Search results for "efficient"
showing 10 items of 1603 documents
DSSC-integrated Glassblocks for the construction of Sustainable Building Envelopes
2014
The paper shows the first results of the optical performance analysis carried out on the DSSC integrated glassblock, an innovative building product developed at the Department of Architecture of the University of Palermo. In the field of a research that is being conducted in order to define innovative solutions for the construction of photovoltaic and energy efficient translucent building envelopes, different hypotheses of integration of DSSC into the glassblock have been foreseen. The integration of glassblock with third generation PV systems allows to define a novel building-PV product that meets the current requirements of the BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) market. By means of …
Peak Power Demand and Energy Consumption Reduction Strategies for Trains under Moving Block Signalling System
2013
Published version of an article in the journal: Mathematical Problems in Engineering. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/940936 Open Access In the moving block signalling (MBS) system where the tracking target point of the following train is moving forward with its leading train, overload of the substations occurs when a dense queue of trains starts (or restarts) in very close distance interval. This is the peak power demand problem. Several methods have been attempted in the literature to deal with this problem through changing train's operation strategies. However, most existing approaches reduce the service quality. In this paper, two novel approaches - …
ALE Simulation of Orthogonal Cutting: a New Approach to Model Heat Transfer Phenomena at the Tool-Chip Interface
2007
This paper presents a new procedure to evaluate the global heat transfer coefficient in orthogonal cutting. The knowledge of the actual heat transfer conditions is a fundamental issue as far as the life, tool wear and tool substitution interval are regarded. More in detail, an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian approach was utilised to model orthogonal cutting process and the numerical simulations were validated by making experimental tests for identifying cutting forces and internal tool temperatures. A mild steel was cut utilising both an uncoated (WC) and a coated (TiN) tool. On the basis of both experimental and simulative data, a consistent model of the global heat transfer coefficient as f…
Building green covering for a sustainable use of energy
2013
Nowadays the growth of the cities increased built and paved areas, energy use and heat generation. The phenomenon of urban warming, called urban heat island, influences negatively outdoor comfort conditions, pollutants concentration, energy demand for air conditioning, as well as increases environmental impact due to the demand of energy generation. A sustainable technology for improving the energy efficiency of buildings is the use of green roofs and walls in order to reduce the energy consumption for conditioning in summer and improve the thermal insulation in winter. The use of green roofs and walls can contribute to mitigate the phenomenon of heat island, the emissions of greenhouse gas…
Transient Modelling of Thermal Conditions in Test Buildings Including Radiation
2015
Abstract To increase the energy efficiency of buildings in Latvia's climate a comparative study with five experimental test buildings have been set up in Riga, Latvia. Different thermo physical quantities such as temperature, humidity, air velocity, etc. were monitored to better understand different behaviour of the building envelope. This gives an excellent validation possibility for the CFD model that in future could predict conditions in buildings with different envelopes. Previously a stationary model and transient model were considered without taking into consideration the thermal radiation. This study continues the previous work that was done and proposes a transient model which takes…
Sustainability evaluation of Sicily's lemon and orange production: An energy, economic and environmental analysis
2013
The island of Sicily has a long standing tradition in citrus growing. We evaluated the sustainability of orange and lemon orchards, under organic and conventional farming, using an energy, environmental and economic analysis of the whole production cycle by using a life cycle assessment approach. These orchard systems differ only in terms of a few of the inputs used and the duration of the various agricultural operations. The quantity of energy consumption in the production cycle was calculated by multiplying the quantity of inputs used by the energy conversion factors drawn from the literature. The production costs were calculated considering all internal costs, including equipment, materi…
Numerical Modelling of Room Thermal Comfort Conditions
2006
Particular heat transfer coefficients of building elements gives quantitative notion only about heat losses through this building element. Analysis of the overall heat balance and heat losses of complete building and study of particular contribution of building elements in overall balance allows one to figure out the state of the building and find the building elements of bounding construction with most significant heat losses. Project variants of the buildings (or rebuilding in case of renovation), which ensure the desirable economy of energy and proportions of investments can be find varying the proportions of the surface area of building elements (e.g., windows and doors). A lot of facto…
CFD simulations of dense sloid-liquid suspensions in baffled stirred tanks: Prediction of suspension curves
2011
Mixing of solid particles into liquids within contactors mechanically agitated by stirrers is a topic of primary importance for several industrial applications. A great research effort has been devoted to the assessment of the minimum impeller speed (Njs) able to guarantee the suspension of all particles. Conversely, only little attention has been paid so far to the evaluation of the amount of solid particles that are suspended at impeller speeds lower than Njs. In some cases the loss in available interfacial area between particles and liquid could be reasonably counterbalanced by a decreased mechanical power, making it of interest to evaluate the percentage of suspended solids at different…
Refurbishment Scenario to Shift Nearly Net ZEBs Toward Net ZEB Target: An Italian Case Study
2013
The idea of a Net ZEB arises from the development of design criteria and construction methods, addressed to curb the operating energy, increasing the energy efficiency of building equipment and appliances, and of the thermal insulation of envelope components, and enhancing the on-site energy generation, by means of renewable energy sources, to cover the annual building energy loads. In this chapter, the energy and environmental performances of an Italian nearly Net ZEB following a life cycle approach are carried out. Then, a scenario of refurbishment is foreseen in order to shift the studied building from the nearly Net ZEB condition toward the Net ZEB target, and the arising energy and env…
Embodied energy and environmental impacts of a biomass boiler: a life cycle approach
2015
The 2030 policy framework for climate and energy, proposed by the European Commission, aims towards the reduction of European greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in comparison to the 1990 level and to increase the share of renewable energy of at least the 27% of the European's energy consumption of 2030. The use of biomass as sustainable and renewable energy source may be a viable tool for achieving the above goals. However, renewable energy technologies are not totally clean because they cause energy and environmental impacts during their life cycle, and in particular they are responsible of air pollutant emissions. In this context, the paper assesses the energy and environmental impacts of a …