bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Volatility Estimator of Stock Market Indices Based on the Intrinsic Entropy Model
Authors: Vințe Claudiu , Ausloos Marcel , Furtună Titus Felix
Published: April 2021

Grasping the historical volatility of stock market indices and accurately estimating are two of the major focuses of those involved in the financial securities industry and derivative instruments pricing. This paper presents the results of employing the intrinsic entropy model as a substitute for estimating the volatility of stock market indices. Diverging from the widely used volatility models that take into account only the elements related to the traded prices, namely the open, high, low, and close prices of a trading day (OHLC), the intrinsic entropy model takes into account the traded volumes during the considered time frame as well. We adjust the intraday intrinsic entropy model that we introduced earlier for exchange-traded securities in order to connect daily OHLC prices with the ratio of the corresponding daily volume to the overall volume traded in the considered period. The intrinsic entropy model conceptualizes this ratio as entropic probability or market credence assigned to the corresponding price level. The intrinsic entropy is computed using historical daily data for traded market indices (S&P 500, Dow 30, NYSE Composite, NASDAQ Composite, Nikkei 225, and Hang Seng Index). We compare the results produced by the intrinsic entropy model with the volatility estimates obtained for the same data sets using widely employed industry volatility estimators. The intrinsic entropy model proves to consistently deliver reliable estimates for various time frames while showing peculiarly high values for the coefficient of variation, with the estimates falling in a significantly lower interval range compared with those provided by the other advanced volatility estimators.
Battery State of Health Estimation with Improved Generalization Using Parallel Layer Extreme Learning Machine
Authors: Ezemobi Ethelbert , Tonoli Andrea , Silvagni Mario
Published: April 2021

The online estimation of battery state of health (SOH) is crucial to ensure the reliability of the energy supply in electric and hybrid vehicles. An approach for enhancing the generalization of SOH estimation using a parallel layer extreme learning machine (PL-ELM) algorithm is analyzed in this paper. The deterministic and stable PL-ELM model is designed to overcome the drift problem that is associated with some conventional machine learning algorithms; hence, extending the application of a single SOH estimation model over a large set of batteries of the same type. The PL-ELM model was trained with selected features that characterize the SOH. These features are acquired as the discrete variation of indicator variables including voltage, state of charge (SOC), and energy releasable by the battery. The model training was performed with an experimental battery dataset collected at room temperature under a constant current load condition at discharge phases. Model validation was performed with a dataset of other batteries of the same type that were aged under a constant load condition. An optimum performance with low error variance was obtained from the model result. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the validated model varies from 0.064% to 0.473%, and the mean absolute error (MAE) error from 0.034% to 0.355% for the battery sets tested. On the basis of performance, the model was compared with a deterministic extreme learning machine (ELM) and an incremental capacity analysis (ICA)-based scheme from the literature. The algorithm was tested on a Texas F28379D microcontroller unit (MCU) board with an average execution speed of 93 μs in real time, and 0.9305% CPU occupation. These results suggest that the model is suitable for online applications.
De-Emulsification and Gravity Separation of Micro-Emulsion Produced with Enhanced Oil Recovery Chemicals Flooding
Authors: Khan Mohammad , Khan Javed , Ullah Habib , Al-Kayiem Hussain , Irawan Sonny , Irfan Muhammad , Glowacz Adam , Liu Hui , Glowacz Witold , Rahman Saifur
Published: April 2021

The present study investigates the effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on the stability of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)-produced stable emulsion. The chemical precipitation method is used to synthesize TiO2 nanoparticles, and their properties were determined using various analytical characterization techniques such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The effect of TiO2 nanoparticles is evaluated by measuring oil/water (o/w) separation, rag layer formation, oil droplet size, and zeta potential of the residual EOR produced emulsion. The laser scattering technique is used to determine the o/w separation. The results showed that spherical-shaped anatase phase TiO2 nanoparticles were produced with an average particle size of 122 nm. The TiO2 nanoparticles had a positive effect on o/w separation and the clarity of the separated water. The separated aqueous phases’ clarity is 75% and 45% with and without TiO2 nanoparticles, respectively. Laser scattering analysis revealed enhanced light transmission in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles, suggesting higher o/w separation of the ASP-produced emulsion. The overall increase in the o/w separation was recorded to be 19% in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles, indicating a decrease in the stability of ASP-produced emulsion. This decrease in the stability can be attributed to the improved coalescence’ action between the adjacent oil droplets and improved behavior of o/w interfacial film. An observable difference was found between the oil droplet size before and after the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles, where the oil droplet size increased from 3 µm to 35 µm. A similar trend of zeta potential is also noticed in the presence of TiO2 nanoparticles. Zeta potential was −13 mV to −7 mV, which is in the unstable emulsion range. Overall, the o/w separation is enhanced by introducing TiO2 nanoparticles into ASP-produced stable emulsion.
Energetic Performances Booster for Electric Vehicle Applications Using Transient Power Control and Supercapacitors-Batteries/Fuel Cell
Authors: Oukkacha Ismail , Sarr Cheikh Tidiane , Camara Mamadou Baïlo , Dakyo Brayima , Parédé Jean Yves
Published: April 2021

