Actual Capacity Research Articles

Influence of transplanting techniques and age of wash root type seedlings on planting attributes of paddy rice

Globally, Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the most important crops. In India cultivars majorly use wash root type seedlings for rice production. The objective of the study was to assess the influence of transplanting techniques for transplanting wash root paddy seedlings. Two types of mechanical transplanting techniques (two-row hand cranked rice transplanter and tractor operated rice transplanter) were evaluated for three different age of nursery and compared with manual transplanting. The performances for each technique were evaluated in terms of average hill spacing, missing index, multiple index, damage seedlings, floating/buried hills, number of hills/m2, planting efficiency, actual field capacity, field efficiency, energy required and cost of transplanting. Acquired results revealed that the best combination observed was tractor operated rice transplanter and 25 days of seedlings (desirability—0.764). The tractor operated rice transplanter increases the labor productivity by 32.22 times and saved about 66.69% average transplanting cost compared to manual transplanting, whereas it increases the labor productivity by 2.57 times and saved average 35.68% transplanting cost compared to hand crank rice transplanter. Manual transplanting causes non-uniform transplanting, higher missing index and cost of transplanting. Tractor operated rice transplanter at 25 days of seedlings was the best combination for transplanting due its superior techno-economics results.

Interface engineering of a hollow core-shell sulfur-doped Co2P@Ni2P heterojunction for efficient charge storage of hybrid supercapacitors

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) are widely used as supercapacitor energy storage materials due to their abundant valence and high theoretical capacity, but their poor electrical conductivity and low active material utilization lead to low actual capacity and slow kinetics. Herein, we demonstrate the excellent electrochemical properties of sulfur-doped Co2P@Ni2P heterojunction materials prepared using a combination of hydrothermal, ion-exchange and low-temperature annealing approaches. For sulfur-doped Co2P@Ni2P, hollow core-shell microstructures increase the number of electroactive sites and provides a shortcut for electron transport, while sulfur doping promotes the transfer and rearrangement of interfacial charge from Co2P to Ni2P, optimizing the redox ability of the active component. In addition, the S doping and the highly electrochemically active nickel-cobalt phosphide synergistically accelerate the charge transfer, which leads to fast reaction kinetics. Therefore, the obtained S-Co2P@Ni2P exhibits an optimal specific capacity of 1200 C g−1 at 1 A g−1 and excellent rate performance. Furthermore, when combined with activated carbon (AC) for hybrid supercapacitor (HSC), the S-Co2P@Ni2P//AC device shows an excellent energy density of 41.5 Wh kg−1 and a high-capacity retention of 93 % after 15,000 cycles. This work provides a novel approach for the exploration of high-performance and stable phosphorus-based battery-like supercapacitor materials.

State of energy estimation of the echelon-use lithium-ion battery based on Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy optimization

Owing to the degradation of an echelon-use lithium-ion battery (EULIB), the Ohmic internal resistance (OIR) and actual capacity (AE) have both changed greatly, and the state of energy (SOE) can more accurately represent the state of a EULIB than the state of charge (SOC) because of the working voltage. To improve the accuracy and adaptability of SOE estimation, in the paper, we study the energy state estimation of a EULIB. First, the four-order resistor–capacitance equivalent model of a EULIB is established, and an unscented transformation is introduced to further improve the estimation accuracy of the SOE. Second, a EULIB’s SOE is estimated based on adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF), and the OIR and AE of a EULIB are estimated based on the AUKF. Third, a Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy model is introduced to optimize the OIR and AE of the EULIB, and the SOE estimation method is established based on an adaptive dual unscented Kalman filter (ADUKF). Through simulation experiments, verification, and comparison, energy decayed to 80%, 60%, and 40% of the rated energy, respectively, even with a large initial error; with the initial value of the SOE starting at 100%, 60%, or 20%, the estimated SOE can track the actual value. It can be seen that the method has a strong adaptive ability, and the estimation accuracy error is less than 1.0%, indicating that the algorithm has high accuracy. The method presented in this paper provides a new perspective for SOE estimation of EULIBs.

