Search results for " FLEX"

A Review of Key Performance Indicators for Building Flexibility Quantification to Support the Clean Energy Transition

2021

The transition to a sustainable society and a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 requires extensive deployment of renewable energy sources that, due to the aleatority and non-programmability of most of them, may seriously affect the stability of existing power grids. In this context, buildings are increasingly being seen as a potential source of energy flexibility for the power grid. In literature, key performance indicators, allowing different aspects of the load management, are used to investigate buildings’ energy flexibility. The paper reviews existing indicators developed in the context of theoretical, experimental and numerical studies on flexible buildings, outlining the current status a…

Investigation of design strategies and quantification of energy flexibility in buildings: A case-study in southern Italy

2021

Abstract The need for nearly (net) zero energy buildings in the current European landscape does not merely refer to energy balances: the aim to investigate the interaction between generation and load and find sources of technical-economic energy efficiency is marking the rise in interest throughout research and practice of energy flexibility solutions in buildings. In this regard, the study aims at enhancing the energy flexibility of a building in southern Italy through Rule-Based Control algorithms for the control of the space heating system and the charge and discharge of an electricity storage. The influence of electricity pricing and the thermal comfort conditions on flexibility is also…

Wave Energy Assessment around the Aegadian Islands (Sicily)

2019

This paper presents the estimation of the wave energy potential around the Aegadian islands (Italy), carried out on the basis of high resolution wave hindcast. This reanalysis was developed employing Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) and WAVEWATCH III ® models for the modelling of the atmosphere and the waves, respectively. Wave climate has been determined using the above-mentioned 32-year dataset covering the years from 1979 to 2010. To improve the information about wave characteristics regarding spatial details, i.e., increasing wave model resolution, especially in the nearshore region around the islands, a SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) wave propagation model was used. Results obtai…

La sufixació apreciativa del català: creacions lèxiques i implicacions morfològiques

2015

Resum: La situació de la derivació apreciativa dins la morfologia és excepcional, perquè la informació limitada que contenen, en general, les gramàtiques i els diccionaris sobre els apreciatius així com l’ús habitual d’aquestes formes en contextos familiars i informals fan que la creativitat dels parlants no es vegi limitada per normatives i que, per tant, aflorin solucions imaginatives, que, tot i la variació existent, segueixen uns condicionaments gramaticals clars. L’objectiu d’aquest treball és aportar noves dades en aquest camp a partir de formes recollides en corpus tradicionals i per internet, amb una doble finalitat: d’una banda, aprofundir en les particularitats morfològiques de la…

Effect of fatigue and gender on kinematics and ground reaction forces variables in recreational runners.

2017

The presence of fatigue has been shown to modify running biomechanics. Overall in terms of gender, women are at lower risk than men for sustaining running-related injuries, although it depends on the factors taken into account. One possible reason for these differences in the injury rate and location might be the dissimilar running patterns between men and women. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of fatigue and gender on the kinematic and ground reaction forces (GRF) parameters in recreational runners. Fifty-seven participants (28 males and 29 females) had kinematic and GRF variables measured while running at speed of 3.3 m s−1 before and after a fatigue test protocol. T…

Force Generation Profiles of Para-Nordic Sit-Skiers Representing Different Physical Impairments

2021

Abstract Purpose To biomechanically profile force generation connected to the complex role of the trunk in double poling in a representative sample of Para-Nordic sit-skiers. Methods Twelve male World Cup Para-Nordic sit-skiers (sport classes: LW10–12) were skiing on flat snow terrain at submaximal speed of 4.5 m/s (~ 73% maximum speed). 2D video (50 Hz) and pole force analyses (1000 Hz) were performed synchronously, examining angle, force and cycle characteristics to analyse the role of the trunk in generating propulsion. Results LW10–11.5 skiers lost between 21% and 4% propulsive force versus LW12 athletes only due to different geometrics of the trunk and pole angle at an equal axial pole…

Horizon: Resilience – Design of a Serious Game for Ecological Momentary Intervention for Depression

2021

Depression is the world’s most prevalent mental disorder and the primary source of disability adjusted life years (DALY). While traditional face-to-face therapies have been shown to be effective, alternative delivery methods, e.g. internet-based therapies, have been investigated to overcome barriers to access, such as lack of availability of therapists and infrastructure. This article presents the design of a mobile serious game as a novel psychological momentary ecological intervention for depressive symptoms. We discuss how selected principles and techniques of common psychological frameworks used to tackle depression, namely Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (including Behavioral Activation) …

Lithospheric stresses in Rayleigh–Bénard convection: effects of a free surface and a viscoelastic Maxwell rheology

2015

BILATERAL SOCIAL DIALOGUE IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR IN LATVIA DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

2021

In 2020, the world was unprepared for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. , . In Latvia, respective decisions and restrictions were made at the national, municipal and educational institution’s level, as it was important to respond promptly, flexibly and in accordance with the individual’s health security to ensure safe educational process. During the Covid-19 pandemic, distance learning was provided at most educational institutions, which was not a common practice until now. It facilitated the digitalisation of education, led to rapid adaptation to change and learning to work in times of crisis and limited resources. In the paper, theoretical findings of human capital and the agent net…

Force/Torque-Sensorless Joint Stiffness Estimation in Articulated Soft Robots

2022

Currently, the access to the knowledge of stiffness values is typically constrained to a-priori identified models or datasheet information, which either do not usually take into ac- count the full range of possible stiffness values or need extensive experiments. This work tackles the challenge of stiffness estimation in articulated soft manipulators, and it proposes an innovative solution adding value to the previous research by removing the necessity for force/torque sensors and generalizing to multi-degree- of-freedom robots. Built upon the theory of unknown input-state observers and recursive least-square algorithms, the solution is independent of the actuator model parameters and its in…