Real Environmental Conditions Research Articles

APPLICATION OF ASSISTED REALITY AT MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES: E-REDES' PILOT PROJECT RESULTS

Augmented (AR), Virtual (VR) and Assisted Reality are a hot topic among utilities as several of them already implemented successfully their first pilot projects with interesting results. Although mature, the technology is still relatively new and still needs some improvement as current limitations prevent large scale roll outs on the energy utility sector. But as any other technology AR and VR are going through an exponential growing phase with still an enormous potential yet to be explored. Focusing on evaluating the applicability of Assisted Reality technology on field maintenance activities, this paper shares not only the results and experience of the pilot project, but it also highlights the interesting challenges associated with the development and testing of this technology. From simple to complex tasks field workers started using head-mounted display devices to perform their daily activities and their performance was evaluated in comparison to the “normal scenario”. The use of these hands-free devices also enabled E-REDES to assess the degree of acceptance by the field workers and evaluate the equipment performance on real work environment conditions.

Application of developed facade panel from recycled CDW: A case study

Using waste materials for production of sustainable exterior façade panel, that can be recycled at the end of its life cycle as part of a circular economy model, can significantly reduce environmental footprint of buildings and help preserve natural resources. The envelope system under consideration is a ventilated prefabricated wall panel from recycled construction and demolition waste (CDW). In this paper, hygrothermal simulations together with field monitoring of hygrothermal performance, energy consumption, indoor comfort and air quality in real environment conditions have been presented. Results show that developed panel is a robust, moisture-safe panel suitable for constructing energy high performing buildings. Thermal discomfort in summer is related to the architectural design of the building.

A vibration-based approach for health monitoring of tie-rods under uncertain environmental conditions

This work proposes a vibration-based damage detection approach for axially loaded beam-type structures. The potential of the adopted approach is shown with an application to structural health monitoring of tie-rods: these elements, widely used in civil structures to balance horizontal forces in arches, are normally subject to a significant change of the axial load under environmental and operating conditions. The related changes in the modal parameters are usually greater than those caused by damage, at least at an early stage, making it hard to separate the different effects. In this work, the confounding effect of environmental factors is filtered out by considering more than one vibration mode at a time, thus framing damage detection as a multivariate outlier detection problem. Two damage indexes are presented, based on modal parameters (eigenfrequencies and mode shapes) and a multivariate metric (the Mahalanobis squared distance). The reasons behind the potential of the proposed framework are shown on simulated data first. Then, this strategy is validated on data coming from experimental tests, where two nominally identical tie-rods have been monitored for several months under the effects of realistic environmental and operational conditions. Both indexes proved to be weakly influenced by environmental variations, mainly related to temperature, and thus suitable for automatic damage detection.

Using machine learning to determine the correlation between physiological and environmental parameters and the induction of acute mountain sickness

BackgroundRecent studies on acute mountain sickness (AMS) have used fixed-location and fixed-time measurements of environmental and physiological variable to determine the influence of AMS-associated factors in the human body. This study aims to measure, in real time, environmental conditions and physiological variables of participants in high-altitude regions to develop an AMS risk evaluation model to forecast prospective development of AMS so its onset can be prevented.ResultsThirty-two participants were recruited, namely 25 men and 7 women, and they hiked from Cuifeng Mountain Forest Park parking lot (altitude: 2300 m) to Wuling (altitude: 3275 m). Regression and classification machine learning analyses were performed on physiological and environmental data, and Lake Louise Acute Mountain Sickness Scores (LLS) to establish an algorithm for AMS risk analysis. The individual R2 coefficients of determination between the LLS and the measured altitude, ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, climbing speed, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate variability (HRV), were 0.1, 0.23, 0, 0.24, 0, 0.24, 0.27, and 0.35 respectively; incorporating all aforementioned variables, the R2 coefficient is 0.62. The bagged trees classifier achieved favorable classification results, yielding a model sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.999, 0.994, 0.998, and 1, respectively.ConclusionThe experiment results indicate the use of machine learning multivariate analysis have higher AMS prediction accuracies than analyses utilizing single varieties. The developed AMS evaluation model can serve as a reference for the future development of wearable devices capable of providing timely warnings of AMS risks to hikers.