In this paper, a hybrid electric power supply system for an electric vehicle (EV) is investigated. The study aims to reduce electric stress on the main energy source (fuel cell) and boost energetic performances using energy sources with high specific power (supercapacitors, batteries) for rapid traction chain solicitations such as accelerations, decelerations, and braking operations. The multisource EV power supply system contains a fuel cell stack, a lithium batteries module, and a supercapacitors (Sc) pack. In order to emulate the EV energy demand (wheels, weight, external forces, etc.), a bidirectional load based on a reversible current DC-DC converter was used. Fuel cell (Fc) stack was interfaced by an interleaved boost converter. Batteries and the Sc pack were coupled to the DC point of coupling via buck/boost converters. Paper contribution was firstly concentrated on the distribution of energy and power between onboard energy sources in consonance with their dynamic characteristics (time response). Second contribution was based on a new Sc model, which takes into consideration the temperature and the DC current ripples frequency until 1000 Hz. Energy management strategy (EMS) was evaluated by simulations and reduced scale experimental tests. The used driving cycle was the US Federal Test Procedure known as FTP-75.
Thermal Analysis of a Solar External Receiver Tube with a Novel Component of Guide Vanes
Authors: Tu Zecan , Piccioni Koch Daniela , Sarunac Nenad , Frank Martin , Mao Junkui
Published: April 2021

The heat transfer performance of a solar external receiver tube with guide vanes was numerically studied under non-uniform heat flux conditions. Models of the smooth tube and the tube with guide vanes were built. The distributions of the temperature, velocity, turbulence intensity, and Nu predicted by these two models were compared to investigate the heat transfer enhancement and the mixing effect of the guide vanes. The effect of the Re and the α on the heat transfer enhancement was also studied. The results show that the guide vanes form spiraling flows, reduce the maximum tube and molten salt temperatures, and improve the heat transfer. In addition, a more uniform temperature distribution is achieved compared to the smooth tube, allowing the molten salt to work safely under higher heat flux conditions in the receiver tube with guide vanes. It was observed that a larger Re enhances the heat transfer on the tube wall and achieves a longer effective distance of enhanced heat transfer in the downstream region, while the spiraling flow, the heat transfer enhancement, and the mixing are stronger for a larger α.
A Fibonacci Wavelet Method for Solving Dual-Phase-Lag Heat Transfer Model in Multi-Layer Skin Tissue during Hyperthermia Treatment
Authors: Srivastava Hari Mohan , Irfan Mohd. , Shah Firdous A.
Published: April 2021

In this article, a novel wavelet collocation method based on Fibonacci wavelets is proposed to solve the dual-phase-lag (DPL) bioheat transfer model in multilayer skin tissues during hyperthermia treatment. Firstly, the Fibonacci polynomials and the corresponding wavelets along with their fundamental properties are briefly studied. Secondly, the operational matrices of integration for the Fibonacci wavelets are built by following the celebrated approach of Chen and Haiso. Thirdly, the proposed method is utilized to reduce the underlying DPL model into a system of algebraic equations, which has been solved using the Newton iteration method. Towards the culmination, the effect of different parameters including the tissue-wall temperature, time-lag due to heat flux, time-lag due to temperature gradient, blood perfusion, metabolic heat generation, heat loss due to diffusion of water, and boundary conditions of various kinds on multilayer skin tissues during hyperthermia treatment are briefly presented and all the outcomes are portrayed graphically.
Improving the Efficiency of Information Flow Routing in Wireless Self-Organizing Networks Based on Natural Computing
Authors: Przystupa Krzysztof , Pyrih Julia , Beshley Mykola , Klymash Mykhailo , Branytskyy Andriy , Beshley Halyna , Pieniak Daniel , Gauda Konrad
Published: April 2021

With the constant growth of requirements to the quality of infocommunication services, special attention is paid to the management of information transfer in wireless self-organizing networks. The clustering algorithm based on the Motley signal propagation model has been improved, resulting in cluster formation based on the criterion of shortest distance and maximum signal power value. It is shown that the use of the improved clustering algorithm compared to its classical version is more efficient for the route search process. Ant and simulated annealing algorithms are presented to perform route search in a wireless sensor network based on the value of the quality of service parameter. A comprehensive routing method based on finding the global extremum of an ordered random search with node addition/removal is proposed by using the presented ant and simulated annealing algorithms. It is shown that the integration of the proposed clustering and routing solutions can reduce the route search duration up to two times.
The Contribution of Energy Communities to the Upscaling of Photovoltaics in Germany and Italy
Authors: Wierling August , Zeiss Jan Pedro , Lupi Veronica , Candelise Chiara , Sciullo Alessandro , Schwanitz Valeria Jana
Published: April 2021

