Search results for: energy absorption performance

Authors: Hsiao-Tien Pao, Yi-Ying Li, Hsin-Chia Fu

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This paper addressed the impacts of energy consumption, economic growth, financial development, and population size on environmental degradation using grey relational analysis (GRA) for China, where foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows is the proxy variable for financial development. The more recent historical data during the period 2004–2011 are used, because the use of very old data for data analysis may not be suitable for rapidly developing countries. The results of the GRA indicate that the linkage effects of energy consumption–emissions and GDP–emissions are ranked first and second, respectively. These reveal that energy consumption and economic growth are strongly correlated with emissions. Higher economic growth requires more energy consumption and increasing environmental pollution. Likewise, more efficient energy use needs a higher level of economic development. Therefore, policies to improve energy efficiency and create a low-carbon economy can reduce emissions without hurting economic growth. The finding of FDI–emissions linkage is ranked third. This indicates that China do not apply weak environmental regulations to attract inward FDI. Furthermore, China’s government in attracting inward FDI should strengthen environmental policy. The finding of population–emissions linkage effect is ranked fourth, implying that population size does not directly affect CO₂ emissions, even though China has the world’s largest population, and Chinese people are very economical use of energy-related products. Overall, the energy conservation, improving efficiency, managing demand, and financial development, which aim at curtailing waste of energy, reducing both energy consumption and emissions, and without loss of the country’s competitiveness, can be adopted for developing economies. The GRA is one of the best way to use a lower data to build a dynamic analysis model.

Keywords: Grey relational analysis, foreign direct investment, CO2 emissions, China.

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Authors: Christine O. Wangia, Jennifer A. Orwa, Francis W. Muregi, Patrick G. Kareru, Kipyegon Cheruiyot, Eric Guantai

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Ruellia (syn. Dipteracanthus) species are wild perennial creepers belonging to the Acanthaceae family. These species are reported to possess anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, gastroprotective, anticancer, and immuno-stimulant properties. Phytochemical screening of both aqueous and methanolic extracts of Ruellia species revealed the presence of saponins. Saponins have been reported to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immuno-stimulant, antihepatotoxic, antibacterial, anticarcinogenic, and antiulcerogenic activities. The objective of this study was to quantify and analyze the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of saponins in crude extracts of three Kenyan Ruellia species namely Ruellia prostrata (RPM), Ruellia lineari-bracteolata (RLB) and Ruellia bignoniiflora (RBK). Sequential organic extraction of the ground whole plant material was done using petroleum ether (PE), chloroform, ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and absolute methanol by cold maceration, while aqueous extraction was by hot maceration. The plant powders and extracts were mixed with spectroscopic grade KBr and compressed into a pellet. The infrared spectra were recorded using a Shimadzu FTIR spectrophotometer of 8000 series in the range of 3500 cm^-1 - 500 cm^-1. Quantitative determination of the saponins was done using standard procedures. Quantitative analysis of saponins showed that RPM had the highest quantity of crude saponins (2.05% ± 0.03), followed by RLB (1.4% ± 0.15) and RBK (1.25% ± 0.11), respectively. FTIR spectra revealed the spectral peaks characteristic for saponins in RPM, RLB, and RBK plant powders, aqueous and methanol extracts; O-H absorption (3265 - 3393 cm^-1), C-H absorption ranging from 2851 to 2924 cm^-1, C=C absorbance (1628 - 1655 cm^-1), oligosaccharide linkage (C-O-C) absorption due to sapogenins (1036 - 1042 cm^-1). The crude saponins from RPM, RLB and RBK showed similar peaks to their respective extracts. The presence of the saponins in extracts of RPM, RLB and RBK may be responsible for some of the biological activities reported in the Ruellia species.1

Keywords: Ruellia bignoniiflora, Ruellia lineari-bracteolata, Ruellia prostrata, Saponins.

