Gears are common and important components of many types of propulsion systems applied in mechanical engineering. The aim of this paper is to present the mechanical design and performance analysis of a novel two-stage magnetic precession gear (MPG). The main advantage of the proposed design is the ability to obtain higher transmission ratios than other currently known magnetic gear types. A detailed analysis of the performance of the MPG was carried out employing a developed numerical model of the magnetic field in the proposed gear. The MPG model is based on the finite element method (FEM) and allows determining the relations between the torque acting on the main components of the gear, load angles, and air-gap lengths. To validate the developed FEM model, the prototype of an MPG with a 1/144 gear ratio was built and tested. The experiments were also focused on determining the mechanical efficiency as well as the influence of rotational speed and lengths of air gaps on the maximum load... [more]

Protection of marine environment and reduction of GHG emissions are currently imperative criterion for ship design. For ships in service, including fishing vessels powered by internal combustion engines, options of retrofitting are sought to reduce their hydrodynamic resistance and fuel consumption. One such possibility is the addition of a simple-shape bulbous bow, which can be installed at low cost to upgrade a fishing vessel. We present an analysis of the effect that the bulbous bow has on fishing vessel resistance across the whole range of speeds at which the entire work cycle of the vessel is carried out. The resistance was calculated using a calculation of fluid dynamics (CFD) method for the actual size of the vessel. We show that it is possible to develop such a bulbous bow for which the resistance of fishing vessel with a bulbous bow is going to be lower than that of an unmodified shape. For the modified shape of the fishing vessel, fuel consumption, amount and composition of e... [more]

In this article, the method of hard rock mining by undercutting or back incision using asymmetrical disk tools as an alternative to the milling method with the use of cutting tools was described. The results of modelling the penetration of a single asymmetric disk tool edge into an artificial and natural rock sample were presented and compared with empirical laboratory tests. The effect of stand tests for mining artificial rock samples using asymmetrical disk tools mounted on the rotating plate was presented. The tests were carried out on two unique test stands. The solution of an innovative mining head with a complex motion trajectory, using the asymmetrical disk tools, was presented. The innovative mining head especially developed at the AGH Kraków Department of Machinery Engineering and Transport for roadheaders, was presented. The results of preliminary field tests with the use of this mining head were also described.

This paper presents MARTINE (Multi-Agent based Real-Time INfrastruture for Energy), a simulation, emulation and energy management platform for the study of problems related to buildings and smart grids. Relevant advances related to buildings and smart grid management and operation have been proposed, focusing either on software models for decision support or on physical infrastructure and control approaches. These two perspectives are, however, complementary, and no practical assessment can be achieved without a suitable interaction and analysis of the impact that decision-making models have on physical resources, and vice-versa. MARTINE overcomes this limitation by integrating, in a single platform: real buildings with the associated devices and resources; emulated components that complement the ones present in the buildings; simulated resources, players and buildings using multi-agent systems, real-time simulation with hardware in the loop capabilities, which enables integrating virt... [more]

Three connection methods for the combined heating systems of a closed-type heat-source tower heat pump (CHTHP) and solar collector (SC) were proposed in this paper: the heat-source tower (HST) and solar collector were connected in series (HST+SC), and the solar collector and heat pump (HP) condenser were connected in series (SC+HP) and in parallel (SC//HP). The calculation module of the closed heat-source tower was built using programming software based on C++ language, and three corresponding calculation models of the combined heating systems were established in the TRNSYS. Under the climatic conditions of the cold season in Changsha, the combined heating performance of the three systems was simulated and analyzed. The results indicate that the simulation results of the established models are in good agreement with the test results, and the simulation results can be used for the research of the system’s combined heating performance. When the outdoor air temperature and solar radiation... [more]

The article presents the possibility of using the currents’ physical components (CPC) theory to generate the reference current of the active power filter (APF). The solution proposed by the authors is based on the cooperation of minimizing balancing compensators (MBC), which, due to their use in 4-wire systems, have been divided into two structures. The first compensator, which purpose is to minimize and balance the reactive current and the unbalanced current of the zero sequence, is built in the star system (STAR-MBC). The purpose of the second compensator, which operation occurs in the delta system (DELTA-MBC), is to minimize and balance the other two components, i.e., the unbalanced current of the negative sequence and the unbalanced current of the positive sequence. The two structures cooperating with each other significantly reduce the currents associated with the reactive elements, i.e., reactive current, and the unbalanced current. As mentioned, these currents are reduced but no... [more]