Energy communities (EC) are among the new actors in the energy market, playing an important role in the uptake of photovoltaics (PV) in European markets. This paper estimates their aggregate contribution to the low-carbon energy transition in terms of installed capacities for PV and evaluates their economic performance comparing with market prices. We compiled a database of PV facilities with 3672 entries for Germany and 64 entries for Italy. Our statistical analysis does not support an economic under-performance of EC. The aggregate contribution of EC currently amounts to 600–838 MWp installed capacity in Germany and 10.6 MWp installed capacity in Italy, which makes 1.2–1.7% and 0.07% of all PV installations in Germany and Italy, respectively.
Adaptive Multicriteria Thresholding for Cooperative Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Smart Grid Networks under Shadowing Effect
Authors: Srisomboon Kanabadee , Sroulsrun Yutthna , Lee Wilaiporn
Published: April 2021

Cognitive radio is expected to be implemented in smart grids since it presents high reliability, high accuracy and low transmission time by utilizing licensed bands opportunistically. Shadowing environment affects the performance of channel availability detection of local spectrum sensing since it occurs occasionally. Therefore, the cooperative spectrum sensing is encouraged to be used for addressing shadowing issues. The principle cooperative spectrum sensing techniques suffer from unreliable local information from secondary users (SUs) who are encountered by the shadowing effect. Then, several alternative methods, adaptive majority rule and improved weight algorithm (IMA) is proposed by taking the SUs reliability into account. However, the unreliable SUs are still considered according to the algorithm. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an adaptive multi-criteria thresholding (AMT) to determine the channel availability according to the SUs reliability. The main contribution of AMT is three-fold. First, the new reliable weight calculation is proposed by utilizing analytic hierarchy process (AHP) under three major criteria. Second, AMT is flexible to the number of SUs since it adapts the decision weight on the optimal number of SUs according to the reliable SUs. Third, the shadowing issue is addressed by taking only reliable SUs into account.
Study on the Integral Compensator Using Supercapacitor for Energy Harvesting in Low-Power Sections of Solar Energy
Authors: Jo So-Hyeon , Woo Joo , Byun Gi-Sig , Jeong Jae-Hoon , Jeong Heon
Published: April 2021

The risk of environmental pollution is a consequence of every kind of energy, including fossil fuels, nuclear power plants, and thermoelectric power plants. For the purpose of reducing the use ratio of such energy, research on eco-friendly energy is being actively carried out, and has shown that among all kinds of energy, solar energy has an advantage: it can supply us with inexhaustible clean energy. However, since solar energy depends on sunlight, the output may be unstable as it is influenced by weather or surrounding structures. In this paper, there is presented a control system which transmits power to a storage device, in a specific state, after the energy of the low-illumination section is charged in a supercapacitor using the accumulation-type controller by use of a supercapacitor. Feedback from the power output of photovoltaic panels (PVs) demonstrates that the power of the low-illumination section can be charged without being discarded. The charging rate was compared with other solar controllers being sold on the market, and the comparison was made through state of charge (SOC) measurements after the battery had been charged by photovoltaic panels for a whole day. It was confirmed that the solar controller, by use of supercapacitor integrator proposed in this paper, stored higher levels of energy than the existing solar controllers over the same hours and under the same conditions.
Occupants’ Satisfaction toward Indoor Environment Quality of Platinum Green-Certified Office Buildings in Tropical Climate
Authors: Esfandiari Masoud , Mohamed Zaid Suzaini , Ismail Muhammad Azzam , Reza Hafezi Mohammad , Asadi Iman , Mohammadi Saleh , Vaisi Salah , Aflaki Ardalan
Published: April 2021

The quality of the indoor environment has become a vital component for buildings due to the time spent indoors. To this extent, the performance of the indoor environment is considered as part of the greenery criteria by green rating schemes such as the Green Building Index in Malaysia. This study aims to investigate and assess the quality of the indoor environment of Platinum-certified office buildings in a tropical climate. This research applied a case study approach over two Platinum-certified office buildings. Post-occupancy evaluation is employed integrating full-scale measurement with an occupants’ survey. The measurement was carried out from May to August, and 112 questionnaires were retrieved to evaluate occupants’ satisfaction with aspects of the indoor environment. Thermal comfort, indoor air quality, acoustic, lighting, furniture, and cleanliness are considered as the main study variables. The findings of full-scale measurement indicated high relative humidity, and low air velocity and illuminance. While occupants reported overall indoor environment quality (IEQ) comfort, a significant correlation of variables was observed. The main sources of dissatisfaction were identified as overcooling around 24 °C, high relative humidity (RH), around 70% RH, glare, and background noise around 51.9 dB. Statistically, a significant difference between occupants’ responses to IEQ of two cases was identified, although both buildings are labelled with a Platinum certificate.
Performance Evaluation of Broadcast Domain on the Lightweight Multi-Fog Blockchain Platform for a LoRa-Based Internet of Things Network
Authors: Saputro Muhammad Yanuar Ary , Sari Riri Fitri
Published: April 2021

