利用白噪声激励实现多机系统电力系统稳定器的优化与协调

提出了一种利用白噪声作为激励实现多机电力系统稳定器（PSS）协调优化的方法。这种方法可以在保留系统所有非线性特性的条件下,同时优化多个发电机的PSS参数,减小被白噪声激励系统的目标函数值,提高系统阻尼,从而避免了针对某一频率设计PSS参数时的局限性。实例仿真结果表明,在电力系统运行条件变化的很大范围内,运用这种方法设计的PSS都可以提供较好的阻尼。     

Effect of loading rate on TOC consumption efficiency in a sulfate reducing process: sulfide effect in batch culture

BACKGROUND: The sulfate reducing process (SRP) was analyzed in order to identify factors that diminish the effectiveness of the SRP during wastewater treatment. The effect of different sulfate loading rates (SLR, 290 to 981 mg SO₄‐S L^?1d^?1) and lactate at a stoichiometric C/S ratio of 0.75 on SRP was studied in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The effect of sulfide concentration (0 to 200 mg sulfide‐S L^?1) on SRP in batch culture was evaluated. RESULTS: When the SLR was increased, the total organic carbon (TOC) and sulfate consumption efficiencies decreased from 93% ± 3 to 66% ± 2 and 60% ± 5 to 45% ± 4, respectively. Acetate and propionate were accumulated. Microbial analysis showed the presence of microorganisms related with the SRP, fermentation and methanogenesis. In batch culture, when lactate and sulfate were present, SRP and fermentation were observed. When sulfide was added only SRP was observed. At concentrations higher than 150 mg sulfide‐S L^?1 the efficiencies, yields and specific consumption rates (q) decreased. CONCLUSION: Based on the sulfide‐S/volatile suspended solid ratio, it was found that the decrease in efficiency and accumulation of acetate and propionate in the UASB reactor was not related to sulfide inhibition but to the q of acetate and propionate, which were up to 11 times lower than lactate. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Analysis and design of a robust odd-harmonic repetitive controller for an active filter under variable network frequency

Frequency variations in the electrical network may cause a dramatic performance decay in repetitive controlled active filters intended to remove odd-harmonic distortion in single-phase AC loads. This work presents an odd-harmonic repetitive controller for a shunt active power filter that addresses such a performance problem. This is achieved by means of an adaptive change of the sampling period of the digital controller. However, this action implies structural changes that may result in an overall destabilization of the closed-loop system. Hence, a small-gain theorem-based robust control design technique allows to obtain a controller which assures BIBO stability in the required sampling period interval. Experimental results validate the proposal.     

A case study of the adoption of a reference standard for ISO 14006 in the lift industry

The Spanish UNE 150301 standard was used as a basic reference point in paving the way for the ISO 14006 ecodesign standard. This article aims to analyze the pioneering UNE 150301 standard, as well as its adoption process and its practical results in the lift industry. Since the UNE 150301 standard is in a very early stage of dissemination, an empirical study based on a qualitative methodology has been designed. An exploratory case study has therefore been carried out with the participation of a company from the lift industry which is, in fact, the first Spanish industrial company to have adopted the aforementioned ecodesign standard. The company subjected to analysis has integrated ecoindicators into the design process to analyze the environmental impact of its products on each stage of their life cycle. Using these ecoindicators, the company has observed that the main impact is evident in the usage stage, due to energy consumption. The company has managed to improve products by means of a continuous improvement process, with reductions in terms of both cost and environmental impact. The adoption of the standard UNE 150301 can be a useful tool in reducing the environmental impact of the products and in obtaining some competitive advantages, such as cost reduction, improvement in energy efficiency of the product, and a better adaptation to laws and regulations.     