Множинні ефекти хронічного низькодозового впливу кадмію на печінку, остеогенез та гемопоез тварин і людини

Cadmium salts are among the TOP-20 of the most dangerous compounds for animals in terms of toxicity. At the same time, today there is a paradigm shift in the studies of cadmium effects: in contrast to the acute effects of intoxication, more importance and practical relevance is attained by studying the continued chronic exposure to small cadmium doses (Chronic Low Cd Exposure) which can take place in real environmental conditions of industrially polluted regions and already impacts about 10% of the world population. While the early changes in kidneys and marker parameters of the urinary system under the action of cadmium are being studied quite actively, cadmium effects on other organs and systems in the body are insufficiently investigated. The purpose of the study was to analyse the multiple effects of cadmium on liver function, osteogenesis, haematopoiesis, and haemostasis in animals and humans. Protective mechanisms that reduce cadmium accumulation in hepatocytes compared to renal cells, in particular, the role of cellular transporters of biogenic metal ions (Fe2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Cu2+), are systematized. Results and discussion. Cadmium mostly uses divalent metal transporter 1 and Zrt/Irt-like transporters, such as ZIP8 and ZIP14. Given the role of liver in the chelation and deposition of cadmium in the form of complexes with metallothioneins and glutathione, the significant potential of chelating and antioxidant hepatoprotectants to reduce negative effects is suggested. The role of exogenous chemical chelators and antioxidants in detoxifying cadmium is supported by the studies of other cadmium-binding molecules (glutathione, polyphenols, anthocyanins). Both direct effects of cadmium on the osteogenesis and calcium metabolism, and indirect effects on osteoblasts and osteoclasts are considered. In particular, current data on cadmium role in the development of endemic disease Itai-Itai in Japan is discussed. Notably, cadmium effect in children has a special hazards and long-term consequences. Data on cadmium role in interfering Ca2+ metabolism, particularly its effects on epithelial calcium channels (TRPV5) and Na-phosphate co-transporters (SLC34A1) are summarized. Conclusion. Current data suggest that chronic effects of cadmium in ultra-low concentrations upon the osteogenesis are even more evident than in renal system. A review of current data on cadmium effects upon the hematopoietic system in animal models is presented. The earliest studies found relation between cadmium and haemoglobin decrease, which could be mediated by interfering with intracellular Fe traffic, and effects on erythropoietin synthesis. Cadmium affected haemostasis and increased platelet aggregation. Animal studies suggest that chronic cadmium toxicity leads to hypercoagulation and increases the risks of thrombosis. Based on the summarized data, it is concluded that the investigating cadmium effects on hematopoiesis and hemostasis is a promising area for further studies of chronic low-dose cadmium exposure

A Three-Dimensional Numerical Model of an Active Cell Cortex in the Viscous Limit

The cell cortex is a highly dynamic network of cytoskeletal filaments in which motor proteins induce active cortical stresses which in turn drive dynamic cellular processes such as cell motility, furrow formation or cytokinesis during cell division. Here, we develop a three-dimensional computational model of a cell cortex in the viscous limit including active cortical flows. Combining active gel and thin shell theory, we base our computational tool directly on the force balance equations for the velocity field on a discretized and arbitrarily deforming cortex. Since our method is based on the general force balance equations, it can easily be extended to more complex biological dependencies in terms of the constitutive laws or a dynamic coupling to a suspending fluid. We validate our algorithm by investigating the formation of a cleavage furrow on a biological cell immersed in a passive outer fluid, where we successfully compare our results to axi-symmetric simulations. We then apply our fully three-dimensional algorithm to fold formation and to study furrow formation under the influence of non-axisymmetric disturbances such as external shear. We report a reorientation mechanism by which the cell autonomously realigns its axis perpendicular to the furrow plane thus contributing to the robustness of cell division under realistic environmental conditions.

Performance of Mortars Made Using Ternary Binders with Addition of Slag, Fly Ash and Limestone Exposed to a Real Environmental Condition Compatible with Exposure Class XC3.

