bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
In situ steel solidification imaging in continuous casting using magnetic induction tomography
Authors: Soleimani Manuchehr , Li Fang , Spagnul Stefano , Palacios Juan , Barbero José I , Gutiérrez Teresa , Viotto Alberto
Published: January 2020

The solidification process in continuous casting is a critical part of steel production. The speed and quality of the solidification process determines the quality of the final product. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are often used to describe the process and to design its control system but, so far, there has been no tool that provides an online measurement of the solidification front of hot steel during the continuous casting process. This paper presents a novel magnetic induction tomography (MIT) solution, developed in the EU-funded SHELL-THICK project, to work in a real casting setting and to provide a real-time and reliable measurement of the shell thickness in a cross section of the strand. The new MIT system was installed at the end of the secondary cooling chamber of a casting unit and tested over several days in a real production process. MIT is able to create an internal map of the electrical conductivity of hot steel deep inside the billet. The image of electrical conductivity is then converted to a temperature profile that allows the measurement of the solid, mushy and liquid layers. In this study, such a conversion is done by synchronizing in one time step the MIT measurement and the thermal map generated with the actual process parameters available at that time. The MIT results were then compared with the results obtained with the CFD and thermal modelling of the industrial process. This is the first time in situ monitoring of the interior structure has been carried out during a real continuous casting.
Suggested quasi-Cassegrain system for multi-beam observation of FAST
Authors: Su Ding-Qiang , Bai Hua , Cui Xiang-Qun
Published: January 2020

FAST, the largest single-dish radio telescope in the world, has a 500-meter diametermain reflector and a 300-meter diameter illuminated area. It has amain reflector that can vary its shape, which continuously changes the shape of the illuminated area in reflector into a paraboloid. In this article, we propose a quasi- Cassegrain system for FAST. The detailed design results are provided. Such a quasi-Cassegrain system only needs to add a 14.6-meter diameter secondary reflector, which is close to the size of the feed cabin. The distance from the secondary reflector to the focus is only 5.08m, and it has excellent image quality. In this quasi-Cassegrain system, the shape of the illuminated area in the main reflector continuously changes into an optimized hyperboloid. Using this quasi-Cassegrain system from frequency 0.5GHz to 8GHz, the multi-beam system can include 7 to 217 feeds. If this system is used in combination with Phased Array Feed (PAF) technology, more multi-beam feeds or a higher working frequency can be used.
Contour detection in Cassini ISS images based on Hierarchical Extreme Learning Machine and Dense Conditional Random Field
Authors: Yang Xi-Qi , Zhang Qing-Feng , Li Zhan
Published: January 2020

In Cassini ISS (Imaging Science Subsystem) images, contour detection is often performed on disk-resolved objects to accurately locate their center. Thus, contour detection is a key problem. Traditional edge detection methods, such as Canny and Roberts, often extract the contour with too much interior details and noise. Although the deep convolutional neural network has been applied successfully in many image tasks, such as classification and object detection, it needs more time and computer resources. In this paper, a contour detection algorithm based on H-ELM (Hierarchical Extreme Learning Machine) and DenseCRF (Dense Conditional Random Field) is proposed for Cassini ISS images. The experimental results show that this algorithm’s performance is better than both traditional machine learning methods, such as Support Vector Machine, Extreme Learning Machine and even deep Convolutional Neural Network. The extracted contour is closer to the actual contour. Moreover, it can be trained and tested quickly on the general configuration of PC, and thus can be applied to contour detection for Cassini ISS images.
Development of image motion compensation system for 1.3m telescope at Vainu Bappu Observatory
Authors: Vallapureddy Sreekanth Reddy , Banyal Ravinder Kumar , Rengaswamy Sridharan , Umesh Kamath P , Selvaraj Aishwarya
Published: January 2020

We developed a tip-tilt system to compensate the turbulence induced image motion for the 1.3 m telescope at Vainu Bappu Observatory, at Kavalur. The instrument is designed to operate at the visible wavelength band (480 − 700 nm) with a field of view of 1′ × 1′. The tilt corrected images have demonstrated up to ≈ 57% improvement in image resolution and a corresponding peak intensity increase by a factor of ≈ 2.8. A closed-loop correction bandwidth of ≈ 26 Hz has been achieved with on-sky tests and the root mean square motion of the star image has been reduced by a factor of ∼ 14. These results are consistent with theoretical and numerical predictions of wave-front aberrations caused by atmospheric turbulence and image quality improvement expected from a real-time control system. In this paper, we present details of the instrument design, laboratory calibration studies and quantify its performance on the telescope.
The mini-GWAC optical follow-up of gravitational wave alerts – results from the O2 campaign and prospects for the upcoming O3 run
Authors: Turpin Damien , Wu Chao , Han Xu-Hui , Xin Li-Ping , Antier Sarah , Leroy Nicolas , Cao Li , Cai Hong-Bo , Cordier Bertrand , Deng Jin-Song , Dong Wen-Long , Feng Qi-Chen , Huang Lei , Jia Lei , Klotz Alain , Lachaud Cyril , Li Hua-Li , Liang En-Wei , Liu Shun-Fang , Lu Xiao-Meng , Meng Xian-Min , Qiu Yu-Lei , Wang Hui-Juan , Wang Jing , Wang Shen , Wang Xiang-Gao , Wei Jian-Yan , Wu Bo-Bing , Xiao Yu-Jie , Xu Da-Wei , Xu Yang , Yang Yuan-Gui , Zhang Pin-Pin , Zhang Ruo-Song , Zhang Shuang-Nan , Zheng Ya-Tong , Zou Si-Cheng
Published: January 2020

