Search results for " Structural"
showing 10 items of 1751 documents
Effects of the Italian financial crisis on the photovoltaic dissemination in a southern city
2013
Abstract The aim of this paper is to estimate how the profitability of grid-connected PV (photovoltaic) systems may vary month by month due to the changes in all parameters involved in the economic evaluation (discount rate, PV electricity selling price, inflation rate, price of PV devices etc.). The effects of these variations were investigated for a district of a city in the South Italy (Palermo). The results of the analysis provided the trend of the actual coverage of the district power demand from June 2010 to August 2012. In particular the load match index, which considers the daily energy demand covered by PV systems, ranged from almost 30% to less than 12%, which is less than the val…
Application of the Structural Decomposition Analysis to assess the indirect energy consumption and air emission changes related to Italian households…
2012
Abstract The design of sustainable production and consumption strategies and the assessment of implemented actions require to identify the driving forces that influence the trend of energy consumption and environmental impacts. For this purpose, the Structural Decomposition Analysis (SDA) was developed as a suitable methodology to analyse the driving forces of the changes in economic, energy and environmental indicators. The paper presents one of the first Italian studies that apply an energy and environmental extended input–output model, opportunely shaped to the examined context, combined with SDA. In detail, it aims at: (1) investigating the energy use and the air emissions arisen from t…
Electricity Consumption Analysis of Tertiary Buildings: An Empirical Approach for Two University Campuses
2020
An empirical approach for the analysis of energy consumption of existing buildings of the tertiary sector is presented in this study. It allowed the organization and management of large amounts of data according to different timeframes and helped to focus on leading issues about energy uses, and dealt with compatibility with tariff structure. The analysis method, which implied a powerful graphical representation of the results, allowed us to detect critical issues in electricity energy management for public buildings and improve their energy performance. Furthermore, the authors proposed a set of electricity consumption indexes (ECIs) that gave useful insight into the main hotspots. The bas…
Assessment of Arundo donax Fibers for Oil Spill Recovery Applications
2019
In the last years, natural fibers are increasingly investigated as an oil recovery system in order to overcome the oil spillage phenomena, thus preserving environment and aquatic life. In particular, lignocellulose-based fibers have recently been employed with promising results. In such a context, the aim of this paper is to assess the oil sorption capability of natural fibers extracted from the stem of the giant reed Arundo donax L., a perennial rhizomatous grass belonging to the Poaceae family that grows naturally all around the world thanks to its ability to tolerate different climatic conditions. Sorption tests in several pollutants and water as a reference were carried out. The fibers …
Port–City Relationship and the Environment: Literature Survey and Methodological Approach for Project Appraisal in Presence of Environmental External…
2015
AbstractIn times of increasing environmental awareness, the port–city relationship has gained new meaning because ports have been seen as the origin of both negative and positive externalities affecting public welfare. While the former are the result of port expansion, the latter are the result of transforming obsolete port areas into recreational facilities. Therefore, to support effective policymaking, this paper considers the following question: What is the scope of economic valuation of these externalities in the context of port-project appraisal? Considering their nonmarket nature, which makes economic valuation more difficult, a contingent valuation method is introduced as an economic…
Un sistema formativo ancora da costruire. Riflessioni e proposte per la formazione iniziale degli educatori per la prima infanzia
2022
Mettendo in relazione la formazione iniziale di educatori/educatrici e insegnanti per la prima infanzia con le conoscenze relative allo sviluppo, alle modalità di apprendimento e ai bisogni dei bambini nei primi sei anni di vita, il mio intervento si centra sulla ipotesi di un curriculo formativo unitario. Individua quindi sia le aree disciplinari fondamentali e i possibili contenuti, sia i modelli formativi più efficaci per delineare un profilo professionale specifico, conducendo un approfondimento sull’apprendimento dall’esperienza all’interno dell’Università e sulle modalità di tirocinio maggiormente efficaci. In base alla normativa vigente, delineo poi le criticità del modello formativo…
Preliminary CAD implementation of EU-DEMO primary heat transfer systems for HCPB breeding blanket option
2019
Abstract This paper focuses on the 3D CAD implementation of the pipework and the main equipment of the Primary Heat Transfer System of EU-DEMO fusion power plant. In particular, the systems related to the Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed Breeding Blanket option are considered here. During the pulse operation, the breeding blanket modules will be the main thermal power source; Divertor and the Vacuum Vessel will contribute in the definition of the total reactor power. All the In-Vessel generated power is rejected to the Power Conversion System through a molten salt Intermediate Heat Transport System. The latter is equipped with an Energy Storage System to allow for continuous operation also during t…
Multiobjective optimization and decision making in engineering sciences
2021
AbstractReal-world decision making problems in various fields including engineering sciences are becoming ever more challenging to address. The consideration of various competing criteria related to, for example, business, technical, workforce, safety and environmental aspects increases the complexity of decision making and leads to problems that feature multiple competing criteria. A key challenge in such problems is the identification of the most preferred trade-off solution(s) with respect to the competing criteria. Therefore, the effective combination of data, skills, and advanced engineering and management technologies is becoming a key asset to a company urging the need to rethink how…
Optimization and sensitivity analysis of existing deep learning models for pavement surface monitoring using low-quality images
2022
Automated pavement distress detection systems have become increasingly sought after by road agencies to in crease the efficiency of field surveys and reduce the likelihood of insufficient road condition data. However, many modern approaches are developed without practical testing using real-world scenarios. This paper ad dresses this by practically analyzing Deep Learning models to detect pavement distresses using French Secondary road surface images, given the issues of limited available road condition data in those networks. The study specifically explores several experimental and sensitivity-testing strategies using augmentation and hyper- parameter case studies to bolster practical mode…
Robust fault-tolerant H∞ control of active suspension systems with finite-frequency constraint
2015
Abstract In this paper, the robust fault-tolerant (FT) H ∞ control problem of active suspension systems with finite-frequency constraint is investigated. A full-car model is employed in the controller design such that the heave, pitch and roll motions can be simultaneously controlled. Both the actuator faults and external disturbances are considered in the controller synthesis. As the human body is more sensitive to the vertical vibration in 4–8 Hz, robust H ∞ control with this finite-frequency constraint is designed. Other performances such as suspension deflection and actuator saturation are also considered. As some of the states such as the sprung mass pitch and roll angles are hard to m…