Search results for "reliability"
showing 10 items of 1563 documents
Identifying causes, dynamics and consequences of work accidents in forest operations in an alpine context
2016
Abstract In a sustainable perspective, where wood harvesting and use perfectly respond to environmental needs, social sustainability and related health and safety of forest workers cannot be disregarded. The aim of this study was the analysis of the accidents records in public companies in the Province of Trento, in Northern Italy, regarding forest operations in the period 1995–2013. Several information were available thanks to the up-to-date accident books compiled by each company. With an average Frequency index in the examined period of 88 injuries per million hours worked, forest operations were confirmed as one of the most dangerous works along all productive sectors. Monday had a sign…
Multi-objective optimized management of electrical energy storage systems in an islanded network with renewable energy sources under different design…
2014
The subject addressed in this paper is the definition of some strategies for the design and the optimaized management of EES (Electrical Energy Storage) systems, for an existing islanded distribution network supplying the Island of Pantelleria (Italy) in the Mediterranean Sea. In the paper the authors have drawn interesting conclusions through the application of an efficient MO (multi-objective) optimization algorithm, the NSGA-II, minimizing the energy losses in the grid, the total electricity generation cost and the greenhouse gas emissions. The results obtained for different installation scenarios of the EES are presented and discussed, putting into evidence the technical, environmental …
An imprecise Fault Tree Analysis for the estimation of the Rate of OCcurrence Of Failure (ROCOF)
2013
Abstract The paper proposes an imprecise Fault Tree Analysis in order to characterize systems affected by the lack of reliability data. Differently from other research works, the paper introduces a classification of basic events into two categories, namely Initiators and Enablers . Actually, in real industrial systems some events refer to component failures or process parameter deviations from normal operating conditions ( Initiators ), whereas others refer to the functioning of safety barriers to be activated on demand ( Enablers ). As a consequence, the output parameter of interest is not the classical probability of occurrence of the top event, but its Rate of OCcurrence (ROCOF) over a s…
A new methodology for distribution systems faults identification, location and characterization
2005
PurposeIdentify a new methodology for fault characterization, identification and location in electrical distribution systems, based on the use of matrix algebra.Design/methodology/approachThe developed diagnostic methodology is based on a high precision analytical model of the network using a distributed parameters representation.FindingsTest results have proved the approach to be efficient and precise, while providing a generalized quadripolar model of a line affected by the most common kinds of fault.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralization to a greater number of fault cases, experimental tests.Practical implicationsUtilities are quite interested in such items, since the new requir…
Proposal of geographic information systems methodology for quality control procedures of data obtained in naturalistic driving studies
2015
The primary goal of naturalistic driving studies is to provide a comprehensive observation of the driver's behaviour under real-life conditions by measureing a great number of parameters at high temporal frequencies. Achieving this goal, however, is a complex endeavor that faces many challenges such as the complexity of the vehicle instrumentation during the phase of data collection, and the difficult handling of large data volumes during the phase of data analysis. These drawbacks often cause episodes of data losses. Improving the technical aspects of the collection of naturalistic data is of paramount importance to increase the return of the investment made in it. An aspect to consider is…
Memory irradiation measurements for the European SMART-1 spacecraft
2005
Three different types of memory circuits, that are intended to be used on board of the European satellite SMART-1, have been radiation hardness tested according to ESA's specification. Since the satellite is equipped with an electric propulsion engine, the spacecraft will be exposed to radiation during a long time when passing the radiation belt of the Earth. A standard DRAM circuit from SAMSUNG will serve as building block of the mass memory of SMART-1, and has been tested for total dose and proton induced single event upset (SEU). The DRAM memory showed surprisingly good resistance against radiation. The proton SEU cross sections for the radiation tolerant SRAM and FIFO circuits have also…
The New Nino Capability Index for Dynamic Process Capability Analysis
2013
The process capability analysis is a crucial activity to evaluate if the process outcome meets the design specifications. Classically, such analysis is performed by verifying the in-control condition of the process and evaluating suitable capability indices, by assuming the process in-control steady-state condition. However, the in-control period of the process characterizes only a part of the system functioning cycle, the one with the lower defective rate. In particular, the system functioning cycle is also characterized by the out-of-control period, during which a greater defective rate is produced, and such increasing is not considered by the widely adopted capability indices. As consequ…
Novel test bed for induction heating power supplies
2006
Power supplies used in induction heating industrial applications must be entirely tested after its manufacturing in order to assure its security and reliability by means of a full power running test of several hours of duration. Nowadays this test is done with a dissipative load which implies a large waste of energy. This paper proposes a new high efficiency test system for induction heating generators. It incorporates a regenerative electronic load which allows an extraordinary improvement of the efficiency of this test with an important economical and ecological benefit.
Fundamental period of infilled reinforced concrete frame structures
2016
AbstractThe fundamental period of vibration appears to be one of the most critical parameters for the seismic design and assessment of structures. In the present paper, the results of a large-scale analytical investigation on the parameters that affect the fundamental period of reinforced concrete structures are presented. The influence of the number of storeys, the number of spans, the span length, the infill wall panel stiffness and the percentage of openings within the infill panel on the fundamental period of infilled RC frames was investigated. Based on these results, a regression analysis is applied in order to propose a new empirical equation for the estimation of the fundamental per…
Situation Understanding for Operational Art in Cyber Operations
2016
This paper presents a theoretically motivated framework and methodology that has been designed for finding out the emergent phenomena and information needs for planning and decision-making. The approach is based on complexity thinking, system modeling, communication and cognition philosophy, social system theories and content analysis research technique. It provides results with the analysis of quite small sets of information. The paper demonstrates the approach with a case study. The study was performed in an international cyber experiment of the Multinational Capability Development Campaign (MCDC) 2013-2014. The case study shows that the proposed approach is plausible for increasing under…