In this study, an industrial acid gas removal (AGR) process which uses amine-based solvents was designed and simulated. The selection of suitable absorbents is crucial for an effective AGR process. Therefore, various single and blended amine-based solvents for capturing acid gases were evaluated through a comprehensive procedure, including solvent screening and process design steps. First, various solvents were screened for their CO2 and H2S absorption efficiencies. Promising solvents were then selected for the process design step, in which all process alternatives were simulated and rigorously designed using Aspen Plus. The non-equilibrium rate-based method with an electrolyte non-random two-liquid thermodynamic model was employed for modeling the absorption column. All processes were evaluated in terms of energy requirements, costs, and carbon emissions. The results show that a blend of methyldiethanolamine and piperazine solutions are the most promising solvents for the AGR process,... [more]

An alluvial fan is a good area to install open-loop geothermal heat pump (GHP) systems due to shallower aquifers, faster groundwater flow, and fewer land subsidence risks. The natural temperature change in groundwater occurs in alluvial fans due to the recharge of river water and faster groundwater flow, and the thermal impact of the open-loop system has not been studied well in such areas. The purpose of this research is to understand the thermal impact of open-loop GHP systems on an alluvial fan. A regional 3D model of groundwater flow with heat transport was created to determine the distribution of flow velocity and temperature of groundwater. After that, two local models with different groundwater velocities were constructed to demonstrate the thermal impact of an open-loop GHP system using one extraction and one injection well. The results indicated that the local model with faster groundwater flow had a smaller thermal impact. The natural temperature change in groundwater causes... [more]

The growing interest in the utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) demands minimizing the costs of robot maintenance, where one of the main aspects relates to energy consumption. This manuscript presents a novel approach to create an energy consumption model for UAVs. The authors prove, based on experimentally collected data using a drone carrying various payloads, that Machine Learning (ML) algorithms allow to sufficiently accurately estimate a power signal. As opposed to the classical approach with mathematical modeling, the presented method does not require any knowledge about the drone’s construction, thus making it a universal tool. Calculated metrics show the Decision Tree is the most suitable algorithm among eight different ML methods due to its high energy prediction accuracy of at least 97.5% and a short learning time which was equal to 2 ms for the largest dataset.

Damage mechanics play an important role in the analysis of rock deformation and failure. Numerous damage variables have been proposed and the corresponding continuum damage models were suggested. Knowing how to apply these theoretical models appropriately in numerical simulations is the key to whether they can be adopted to solve practical problems. The continuum damage models were grouped into empirical damage models, statistical damage models, and elastoplastic damage models in this article. Their applicability and limitations were studied according to some numerical simulations of the most basic uniaxial compression test of a cylinder rock sample. Three representative damage models were chosen from the literature and applied to FEM numerical simulations by introducing a self-developed program. The stress-strain curves due to damage were obtained from the numerical simulation results and compared to those from the experimental results. The damage distribution and evolution of differe... [more]

Magnetic refrigeration is acknowledged as a potential substitute for the conventional vapor-compression refrigeration technology, owing to its high efficiency and environmental friendliness. Existing magnetic refrigeration systems are mostly based on permanent magnets, owing to the characteristics of lower magnetic field intensity, non-uniform magnetic field distribution, and lower operating frequency due to the moving parts, which results in a low cooling capacity and small temperature difference. Thus, this study proposes the application of a pulsed magnetic field, with a high intensity and frequency, to a magnetic refrigeration system to achieve a high performance. A verified numerical model is established to investigate the thermodynamic cycle and cooling performance of an active magnetic regenerator (AMR). The transient and steady-state performances of AMR under pulsed and permanent magnetic fields are compared. The results suggest that an AMR can establish a stable temperature di... [more]

