Ground Installation Research Articles

Life Cycle Assessment of Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Plant based in Malaysia

Abstract A cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) has been performed on a Large Scale Solar Photovoltaic (LSSPV) plant based in Peninsular Malaysia to study the detailed environmental impact of its life cycle. The LSSPV, with a capacity of 78 MWdc, is currently one of Malaysia’s largest solar power plants. The different life cycle phases of the LSSPV, starting from resource manufacturing and transportation, through plant construction and electricity generation, and to decommissioning of the plant, were assessed using the SimaPro software with the Ecoinvent v3.8 database. Results show that the overall emission rate for the LSSPV is 0.0309 kgCO2eq/kWh. It is estimated that the construction phase of the power plant, which includes activities such as infrastructure works and production of PV modules and Balance of System, yields the largest amount of kgCO2eq/kWh emission at 85.7% and imposes the highest environmental impact as compared to the other phases. The second biggest contributor is attributed to the transportation phase, contributing to 14.0% of the total kgCO2eq/kWh emission, of which most of the emission is emitted during the sea freight transportation of PV components from China port to Malaysia port (12.4%). A sensitivity analysis was performed to compare the environmental impact between open ground installation and the slanted roof installation mounting system of LSSPV. The findings from LCA proposed that open-ground installation has a greater negative impact on the environment because it involves additional land clearing and infrastructure transformation. The findings from this study serve as a benchmark for the LSSPV system in Malaysia and present technical perspectives for the future development of PV projects considering environmental impacts across the project lifetime.

Solar microwave fabric paper on the key technology for making our future satellite and skin surfaces for aircraft, eliminating APU’s

Solar-Microwave Fabric (SMF) is a mass-produced, thin, flexible membrane upon which is imprinted various combinations of solar cells, microwave patch antennas, and analog control devices. This is for applications such as solar power collection, power transmission, communication, and defense. It can be folded into a compact volume for transport and then unfurled for its operation. In its most sophisticated form, the SMF features the full complement of printed devices: solar cells, patch antennas, transceivers, and retro-directive phased array capability. This most mature capability can be applied to the Power-Star in section 1.6 (Figure 46) space solar power satellite, and to ground installations for combined solar power and air defense. The SMF has various modes of operation of, Solar Power Collection, Communications, Distribution & Defensive systems. Ultimately the Power/ Comm/Defense has one side printed as an “active” mode of power transmission whereby radiation is broadcast to a non-cooperative target and the return from the target is used as the beacon for the direction of a high-power density beam with focusing (vaporization). This could be applied for both ground-based power collection and air/space defense. World’s 1st exposure to: US Patent 11,251,658, Japan Patent 6,987,935.

Investigation of Lightning and Grounding Installation Practices That Resulted in a Turbine-Generator Failure Within an LNG Supplied Generation Plant

Investigation of Lightning and Grounding Installation Practices That Resulted in a Turbine-Generator Failure Within an LNG Supplied Generation Plant

DAC‐MD: A privacy preserving drone‐access control scheme for last mile delivery

AbstractThe service delivery has lately witnessed strides in the form of paradigm shifts from conventional logistics to drone‐oriented supply chain to conserve ecosystem. The use of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for package deliveries offer enhanced accessibility, flexibility, efficiency, speed, safety, and even few environmental gains. However, the drones can come across various security hazards while communicating with ground installations on open channels including physical capture attack, privacy infringement, and so on. Thus, earnest endeavors are needed to fix those security challenges in applications related to drone communications. To address these problems, an efficient authenticated key agreement technique, drone access control scheme for last mile delivery (DAC‐MD) is suggested for user‐drone interactions in IoD environment that help the participating entities in developing a mutually agreed session key for securing subsequent communication interactions. The proposed scheme is proved using automated ProVerif tool as well as analyzed by using formal analysis based on RoR random oracle model. The comparative analysis against recently presented known studies reveals that our scheme not only carries comparable properties in terms of security and privacy, but also low computational and communication costs.

Using copper-coated round rod electrodes at various depths in freshwater marshes

Purpose: High-voltage electrical equipment requires a grounding installation in order to protect lives in freshwater swamps with a hydrogen potential of 6.75. To build a grounding structure, it is required to know the resistance value and grounding materials, namely copper-coated rod electrodes at different depths.
 Research methodology: The research was conducted in a freshwater swamp close to the shampooing substation using field observations and direct measurement of soil resistance values, followed by a literature review and comparisons using COMSOL simulation and FEM Analysis.
 Results: The results of direct research and simulations indicate that in order to accomplish a grounding resistance value < 5 ohms according to the PUIL 2011 standard for a single rod system made of copper, it is necessary to optimize the depth of the grounding electrode within a range of 10 meters, which differs from the simulation results of ground resistance measurement and the Comsol application. The percentage error is 1.05%.
 Limitations: This research analyzes the results of measurements and grounding analysis using Comsol Multiphysics at a depth of 1 meter for a particular type of copper-coated round rod electrode at depths of 1, 1.5, and 2 meters.
 Contributions: The results of the study offer information on the usefulness of grounding resistance in freshwater wetlands with a pH greater than 6, where several rod electrode types are utilized to compare future research.