The second (O2) observational campaign of gravitational waves (GWs) organized by the LIGO/Virgo Collaborations has led to several breakthroughs such as the detection of GW signals from merger systems involving black holes or neutrons stars. During O2, 14 GW alerts were sent to the astronomical community with sky regions mostly covering over hundreds of square degrees. Among them, six were finally confirmed as real astrophysical events. Since 2013, a new set of ground-based robotic telescopes called Ground-based Wide Angle Camera system (GWAC) project and its pathfinder mini-GWAC has been developed to contribute to the various challenges of multi-messenger and time domain astronomy. The GWAC system is built up in the framework of the ground-segment system of the SVOM mission that will be devoted to the study of the multi-wavelength transient sky in the next decade. During O2, only the mini-GWAC telescope network was fully operational. Due to the wide field of view and fast automatic follow-up capabilities of the mini-GWAC telescopes, they were adept to efficiently cover the sky localization areas of GW event candidates. In this paper, we present the mini-GWAC pipeline we have set up to respond to GW alerts and we report our optical follow-up observations of eight GW alerts detected during the O2 run. Our observations provided the largest coverage of the GW localization areas with a short latency made by any optical facility. We found tens of optical transient candidates in our images, but none of those could be securely associated with any confirmed black hole – black hole merger event. Based on this first experience and the near future technical improvements of our network system, we will be more competitive in detecting the optical counterparts from some GW events that will be identified during the upcoming O3 run, especially those emerging from binary neutron star mergers.
Theoretical approach to study the formation of C2H4O2 isomers in interstellar medium through reaction between interstellar formaldehyde molecules*
Authors: Ahmad Aftab , Shivani  , Misra Alka , Tandon Poonam
Published: January 2020

The three isomers of C2H4O2, viz., glycolaldehyde (HCOCH2OH), acetic acid (CH3COOH) and methyl formate (HCOOCH3), have been detected in copious amounts in the interstellar medium (ISM). The possibility for formation of these molecules through interstellar formaldehyde (HCHO) has been explored by using the quantum chemical approach described by density functional theory (DFT) and second order Moller-Plesset perturbation (MP2) theory with a 6–311G(d,p) basis set in the gas phase as well as in icy grains. The associated molecule-molecule interactions have been discussed to study the formation of isomers of C2H4O2 in ISM. The reactions of two formaldehyde molecules exhibit a considerable potential barrier but due to quantum tunneling, these reactions could be possible in ISM. The chemical pathway is exothermic, which gives rise to a high probability for the formation of all three isomers, viz. glycolaldehyde, methyl formate and acetic acid, in interstellar space. Anharmonic rotational vibration, centrifugal distortion constants and coupling constants are also calculated and results suggest that the vibrations are harmonic in nature.
Search for strong galaxy-galaxy lensing in SDSS-III BOSS
Authors: Cheng Xin-Lun
Published: January 2020

Strong lensing is one of the most spectacular views in the universe. Many cosmological applications have been proposed, but the number of such lensing systems is still limited. In this work, we applied an improved version of a previously developed spectroscopic lensing search method to the SDSS-III BOSS and proposed a list of highly possible candidates. Follow-up CFHT Megacam imaging observations were performed for five systems, and two out of five are probably strong lensing systems with at least one image close to the central galaxy, although no counter images are detected.
Prediction verification of solar cycles 18–24 and a preliminary prediction of the maximum amplitude of solar cycle 25 based on the Precursor Method
Authors: Miao Juan , Wang Xin , Ren Ting-Ling , Li Zhi-Tao
Published: January 2020

Predictions of the strength of solar cycles are important and are necessary for planning long-term missions. A new solar cycle 25 is coming soon, and the amplitude is needed for space weather operators. Some predictions have been made using differentmethods and the values are drastically different. However, since 2015 July 1, the original sunspot number data have been entirely replaced by the Version 2.0 data series, and the sunspot number values have changed greatly. In this paper, using Version 2 smoothed sunspot numbers and aa indices, we verify the predictions for cycles 18–24 based on Ohl’s PrecursorMethod. Then a similar-cycles method is used to evaluate the aa minimum of 9.7 (±1.1) near the start of cycle 25 and based on the linear regression relationship between sunspot maxima and aa minima, our predicted Version 2 maximum sunspot number for cycle 25 is 121.5 (±32.9).
Spatial distributions of sunspot oscillation modes at different temperatures
Authors: Wang Zheng-Kai , Feng Song , Deng Lin-Hua , Meng Yao
Published: January 2020

