University Of Corsica Research Articles

DCP-Net: An Efficient Image Segmentation Model for Forest Wildfires

Wildfires usually lead to a large amount of property damage and threaten life safety. Image recognition for fire detection is now an important tool for intelligent fire protection, and the advancement of deep learning technologies has enabled an increasing number of cameras to possess functionalities for fire detection and automatic alarm triggering. To address the inaccuracies in extracting texture and positional information during intelligent fire recognition, we have developed a novel network called DCP-Net based on UNet, which excels at capturing flame features across multiple scales. We conducted experiments using the Corsican Fire Dataset produced by the “Environmental Science UMR CNRS 6134 SPE” laboratory at the University of Corsica and the BoWFire Dataset by Chino et al. Our algorithm was compared with networks such as SegNet, UNet, UNet++, and PSPNet, demonstrating superior performance across three metrics: mIoU, F1-score, and OA. Our proposed deep learning model achieves the best mIoU (78.9%), F1-score (76.1%), and OA (96.7%). These results underscore the robustness of our algorithm, which accurately identifies complex flames, thereby making a significant contribution to intelligent fire recognition. Therefore, the proposed DCP-Net model offers a viable solution to the challenges of wildfire monitoring using cameras, with hardware and software requirements typical of deep learning setups.

Overview of the platform for experimentation and awareness-raising on fire risks at wildland urban interfaces (EXPLORII platform)

The aim of this article is to present a new experimental platform built by the University of Corsica in order to study the vulnerability of buildings to fires occurring at wildland urban interfaces. The platform is made up of a slope 10 m long by 6 m wide with an inclination of 20° and a flat surface located at its top hosting an instrumented single-storey house. The platform is equipped with different kinds of sensors: meteorological station, anemometers, load cell, heat flux gauges, thermocouples, cameras and smoke chemicals analysers. They allow obtaining experimental data on the burning of fuels and on the impact of fire on the buildings. Having a full-scale platform for studying fires at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) is important, particularly in terms of minimizing damage. By recreating realistic conditions and complex interactions between wildland fires, ornamental vegetation and residential areas, researchers can analyse and understand the mechanisms of fire spread in these vulnerable environments. In addition, a platform such as this enables testing and assessment of prevention and protection measures, such as fire-resistant building materials. Two experiments have been carried out to commission the platform with Douglas fir trees and test the experimental device. They have highlighted the protective effect of shutters, but also the role of double glazing as a thermal screen. The analysis of these first results has enabled improvements to be proposed to the experimental facility in order to better quantify the aerology and the heat fluxes impacting the building.

The Vocational Integration of Students-Apprentices in the Context of a Pandemic Crisis: Feedback from the University CFA in Corsica

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated major economic impacts in the vast majority of countries, including falling GDP and global trade, massive job losses, deficits and increased public debt. If quasi-generalized interventionist economic policies have made it possible to cushion the paralysis of the productive devices, the short-term global outlook remains very uncertain. In this gloomy context, what will be the situation on the labour market, and in particular the vocational integration of students? Corsica presents the example of a small island territory in search of a regional development scheme based on the economy of knowledge and competence. In this major structural perspective, the University Apprenticeship Training Centre (CFA UNIV) in the Corsican region has been striving, for a decade, to contribute to the enhancement of students-apprentices vocational integration from the University of Corsica. Within the scope of its activities, are the monitoring and evaluation of the students-apprentices’ professional integration from the University of Corsica. Since 2011, the carrying out the annual surveys on students-apprentices’ future from the University of Corsica has demonstrated the capacity of the sandwich course training in Higher Education simultaneously to boost the employability of skilled human capital and the growth of local business structuring. This contribution will aim to synthesize ten years of CFA UNIV experience and will endeavour to analyse the localized consequences of a global pandemic crisis on the nature of the vocational integration student-apprentices from the University of Corsica in a small territory island.

Experimental Application of Methods to Compute Solar Irradiance and Cell Temperature of Photovoltaic Modules.