Lightning and Grounding Issues Impacting Safety and Performance of Liquified Natural Gas-Supplied Power Generation Plants: Lessons Learned to Correct Commonplace Misunderstandings of Requirements

This article covers the lessons learned from performing multiple liquified natural gas (LNG) power plant audits following nuisance tripping, personnel safety issues, and potential equipment failure. This article focuses on a specific facility but includes aspects of three other sites, as well. These investigations started out as forensic investigations but quickly moved into lightning and power system grounding audits based on evidence encountered. These audits covered improvement opportunities in lightning protection, transferred earth potentials, personnel step and touch potentials, safety, electronic grounding of generation controls, and related LNG gas supply. It was clear that there were several commonplace misunderstandings of the correct site lightning and grounding installation requirements to ensure a safe and reliable electrical system. Based on the professional experience of the authors, the documented improvement opportunities identified are not unique to this site and are very similar in nature at other locations.

Evaluation of Time, Cost, and Factors Causing Delay of Grounding and Lightning Protection Installation Project

The problem faced by one of the private construction companies in Jakarta, Indonesia is the delay in completing the grounding and lightning protection installation project. This delay resulted in both material and immaterial losses for the company. Factors that are thought to cause delays in this grounding and lightning protection installation project include man, machine, material, and environment factors. The method used in this research is the Critical Path Method (CPM) and Crashing method to accelerate the project duration and determine the effective time and cost that can be used to complete the grounding and lightning protection installation project and the root cause analysis method with fishbone diagrams and 5 why analysis as tools to find out the root causes of problems and formulate corrective actions that may be taken by the company. The most effective and efficient acceleration alternative in terms of time and cost that can be applied by the company is the alternative of additional labour. The additional labour alternative is able to reduce the duration of work with the smallest additional cost compared to other alternatives. Meanwhile, the factors that cause delays in project work can be seen from the root causes of each factor. The root cause of each factor is then used as the basis for formulating corrective actions that can be taken by the company.

Devising a calculation method for determining the impact of design features of solar panels on performance

An actual scientific and practical task related to the sustainable development of the country’s energy sector is to forecast parameters and predict the conditions of operation of solar cells and solar batteries in regular and non-regular situations. It is emphasized that this makes it possible to provide solar energy with high efficiency indicators, in particular, the indicator of profitability on invested capital in the construction of solar panels. The main specific research method is regression analysis – to build a forecast model of the total amount of generated energy of solar panels in ground installations under variable conditions of operation. An analysis of the distribution of the output data of the model by the number of solar battery modules was carried out using the example of terrestrial solar installations. To obtain empirical data, 31 objects in the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia oblasts, which have functioning solar batteries with different numbers of modules, were selected. This makes it possible to calculate the weighted average amount of generated energy during operation under variable conditions. 10 intervals of frequency values were separated with the largest range of values within the interval of 10,000–20,000 pieces of solar modules. A model of the dependence of the total amount of generated energy on the number of solar battery modules and the weighted average amount of generated energy was built based on regression analysis. It was determined that the influencing factor of the model «number of solar modules» has a positive influence on the resulting factor (productivity of solar panels), while the influencing factor «weighted average amount of generated energy» has a negative influence. However, the «number of solar modules» influence factor is more significant. The obtained results give grounds for asserting the possibility of their implementation in the energy sector

Investigation into Factors Affecting Penetration Rate and Favorable Ground Types of Pipe Jacking