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Authors: Yi-Hsin Lin, Ying-Ying Li

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The construction industry is the pillar industry in China, accounting for about 6% of the gross domestic product. Along with changes in the external environment of the construction industry in China, the construction firm faces fierce competition. The paper aims to investigate the relationship between diversified types of construction firm and its performance in China. Based on generalist and specialist strategy in organizational ecology, we think a generalist organization can be applied to an enterprise with diversified developments, while specialist groups are extended to professional enterprises .This study takes advantage of annual financial data of listed construction firm to empirically verify the relationship between diversification and corporation performance establishing a regression equation to econometric analysis. We find that: 1) Specialization can significantly improve the level of profitability of listed construction firms, and there is a significant positive relationship with corporate performance; 2) The level of operating performance of listed construction enterprises which engage in unrelated diversification is higher than those with related diversification; 3) The relationship between state-owned construction firms and corporate performance is negative. The more the year of foundation is, the higher performance will be; however, the more the year of being listed, the lower performance will be.

Keywords: Diversification, Specialization, Construction Firm, Performance.

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Authors: Marco Raciti Castelli, Giulia Simioni, Ernesto Benini

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This paper presents a model for the evaluation of energy performance and aerodynamic forces acting on a three-bladed small vertical axis Darrieus wind turbine depending on blade chord curvature with respect to rotor axis. The adopted survey methodology is based on an analytical code coupled to a solid modeling software, capable of generating the desired blade geometry depending on the blade design geometric parameters, which is linked to a finite volume CFD code for the calculation of rotor performance. After describing and validating the model with experimental data, the results of numerical simulations are proposed on the bases of two different blade profile architectures, which are respectively characterized by a straight chord and by a curved one, having a chord radius equal to rotor external circumference. A CFD campaign of analysis is completed for three blade-candidate airfoil sections, that is the recently-developed DU 06-W-200 cambered blade profile, a classical symmetrical NACA 0021 and its derived cambered airfoil, characterized by a curved chord, having a chord radius equal to rotor external circumference. The effects of blade chord curvature on angle of attack, blade tangential and normal forces are first investigated and then the overall rotor torque and power are analyzed as a function of blade azimuthal position, achieving a numerical quantification of the influence of blade camber on overall rotor performance.

Keywords: VAWT, NACA 0021, DU 06-W-200, cambered airfoil

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Authors: G. S. Walia, H. P. Singh, Padma D.

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The integration of wide variety of communication services is made possible with invention of 3G technology. Code Division Multiple Access 2000 operates on various RF channel bandwidths 1.2288 or 3.6864 Mcps (1x or 3x systems). It is a 3G system which offers high bandwidth and wireless broadband services but its efficiency is lowered due to various factors like fading, interference, scattering, absorption etc. This paper investigates the effect of diversity (MRC), roll off factor in Root Raised Cosine (RRC) filter for the BPSK and QPSK modulation schemes. It is possible to transmit data with minimum Inter symbol Interference and within limited bandwidth with proper pulse shaping technique. Bit error rate (BER) performance is analyzed by applying diversity technique by varying the roll off factor for BPSK and QPSK. Roll off factor reduces the ISI and diversity reduces the Fading.

Keywords: CDMA2000, Diversity, Root Raised Cosine, Roll off factor.

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Authors: S. Saravanan, G. Sugumaran

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Nowadays the use of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) is increasing dramatically. The HEV is mainly dependent on electricity and there is always a need for storage of charge. Fuel Cell (FC), Batteries and Ultra Capacitor are being used for the proposed HEV as an electric power source or as an energy storage unit. The aim of developing an energy management technique is to utilize the sources according to the requirement of the vehicle with help of controller. This increases the efficiency of hybrid electric vehicle to reduce the fuel consumption and unwanted emission. The Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) in FC is done using (Perturb & Observe) algorithm. In this paper, the control of automobiles at variable speed is achieved effectively.

Keywords: Batteries, Energy Management System (EMS), Fuel Cell (FC), Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT).

