The prescriptive path is the most widely used approach for commercial code compliance in the United States. Though easy to implement, prescriptive approaches do not typically discriminate between minimally compliant, high-performing and poorly performing HVAC system configurations. Hence, to meet aggressive energy and carbon reduction goals, it is clear that energy codes will need to transition from prescriptive to performance-based approaches, a transition that is riddled with several challenges. This paper discusses a new HVAC system-based performance approach (HVAC System Performance) which provides a simpler solution to HVAV system evaluation compared to whole building performance, while keeping tradeoffs limited to specific building systems. The Total System Performance Ratio (TSPR) is a metric for evaluation of overall system efficiency instead of individual component efficiency, a solution which could also eventually facilitate the transition to a 100% performance-based code str... [more]

The paper presents the impact of different methods of sewage sludge conditioning on the improvement of sludge dewatering during pressure filtration processes. The following conditioning methods were tested for sludge preparation: sonication, addition of organic and inorganic chemicals (Zetag 8180, PIX 113 and the combined action of both substances). The research covered: physical and chemical analysis of sewage sludge, measurement of capillary suction time as an indicator of sludge dewaterability, some technical parameters of sludge pressure filtration process and the analysis of filtrate to assess the degree of contamination. The results of the research showed that the final water content of the prepared sludge decreased, while the specific filtration resistance increased. Among the tested methods the best results of sludge dewatering effects were obtained for sonicated sludge and its preparation with inorganic coagulant PIX 113. The combined effect of sonication with the addition of... [more]

Considering the influence of user equipment voltage tolerance characteristics and sag types on the evaluation results, this paper proposes a voltage sag severity evaluation method for the system side which considers the influence of the voltage tolerance curve and sag type. As such, a quantitative evaluation of the severity of voltage sag events can be achieved. Firstly, the user’s voltage tolerance curve is used to construct the comparison reference value of the energy index, in order to realize the rapid analysis of the severity of the sag event in the normal area and the abnormal area. Secondly, aiming at the problem of insufficient descriptions of the severity difference of sag events in uncertain areas, an improved energy index evaluation model combined with user tolerance characteristics is established through an interval division and interval weight calculation, so as to divide and evaluate the severity of sag events in uncertain areas. Considering the influence of the sag type... [more]

Hydrocarbon exploration and production activities are basic to the functioning of the oil and gas industry, while concession contracts and fees are central concepts in the aforementioned activities. The authors consider several questions regarding these concepts, such as: what is the legislative, institutional, and fiscal framework in certain European countries regarding hydrocarbon exploration and production? What are the major differences between them? Finally, is there room for improvement of the framework in the Republic of Croatia? To answer these questions, the authors contacted some of the relevant institutions and accessed official government gazettes, institution websites, legal aggregators, journal articles, books, and different legal publications regarding the oil and gas industry for several European countries, namely the Kingdom of Norway, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Austria, and the Republic of Croatia. As a result, this paper presents an overview of legislati... [more]

Ammonia accumulation in biogas plants reactors is becoming more frequently encountered, resulting in reduced methane (CH4) production. Ammonia toxicity occurs when N-rich substrates represent a significant part of the biogas plant’s feedstock. The aim of this study was to develop an estimation method for the effect of ammonia toxicity on the CH4 production of biogas plants. Two periods where a biogas plant operated at 3200 mg·L−1 (1st period) and 4400 mg·L−1 (2nd period) of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+−N) were examined. Biomethane potentials (BMPs) of the individual substrates collected during these periods and of the mixture of substrates with the weight ratio used by the biogas plant under different ammonia levels (2000−5200 mg·L−1 NH4+−N) were determined. CH4 production calculated from the substrates’ BMPs and the quantities used of each substrate by the biogas plant was compared with actual CH4 production on-site. Biogas plant’s CH4 production was 9.9% lower in the 1st and 20.3% in the... [more]

There are many car tests regulated by European and international standards and carried out on tracks to assess vehicle performance. The test preparation phase usually consists of placing road cones on the track with a specific configuration defined by the considered standard; this phase is performed by human operators using imprecise and slow methods, mainly due to the large required distances. In this paper, a new geolocation stake-out system based on GNSS RTK technology was realized and tested, supported by a Matlab-based software application to allow the user to quickly and precisely locate the on-track points on which to position the road cones. The realized stake-out system, innovative and very simple to use, produced negligible average errors (i.e., 2.4−2.9 cm) on the distance between the staked-out points according to the reference standards (distance percentage error 0.29−0.47%). Furthermore, the measured average angular error was also found to be very low, in the range 0.04−0.... [more]