Three- and five-minute sunspot oscillations have different spatial distributions in the solar atmospheric layers. The spatial distributions are crucial for revealing the physical origin of sunspot oscillations and to investigate their propagation. In this study, six sunspots observed by Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly were used to obtain the spatial distributions of three- and five-minute oscillations. The fast Fourier transform method is applied to represent the power spectra of oscillation modes. We find that, from the temperature minimum to the lower corona, the powers of the five-minute oscillation exhibit a circle-shape distribution around its umbra, and the shapes gradually expand with temperature increase. However, the circle-shape disappears and the powers of the oscillations appear to be very disordered in the higher corona. This indicates that the five-minute oscillation can be suppressed in the high-temperature region. For the three-minute oscillations, from the temperature minimum to the high corona, their powers mostly distribute within an umbra, and part of them are located at the coronal fan loop structures. Moreover, those relative higher powers are mostly concentrated in the position of coronal loop footpoints.
Real-time abnormal light curve detection based on a Gated Recurrent Unit network
Authors: Yan Rui-Qing , Liu Wei , Zhu Meng , Wang Yi-Jing , Dai Cong , Cao Shuo , Wu Kang , Liang Yu-Chen , Yu Xian-Chuan , Zhang Meng-Fei
Published: January 2020

Targeting the problem of high real-time requirements in astronomical data processing, this paper proposes a real-time early warning model for light curves based on a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) network. Using the memory function of the GRU network, a prediction model of the light curve is established, and the model is trained using the collected light curve data, so that the model can predict a star magnitude value for the next moment based on historical star magnitude data. In this paper,we calculate the difference between the model prediction value and the actual observation value and set a threshold. If the difference exceeds the set threshold, the observation value at the next moment is considered to be an abnormal value, and a warning is given. Astronomers can carry out further certification based on the early warning and in combinationwith other means of observation. Themethod proposed in this paper can be applied to real-time observations in time domain astronomy.
The subsurface structure and stratigraphy of the Chang’E-4 landing site: orbital evidence from small craters on the Von Kármán crater floor
Authors: Fu Xiao-Hui , Qiao Le , Zhang Jiang , Ling Zong-Cheng , Li Bo
Published: January 2020

Chang’E-4 (CE-4) successfully landed on the floor of the Von Kármán crater within the South Pole-Aitken basin (SPA). One of its scientific objectives is to determine the subsurface structure and the thickness of lunar regolith at the landing site and along the traverse route of the Yutu-2 rover. Using orbital data, we employed small craters (diameters <1 km) on the floor of the Von Kármán crater as probes to investigate the subsurface structure and stratigraphy of the CE-4 landing site. In this study, 40 dark-haloed craters that penetrate through the surface Finsen ejecta and excavate underlying mare deposits were identified, and 77 bright ray craters that expose only the underlying fresh materials but do not penetrate through the surface Finsen ejecta were found. The excavation depths of these craters and their distances from the Finsen crater center were calculated, and the thickness distribution of Finsen ejecta on the Von Kármán floor was systematically investigated. The boundary between Finsen ejecta and underlying mare basalt at the CE-4 landing site is constrained to a depth of 18m.We have proposed the stratigraphy for the CE-4 site and interpreted the origins of different layers and the geological history of the Von Kármán crater. These results provide valuable geological background for interpreting data from the Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) and Visible and Near-infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VNIS) on the Yutu-2 rover. The CE-4 landing site could provide a reference point for crater ejecta distribution and mixing with local materials, to test and improve ejecta thickness models according to the in situ measurements of the CE-4 LPR.
Unlikely alliances and their implications for resource management in the American West
Authors: Hillis Vicken , Berry Kate A , Swette Briana , Aslan Clare , Barry Sheila , Porensky Lauren M
Published: January 2020