Social media discourse and voting decisions influence: sentiment analysis in tweets during an electoral period

In a time where social media is fundamental for any political campaign and to share a message with an electoral audience, this study searches for a conclusion of the actual persuasion capacity of social media in the electors when they need to decide whom to vote for as their next government. For this, it compares the sentiment that Social Media users demonstrated during an electoral period with the actual results of those elections. For this analysis, it was used, as a case study, tweets mentioning the two major English parties, Conservative and Labor, their respective candidates for the position of prime minister, and terms that identified their political campaign during the electoral period of the General Elections of the United Kingdom that occurred on December 12, 2019. Data were collected using R. The treatment and analysis were done with R and RapidMiner. Results show that tweets’ sentiment is not a reliable election results predictor. Additionally, results also show that it is impossible to state that social media impacts voting decisions. At least not from the polarity of the sentiment of opinions on social media.

Definition of Regulatory Targets for Electricity Non-Technical Losses: Proposition of an Automatic Model-Selection Technique for Panel Data Regressions

Non-technical losses (NTLs) are one of the main problems that electricity distribution utilities face in developing regions such as Latin America, the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. Particularly in Brazil, based on the socioeconomic and market variables concerning all the distribution utilities, the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) has formulated several specifications of econometric models for panel data with random effects, all aimed at determining an index that reflects the difficulty of combating NTLs according to the intrinsic characteristics of each distribution area. Nevertheless, given the exhaustive search for combinations of explanatory variables and the complexity inherent to defining regulatory NTL targets, this process still requires the evaluation of many models through hypothesis and goodness-of-fit tests. In this regard, this article proposes an automatic model-selection technique for panel data regressions to better assist the Agency in establishing NTL regulatory targets for the distribution of utilities in this country. The proposed technique was applied to panel data containing annual observations from 62 Brazilian electricity distribution utilities from 2007 to 2017, thus generating 1,097,789 models associated with the regression types in the panel data. The main results are three selected models that showed more adherence to the actual capacity of Brazilian distribution utilities to reduce their NTLs.

An Adaptive Pedaling Assistive Device for Asymmetric Torque Assistant in Cycling.

Dynamic loads have short and long-term effects in the rehabilitation of lower limb joints. However, an effective exercise program for lower limb rehabilitation has been debated for a long time. Cycling ergometers were instrumented and used as a tool to mechanically load the lower limbs and track the joint mechano-physiological response in rehabilitation programs. Current cycling ergometers apply symmetrical loading to the limbs, which may not reflect the actual load-bearing capacity of each limb, as in Parkinson's and Multiple Sclerosis diseases. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop a new cycling ergometer capable of applying asymmetric loads to the limbs and validate its function using human tests. The instrumented force sensor and crank position sensing system recorded the kinetics and kinematics of pedaling. This information was used to apply an asymmetric assistive torque only to the target leg using an electric motor. The performance of the proposed cycling ergometer was studied during a cycling task at three different intensities. It was shown that the proposed device reduced the pedaling force of the target leg by 19% to 40%, depending on the exercise intensity. This reduction in pedal force caused a significant reduction in the muscle activity of the target leg (p < 0.001), without affecting the muscle activity of the non-target leg. These results demonstrated that the proposed cycling ergometer device is capable of applying asymmetric loading to lower limbs, and thus has the potential to improve the outcome of exercise interventions in patients with asymmetric function in lower limbs.

High-energy composite cathode for solid-state lithium-oxygen battery boosted by ultrafine carbon nanotube catalysts and amorphous lithium peroxide

