The article presents results of research on an adjustable check valve. In particular, the article deals with improvement of flow characteristics and reduction in pressure losses of an existing valve design. The subject of the research was the valve body in the form of a steel block intended for mounting a typical cartridge valve insert. Two variants of the valve body were analysed: a standard one, which is currently in production, and the proposed new solution, in which the geometry was modified based on the results of CFD simulations. The main research task was to properly shape and arrange holes and flow channels inside the body, between the cartridge valve and the connecting plate. Using CFD analyses, a solution for minimising the flow resistance was sought and then the method of modifying flow channels geometry was developed. The CFD simulation results showed a significant reduction in pressure loss, up to 40%. The obtained simulation results were verified on a test bench using a p... [more]

Predicting building air change rates is a challenge for designers seeking to deal with natural ventilation, a more and more popular passive strategy. Among the methods available for this task, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) appears the most compelling, in ascending use. However, CFD simulations require a range of settings and skills that inhibit its wide application. With the primary goal of providing a pragmatic CFD application to promote wind-driven ventilation assessments at the design phase, this paper presents a study that investigates natural ventilation integrating 3D parametric modeling and CFD. From pre- to post-processing, the workflow addresses all simulation steps: geometry and weather definition, including incident wind directions, a model set up, control, results’ edition, and visualization. Both indoor air velocities and air change rates (ACH) were calculated within the procedure, which used a test house and air measurements as a reference. The study explores alterna... [more]

Hydrogen is one of the modern energy carriers, but its storage and practical use of the newest hydrogen technologies in real operation conditions still is a task of future investigations. This work describes the experimental hydrogen hybrid energy system (HHS). HHS is part of a laboratory off-grid system that stores electricity gained from photovoltaic panels (PVs). This system includes hydrogen production and storage units and NEXA Ballard low-temperature proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Fuel cell (FC) loses a significant part of heat during converting chemical energy into electricity. The main purpose of the study was to explore the heat distribution phenomena across the FC NEXA Ballard stack during load with the next heat transfer optimization. The operation of the FC with insufficient cooling can lead to its overheating or even cell destruction. The cause of this undesirable state is studied with the help of infrared thermography and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) mo... [more]

The electricity tariffs available to customers in Poland depend on the connection voltage level and contracted capacity, which reflect the customer demand profile. Therefore, before connecting to the power grid, each consumer declares the demand for maximum power. This amount, referred to as the contracted capacity, is used by the electricity provider to assign the proper connection type to the power grid, including the size of the security breaker. Maximum power is also the basis for calculating fixed charges for electricity consumption, which is controlled and metered through peak meters. If the peak demand exceeds the contracted capacity, a penalty charge is applied to the exceeded amount, which is up to ten times the basic rate. In this article, we present several solutions for entrepreneurs based on the implementation of two-stage and deep learning approaches to predict maximal load values and the moments of exceeding the contracted capacity in the short term, i.e., up to one mont... [more]

Simultaneous satisfaction of both thermal and visual comfort in buildings may be a challenging task. Therefore, this paper suggests a comprehensive framework for the building energy optimization process integrating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) daylight simulations. A building energy simulation tool, IDA Indoor Climate and Energy (IDA-ICE), was coupled with three open-source tools including GenOpt, OpenFOAM, and Radiance. In the optimization phase, several design variables i.e., building envelope properties, fenestration parameters, and Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system set points, were selected to minimize the total building energy use and simultaneously improve thermal and visual comfort. Two different scenarios were investigated for retrofitting of a generic office building located in Oslo, Norway. In the first scenario a constant air volume (CAV) ventilation system with a local radiator in each zone was used, while an all-air system equipped with a demand... [more]

The role of renewable energy sources in the Polish power system is growing. The highest share of installed capacity goes to wind and solar energy. Both sources are characterized by high variability of their power output and very low dispatchability. Taking into account the nature of the power system, it is, therefore, imperative to predict their future energy generation to economically schedule the use of conventional generators. Considering the above, this paper examines the possibility to predict day-ahead wind power based on different machine learning methods not for a specific wind farm but at national level. A numerical weather prediction model used operationally in the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management−National Research Institute in Poland and hourly data of recorded wind power generation in Poland were used for forecasting models creation and testing. With the best method, the Extreme Gradient Boosting, and two years of training (2018−2019), the day-ahead, hourly win... [more]