Collaborative, or participatory governance is an increasingly common means of addressing natural resource issues, especially in the American West where patchworks of public, private, and tribal interests characterize the region’s resources. In this context, unlikely alliances, or partnerships among diverse actors who have historically been at odds, have a growing potential to shape social and ecological outcomes, for better or worse. While these unlikely alliances have received greater attention in recent years, relatively little research has worked to synthesize the concept across diverse contexts and disciplines. Based on a review of the literature on unlikely alliances in natural resource governance, we develop a framework that synthesizes the individual motivations and contextual factors that influence their formation, as well as the social and ecological outcomes that they create. We use this framework to analyze six illustrative cases of unlikely alliances. Our analysis of these cases suggests that unlikely alliances in the American West are likely to arise in the presence of a crisis, when appropriate leadership is present, when some of the actors have interacted effectively in the past, and when actors need to pool resources. The cases also illustrate some common outcomes, including environmental improvement, transformation of social networks, policy change, and shifts in power relationships. We discuss the implications of unlikely alliances for the social-ecological future of the American West. Our paper highlights the role of unlikely alliances in shaping patterns of natural resource governance, and provides a focus for further research in this realm.
Can designs inspired by control theory keep deployment policies effective and cost-efficient as technology prices fall?
Authors: Nuñez-Jimenez Alejandro , Knoeri Christof , Hoppmann Joern , Hoffmann Volker H
Published: January 2020

Deployment policies based on economic incentives are among the most effective tools for speeding up the diffusion of clean energy technologies. Policy instruments such as feed-in tariffs have played a critical role in driving the growth of solar photovoltaics, and could accelerate the uptake of other technologies that are key to the decarbonization of energy systems. Historical experiences, however, show that failing to adjust economic incentives to falling technology prices can fundamentally undermine these policies’ effectiveness and cost-efficiency. This paper addresses this challenge by assessing three novel policy designs. Based on control-theory principles, the proposed mechanisms modify incentives in response to changes in deployment, policy costs, or profitability for adopters. We assess the outcomes that each policy design would have achieved when applied to Germany’s feed-in tariff for solar photovoltaics between 2000 and 2016. For this purpose, we developed an agent-based model that allows us to simulate the adoption decisions of individual households and medium-sized and large firms, as well as the evolution of technology prices. Our results show that responsive designs inspired by control theory might produce policies that follow their targets more closely, and at a lower cost. In addition, our analysis suggests that the studied designs could greatly reduce uncertainty over policy outcomes and windfall profits. This research also highlights the role of the temporal distribution of policy targets, and identifies policy design tradeoffs, drawing relevant implications for the design of future deployment policies.
Interconnections among nonlinear field equations
Authors: Fairlie David B
Published: January 2020

Galileons are related to other implicitly integrable equations such as the first order nonlinear wave equation and the universal field equation, which is a Lagrangian for the Galileon.
The Shading Envelope: A morphology for climate change mitigation
Authors: Raboudi Khaoula , Abdelkader BEN SACI
Published: January 2020

This paper presents the Shading Envelope (OE) which outlines the smallest volume to shade neighbouring properties during summer overheating periods. The construction method of the OE, by means of a parametric visual programming tool, is presented. The solar geometry data required for its construction is deduced from energy simulations with respect to the climate needs. The study of the impact of the proposed model shows a significant improvement in terms of minimizing summer solar radiation and increasing urban density.
Establishment a recycled green building material model for use in the construction industry in global circular economies
Authors: Lee D H
Published: January 2020

This study modifies a dynamic computable general equilibrium GTAP model by incorporating circular economy mechanisms for recycled green building materials (GBMs), and collecting data to estimate and build entire supply chain and sales chain for recycled GBMs. The goal is to forecast the possible development of the GBM sectors of China, the EU28, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, the USA, and the rest of the world to 2030, and their environmental impacts. Results reveal that the average output quantity growth of GBMs will increase significantly and continuously to 2030 (Japan is 12.64%, followed by Malaysia (11.75%), EU28 (11.13%), Korea (10.97%), USA (9.85%), China (7.12%), Taiwan (6.48%), and India (5.88%)). The development of the RGBM sector will improve environment by saving water (and 15.30 M3), saving energy (13,428,333 Terajoules (TJ)) and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (265.87 million tons CO2eq) in 2030, helping to achieve the targets in the Paris Agreement and sustainable development goals, while mitigating the negative impacts of increasing greenhouse gases of increasing output value of GBM’s supply chain on climate change. The models and results in this study provide guidelines and references for decision-makers in the GBM industry and the government who are responsible for making sustainability development and climate change policy.
Techno-economic inquiry into implementation barriers in Green Roof adoption as an energy retrofit measure in temperate climates: UK Study.
Authors: Agbonyin Ademuyiwa , Zoras Stamatis
Published: January 2020