Rechargeable solid-state lithium-oxygen batteries (SSLOBs) promise high energy density and safety but suffer from the severe interface impedance in composite cathodes and the failure to detect discharge products by spectroscopy and microscopy originating from low actual discharge capacity. Here, an ultrafine carbon nanotube (CNT) is developed as a cathode catalyst for SSLOBs, which unexpectedly improves the solid-solid contact issue with Li1·5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 (LAGP) solid electrolyte and provides a superior specific capacity of 5803 mAh/g (100 mA/g, 2.0–5.0 V vs. Li/Li+) in oxygen atmosphere that is about 4–5 times higher than that of SSLOBs using CNTs with large diameters. This phenomenon is attributed to the optimization of the impedance of CNTs@LAGP induced by the enhanced catalytic activity and enlarged specific surface area of ultrafine CNTs. The amorphous discharge products formed on the CNT surface and between the CNTs and LAGP particles are first found to significantly reduce the cell impedance and increase new reactive sites. Moreover, the irreversible disruption and passivation of CNTs and the accumulation of residual discharge products, which are the fundamental sources of capacity degradation, are further discussed. Importantly, Li2O2 growth morphology as a function of discharge depth and the possible conduction paths of amorphous (Li2O2)n cluster with p-type semiconductor characteristics are also determined by computations based on molecular dynamics and density functional theory for the first time. Our results innovatively reveal the controversial association between impedance and microstructure of composite cathodes, and thus, benefit the development of high-efficiency catalysts and the design of high-energy cathode structures for SSLOBs and other potential solid-state batteries.

Failure Analysis of Ф73.02 mm × 5.51 mm S13Cr 110 Tubing Collapse in an Oil Field

The field service conditions of a well’s collapse tubing were investigated, and the physical and chemical properties of metal materials (chemical composition analysis, mechanical property test, metallographic structure analysis of tubing materials), hydrogen sulfide stress corrosion cracking test of tubing materials, and scanning electron microscopy analysis of tubing cracks and fracture surfaces were tested in this paper. The results show that the major cause of tubing collapse is that the tubing material is super 13Cr (S13Cr). When it is used in the environment containing hydrogen sulfide, plenty of longitudinal stress corrosion cracks is generated on the inner wall, which greatly reduces the actual anti extrusion ability of the tubing. During the gas lift of the well in the later stage, the upper part of the oil pipe was blocked and the oil jacket was in series, and the gas lift pressure was transmitted into the oil jacket annulus, so that the pressure difference between the inner and outer parts of the oil pipe exceeded its actual anti extrusion capacity and collapse failure occurred.

Mitigation Effect of Helmholtz Resonator on the Micro-Pressure Wave Amplitude of a 600-km/h Maglev Train Tunnel

A 600-km/h maglev train can effectively close the speed gap between civil aviation and rail-based trains, thereby alleviating the conflict between the existing demand and actual capacity. However, the hazards caused by the micro-pressure wave amplitude of the tunnel that occurs when the train is running at higher speeds are also unacceptable. At this stage, mitigation measures to control the amplitude of micro-pressure waves generated by maglev trains at 600 km/h within reasonable limits are urgent to develop new mitigation measures. In this study, a three-dimensional, compressible, unsteady SST K–ω equation turbulence model, and an overlapping grid technique were used to investigate the mechanism and mitigation effect of Helmholtz resonators with different arrangement schemes on the micro-pressure wave amplitude at a tunnel exit in conjunction with a 600-km/h maglev train dynamic model test. The results of the study showed that a pressure wave forms when the train enters the tunnel and passes through the Helmholtz resonator. This in turn leads to resonance of air column at its neck, which causes pressure wave energy dissipation as the incident wave frequency is in the resonator band. This suppresses the rise of the initial compressional wave gradient, resulting in an effective reduction in the micro-pressure wave amplitude at the tunnel exit. Compared to conventional tunnels, the Helmholtz resonator scheme with a 94-cavity new tunnel resulted in a 31.87% reduction in the micro-pressure wave amplitude at 20 m from the tunnel exit but a 16.69% increase in the maximum pressure at the tunnel wall. After the Helmholtz resonators were arranged according to the 72-cavity optimization scheme, the maximum pressure at the tunnel wall decreased by 10.57% when compared with that before optimization. However, the micro-pressure wave mitigation effect at 20 m from the tunnel exit did not significantly differ from that before the optimization.