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Authors: Guoliang Fan, Aiping Li, Xuemei Liu, Liyun Xu

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The performance of the tightening equipment will decline with the working process in manufacturing system. The main manifestations are the randomness and discretization degree increasing of the tightening performance. To evaluate the degradation tendency of the tightening performance accurately, a complexity measurement approach based on Kolmogorov entropy is presented. At first, the states of performance index are divided for calibrating the discrete degree. Then the complexity measurement model based on Kolmogorov entropy is built. The model describes the performance degradation tendency of tightening equipment quantitatively. At last, a study case is applied for verifying the efficiency and validity of the approach. The research achievement shows that the presented complexity measurement can effectively evaluate the degradation tendency of the tightening equipment. It can provide theoretical basis for preventive maintenance and life prediction of equipment.

Keywords: Complexity measurement, Kolmogorov entropy, manufacturing system, performance evaluation, tightening equipment.

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Authors: Igor Astrov, Mikhail Pikkov, Rein Paluoja

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This paper focuses on a critical component of the situational awareness (SA), the control of autonomous vertical flight for vectored thrust aerial vehicle (VTAV). With the SA strategy, we proposed a flight control procedure to address the dynamics variation and performance requirement difference of flight trajectory for an unmanned helicopter model with vectored thrust configuration. This control strategy for chosen model of VTAV has been verified by simulation of take-off and forward maneuvers using software package Simulink and demonstrated good performance for fast stabilization of motors, consequently, fast SA with economy in energy can be asserted during search-and-rescue operations.

Keywords: Neural network predictive controller, situational awareness, vectored thrust aerial vehicle.

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Authors: Vahid Aryanpur , Ehsan Shafiei

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This paper presents an environmental and technoeconomic evaluation of light duty vehicles in Iran. A comprehensive well-to-wheel (WTW) analysis is applied to compare different automotive fuel chains, conventional internal combustion engines and innovative vehicle powertrains. The study examines the competitiveness of 15 various pathways in terms of energy efficiencies, GHG emissions, and levelized cost of different energy carriers. The results indicate that electric vehicles including battery electric vehicles (BEV), fuel cell vehicles (FCV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) increase the WTW energy efficiency by 54%, 51% and 46%, respectively, compared to common internal combustion engines powered by gasoline. On the other hand, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per kilometer of FCV and BEV would be 48% lower than that of gasoline engines. It is concluded that BEV has the lowest total cost of energy consumption and external cost of emission, followed by internal combustion engines (ICE) fueled by CNG. Conventional internal combustion engines fueled by gasoline, on the other hand, would have the highest costs.

Keywords: Well-to-Wheel analysis, Energy Efficiency, GHG emissions, Levelized cost of energy, Alternative fuel vehicles.

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Authors: Shuen-Tai Wang, Ying-Chuan Chen, Yu-Ching Lin

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There has been renewal of interest in the relation between Green IT and cloud computing in recent years. Cloud computing has to be a highly elastic environment which provides stable services to users. The growing use of cloud computing facilities has caused marked energy consumption, putting negative pressure on electricity cost of computing center or data center. Each year more and more network devices, storages and computers are purchased and put to use, but it is not just the number of computers that is driving energy consumption upward. We could foresee that the power consumption of cloud computing facilities will double, triple, or even more in the next decade. This paper aims at resource allocation and scheduling technologies that are short of or have not well developed yet to reduce energy utilization in cloud computing platform. In particular, our approach relies on recalling services dynamically onto appropriate amount of the machines according to user’s requirement and temporarily shutting down the machines after finish in order to conserve energy. We present initial work on integration of resource and power management system that focuses on reducing power consumption such that they suffice for meeting the minimizing quality of service required by the cloud computing platform.

Keywords: Cloud computing, energy utilization, power consumption, resource allocation.

