Search results for " engineering"
showing 10 items of 38291 documents
Engineered surface waves in hyperbolic metamaterials
2013
We analyzed surface-wave propagation that takes place at the boundary between a semi-infinite dielectric and a multilayered metamaterial, the latter with indefinite permittivity and cut normally to the layers. Known hyperbolization of the dispersion curve is discussed within distinct spectral regimes, including the role of the surrounding material. Hybridization of surface waves enable tighter confinement near the interface in comparison with pure-TM surface-plasmon polaritons. We demonstrate that the effective-medium approach deviates severely in practical implementations. By using the finite-element method, we predict the existence of long-range oblique surface waves. This research was fu…
Automatic surrogate modelling technique selection based on features of optimization problems
2019
A typical scenario when solving industrial single or multiobjective optimization problems is that no explicit formulation of the problem is available. Instead, a dataset containing vectors of decision variables together with their objective function value(s) is given and a surrogate model (or metamodel) is build from the data and used for optimization and decision-making. This data-driven optimization process strongly depends on the ability of the surrogate model to predict the objective value of decision variables not present in the original dataset. Therefore, the choice of surrogate modelling technique is crucial. While many surrogate modelling techniques have been discussed in the liter…
From’Innov: a new technology to obtain aroma in solubilized soft-cheese
2023
The dairy platform of the STLO, Rennes, developed an innovative technology and more sustainable cheese making process (INRAE patent, From’Innov, WO2016108024). This technology consists of mixing a texture matrix obtained by ultrafiltration with one or more aromatic matrix. The latter is innovative: it allows obtaining a maximum of aroma in a short time, less than a few days. The principle is to grow each of microorganisms in an optimized middle with essential nutrients, optimal pH and temperature, and O2 if necessary. After adjusting the pH and temperature of the mix, we proceed with the coagulation then the molding, and the next day the demolding. The cheese is ready and contains the expec…
Towards to Sustainable Tourism – Framework, Activities and Dimensions
2013
Abstract The tourism sector is most often associated with the attractive places worth to visit, sights to be seen or entertainment. In the general opinion, tourist sector does not have any negatives - it causes hundreds of tourists coming to the country who leave money, provide jobs and disseminate local space. On the other hand, heavy tourist traffic causes a significant damage, not only to the environment, which may lead to its degradation, but it also has a negative impact on the local community - for example, tourists bring a Coke or McDonalds’, the things unknown for one region, for example and they can lead to tooth decay or obesity. Fortunately, for many years many attempts have been…
Preliminary Evaluation of Plasmix Compound from Plastics Packaging Waste for Reuse in Bituminous Pavements
2021
Finding an appropriate technical solution for reusing waste plastics is crucial for creating a circular plastic economy. Although mechanical recycling is the best option for recycling post-consumer plastics, some heterogeneous mixed plastics cannot be recycled to produce secondary material due to their very low properties. In this case, alternative routes should be considered in order to limit their disposal as much as possible. Therefore, in order to solve the environmental problems in the landfills of plastic waste recycling, and to improve the mechanical performance of bitumen for road pavement, the reuse of these post-consumer plastic wastes are preliminarily evaluated for the modificat…
Limits to CO2-Neutrality of Burning Wood. (Review)
2016
Abstract Consumption of wood as a source of energy is discussed with respect to efficiency and restraints to ensure sustainability of the environment on the grounds of a simple analytical model describing dynamics of biomass accumulation in forest stands – a particular case of the well-known empirical Richards’ equation. Amounts of wood harvested under conditions of maximum productivity of forest land are presented in units normalised with respect to the maximum of the mean annual increment and used to determine the limits of CO2-neutrality. The ecological “footprint” defined by the area of growing stands necessary to absorb the excess amount of CO2 annually released from burning biomass is…
Quality-control procedure for dry-process rubberised asphalt mastics
2019
Crumb Rubber (CR) can be incorporated into asphalt mixes via the dry process by directly adding CR into the mixer together with other asphalt mixture’s components, or with the wet process where the CR is used as a bitumen modifier. While the wet process allows an accurate monitoring of the interaction between CR and bitumen, the lack of control represents a main issue in the dry process. In fact, in the latter the CR particles keep swelling during hauling and possibly also after paving operations, often causing workability issues and premature failures. This study wants to provide a methodology that could help quality control procedures of bitumen/filler/rubber systems during mixing, haulin…
Control of the Development of Swirling Airflow Dynamics and Its Impact on Biomass Combustion Characteristics
2017
Abstract The development of the swirling flame flow field and gasification/ combustion dynamics at thermo-chemical conversion of biomass pellets has experimentally been studied using a pilot device, which combines a biomass gasifier and combustor by varying the inlet conditions of the fuel-air mixture into the combustor. Experimental modelling of the formation of the cold nonreacting swirling airflow field above the inlet nozzle of the combustor and the upstream flow formation below the inlet nozzle has been carried out to assess the influence of the inlet nozzle diameter, as well primary and secondary air supply rates on the upstream flow formation and air swirl intensity, which is highly …
Improving Energy Expenditure Estimation in Wrist-Worn Wearables by Augmenting Heart Rate Data With Heat Flux Measurement
2021
Wearable electronics are often used for estimating the energy expenditure of the user based on heart rate measurement. While heart rate is a good predictor of calorie consumption at high intensities, it is less precise at low intensity levels, which translates into inaccurate results when estimating daily net energy expenditure. In this study, heart rate measurement was augmented with heat flux (HF) measurement, a form of direct calorimetry. A physical exercise test on a group of 15 people showed that HF measurement can improve the accuracy of calorie consumption estimates especially during rest and low-intensity activity when used in conjunction with heart rate information and vital backgr…
The Jäntti approach to adsorption with increasing gas pressure
2002
Jäntti introduced a method of calculating equilibrium adsorption from measurements where the pressure of the gas was varied in a stepwise manner. His aim was to shorten the time necessary for a given measurement. The method was applied to gas/solid systems in which simple adsorption processes occurred and where the number of adsorption sites was infinite. The present paper discusses the case where no adsorption is possible on an already occupied site (Langmuir isotherm) while the number of positions available for adsorption is considered limited. The advantages of using a gas pressure that increases linearly with time are evident for studies with this limitation. It is shown that such meas…