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a technology that allows every object or item to become part of the Internet and interact with each other. One of the technologies based on the IoT is Long Range (LoRa). Apart from the increasing number of IoT services, security aspects become a separate issue in the development of the IoT. One of the solutions is to utilize blockchain technology in the IoT topology to secure the data and transactions that occur in the IoT network. The blockchain can take minutes to compute a cryptographic chain. It also needs sufficient computing resources. This problem gave rise to the idea of establishing a lightweight blockchain platform with low latency that could run on devices with low computing resources as well as IoT devices. We offered a technology called Lightweight Multi-Fog (LMF) in our previous publication that is implemented using the Lightweight Scalable Blockchain (LSB) algorithm and the fog network on the IoT to solve the problem of integrating a blockchain with the IoT. In this paper, we simulate how the broadcast domain on LMF works and verify the results in lower latency and energy transmission compared to the standard blockchain model. The results showed that the average increase of the total delivery time (Taverage) on the LMF platform was smaller than the average increase of the total delivery time (Taverage), which was 0.53% for the variations in the number of nodes and 0.27% for the variations in the number of brokers/miners. Regarding the average increase of the total energy delivery (Eaverage), the Proof of Work (PoW) platform has a smaller increase of the total energy delivery (Eaverage), which is 1.68% during the variations in the number of nodes. In contrast, the LMF platform has a smaller average increase of the total shipping energy (Eaverage), which is 0.28% for the variations in the number of brokers/miners.
Structural Characteristics and Environmental Applications of Covalent Organic Frameworks
Authors: Khan Niaz Ali , Humayun Muhammad , Usman Muhammad , Ghazi Zahid Ali , Naeem Abdul , Khan Abbas , Khan Asim Laeeq , Tahir Asif Ali , Ullah Habib
Published: April 2021

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are emerging crystalline polymeric materials with highly ordered intrinsic and uniform pores. Their synthesis involves reticular chemistry, which offers the freedom of choosing building precursors from a large bank with distinct geometries and functionalities. The pore sizes of COFs, as well as their geometry and functionalities, can be pre-designed, giving them an immense opportunity in various fields. In this mini-review, we will focus on the use of COFs in the removal of environmentally hazardous metal ions and chemicals through adsorption and separation. The review will introduce basic aspects of COFs and their advantages over other purification materials. Various fabrication strategies of COFs will be introduced in relation to the separation field. Finally, the challenges of COFs and their future perspectives in this field will be briefly outlined.
Model Predictive Control for Paralleled Uninterruptible Power Supplies with an Additional Inverter Leg for Load-Side Neutral Connection
Authors: Oliveira Tiago , Caseiro Luís , Mendes André , Cruz Sérgio , Perdigão Marina
Published: April 2021

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) have been demonstrated to be the key technology in feeding either single- and three-phase loads in a wide range of critical applications, such as high-tier datacenters and medical facilities. To increase the overall system power capacity and resilience, UPS systems are usually connected in parallel. When UPS systems are parallel connected, a circulating current can rise, inhibiting correct system operation. Moreover, having a controlled load power distribution is another fundamental requirement in paralleled UPS systems. However, strategies to ensure these two topics have not been explored to date for UPS systems with a load-side neutral connection. This paper proposes an innovative Finite Control Set Model Predictive Control (FCS-MPC) strategy that ensures circulating current elimination and controlled load power distribution for paralleled UPS systems that use an additional inverter leg for load neutral point connection. Additionally, a system topology based on two parallel-connected UPS systems that can simultaneously supply single- and three-phase critical loads is proposed. Experimental results show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control techniques even when different types of loads are connected to the UPS systems.
Transformation of Sulfur during Co-Hydrothermal Carbonization of Coal Waste and Food Waste
Authors: Saha Pretom , Saha Nepu , Mazumder Shanta , Reza M. Toufiq
Published: April 2021

Co-hydrothermal carbonization (Co-HTC) is an emerging technology for processing multiple waste streams together to improve their fuel properties in the solid product, known as hydrochar, compared to the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of those individual streams. Sulfur is considered one of the most toxic contaminants in solid fuel and the combustion of this sulfur results in the emission of SOx. It was reported in the literature that, besides the fuel properties, Co-HTC reduced the total sulfur content in the hydrochar phase significantly. However, the transformation of different forms of sulfur has not yet been studied. Therefore, this study investigated the transformation of different forms of sulfur under the Co-HTC treatment. In the study, the Co-HTC of food waste (FW) and two types of coal wastes (middle bottom (CW1) and 4 top (CW2)) were conducted at 180 °C, 230 °C and 280 °C for 30 min. Different forms of sulfur were measured by using elemental analysis (total sulfur), and a wet chemical method (sulfate sulfur and pyritic sulfur). The organic sulfur was measured by the difference method. The results showed that a maximum of 49% and 65% decrease in total sulfur was achieved for CW1FW and CW2FW, respectively, at 230 °C. Similar to the total sulfur, the organic sulfur was also decreased about 85% and 75% for CW1FW and CW2FW, respectively. Based on these results, a sulfur transformation mechanism under Co-HTC treatment was proposed.
Design and Energy Consumption Analysis of Small Reverse Osmosis Seawater Desalination Equipment
Authors: Wang Zhuo , Zhang Yanjie , Wang Tao , Zhang Bo , Ma Hongwen
Published: April 2021

