Search results for "value"
showing 10 items of 5321 documents
Battery storage systems for peak load shaving applications: Part 2: Economic feasibility and sensitivity analysis
2016
This paper is the second of a two-part series, aiming to evaluate the economic feasibility of electrochemical storage systems in peak load shaving applications. The battery energy storage system (BESS) is considered to be added to a private facility, with the aim of reducing the customer electricity bill. The BESS is charged during the night, when the electricity prices are the lowest and discharged during the daily hours, when the prices are the highest, contemporary achieving a leveling of the daily usage pattern. The economical evaluations are carried out considering four different electrochemical technologies: lithium-ion (li-ion), advanced lead-acid, sodium-sulphur (NaS) and flow batte…
Thermo-mechanical post-buckling analysis of variable angle tow composite plate assemblies
2017
peer-reviewed The increasing use of composite materials for lightweight structural applications and the extended tailoring capabilities offered by variable stiffness laminates requires rapid and robust analysis tools that adequately describe the mechanical behaviour of such structures. In this work, a Rayleigh–Ritz solution for generally restrained multilayered stiffened variable angle tow plates in the post-buckling regime is presented. The plate model is based on first-order shear deformation theory and accounts for geometrical nonlinearity through von Kármán’s assumptions. General symmetric and unsymmetric stacking sequences are considered and Legendre orthogonal polynomials are employed…
Improving eco-efficiency of a swimming hall through customer involvement
2013
Abstract Findings from a project aiming to improve eco-efficiency of a swimming hall in Finland are presented in this article. There are various opportunities for eco-efficiency improvements for a swimming hall, many of which belong to responsibilities of the staff. However, there are aspects where also customers could participate. Consequently, changes in the current behavior of the swimming hall management, staff and customers are required. Results from customer survey and staff interviews suggest that lack of knowledge about the swimming hall-specific environmental impacts and possibilities of the respondent (either staff or customers) to actively engage in pro-environmental work at the …
Integrating thermal and mechanical characteristics of historic masonry categories: Development of a Sicilian database
2021
Detailed construction analysis is essential to the compatible energy improvement of historic buildings. In-situ measurements are crucial for energy diagnosis but their use is limited, especially in vernacular architecture. This paper exposes the development of a hygrothermal and mechanical database for Sicilian historic walls. The proposed method, applied to eleven historic centres, is based on the investigation of those masonry construction features, which recur in local contexts. Preliminary results concern the case study of Petralia Sottana, where a first set of laboratory measurements of stone compressive strength and thermal conductivity was conducted, together with in-situ tests of ma…
A criterion for the assessment of the reliability of ASHRAE conduction transfer function coefficients
2010
This paper presents a new mathematical approach, which, when applied to conduction transfer functions (CTFs) of a multi-layered wall, is able to predict the reliability of building simulations. This new procedure can be used to identify the best set of CTF coefficients, which are a critical point at the core of the ASHRAE calculation methodology founded on the transfer function method. To evaluate the performance of different CTF coefficient sets, the authors performed a large number of thermal simulations on the multi-layered walls included in the ASHRAE Handbook, volume fundamentals, and on other walls typical of Mediterranean building heritage. Those data were employed to test an algorit…
Prediction of flow fields in a dual-impeller stirred vessel
1999
Numerical simulations were connected for the flow field in a baffled tank stirred by a dual Rushton impeller. For this geometry, LDV measurements show a characteristic dependence of the flow patterns upon the position of the impellers. Two advanced modeling approaches were tested. In the first, the vessel was divided info two concentric blocks, coupled by, a sliding grin technique, and simulations were conducted in time-dependent mode. In the second approach, the vessel was modeled as two partially over-lapping I regions, the inner one rotating with the impeller and rite outer one stationary simulations were run in steady-state mode for each of the two regions, while information was iterati…
Serious games as a virtual training ground for relocation to a new healthcare facility
2016
Purpose This paper aims to enquire into how building information modelling (BIM) and gaming can be integrated to support professionals in their learning about the spatial layout of a new building. This knowledge is important to prepare building operation and facilities management (FM). Design/methodology/approach Ingrained in task–technology fit theory, this paper reports from a case study of a serious game staged in the graphical environment of a building information model. A series of interviews with the client, subject-matter experts and software developers involved in developing the game were conducted. The industrial setting for the study is a major hospital construction project in No…
Quality and Transparency in VET: New Challenges for Public Administrations in Latvia
2014
Abstract The main problem discussed in the paper is the new challenges for public administration of vocational education and training (VET) due to innovations and globalization. Most of the attention in the paper is paid to the readiness of entrepreneurs jointly with municipalities to participate in the preparation of future qualified specialists. Co-operation among various educational establishments, the local government and the employers is crucial. A much neglected aspect still is the co-operation between VET and higher education (HE) institutions – which the authors see as a real driving force for the success of local partnerships to promote regional economic development with respective…
Consensus-based Distributed Intrusion Detection for Multi-Robot Systems
2008
This paper addresses a security problem in robotic multi-agent systems, where agents are supposed to cooperate according to a shared protocol. A distributed Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is proposed here, that detects possible non-cooperative agents. Previous work by the authors showed how single monitors embedded on-board the agents can detect non- cooperative behavior, using only locally available information. In this paper, we allow such monitors to share the collected information in order to overcome their sensing limitation. In this perspective, we show how an agreement on the type of behavior of a target-robot may be reached by the monitors, through execution of a suitable consensu…
Experimental Investigation of the Outflow Process over a Triangular Labyrinth-Weir
2012
In this paper, the outflow process from a sharp-crested triangular labyrinth weir is studied. Applying dimensional analysis and the Π theorem, five dimensionless groups, describing the outflow process, are deduced. The measurements, carried out by using sharp-crested weirs placed in a flume, allowed to establish a dimensionless stage-discharge relation. According to this equation, the flow magnification is affected by either the length magnification ratio or head to one cycle width ratio. The proposed equation, which also satisfies two theoretical boundary conditions, was finally tested by using experimental measurements of different reservoir hydraulic models.