Solar irradiance and cell temperature are the most significant aspects when assessing the production of a photovoltaic system. To avoid the need of specific sensors for quantifying such parameters, recent literature presents methods to estimate them through electrical measurements, using the photovoltaic module itself as a sensor. This work presents an application of such methods to data recorded using a research platform at University of Corsica, in France. The methods and the platform are briefly presented and the results are shown and discussed in terms of normalized mean absolute errors (nMAE) and root mean square errors (nRMSE) for various irradiance and cell temperature levels. The nMAE (and nRMSE) for solar irradiance are respectively between 3.5% and 3.9% (4.2% and 4.7%). Such errors on computed irradiance are in the same order of magnitude as those found in the literature, with a simple implementation. For cell temperatures estimation, the nMAE and nRMSE were found to be in the range 3.4%–8.2% and 4.3%–10.7%. These results show that using such methods could provide an estimation for the values of irradiance and cell temperature, even if the modules are not new and are not regularly cleaned, but of course not partially shaded.

Circulation of Toscana Virus in a Sample Population of Corsica, France.

Sandfly-borne phleboviruses pathogenic to humans, such as Toscana virus (TOSV) and Sandfly Fever Sicilian virus (SFSV), are endemic in the Mediterranean region. In France, several autochthonous cases of TOSV infection have been described, causing either meningitis or encephalitis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the seroprevalence of TOSV and SFSV antibodies in a healthy population from Corsica. In this cross-sectional study, participants were enrolled (i) from a medical staff at the University of Corsica and (ii) from general practitioners of the Corsican Sentinelles Network. The seroprevalence study was based on a virus microneutralization assay. A total of 240 sera were tested. Altogether, 54 sera (22.5%) were confirmed positive for TOSV antibodies, whereas none were positive for SFSV (0/240). The residential district of participants was significantly associated with TOSV seropositivity (p value = 0.005). The rate of the seropositivity against TOSV in our study suggests that the Corsican population is well exposed to the TOSV. These results encourage the implementation of a systematic surveillance system including entomological, microbiological, and medical aspects for the collection of better information on the diseases that are associated with phleboviruses in Corsica and beyond in the regions where these viruses are present.

Choose one’s Professional Future and Sandwich Training in Higher Education: Experiences and Perspectives from CFA University in Corsica

In France, the field of lifelong learning has undergone many changes since 2014 according to the laws that have been promulgated. While the reform on vocational training for employment and social democracy finalized the decentralization of vocational training by giving regions the means for a more coherent action and placed them as a pilot for the construction of training policies, the recent law for the freedom to choose one's professional future recentralises the regulation of continuing vocational training and sandwich courses. This development will not fail to impact the governance of the CFA, especially those of Higher Education anchored in the small territories. Faced with this major structural issue in the specific context of a small island economy, the University Center for Apprenticeship Training in the Corsican region strives, for a decade, to contribute to the enhancement of the professional integration of work-study students from the University of Corsica, by the development and the durability of determining factors characteristic of a small territorial area in search of structuration. After having highlighted the qualitative results resulting from the activity dynamics of the CFA University in Corsica, this contribution will analyze the perspectives drawn from the exemplary nature of the latter in the context of a new law that is supposed to contribute to the regional structuring of a knowledge and competence economy.

Comment concevoir le cadre d’un dispositif pédagogique entrepreneurial à l’échelle universitaire ?

Les universités françaises, encouragées par le ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, s’engagent de plus en plus dans la voie de l’entrepreneuriat étudiant. Dans cette optique, le présent article, en s’appuyant sur un cas concret, s’interroge sur le processus dynamique à mettre en œuvre afin de tracer les contours d’un dispositif universitaire pédagogique entrepreneurial vertueux. Les auteurs de cette recherche veulent contribuer à la résolution de cette question, en proposant notamment une démarche exploratoire réalisée au sein de l’Université de Corse. Cette expérimentation vise à comprendre les éléments et les liens à prendre en compte pour rendre plus efficaces encore la sensibilisation, la formation et l’accompagnement à l’entrepreneuriat au sein des universités. Les résultats de l’étude qualitative mettent en exergue certains enseignements tels que la co-construction du projet mobilisant une concertation interne et un échange avec le territoire mais aussi l’importance de certains vecteurs de stimulation de l’Université qui semblent jouer un rôle non négligeable à l’instar de la fondation universitaire.

