The modern paradigm of sustainable development is based on concepts and theories in which the needs of individuals and society, the limits of economic growth and the balance of industrial and natural systems are close to consistency [...]

As micro grids are gradually being deployed in many areas, communication technology is becoming important for collecting data and controlling devices in micro grids. In a micro grid, various devices are distributed and perform their respective functions. These devices exchange information with each other and transmit information to the micro grid management system. This micro grid environment is similar to the IoT environment in which information is exchanged in the presence of a large number of devices. Recent studies have tried to apply various IoT protocols as a communication protocol in the micro grid. However, the data model used in current research is limited in proprietary data mapping. Recently, IEC TC 57 published another IEC 61850 series which maps the IEC 61850 services to XMPP (eXtensible Messaging Presence Protocol), which was the first IoT protocol mapping of IEC 61850. Few research has shown that the mapping of the IEC 61850 data model to the IoT protocol and communicati... [more]

The growing environmental impact and rising emission of greenhouse gases have accelerated the research toward renewable energy sources and electric vehicles since one of the main sources of pollution is the CO2 emissions produced by conventional combustion vehicles. This article presents the analysis of the energy balance between a photovoltaic carport with 4.89 kWp installed capacity and an EV, model Renault Fluence ZE DYN, driven in real conditions. The driving tests were performed during the winter season in the city of Curitiba, the capital of the state of Paraná, Brazil, with approximately 1.7 million inhabitants and 1.1 million vehicles. During the test period, we attempt to reproduce the citizen’s daily routes through the city, presenting an average consumption of 15.75 kWh/100 km. The carport PV module’s energy generation and in-plane incident irradiation were acquired to calculate the performance ratio, making a comparison after cleaning maintenance possible. The solar carport... [more]

With the increasing penetration rate of Power Electronic Converter (PEC) based technologies, the electrical power systems are facing the problem of transient stability since the PEC based technologies do not contribute to the system inertia, and the proportion of synchronous generators (i.e., the source of inertia) is in decreasing rate. In addition, PEC based technologies’ components have poor inherent damping. It is very important to analyze the system characteristics of a power system to minimize the potential instabilities during the contingencies. This paper presents the parametric sensitivity analysis of the rotor angle stability indicators for the 39-bus New England power system. The indicators of rotor angle stability analysis such as critical fault clearing time (CCT), Eigenvalue points, damping ratio, frequency deviation, voltage deviation, and generator’s speed deviation are identified and analyzed for three case scenarios; each scenario has six sub-cases with different iner... [more]

DC microgrids have advantages over AC microgrids in terms of system efficiency, cost, and system size. However, a well-designed overcurrent protection approach for DC microgrids remains a challenge. Recognizing this, this paper presents a novel differential evolution (DE) based protection framework for DC microgrids. First, a simplified DC microgrid model is adopted to provide the analytical basis of the DE algorithm. The simplified model does not sacrifice performance criterion in steady-state simulation, which is verified through extensive simulation studies. A DE-based novel overcurrent protection scheme is then proposed to protect the DC microgrid. This DE method provides an innovative way to calculate the maximum line current, which can be used for the overcurrent protection threshold setting and the relay coordination time setting. The detailed load condition and solar irradiance for each bus can be obtained by proposed DE-based method. Finally, extensive case studies involving f... [more]

A novel induction motor direct torque control (DTC) algorithm with synchronous modulation is presented. Compared to the traditional DTC method, whose main drawback is the presence of low-frequency torque harmonics (sub-harmonics), in the proposed method, the PWM switching frequency is imposed to be an integer multiple of the main supply frequency. This is achieved by continuously adjusting the PWM switching period to significantly reduce low-frequency harmonics. The devised algorithm has been tested on an inverter-fed induction motor drive system, and the obtained results show an important reduction of the sub-harmonic spectral content of the developed torque with respect to a conventional direct torque control while maintaining at the same time a high dynamic response.

Electrolysis is potentially a valuable tool for cleansing waste water. One might even hope that it is possible to synthesize valuable products in this way. The question is how the reaction conditions can be chosen to obtain desired compounds. In the present study we use Car−Parrinello molecular dynamics to simulate the reaction of nucleobases under electrolytic conditions. We use our own scheme (F. Hofbauer, I. Frank, Chem. Eur. J., 18, 277, 2012) for simulating the conditions after the electron transfer in a self-consistent field calculation. This scheme was employed previously to the electrolysis of pure water and of polluted solutions. On the picosecond timescale, we find a strongly different reaction behavior for each of the four nucleobases contained in DNA.