The use of eco-friendly cements prepared with ternary binders could contribute to improving the sustainability of cement production. However, their use for manufacturing commercial cements is very low, at least in Spain. The purpose of this research is to study the behavior in the long term of mortars made with ternary binders which incorporated ground granulated blast furnace slag, fly ash, and limestone, exposed to environmental conditions compatible with the specifications of exposure class XC3 of the Eurocode 2, compared to mortars without additions and mortars with binary binders. The exposure station was placed in an underground floor of a building used as a garage with circulation of vehicles and moderately high CO2 concentration. The ternary and binary binders verified the prescriptions of cement type CEM II/B. The microstructure was characterized using mercury intrusion porosimetry and electrical resistivity. Water absorption, diffusion coefficient, carbonation depth, mechanical strengths, and ultrasonic pulse velocity were determined. A loss of microstructure refinement with time was noted for all the analyzed binders, probably related to the development of carbonation and drying shrinkage. The binary mortars with slag and fly ash and the ternary binder which combined them showed the best mechanical performance at 250 days.

Development of a Model for Predicting the Volatilization Flux from Unsaturated Soil Contaminated by Volatile Chemical Substances

This work developed a model for predicting the volatilization flux from the unsaturated soil contaminated by volatile chemical substances (VCSs) such as mercury and benzene. The model considers a series of phenomena under the unsaturated condition such as multi-phase flow consisting of a non-aqueous phase liquid, water, and gases together with the permeation of rainfall into the surface soil, the volatilization/condensation of VCSs, and the adsorption/desorption of VCSs. On this basis, this work clarified a mechanism for the generation of a volatilization flux at the ground surface. In addition, the effects of various transport phenomena in the surface soil on the magnitude and seasonal changes in this flux due to variations in weather factors such as rainfall level, temperature, and air pressure were quantitatively evaluated. This newly developed prediction model can be utilized to estimate dynamic variations in the flux under real-environmental conditions.

Performance analysis of MEMS-based inertial measurement units in terrestrial vehicles

In the recent period, Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) are widely employed in many applications, such as smartphones, robotics, Unmanned Aerial vehicles, automotive and self‑driving vehicles, artificial intelligence, and numerous others. However, the dynamical metrological performances and the reliability analysis when these microelectronic devices operate under real environmental conditions are not sufficiently covered by scientific literature. Starting from standard tests for automotive applications, to emulate the real operating conditions of IMUs, a new test plan based on sine sweep vibration profiles has also been developed, including different service conditions characterized by the presence of a sinusoidal component with the addition of a random vibration noise typical of automotive scenarios. In-depth analysis has been carried out in the time and frequency domains leading to the employment of suitable figures of merit, highlighting the effects of mechanical stress on the metrological performances of microelectromechanical sensors. The developed test plan could be used to investigate if sinusoidal vibrations at specific frequencies influence the correct operation of low-cost platforms in typical automotive applications. The experimental results have confirmed the suitability of the proposed figures of merit in analyzing the effects of vibrations typical of the automotive context on the IMUs operating. In particular, they have allowed investigating the axes cross-sensitivity of triaxial systems, spurious responses, and unexpected behaviors due to the devices' non-ideality.

Hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric system: Economic feasibility analysis in the Atacama Desert, Chile

Desert areas are the favorable geographical locations for desired solar resource and temperature variations for improving the performance of hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator (HPV-TEG) systems. Therefore, economic feasibility analysis of HPV-TEG system is carried out under real environment and market conditions for the Atacama Desert, Chile. The thermal, electrical and economic models of HPV-TEG system are developed and analyzed in MATLAB. Five different possible scenarios are considered for economic feasibility based on energy losses, system costs, nominal efficiencies of TEG and photovoltaic module and their contribution in the economic feasibility of HPV-TEG system is identified and payback period for all scenarios is determined at minimum and maximum PV temperatures for Atacama Desert including residential and industrial electricity prices. The results showed that with existing market costs and TEG efficiency, HPV-TEG system could not be economically competitive with photovoltaic system for environmental conditions of the Atacama Desert. However, the calculated levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of the HPV-TEG system is 0.071 USD/kWh which is relatively close to current LCOEs for PV systems in Chilean energy market. Further, LCOE analysis economically quantifies the advantages of HPV-TEG system over PV system and opens the possibility for HPV-TEG systems to be competitive in desert locations.