Introduction: Improper assessment of the penetration rate (PR) of pipe jacking (PJ) may lead to serious schedule delays and cost overruns. In the current practice, PR is estimated on the basis of the experience of practitioners. This has resulted in predicted PR values that are not consistent with the actual ones. A guideline that can be used to reliably predict PR and account for the effects of the significantly controlling factors is not available. This negatively affects the estimated project time and cost. The problems stem from the many factors that affect PR such as the ground conditions, installation depth, machine type, operator experience, and pipe diameter. Little research has been made in this regard. So this research will focus on two main objectives; the first is to identify, categorize and rank the factors that affect PR, and the second is to investigate the common types of ground and PJ machines in Egypt and the Middle East to determine the favorable ground types for PJ machines. Methods: To determine the factors that affect the PR of PJ and their relative importance, interviews were made with 17 PJ experts in Egypt. Then, a questionnaire was sent to 149 PJ experts in Egypt and the Middle East. The obtained responses were analyzed and the relative importance of all factors was determined. Based on the interviews with experts and the questionnaire survey, the favorability of ground types for the slurry and auger machines was determined. Results: The responses and analysis results of the interviews and questionnaire are weighted using the relative importance method and then ranked. The analysis reveals that 20 factors significantly affect PR. The top 5 factors that affect PR are 'ground type', 'ground condition', 'geotechnical investigation', 'crew/operator experience', and 'pipe lubrication'. Conclusion: Among the ten new factors which are introduced in this study, the four factors 'ground type', 'ground settlement', 'bentonite water ratio', and 'feed flow rate' are assessed as significant and ranked as the 1st, 7th, 16th, and 20th most important, respectively. It is also concluded that sand and silty sand are very highly favorable for the slurry machines, while silty clay is very highly favorable for the auger machines.

Analysis and Improvement of Grounding Problems in the Petrochemical Industry

Within the petrochemical industry, the degree of specification of electrical grounding can seriously affect product safety. Based on device grounding and safety design standards, this paper forms final recommendations for grounding installation and selection at production sites by exploring and considering corrosion conditions and media properties. Based on the grounding and safety design standards of the device, this paper discusses the installation and selection of grounding at the production site and forms the final recommendations by considering the corrosion conditions and media properties in order to improve the design and construction, so as to achieve the purpose of anti-electricity, anti-static and safe operation.

ANALISIS ELECTRIC GROUNDING SYSTEM UNTUK KEANDALAN DAN KESELAMATAN DALAM INSTALASI KELISTRIKAN

Electrical installations need to be installed correctly by referring to the basic guidelines, namely the General Guidelines for Electrical Installation (PUIL) for the country of Indonesia, or referring to other guidelines with international standards, namely the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and IEEE. Electrical installations must have a protection system, high reliability when operating, and the ability to respond to installation disturbances quickly. The protection system provides safety for living things, property, and the electrical installation itself. The grounding system is one of the protections to maintain the reliability of the installation and protect the safety of personnel, the grounding system serves to ensure a stable and safe power supply voltage. This study discusses the grounding system, namely grounding resistance (GR), and its relation to the grounding rod material and soil resistivity (SR). The writing of the paper used a qualitative descriptive method, the basic supporting material was carried out with a literature review and references to previous research. The assessment of the two components aims to produce a good grounding system with economical design and maintenance costs, it is stated that the grounding rod material and soil resistivity are important factors for the grounding installation system.

Soil Resistivity, its Impact on Optimum Depth of Electrodes in Earthing System– Case Study University of Port Harcourt Residential Staff Quarters

A well-designed earthing system plays a vital role in any Electrical Facility. Soil resistivity measurement is an important parameter when designing earthing system. However, it is a known fact that the resistance of an earth electrode which is a component of earthing system is heavily influenced by the resistivity of the soil in which it is driven to. A knowledge of the soil resistivity at the intended site, and how this varies with parameters such as moisture content, temperature and depth, provides a valuable insight into how the desired earth resistance value can be achieved and maintained over the life of the installation with the minimum cost and effort. One of the main objectives of earthing electrical systems is to establish a common reference potential for the power supply system, building structure, plant steelwork, electrical conduits, cable ladders and trays and the instrumentation system. To achieve this objective, a suitable low resistance connection to earth is desirable. In this research paper, soil resistivity was investigated in three different residential staff quarters of University of Port Harcourt Choba, Abuja and Delta Campuses during the wet and dry season of 2022 using the relevant IEEE standards and International best practices for determining Electrical substation and residential buildings earthing system designs. To determine the optimum depth of grounding electrodes that will have the acceptable values of earth resistance and resistivity for earthing system designs, the Wenner four pin method of measuring soil resistivity was employed. The findings of this research paper show the optimum depth the grounding electrodes will get to in order to obtain the best earth resistance and resistivity values that is suitable for substation and residential earthing system designs. The outcome of this study is also useful for purposes of estimating the number of grounding electrodes, ground resistance and potential gradients including step and touch voltages of substation grounding installations around the three locations of study in university of Port Harcourt residential staff quarters.