This paper presents a novel minimum seeking algorithm referred to as the Hunger Games Search (HGS) algorithm. The HGS is used to obtain optimal values in the model describing proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The PEMFC model has many parameters that are linked in a nonlinear manner, as well as a set of constraints. The HGS was used with the aforementioned model to test its performance against nonlinear models. The main aim of the optimization problem was to obtain accurate values of PEMFC parameters. The proposed heuristic algorithm was used with two commercial PEMFCs: the Ballard Mark V and the BCS 500 W. The simulation results obtained using the HGS-based model were compared to the experimental results. The effectiveness of the proposed model was verified under various temperature and partial pressure conditions. The numerical output results of the HGS-based fuel cell model were compared with other optimization algorithm-based models with respect to their efficiency. More... [more]

The stability of porous coordination polymers during an electrochemical reaction could be improved by introducing supporter materials. An I3O0-type inorganic hybrid electrocatalyst, cobalt cinnamate, supported on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was successfully prepared for an oxygen evolution reaction. The electrocatalytic activity and stability of cobalt cinnamate(catalyst)/rGO composite were significantly improved due to the strong interaction between catalyst and supporter, which led to enhanced anchoring stability and electrical conductivity. The catalyst/rGO composite shows ~30 mV reduction in overpotential and improvement in durability from ≥35% to ≥70% after a reaction time of 12 h, compared to the catalyst alone.

The search for fossil fuels substitutes forces the use of new propulsion technologies applied to means of transportation. Already widespread, hybrid vehicles are beginning to share the market with hydrogen-powered propulsion systems. These systems are fuel cells or internal combustion engines powered by hydrogen fuel. In this context, road tests of a hydrogen fuel cell drive were conducted under typical traffic conditions according to the requirements of the RDE test. As a result of the carried-out work, energy flow conditions were presented for three driving phases (urban, rural and motorway). The different contributions to the vehicle propulsion of the hydrogen system and the electric system in each phase of the driving route are indicated. The characteristic interaction of power train components during varying driving conditions was presented. A wide variation in the contribution of the fuel cell and the battery to the vehicle’s propulsion was identified. In urban conditions, the sh... [more]

The reduction of fossil CO2 emissions from key relevant industrial processes represents an important environmental challenge to be considered. To enable large-scale deployment of low carbon technologies, a significant research and development effort is required to optimize the CO2 capture systems. This work assesses various hybrid solvent-membrane configurations for post-combustion decarbonization of coal-based super-critical power plants. As an illustrative chemical solvent, Methyl-Di-Ethanol-Amine was assessed. Various membrane unit locations were assessed (e.g., top absorber, before absorber using either compressor or vacuum pump). All investigated designs have a 1000 MW net power output with a 90% decarbonization ratio. Benchmark concepts with and without carbon capture using either reactive gas-liquid absorption or membrane separation technology were also evaluated to have a comparative assessment. Relevant evaluation tools (e.g., modeling, simulation, validation, thermal integrat... [more]

Within the past few decades, the production of high-wax oils at offshore fields in Vietnam has been fraught with severe problems due to the intense formation of asphalt-resin-paraffin deposits (ARPD) in the downhole oil and gas equipment. The formation of organic wax deposits in the tubing string led to a significant decrease in gas-lift wells production, efficiency of compressor units, transport capacity of the piping systems, along with an increase in equipment failure. Subsequently, the efficiency of gas-lift wells dramatically decreased to less than 40% as a whole. The existing methods and technologies for combating organic wax deposit formation in downhole equipment have many advantages. However, their use in producing high-wax anomalous oil does not entirely prevent the wax formation in the tubing string and leads to a significant reduction in oil production, transport capacity, and treatment intervals. The results of theoretical and experimental studies presented in this article... [more]

Oil shortages and environmental pollution are attracting worldwide attention incrementally. Hybrid falls within one of the effective techniques for those two problems. Taking the loader with high energy consumption and high emission as the target, combined with the hydraulic hybrid technology with high power density and strong energy storage capacity, the parallel hydraulic hybrid loader (PHHL) based on brake energy regeneration is proposed. Firstly, the dynamic models of the key components of the PHHL are established, and the parameters of the part which coincides with the ordinary loader are corrected based on the V-type duty cycle. Then, consid-ering the energy recovery efficiency as well as the characteristics of the loader from the V-type duty cycle, the parameters for several major parts of the energy regeneration system (ERS) were calculated and matched. Then, based on the initial matching, the improved adaptive genetic al-gorithm (AGA) is employed to optimize the control variab... [more]

