Optimization of hybrid – ground coupled and air source – heat pump systems in combination with thermal storage
Ground coupled heat pumps are attractive solutions for cooling and heating commercial buildings due to their high efficiency and their reduced environmental impact. Two possible ideas to improve the efficiency of these systems are decoupling energy generation from energy distribution and combining different HVAC systems. Based on these two ideas, we present several HVAC configurations which combine the following equipments: a ground coupled heat pump, an air to water heat pump and a thermal storage device. These HVAC configurations are linked to an office building in a cooling dominated area in order to evaluate in these conditions the total electrical consumption of each configuration to o…
Microbial Diversity in the Midguts of Field and Lab-Reared Populations of the European Corn Borer Ostrinia nubilalis
Background: Insects are associated with microorganisms that contribute to the digestion and processing of nutrients. The European Corn Borer (ECB) is a moth present world-wide, causing severe economical damage as a pest on corn and other crops. In the present work, we give a detailed view of the complexity of the microorganisms forming the ECB midgut microbiota with the objective of comparing the biodiversity of the midgut-associated microbiota and explore their potential as a source of genes and enzymes with biotechnological applications. Methodological/Principal Findings: A high-throughput sequencing approach has been used to identify bacterial species, genes and metabolic pathways, parti…
Transverse effects in ring fiber laser multimode instabilities
We study the influence of the transverse structure of pump and lasing fields and of the width of the doped region on the conditions for the appearance of the multimode instability in an ${\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$-doped ring fiber laser. We show that the instability can be inhibited while maintaining a large output power when the radius of the doped region is a fraction of the core radius.
Ground Coupled Heat Pumps in Mixed Climate Areas: Design, Characterization and Optimization
This contribution reviews the research work developed by the authors on the design, characterization and optimization of ground coupled heat pumps in mixed climates areas. The design of a ground coupled heat pump HVAC system starts with the estimation of the thermal loads that the air-conditioned area demands. The capacity of the ground source airconditioning system is determined from this thermal load estimation. With this value and a proper estimation of the ground thermal properties, the characteristics of the water to water heat pump and the required length and layout of the borehole heat exchangers are estimated. Determining ground thermal properties is crucial for an accurate design o…
Laser instabilities in a Gaussian cavity mode with Gaussian pump profile
We analytically demonstrate that both single-mode and multimode instabilities may occur in a Gaussian-cavity-mode laser model with Gaussian pump profile. As a necessary condition, the ratio of the beam waist to the pump waist must exceed a given limiting value, which depends on the population decay rate. For an infinitely concentrated pump the plane-wave model instability thresholds are recovered, and there exists an optimum value of the waists ratio for which the second laser threshold is minimum.
Efficiency improvement of a ground coupled heat pump system from energy management
The installed capacity of an air conditioning system is usually higher than the average cooling or heating demand along the year. So, most of the time, the system is working under its actual capacity. In this contribution, we study the way to improve the efficiency of a ground coupled heat pump air conditioning system by adapting its produced thermal energy to the actual thermal demand. For this purpose, an air conditioning system composed by a ground coupled heat pump and a central fan coil linked to an office located in a cooling dominated area was simulated, and a new management strategy aiming to diminish electrical consumption was developed under the basic constraint that comfort requi…
Reconstruction and analysis of genome-scale metabolic model of a photosynthetic bacterium
Abstract Background Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 is a cyanobacterium considered as a candidate photo-biological production platform - an attractive cell factory capable of using CO2 and light as carbon and energy source, respectively. In order to enable efficient use of metabolic potential of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, it is of importance to develop tools for uncovering stoichiometric and regulatory principles in the Synechocystis metabolic network. Results We report the most comprehensive metabolic model of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 available, iSyn669, which includes 882 reactions, associated with 669 genes, and 790 metabolites. The model includes a detailed biomass equation which encompasses…
A cellular automaton based model simulating HVAC fluid and heat transport in a building. Modeling approach and comparison with experimental results
A discrete model characterizing heat and fluid flow in connection with thermal fluxes in a building is described and tested against experiment in this contribution. The model, based on a cellular automaton approach, relies on a set of a few quite simple rules and parameters in order to simulate the dynamic evolution of temperatures and energy flows in any water or brine based thermal energy distribution network in a building or system. Using an easy-to-record input, such as the instantaneous electrical power demand of the heating or cooling system, our model predicts time varying temperatures in characteristic spots and the related enthalpy flows whose simulation usually requires heavy comp…
A transfer matrix method for the analysis of fractal quantum potentials
The scattering properties of quantum particles on fractal potentials at different stages of fractal growth are obtained by means of the transfer matrix method. This approach can be easily adopted for project assignments in introductory quantum mechanics for undergraduates. The reflection coefficients for both the fractal potential and the finite periodic potential are calculated and compared. It is shown that the reflection coefficient for the fractal has a self-similar structure associated with the fractal distribution of the potential.