‘Laser chemistry’ synthesis,physicochemical properties,and chemical processing of nanostructured carbon foams

Laser ablation of selected coordination complexes can lead to the production of metal-carbon hybrid materials, whose composition and structure can be tailored by suitably choosing the chemical composition of the irradiated targets. This ‘laser chemistry’ approach, initially applied by our group to the synthesis of P-containing nanostructured carbon foams (NCFs) from triphenylphosphine-based Au and Cu compounds, is broadened in this study to the production of other metal-NCFs and P-free NCFs. Thus, our results show that P-free coordination compounds and commercial organic precursors can act as efficient carbon source for the growth of NCFs. Physicochemical characterization reveals that NCFs are low-density mesoporous materials with relatively low specific surface areas and thermally stable in air up to around 600°C. Moreover, NCFs disperse well in a variety of solvents and can be successfully chemically processed to enable their handling and provide NCF-containing biocomposite fibers by a wet-chemical spinning process. These promising results may open new and interesting avenues toward the use of NCFs for technological applications.     

Air invasion in a granular layer immersed in a fluid: morphology and dynamics

We investigate the morphology and dynamics of the region invaded by air injected at the bottom of an immersed granular bed. Previous experimental results point out the formation of a fluidized zone with a parabolic shape which does not depend, in the stationary regime, on the injection flow-rate. By tilting the experiment, we can tune the effective gravity in the system. We show that it does not affect significantly the morphology either. A numerical study made it possible to access the typical height and width of the structure, which are governed by the relative effects of gravity and capillarity. After a brief review on this subject, we propose first, new experimental observations on the air invasion regimes and on the morphology of the fluidized zone, in particular its growth dynamics; then, we complement the previous numerical study by considering the influence of the bottom boundary condition. In particular, we quantify the morphology of the invaded region when the gas is injected in the bulk, thus when air is likely to propagate downwards. These results are of practical importance in the prediction of the morphology of gas invasion in soils, from $\hbox {CO}_2$ sequestration to pollutant propagation.     

Flavonoid,tannin and hypericin concentrations in the leaves of St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) are affected by UV-B radiation levels

St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) herb is used as a herb-tea or as a food supplement because of its antidepressive properties. St. John’s wort, grown under different levels of UV-B radiation, was analysed for its concentrations of flavonoids, tannins and hypericin. A high level of UV-B radiation increased leaf concentrations of flavonoids from 6.31 to 9.00/100 g in dry matter (DM) and of tannins from 26.6 to 31.4/100 g in DM. The concentration of hypericin in leaves exposed to enhanced UV-B radiation (0.08/100 g in DM) was lower than that of leaves exposed to reduced UV-B radiation (0.09/100 g in DM). We conclude that the concentrations of bioactive substances in St. John’s wort herb can be altered by regulating the environment during plant growth.     

Diffusional surface voltammetry as a probe of adsorption energetics

Direct determination of the adsorption free energy for extremely low surface coverages (Henry limit) requires the use of a technique that must be highly sensitive to both the amount and the energetics of adsorbed molecules. Herein, we demonstrate that diffusional surface voltammetry (DSV), which embodies film and stripping voltammetries as two limiting cases, can be used to achieve this goal for electroactive adsorbates. To this end, a general analytical expression for the surface voltammetric peak potential of DSV is derived, which covers the full range of scan rates, bulk concentrations, and adsorptivity of the freely diffusing form of the redox couple, so that the surface redox conversion can be either equilibrated with or transport-isolated from the solution bulk. Strategies to get a quantitative insight into the energetics of electrosorption are outlined, and diagnostic criteria for their application are developed. In particular, it is demonstrated that DSV can be used in its stripping mode to determine group contributions to the adsorption free energy, avoiding possible interferences from intermolecular interactions or formation of oligomeric species. Application of this protocol to the reductive desorption of distinct homologous series of alkylthiolates adsorbed at mercury electrodes has allowed us to determine the contributions of the CH(n) groups (n = 0-3) to the free energy of adsorption of these molecules. These estimates are shown to correlate linearly with the corresponding group contributions to the octanol-water partition coefficient, revealing that adsorption of individual hydrocarbon groups at the mercury/solution interface scales with their hydrophobicity. Overall, the present work enlarges the capability of surface voltammetry to probe adsorption energetics down to the micromolar level, and it represents a first step toward the development of a unified treatment of stripping and film voltammetries.