Datafication, currently visible in almost all areas of the human life, turned out to be a very good basis for the development of the concept of smart cities. Smart city authorities use various types of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the process of managing individual urban infrastructure systems. Modern ICT solutions enable city authorities to collect and process data about citizens. The purpose of this article is to determine the correlation between datafication and a city’s position in the global smart cities ranking, with particular emphasis on the role of social media. To achieve the goal, the method of examining documents was used. Two independent reports were thoroughly analyzed: the Smart City Index 2020 and the Digital 2021 Local Country Headlines. The study showed that the more residents use social media, the better a city performs in the ranking. Additionally, a directly proportional relationship between the level of urbanization and the percentage of peo... [more]

This paper presents the results of investigations on the influence of thermal phenomena—self-heating in semiconductor devices and mutual thermal couplings between them—on the characteristics of selected electronics networks containing bipolar transistors (BJTs) or insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). Using the authors’ compact electrothermal models of the transistors mentioned above, the non-isothermal DC and dynamic characteristics of these devices and selected networks with these devices are calculated. Their selected characteristics are compared with the measurement results. The waveforms of currents in the considered networks are also determined taking into account thermal phenomena. Discrepancies between the obtained calculation and measurement results and the calculation results obtained without thermal phenomena are indicated. In particular, attention is paid to cooling conditions at which the networks under consideration may be damaged due to thermal phenomena.

This paper contains a comprehensive study regarding the synthesis and physicochemical properties of new hexasubstitued benzene derivatives. In this work, three compounds of this type (including two electropolymerisable monomers) were synthesized in a one-step reaction with good yields ranging from 34% to 56%. A thermal investigation shows that this type of compound is stable up to 360 °C (10% weight loss temperature). The influence of the substituents in the first and second position of the central benzene on the stability, luminescence, and (spectro)electrochemical behavior was thoroughly studied with the aid of theoretical calculations. In each case, strong blue shifting of the π-π* transition (according to 1,4-disubstitued analogs) was observed, proving this moieties’ orthogonal orientation. In the case of derivatives with a Bt-core-Bt formula (where Bt = 2,2′-bithiophene-5-yl), an electrochemical oxidation process transformed them into conducting polymers. The polymer presents extr... [more]

The sonolysis of certain substrates in water has proved its effectiveness for the enhancement of the sonochemical production of hydrogen. In this study, the sonolysis of methane has been investigated for the first time in a single acoustic bubble (microreactor) over a frequency from 140 to 515 kHz. The obtained findings have been compared to those available in the literature. Independently of the methane dose (inside the bubble), the yield of H2 was improved especially with the decrease in wave frequency (from 515 to 140 kHz). For the driving frequencies 140, 213, 355, and 515 kHz, the production of hydrogen was maximized at 20, 15, 10, and 10% CH4, respectively. For 213 kHz, and the presence of 10% methane, the yield of hydrogen goes up by 111 fold compared to the case where the gas atmosphere is saturated only by argon. On the other hand, the highest methane conversions (~100% for 2, 5 and 7% CH4) were retrieved at 140 and 213 kHz. In terms of hydrogen formation and methane decay, th... [more]

The research on pore structure and heterogeneity of shale reservoirs has always been a hotspot in the study of unconventional reservoir characteristics. China is a country dominated by continental shale. Compared with marine shale, continental shale has lower maturity and stronger reservoir heterogeneity. In this study, Sha-4 shale in the Liaohe Western Depression was selected for low-temperature nitrogen adsorption, scanning electron microscopy and other experiments revealing the pore structure and fractal characteristics of continental low mature organic-rich shale. The fractal dimension was calculated by the FHH model and the effects of TOC and mineral composition on pore structure and fractal characteristics were discussed. The results show that the Sha-4 shale in the study area is mainly mesoporous and the main pore types are inorganic pores with relatively large pore diameters, such as intergranular pores and inter-crystalline pores. The pore morphology is very complex, mainly na... [more]

Arguably, one of the most important issues the world is facing currently is climate change. At the current rate of fossil fuel consumption, the world is heading towards extreme levels of global temperature rise if immediate actions are not taken. Transforming the current energy system from one largely based on fossil fuels to a carbon-neutral one requires unprecedented speed. Based on the current state of development, direct electrification of the future energy system alone is technically challenging and not enough, especially in hard-to-abate sectors like heavy industry, road trucking, international shipping, and aviation. This leaves a considerable demand for alternative carbon-neutral fuels such as green ammonia and hydrogen and renewable methanol. From this perspective, we discuss the overarching roles of each fuel in reaching net zero emission within the next three decades. The challenges and future directions associated with the fuels conclude the current perspective paper.