Understanding the residential adoption decision of battery energy storage systems (BESSs) is central to the implementation of successful intervention policies. However, when the residential solar photovoltaics (PV) becomes a widely accepted technology across a society, accurately modelling the behaviour shows a higher degree of complexity. In this vein, the uptake pathway of BESS and PV coupled with BESS (PV−BESS) would predictably exhibit similar attitudinal traits to that of PV consumption. This notion implies that the antecedent PV decision can be regarded as the past behaviour of the BESS adopter by creating attitudinal implications. The PV use status also yields a higher degree of heterogeneity through the emergence of four new household groups and the inherent imbalances in the involvement of the interwoven financial, technical, sociodemographic, and psychological predictors. This perspective employs the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) to allegorise a decision-making model of BESS... [more]

UV lamps are being increasingly used in the treatment of swimming pool water, mainly due to their abilities to disinfect and effectively remove chloramines (combined chlorine). However, the application of UV lamps in a closed loop system, such as that in which swimming pool water is treated, creates conditions under which chlorinated water is then also irradiated with UV. Thus, the advanced oxidation process occurs, which affects the transformation of organic matter and its increased reactivity, and hence the higher usage of chlorine disinfectant. In addition, UV lamps require electrical power and the periodic replacement of filaments. In order to assess whether the application of a low-pressure UV lamp is justified, water quality tests and an analysis of the operating costs (including the energy consumption) of the water treatment system were carried out for two operation variants—those of the low-pressure UV lamp being turned on and off. The experiments were carried out on the real o... [more]

Catalytic electroreduction of carbon dioxide represents a promising technology both to reduce CO2 emissions and to store electrical energy from discontinuous sources. In this work, electrochemical deposition of copper on to a gas-diffusion support was tested as a scalable and versatile nanosynthesis technique for the production of catalytic electrodes for CO2 electroreduction. The effect of deposition current density and additives (DAT, DTAB, PEG) on the catalysts’ structure was evaluated. The selectivity of the synthesized catalysts towards the production of CO was evaluated by analyzing the gaseous products obtained using the catalysts as cathodes in electroreduction tests. Catalyst morphology was deeply influenced by the deposition additives. Copper nanospheres, hemispherical microaggregates of nanowires, and shapeless structures were electrodeposited in the presence of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole (DAT) and polyethylene glycol (PEG), respectiv... [more]

The most common type of electric vehicle traction motor is the interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM). For IPMSM designs, engineers make use of the magnetic equivalent circuit method, which is a lumped constant circuit method, and the finite element method, which is a distributed constant circuit method. The magnetic equivalent circuit method is useful for simple design through fast and intuitive parameters, but it cannot derive the distribution of the magnetic field. The finite element method can derive an accurate magnetic field distribution, but it takes a long time and is difficult to use for analysis of intuitive design parameters. In this study, the magnetic equivalent circuit method and Carter’s coefficient were combined for rotor structure design and accurate identification and analysis of circuit constants. In this paper, this design method is called the hybrid magnetic equivalent circuit method. Intuitive design parameters are derived through this hybrid magnetic... [more]

A building’s energy consumption is assessed considering the energy required for heating, cooling, lighting, and domestic hot water (DHW). Methodologies used to calculate energy certificates in European Union countries consider hot water consumption rates per person or per heated (floor) area, giving wide-ranging values (35−88 dm3/person/day). Using extreme parameters, it is possible to obtain a primary energy index that meets the legal requirements, although unrealistically large proportions of domestic hot water use relative to the total energy balance of the building may marginalize the influence of other components, such as fluctuations in heating, ventilation, or lighting. In the current work, the DHW consumption of three residential buildings was measured to verify the energy consumption for hot water preparation. Investigations were conducted based on the consumption of natural gas for DHW preparation. Experimentally obtained water consumption rates were determined per m2 of a dw... [more]