Leakage inductance is one of the key parameters of a transformer, and it is often intentionally integrated into transformers. Rogowski’s equation is generally used for leakage inductance calculation; however, it is only applicable to concentric winding transformers where windings have the same height. Consequently, it has limited applications. This paper proposes a transformer leakage inductance calculation method using a double Fourier series. The limitation of Rogowski’s leakage inductance equation was analyzed in practical applications, and a new model for calculating the leakage inductance of a double-group-overlapping winding transformer was derived. Experimental prototypes of transformers were developed, and their simulation models were built in Ansys. The correctness of the proposed calculation method for transformer leakage inductance using a double Fourier series was verified by comparing the calculation results with the simulation and measured ones. A sensitivity analysis was... [more]

Wireless electric vehicle charging technology is developing in the direction of high power levels. However, more generated heat brought by higher power will accelerate the system’s aging and can even lead to damage. An excellent thermal design for the magnetic coupler can reduce each part’s maximum temperature, ensuring long-term operation reliability. Therefore, in this article, the magnetic coupler’s thermal estimation and design are studied based on a 6.6 kW wireless electric vehicle charging system. First, the calculation method of internal resistance of a litz coil, core loss, and eddy current loss of a shielding aluminum plate are studied. Considering the influence of thermal fields on material properties, each part’s power loss calculation formula is further modified to improve the accuracy. After that, heat dissipation research is carried out. The heat dissipation measures, such as filling the surface of the shielding aluminum plate with thermal conductive silicone grease, are... [more]

A special dual-tube reactor-dual fluidized bed reactor (DFBR), including an external heat exchanger (EHE) and a bypass, was designed to solve the problems that the waste heat of the hot fluid cannot be fully utilized and the reaction temperature cannot be accurately adjusted. Two connection schemes of DFBR and EHE with their thermodynamic equilibrium models and algorithms were proposed, and the optimal scheme was obtained by comparing the outlet temperature and thermal load. The results of the thermodynamic and operating characteristics of the optimal scheme showed that the hot fluid and the cold fluid had positive and negative effects on the heat transfer process, respectively. Increasing the cold fluid mass flow rate in the main stream can enhance the thermal load of the system and increasing the cold fluid mass flow rate in the bypass helped to increase the thermal load of DFBR, even exceeding that of EHE. Adding a bypass can adjust temperature precisely and increasing the inlet tem... [more]

In order to ensure the full heat dissipation of heat exchangers, the opening of the grille should be large, which increases the wind drag of the whole vehicle. Most of the research on the grille only focuses on its impact on the heat dissipation of the engine compartment; there is little research on its influence on the performance of the thermal management system, because it is difficult to solve the real-time data interaction of different dimensional models. So we established the 1D and 3D strong coupling model. The biggest difference from other 1D and 3D coupling models is that we can use the interfaces reserved by the two kinds of software to realize real-time data interaction, and simultaneously analyze the 1D thermal management performance and 3D flow field and temperature field of the engine components. The coupling model is used to study three heat balance conditions. The results show that the heat-sinking capability of the cooling system is the worst under the climbing conditi... [more]

This paper investigates the dynamics of an electromagnetic vortex bladeless wind turbine (VBWT) with a tunable mechanism. The tunable mechanism comprises a progressive-rate spring that is attached to an oscillating magnet inside an electromagnetic coil. The spring stiffness is progressively adjusted as the wind speed changes to tune the turbine fundamental frequency to match the shedding frequency of the vortex-induced vibration (VIV) due to the wind flow crossing over the oscillating mast. Coupled nonlinear equations of motion of the tunable turbine are developed using the lumped-mass representation and Lagrange formulation. Numerical results show that the tunable turbine performs effectively beyond a threshold wind speed. An analytical expression of the threshold speed is derived based on the mechanical fundamental frequency of the turbine. The analytical results are in reasonable agreement with the numerical evaluations. At a given wind speed past the threshold, the tunable turbine... [more]

