia, which is the common point of the Moscow approach to South West Asia.

Keywords: Russia, balance of power, energy diplomacy, Middle East

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Authors: Varun Goel

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Solar energy is a good option among renewable energy resources due to its easy availability and abundance. The simplest and most efficient way to utilize solar energy is to convert it into thermal energy and this can be done with the help of solar collectors. The thermal performance of such collectors is poor due to less heat transfer from the collector surface to air. In this work, experimental investigations of single pass solar air heater having triangular duct and provided with roughness element on the underside of the absorber plate. V-shaped ribs are used for investigation having three different values of relative roughness pitch (p/e) ranges from 4-16 for a fixed value of angle of attack (α), relative roughness height (e/Dh) and a relative gap distance (d/x) values are 60°, 0.044 and 0.60 respectively. Result shows that considerable augmentation in heat transfer has been obtained by providing roughness.

Keywords: artificial roughness, solar air heater, triangular duct, V-shaped ribs

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Authors: Marco E. O. Jardim, Frederico A. M. Souza, Valeria M. Bastos, Myrian C. A. Costa, Nelson F. F. Ebecken

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Urban public transportation in Rio de Janeiro is based on bus lines, powered by diesel, and four limited metro lines that support only some neighborhoods. This work presents an infrastructure built to better understand microclimate variations related to massive urban transportation in some specific areas of the city. The use of sensor nodes with small analytics capacity provides environmental information to population or public services. The analyses of data collected from a few small sensors positioned near some heavy traffic streets show the harmful impact due to poor bus route plan.

Keywords: big data, IoT, public transportation, public health system

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Authors: Saeed Karimi, Ali Behbahaninia

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In this study, the design and optimization of combined cooling, heating, and power system (CCHP) for a sustainable building are dealt with. Sustainable buildings are environmentally responsible and help us to save energy also reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation. CCHP systems are widely used to save energy sources. In these systems, electricity, cooling, and heating are generating using just one primary energy source. The selection of the size of components based on the maximum demand of users will lead to an increase in the total cost of energy and equipment for the building complex. For this purpose, a system was designed in which the prime mover (gas turbine), heat recovery boiler, and absorption chiller are lower than the needed maximum. The difference in months with peak consumption is supplied with the help of electrical absorption chiller and auxiliary boiler (and the national electricity network). In this study, the optimum capacities of each of the equipment are determined based on Thermo economic method, in a way that the annual capital cost and energy consumption will be the lowest. The design was done for a gas turbine prime mover, and finally, the optimum designs were investigated using exergy analysis and were compared with a traditional energy supply system.

Keywords: sustainable building, CCHP, energy optimization, gas turbine, exergy, thermo-economic

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Zhiqiang Zhu, Khalegh Barati, Xuesong Shen

Abstract:

Due to the energy consumption caused by the construction industry, the public is paying more and more attention to the sustainability of the buildings. With the advancement of research on recycled aggregates, it has become possible to replace natural aggregates with recycled aggregates and to achieve a reduction in energy consumption of materials during construction. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively compare the emergy consumption of natural aggregate concrete (NAC) and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). To do so, the emergy analysis method is adopted. Using this technique, it can effectively analyze different forms of energy and substance. The main analysis object is the direct and indirect emergy consumption of the stages in concrete production. Therefore, for indirect energy, consumption of production machinery and transportation vehicle also need to be considered. Finally, the emergy values required to produce the two concrete types are compared to analyze whether the RAC can reduce emergy consumption.

Keywords: sustainable construction, NAC, RAC, emergy, concrete

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Authors: B. X. Tchomeni, A. A. Alugongo, L. M. Masu

Abstract:

This paper presents a 4-DOF nonlinear model of a cracked of Laval rotor established based on Energy Principles. The model has been used to simulate coupled torsional-lateral response of the cracked rotor stator-system with multiple parametric excitations, namely, rotor-stator-rub, a breathing transverse crack, unbalanced mass, and an axial force. Nonlinearity due to a “breathing” crack is incorporated by considering a simple hinge model which is suitable for small breathing crack. The vibration response of a cracked rotor passing through its critical speed with rotor-stator interaction is analyzed, and an attempt for crack detection and monitoring explored. Effects of unbalanced eccentricity with phase and acceleration are investigated. By solving the motion equations, steady-state vibration response is obtained in presence of several rotor faults. The presence of a crack is observable in the power spectrum despite the excitation by the axial force and rotor-stator rub impact. Presented results are consistent with existing literature and could be adopted into rotor condition monitoring strategies