Electrical devices in the consumer markets need to comply with stringent standards for electromagnetic interference (EMI) distortion and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). This paper presents the results of measurements of electromagnetic interference generated by an electrical drive of an electric torque tool with a brushless DC motor. The measurements were made in accordance with the PN-EN 55014-1:2017-06E standard, in the frequency band of 148 kHz−30 MHz. The results confirmed that the tested drive can meet the requirements defined in this document. Another document, the PN-EN IEC 61000-3-2:2019-04E standard, provides limits for the harmonic content in the current drawn by electrical devices from a single-phase AC line. This paper also presents the results of measurements related to this standard. Harmonics, up to and including the 40th one, were determined and compared with the limits given in the standard for class B devices. The measurement results indicate a need to use an act... [more]

Due to gravity, drilling cuttings are easily accumulated in an inclined well section, ultimately forming a cuttings bed, which places the drill pipe under strong friction torque. In severe cases, this can cause dragging, stuck drills, and broken drill tools. Because conventional drilling fluids are difficult to prevent the formation of cuttings in inclined well sections, a method of carrying cuttings with the pulsed drilling fluid to improve wellbore cleanness is proposed. Experiments and numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the effects of cuttings bed transport velocity, cuttings size, cuttings height, drill pipe rotation speed, cuttings bed mass, and roughness height. The optimal pulse parameters are determined per their respective impact on cuttings transport concerning varied periods, amplitudes, and duty cycles of the pulsed drilling fluid. Compared to cuttings transport under the conventional drilling fluid flow rate, the pulsed drilling fluid produces the turbulent... [more]

In this paper the multi-phenomena deflagration model is used to simulate deflagrative combustion of several fuel−air mixtures in various scale closed vessels. The experimental transient pressure of methane−air, ethane−air, and propane−air deflagrations in vessels of volume 0.02 m3, 1 m3, and 6 m3 were simulated. The model includes key mechanisms affecting propagation of premixed flame front: the dependence of laminar burning velocity of concentration, pressure, and temperature; the effect of preferential diffusion in the corrugated flame front or leading point concept; turbulence generated by flame front itself or Karlovitz turbulence; increase of the flame front area with flame radius by fractals; and turbulence in the unburned mixture. Laminar velocity dependence on concentration, pressure, and temperature were calculated using CANTERA software. Various scale and geometry of used vessels induces various combustion mechanism. Simulations allow insight into the dominating mechanism. Th... [more]

The paper presents a new method of predicting the remaining useful life of technical devices. The proposed soft computing approach bridges the gap between analytical and data-driven health prognostic approaches. Whilst the former ones are based on the classical exponential shape of degradation, the latter ones learn the degradation behavior from the observed historical data. As a result of the proposed fusion, a practical method for calculating components’ remaining useful life is proposed. Contrarily to the approaches presented in the literature, the proposed ensemble of analytical and data-driven approaches forms the uncertainty interval containing an expected remaining useful life. In particular, a Takagi−Sugeno multiple models-based framework is used as a data-driven approach while an exponential curve fitting on-line approach serves as an analytical one. Unlike conventional data-driven methods, the proposed approach is designed on the basis of the historical data that apart from l... [more]

BiVO4 films were fabricated by radio frequency (RF) sputtering from a single target. The deposited BiVO4 films were found to be rich in Bi, and the reason for the Bi-richness was investigated. It was inferred from the Monte Carlo simulation that, during sputtering, the transfer process of target atoms through argon gas played a major role in this phenomenon. The transfer process resulted in an imbalanced ratio of Bi and V, arising from the difference in atom mass and interaction radius. The high RF power was found to be effective in adjusting the Bi/V ratio, influencing the sputtering yield. This type of preferential sputtering was maintained by the diffusion of target atoms from the bulk to the surface. BiVO4 films with monoclinic scheelite crystal structures were obtained at high RF power values and found to exhibit photocatalytic performances beneficial for photoanodic applications.

Massive deformation often occurs when deep coalmine roadways pass through a fault zone due to the poor integrity of rock mass and high tectonic stress. To study deformation characteristics of the surrounding rock in the fault zone of a coalmine, a roadway passing through the FD1041 fault zone in China’s Gugui coalfield was investigated in this research. The geo-stress characteristics of this fault zone were analyzed based on the Mohr failure theory. Furthermore, a three-dimensional model for the experimental roadway in the FD1041 fault zone was built and calculated by a numerical program based on the distinct element method. Stability conditions of the roadway, using several types of support methods, were calculated and compared. Calculation results indicated that pre-grouting provides favorable conditions for the stability of a roadway in a fault zone. Finally, an optimized support strategy was proposed and implemented in the experimental roadway. Monitored results demonstrated that t... [more]

The deepening of a mine shaft is a difficult and dangerous operation. Moreover, it requires the continuous operation of the shaft during the process of deepening. Because of this, it is necessary to leave the plug on the shaft bottom or install an artificial shaft bottom. The main task of an artificial shaft bottom is to provide safety from falling objects for the employees working on the shaft bottom. Many solutions for shaft safety platforms have been used in Polish mines over the years. A new construction of the artificial shaft bottom consists of using layers of highly durable net. It allows a reduction in the construction weight as well as the installation time. This article presents a new construction of an artificial shaft bottom and the simulations and calculations that confirm the possibility of its application to mine shafts during their deepening.