In this work, a novel ejector design concept of a swirl-bypass nozzle is proposed to improve off-design performance of CO2 two-phase ejectors. The swirl-bypass nozzle allows part of the flow to bypass into the ejector mixing chamber to generate swirl. The design of such a device is investigated using a 3D multiphase CFD model. An extensive experimental test campaign is conducted to validate the baseline homogeneous equilibrium CFD model. The model’s prediction motive mass flow rate within 2−12% error and suction mass flow rate was predicted with 3−50% error. Based on the tested ejector geometry, simulations of different ejector swirl-bypass inlets are conducted. The results show that, for the current design, total entrainment of the ejector is reduced by 2−20% with the swirl-bypass inlet. The axial position of the bypass inlet plays a primary role in the bypass inlet flow rate, and, consequently, in suction flow reduction. This is found to be due to the bypass flow blocking off the suc... [more]

Fuel cells are one of the zero-emission elements of modern automotive drive systems. This article presents theoretical identification of the component parameters of indicators for the fuel cell operating conditions. Activation, ohmic, and mass transport losses were identified. Current−voltage characteristics were provided along with an analysis of typical cell losses. The actual performance characteristics of fuel cells were analyzed for Toyota Mirai I and II generation vehicles. The fuel cells operating conditions were derived and analyzed in the context of real driving conditions. Therefore, urban, rural, and motorway conditions were used. The vehicles were equipped with PEM fuel cells supplying power equal to 114 kW (1st gen.) or 128 kW (2nd gen.). The average fuel cell stack power values depend on the driving conditions: urban (about 10 kW), rural (20 kW) and motorway (about 30−40 kW) driving modes. The different power ratings of fuel cells combined with different battery generatio... [more]

A good turbine casing cooling design should control the thermal stress and maintain a reasonable tip clearance between the turbine blade and the casing. Since the turbine inlet temperature has been increased yearly, the influence of thermal radiation on the temperature of a turbine casing has become more significant. Therefore, the heat transfer characteristics of a turbine casing considering the radiation effect need to be precisely predicted. In this study, a theoretical model is established for describing the heat transfer characteristics of a turbofan casing, and the model’s effectiveness is verified by comparing the numerical and experimental results. Based on the validated model, the effects of single changes of the wall temperature, cooling air temperature, Reynolds number, and surface emissivity on the heat transfer of the casing are discussed. The results show that the increment of cooling air temperature and surface emissivity leads to the enhancement of the average radiative... [more]

Buildings are responsible for around 30 to 40% of the energy demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in European countries. Building stock energy models (BSEMs) are an established method to assess the energy demand and environmental impact of building stocks. Spatial analysis of building stock energy demand has so far been limited to cases where detailed, building specific data is available. This paper introduces two approaches of using synthetic building stock energy modelling (SBSEM) to model spatially distributed synthetic building stocks based on aggregate data. The two approaches build on different types of data that are implemented and validated for two separate case studies in Ireland and Austria. The results demonstrate the feasibility of both approaches to accurately reproduce the spatial distribution of the building stocks of the two cases. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that by using a SBSEM approach, a spatial analysis for building stock energy demand can be carried... [more]

A rapid transition toward a decarbonized economy is underway, following the Paris Agreement and the International Maritime Organization 2030 decarbonization goals. However, due to the high cost of the rapid transition to eco-friendly energy and the geopolitical conflict in eastern Europe, liquefied natural gas (LNG), which emits less carbon than other fossil fuels, is gaining popularity. As the spot market grows due to increased LNG demand, the usage of period extension options in time charter (T/C) contracts is increasing; however, these options are generally provided free of charge in practice, without economic evaluation; this is because some shipowners want to make their time charter contracts more attractive to the more credible charterers. Essentially, the reason for why this option has not been evaluated is because there is no reliable evaluation model currently used in practice. That is, research on the evaluation model for the T/C extension option has been insufficient. Theref... [more]