Vanillin cell sensor
Our project for iGEM 2006 consisted of designing a cellular vanillin biosensor. We used an EnvZ -E. coli strain as a chassis, and constructed two different devices: a sensor and an actuator, assembled using OmpR-P as a standardised mediator. The sensor device contained a computation- ally designed vanillin receptor and a synthetic two-component signal transduction protein (Trz). The receptor protein was based on a ribose-binding protein as scaffold. The Trz was built by fusion of the periplasmic and transmembrane domains of a Trg protein with an EnvZ kinase domain. When the receptor complex binds Trg, an allosteric motion is propagated to the cyto- plasmic EnvZ kinase domain, resulting in a…
Observability of the Risken–Nummedal–Graham–Haken instability in Nd:YAG lasers
Multilongitudinal mode instability in ring Nd:YAG lasers is theoretically analyzed. After we review the way in which the standard two-level laser theory applies to this laser we extend the theoretical treatment to include transverse effects. We do this by taking into account the finite transverse section of the active medium and by assuming a Gaussian transverse distribution for the intracavity field. Finally we demonstrate that multimode emission develops whenever the intracavity field waist diameter is almost equal to the active rod diameter. We conclude that continuous-wave diode-pumped Nd:YAG lasers with low cavity losses are good candidates for the observation of the Risken–Nummedal–Gr…
Aequorin-expressing yeast emits light under electric control
In this study, we show the use of direct external electrical stimulation of a jellyfish luminescent calcium-activated protein, aequorin, expressed in a transgenic yeast strain. Yeast cultures were electrically stimulated through two electrodes coupled to a standard power generator. Even low (1.5. V) electric pulses triggered a rapid light peak and serial light pulses were obtained after electric pulses were applied periodically, suggesting that the system is re-enacted after a short refraction time. These results open up a new scenario, in the very interphase between synthetic biology and cybernetics, in which complex cellular behavior might be subjected to electrical control.
Two-photon laser dynamics.
Degenerate as well as nondegenerate three-level two-photon laser (TPL) models are derived. In the limit of equal cavity losses for both fields, it is shown that the nondegenerate model reduces to the degenerate one. We also demonstrate the isomorphism existing between our degenerate TPL model and that of a dressed-state TPL. All these models contain ac-Stark and population-induced shifts at difference from effective Hamiltonian models. The influence of the parameters that control these shifts on the nonlinear dynamics of a TPL is investigated. In particular, the stability of the periodic orbits that arise at the Hopf bifurcation of the system and the extension of the self-pulsing domains of…
Comparison between the energy performance of a ground coupled water to water heat pump system and an air to water heat pump system for heating and cooling in typical conditions of the European Mediterranean coast
Abstract The investigation presented in this article was aimed at demonstrating the technical and economical feasibility of using ground source heat pump systems in mixed climate applications, where cooling requirements are dominant. We show an experimental comparison between a ground coupled heat pump system and a conventional air to water heat pump system, focussing at the heating and cooling energy performance. A direct comparison could be made as both systems are linked, in parallel, to the same building with exactly the same loads and climatic conditions. For a whole climatic season the results obtained show that the geothermal system saves, in terms of primary energy consumption, a 43…
Advanced Control Structure for Energy Management in Ground Coupled Heat Pump HVAC System
Abstract Over the last 15 years, computerized controls have become more and more common in our homes. The smart home looks at expanding the use of the computers into the difference parts of the home, creating a network that can be easily and conveniently controlled. The use of computer controls removes the need to actually flick a switch and allows elements of the home to respond automatically to the people living in it. Successful control and heating ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems is a primary concern in building project: in order to achieve the required comfort and energy efficiency goals, a lot of variables must be coordinated and kept at particular pre-designed operatio…
Yeast cultures with UCP1 uncoupling activity as a heating device
7 páginas, 5 figuras, 3 tablas -- PAGS nros. 300-306