Search results for "Energy engineering"
showing 10 items of 1099 documents
Safety Protocols for Forensic Inspections in the Time of COVID-19: An Approach to Protect Practitioners
2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world in ways that were unimaginable in 2019. It has changed how professionals work and interact with one another. To ensure the safety of experts and attorneys, forensic inspection procedures must evolve while still providing a reliable foundation for expert testimony. Traditional field inspections require attendees to be physically present and in generally close proximity. Inspecting artifacts may also require that individual components be serially examined by multiple experts, which increases the risk of transmitting the disease. The authors propose a new approach to forensic inspections aimed at protecting consultants from the biological ris…
Dynamic mean absolute error as new measure for assessing forecasting errors
2018
Abstract Accurate wind power forecast is essential for grid integration, system planning, and electricity trading in certain electricity markets. Therefore, analyzing prediction errors is a critical task that allows a comparison of prediction models and the selection of the most suitable model. In this work, the temporal error and absolute magnitude error are simultaneously considered to assess the forecast error. The trade-off between both types of errors is computed, analyzed, and interpreted. Moreover, a new index, the dynamic mean absolute error, DMAE, is defined to measure the prediction accuracy. This index accounts for both error components: temporal and absolute. Real cases of wind …
Upgrading landfill gas using a high pressure water absorption process
2014
Abstract The upgrading of landfill gas (methane 54.2 ± 2.0%, carbon dioxide 42.1 ± 2.4% and nitrogen 3.7 ± 1.2%) was studied with a pilot-scale high pressure water absorption system consisting of absorption, desorption and gas drying units. The gas was upgraded in two phases and with two absorption columns operating in sequence in pressures up to 180 bar, and with initial pressures of 8 and 10 bar. This type of high pressure process, where water is used for increasing the gas pressure, does not need a separate compression unit to produce the gas pressure required by gas vehicles. Product gas with a methane contents ranging from 83.0% to 92.1% was achieved with differing process parameters, …
Analysis of the U L3-edge X-ray absorption spectra in UO2 using molecular dynamics simulations
2017
This work was supported by a grant from the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) under the project ID s444. The resource allocation within the PSI share at CSCS and on the PSI compute cluster Merlin4 is also acknowledged. D. B. is grateful for a fellowship within the Sciex-NMS programme. A. K. was supported by Latvian Science Council Grant no. 187/2012.
Training Programs – Training and Development Alternatives for Students
2013
Abstract Training programs have been established as a form of training for adults, being generally used within companies’ personal development alternatives starting from the employees’ performance assessment processes. The current century requires a different way of approaching academic education, starting from the employers’ observation in reference to the lack of the graduates’ key competencies in the hiring process. We intend to demonstrate that it is useful to introduce training programs as an alternative form of education in academia, as well as in the high school environment.
Investment Decision Making and Risk
2013
Abstract The aim of the paper is to present how investment decisions are made and what investment risk is, what role it has in the investment decision. The decision itself is a subjective act, but it is based on both subjective and objective factors. Risk is an important component of every investment, thus it is necessary to analyse it as both, the objective component of the investment, and as the subjective factor of the investment decision making.
Energy-saving potential of ground source multiple chillers in simple and hybrid configurations for Mediterranean climates
2022
Air conditioning accounts for a large share of energy usage in residential and tertiary sectors. Renewable energy technologies offer promising solutions to reduce the environmental impacts of meeting buildings’ energy loads. The possibility of using the soil as a thermal reservoir for heating and cooling systems has gained growing attention in the last decade due to its high potential for energy saving. In this paper, the benefits achievable using ground source chillers for air conditioning in an office building located in Southern Italy are discussed. A multiple chillers system coupled with a borehole heat exchanger is investigated and compared to conventional air-cooled and water-cooled s…
An improved cathode for alkaline fuel cells
2010
Abstract The use of nickel foam as an electrode substrate in alkaline fuel cells (AFCs) has been investigated for bipolar cells incorporating an electrically conducting gas diffusion layer (GDL). Improved performance, compared to a previous design, was obtained by adding an extra active layer (AL) composed of manganese (IV) oxide (MnO2) deposited onto carbon black. This new cathode design performed significantly better (130 mA cm−2 at 0.8 V and 25 °C) than the previous design (35 mA cm−2 under the same condition), especially at higher potential. It has been shown that the GDL is a key component of the gas diffusion electrode for both performance and durability, especially with liquid electr…
Alkaline fuel cell technology - A review
2021
Abstract The realm of alkaline-based fuel cells has with the arrival of anionic exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) taken a great step to replace traditional liquid electrolyte alkaline fuel cells (AFCs). The following review summarises progress, bottleneck issues and highlights the most recent research trends within the field. The activity of alkaline catalyst materials has greatly advanced, however achieving long-term stability remains a challenge. Great AEMFC performances are reported, though these are generally obtained through the employment of platinum group metals (PGMs), thus emphasising the importance of R&D related to non-PGM materials. Thorough design strategies must be utilise…
Influence of melt flow and temperature on erosion of refractory and deposit formation in aluminium melting furnaces
2002
The deposition and erosion mechanism in induction-channel furnace for Al melting in alumino-silicate refractory is considered. The possibility of simultaneous erosion and deposition in the same cross-section of the channel is shown. The chemical reaction model causing the erosion of refractory is proposed. The erosion process is described by chemically active aluminium oxides while the deposition is caused by chemically stable aluminium oxides. The variations of erosion and deposition in the same cross-section of the channel are explained by variation of the thickness of laminar sub-layer along the perimeter.