Green roof technology has been established through research and in-situ monitoring to provide good potential for stormwater retention, mitigation of urban heat island (UHI) effect, reduction of local air pollution, increase local biodiversity and most importantly, passive energy savings both for new buildings and as a retrofit option for older buildings. However, even with this existing wide range of benefits, green roof technology research and markets in terms of implementation and widescale commercial adoption is relatively non-existent in temperate climates of the world such as the UK, compared to other regions with different prevailing climatic characteristics. This research investigates the causative factors and barriers for this relatively slow rate of adoption both from technological and economic perspectives with the United Kingdom as a case study. A number of experimental papers on energy savings benefits from green roofs were compiled; and from the analysis of collated data, it was found that green roofs tend to perform better from an energy savings perspective in hotter climates of the world or during the summer season in colder climates when temperatures are higher such as seasonal heatwaves. Further research into the energy savings behaviour during winter in temperate regions is required to assert the all-season suitability of green roofs for implementation in new builds within the United Kingdom. Government legislation and incentives could potentially increase wide-scale adoption. The performance of green roofs is however found to be largely climate dependent, meaning the performance varies across different regions of the world, therefore increased local research and quantification into metrics will lead to better understanding and potential adoption of green roofs and how to best optimise their design according to the region in which they are to be installed.
Energy efficient operation of industrial facilities: the role of the building in simulation-based optimization
Authors: Gourlis G , Kovacic I
Published: January 2020

Energy efficiency of industrial facilities is a set goal towards developing a sustainable future. Many production facilities though are still not operated at a highly efficient rate in terms of energy use. The complexity of industrial environments requires an integrated analysis of all subsystems – production processes, logistics, building and technical building services – to grasp full optimization potentials. The use of simulation tools provides significant benefit in energy demand modeling and prediction, making its application essential for planning and management of energy efficient industrial facilities. Building Energy Modeling (BEM) and Manufacturing Process Simulation (MPS) have been used by researchers for analyzing mostly building related and process related conditions respectively. A novel approach is the holistic assessment by combining capabilities of BEM and MPS into one simulation environment. Such a hybrid simulation application has been developed within the research project Balanced Manufacturing (BaMa), addressing all subsystems of a production plant. However, the actual condition of a facility, the type and requirements of the manufacturing process, the level of implemented automation as well as the available infrastructure are decisive for the application of the appropriate simulation-based optimization method. Focusing on the subsystem of the building, this paper examines its function within two different approaches for energy demand optimization, through the use cases of industrial facilities with different characteristics. The first case focuses on the building and its components, utilizing BEM, the second on the production processes, utilizing the BaMa method. Thereby the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) as knowledge database for the simulations models is discussed and the integration of all industrial subsystems is analyzed. The role of the building in each case is highlighted, addressing its benefits and drawbacks.
Energy storage systems review and case study in the residential sector
Authors: Kampouris K P , Drosou V , Karytsas C , Karagiorgas M
Published: January 2020

Energy storage is recognized as an increasingly important parameter in the electricity and energy systems, allowing the generation flexibility and therefore the demand side management. It can contribute to optimal use of generation and grid assets, and support emissions reductions in various economic sectors. Energy storage can support the European Union (EU) targets for efficient use of energy by helping to ensure energy security, a well-functioning internal energy market, and successful implementation of more carbon-cutting renewables online. By strengthen the use of energy storage, the EU can decrease its energy imports, improve the efficiency of the energy system, and keep prices low by better integrating variable renewable energy sources. Moreover energy storage can contribute to better use of renewable energy sources in the energy system since it can store energy produced when the conditions for renewable energy are appropriate but demand may be low. In this framework, primary objective of this study is the investigation, the comparative analysis and the evaluation according to specific criteria of the current thermal energy storage systems. Electrical, electrochemical, thermal, mechanical and chemical energy storage technology and systems are extensively presented and categorized in terms of their advantages and disadvantages as well as in terms of their technical and financial characteristics. This paper also presents the implementation of thermal energy storage in the residential sector. More specifically is examining the application of a phase change material storage system into the building’s walls cavity. The study focuses on the contribution of the applied energy storage system to the overall increase of the energy efficiency of the building.
Development of a photovoltaic thermal facade system
Authors: Popp C , Ahrens C V , Weller B
Published: January 2020

A photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collector is made of a photovoltaic (PV) module and a solar thermal collector and thereby delivers electrical and thermal energy at the same time. These systems can contribute significantly to the renewable energy supply of residential, public, and commercial buildings. This paper gives insight into the development of a facade-integrated PVT system within the research project PVT Fassade. Thermal simulations evaluated useful operating conditions and efficiency-decreasing factors. Thus, 10 kg/(hm2) and 60 kg/(hm2) were identified as lower and upper limits for the mass flow and the losses by the internal heat transfer resistance of a 3.5 mm air layer between the PV module and the heat exchanger were determined to 35 % and 48 % for 10 and 60 kg/(hm2). These findings and structural, aesthetical, and general building law requirements were taken into consideration for the design of the facade-integrated PVT system. The functionality and feasibility of the developed system is shown through a constructed prototype facade where an intensive monitoring of the thermal and electrical performance of the PVT system is conducted. The performance of the PVT facade collector is described on the basis of an exemplary day of this monitoring. On this day, an area-specific thermal yield of 4.13 kWh/m2 with a temperature spread of up to 10.7 K is reached. At the same time, the thin film PV modules of the PVT system achieve an electrical yield increase of 2.5 % compared to a reference PV facade system.
Impact of climatic conditions of different world zones on the energy performance of the photovoltaic-wind-battery hybrid system
Authors: Mazzeo Domenico , Baglivo Cristina , Matera Nicoletta , Congedo Paolo M. , Oliveti Giuseppe
Published: January 2020