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Authors: Yoshio Kurosawa

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The applications of soundproof materials for reduction of high frequency automobile interior noise have been researched. This paper presents a sound pressure prediction technique including wind noise by Hybrid Statistical Energy Analysis (HSEA) in order to reduce weight of acoustic insulations. HSEA uses both analytical SEA and experimental SEA. As a result of chassis dynamo test and road test, the validity of SEA modeling was shown, and utility of the method was confirmed.

Keywords: Vibration, noise, car, statistical energy analysis.

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Authors: Sharmina Begum, M. G. Rasul, Delwar Akbar

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Solid waste can be considered as an urban burden or as a valuable resource depending on how it is managed. To meet the rising demand for energy and to address environmental concerns, a conversion from conventional energy systems to renewable resources is essential. For the sustainability of human civilization, an environmentally sound and techno-economically feasible waste treatment method is very important to treat recyclable waste. Several technologies are available for realizing the potential of solid waste as an energy source, ranging from very simple systems for disposing of dry waste to more complex technologies capable of dealing with large amounts of industrial waste. There are three main pathways for conversion of waste material to energy: thermo chemical, biochemical and physicochemical. This paper investigates the thermo chemical conversion of solid waste for energy recovery. The processes, advantages and dis-advantages of various thermo chemical conversion processes are discussed and compared. Special attention is given to Gasification process as it provides better solutions regarding public acceptance, feedstock flexibility, near-zero emissions, efficiency and security. Finally this paper presents comparative statements of thermo chemical processes and introduces an integrated waste management system.

Keywords: Gasification, Incineration, Pyrolysis, Thermo chemical conversion.

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Authors: M. Anwar, M. G. Rasul, M. M. K. Khan

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The benefits of rooftop greenery systems (such as energy savings, reduction of greenhouse gas emission for mitigating climate change and maintaining sustainable development, indoor temperature control etc.) in buildings are well recognized, however there remains very little research conducted for quantifying the benefits in subtropical climates such as in Australia. This study mainly focuses on measuring/determining temperature profile and air conditioning energy savings by implementing rooftop greenery systems in subtropical Central Queensland in Australia. An experimental set-up was installed at Rockhampton campus of Central Queensland University, where two standard shipping containers (6m x 2.4m x 2.4m) were converted into small offices, one with green roof and one without. These were used for temperature, humidity and energy consumption data collection. The study found that an energy savings of up to 11.70% and temperature difference of up to 4°C can be achieved in March in subtropical Central Queensland climate in Australia. It is expected that more energy can be saved in peak summer days (December/February) as temperature difference between green roof and non-green roof is higher in December- February.

Keywords: Extensive green roof, Rooftop greenery system, Subtropical climate, Shipping container.

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Authors: Ju-Chun Chien

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The main purpose of this study was to figure out employees’ attitudes toward the new performance appraisal program and to examine whether three different types of appraisal processes differentially affected job satisfaction and employee engagement. The second purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between performance appraisal reform, job satisfaction, and employee engagement. A large polyester and textile corporation had 2046 non-operational employees in February 2014. The valid participants were 1474 (72.04%) in this study. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, one-way MANOVA, Pearson correlation, Content Validity Index, the exploratory factor analysis, and reliability analysis. The general results showed that employees who received the new performance appraisal program evaluated the program more positively and showed more job satisfaction than those who did not. In particular, the implementation effects of this new performance appraisal program were most highly rated by employees who used the KPI to rate their job performance. Moreover, employees’ attitudes toward the new performance appraisal program were positively related to their job satisfaction and employee engagement. Lastly, most employees regarded themselves as engaged workers. To sum up, the HR department of this company has made an effective contribution to performance appraisal reforms.

Keywords: Change management, Employee engagement, Job satisfaction, Performance appraisal reform.

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Authors: M. Bernasconi, M. Grothkopp, T. Friedli

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The objective of this paper is to examine the relationships between technical and social lean bundles as well as operational performance in the context of the pharmaceutical industry. We investigate the direct and mediating effects of the lean bundles Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Total Quality Management (TQM), Just-In-Time (JIT), and Human Resource Management (HRM) on operational performance. Our analysis relies on 113 manufacturing facilities from the St.Gallen OPEX benchmarking database. The results show that HRM has a positive indirect effect on operational performance mediated by the technical lean bundles.