In many studies, for predicting the remaining capacity of batteries belonging to different electrochemical systems, various analytical models based on the Peukert equation are used. This paper evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of the most famous generalized Peukert equations. For lithium-ion batteries, the Peukert equation cannot be used for estimation of their remaining capacity over the entire range of discharge currents. However, this paper proves that the generalized Peukert equations enable estimation of the capacity released by lithium-ion batteries with high accuracy. Special attention is paid to two generalized Peukert equations: C = Cm/(1 + (i/i0)) and C = Cmerfc((i-i0)/n))/erfc(-i0/n). It is shown that they correspond to the experimental data the best.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) by geological sequestration comprises a permeable formation (reservoir) for CO2 storage topped by an impermeable formation (caprock). Time-lapse (4D) seismic is used to map CO2 movement in the subsurface: CO2 migration into the caprock might change its properties and thus impact its integrity. Simultaneous forced-oscillation and pulse-transmission measurements are combined to quantify Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio as well as P- and S-wave velocity changes in the absence and in the presence of CO2 at constant seismic and ultrasonic frequencies. This combination is the laboratory proxy to 4D seismic because rock properties are monitored over time. It also improves the understanding of frequency-dependent (dispersive) properties needed for comparing in-situ and laboratory measurements. To verify our method, Draupne Shale is monitored during three consecutive fluid exposure phases. This shale appears to be resilient to CO2 exposure as its integrity is... [more]

Solar PV (photovoltaic) technology has gained considerable attention worldwide, as it can help reduce the adverse effects of CO2 emissions. Though the government of Pakistan is adopting solar PV technology due to its environmental friendliness nature, studies focusing on consumer’s acceptance of solar PV are limited in the country. This research aims to close this knowledge gap by looking into the various considerations that may influence consumers’ willingness to adopt (WTA) solar PV for household purposes. The study further contributes by expanding the conceptual framework of the theory of planned behavior by including three novel factors (perceived risk, perception of self-efficacy, and openness to technology). The analysis is based on questionnaire data collected from 683 households in Pakistan’s provincial capitals, including Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Gilgit, and Karachi. The proposed hypotheses are investigated using the state-of-the-art structural equation modeling approach. The... [more]

Developing countries, including Pakistan, need a considerable effort to withstand economic growth; however, these countries have to cope with greenhouse gases emission and other environmental concerns. Financial advancement gives rise to modern, sometimes even innovative and energy-efficient technologies and, thus, contributes to a decline in energy usage among market entities: organizations and households. The current study explores the nonlinear asymmetric relationship between economic growth (Y) and the selected exogenous variables in Pakistan by incorporating time series data spanning from 1971 to 2016. Economic growth was considered as a target variable, while energy consumption (EC), electric power consumption (EPC), financial development (FD), and energy imports (EM) were considered independent variables. To investigate cointegration among the given variables, a nonlinear ARDL bound testing approach was employed. BDS independence test was used to check the nonlinearity, and a st... [more]

The global climate crisis forces the search for new ecological sources of energy and mining methods. Space mining can solve those problems, but, first, wide geological surveying space missions using drilling methods are necessary. Additionally, drilling methods will be important in geological, life searching, geoengineering, and many other studies of extraterrestrial objects. Space is becoming a new area of possible drilling applications. Designing future space drilling missions requires adapting drilling technologies, not only to the conditions of the space environment, but also to the economic and technological realities of the space industry. The possibility of constructing low mass coring devices with energy consumption below 100 W was investigated in this paper. Minimization of energy consumption and mass of a coring is essential for the device to be used in space missions, when lander instruments supplied by low power electric battery are expected to work reliably and the launch... [more]

One of the most recently developed life cycle-based methods is an environmental footprint of products and organisations established by the European Commission. A special procedure of data and dataset quality assessment has been developed as a part of the environmental footprints methodology. The procedure may be recognised as vital and powerful but, at the same time, a bit complicated and time-consuming. It is worth discussing this subject and looking for potential simplification. In this paper, we suggest a possible way for simplification. We propose to remove an impact-assessment-based step from the procedure of company-specific datasets quality assessment. There are two potential benefits: a reduction in the need for expert knowledge and time savings. The threats posed are connected to the fact that all data influences the Data Quality Rating indicator of the entire dataset to the same degree. With a higher volume of data included in the assessment, there is a risk of greater differ... [more]

This article describes the construction of a building with four aboveground floors and one underground floor as part of the ongoing development of Warsaw’s city center. A 3D numerical model was developed to reflect the spatial and structural solutions of the new building based on the design documentation with regard to the outcomes of geotechnical tests, the actual phases of work completed, the results of the geodetic measurements carried out in individual phases of the building implementation, and the characteristics of the existing adjacent buildings. The 3D numerical model was calibrated taking into account the results of the geodetic measurements of the benchmarks stabilized on the adjacent buildings. The numerical models of the building were used to analyze a number of multiple-step variants, taking into account the increase in the number of aboveground floors (from 1 to 4) and underground floors (by 1), as well as the increase in the projected area of the underground part compare... [more]