Robot-Assisted Gait Self-Training: Assessing the Level Achieved.

This paper presents the technological status of robot-assisted gait self-training under real clinical environment conditions. A successful rehabilitation after surgery in hip endoprosthetics comprises self-training of the lessons taught by physiotherapists. While doing this, immediate feedback to the patient about deviations from the expected physiological gait pattern during training is important. Hence, the Socially Assistive Robot (SAR) developed for this type of training employs task-specific, user-centered navigation and autonomous, real-time gait feature classification techniques to enrich the self-training through companionship and timely corrective feedback. The evaluation of the system took place during user tests in a hospital from the point of view of technical benchmarking, considering the therapists’ and patients’ point of view with regard to training motivation and from the point of view of initial findings on medical efficacy as a prerequisite from an economic perspective. In this paper, the following research questions were primarily considered: Does the level of technology achieved enable autonomous use in everyday clinical practice? Has the gait pattern of patients who used additional robot-assisted gait self-training for several days been changed or improved compared to patients without this training? How does the use of a SAR-based self-training robot affect the motivation of the patients?

Mixed Exposure of Persistent Organic Pollutants Alters Oxidative Stress Markers and Mitochondrial Function in the Tail of Zebrafish Depending on Sex.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are lipid-soluble toxins that are not easily degraded; therefore, they accumulate in the environment and the human body. Several studies have indicated a correlation between POPs and metabolic diseases; however, their effects on mitochondria as a central organelle in cellular metabolism and the usage of mitochondria as functional markers for metabolic disease are barely understood. In this study, a zebrafish model system was exposed to two subclasses of POPs, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), under two different conditions (solitary OCPs or OCPs with PCBs (Aroclor 1254)), and changes in the oxidative stress marker levels and mitochondrial enzyme activities in the electron transport chain of the tail were measured to observe the correlation between POPs and representative biomarkers for metabolic disease. The results indicated different responses upon exposure to OCPs and OCPs with Aroclor 1254, and accelerated toxicity was observed following exposure to mixed POPs (OCPs with Aroclor 1254). Males were more sensitive to changes in the levels of oxidative stress markers induced by POP exposure, whereas females were more susceptible to the toxic effects of POPs on the levels of mitochondrial activity markers. These results demonstrate that the study reflects real environmental conditions, with low-dose and multiple-toxin exposure for a long period, and that POPs alter major mitochondrial enzymes’ functions with an imbalance of redox homeostasis in a sex-dependent manner.

Performance of a heat pump system in combination with thermoelectric generators

The investigation on the impact of various factors of thermoelectric generator (TEG) & structure on the performance of TEG & system was carried out in this paper, which is essential to improve the system performance, optimize the system design, and match better TEG parameter. Results represent that a larger figure of merit Z (or ZT¯) may still lead to a reduction in system performance. When Z = 0.0016, the TEG conversion efficiency is 2.96% which is higher than 1.31% in the system with Z = 0.0028 under 800 W/m2 because the output is influenced by not only Z (orZT¯) but also ΔT/Th. The COPPVT and exergy efficiency of the system with Z = 0.0016 could be 7.35 and 29.18% which are lower than 7.52 and 29.77% in the system with Z = 0.0012. The exact influence of each parameter of Z is also explored. The TEG efficiency decreases from 2.05% to 0.83% with the rise of λ while the PV efficiency increases from 26.48% to 27.55%, but the COPPVT is changeless at 7.54. However, on the total performance, s and σ have more significant effects than λ. Running for 822 min with real environmental conditions, the average electrical efficiency and COPPVT could reach 28.10% and 6.84.