The growth of economies and the world population has led to an increase in the electricity demand, toward a disproportionate use of fossil fuels. The PV-wind hybrid system is considered an optimal solution in terms of technical efficiency and costs to reduce the use of fossil sources. The strong variability of renewable energies generated by solar and wind systems in different locations around the world sometimes leads to the need to use battery storage systems. In addition, the self-consumed energy produced by the hybrid system is strongly dependent on the load trend. Owing to the strong influence of the climatic conditions on a hybrid system energy performance, its optimal sizing is a very complex issue that must be addressed in each weather condition. This paper presents an energy feasibility study of a PV-wind-battery hybrid system considering different yearly climatic conditions in the world, according to the Koppen classification. The system is used to supply electrical energy to a district composed of five office buildings. The electrical load consists of artificial lighting systems, electrical office devices and electric vehicle charging stations. The effects produced by different yearly climatic conditions on three hybrid systems, characterized by the same overall nominal powers and different photovoltaic and wind nominal powers, were investigated. TRNSYS 17 was used for the dynamic simulation of the hybrid system. The overall aim is to identify the most proper climatic conditions by means of the optimization of several energy indicators: maximization of the self-consumed renewable energy and of the renewable energy produced utilized to supply the load, namely minimization of the energy imported from and exported to the grid. For this issue, a global indicator, that measures the energy exchange of the hybrid system and load with the grid, is proposed to select the optimal trade-off localities and hybrid systems.
Environmental response of mudbrick settlements: the case of Korestia villages in Western Macedonia
Authors: Balasas A , Meresi E
Published: January 2020

In Greece until the middle of the last century there were several buildings constructured from mudbricks. Nowadays, in a number of settlements there are mudbrick buildings, but the only organized residential complex with buildings built with mudbricks is situated in Korestia, in mount Vitsi, north of Kastoria region. This paper focuses on exploring the environmental response of these settlements, which combine a rich natural environment with a distinctive architectural physiognomy. By examining the urban planning, the morphological characteristics of the area and the relationship between the built and natural environment, it is possible to establish a framework of sustainable development that is environment-friendly. Sustainable management of the built environment of the Korestia implies a new dialectic between natural and man-made environment, with the aim of presenting proposals and multidisciplinary actions for the integrated development of the site. In essence, the remarkable housing stock is being studied and the heritage of the site (rich architectural and cultural heritage, natural parameters such as mountain, forest, river, etc.) is highlighted in order to transform itself into a force that prevents the population from leaving the area and at the same time creates conditions for re-housing and strengthens the tourism growth with low ecological footprint.
Sustainability Assessment of the Building Construction Stage Using Building Sustainability Assessment Schemes (BSAS)
Authors: Apanavičienė R , Maliejus K , Fokaides P
Published: January 2020

Building Sustainability Assessment Schemes (BSAS) are the key instruments to measure, evaluate and implement sustainability goals through all building’s life-cycle. The current trend for the establishment of practices resulting to green and sustainable buildings is based on environmental protection aspirations, as well as on rising real estate market demands for improved indoor air quality (IAQ) conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the construction stage process on the results of BSAS ratings. Seven administrative buildings rated by BREEAM or LEED, located in Lithuania, were assessed in terms of this study. Five criteria were employed to assess the sustainability of the investigated buildings at the construction phase, including the project management, the responsible purchase of building materials, the use of legal timber materials, the construction waste and the protection against environmental contamination. The selected criteria constitute a significant part of the established sustainability assessment schemes such as BREEAM and LEED. Following the analysis of the actual ratings for the selected categories, weights of the construction stage as well as their impact on the final evaluation results were defined. The findings of this study revealed that the impact of the selected criteria on the final BREEAM scheme rating ranged from 6.98 to 8.57 percent. The impact of the construction stage criteria on LEED system final results ranged from 4.05 to 6.97 percent and in any case demonstrated reduced impact on the final rating result. The study also revealed the contractor’s point of view to a building sustainability at the construction stage in Lithuania. The findings of this study may serve as a framework for contractor’s organizations intended to improve the construction sustainability of green building projects and this way to increase the overall building sustainability ratings.
Annual Nationwide Environmental Impact Assessment of Japanese Municipalities by Type of Business within the Endpoint-type LCIA Method “LIME2”
Authors: Yamasaki Junya , Ikaga Toshiharu , Itsubo Norihiro
Published: January 2020