Engine Performance Tests Using Polanga Biodiesel Blends

Abstract: In the present world it is essential to find an alternate fuel source due to the increased industrialization and depletion in natural resources. The method of obtaining biodiesel from various sources and blending them with diesel is adopted in many economically developed and developing countries around the world. This research includes the utilization of Polanga blends with diesel in CI engine. The physical properties like density, kinematic viscosity and calorific value were measured for different blend. The performance and combustion characteristics of B0, B10, B20 and B30 blends of Polanga bio diesel have been studied and it is found out that the blends of biodiesel could substitute in the place of pure diesel and be used as an alternate source of fuel in the near future, thus saving the natural resources for the future generation. Performance parameters like brake thermal efficiency, fuel consumption, brake specific fuel consumption, brake power and exhaust gas temperature are evaluated in laboratory. The emission characteristics like CO and CO2 per cent was also studied. Field performance test of power tiller with attached cultivator operated by both diesel and bio diesel was done to know the working speed, actual field capacity, average time of operation, theoretical field capacity, field efficiency, fuel consumption and energy requirement. The energy consumption for cultivating 1 hectare land was found to be 18.15 MJ/ha for diesel where as it decreased from 17.4 MJ/ha to 16.61 MJ/ha from B10 to B30. From the study, the bio diesel blend gives satisfactory result in both laboratories as well as in field test.

Stochastic analysis of steel frames considering the material, geometrical and loading uncertainties

This paper develops a Stochastic Practical Advanced Analysis Program for stochastic analysis of structural steel frames. The second-order refined plastic-hinge analysis method combined with the technical simulation of Latin Hypercube Sampling is developed to predict the actual ultimate load-carrying capacity of steel frames and investigate the sensitivity of the uncertain input parameters. The input parameters of material properties, geometrical characteristics, and load combinations are considered as independent random variables that may occur in simultaneous randomness. A proposed parallel analytical technique integrates the modified Newton-Raphson and Generalized Displacement Control algorithms to solve the nonlinear inelastic problems to estimate the critical displacement-based system reliability index. The results of the statistical analysis in terms of coefficients of variation and Pearson correlation index show that the yield strength of material is the most sensitive with respect to the behavior of steel frames. The Bayesian Model Averaging is employed to find the most influential structural components on the ultimate structural resistance. The useful results of this research may be used in steel structure design and maintenance in practice.

Mesoporous Cobalt Oxide (CoOx) Nanowires with Different Aspect Ratios for High Performance Hybrid Supercapacitors.

Cobalt oxide (CoOx) nanowires have been broadly explored as advanced pseudocapacitive materials owing to their impressive theoretical gravimetric capacity. However, the traditional method of compositing with conductive nanoparticles to improve their poor conductivity will unpredictably lead to a decrease in actual capacity. The amelioration of the aspect ratio of the CoOx nanowires may affect the pathway of electron conduction and ion diffusion, thereby improving the electrochemical performances. Here, CoOx nanowires with various aspect ratios were synthesized by controlling hydrothermal temperature, and the CoOx electrodes achieve a high gravimetric specific capacity (1424.8 C g-1) and rate performance (38% retention at 100 A g-1 compared to 1 A g-1). Hybrid supercapacitors (HSCs) based on activated carbon anode reach an exceptional specific energy of 61.8 Wh kg-1 and excellent cyclic performance (92.72% retention, 5000 cycles at 5 A g-1). The CoOx nanowires exhibit great promise as a favorable cathode material in the field of high-performance supercapacitors (SCs).

Inspection, structural analysis, and assessment of the existing condition of the tunnel beneath the National Palace of Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria

The current paper considers and summarize the elaborated inspection of the existing condition and operational capacity of the structure of a tunnel beneath the National Palace of Culture and together with the collected data and conclusion concerning the capacity of the top slab of the structure to undertake an additional load from a secondary track from a light rail load. It also includes an assessment concerning the durability of the structure and the compliance with the regulation requirements. The report includes - review and analysis of the available design and other documentation for the site; Surveying and scanning of the main structural elements, incl. localization and registration of visible defects of the structure; performing static and dynamic field testing; structural analysis and calculation of the actual bearing capacity of the reinforced concrete slab of the tunnel according to the regulatory requirements.

MultiElement-Doped Ni-Based Disulfide Enhances the Specific Capacity of Thermal Batteries by High Thermal Stability.