Keywords: rotor, crack, rubbing, axial force, non linear

Procedia PDF Downloads 401

Authors: Eiman Nour

Abstract:

The rising interest in harvesting power is because of the capabilities application of expanding self-powered systems based on nanostructures. Using renewable and self-powered sources is necessary for the growth of green electronics and could be of the capability to wireless sensor networks. The ambient mechanical power is among the ample sources for various power harvesting device configurations that are published. In this work, we design and fabricate a paper-based nanogenerator (NG) utilizing piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (NWs) grown hydrothermally on a paper substrate. The fabricated NG can harvest ambient mechanical energy from various kinds of human motions, such as handwriting. The fabricated NG from a single ZnO NWs/PVDF-TrFE NG has been used firstly as handwriting-driven NG. The mechanical pressure applied on the paper platform while handwriting is harvested by the NG to deliver electrical energy; depending on the mode of handwriting, a maximum harvested voltage of 4.8 V was obtained.

Keywords: nanostructure, zinc oxide, nanogenerator, energy harvesting

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: H. Solomon, A. Abdul-Latif, R. Baleh, I. Deiab, K. Khanafer

Abstract:

Aluminum foams were developed and tested due to their high energy absorption abilities for multifunctional applications. The aim of this research work was to investigate experimentally the effect of quasi-static biaxial loading complexity (combined compression-torsion) on the energy absorption capacity of highly uniform architecture open-cell aluminum foam manufactured by kelvin cell model. The two generated aluminum foams have 80% and 85% porosities, spherical-shaped pores having 11mm in diameter. These foams were tested by means of several square-section specimens. A patented rig called ACTP (Absorption par Compression-Torsion Plastique), was used to investigate the foam response under quasi-static complex loading paths having different torsional components (i.e., 0°, 37° and 53°). The main mechanical responses of the aluminum foams were studied under simple, intermediate and severe loading conditions. In fact, the key responses to be examined were stress plateau and energy absorption capacity of the two foams with respect to loading complexity. It was concluded that the higher the loading complexity and the higher the relative density, the greater the energy absorption capacity of the foam. The highest energy absorption was thus recorded under the most complicated loading path (i.e., biaxial-53°) for the denser foam (i.e., 80% porosity).

Keywords: open-cell aluminum foams, biaxial loading complexity, foams porosity, energy absorption capacity, characterization

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Daniel Macedo Neto, Sandro Froehner, Juan Sanez

Abstract:

Suspended sediments (SS) are an environmental constituent able to represent the effects of land use changes on watersheds. One important consideration of land use change is its implication on trace element loading. Water bodies have the capacity to retain trace elements. Spatial variation in trace elements concentrations can be associated with land occupation and sources of pollution. In this work, the spatial variation of trace elements in suspended sediments from an urban river was assessed. Time-integrated fluvial suspended sediment samples were installed in three different sites of Barigui River. The suspend solids were collected every 30 days, from May 2015 to August 2015 (total samples 12). Site P1 covers 44 km2 drainage area and has low land occupation, whilst P2 cover an area of 87 km2 and it is totally urban as P3, which area is higher than 130 km2. Trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, P, Pb and Zn) were analysed by ICP-ES. All elements analyzed showed a similar pattern, i.e., the concentration raise with the urbanization, exception for As (P1=7.75; P2=5.75; P3=5.60mg/kg). There was increase in concentration for Cd (P1=0.75; P2=0.78; P3=1.45mg/kg), Cr (P1=59.50; P2=101.75; P3=102.00 mg/kg), Zn (P1=142.25; P2=152.50; P3=223.00mg/kg), P (P1=937.50; P2=1,545.00; P3=2,355.00 mg/kg) and for Pb (P1=31.25; P2=32.75; P3=39.17±2.56 mg/kg). The variation in concentrations were as follow -27.74% (As), +93.33% (Cd), +71.43% (Cr), +151.20% (P), +25.33% (Pb) e +56.77% (Zn). Cd, Cr, P, Pb and Zn presented a clear trend of increasing the concentration from upstream to downstream. Such variation is more notorious for P, Cd and Cr, possibly due the urbanization.

Keywords: trace elements, erosion, urbanization, suspended sediments

Procedia PDF Downloads 314