This study attempts a comprehensive environmental impact assessment, within the context of annual operations by type of business in each division of Japanese municipality, based on the LCIA (Life Cycle Impact Assessment) method. LIME2 (Life-Cycle Impact Assessment Method Based on Endpoint Modeling 2) is an example of an endpoint-type LCIA method developed in Japan. Annual environmental impacts of municipalities nationwide are assessed by LIME2 from the perspective of environmental damage, indexed to the Japanese yen. Here, this index is referred to as the “Eco-index Yen”. The availability of necessary inventory data in each category is surveyed from statistical information published by governments. From the assessment results based on these conditions, the annual damage amount of all Japanese municipalities taken together is 4.63 trillion yen. The assessment result of each municipality is converted into indicators per capita and per GRP (Gross Regional Product). These results are displayed on a map of Japan to visualize regional characteristics nationwide by type of business, across different types of industries, including the residential and transportation sectors. As described in this study, these results provide a first step toward constructing a new methodology for comprehensive environmental impact assessment of administrative units.
Environmentally-Friendly Planning for Urban Shrinkage
Authors: Antonić Branislav , Djukić Aleksandra
Published: January 2020

Urban shrinkage has become a widespread phenomenon in contemporary urbanisation. Shrinking cities present multiple shrinkage-connected problems, where the most acute ones are demographic and social decline caused by bad economic performance. These problems are usually mirrored in urban space and thereby matters for urban planning, which, predictably, proposes mainly economic- and demographic-based models and solutions for shrinking cities. The other factors, such as environmental issues, are not well-established both in relevant theory and practice. Generally, environmental issues play a minor role for shrinking cities. However, they can be the factors to cause or to display the consequences of urban shrinkage, but they can also contribute to overcome related challenges. Therefore, environmental issues are unavoidable in any future agenda or policy in urban planning towards shrinking cities.

The first step in the process of linking these two scientific fields – the concept of shrinking cities and environmental science – is certainly to check which environmental issues are relevant for the phenomenon of urban shrinkage. This is the main purpose of this research. It aims to collect and systematise the current knowledge about these links. The findings of this investigation bring new interrelations for the multi-face character of the concept of shrinking cities. Therefore, this research presents a new input how to strengthen currently weak links between the concept and shrinking cities and environmental studies, to facilitate a more adaptive planning for urban shrinkage.
Assessment of the sustainable redesign of existing buildings in Greece in the context of an undergraduate course: Application of passive solar systems in existing, typical residences
Authors: Alexandrou Eleni , Bougiatioti Flora , Katsaros Miltos
Published: January 2020

Residential buildings in Greece form an important part of the existing building stock. Most of them were built prior to the first Thermal Insulation Code (1981) and thus are characterised by poor energy performance and increased heating and cooling consumption. The 6th semester undergraduate course of the NTUA, School of Architecture “Special Topics on Environmental and Bioclimatic Design” attempts to educate students on assessing the thermal characteristics and the environmental performance of existing buildings and then propose and quantitatively evaluate the effect of low-tech and low-cost interventions with the use of energy simulation software (Design Builder®). The paper presents the teaching methodology for the application of passive solar systems -with and without thermal insulation of the building shell and openings- to existing, typical residences built after 1920, which are found mostly in suburban areas and settlements all around Greece, and the assessment of the diurnal thermal performance during the heating period. The results of the study are two-fold and involve, primarily the teaching outcome of the course and secondarily the assessment of simple bioclimatic interventions to existing buildings’ energy performance and thermal comfort conditions during the cold period of the year.
Assessment of thermal performance and surface moisture risk for a rear-ventilated cladding system for façade renovation
Authors: Arregi Beñat , Garay Roberto , Garrido-Marijuan Antonio
Published: January 2020

Ventilated façade systems, incorporating thermal insulation behind a rear-ventilated cladding, constitute a popular renovation solution in warm European climates. For compliance with building regulations, their energy efficiency is usually obtained through simple onedimensional desktop calculations, which do not consider the impact of the support elements of the cladding penetrating the thermal insulation. This study assesses a ventilated façade system anchored over a solid concrete wall with adjustable stainless steel brackets. One-dimensional calculations are compared against three-dimensional numerical thermal modelling, evaluating the effect of insulation thickness (40–100 mm) and potential gaps in the insulation around anchors. Results indicate low risk of condensation and mould growth over internal surfaces. The additional heat flow induced by stainless steel anchors, which is not considered by simplified calculations, appears lower than for aluminium-based systems but can become significant as insulation levels increase. Ensuring the continuity of insulation around anchors is critical for keeping this additional heat flow at reasonable levels (8–13%). If gaps in the insulation are present around anchors, the additional heat flow increases substantially (25–70%) and pushes effective U-values above 0.4 W/m2K, thus resulting in unforeseen energy consumption and non-compliance with regulatory requirements in many European locations.
Urban seismic risk model for resilient cities. The case of Thessaloniki
Authors: Riga Evi , Karatzetzou Anna , Fotopoulou Stavroula , Apostolaki Stefania , Dafloukas Konstantinos , Pitilakis Kyriazis
Published: January 2020

