Search results for "ELECTRICITY"
showing 10 items of 1225 documents
Design, assembly and characterization of silicide-based thermoelectric modules
2016
ID: 1143 In: Energy conversion and management, 13-21. Summary: Highlights•Novel silicide-based thermoelectric modules were experimentally investigated.•The modules produced high power of 1.04 W at 405 °C and 3.24 W at 735 °C.•An estimated module efficiency of 5.3% represent the highest reported for silicide systems.AbstractSilicides have attracted considerable attention for use in thermoelectric generators due mainly to low cost, low toxicity and light weight, in contrast to conventional materials such as bismuth and lead telluride. Most reported work has focused on optimizing the materials properties while little has been done on module testing. In this work we have designed and tested mod…
Energy-saving analysis of hydraulic hybrid excavator based on common pressure rail
2013
Published version of an article in the journal: The Scientific World Journal. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/560694 Open Access Energy-saving research of excavators is becoming one hot topic due to the increasing energy crisis and environmental deterioration recently. Hydraulic hybrid excavator based on common pressure rail (HHEC) provides an alternative with electric hybrid excavator because it has high power density and environment friendly and easy to modify based on the existing manufacture process. This paper is focused on the fuel consumption of HHEC and the actuator dynamic response to assure that the new system can save energy without sacrificin…
PCM thermal storage design in buildings: Experimental studies and applications to solaria in cold climates
2017
Abstract As energy availability and demand often do not match, thermal energy storage plays a crucial role to take advantage of solar radiation in buildings: in particular, latent heat storage via phase-change material is particularly attractive due to its ability to provide high energy storage density. This paper analyzes the performance of a building-integrated thermal storage system to increase the energy performances of solaria in a cold climate. A wall opposing a highly glazed facade (south oriented) is used as thermal storage with phase change materials embedded in the wall. The study is based on both experimental and simulation studies. The concept considered is particularly suited t…
Fractal Grid – towards the future smart grid
2017
International audience; In the last two decades, electricity grids have faced many challenges that they were not designed to handle. These include integrating weather-dependent renewables, distributed generators, storage units and other advanced components, as well as taking into account active demand. These challenges, together with the ageing of infrastructures, make it more difficult to deliver cost-effective, reliable power. To overcome these issues requires creating new network architectures. The research project Fractal Grid proposes fractality as a core concept to model, analyze and design smart grids in their evolution up to 2030 and beyond. This paper presents the project, its meth…
Energy measurements at Skarpnes zero energy homes in Southern Norway: Do the loads match up with the on-site energy production?
2017
Five houses are designed as zero-energy homes in Skarpnes, Norway. The energy goal is to achieve net zero-energy balance on an annual basis. The houses have heat pumps and solar cells (PV). Energy use and delivered energy have been monitored from June 2015. Variations between calculations and measurements are explained by technical and non-technical reasons. For the first year, higher than expected energy loads result in a solar energy cover factor of 65–87% of delivered electricity. The PV generation performs satisfactorily, hence, it may be possible to achieve energy goals during later years provided technical adjustments or behavioral changes. Acknowledgements. This report has been writt…
Numerical Analysis of Piezoelectric Active Repair in the Presence of Frictional Contact Conditions
2013
The increasing development of smart materials, such as piezoelectric and shape memory alloys, has opened new opportunities for improving repair techniques. Particularly, active repairs, based on the converse piezoelectric effect, can increase the life of a structure by reducing the crack opening. A deep characterization of the electromechanical behavior of delaminated composite structures, actively repaired by piezoelectric patches, can be achieved by considering the adhesive layer between the host structure and the repair and by taking into account the frictional contact between the crack surfaces. In this paper, Boundary Element (BE) analyses performed on delaminated composite structures …
Municipal waste management in Sicily: practices and challenges.
2006
There are numerous problems yet to be solved in waste management and although efforts towards waste recovery and recycling have been made, landfills are still the most common method used in the EU and many other industrialised countries. Thermal disposal, particularly incineration, is a tested and viable alternative. In 2004, only 11% of the annual waste production of Italy was incinerated. Sicily, with over five million inhabitants, is the second largest region in Italy where waste management is now a critical problem. The use of landfills can no longer be considered a satisfactory environmental solution; therefore, new methods have to be chosen and waste-toenergy plants could provide an a…
Designing a Sustainable University Recharge Area for Electric Vehicles: Technical and Economic Analysis
2017
This article addresses the technical and economic challenges regarding the design of a “green” recharge area for electric vehicles at the University of Palermo in order to reduce costs and pollution connected to the charging process. Based on the behaviour of the student population, the electrical load is identified and two possible solutions are evaluated to manage the peak load: an orientation of the panels increasing the power at defined time and the use of a storage system. The main strength and weakness points of two systems are investigated by taking into account the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), which reaches 75.3 €/MWh for the orientation of panel and 103 €/MWh for the storage sy…
Coupled Hydraulic and Electronic Regulation for Banki Turbines
2016
Abstract The potential benefit of coupling hydraulic and electronic regulation to maximize the energy production of a Bank turbine in hydraulic plants is analyzed and computed with reference to a specific case. Design criteria of the Banki turbine inside hydraulic plants are first summarized, along with the use of hydraulic regulation in the case of constant water head and variable discharge at the end of aqueducts feeding water distribution systems. Optimal turbine impeller rotational speed is derived and traditional, as well as innovative systems for electricity production according to controlled rotational speed of the generator are presented. The study case at the purification plant nam…
A Compensation Based Method to Model PV Nodes in Backward/Forward Distribution Network Analysis
2007
PurposeThis paper proposes to identify a new model of the fixed voltage nodes (PV nodes) for medium voltage distribution systems analysis. The model is used within backward/forward (b/f) analysis method applied to solve radial and weakly meshed systems.Design/methodology/approachThe model is based on the compensation currents method for multi‐port systems which has been extensively used, within b/f analysis methods, to take into account the presence of meshes and PV nodes.FindingsTest results prove the approach to be more efficient and precise than previous methodologies and put into evidence the good performance of the proposed model in terms of speed and convergence properties.Research li…