Formation and occurrence of disinfection byproducts of benzodiazepine drug estazolam in drinking water of Beijing

Estazolam (EZ) is a long-acting benzodiazepine (BZD) drug with high clinical consumption in China to treat anxiety, depression and other syndromes. Recently, it has been found as a leading potentially inappropriate medication among hospitalized elderly patients, increasing the risk of falls. It is discharged into the aquatic environment after use and has been frequently detected, ultimately affecting the safety of drinking water. In the present study, the reaction of EZ during chlorination disinfection was investigated in detail with regard to its transformation and kinetics. By means of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS), four main disinfection byproducts (DBPs) were tentatively identified, and the transformation pathways were speculated to be cleavage at the imine linkage and oxidation on the diazepinone ring. The chlorination reaction rate in the pseudo-first-order kinetic model was significantly affected by free available chlorine (FAC) and pH. The increase in pH value led to a decrease in the reaction rate, while a higher dosage of chlorine resulted in a faster kinetic rate. We further estimated the potential toxicities of EZ and its DBPs using quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) software tools. DBPs exhibited much higher toxicity than EZ and exhibited developmental toxicity and mutagenicity. Finally, a total of 108 drinking water samples were collected in the wet and dry seasons to determine actual residue changes in real environmental conditions. The detection frequency was 29% for EZ, and the highest concentration of 0.60 ng L−1 was found for its DBPs in tap water. No seasonal variations in concentration were observed. Overall, the results indicate that EZ and its DBPs may persist in drinking water, posing potential risks to public health.

Wave Energy in the Mediterranean Sea: Resource Assessment, Deployed WECs and Prospects

A detailed review of wave energy resource assessment and the state-of-the-art of deployed wave energy converters (WECs) in real environmental conditions in the Mediterranean Sea have been analysed in this study. The installed power of the several deployed WECs in the Mediterranean Sea varies between 3–2500 kW. Ten project cases of deployed WECs in the basin are presented, with their analysis of the essential features. Five different types of WEC have already been tested under real environmental conditions in Italy, Greece, Israel and Gibraltar, with Italy being the Mediterranean country with the most deployed WECs. The main questions of the relevant studies were the ongoing trends, the examination of WECs in combination with other renewable sources, the utilising of WECs for desalination, and the prospects of wave energy in the Mediterranean islands and ports. This paper is the first comprehensive study that overviews the recent significant developments in the wave energy sector in the Mediterranean countries. The research concludes that the advances of the wave energy sector in the Mediterranean Sea are significant. However, in order to commercialise WECs and wave energy exploitation to become profitable, more development is necessary.

SLICE: An Innovative Photovoltaic Solution for Adaptive Envelope Prototyping and Testing in a Relevant Environment

The development of adaptive architectural envelopes is one of the goals of researchers that aim to improve the energy performance of buildings. Traditional devices often have drawbacks linked to the complexity of the kinetic systems used, as the mechanical systems for guaranteeing proper operation are complex and expensive (e.g., hinges). Adaptive envelopes require energy for driving the mechanical components and management systems. Thus, it is useful for such adaptive elements to be self-sufficient, generating the energy necessary for their functioning. This study presents a prototype of a lightweight and stand-alone component for dynamic envelopes, characterized by a flexible composite material integrated with high-efficiency photovoltaic cells called the Solar Lightweight Intelligent Component for Envelopes (SLICE). The management and control of the SLICE is based on the Arduino platform. This paper describes the multidisciplinary design process that led to the realization of the current prototypes, the laboratory test phases, as well as the results of the preliminary experiments carried out under real environmental conditions.

Crumpled graphene balls adsorb micropollutants from water selectively and rapidly

Thousands of anthropogenic materials (e.g., micropollutants, MPs) are discharged to surface and groundwaters daily and their wide distribution potentially threatens ecological and human health. Granular activated carbon (GAC) is a widely used adsorbent to remove MPs, but with several deficiencies such as slow adsorption kinetics and hindered performance by natural organic macromolecules (NOM). Here, we detail the synthesis of a novel adsorbent, three-dimensional (3D), stacking-resistant, crumpled graphene oxide balls (CGBs) and their adsorbent properties by using eight persistent MPs under relevant environmental conditions. CGBs displayed 4–8 times greater adsorption capacity than GAC for seven of the eight MPs on a surface area equivalent basis. Kinetic experiments show that seven of eight MPs in a mixture reach >90 % removal efficiency after 15 min contact time (compared to 5–10 % removal of GAC). CGB adsorption performance was also tested as a function of varying NOM concentration, with other realistic environmental conditions of pH, ionic strength, water hardness, and alkalinity, to demonstrate that CGB adsorption of MPs is not adversely affected by NOM even at high concentrations and is stable over a range of field conditions. These findings demonstrate that CGBs are potentially a powerful adsorbent for micropollutant removal in complex aqueous environments.