The reverse osmosis method has developed extremely rapidly in recent years and has become the most competitive seawater desalination technology in the world, and it has been widely used in all aspects. Large-scale reverse osmosis desalination plants cannot provide fresh water resources in areas with insufficient water resources and limited space. Therefore, this paper proposes a research plan for a small seawater desalination device based on reverse osmosis, which is mainly suitable for handling emergencies, disaster relief, desert areas and outdoor activities and other needs for timely freshwater resources. It mainly includes pretreatment modules, a reaction infiltration module, a post-processing module and an energy supply module. Detailed design calculations are carried out for the small-scale reverse osmosis membrane system, including the selection and quantity and arrangement of membranes. Subsequently, the one-stage two-stage small-scale reverse osmosis membrane system was modeled, and its energy consumption was analyzed theoretically from the perspectives of specific energy consumption and energy utilization efficiency; the main influencing factors were clarified, and the optimal recovery rate for system operation was determined to be 20%–30%. Finally, an experimental prototype was built to conduct relevant experiments to determine the influence trend of pressure, temperature, concentration, and flow rate on the operating performance of the reverse osmosis system.
Wide Speed Range Operation Strategy of Indirect Matrix Converter–Surface Mounted Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Drive
Authors: Zou Nuofan , Yan Yan , Shi Tingna , Song Peng
Published: April 2021

In order to expand the speed range for an indirect matrix converter–surface mounted permanent magnet synchronous motor drive (IMC-SPMSM), a wide speed range operation control strategy based on a flux-weakening control and an over-modulation method is proposed in this paper. In the stage of the inverter, an IMC over-modulation method is designed, which increases the fundamental voltage transmission ratio (VTR) to 1. In addition, considering the variation of the voltage limit boundary of the IMC with motor speed, flux-weakening control is implemented based on the voltage error feedback method, which maximizes the voltage utilization rate by setting the endpoint of the output voltage vector on the voltage boundary during the flux-weakening operation. In the stage of the rectifier, over-modulation is automatically switched on or off according to operation requirements by a modulation depth controller. Finally, experimental results show that the proposed strategy increases the maximum speed of the IMC-SPMSM by nearly 35% compared to the maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) method. Besides, the enlarged voltage margin by the rectifier stage over-modulation effectively shortens the setting time.
Dopant-Free All-Organic Small-Molecule HTMs for Perovskite Solar Cells: Concepts and Structure–Property Relationships
Authors: Desoky Mohamed M. H. , Bonomo Matteo , Buscaino Roberto , Fin Andrea , Viscardi Guido , Barolo Claudia , Quagliotto Pierluigi
Published: April 2021

Since the introduction of Perovskite Solar Cells, their photovoltaic efficiencies have grown impressively, reaching over 25%. Besides the exceptional efficiencies, those solar cells need to be improved to overcome some concerns, such as their intrinsic instability when exposed to humidity. In this respect, the development of new and stable Hole Transporting Materials (HTMs) rose as a new hot topic. Since the doping agents for common HTM are hygroscopic, they bring water in contact with the perovskite layer, thus deteriorating it. In the last years, the research focused on “dopant-free” HTMs, which are inherently conductive without any addition of dopants. Dopant-free HTMs, being small molecules or polymers, have still been a relatively small set of compounds until now. This review collects almost all the relevant organic dopant-free small-molecule HTMs known so far. A general classification of HTMs is proposed, and structure analysis is used to identify structure–property relationships, to help researchers to build better-performing materials.
Linear Regression Analysis and Techno-Economic Viability of an Air Source Heat Pump Water Heater in a Residence at a University Campus
Authors: Manyi-Loh Christy E. , Sikhonza Mandlenkosi , Tangwe Stephen
Published: April 2021

This study quantifies the potential of a 4.0 kW air source heat pump (ASHP) unit retrofitted to a 12.0 kW, 1000 L electric boiler coupled to a 1000 L storage tank. A data acquisition system was built to monitor the performance of the electric boiler and the ASHP water heater. The annual electrical energy saving and the load factor reduction from the electric boiler because of the ASHP unit retrofit was 34,805.94 kWh and 0.124. The net present value payback period of the ASHP system was 1.60 years. A Wilcoxon rank sum test was employed to compare both the volumes of hot water and electrical energy consumed by the two systems. Linear regression models of the daily volumes of hot water and electrical energy consumed by both systems were established. The results should be of great value to the management of universities that are considering energy-efficient interventions with a significant return on investment.
Bismuth-Graphene Nanohybrids: Synthesis, Reaction Mechanisms, and Photocatalytic Applications—A Review
Authors: Usman Muhammad , Humayun Muhammad , Shah Syed Shaheen , Ullah Habib , Tahir Asif A , Khan Abbas , Ullah Habib
Published: April 2021