The prediction of tidal waves is essential for improving not only our understanding of the hydrological cycle at the boundary between the land and ocean but also energy production in coastal areas. As tidal waves are affected by various factors, such as astronomical, meteorological, and hydrological effects, the prediction of tidal waves in estuaries remains uncertain. In this study, we present a novel method that can be used to improve short-term tidal wave prediction using a fixed-lag smoother based on sequential data assimilation (DA). The proposed method was implemented for tidal wave predictions of the estuary of the Nakdong River. As a result, the prediction accuracy was improved by 63.9% through DA and calibration using regression. Although the accuracy of the DA diminished with the increasing forecast lead times, the 1 h lead forecast based on DA still showed a 44.4% improvement compared to the open loop without DA. Moreover, the optimal conditions for the fixed-lag smoother we... [more]

This article is focused on the research concerning the calculation of the durability of electrical machines installed in the electrical system of M-28 and C-130 Hercules aircraft. The article presents a method of predicting the service life of aircraft commutator machines, which are the primary source of electrical energy. The result of the research was the determination of the durability of bearings and coils of electrical machines operated on aircraft based on a flight profile analysis. It is problematic to directly measure the wear of bearings and windings of an electric machine on the aircraft. Their usage can be determined from the relation between their wear and the ambient temperature. This research can be used in practice to plan maintenance work on the analyzed aircrafts.

Composite pressure vessels (CPVs) have become the main equipment for hydrogen storage; however, the effect of defect in the laminates of CPVs is difficult to detect. In this paper, composite specimens containing wrinkle defects were investigated, and a heterogeneity model of a wrinkle defect is proposed. A three-dimensional finite element code was developed to predict the behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced composite laminates with wrinkle defects. The effect of the geometric asymmetry of clamping was distinguished from the whole response. It was found that wrinkle defects are sensitive to tension but completely insensitive to torsion and that the distortion of out-of-plane displacement is strongly dependent upon wrinkle defects. An optical−mechanical method based on fringe projection was presented to measure the response of wrinkle defects, which shows an outstanding performance on wrinkle location and deformation visualization.

Comparative tests in air and oxy-fuel combustion were conducted in a 30 kWth circulating fluidized bed (CFB) pilot plant for waste sludge combustion. General combustion characteristics of the CFB, such as pressure profiles, temperatures along the bed, and flue gas composition, were different under the air and oxy-fuel conditions. At the bottom and in the fly ash, alkali and heavy metals had different distributions under the air and oxy-fuel combustion conditions. The particle size distribution in fly ash from air combustion was dominated by coarse particles, over 2.5 μm in size, whereas with oxy-fuel combustion, most particles were submicron in size, approximately 0.1 μm, and a smaller quantity of coarse particles, over 2.5 μm in size, formed than with air combustion. Mass fractions of Al, Ca, and K, below 2.5 μm in size, were found in the ashes from oxy-fuel combustion and in higher quantity than those found in air combustion. Submicron particle formation from Cr, Ni, Cu, and Zn in th... [more]

Hydrogen is expected to become a key component in the decarbonized energy systems of the future [...]

Based on the DY spillover index model, we explore the static and dynamic risk spillover relationships between the Chinese carbon and stock markets from the perspective of the entire market and different industry levels. Furthermore, we examine the impact of diverse types of exogenous events on the risk spillover effects. The empirical results of the sectoral stock market show that the carbon market is the primary risk taker, and the risk spillover to the carbon market is mainly from high-carbon-emitting industries, such as the oil and electricity industries. However, the risk spillover relationship will be reversed under the shocks from exogenous events. The shocks from different types of exogenous events enhance the risk spillover from the carbon market to the stock market, specifically to the oil sector. The Sino−U.S. trade war and the COVID-19 outbreak are more impactful than government policies. These findings help investors to understand the risk conduct patterns among different f... [more]

The role of interzonal airflows is especially pronounced in naturally ventilated buildings. In such buildings, reversed airflows in the ventilation stacks might occur as well. This affects the air exchange rate and contaminant distribution in buildings. A significant increase in carbon dioxide concentration is a characteristic phenomenon for poorly ventilated rooms. This paper demonstrates the application of metabolic carbon dioxide concentration measurements for interzonal airflow estimation in naturally ventilated buildings. The presented method is based on the continuous measurements of CO2 concentration at one point in each zone. These measurements are used to estimate airflow pattern in a multizone building by applying an inverse analysis. The developed methodology employs an iterative Levenberg-Marquardt procedure to maximise the nonlinear likelihood function. The validity of the method was verified against measurements carried out in a single naturally ventilated room. Further,... [more]