Genetic microbial faecal source tracking: rising technology to support future water quality testing and safety management

Recent developments in water resource monitoring have increased the demand for the reliable identification of faecal pollution sources, also defined as microbial (faecal) source tracking (MST). Standardized faecal indicator bacteria (SFIB) enumeration does not directly support MST, as SFIB occur in animal and human sources. The aim of this study was to rigorously evaluate the applicability of host-associated faecal genetic MST markers detected by quantitative PCR (qPCR) at representative Austrian water resources (ground-, surface-, raw and treated wastewater, n = 196 samples) with high importance for the water management sector. Groundwater covered a gradient of non- (i.e., deep wells) to surface influenced resources (i.e., karst and shallow wells). In addition, single faecal excreta from humans as well as representative livestock and wildlife species were collected to evaluate the faecal source-specificity and -sensitivity of the MST assays. Genetic MST marker resistance against UV irradiation was evaluated in on-site ground and wastewater treatment installations. Bacteroides-based human- (HF183II, BacHum), ruminant- (BacR), and pig-associated (Pig2Bac) MST marker qPCR quantification was performed in concert with cultivation of E. coli, intestinal enterococci, and Clostridium perfringens (SFIB diagnostics). The selected MST makers revealed high faecal source identification capacity for the Austrian water compartments and quantitatively reflected the selected faecal pollution gradient. The study also demonstrated that SFIB data can efficiently be combined with MST data to solve previously unanswered questions in water safety monitoring and management (e.g., support pollution source-targeted catchment protection, hazard assessment, and health risk management). Further research and development needs are discussed to exploit the full power of MST technology. In conclusion, this study illustrates the capacity of molecular faecal pollution diagnostics to revolutionize water quality testing in the decades to come.

Accounting for meteorological effects in the detector of the charged component of cosmic rays

Abstract. In this paper, we discuss the influence of meteorological effects on the data of the ground installation CARPET, which is a detector of the charged component of secondary cosmic rays (CRs). This device is designed in the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute (LPI, Moscow, Russia) and installed at the Dolgoprudny scientific station (Dolgoprudny, Moscow region; 55.56∘ N, 37.3∘ E; geomagnetic cutoff rigidity (Rc = 2.12 GV) in 2017. Based on the data obtained in 2019–2020, the barometric and temperature correction coefficients for the CARPET installation were determined. The barometric coefficient was calculated from the data of the barometric pressure sensor included in the installation. To determine the temperature effect, we used the data of upper-air sounding of the atmosphere obtained by the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Central Aerological Observatory” (CAO), also located in Dolgoprudny. Upper-air sounds launch twice a day and can reach an altitude of more than 30 km.

STUDI EVALUASI DAN RENOVASI SISTEM PENTANAHAN DI SEKOLAH MENENGAH KEJURUAN (SMK) NEGERI 1 CIMAHI

This research is a follow-up to the findings of the inspection and grounding testing in PKM 2018 activities. The value obtained exceeds 5 ohms. This is not according to the standards based on the General Requirements for Electrical Installation (PUIL) 2011. In the 2019 PKM program activities, evaluation and renovation studies of the installed earthing system which includes: surveying the location to be grounded, drilling for the position of the electrodes to be installed, installation of electrodes equipped with Bentonic material which functions as a binder so that the electrodes with the ground become one and strong, measurement of the earthing value, perform grounding installation, re-measurement of earthing. The earthing value obtained is much smaller than the previous measurement results of 2.83 ohms in the Electronics Laboratory and 2.72 Ohms at the Automation Laboratory of SMKN 1 Cimahi. It is according to the recommended standard PUIL 2011. The PKM team proposes the management of SMKN 1 Cimahi to carry out a routine maintenance and measurement process twice a year on the newly installed earthing system so that the earthing value remains according to the standard.

Performance characterization of novel caisson-based thermal storage for ground source heat pumps

To avoid the catastrophic results of climate change, a major shift towards clean, sustainable and renewable energy technologies is inevitable. Since buildings are capable of on-site thermal energy generation and exhibiting predictive patterns of heating and cooling, many attempts are currently underway to incorporate more renewable energy (e.g., geothermal heating and cooling) systems in buildings. Subsurface geothermal resources represent a great potential for direct use of energy; put another way, the planet is a six sextillion (1021) metric ton battery that is continually being replenished by solar radiation, lightning, and heat from its deep-down molten core. Despite the enormous energy potential, geothermal systems are not adopted widely due to three main reasons: high drilling costs, energy imbalance in the ground, and lack of drilling space. To address these challenges, a novel foundation-based geothermal heat exchanger system incorporating phase change material (PCM) has been designed. The proposed technology, utilizing a foundation caisson, reduces the construction and installation costs by integrating energy and structural systems together into a single ground installation. The present study aims to characterize the thermal performance of the proposed system through a numerical model that is validated and calibrated using the experimental data generated from a demonstration site that hosts a foundation caisson. Efficacy of the use of PCM on improving the thermal performance of the system is characterized in terms of energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction. Sensitivity studies demonstrate improvement in the performance of the caisson with the use of PCM with increased thermal conductivity. Also, as the seasonal heat injection to extraction ratio deviates further away from unity, the PCM helps improve the thermal performance as evidenced through reduced primary energy consumption.