Keywords: Human resource management, operational performance, pharmaceutical industry, technical lean practices.

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Authors: Ghazi AL-Sukkar, Iyad Jafar, Khalid Darabkh, Raed Al-Zubi, Mohammed Hawa

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Smart Grids employ wireless sensor networks for their control and monitoring. Sensors are characterized by limitations in the processing power, energy supply and memory spaces, which require a particular attention on the design of routing and data management algorithms. Since most routing algorithms for sensor networks, focus on finding energy efficient paths to prolong the lifetime of sensor networks, the power of sensors on efficient paths depletes quickly, and consequently sensor networks become incapable of monitoring events from some parts of their target areas. In consequence, the design of routing protocols should consider not only energy efficiency paths, but also energy efficient algorithms in general. In this paper we propose an energy efficient routing protocol for wireless sensor networks without the support of any location information system. The reliability and the efficiency of this protocol have been demonstrated by simulation studies where we compare them to the legacy protocols. Our simulation results show that these algorithms scale well with network size and density.

Keywords: Data-centric storage, Dynamic Address Allocation, Sensor networks, Smart Grid Communications.

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Authors: Uğur Çakır, Erol Sahin, Kemal Çomaklı, Aysegül Çokgez Kus

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Greenhouses offer us suitable conditions which can be controlled easily for the growth of the plant and they are made by using a covering material that allows the sun light entering into the system. Covering material can be glass, fiber glass, plastic or another transparent element. This study investigates the solar energy usability rates and solar energy benefitting rates of a semi-spherical (modified arch) type greenhouse system according to different orientations and positions which exists under climatic conditions of Bayburt. In the concept of this study it is tried to determine the best direction and best sizes of a semi-spherical greenhouse to get best solar benefit from the sun. To achieve this aim a modeling study is made by using MATLAB. However, this modeling study is run for some determined shapes and greenhouses it can be used for different shaped greenhouses or buildings. The basic parameters are determined as greenhouse azimuth angle, the rate of size of long edge to short and seasonal solar energy gaining of greenhouse. The optimum azimuth angles of 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 50 m2 modified arch greenhouse are 90o, 90o, 35o, 35o, 34o, 33o and 22o while their optimum k values (ratio of length to width) are 10, 10, 10, 10, 6, 4 and 4 respectively. Positioning the buildings in order to get more solar heat energy in winter and less in summer brings out energy and money savings and increases the comfort.

Keywords: Greenhousing, solar energy, direct radiation, renewable energy.

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Authors: Kristjan Kuhi, Kati K. Kaare, Ott Koppel

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Modern management in most fields is performance based; both planning and implementation of maintenance and operational activities are driven by appropriately defined performance indicators. Continuous real-time data collection for management is becoming feasible due to technological advancements. Outdated and insufficient input data may result in incorrect decisions. When using deterministic models the uncertainty of the object state is not visible thus applying the deterministic models are more likely to give false diagnosis. Constructing structured probabilistic models of the performance indicators taking into consideration the surrounding indicator environment enables to estimate the trustworthiness of the indicator values. It also assists to fill gaps in data to improve the quality of the performance analysis and management decisions. In this paper authors discuss the application of probabilistic graphical models in the road performance measurement and propose a high-level conceptual model that enables analyzing and predicting more precisely future pavement deterioration based on road utilization.