The legacy of Norbert Giambiasi to the University of Corsica: from behavioral testing to DEVS fault simulation

The paper delivers a tribute to Professor Giambiasi by pointing out how the work and ideas stemming from the research performed under his umbrella in the 1980s on behavioral testing has been an inspiration for the research around DEVS formalism at the University of Corsica in the late 1990s and the beginning of the new century. The paper retraces how Giambiasi’s heritage allowed researchers at the University of Corsica to go from behavioral and hierarchical testing to DEVS fault simulation.

Concentrating photovoltaic/thermal system with thermal and electricity storage: CO2.eq emissions and multiple environmental indicators

Abstract The present article examines the environmental profile of a concentrating photovoltaic/thermal system with thermal and electricity storage. The system has been developed and experimentally tested at the University of Corsica, in France, and it combines non-concentrating photovoltaic modules with concentrating solar thermal. The study is based on life-cycle assessment according to global warming potential, cumulative energy demand, ReCiPe, Ecological footprint and USEtox. The results (phase of material manufacturing; scenario «without recycling») demonstrate that based on global warming potential, cumulative energy demand, most of the midpoint categories of ReCiPe, ReCiPe endpoint single-score, ReCiPe endpoint with characterization, Ecological footprint single-score (category of Carbon dioxide) and USEtox (category of Human toxicity/cancer), the aluminium support structure shows higher impact in comparison to the other components/materials of the system. Furthermore, the material manufacturing phase (scenario «without recycling») reveals that, in certain cases, the photovoltaic cells and the copper-based components present high impacts. More analytically, according to ReCiPe endpoint with characterization (scenario «without recycling»), the aluminium-based components (support structure; receiver) present the highest DALY (disability-adjusted life years) and (species.yr) with total values of 0.015 DALY and 4.9 × 10−5 (species.yr). Regarding USEtox Ecotoxicity, the Noryl (for the pumps) shows an impact of 62.5 CTUe that is considerably higher in comparison to the other components/materials of the system. The effect of recycling (metals; glass; plastics) has been examined and the results show that, by adopting recycling, energy payback time is reduced from 1.6 to 0.6 years and ReCiPe payback time is reduced from 17 to 8.4 years.

DIMZAL: A Software Tool to Compute Acceptable Safety Distance

The scope of this work is to present a multidisciplinary study in order to propose a tool called DIMZAL. DIMZAL forecasts fuelbreak safety zone sizes. To evaluate a safety zone and to prevent injury, the Acceptable Safety Distance (ASD) between the fire and firefighters is required. This distance is usually set thanks to a general rule-of-thumb: it should be at least 4 times the maximum flame length. A common assumption considers an empirical relationship between fireline intensity and flame length. In the current work which follows on from an oral presentation held at the VII International Conference on Forest Fire Research in Coimbra in 2014, an alternative way is proposed: a closed physical model is applied in order to quantize the ASD. This model is integrated in a software tool, which uses a simulation framework based on Discrete EVent system Specification formalism (DEVS), a 3D physical real-time model of surface fires developed at the University of Corsica and a mobile application based on a Google SDK to display the results

The environmental performance of a building-integrated solar thermal collector, based on multiple approaches and life-cycle impact assessment methodologies

In continuation of authors' previous study, the present investigation regards the comprehensive evaluation of the environmental profile of a patented building-integrated solar thermal collector, based on multiple Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methodologies. The system has been developed and experimentally tested at the University of Corsica, in France and it consists of collectors integrated into building gutters. Three alternative configurations are examined by means of the LCIA methodologies Eco-Indicator 99 (EI99) and IMPACT 2002+ along with embodied energy and embodied carbon. Multiple approaches and scenarios are examined in order to evaluate the effect of several parameters on system environmental performance. The results, based on all the LCIA methodologies used, reveal that the configuration with collectors in parallel connection can considerably improve the environmental profile of the reference system (collectors in series). This impact can be further reduced by using systems with double absorber surface/output and/or recycling. On the other hand, the present investigation provides a critical comparison of the proposed system with other types of solar thermal and conventional heating systems. The primary energy and CO2 savings (per month) related with the production of energy by the proposed BI solar thermal systems, instead of using a conventional heating system, are also presented.