A theoretical model was developed to investigate a falling-film absorber on horizontal tubes with an aqueous alkaline nitrate solution as working fluid. The absorbent, composed of an aqueous solution of nitrates (Li, K, Na) in salt mass percentages of 53%, 28%, and 19% respectively, offers favourable thermal stability, corrosiveness, and heat and mass transfer conditions which can be appropriate for absorption cooling cycles driven by high-temperature heat sources. The mathematical model developed characterises the heat and mass transfer processes and the flow regime effect (droplet-formation, droplet-fall, and falling-film) on the falling-film absorber. The results show the importance of the falling-film and droplet-formation flow regimes in the absorption process. The solution temperature and concentration profiles inside the absorber were established together with their values at the exit. The results obtained by the theoretical model were well in agreement with the experimental dat... [more]

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly available and are expected to be a large part of the load in future power systems. EV chargers are a relatively new type of load and are mainly interfaced with the grid through power electronics. It is therefore important to investigate the impact they have on power system dynamic behaviour. In this paper, two detailed EV charger models (representing a typical slow and fast charger) were investigated. The aim was to test the capability of standard static—and more importantly, dynamic—load models, commonly used in power system studies, to represent the static and dynamic behaviour of EV chargers. Different control parameter settings for two types of EV chargers were investigated, as were the limits of standard power system dynamic load model structures’ accurate representation. Typical parameter sets have also been provided for cases where proper representation was possible.

There has been a gradual increase in the field of parts recovery from cars that are withdrawn from use. However, the disposal of automotive shredder residue (ASR) still remains a significant problem. ASR is refuse derived fuel (RDF), which contains mainly plastics, fiber sponges, and rubbers in different proportions, and therefore a thermal treatment of selected waste samples is applied. The presented research includes thermogravimetry (TG) analysis and differential thermogravimetric (DTG) analysis, as well as a proximate and an ultimate analysis of the ASR samples. The obtained results were processed and used as an input for modelling. The numerical calculations focused on the identification of the ASR’s average composition, the raw pyrolysis process product, its dry pyrolytic gas composition, and the combustible properties of the pyrolytic gases. The TGA analysis with three heating rate levels covered the temperature range from ambient to 800 °C. The thermal decomposition of the stud... [more]

Requirements of modern process and power technologies for compact and highly efficient equipment for transferring large heat fluxes lead to designing these apparatuses as dense parallel flow systems, ranging from conventional to minichannel dimensions according to the specific industrial application. To avoid operating issues in such complex equipment, it is vital to identify not only the local distribution of heat flux in individual parts of the heat transfer surface but also the uniformity of fluid flow distribution inside individual parallel channels of the flow system. A composite modelling system is currently being developed for accurate design of such complex heat transfer equipment. The modeling approach requires a flow distribution model enabling to yield accurate-enough predictions in reasonable time frames. The paper presents the results of complex experimental and modeling investigation of fluid flow distribution in dividing headers of tubular-type equipment. Different model... [more]

Trans-critical CO2 vapor compression (VC) refrigeration cycles require a high compression ratio, which is associated with high expansion losses. To recover these expansion losses, a pressure exchange process between the low- and high-pressure sides of the VC cycle is proposed and examined in this study. The proposed pressure exchange system is an open type constant volume process where the high- and low-pressure flows mix inside the system. This prototype is inspired by the pressure exchangers used in reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination systems. In this system, a 2D model was generated and modeled using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique. The numerical model ignored any losses due to leakage or hydraulic friction and the process is considered adiabatic. For the modeling, it was assumed that the inlet conditions for the two pressure exchanger flows are similar to the flow conditions at the evaporator and gas cooler outlets in a VC cycle. Two parameters are examined to test t... [more]

Methane hydrate has attracted attention as a next-generation resource, and many researchers have conducted various studies to estimate its productivity. Numerical simulation is the optimal method for estimating methane gas productivity. Meanwhile, using a reasonable input parameter is essential for obtaining accurate numerical modeling results. Permeability is a geotechnical property that exhibits the greatest impact on productivity. The permeability of hydrate-bearing sediment varies based on the sediment pore structure and hydrate saturation. In this study, an empirical permeability model was derived from experimental data using soil specimens from the Ulleung Basin, and the model was applied in numerical analysis to evaluate the sediment gas productivity and ground stability. The gas productivity and stability of hydrate-bearing sediments were compared by applying a widely used permeability model and the proposed model to a numerical model. Additionally, a parametric study was perfo... [more]