Keywords: Probabilistic graphical models, performance indicators, road performance management, data collection

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Authors: Ya Lv

Abstract:

This article presents the application of the semi-analytic method (SAM) in the thermal management solution (TMS) of the energy storage system (ESS). The TMS studied in this work is fluid cooling. In fluid cooling, both effective heat conduction and heat convection are indispensable due to the heat transfer from solid to fluid. Correspondingly, an efficient TMS requires a design investigation of the following parameters: fluid inlet temperature, ESS initial temperature, fluid flow rate, working c rate, continuous working time, and materials properties. Their variation induces a change of thermal performance in the battery module, which is usually evaluated by numerical simulation. Compared to complicated computation resources and long computation time in simulation, the SAM is developed in this article to predict the thermal influence within a few seconds. In SAM, a fast prediction model is reckoned by combining numerical simulation with theoretical/empirical equations. The SAM can explore the thermal effect of boundary parameters in both steady-state and transient heat transfer scenarios within a short time. Therefore, the SAM developed in this work can simplify the design cycle of TMS and inspire more possibilities in TMS design.

Keywords: Semi-analytic method, fast prediction model, thermal influence of boundary parameters, energy storage system.

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Authors: Ejaz Ali, Muhammad Younas, Tahir Saeed

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In this age of information technology, organizations are revisiting their approach in great deal. E-administration is the most popular area to proceed with. Organizations in order to excel over their competitors are spending a substantial chunk of its resources on E-Administration as it is the most effective, transparent and efficient way to achieve their short term as well as long term organizational goals. E-administration being a tool of ICT plays a significant role towards effective management of HR practices resulting into optimal performance of an organization. The present research was carried out to analyze the impact of moderating role of e-administration in the relationships training and performance appraisal aligned with perceived organizational performance. The study is based on RBV and AMO theories, advocating that use of latest technology in execution of human resource (HR) functions enables an organization to achieve and sustain competitive advantage which leads to optimal firm performance.

Keywords: Human resource management, HR function, e-administration, performance appraisal, training, organizational performance.

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Authors: Marwan Ihsan Shukur, Lee Sheng Chyan, Vooi Voon Yap

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Wireless sensor networks is an emerging technology that serves as environment monitors in many applications. Yet these miniatures suffer from constrained resources in terms of computation capabilities and energy resources. Limited energy resource in these nodes demands an efficient consumption of that resource either by developing the modules itself or by providing an efficient communication protocols. This paper presents a comprehensive summarization and a comparative study of the available MAC protocols proposed for Wireless Sensor Networks showing their capabilities and efficiency in terms of energy consumption and delay guarantee.

Keywords: MAC (Medium Access Control), SEA (Simple EnergyAware), WSNs (Wireless Sensor Nodes or Networks) RTS (RequestTo Send), CTS (Clear To Send), SYNCH (Synchronize), NS2(Network Simulator 2).

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Authors: P. F. Wong, H. Salleh, F. A. Rahim

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The adoption of building information modeling (BIM) is increasing in the construction industry. However, quantity surveyors are slow in adoption compared to other professions due to lack of awareness of the BIM’s potential in their profession. It is still unclear on how BIM application can enhance quantity surveyors’ work performance and project performance. The aim of this research is to identify the capabilities of BIM in quantity surveying practices and examine the relationship between BIM capabilities and project performance. Questionnaire survey and interviews were adopted for data collection. Literature reviews identified there are eleven BIM capabilities in quantity surveying practice. Questionnaire results showed that there are several BIM capabilities significantly correlated with project performance in time, cost and quality aspects and the results were validated through interviews. These findings show that BIM has the capabilities to enhance quantity surveyors’ performances and subsequently improved project performance.

Keywords: Building information modeling (BIM), quantity surveyors, capability, project performance.

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Authors: Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Filimonova, Lev Sergeevich Kazarinov, Tatyana Aleksandrovna Barbasova

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A method of effective planning and control of industrial facility energy consumption is offered. The method allows optimally arranging the management and full control of complex production facilities in accordance with the criteria of minimal technical and economic losses at the forecasting control. The method is based on the optimal construction of the power efficiency characteristics with the prescribed accuracy. The problem of optimal designing of the forecasting model is solved on the basis of three criteria: maximizing the weighted sum of the points of forecasting with the prescribed accuracy; the solving of the problem by the standard principles at the incomplete statistic data on the basis of minimization of the regularized function; minimizing the technical and economic losses due to the forecasting errors.

