Search results for " harvest"
showing 10 items of 205 documents
Optimising the efficiency of olive harvesting considering operator safety
2019
Mechanical-assisted harvesting of olives, which is carried out using hand-held harvesting units that detach the drupes through vibration supplied by electric motor or combustion engines, is a widespread method used in southern Italy. Such machines are able to harvest more than 80% of the overall quantity of olives available per tree in 5–10 min, but their performance is influenced by several factors related to the mechanical characteristics of the device and to the features of the trees. Here the problem of optimising harvesting efficiency whilst minimising the health risks to the operators is investigated, with the aim of demonstrating that it is possible to determine an optimum harvesting…
Optimization of a Sea Wave Energy Harvesting Electromagnetic Device
2008
This paper presents the optimization of a permanent magnet linear generator directly coupled to sea waves. In order to maximize energy extraction, the stochastic features of the energy source is included in the mathematical model of the system in order to satisfactorily tackle the problem. An optimization procedure which includes the stochastic features of the model is presented and a machine built on the basis of the results of this procedure is shown.
Optical Plasmonic Yagi-Uda Nano-Antennas Array for Energy Harvesting Applications
2020
Optical nanoantennas have been of great interest recently due to their ability to support a highly efficient, localized surface plasmon resonance and produce significantly enhanced and highly confined electromagnetic fields. The Yagi-Uda nanoantenna, an optical analogue of the well-established radiofrequency Yagi-Uda antenna, stands out by its efficient unidirectional light emission and enhancement. In this paper, the design of an optical plasmonic Yagi-Uda nanoantenna for energy harvesting application is proposed. The enhancement of the directivity is reached by means of an organization in array. The simulation results, carried out by 3D code CST Studio, show that the proposed nanoantenna …
Crystallization of Light-Harvesting Complex II From Vicia Faba (Fabaceae)
1998
The most abundant chlorophyll binding complex in plants is the intrinsic light-harvesting complex II (LHC II), comprising about half of the total chlorophyll in thylakoid membranes. The structure of LHC II has been determined by electron crystallography, providing a three-dimensional map at 3.4 A (1). Nevertheless, high-resolution structure based on x-ray crystallography is still missing because of the lack of highly ordered 3-D crystals. While delipidation of membrane proteins suitable for high-quality 3-D crystals seems to be a prerequisite, in case of LHC H delipidation leads to a loss of the ability to crystallize. So far, standard purification methods like chromatography have been proo…
Novel Energy Efficient Schemes for Wireless Sensor Networks Utilizing Mobile Sensors
2022
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) facilitate many applications in different fields and are well-known in both academic and industrial areas. The networks mainly include sensors, networking parts and a data processing center to collect data for a variety of purposes. However, the energy consumption problem in the networks is always a critical problem that many researchers are looking for good solutions. In this paper, we propose a data collection method that uses mobile sensors attached with bigger energy storages to collect data from static sensors. In addition, we propose a hybrid energy harvesting scheme to harvest energy from ambient environments to support static sensors to prolong the ne…
Energy Harvester Sensing.
2020
Our existence is immersed in a solution of energy, which is often left to degrade because we perceive this energy as expendable [...]
Experimental and numerical analysis of a backpressure Banki inline turbine for pressure regulation and energy production
2020
Abstract Water distribution networks have become, in recent years, a major opportunity for the harvesting of renewable energy, which is otherwise dissipated though hydrovalves installed for discharge and pressure regulation. Mini and micro hydroturbines have the capability of providing the same functionality of hydrovalves, producing at the same time a relevant amount of electric power. In this paper a 10 kW prototype of a new compact in-line turbine, named Power Recovery System (PRS), has been designed, constructed and tested in the hydraulic laboratory of the University of Palermo. The proposed device is a Banki-type micro-turbine, with positive outflow pressure and a mobile regulating fl…
Environmental management of granite slab production from an industrial ecology standpoint
2014
Abstract The granite production chain is high energy and water intensive with low resource efficiency. This paper focus on characterizing the potential for environmental improvement of the granite production chain by promoting the optimization of sawing technology, the implementation of rainwater harvesting (RWH) and the material recovery of wasted granite (sludge). The environmental performance of multi-blade gangsaw (MBGS) and diamond multi-wire saw (DMWS) technologies is compared by mean of life cycle assessment. Results demonstrate that DMWS technology contribute 30% of water savings, 40% of energy savings and 80% of material savings per square meter of polished granite tiles (60 x 40 x…
Piezoelectric energy harvesting from raised crosswalk devices
2015
This paper presents the main characteristics of an experimental energy harvesting device that can be used to recover energy from the vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The use of a piezoelectric bender devices leads to a innovative approach to Henergy Harvesting. The study focuses on the definition and specification of a mechanical configuration able to transfer the vibration from the main box to the piezoelectric transducer. The piezoelectric devices tested is the commonly used monolithic piezoceramic material lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT). The experimental results estimate the efficiency of this device tested and identify the feasibility of their use in real world applications. The results…
Evaluation of automatically steered agricultural vehicles
2008
The popularization of automatic guidance systems for off-road vehicles, especially in agricultural environments, has led to a sudden affluence of commercial solutions. As a consequence, end users are often overwhelmed by the spread of possibilities commercially available, on top of the confusion provoked by the guidance accuracy advertised by manufacturers. Therefore, there is a need for a methodology that objectively quantifies the level of performance of any auto-steering system, classifying different solutions according to their accuracy and reliability. This paper describes a method to evaluate the behavior of any automatically driven agricultural vehicle traveling along paths of any cu…