With the high theoretical capacity and the ability of large current discharge, NiS2 has been expected as a new cathode material for thermal batteries. However, its lower decomposition temperature (∼500 °C) restricts its application on thermal batteries because of the high operating temperature of thermal batteries (500-600 °C). In this case, Cr, Fe, Co, and Cu multielement-doped NiS2 (NiS2-d) has been successfully prepared by low-temperature solid-phase sintering. Owing to the effect of high entropy, the multielement doping improved the thermodynamic system stability of NiS2, and the decomposition temperature (2NiS2 → 2NiS + S2) increased from 482 to 610 °C. Interestingly, doping also reduces the particle size of NiS2, resulting in defects on the surface of NiS2 particles and improving the conductivity of NiS2.The actual discharge capacity of NiS2 enhanced significantly from 516 to 643 mA h g-1 at 500 °C, with a current density of 100 mA cm-2 and a cut-off voltage of 1.5 V. This is due to a more complete release of the first discharge reaction (NiS2 + 2Li+ + 2e- → NiS + Li2S) as the decomposition temperature rises. The enhancement of conductivity, meanwhile, lessens polarization during the discharge process, raises the voltage of the NiS2 discharge platform, and improves the stability of the NiS2 later discharge platform. Additionally, the smaller particle size enables improved contact between the cathode and the electrolyte interface, allowing electrolyte ions to quickly come into touch with the NiS2 surface. These results show that the discharge performance of NiS2 at high temperatures could be effectively improved by multielement doping. It provides a new method for improving the stability of a metal sulfide and its application at high-temperature discharge.

Minimizing Internal Leaks of a Powered Roof Support’s Hydraulic Prop Based on Double Block with Charging

The hydraulic system of a powered roof support performs two functions. The first function is to control the powered roof support in the extraction wall. The second function is to protect against adverse overloads resulting from rock mass pressing directly on the powered roof support. This damaging phenomenon is prevented by the protection of the powered roof support, with a safety valve built into the hydraulic system or directly into the prop. However, the third function proposed by the authors based on the research results is to minimize leaks. These leaks usually develop in the props or in the hydraulic system. The authors propose implementing changes to the hydraulic system for this purpose. The change consists of replacing the existing support block with a double block with charging. Tests were carried out in real conditions, that is, a mining wall. Tests in the mining wall were carried out on the powered roof support’s leaking prop. As a result of charging, the actual load capacity of the prop increased by about 10–50% in relation to the load capacity before charging. The use of a double block with charging ensured that the pressure in the under-piston space of the prop was maintained at a minimum of 250 bar. The results allowed us to determine the usefulness of the proposed solution and eliminate its disadvantages—the designated direction of research and development on the powered roof support allowed us to expand its functionality by minimizing leaks.

Ultrahigh energy density and excellent discharge properties in Ce4+ and Ta5+ co-modified AgNbO3 relaxor antiferroelectric ceramics via multiple design strategies

Silver niobate (AgNbO3) has been recently regarded as one of the best candidates for developing high-performance dielectric capacitors on account of its large maximum polarization and near-zero remnant polarization, but its room-temperature ferrielectric (FIE) behavior and large electric hysteresis impede further improvement of energy storage properties. In order to solve this issue, herein, we design Ce4+ and Ta5+ co-modified (Ag0.96Ce0.01)(Nb1-xTax)O3 relaxor antiferroelectric (AFE) ceramics. The introduction of Ce4+ and Ta5+ decreases the tolerance factor, reduces the B-site cation polarizability, and enhances A- and B- site cation disorder, leading to suppressed FIE characteristic, improved AFE stability, and enhanced relaxor degree. Besides, the co-doping strategy causes the decrease of the grain size, and the experimental results and finite element simulations both indicate that this is fairly effect on the improvement of the breakdown strength. Consequently, an ultrahigh recoverable energy density of 7.37 J/cm3, which far exceeds those of the latest AgNbO3-based ceramics, and a large efficiency of 75.66% are simultaneously achieved in (Ag0.96Ce0.01)(Nb0.7Ta0.3)O3 ceramics. More encouragingly, the ceramic exhibits excellent actual discharge capacity with ultrafast discharge time of 23 ns and ultrahigh power density of 294.28 MW/cm3, which outperforms many recently reported lead-free dielectric ceramics, and the discharge properties are fairly stable during a wide temperature range of 20–180 °C. This work sheds light on designing and developing high-performance lead-free dielectric capacitors applicable in harsh environment.