Keywords: Energy consumption, energy efficiency, energy management system, forecasting model, power efficiency characteristics.

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Authors: Hyeong-Geon Lee, Jae-Young Park, Suk-ki Lee, Jong-Tae Kim

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The LMS adaptive filter has several parameters which can affect their performance. From among these parameters, most papers handle the step size parameter for controlling the performance. In this paper, we approach three parameters: step-size, filter tap-size and filter form. The regression analysis is used for defining the relation between parameters and performance of LMS adaptive filter with using the system level simulation results. The results present that all parameters have performance trends in each own particular form, which can be estimated from equations drawn by regression analysis.

Keywords: System level model, adaptive LMS FIR filter, regression analysis, systemC.

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Authors: Yasser Aldali

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The scope of this paper is to evaluate and compare the potential of LS-PV(Large Scale Photovoltaic Power Plant) power generation systems in the southern region of Libya at Al-Kufra for both stationary and tracking systems. A Microsoft Excel-VBA program has been developed to compute slope radiation, dew-point, sky temperature, and then cell temperature, maximum power output and module efficiency of the system for stationary system and for tracking system. The results for energy production show that the total energy output is 114GWh/year for stationary system and 148GWh/year for tracking system. The average module efficiency for the stationary system is 16.6% and 16.2% for the tracking system.

The values of electricity generation capacity factor (CF) and solar capacity factor (SCF) for stationary system were found to be 26% and 62.5% respectively and 34% and 82% for tracking system. The GCR (Ground Cover Ratio) for a stationary system is 0.7, which corresponds to a tilt angle of 24°. The GCR for tracking system was found to be 0.12. The estimated ground area needed to build a 50MW PV plant amounts to approx. 0.55km² for a stationary PV field constituted by HIT PV arrays and approx. 91MW/ km². In case of a tracker PV field, the required ground area amounts approx.2.4km² and approx. 20.5MW/ km².

Keywords: Large PV power plant, solar energy, environmental impact, Dual-axis tracking system, stationary system.

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Authors: James Dunia, Bakari M. M. Mwinyiwiwa

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Photovoltaic (PV) energy is one of the most important energy resources since it is clean, pollution free, and endless. Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is used in photovoltaic (PV) systems to maximize the photovoltaic output power, irrespective the variations of temperature and radiation conditions. This paper presents a comparison between Ćuk and SEPIC converter in maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of photovoltaic (PV) system. In the paper, advantages and disadvantages of both converters are described. Incremental conductance control method has been used as maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm. The two converters and MPPT algorithm were modelled using MATLAB/Simulink software for simulation. Simulation results show that both Ćuk and SEPIC converters can track the maximum power point with some minor variations. 

Keywords: Ćuk Converter, Incremental Conductance, Maximum Power Point Tracking, PV Module, SEPIC Converter.

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Authors: M. O. Oke, T. S. Workneh

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Drying behavior of blanched sweet potato in a cabinet dryer using different five air temperatures (40-80°C) and ten sweet potato varieties sliced to 5mm thickness were investigated. The drying data were fitted to eight models. The Modified Henderson and Pabis model gave the best fit to the experimental moisture ratio data obtained during the drying of all the varieties while Newton (Lewis) and Wang and Singh models gave the least fit. The values of Deff obtained for Bophelo variety (1.27 x 10-9 to 1.77 x 10-9 m2/s) was the least while that of S191 (1.93 x 10-9 to 2.47 x 10-9 m2/s) was the highest which indicates that moisture diffusivity in sweet potato is affected by the genetic factor. Activation energy values ranged from 0.27-6.54 kJ/mol. The lower activation energy indicates that drying of sweet potato slices requires less energy and is hence a cost and energy saving method. The drying behavior of blanched sweet potato was investigated in a cabinet dryer. Drying time decreased considerably with increase in hot air temperature. Out of the eight models fitted, the Modified Henderson and Pabis model gave the best fit to the experimental moisture ratio data on all the varieties while Newton, Wang and Singh models gave the least. The lower activation energy (0.27 - 6.54 kJ/mol) obtained indicates that drying of sweet potato slices requires less energy and is hence a cost and energy saving method.

