The potential of energy flexibility of space heating and cooling in Portugal

This study assesses the potential of energy flexibility of space heating and cooling for a typical household under different geographical conditions in Portugal. The proposed approach modifies the demand through the optimization of the thermostat settings using a genetic algorithm to reduce either operational costs or interaction with the grid. The results show that the used energy flexibility indicator expresses the available potential and that flexibility depends on several factors, namely: i) thermal inertia of the archetypical household; ii) the time of use electricity tariffs; iii) users’ comfort boundaries; and iv) the geographical location of the houses.     

Demand response for home energy management system

The optimization of energy consumption, with consequent cost reduction, is one of the main challenges for the present and future smart grid. Demand response (DR) program is expected to be vital in home energy management system (HEMS) which aims to schedule the operation of appliances to save energy costs by considering customer convenience as well as characteristics of electric appliances. The DR program is a challenging optimization problem especially when the formulations are non-convex or NP-hard problems. In order to solve this challenging optimization problem efficiently, an effective heuristic approach is proposed to achieve a near optimal solution with low computational costs. Different from previously proposed methods in literatures which are not suitable to be run in embedded devices such as a smart meter. The proposed algorithm can be implemented in an embedded device which has severe limitations on memory size and computational power, and can get an optimal value in real-time. Numerical studies were carried out with the data simulating practical scenarios are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Experimental research on dynamic response of PZT-5H under impact load

In order to improve the stability of PZT-based sensors, the mechanical, dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of PZT-5H under impact load were studied experimentally by using the separated Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) with an electrical output measurement device. At the same time, the experimental study on the material properties of PZT-5H before and after the impact was carried out. The effect of impact cracks on the output voltage of PZT-5H was also analyzed. The results show that the dynamic piezoelectric constants of PZT-5H under low stress impact (10–50 MPa) are different from those under quasi-static state, and the empirical relationship between them and the peak stress is obtained through experiments. The dielectric properties of PZT-5H did not change under low stress impact, but micro-cracks occurred in the material and dielectric loss increased at high frequencies. Under short circuit, the residual polarization intensity of PZT-5H decreases sharply due to impact load. While the impact load causes the secondary polarization and the increase of the residual polarization intensity of PZT under open circuit. When the stress is over 45 MPa, the PZT-5H breaks. The formation of cracks causes abnormal discharge voltage and gap discharge.     

Systematic convergence of nonlinear stochastic estimators on the Special Orthogonal Group SO(3)

This paper introduces two novel nonlinear stochastic attitude estimators developed on the Special Orthogonal Group with the tracking error of the normalized Euclidean distance meeting predefined transient and steady‐state characteristics. The tracking error is confined to initially start within a predetermined large set such that the transient performance is guaranteed to obey dynamically reducing boundaries and decrease smoothly and asymptotically to the origin in probability from almost any initial condition. The proposed estimators produce accurate attitude estimates with remarkable convergence properties using measurements obtained from low‐cost inertial measurement units. The estimators proposed in continuous form are complemented by their discrete versions for the implementation purposes. The simulation results illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed estimators against uncertain measurements and large initialization error, whether in continuous or discrete form.     

Combination of vegetable soup and glucan demonstrates synergistic effects on macrophage-mediated immune responses

Vegetable soup (VS), a plant-based functional food, has been used as a traditional folk medicine and is attracting attention for its ability to enhance the immune response. β-Glucan, a well-established and effective immunomodulator, has synergistic effects when used in combination with some bioactive compounds. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the synergistic immunomodulatory effects of the combination of VS and β-glucan on macrophage-mediated immune responses. β-Glucan was demonstrated to synergistically enhance the VS-stimulated immune response, including the production of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and nitric oxide, mainly through the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in macrophages. In addition, this combination has the potential for further development in functional foods with immune-enhancing activity.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-021-00888-x.     

气烟囱效应——礁滩相岩性气藏的典型地震响应特征

品质良好的地震剖面上出现的地震模糊带称为气烟囱，发现和识别气烟囱是寻找大型气藏的有效方法。四川盆地东北部长兴组气藏是礁滩相岩性气藏，礁、滩作为一个独立的岩性体，与周围的地层、岩性结构差异较大，由此在构造应力场中形成力学尖点，从而产生气烟囱效应。已知的黄龙场、普光等气田，其气烟囱普遍存在。点礁通常形成下方的气烟囱，台缘礁通常在上方形成气烟囱；礁滩相在构造运动中控制了断层的发育过程，凸起的礁滩相上方可能发育对冲断层；斜坡较陡的台缘礁可能发育叠置的逆冲断层；礁、滩两侧边缘的断层一般都比较发育。断层发育加强了气烟囱效应。模拟试验验证了地震剖面解释结果。根据气烟囱地震相特征，预测黑池梁存在一个大型气藏。     

重力坝模型的尺寸效应

利用两个不同比尺预制缝重力坝模型的试验成果，以有限元富集技术进行非线性断裂分析，建立了极限承载力和长度比尺的确定性尺寸效应公式。混凝土重力坝的断裂尺寸效应满足指数衰减关系，用三次指数衰减公式可以准确地预测原型的极限承载力。断裂过程区的相对长度是引起模型试验尺寸效应的主要原因。数值计算结果表明，断裂过程区相对长度不仅是与材料有关的参数，能否充分发展还取决于结构尺寸和几何形状；断裂过程区相对长度的尺寸效应不同于统计尺寸效应和断裂参数尺寸效应，具有尺寸范围效应。断裂过程区相对长度在小试件、大试件和相对无穷大试件的发展程度不同。     

四川盆地上三叠统划分对比研究

四川盆地上三叠统对比长期存在混乱，给盆地整体评价带来困难。通过岩石地层、地震地层、事件地层及高分辨率旋回地层等多种方法讨论了须家河组与香溪群各岩性段的对比关系，得出了全盆地上三叠统的对比关系；指出须四段底可近似看成等时界面；须家河组下部地层自西向东、向南逐层超覆在雷口坡组之上，上部地层在盆地西北部自东南向西北方向剥蚀层位渐次变老。文章建议四川盆地上三叠统废除“香溪群”，统一使用“须家河组”，以利于对全盆地上三叠统进行油气资源整体评价与深化研究。     

皮带秤秤架的响应特性曲线分析

介绍了皮带秤秤架响应特性曲线分析方法，对四种结构形式的秤架进行了响应特性曲线分析和比较，得出的结论是：悬浮式秤架的计量特性最好。