This paper presents the obtained results of experimental tests and modelling of lightning disturbances that were propagated in a model of aircraft cable bundle and caused by multiple lightning return-strokes interactions. The work is a continuation of previous research, which was concerned mainly with the interaction of lightning discharge with a single return-stroke. The section of the cable harness arranged above the metal plate was investigated. In one of its wires, a multiple-stroke current representing indirect lightning effects was injected from an impulse current generator dedicated to avionics immunity tests. Overvoltages induced at the ends of other wires surrounded by a braided shield, as well as the influence of line parameters and shield grounding condition on the shape and level of observed transients, were examined. The computer simulation results match the measurement data with satisfactory accuracy, and therefore, the presented model can be used to estimate indirect lig... [more]

Many bottom-mounted offshore wind farms are currently planned for the coastal areas of Japan, in which wind speeds of 6.0−10.0 m/s are extremely common. The impact of such wind speeds is very relevant for the realization of bottom-mounted offshore wind farms. In evaluating the feasibility of these wind farms, therefore, strict evaluation at wind speeds of 6.0−10.0 m/s is important. In the present study, the airflow characteristics of 2 MW-class downwind wind turbine wake flows were first investigated using a vertically profiling remote sensing wind measurement device (lidar). The wind turbines used in this study are installed at the point where the sea is just in front of the wind turbines. A ground-based continuous-wave (CW) conically scanning wind lidar system (“ZephIR ZX300”) was used. Focusing on the wind turbine near-wakes, the detailed behaviors were considered. We found that the influence of the wind turbine wake, that is, the wake loss (wind velocity deficit), is extremely larg... [more]

In order to model GaN-HEMT switching transients and determine power losses, a compact model including dynamic RDSon effect is proposed herein. The model includes mathematical equations to represent device static and capacitance-voltage characteristics, and a behavioural voltage source, which includes multiple RC units to represent different time constants for trapping and detrapping effect from 100 ns to 100 s range. All the required parameters in the model can be obtained by fitting method using a datasheet or experimental characterisation results. The model is then implemented into our developed virtual prototyping software, where the device compact model is co-simulated with a parasitic inductance physical model to obtain the switching waveform. As model order reduction is applied in our software to resolve physical model, the device switching current and voltage waveform can be obtained in the range of minutes. By comparison with experimental measurements, the model is validated to... [more]

We propose a machine learning-based methodology which makes use of ensemble methods with the aims (i) of treating missing data in time series with irregular observation times and detecting anomalies in the observed time behavior; (ii) of defining suitable models of the system dynamics. We applied this methodology to US wholesale electricity price time series that are characterized by missing data, high and stochastic volatility, jumps and pronounced spikes. For missing data, we provide a repair approach based on the missForest algorithm, an imputation algorithm which is completely agnostic about the data distribution. To identify anomalies, i.e., turbulent movements of power prices in which jumps and spikes are observed, we took into account the no-gap reconstructed electricity price time series, and then we detected anomalous regions using the isolation forest algorithm, an anomaly detection method that isolates anomalies instead of profiling normal data points as in the most common t... [more]

With continuous proliferation of private battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in urban regions, the demand for electrical energy and power is constantly increasing. Electrical grid infrastructure operators are facing the question of where and to what extent they need to expand their infrastructure in order to meet the additional demand. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to develop an activity-based mobility model that supports electrical grid operators in detecting and evaluating possible overloads within the electrical grid, deriving from the aforementioned electrification. We apply our model, which fully relies on open data, to the urban area of Berlin. In addition to a household travel survey, statistics on the population density, the degree of motorisation, and the household income in fine spatial resolution are key data sources for generation of the model. The results show that the spatial distribution of the BEV charging energy demand is highly heterogeneous. The demand per capita... [more]

Since ancient times, raw earth has been used worldwide as a construction material. Today, it is well known for its good environmental properties of recyclability and low embodied energy along the production process. Earthen walls regulate the interior temperature of the buildings, providing comfortable temperatures with a very low carbon footprint. As a result of those advantages, earthen building techniques have been revived and used for contemporary architecture. The aim of this paper is to review the state of the art about the thermal behaviour of earthen building, including all the monitoring and simulation analysis of real earthen constructions up to now. The paper presents the different earthen techniques known nowadays, analysing the most important thermal parameters and the thermal comfort achieved with each technique. Regardless the wide differences among the analyzed cases, the authors conclude that earth building is a suitable solution in hot and arid climates, since it pres... [more]