Coal mine entry rating system: A case study

Coal mines are continuously seeking to determine the performance of entries with different ground control products and installation methods. There are many factors that impact how an entry will perform which include but are not limited to geology, overburden, bolting type and pattern, and mine design. At the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), research has been instituted to examine the relationship of the parts of a coal mine entry as a system and not as individual components. To study this relationship, the first step in this study was to create a numeric rating system that accurately reflects visual observations of the mine entry and is easy to implement. NIOSH researchers devised this rating system to improve upon previous ideas, offering increased flexibility which can be incorporated into an overall entry condition that offers different levels of confidence based on the user’s time devoted to the inspection. This new entry rating system was implemented at three different mines over varying periods of time to evaluate the ground response to the geology, bolt installation pattern, stress changes by mining, overburden, and time dependency.

Measurement of Earth Value Using Earth Tester Measurement at Efarina University

Grounding refers to the connection of an electrical equipment or installation to the ground so that it can protect humans from electric shock , and secure installation components from the danger of abnormal current voltages . This grounding system has low resistance properties, so that the overcurrent in the installation network can be flowed quickly to the ground to minimize damage to equipment in the building and protect the people inside. This study reviews the measurement of grounding around the earth at the efarina university. To find out the condition of the grounding resistance at each grounding, it is necessary to measure each grounding by measuring directly on the grounding installation network using an earth tester using an electrode pin. The calculation of grounding resistance is based on the type of soil, the depth of the electrode rod. The results show that the earth around the campus lobby has met the General Electrical Installation Requirements (PUIL) standard, which is smaller than 5 ohms. However, for earthing around the health faculty, it does not meet the PUIL standard, which is less than 5 ohms.

Significance evaluation of performance factors on horizontal spiral-coil ground heat exchangers

Ground-coupled heat pump systems using horizontal spiral-coil ground heat exchangers (HSGHE) are being utilized for an increasing number of applications due to the efficiency in terms of thermal performance. To optimize design accuracy and thermal performance, significant design factors of HSGHEs should be identified. Thus, this study investigates the effects of influential factors on the thermal performance of HSGHEs through sensitivity analysis. Numerical models were established with respect to the operation of HSGHEs using the finite element method. Variance-based sensitivity analysis was conducted using the numerical results to quantitatively evaluate the overall effects, which include the main effects as well as interaction effects between the design factors. Furthermore, case studies of two different regions were applied to the sensitivity analysis to compare the effects of regional climate factors on the order of significance of the input factors. As a result, ground thermal conductivity, installation depth, and inlet fluid temperature were determined as major design factors. On the other hand, the order of significance of the major factors was found to be dependent on regional climate factors. This result implies that it is necessary to consider different critical factors of HSGHE design according to the ambient conditions of the installation region.

Insight into the safety distance of ground and underground installations in typical petrochemical plants

Petrochemical plants are continuously turning into large-size corporations, the installations of facilities show a developing trend from ground to underground because of the difference in land using rate. In this regard, the safety distance of petrochemical equipment buried in both ground and underground cases were investigated based on risk assessment. As a case study, gasoline tank and LPG tank set on the ground and underground are singled out to compare the risks involved. The research showed that the setting case of installation had a great influence on safety distance. Two cases have 80% reduction of equivalent safety distance compared with the rest of the cases. It was found that when the gasoline storage tank was placed underground alone, the PLL value decreased by 36.7%. Only LPG tank was placed underground, and the PLL decreased by 6.33%, and the gasoline and LPG storage tanks were placed underground simultaneously, the PLL value declined by 42.3%. Thus, the layout of plants could be further optimized, which can greatly improve the performances of land use efficiency and safety. In addition, this paper, the selection of embedding methods and the sensitivity of underground case to overpressure was resumed from two aspects: soil properties and burial depth. For the soil properties, it was found that the water saturated sandy soil with high air content and the low density unsaturated sandy soil had better effects on weakening overpressure. Such properties are particularly beneficial to reducing the occurrence rate of accidents. In terms of burial depth, it can be observed that as the burial depth was changed from 0.5m to 1.1m, the value of overpressure has dropped dramatically. When the burial depth was 2m, the damage to personnel and buildings has been greatly reduced beyond 2m from the explosion center.