Life cycle analysis of a building-integrated solar thermal collector, based on embodied energy and embodied carbon methodologies

The present study is a life cycle analysis of a patented building-integrated solar thermal collector which was developed/experimentally tested at the University of Corsica, in France, with the concept “integration into gutters/no visual impact”. Three configurations (reference and two alternatives) are evaluated. The life-cycle impact assessment methodologies of embodied energy (EE)/embodied carbon (EC), two databases and multiple scenarios are adopted. The results reveal that the reference system can considerably improve its environmental performance by utilizing collectors connected in parallel. The Energy Payback Time of the reference system decreases to less than 2 years by parallel connection while it is around 0.5 years if recycling is also adopted. The EE of the systems is around 3GJprim/m2 and it is reduced to around 0.4–0.5GJprim/m2 by recycling. The EC of the configurations is approximately 0.16tCO2.eq/m2 without recycling and around 0.02–0.03tCO2.eq/m2 with recycling. CO2.eq emissions are strongly related with electricity mix. A reduction 28–96% in CO2.eq emissions of the systems is achieved by adopting configurations with “double collector surface/output”. Concerning indicator of sustainability, the system with parallel connection shows a value of 0.78. The findings of the present investigation could be utilized for the design of building-integrated solar thermal systems as well as for research purposes.

Investigation of organic wastes from Mediterranean plants to produce biogas by anaerobic digestion

The University of Corsica is contributing to the research of both efficiency and integration of renewable energy in the main electrical grid. Since 2013, a scientific program concerning the valorization of biomass energy has been developed to investigate the methane potential through the anaerobic digestion process of lignocellulosic resources. In Corsica, due to the clearing brush policy to prevent forest fires, cellulosic wastes are generated. Besides, Corsica is an important producer of essential oil from Mediterranean species thanks to a process generating an important amount of dried vegetation as waste every year. The aim of this preliminary study on biomass as renewable energy was to characterize and to select the most appropriate substrates for the anaerobic digestion process. Fiber contents and Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) were performed on five substrates. Heather, rockrose and strawberry tree were chosen as representative of forest fuels. Water distillation residues of laurel and immortelle were considered as natural resource wastes. On this work, we focus on the three species which had the best BMP. Rockrose, dry residue of immortelle and strawberry tree produced 139, 124 and 87 Nm3 CH4 per grams of volatile solids, respectively. The ratio holocellulose: lignin, thanks to the Van Soest method of fiber determination, was determined for those species: 3.8, 3.4 and 1.7. This parameter is a key factor to take into account for the correlation of the BMP with the compositional characteristics. Further work will be performed on these chosen substrates to optimize the anaerobic digestion process in 15 L-reactors.

Implementation and Analysis of DEVS Activity-Tracking with DEVSimPy

This paper deals with the implementation of Activity-Tracking (AT) paradigm in the DEVSimPy environment. DEVSimPy has been developed at the SPE UMR CNRS6134 (University of Corsica) in order to facilitate the modeling and the simulation of discrete-event systems described with the DEVS formalism. The AT paradigm is increasingly being used by DEVS modelers for example to improve structural aspects of models (modeling level) or to make simulation more efficient using distributed or parallel algorithm (simulation level). Although DEVSimPy can be used as a software providing some features reusable for the implementation of AT paradigm (simulation profiling or step-by-step simulation), the object oriented way used to develop DEVSimPy makes it a powerful tool to implement AT paradigm in a generic manner. DEVSimPy may be viewed as an experimental framework allowing the implementation of new AT techniques while opening up new perspectives in the field of activity modeling and simulation theory.