Photocatalysis is a classical solution to energy conversion and environmental pollution control problems. In photocatalysis, the development and exploration of new visible light catalysts and their synthesis and modification strategies are crucial. It is also essential to understand the mechanism of these reactions in the various reaction media. Recently, bismuth and graphene’s unique geometrical and electronic properties have attracted considerable attention in photocatalysis. This review summarizes bismuth-graphene nanohybrids’ synthetic processes with various design considerations, fundamental mechanisms of action, heterogeneous photocatalysis, benefits, and challenges. Some key applications in energy conversion and environmental pollution control are discussed, such as CO2 reduction, water splitting, pollutant degradation, disinfection, and organic transformations. The detailed perspective of bismuth-graphene nanohybrids’ applications in various research fields presented herein should be of equal interest to academic and industrial scientists.
Distributed Singular Value Decomposition Method for Fast Data Processing in Recommendation Systems
Authors: Przystupa Krzysztof , Beshley Mykola , Hordiichuk-Bublivska Olena , Kyryk Marian , Beshley Halyna , Pyrih Julia , Selech Jarosław
Published: April 2021

The problem of analyzing a big amount of user data to determine their preferences and, based on these data, to provide recommendations on new products is important. Depending on the correctness and timeliness of the recommendations, significant profits or losses can be obtained. The task of analyzing data on users of services of companies is carried out in special recommendation systems. However, with a large number of users, the data for processing become very big, which causes complexity in the work of recommendation systems. For efficient data analysis in commercial systems, the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) method can perform intelligent analysis of information. With a large amount of processed information we proposed to use distributed systems. This approach allows reducing time of data processing and recommendations to users. For the experimental study, we implemented the distributed SVD method using Message Passing Interface, Hadoop and Spark technologies and obtained the results of reducing the time of data processing when using distributed systems compared to non-distributed ones.
Numerical Analysis of the Dynamic Interaction between Two Closely Spaced Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines
Authors: Hara Yutaka , Jodai Yoshifumi , Okinaga Tomoyuki , Furukawa Masaru
Published: April 2021

To investigate the optimum layouts of small vertical-axis wind turbines, a two-dimensional analysis of dynamic fluid body interaction is performed via computational fluid dynamics for a rotor pair in various configurations. The rotational speed of each turbine rotor (diameter: D = 50 mm) varies based on the equation of motion. First, the dependence of rotor performance on the gap distance (gap) between two rotors is investigated. For parallel layouts, counter-down (CD) layouts with blades moving downwind in the gap region yield a higher mean power than counter-up (CU) layouts with blades moving upwind in the gap region. CD layouts with gap/D = 0.5–1.0 yield a maximum average power that is 23% higher than that of an isolated single rotor. Assuming isotropic bidirectional wind speed, co-rotating (CO) layouts with the same rotational direction are superior to the combination of CD and CU layouts regardless of the gap distance. For tandem layouts, the inverse-rotation (IR) configuration shows an earlier wake recovery than the CO configuration. For 16-wind-direction layouts, both the IR and CO configurations indicate similar power distribution at gap/D = 2.0. For the first time, this study demonstrates the phase synchronization of two rotors via numerical simulation.
Research on Zero-Voltage Ride Through Control Strategy of Doubly Fed Wind Turbine
Authors: Qin Kaina , Wang Shanshan , Kang Zhongjian
Published: April 2021

With the rapid increase in the proportion of the installed wind power capacity in the total grid capacity, the state has put forward higher and higher requirements for wind power integration into the grid, among which the most difficult requirement is the zero-voltage ride through (ZVRT) capability of the wind turbine. When the voltage drops deeply, a series of transient processes, such as serious overvoltage, overcurrent, or speed rise, will occur in the motor, which will seriously endanger the safe operation of the wind turbine itself and its control system, and cause large-scale off-grid accident of wind generator. Therefore, it is of great significance to improve the uninterrupted operation ability of the wind turbine. Doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) can achieve the best wind energy tracking control in a wide range of wind speed and has the advantage of flexible power regulation. It is widely used at present, but it is sensitive to the grid voltage. In the current study, the DFIG is taken as the research object. The transient process of the DFIG during a fault is analyzed in detail. The mechanism of the rotor overcurrent and DC bus overvoltage of the DFIG during fault is studied. Additionally, the simulation model is built in DIgSILENT. The active crowbar hardware protection circuit is put into the rotor side of the wind turbine, and the extended state observer and terminal sliding mode control are added to the grid side converter control. Through the cooperative control technology, the rotor overcurrent and DC bus overvoltage can be suppressed to realize the zero-voltage ride-through of the doubly fed wind turbine, and ensure the safe and stable operation of the wind farm. Finally, the simulation results are presented to verify the theoretical analysis and the proposed control strategy.
Load Frequency Control of Multi-Region Interconnected Power Systems with Wind Power and Electric Vehicles Based on Sliding Mode Control
Authors: Wang Zhenghao , Liu Yonghui , Yang Zihao , Yang Wanhao
Published: April 2021