We investigated the dynamics of nanofluid and heat transfer in a three-dimensional circular annular using the κ−ε turbulence model and energy equations. The pipe contained two concentric and rotating cylinders with a constant speed in the tangential direction. A heat flux boundary condition was executed at the inner cylinder of the annular. The pipe was settled vertically, and water alumina nanofluid was allowed to enter, with the initial velocity depending on the Reynolds number, ranging from 30,000 to 60,000. The volume fraction of the solid particles was tested from 0.001 to 0.1. The speed of the rotation of the cylinders was tested in the range from 0.5 to 3.5. The simulations were developed using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6, adopting the finite element procedure for governing equations. The results were validated using the mesh independent study and the average Nusselt number correlations. We found that the average Nusselt number in the middle of the channel decreases linearly with th... [more]

The paper conducts a literature review of applications of autoregressive methods to short-term forecasting of power demand. This need is dictated by the advancement of modern forecasting methods and their achievement in good forecasting efficiency in particular. The annual effectiveness of forecasting power demand for the Polish National Power Grid for the next day is approx. 1%; therefore, the main objective of the review is to verify whether it is possible to improve efficiency while maintaining the minimum financial outlays and time-consuming efforts. The methods that fulfil these conditions are autoregressive methods; therefore, the paper focuses on autoregressive methods, which are less time-consuming and, as a result, cheaper in development and applications. The prepared review ranks the forecasting models in terms of the forecasting effectiveness achieved in the literature on the subject, which enables the selection of models that may improve the currently achieved effectiveness... [more]

A substation is the portion of a power grid that forms a link between the cyber system and the physical system. Reliability evaluation of smart substations based on a time-varying probabilistic hybrid attack graph (TVPHAG) is studied in this paper. First, the topology network of the smart substation is established, whose attributes are represented by probability. Then, in order to solve the problem of asynchrony in the cyber-physical system and the hybrid caused by heterogeneity, time-varying state equation in topology and cuts in algebra are introduced to TVPHAG. Based on TVPHAG, the evaluation of the reliability of cyber-physical systems with multiple equipment and multiple timescales is established. On this basis, the influences of physical conditions, cyberattacks, physical attacks, and cyber-physical attacks on substations are analyzed, respectively. Finally, the simulation shows that the method is effective in evaluating the reliability of smart substations, providing a new metho... [more]

Economic feasibility analysis is essential in the decision-making process regarding investment in photovoltaic projects. Project profitability must be measured based not only on the costs and revenues, but also on the climatic particularities of the different locations. Therefore, performing simulations of technical and economic performance of photovoltaic models is fundamental. Thus, the objective of this study was to analyze deterministic and stochastic models of investments in two types of photovoltaic systems, one incorporated into the enterprise’s architecture (a BIPV system) and the other, a conventional one, in different Brazilian locations, covering the predominant climatic factors in the country. The methodological proposal consisted of choosing a city in Brazil with each predominant climate type and compiling its data on irradiation, monthly sunshine hours, and tariffs of the electric power concessionaire, to simulate the electrical generation performance of the proposed phot... [more]

In order to analyze the influence of uncertainty and an operation strategy on the reliability of a standalone microgrid, a reliability evaluation method based on a sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) simulation was developed. Here, the duty cycles of a microturbine (MT), the stochastic performance of photovoltaics (PV), and wind turbine generators (WTG) were considered. Moreover, the time-varying load with random fluctuation was modeled. In this method, the available capacity of an energy storage system (ESS) was also comprehensively considered by the SMC simulation. Then, the reliability evaluation framework was established from the perspectives of probability, frequency, and duration, and reliability evaluation algorithms under different operation strategies were formulated. Lastly, the influence of WTG and PV penetration and equipment capacity on the reliability was evaluated in the test system. The results showed that the complementary characteristics of wind and solar and the enhancement... [more]