Keywords: Sweet Potato Slice, Drying Models, Moisture Ratio, Moisture Diffusivity, Activation Energy.

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Authors: O. H. Colak, T. C. Destici, S. Ozen, H. Arman, O. Cerezci

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The wavelet transform is one of the most important method used in signal processing. In this study, we have introduced frequency-energy characteristics of local earthquakes using discrete wavelet transform. Frequency-energy characteristic was analyzed depend on difference between P and S wave arrival time and noise within records. We have found that local earthquakes have similar characteristics. If frequency-energy characteristics can be found accurately, this gives us a hint to calculate P and S wave arrival time. It can be seen that wavelet transform provides successful approximation for this. In this study, 100 earthquakes with 500 records were analyzed approximately.

Keywords: Discrete Wavelet Transform, Frequency-EnergyCharacteristics, P and S waves arrival time.

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Authors: Radhika Ambatipudi, Hari Babu Kotte, Dr. Kent Bertilsson

Abstract:

In this paper, multilayered coreless printed circuit board (PCB) step-down power transformers for DC-DC converter applications have been designed, manufactured and evaluated. A set of two different circular spiral step-down transformers were fabricated in the four layered PCB. These transformers have been modelled with the assistance of high frequency equivalent circuit and characterized with both sinusoidal and square wave excitation. This paper provides the comparative results of these two different transformers in terms of their resistances, self, leakage, mutual inductances, coupling coefficient and also their energy efficiencies. The operating regions for optimal performance of these transformers for power transfer applications are determined. These transformers were tested for the output power levels of about 30 Watts within the input voltage range of 12-50 Vrms. The energy efficiency for these step down transformers is observed to be in the range of 90%-97% in MHz frequency region.

Keywords: Coreless Step down Transformer, DC-DC Converterapplications, High frequency transformer, MHz operating frequency, Multilayered PCB transformers, Power Transfer Applications.

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Authors: P. Lestinsky, D. Jecha, V. Brummer, P. Stehlik

Abstract:

Scrubbing by a liquid spraying is one of the most effective processes used for removal of fine particles and soluble gas pollutants (such as SO2, HCl, HF) from the flue gas. There are many configurations of scrubbers designed to provide contact between the liquid and gas stream for effectively capturing particles or soluble gas pollutants, such as spray plates, packed bed towers, jet scrubbers, cyclones, vortex and venturi scrubbers. The primary function of venturi scrubber is the capture of fine particles as well as HCl, HF or SO2 removal with effect of the flue gas temperature decrease before input to the absorption column. In this paper, sulfur dioxide (SO2) from flue gas was captured using new design replacing venturi scrubber (1st degree of wet scrubbing). The flue gas was prepared by the combustion of the carbon disulfide solution in toluene (1:1 vol.) in the flame in the reactor. Such prepared flue gas with temperature around 150°C was processed in designed laboratory O-element scrubber. Water was used as absorbent liquid. The efficiency of SO2 removal, pressure drop and temperature drop were measured on our experimental device. The dependence of these variables on liquid-gas ratio was observed. The average temperature drop was in the range from 150°C to 40°C. The pressure drop was increased with increasing of a liquid-gas ratio, but no too much as for the common venturi scrubber designs. The efficiency of SO2 removal was up to 70 %. The pressure drop of our new designed wet scrubber is similar to commonly used venturi scrubbers; nevertheless the influence of amount of the liquid on pressure drop is not so significant.

Keywords: Desulphurization, absorption, flue gas, modeling.

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