This paper presents the results of numerical simulations for the developed and discussed conical two-phase atomizers with swirl flow, differing in the ratio of the height of the swirl chamber to its diameter. Experiments were carried out for SAN-1 with HS/DS = 1 and SAN-2 with HS/DS = 4 atomizers. The study was conducted over a range of Reynolds number for liquid ReL = (1400; 5650) and for gas ReG = (2970; 9900). Numerical calculations were performed with the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which were verified on the basis of experimental data. Based on the analysis of experimental studies and simulations results the influence of operational parameters and changes of the atomizer geometry on the generated spray was demonstrated. As the gas flow rate increased and the swirl chamber height decreased, the spray angle increased. Higher velocity values of the liquid and greater turbulence occur in the center of the spray. The flow inside the atomizer determines the nature of the... [more]

This paper presents simulation and bench test results for a special type of centrifugal pump that enables the transport of dispersive foaming liquids and simultaneous separation of the liquid phase. During the design phase, CFD (Computer Fluid Dynamics) simulations were performed using Ansys Fluent. The simulations covered changing the operating parameters of the pump (mass/volume flow rate), pressure analysis for the first impeller, and structural optimization of the pump components. In the second stage of the research, the pump and a measuring station were constructed to validate the results of the numerical simulations.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of an entrained-flow reactor is demonstrated and compared with experimental data. The study is focused on char conversion modeling and its impact on gasification simulation results. An innovative procedure of optimizing input data to empirical char conversion kinetic-diffusion model is investigated, based on the complex carbon burnout kinetic model for oxidation (CBK/E) and gasification (CBK/G). The kinetics of the CBK/G model is determined using the data from char gasification experiments in a drop tube reactor. CFD simulations are performed for the laboratory-scale entrained-flow reactor at Brigham Young University for the bituminous coal. A substantial impact of applied kinetic parameters on the in-reactor gas composition and char conversion factor was observed. The effect was most considerable for the reduction zone, where gasification reactions dominate, although a non-negligible impact could also be observed in the flame zone. Based on... [more]

Acoustic resonance in closed side branches should be enhanced to improve the efficiency of wind energy harvesting equipment or thermo-acoustic engine. However, in gas pipeline transportation systems, this kind of acoustic resonance should be suppressed to avoid fatigue damage to the pipeline. Realizable k-ε delayed detached eddy simulations (DDES) were conducted to study the effect of different branch pipe shapes on acoustic resonance. At some flow velocities, the pressure amplitude of the simulation results is twice as large as that of the experimental results, but the simulation can accurately capture the flow velocity range where acoustic resonance occurs. The results prove the feasibility of the method of the equivalent diameter of the circular cross-section pipe and the square cross-section pipe to predict acoustic resonance. The pressure pulsation amplitude of acoustic resonance in a square cross-section pipe is significantly increased than that in a circular square cross-section... [more]

This paper reports on an ongoing international effort to establish guidelines for numerical modeling of wave energy converters, initiated by the International Energy Agency Technology Collaboration Program for Ocean Energy Systems. Initial results for point absorbers were presented in previous work, and here we present results for a breakwater-mounted Oscillating Water Column (OWC) device. The experimental model is at scale 1:4 relative to a full-scale installation in a water depth of 12.8 m. The power-extracting air turbine is modeled by an orifice plate of 1−2% of the internal chamber surface area. Measurements of chamber surface elevation, air flow through the orifice, and pressure difference across the orifice are compared with numerical calculations using both weakly-nonlinear potential flow theory and computational fluid dynamics. Both compressible- and incompressible-flow models are considered, and the effects of air compressibility are found to have a significant influence on t... [more]

The energetic usage of fuels from renewable sources or waste material is associated with controlled combustion processes with industrial burner equipment. For the observation of such processes, camera systems are increasingly being used. With additional completion by an appropriate image processing system, camera observation of controlled combustion can be used for closed-loop process control giving leverage for optimization and more efficient usage of fuels. A key element of a camera-based control system is the robust segmentation of each burners flame. However, flame instance segmentation in an industrial environment imposes specific problems for image processing, such as overlapping flames, blurry object borders, occlusion, and irregular image content. In this research, we investigate the capability of a deep learning approach for the instance segmentation of industrial burner flames based on example image data from a special waste incineration plant. We evaluate the segmentation qu... [more]

The support of economic sectors that exploit natural bio-based resources in a particular region is an opportunity to benefit from local potentials in terms of sustainability, employment, output, and household income. Hence a relevant question emerges, namely, how can bioeconomy sectors be adequately supported? Within this context, another issue is whether the bioeconomy development strategy at a national level should be the same as that at a regional level. To address these issues, in the current study a comparison was made between the bioeconomy sectors at the country level based on the case study of Poland and one of the poorest regions in the European Union—the Lubelskie Region. A regional input−output model was built for the regional economy and compared with the national model. The bioeconomy-oriented regional input−output table was built by applying a hybrid regionalization method, combining non-survey techniques and a questionnaire survey that was carried out in companies of mix... [more]