Full-scale load testing of prefabricated combined floor of residential building built of the early 1950s

A detailed full-scale survey of building structures was carried out as a part of scientific and technical support on changing the functional purpose of building premises built in the 1950s. The purpose of the technical condition survey was to assess the bearing capacity of structures and develop conditions for mechanical building safety. Special attention was paid to the study of floor-to-floor overlapping. Over a long period of operation, numerous changes were made to the original structural solution of the building. These changes transformed the design scheme of static work of structures, floors in particular. Due to the multifactorial and difficult-to-control conditions, it wasnt easy to determine the actual bearing capacity of the overlaps with the required degree of reliability using the existing calculation methods. Therefore, in order to confirm the proposed design assumptions, full-scale tests of the overlaps were carried out by loading, which confirmed their bearing capacity determined by the calculation. The conducted field tests made it possible to avoid expensive reinforcement of structures and extend the building life.

Assessing The Intersected Relationship Between Land Use And Transportation Planning

This research analyses the causes of traffic congestion in urban corridors. It specifically studies the intersected relationship between land-use and transportation planning by examining Al-Madina Al Monawara street in Amman, the capital of Jordan, as a case study. Techniques implemented in data collection are personal observations, traffic counts, land use maps and questionnaires. The methods applied in analysing the collected traffic counts are: Level of Service (LOS), Automatic Traffic Counters (ATC) and Trip Attraction Analysis (TAA). The outcome of the research verified the relationship between the high level of traffic, where the traffic exceeds the actual capacity of the street by 43%, and the unregulated land use planning where 85% of the existing buildings along the street are commercial. The findings of this research will help to establish an assessment tool for testing the impacts of transportation and land use in congested developing cities. This study is important since transportation solutions receive little attention by planner’s development agendas in Jordan and the neighbouring countries.

Historical wind power in Karnataka differs from predictive models: A granular analysis of performance across climatology, technology, and location

Wind power constitutes one of the largest forms of renewable energy in India. Many operational models have predicted wind energy in India, but most rely on satellite reanalysis data. In contrast, this paper examines historical generation data at an unprecedented granularity to understand its potential and variance. We find actual wind capacity factor (CF) during the Indian Summer Monsoon to be less than half that predicted in NREL’s recent landmark production cost modeling study. Further, we find that the yearly moving average of aggregated CF exhibits a +0.640 correlation with the ENSO SOI, a widely-used climatological parameter. At the feeder level, we confirm an expected exponential relationship between average CF and turbine hub height. However, this effect is 261% more pronounced during the monsoon, a finding with troublesome implications for grid planning. We also test the assumption that higher wind turbines perform proportionately better outside of the monsoon and find no evidence to support it. Finally, we present a new method to measure the geographic smoothing effect that reduces inherent variability by 18% when compared to normalized standard deviation. We find limits to the effect of decreasing variability through geographic diversity; the effect mostly disappears at about 125 km.

Exploring Urban Green Space Optimization of the Urban Walking Life Circle in Fuzhou, China.

The spatial distribution of urban green spaces (UGS) is closely related to the health of residents and the ecological pattern of cities. Exploring the equity of UGSs plays an important role in urban planning and also provides guidance for urban development. Taking the main urban area of Fuzhou City as an example, this study uses network big data and census data to pinpoint the population demand, evaluates the accessibility and equity of UGS within the basic living circle, neighborhood living circle and daily living circle of residents at the scale of residential and sub-districts. Based on the G2SFCA model, we also quantify the actual effective UGS's service capacity. Then, using the scale and travel range as the entry point, we further discuss the similarities and differences under different scales and different travel ranges. Finally, optimization strategies are proposed for the construction status. The results show that: (1) The spatial allocation of urban green space resources varies significantly, and there is a serious inequity in the spatial distribution of urban green space under pedestrian conditions; (2) The results of UGS accessibility, equity, and service capacity in Fuzhou at both residential and sub-district scales are consistent; (3) Urban construction should be multi-level overall planning, combined with local economic and social development factors in accordance with local conditions to take measures. The results of the study can provide a scientific reference for the optimization of the spatial distribution of UGS.