In the framework of the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project, one of the key components of the reactor is the ECRH (Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating). This system has the duty to heat the plasma inside the tokamak, using high frequency and power radio waves, produced by sets of 1MW gyrotrons. One of the main issues related to the gyrotron operation is the output power drop that happens right after the beginning of a pulse. In this work, we study the underlying phenomena that cause the power drop, focusing on the gyrotron’s MIG (Magnetron Injection Gun) of the 1MW, 170 GHz European Gyrotron prototype for ITER. It is shown how the current emission and the temperature of the emitter are tightly bound, and how their interaction causes the power drop, observed experimentally. Furthermore, a simple yet effective lumped-parameter model to describe the MIG’s cathode thermal dynamics is developed, which is able to predict the power output of the gyrotron by simula... [more]

The forward expansion hole improves the film cooling effectiveness by reducing the penetration of the coolant jet into the main flow compared to the cylindrical holes. In addition, compound angles improve the film cooling effectiveness by promoting the lateral spreading of the coolant on a wall. Evidently, the combination of a compound angle and shaped hole further improves the adiabatic film cooling effectiveness. The film cooling flow with a shaped hole with 15° forward expansion, a 35° inclination angle, and 0° and 30° compound angles at 0.5 and 1.0 blowing ratios was numerically simulated with Large Eddy Simulations (LES) and Reynolds-averaged Navier−Stokes (RANS) simulations. The results of the time-averaged film cooling effectiveness, temperature, velocity, and root-mean-square (rms) values of the fluctuating velocity and temperature profiles were compared with the experimental data by Lee et al. (2002) to verify how the LES improves the results compared to those of the RANS. For... [more]

The design of a racing car needs several aerodynamic design steps in order to achieve high performance. Each component has an aerodynamic interaction with the others and high performance requires a good match between them. The front wing is undoubtedly one of the main components to determine car performance with a strong interaction with the downstream components. The Gurney Flap (GF) is a small appendix perpendicular to the pressure side of the front wing at the trailing edge that can dramatically improve the front wing performance. In the literature, the performance of a GF on a single profile is well documented, while in this paper the GF mounted on the front wing of a racing car has been investigated and the interactions through the 3D flow structures are discussed. The global drag and downforce performance on the main components of the vehicle have been examined by comparing the cases with and without a GF. The GF increases the downforce by about 24% compared to a limited increase... [more]

This paper explores how water temperature changes in a district heating system (DHS) impact the monitoring of water losses. Water volume in DHS is constantly monitored, recorded, and replenished. The leakage and failure status of the DHS is often monitored through measuring the make-up water flow rate. In this paper, we present the methodology and a simplified model of the dynamics of the heating system operation, which was used to determine the profile of changes in the average temperature and density of water in the system. The mathematical model of the district heating network (DHN) was verified by comparing the results of simulation calculations, i.e., calculated values of the temperature of water returning to the heat source, with the measured values. Fluctuations in water temperature cause changes in the density and volume of water in the DHN, which affect the amount of water supplementing the system. This is particularly noticeable in a DHN with a large water volume. The study r... [more]

In horizontal wells, the casing string is affected by the gravity effect, temperature effect, swelling effect, bending effect, friction effect and other mechanical effects. In view of this situation, the mathematical models of casing swelling effect and temperature effect caused by volume fracturing are established. The case analysis shows that the length of the unsealed section in the vertical section has a great influence on the axial shortening of the casing during fracturing. With the increase of the unsealed section length, the axial shortening of the casing increases gradually under the same wellhead pressure. In the process of fracturing, repeated squeezing and pressurization lead to periodic changes of the wellhead pressure, casing deformation and load, which leads to fatigue damage and even fracture of casing. At the same time, a large amount of fracturing fluid is continuously injected through the casing during the fracturing process, which makes the wellbore temperature chan... [more]

The exact nature of thermal processes occurring in an electric motor is often unknown. Thus, the estimation of temperature rise using mathematical models and computational experiments is becoming increasingly important. Thermal analysis is the key design aspect, which has become significant in the design process for electric motors. The thermal analysis of electric motors can be helpful in developing effective thermal monitoring methods. This analysis is crucial for a better understanding of the overall performance and failure prevention for these electrical motors. In this paper, laboratory investigations of thermal processes in low-voltage asynchronous motors are described. The analysis of the results leads to the conclusion that the classic single-exponential models do not match the dynamically changing thermal processes in electric motors especially in the case of intermittent motor operation.