In recent years, wind power systems have been used extensively, which not only improve the efficiency of current conventional power generation systems, but also can save traditional fossil fuel resources. However, considering the instability of wind power, after being grid connected, it can easily cause an impact on the stability of the grid operation. Considering the above problems, this paper considers to make full use of the energy storage part of electric vehicles (EVs) to increase the stability of grid operation. Based on the mathematical model, this paper studies the load frequency control (LFC) problem of a multi-region interconnected power system with wind power and EVs. First, since the system states are difficult to be monitored, a state observer is designed to estimate the state. Based on this, the integral sliding mode controller (SMC) is designed to realize the LFC of the interconnected power system. Meanwhile, to obtain better control performance, this paper further analyzes and optimizes the controller parameters based on Lyapunov stability theory. At last, simulations are carried out for the power systems with two regions in Simulink. The results show that the designed controllers are effective to compensate the load demand disturbances. In addition, it is demonstrated that the battery storage of EVs can play the role of peak-shaving and valley-filling in LFC.
Towards a Digital Product Passport Fit for Contributing to a Circular Economy
Authors: Adisorn Thomas , Tholen Lena , Götz Thomas
Published: April 2021

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a concept of a policy instrument particularly pushed by policy circles to contribute to a circular economy. The preliminary design of the DPP is supposed to have product-related information compiled mainly by manufactures and, thus, to provide the basis for more circular products. Given the lack of scientific debate on the DPP, this study seeks to work out design options of the DPP and how these options might benefit stakeholders in a product’s value chain. In so doing, we introduce the concept of the DPP and, then, describe the existing regime of regulated and voluntary product information tools focusing on the role of stakeholders. These initial results are reflected in an actor-centered analysis on potential advantages gained through the DPP. Data is generated through desk research and a stakeholder workshop. In particular, by having explored the role the DPP for different actors, we find substantial demand for further research on a variety of issues, for instance, on how to reduce red tape and increase incentives for manufacturers to deliver certain information and on how or through what data collection tool (e.g., database) relevant data can be compiled and how such data is provided to which stakeholder group. We call upon other researchers to close the research gaps explored in this paper also to provide better policy direction on the DPP.
Comparison on Energy Economy and Vibration Characteristics of Electric and Hydraulic in-Wheel Drive Vehicles
Authors: Zhou Shilei , Walker Paul , Tian Yang , Nguyen Cong Thanh , Zhang Nong
Published: April 2021

This paper compares the energy economy and vertical vibration characteristics of in-wheel drive electric vehicles (IEVs), in-wheel drive electric hydraulic hybrid vehicles (IHVs) and centralized drive electric vehicles (CEVs). The dynamic programming (DP) algorithm is used to explore the optimal energy consumption of each vehicle. The energy economy analysis shows that the IEV consumes more energy than the CEV due to its relatively lower electric motor efficiency, even with fewer driveline components. The IHV consumes much more energy than the IEV and CEV because of the energy loss in the hydraulic driveline. The vertical vibration analysis demonstrates that both IEV and IHV degrade the vehicle driving comfort due to increased unsprung mass. Taking the advantage of high power density of the hydraulic motor, IHV have less unsprung mass when compared with the IEV, which helps to mitigate the vibration problems caused by increased unsprung mass.
Performance of the Condensation Process for Water Vapour in the Presence of a Non-Condensable Gas on Vertical Plates and Horizontal Tubes
Authors: Poredoš Primož , Petelin Nada , Žel Tilen , Vidrih Boris , Gatarić Pero , Kitanovski Andrej
Published: April 2021

The condensation of humid air is a crucial step in air conditioning and process engineering. However, the models that describe the condensation of vapour in the presence of a non-condensable gas require time-consuming numerical calculations that go beyond the Nusselt film theory. Only a small number of publications exist, where simple and computationally effective correlations for the condensation of water vapour in the presence of air are presented for specially designed condenser heat exchangers. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to extend the existing semi-empirical correlations for different geometries and process parameters. For the purpose of the study, an experimental setup with two different condenser heat exchangers based on vertical plates (height 74 mm) and horizontal tubes (3 tubes, diameter 40 mm and 7 tubes, diameter 15 mm) was built. Additionally, based on existing correlations, we developed two semi-empirical models that predict the condensation mass flux for the proposed geometries. Here, we report that the agreement between the experimental and theoretical values predicted by the new, semi-empirical correlations is excellent, with an average uncertainty of less than ±6%. Their usability was demonstrated by a possibly significant performance improvement of the condenser inside a condensation-type tumble dryer.
Methodology for Implementing the State Estimation in Renewable Energy Management Systems
Authors: Cho Yun-Sung , Choi Yun-Hyuk
Published: April 2021