Pilot-scale biomethanation in a trickle bed reactor: Process performance and microbiome functional reconstruction

Biogas upgrading is an emerging technology offering unique opportunities for further exploitation of biomethane as fuel for vehicles or direct injection into the gas grid, expanding the conventional use of biogas for combined heat and electricity generation. Up to date, most of the studies exploring the potential of biological carbon dioxide hydrogenation was performed at laboratory scale systems, hampering the evaluation of the process under real environmental conditions. The current work demonstrates the performance of a pilot trickle bed reactor that was fed with real biogas as CO2 source under progressively increased gas provision rates. Additionally, the study is supported by a genome-centric metagenomic analysis to gain deep insights into the microbiome of the reactor. A maximum methane content of 98.5% was achieved at a gas retention time of 5 h. Stand-by periods in which no influent gas was provided in the reactor did not lead to fatal deterioration of the overall process, as the biomethanation efficiency was recovered after a certain period of time. Samples obtained from three different layers of the packing material, the liquid phase of the reactor and the inoculum demonstrated a distinct clustering of microbial members. The provision of the nutrient media from the top layer led to the enrichment of specific bacteria, such as Clostridiaceae DTU-pt_113, whose genome profile contains Veg-family genes, which are known to be associated with biofilm formation. Similarly, the injection of influent gases from the bottom of the reactor favoured the proliferation of hydrogenotrophic methanogens, solely belonging to family Methanobacteriaceae.

A single-diode model for photovoltaic panels in variable environmental conditions: Investigating dust impacts with experimental evaluation

The current study utilized a single-diode equivalent electrical circuit with a non-iterative parameter extraction approach and innovative modifications to predict the photovoltaic modules' electrical behavior in variable environmental conditions. The model's outputs were validated using both the presented data in the module's datasheet and experimental investigations under more than 500 different real conditions. For the first time, besides irradiation and temperature, dust accumulation effects on the single-diode model's main parameters have been investigated to predict the module's electrical behavior under real environmental conditions. Comparing and simulating more than 13,200 different cases, it was shown that by considering dust effects, respectively, the series resistance, parallel resistance, ideality factor, reverse saturation current, and photocurrent source could be defined with up to 25%, 40%, 9%, 35%, and 40% more accuracy. The trend and dependencies of the prediction improvements for each parameter were also investigated thoroughly. Finally, compared with experimental results in more than 500 different cases showed that, on average, the proposed model improved the prediction of the module's output electrical behavior by 25% to 35%. The proposed model could be easily adjusted and applied to predict photovoltaic modules' output behavior under diverse environmental conditions.

Sizing renewable energy systems with energy storage systems based microgrids for cost minimization using hybrid shuffled frog-leaping and pattern search algorithm

The future of the power system is tied to the use of distributed generation (DGs) like photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbine (WT) since international societies are concerned regarding environmental pollution. However, the high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) in power systems causes a lot of control and operational problems that should be addressed by network operators. Therefore, this article proposes optimal management of a grid-connected microgrid (MG) including various DERs such as PV systems and storage devices. The use of the PV system in this MG is based on proposing new mathematical modelling. In the proposed model, the influence of radiation on different days and seasons on optimal operation is considered. Also, to overcome the random behaviour of the PV system, WT and loads, the uncertainties of the problem are modelled using the scenario method. The optimization problem is solved with the hybrid shuffled frog leaping and pattern search (HSFLA-PS) algorithm. The proposed optimal management is simulated by MATLAB/Simulink considering a practical PV model in a real environmental condition. This used algorithm has some advantages such as fast computational time and accurate results. The results show that the suggested day-ahead scheduling using the HSFLA-PS has an edge over other conventional methods.