Sewage sludge may pose a fire risk. The safe storage of biomass waste is a challenge due to self-heating processes. This study aims to assess the propensity to spontaneously combust of sewage sludge in order to determine safe storage and transport conditions. The evaluation of spontaneous ignition hazard was assessed according to EN 15188, by the determination of the self-ignition temperature. Certain parameters assumed to affect the inclination of sewage sludge to self-ignite, including the moisture content, bulk density, elemental composition, and particle size, were discussed. The results showed the risk of self-ignition during the storage and transport of sludge dust and pellets. The usage of the smallest basket volume resulted in the highest self-ignition temperatures, which were 186 °C and 160 °C for sludge pellets and dust, respectively. The comparison of the two forms of thermally dry sludge showed, that despite sludge pellets being easier to store and handle issues, the more f... [more]

Despite market-oriented reforms, China’s energy sector is subject to energy price distortions, which are believed to be a crucial determinants of energy efficiency in China. This paper investigates the impact of energy price distortions on energy efficiency in China from the perspective of spatial correlation. Using the nonradial directional distance function approach, we first estimate the provincial-level energy efficiency in China. Paying attention to spatial correlation among the provinces of China, in stage two, we identify the determinants of energy efficiency. Our empirical results suggest that price distortions have a significant impact on energy efficiency in China. This impact holds when the cross-region effect is considered, i.e., besides its own energy price distortion, a region’s energy efficiency is also correlated to the adjacent provinces’ energy price distortions. Furthermore, we found that the levels of energy efficiencies in adjacent provinces are highly correlated.... [more]

CO2 injection to enhance shale oil recovery provides a win-win solution to meet the global fuel shortage and realize ultimate carbon neutrality. When shale reservoirs contain high salinity water, CO2 injection can result in salt precipitation to block the nanometer pores in the shale, causing undesirable formation damage. Understanding salt precipitation and dissolution dynamics at the nanoscale are fundamental to solving this practical challenge. In this work, we developed a shale micromodel to characterize salt precipitation and dissolution based on nanofluidic technology. By directly distinguishing different phases from 50 nm to 5 μm, we identified the salt precipitation sites and precipitation dynamics during the CO2 injection. For the salt precipitation in the nanometer network, we identified two precipitation stages. The ratio of the precipitation rates for the two stages is ~7.9 times that measured in microporous media, because of the slow water evaporation at the nanoscale. For... [more]

The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) has been on the market as a permanent power source for indoor IoT edge devices. In recent years, indoor illumination technology has been experiencing a drastic transition from incandescent and fluorescent lamps toward solid-state lighting devices with light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In addition to the high power efficiency, a virtue of LEDs is their prompt response, which enables precise change of the illumination level using pulse-width modulation (PWM) of the current source, and thus PWM illumination is commonly installed in society. The light intensity change from off to on states of an LED under PWM driving is literally infinity, which causes the lighting to flicker. The lighting flicker induces not only an optical illusion but also biological effects, including serious health problems, which can be mitigated by raising the modulation frequency. Because the peak intensity of a PWM illumination can be 100 times that of the average intensity, the in... [more]

In December 2018, the call for the Special Issue “Short-Term Load Forecasting 2019” of the journal Energies was launched [...]

In order to improve the safety and economy of nuclear reactors, it is necessary to analyze the sensitivity and uncertainty (S/U) of the nuclear data. The capabilities of S/U analysis has been developed in the Reactor Monte Carlo code RMC, using the iterated fission probability (IFP) method and the superhistory method. In this paper, the S/U capabilities of RMC are applied to a typical PWR benchmark B&W’s Core XI, and compared with the multigroup and continuous-energy S/U capabilities in the SCALE code system. The S/U results of the RMC-IFP method and the RMC-superhistory method are compared with TSUNAMI-CE/MG in SCALE. The sensitivity results and the uncertainty results of major nuclides that contribute a lot to the uncertainties in keff are in good agreement in both RMC and SCALE. The RMC-superhistory method has the same precision as the IFP method, but it reduces the memory footprint by more than 95% and only doubles the running time. The superhistory method has obvious advantages wh... [more]