Search results for "Mechanical engineering"

Nanomedicine: Silver Atomic Quantum Clusters of Three Atoms for Cancer Therapy: Targeting Chromatin Compaction to Increase the Therapeutic Index of C…

2018

An integrated approach based on Life Cycle Assessment and Thermoeconomics: Application to a water-cooled chiller for an air conditioning plant

2018

Abstract A large number of methods for energy systems analysis were developed in the last decades, aimed at acquiring an in-depth understanding of plant performances and enabling analysts to identify optimal design and operating conditions. In this work an integrated approach based on Life Cycle Assessment and Thermoeconomics is proposed as a method for assessing the exergo-environmental profile of energy systems. The procedure combines the capabilities of these two techniques, to account simultaneously for aspects related to thermodynamics of energy conversion processes and to the overall impacts along the plant life cycle related to other phases, i.e. from raw material extraction to the d…

Scope-Oriented Thermoeconomic analysis of energy systems. Part I: Looking for a non-postulated cost accounting for the dissipative devices of a vapou…

2010

Abstract The authors of the main thermoeconomic methodologies developed in the last two decades have recently focused their efforts on the analysis of dissipative devices, i.e. those components whose productive purpose is neither intuitive nor easy to define. Coherent and unanimously accepted cost structures have been identified for dissipative components, while ambiguities still exist as concerns the cost allocation principles to be adopted. Being this aspect evidently cost-influencing, accurate analyses focused on the subjectivity of results are needed. This paper is structured in two parts. In the Part I an in-depth study of some critical issues arising from the thermoeconomic analysis o…

A Validation Methodology for a Combined Heating Cooling and Power (CHCP) Pilot Plant

2004

A great number of variables significantly influence the energetic, environmental and economic results of CHP (Combined Heating and Power) and CHCP (Combined Heating Cooling and Power) plants operation, and as a consequence their project activity is rather complex. In order to select the best layout and properly size the machines, detailed data on hourly electric, thermal, and cooling demand are necessary, so that a series of plant life cycle simulations may have to be carried out. Unfortunately, such detailed data are rarely available, because energy consumptions data for existing buildings are usually derived from aggregated monthly or bimonthly gas and electricity bills. Even more difficu…

Life Cycle Assessment Performance Comparison of Small Solar Thermal Cooling Systems with Conventional Plants Assisted with Photovoltaics

2012

Abstract Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) allows for the consideration of energy consumption and environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life, from the cradle to the grave . Starting from the results obtained in the IEA SHC Task 38 framework for the LCA of small solar assisted heat driven chillers, the application of such methodology has been extended to systems with a conventional compression chiller assisted by a photovoltaic plant. This study aims to provide a more comprehensive investigation through a comparison of these two families of solar assisted cooling systems (with solar thermal or PV), which is an important topic for studies concerning the research of eff…

Characterization of cooling loads in the wine industry and novel seasonal indicator for reliable assessment of energy saving through retrofit of chil…

2020

Abstract The food sector is a major consumer of energy and growing efforts are being made in the search for solutions that will guarantee the efficient and sustainable use of energy resources. Among the different sectors, wineries are attracting particular interest due to the continuous growth of the global market and production. Surveys conducted in the winemaking sector have highlighted the importance of performing accurate energy audits and have identified the installation of efficient refrigeration systems as a promising solution in a variety of cases. Unfortunately, the savings achievable by efficient cooling technologies are often estimated using simplified approaches which do not tak…

A critical assessment of methods for the determination of the shear stress amplitude in multiaxial fatigue criteria belonging to critical plane class

2015

Abstract Multiaxial high cycle fatigue criteria based on the critical plane approach necessitate unambiguous definitions of the amplitude and mean value of the shear stress (τa and τm) acting on the material planes. Four of the existing definitions relate the values of τa and τm to a geometrical element of the curve described by the tip of the shear stress vector (curve Ψ), respectively, the radius of the Minimum Circumscribed Circle, the Longest Chord, the Longest Projection, the diagonal of the Maximum Rectangular Hull (MRH). In this paper a critical assessment of the above definitions is proposed, focusing on that based on the concept of MRH, which is the most recently developed. The mai…

Study of Chromatographic Properties of Catecholamines and their Acidic Metabolites Using Novel Molecularly Imprinted Polymers as Stationary Phases

2021

Quantitative analysis of catecholamines and their acidic metabolites can provide vital information for diagnosis and treatment of various diseases (such as adrenal tumors). However, complicated purification protocols are usually required to isolate the analytes. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have attracted considerable attention as a method of selectively separating desired compounds from their matrix. Therefore, we propose a synthetic procedure for new molecularly imprinted sorbents that possess selective binding sites for both catecholamines and their acidic metabolites. The new polymer utilizes non-covalent and semi-covalent imprinting methods. The binding properties of MIPs were…

The Behaviour of Mistuned Piezoelectric Shunt Systems and Its Estimation

2016

This paper addresses monoharmonic vibration attenuation using piezoelectric transducers shunted with electric impedances consisting of a resistance and an inductance in series. This type of vibration attenuation has several advantages but suffers from problems related to possible mistuning. In fact, when either the mechanical system to be controlled or the shunt electric impedance undergoes a change in their dynamical features, the attenuation performance decreases significantly. This paper describes the influence of biases in the electric impedance parameters on the attenuation provided by the shunt and proposes an approximated model for a rapid prediction of the vibration damping performa…

Identification of stiffness, dissipation and input parameters of multi degree of freedom civil systems under unmeasured base excitations

2009

A time domain dynamic identification technique based on a statistical moment approach has been formulated for civil systems under base random excitations in the linear state. This technique is based on the use of classically damped models characterized by a mass proportional damping. By applying the Itô stochastic calculus, special algebraic equations that depend on the statistical moments of the response can be obtained. These equations can be used for the dynamic identification of the mechanical parameters that define the structural model, in the case of unmeasured input as well, and the identification of the input itself. Furthermore, the above equations demonstrate the possibility of id…