Seismic risk assessment and loss estimation are of major importance for decision-making with respect to the reduction of earthquake-induced losses at local, urban, national and even continental scale. In this study we present a preliminary model for the probabilistic seismic risk assessment at urban scale. The studied model will be applied to the residential building stock of Thessaloniki, Greece, for which detailed building inventory and very good knowledge of the soil conditions are available. The applied model comprises three main components, i.e., seismic hazard, building exposure model and physical - socioeconomic vulnerability models. Seismic hazard for rock site conditions is properly amplified to account for site effects of Thessaloniki city, considering the available detailed data of the soil conditions. Exposure model for residential buildings of Thessaloniki is developed based on the results from the 2011 Population and Housing Census. Both physical and socioeconomic losses were considered. For the assessment of the physical and socioeconomic losses we applied the fragility and vulnerability models developed for Greece by GEM. The work has been conducted in the framework of SERA European project (http://www.sera-eu.org/en/home/), which aims at developing a pan-European seismic risk model, applicable at both urban and national risk assessment. The model developed in this work will contribute to the efforts towards increasing the resilience of cities.
Green synthesis of vanadium oxide-zirconium oxide nanocomposite for the degradation of methyl orange and picloram
Authors: Rasheed Parsa , Haq Sirajul , Waseem Muhammad , Rehman Sadiq Ur , Rehman Wajid , Bibi Nazma , Shah Syed Abbas Ali
Published: January 2020

The vanadium oxide-zirconium oxide nanocomposite (V2O5/ZrO2 NC) was synthesized by green method using Daphne alpine (D. alpine) leaves extract. The pore size and surface area was studied by N2 adsorption-desorption process using Brunaure-Emmett-Teller (BET) methods and SBET was found to be 214 m2 g−1. The crystalline nature and other crystal properties was investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and the calculated average crystallite size is 41.74 nm. The morphology of the V2O5/ZrO2 NC was examined by scanning electron scanning microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal stability was examine by thermogravimetric analysis and a total of 11.73% weight loss was observed. The optical property was studied by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and band gap was found to be 3.93 eV. The surface function group was studied the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performance of V2O5/ZrO2 NC was examined against methyl orange and picloram and 76.94% and 86% were degraded in 75 min respectively.
Effect of powder particle size on microstructure and properties of low pressure cold sprayed high aluminium bronze coating
Authors: Feng Li , Li Dongting , An Guosheng , Wang Guiping , Li Wensheng , Chang Jirong
Published: January 2020

Abstrasct

High-aluminum bronze alloy powder was mixed with 16 wt% Al2O3 powder to prepare low-pressure gas dynamic spray coatings with different sized powder particles. The mechanical properties of coatings were tested and the surface, cross section and stretch section of coatings were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Uniform experiment was performed to analyze the effects of particle size of the high-aluminum bronze and Al2O3 powder on coating performance. Experimental results shows that the degree of deformation of the high-aluminum bronze particle in the coating increased with decreasing particle size in the high-aluminum bronze and Al2O3 in the mixed powder. The degree of deformation of the high-aluminum bronze particle in the coating affected the mechanical properties of the coating showing a linear relationship between powder size and coating performance. When the particle size of Al2O3 and high-aluminum bronze particle ranged between 23–25 μm, the coating has the outstanding mechanical properties.
Review of North American pit viper antivenoms
Authors: Cocchio Craig , Johnson Jami , Clifton Shari
Published: January 2020

Purpose

For the first time in nearly 20 years, 2 antigen-binding fragment (Fab) antivenoms are available to treat patients who incur North American pit viper snakebites: Crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab (ovine), or simply FabAV; and Crotalidae immune F(ab′)2 (equine), or simply F(ab′)2. Pharmacists are in a key position for the selection, dosing, reconstitution, administration, and monitoring of antivenom therapy; however, they encounter inconsistent exposure and experience with these drugs. Thus, an updated review of the literature is necessary.

Methods

The search strategy and selection incorporated both controlled vocabulary terms and keywords to describe concepts relevant to the search. Retrieval was limited to literature published from 1997 to the present in English, Portuguese, or Spanish.

Results

Given the paucity of available prospective literature, the authors elected to include all prospective evidence to best describe the role of antivenom. For the primary literature review, manuscripts were excluded if they were observational studies, conference abstracts, narrative or opinion articles, letters to the editor, or in-progress studies.

Conclusion

While there is limited evidence-based guidance on the superiority of F(ab′)2 to FabAV, or vice versa, individual and regional considerations should contribute to formulary decisions. Pharmacists must play a role in the development of clinical pathways to ensure appropriate evaluation, supportive care, and antivenom procurement, administration, and monitoring.