Search results for "Civil Engineering"
showing 10 items of 1216 documents
Independent energetic grids for a smart island: Model and design of a microgrid for a small Italian island
2016
Unlike many Italian peninsular areas, which are increasingly turning to a diverse supply of renewable resources to generate electricity, Italian not-interconnected small islands continue to rely on oil for their electricity and other energy needs (e.g. transports). Small-scale electricity systems, that are not connected to a larger electricity grid, are usually more expensive. The present paper proposes the functional design of an innovative Smart Grid which allows changing an Italian small not-interconnected island, Pantelleria, into a smart island, towards a more sustainable energy model. In detail, a techno-economic feasibility study is performed in order to design a Smart Grid at Pantel…
Microsimulation-based passenger car equivalents for heavy vehicles driving turbo-roundabouts
2016
Due to its geometric design, turbo-roundabouts impose greatest constraints to the vehicular trajectories; by consequence, one can expect a more unfavourable impact of heavy vehicles on the traffic conditions than on other types of roundabouts. The present paper addresses the question of how to estimate Passenger Car Equivalents (PCEs) for heavy vehicles driving turbo-roundabouts. The microsimulation approach used revealed as a useful tool for evaluating the variation of quality of traffic in presence of mixed fleets (different percentages of heavy vehicles). Based on the output of multiple runs of several scenarios simulation, capacity functions for each entry lane of the turbo-roundabout w…
Kanban Systems in the Context of the Enterprise Systems
2021
Companies are under increasing pressure from customers, competitors, limited resources, etc. These conditions oblige companies to permanently improve their organizational structure and the activities of all system’s flows. The paper analyses the types of Kanban systems, in the broader context of the enterprise systems. The most important reference architectures were analysed (with the emphasis on the modules dedicated to flow description) and the standards that allow the activity modelling of a manufacturing enterprises. Starting from this context, the paper describes three models of Kanban systems that are specific to companies with different information systems development. Models are: Pu…
The joy of teaching and learning in academia – teachers’ perspectives from three countries
2021
All over the world, the educational landscape has changed dramatically over the last year, impacting the way we teach and learn. It is time for reflecting and searching for new ways to support each other, during these pandemic times and beyond; time to co-construct creative partnerships and to innovate new ways to co-create. Change is an inevitable part of teaching and learning but the adaptations currently required are of unprecedented scale. How can we teach and learn with joy in today’s academia? How can we support each other, as teachers, in more creative ways? These two reflective questions were at the base of the study, which was conducted by university teachers from three countries: …
The Development of ICTs and the Introduction of Entrepreneurial Capital
2015
Building on an extensive literature review, this article presents a conceptual study of the relationships between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and intellectual capital (IC), placing special emphasis on entrepreneurial capital. IC comprises human capital, structural capital, and relational capital. Relational capital consists of two sub-components: social capital and organizational capital. Human capital’s main elements are knowledge, experience, and education. Knowledge is a fundamental resource for any organization (Baden-Fuller & Pitt, 1996; Grant, 1996; Spender, 1996). Entrepreneurial capital was recently introduced as a component of human capital (Audretsch & Keilba…
Collaborations between universities and the business environment in Romania
2021
Building closer relationships between universities and companies can encourage exchange of information between the two institutions, to create long-term partnerships and opportunities and stimulates innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. The main objective of this research is to identify the significant elements of the collaboration between the university environment and the business environment in Romania, by extracting current information about this collaboration and to try to realise a general framework related to this issue. The research is part of a future larger investigation conducted as an integral part of the Erasmus + project Personalized Engineering Education in South Afric…
Connected pathway relative permeability from pore-scale imaging of imbibition
2016
Abstract Pore-scale images obtained from a synchrotron-based X-ray computed micro-tomography (µCT) imbibition experiment in sandstone rock were used to conduct Navier–Stokes flow simulations on the connected pathways of water and oil phases. The resulting relative permeability was compared with steady-state Darcy-scale imbibition experiments on 5 cm large twin samples from the same outcrop sandstone material. While the relative permeability curves display a large degree of similarity, the endpoint saturations for the µCT data are 10% in saturation units higher than the experimental data. However, the two datasets match well when normalizing to the mobile saturation range. The agreement is p…
Yacht performance monitoring in real sailing conditions
2019
Abstract In this paper a multi-method approach is used to setup and validate a monitoring system applied to a small sailing boat during real sailing conditions. This monitoring system is able to transform the data coming from some typical devices installed on board into information about the deformed state of the boat. GPS, Wind Data Logger and cameras have been installed on the boat to measure its route and speed, the apparent wind velocity and direction and the positions of the crew members. These data are processed to determine the equilibrium of the boat and estimate the loads applied on it. Then, a CAD/FEM model calculates the effects of these loads on the boat shape. The resulting def…
Transient response of a TLP-type floating offshore wind turbine under tendon failure conditions
2021
Abstract Among various types of floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs), the tension leg platform (TLP) floating wind turbines have relatively small motions due to stiff tendons. Similar to TLP applications in the offshore industry, tendon failure may lead to deteriorated stability and large transient responses, which should be considered as part of accidental limit state (ALS) checks at the design stage of the TLP FOWTs. This paper takes the WindStar TLP system as a representative and investigates the transient effects of one-tendon failure on the system responses. A coupled numerical model is first established using the aero-hydro-servo-elastic simulation tool FAST. Subsequent numerical s…
Evaluating the thermal-radiative performance of ENVI-met model for green infrastructure typologies: Experience from a subtropical climate
2022
Abstract Microclimate knowledge has been intensively integrated into urban planning and design to improve the buildings’ energy performance and outdoor thermal comfort. To assess the climatic mitigation strategies, numerical modeling is gaining higher relevance. ENVI-met, a microclimate model to simulate the complex surface-vegetation-atmosphere interactions in the built environment, is receiving increasing popularity. This study aims to systematically evaluate the thermal-radiative performance of the ENVI-met model based on its recent updates. First, a field measurement was conducted in a subtropical city. Thermal-radiative parameters were collected besides three green infrastructure (GI) …