Aiming at the problem of the narrow combustion stability boundary, a conical swirler was designed and constructed based on the concept of fuel distribution. The blowout performance was studied at specified low operating conditions by a combination of experimental testing and numerical simulations. Research results indicate that the technique of the fuel distribution can enhance the combustion stability and widen the boundary of flameout within the range of testing conditions. The increase of the fuel distribution ratio improves the combustion stability but leads to an increase in NOx emission simultaneously. The simulation results show the increase of the fuel distribution ratio causes contact ratio increase in the area of lower reference velocity and gas temperature increase. The increased contact ratio and temperature contribute to the blowout performance enhancement, which is identical to the analysis result of the Damkohler number. The reported work in this paper has potential appl... [more]

This paper contains studies of daily energy production forecasting methods for photovoltaic solar panels (PV panel) by using mathematical methods and fuzzy logic models. Mathematical models are based on analytic equations that bind PV panel power with temperature and solar radiation. In models based on fuzzy logic, we use Adaptive-network-based Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) and the zero-order Takagi-Sugeno model (TS) with specially selected linear and non-linear membership functions. The use of mentioned membership functions causes that the TS system is equivalent to a polynomial and its properties can be compared to other analytical models of PV panels found in the literature. The developed models are based on data from a real system. The accuracy of developed prognostic models is compared, and a prototype software implementing the best-performing models is presented. The software is written for a generic programmable logic controller (PLC) compliant to the IEC 61131-3 standard.

The problem of an influence of cooling conditions of power semiconductor devices on properties of selected DC−DC converters is considered. The new version of electrothermal average model of a diode-transistor switch for SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) is used in the investigations. This model makes it possible to take into account thermal inertia of semiconductor devices as well as mutual thermal interactions between these devices. The investigations are performed for boost and buck converters containing the power MOS (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) transistor and the diode. Computational results obtained using the proposed model are shown and discussed. Particularly, an influence of thermal phenomena in the diode and the power MOS transistor on the converters output voltage and internal temperature of the semiconductor devices is considered. The correctness of the selected results of computations was verified experimentally.

Membrane is the most important element of extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer sensors. Studying the relationship between working medium viscosity and membrane vibration characteristics are critical to the sensor design because the transformer oil viscosity will cause viscous loss during membrane vibration. The numerical investigation of membrane vibration characteristics in transformer oil is performed based on the finite element method. Besides, the effect of energy loss caused by viscosity is examined. It is firstly showed that the membrane has the highest sensitivity for the first-order vibration mode, and the transformer oil reduces the fundamental frequency by 60%. Subsequently, when viscosity and heat loss are considered, the amplitude is less than one-fifth of that without energy loss. The viscosity has a more significant effect on the velocity and temperature fields when the vibration frequency is close to the natural frequency. Finally, viscosity has a remarkable impact on th... [more]

Rain is one of the dominant meteorological factors threatening the outdoor insulation performance of ultra-high voltage (UHV) power stations. Discharge occurring on the polluted surface of post insulators in rain has always been a major concern of power stations. Previous studies have shown that suspended water droplets on the shed edge play an important role in the rain flashover process. In this work, artificial contamination rain flashover tests were carried out in a laboratory on a UHV DC (Ultra-High Voltage Direct Current) large-diameter composite post insulator, which had a rod diameter of 625 mm and alternating sheds (105 mm and 75 mm for larger and smaller shed overhang, respectively). The discharge mechanism was analyzed base on the observation of discharge phenomenon of suspended water-drops on the shed edge. Moreover, simulation models by COMSOL Multiphysics were established to investigate the electric field around sheds and suspended water-drops, as well as the shape change... [more]

The concept of high-voltage DC transmission using a multiterminal configuration is presently a central topic of research and investment due to rekindled interest in renewable energy resource integration. Moreover, great attention is given to fault analysis, which leads to the necessity of developing proper tools that enable proficient dynamic simulations. This paper leverages models and control system design techniques and demonstrates their appropriateness for scenarios in which faults are applied. Furthermore, this paper relies on full-bridge submodule topologies in order to underline the increase in resilience that such a configuration brings to the multiterminal DC network, after an unexpected disturbance. Therefore, strong focus is given to fault response, considering that converters use a full-bridge topology and that overhead power lines connect the terminals.