The so-called porpoising is a well-known problem similar to bouncing that is affecting the dynamic behavior of basically all the field of 2022 Formula 1 racing cars. It is due to the extreme sensitivity of aerodynamic loads to ride height variations along a lap. Mid-way through the season race engineers are still struggling to cope with this phenomenon and its consequences, with regard to either physiological stress experienced by the drivers or to overall vehicle performance and stability. The paper introduces two kinds of models based on real-world chassis and aerodynamic data, where the above-mentioned downforce sensitivity has been arbitrarily recreated through the application of a decay function to aero maps. The first one is a quasi-static model, usually adopted as a trackside tool for controlling ride heights and aero balance, while the second, a fully dynamic model, recreates the interaction between oscillating aerodynamic loads and suspension dynamics resulting in a visible po... [more]

The Permian igneous rock in Shunbei Oilfield exhibits high rock strength, which results in a low rate of penetration (ROP) and shortens the cutter’s service life. It is necessary to analyze and evaluate the rock breaking effect of cutters. However, at this stage, the evaluation of the rock breaking effect has been limited to comparing the sizes of the mechanical specific energy (MSE), and the change in the rock breaking efficiency caused by the difference in the shape of the cutters’ surface has not been considered. Therefore, through the establishment of numerical simulation models of a circular cutter, bevel cutter, axe cutter, wedge cutter, and triangular cutter, the evaluation of the rock breaking efficiency of special-shaped cutters was completed. The results show that the triangular cutter and the wedge cutter are suitable for the front row cutter of the polycrystalline diamond compact bit (PDC); the triangular cutter is suitable for drilling into medium−hard formations, the wedg... [more]

A network ultrasonic Wasserstein generative adversarial network (US-WGAN), which can generate ultrasonic guided wave signals, is proposed herein to solve the problem of insufficient datasets for pipe ultrasonic nondestructive testing based on deep neural networks. This network was trained with pre-enhanced and US-WGAN-enhanced datasets with 3000 epochs; the ultrasound signals generated by the US-WGAN were proved to be of high quality (peak signal-to-noise ratio scores in the range of 30−50 dB) and belong to the same population distribution as the original dataset. To verify the effectiveness of the US-WGAN, a fully connected neural network with seven layers was established, and the performances of the network after data enhancement using the US-WGAN and popular virtual defects were verified for the same network parameters and structures. The results show that adoption of the US-WGAN effectively suppresses the overfitting phenomenon while training the network and increases the dataset s... [more]

In a compressor, the periodic wake is an inherently unsteady phenomenon that affects the downstream flow conditions and loading distribution. Thus, understanding the physical mechanisms of these unsteady effects is important for eliminating flow losses and improving compressor performance, particularly at low Reynolds numbers. To understand the influence of the upstream wake on the downstream flow field structure, this paper describes numerical simulations of a one-stage high-pressure compressor at altitudes of 10−20 km. The influence of the wake on rotor flow blockage at different Reynolds numbers is analyzed, and the unsteady interaction between the upstream wake and boundary layer or tip leakage flow is discussed. The results indicate that the wake has a beneficial effect on the efficiency of the rotor at high Reynolds numbers, but this weakens and becomes negative as the Reynolds number decreases. The wake can reduce the flow blockage in the mainflow region. Due to the wake, the le... [more]

The carbon neutrality of the built environment plays a key role in fighting the climate crisis and fully realising ecological transition. In this field, the aim of the paper is to promote a new production paradigm that enables an integrated process from the design phase to the production of high-performance building components, to their “tailor-made installation” for the efficiency enhancement of the national residential building stock, reducing resource consumptions, costs, construction time and the associated environmental impact. The methodological approach is based on three key elements: digitalisation, production and performance. Recent technologies make it possible to achieve important goals, through the creation of the digital cataloguing of existing buildings, advanced dynamic simulations, improved energy performance for building stock and industrial production chain optimisation of the construction sector according to off-site construction criteria. This strategy was tested on... [more]