This paper describes a methodology for implementing the state estimation and enhancing the accuracy in large-scale power systems that partially depend on variable renewable energy resources. To determine the actual states of electricity grids, including those of wind and solar power systems, the proposed state estimation method adopts a fast-decoupled weighted least square approach based on the architecture of application common database. Renewable energy modeling is considered on the basis of the point of data acquisition, the type of renewable energy, and the voltage level of the bus-connected renewable energy. Moreover, the proposed algorithm performs accurate bad data processing using inner and outer functions. The inner function is applied to the largest normalized residue method to process the bad data detection, identification and adjustment. While the outer function is analyzed whether the identified bad measurements exceed the condition of Kirchhoff’s current law. In addition, to decrease the topology and measurement errors associated with transformers, a connectivity model is proposed for transformers that use switching devices, and a transformer error processing technique is proposed using a simple heuristic method. To verify the performance of the proposed methodology, we performed comprehensive tests based on a modified IEEE 18-bus test system and a large-scale power system that utilizes renewable energy.
Experimental Analysis of the Mechanical Properties and Resistivity of Tectonic Coal Samples with Different Particle Sizes
Authors: Zhong Congyu , Cao Liwen , Geng Jishi , Jiang Zhihao , Zhang Shuai
Published: April 2021

Because of its weak cementation and abundant pores and cracks, it is difficult to obtain suitable samples of tectonic coal to test its mechanical properties. Therefore, the research and development of coalbed methane drilling and mining technology are restricted. In this study, tectonic coal samples are remodeled with different particle sizes to test the mechanical parameters and loading resistivity. The research results show that the particle size and gradation of tectonic coal significantly impact its uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus and affect changes in resistivity. As the converted particle size increases, the uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus decrease first and then tend to remain unchanged. The strength of the single-particle gradation coal sample decreases from 0.867 to 0.433 MPa and the elastic modulus decreases from 59.28 to 41.63 MPa with increasing particle size. The change in resistivity of the coal sample increases with increasing particle size, and the degree of resistivity variation decreases during the coal sample failure stage. In composite-particle gradation, the proportion of fine particles in the tectonic coal sample increases from 33% to 80%. Its strength and elastic modulus increase from 0.996 to 1.31 MPa and 83.96 to 125.4 MPa, respectively, and the resistivity change degree decreases. The proportion of medium particles or coarse particles increases, and the sample strength, elastic modulus, and resistivity changes all decrease.
Pore-Scale Simulation of Particle Flooding for Enhancing Oil Recovery
Authors: Liu Xiangbin , Wang Le , Wang Jun , Su Junwei
Published: April 2021

The particles, water and oil three-phase flow behaviors at the pore scale is significant to clarify the dynamic mechanism in the particle flooding process. In this work, a newly developed direct numerical simulation techniques, i.e., VOF-FDM-DEM method is employed to perform the simulation of several different particle flooding processes after water flooding, which are carried out with a porous structure obtained by CT scanning of a real rock. The study on the distribution of remaining oil and the displacement process of viscoelastic particles shows that the capillary barrier near the location with the abrupt change of pore radius is the main reason for the formation of remaining oil. There is a dynamic threshold in the process of producing remaining oil. Only when the displacement force exceeds this threshold, the remaining oil can be produced. The flow behavior of particle–oil–water under three different flooding modes, i.e., continuous injection, alternate injection and slug injection, is studied. It is found that the particle size and the injection mode have an important influence on the fluid flow. On this basis, the flow behavior, pressure characteristics and recovery efficiency of the three injection modes are compared. It is found that by injecting two kinds of fluids with different resistance increasing ability into the pores, they can enter into different pore channels, resulting in the imbalance of the force on the remaining oil interface and formation of different resistance between the channels, which can realize the rapid recovery of the remaining oil.
Effect of Effective Pressure on the Permeability of Rocks Based on Well Testing Results
Authors: Kozhevnikov Evgenii Vasilevich , Turbakov Mikhail Sergeevich , Riabokon Evgenii Pavlovich , Poplygin Vladimir Valerevich
Published: April 2021

During the development of oil and gas fields, the permeability of the reservoirs decreases due to a decrease in reservoir pressure and an increase in effective pressure, as a result of which significant reserves of oil and gas remain in the reservoir. To predict the rate of decrease in oil production rates during field development and to respond quickly, it is necessary to know the law of permeability decrease with an increase in effective pressure. Existing methods for describing the change in the permeability of rocks were analyzed in the paper. Numerical analysis of the results of core studies from previously published papers and the results of field well testing on the examples of the north Perm region oil fields showed that in both cases, regardless of the type of rock and the type of reservoir, the change in permeability can be described by the same equations (exponential and power-law). Obtained equations can be used to predict changes in the permeability of terrigenous reservoirs of the north Perm region oil fields. At the same time, according to the results of well testing, an intensive decrease in permeability is observed with an increase in effective pressure. Analysis of the nature of permeability changes using the Two-Part Hooke’s Model showed that significant irreversible deformations are currently taking place in the formations of the oil fields under consideration. Predicting the change in permeability from effective pressure can allow to optimize the development of oil deposits.