A PV installation framework concerning electricity variable rates

This paper assesses building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installation parameters based on the profit generated by a photovoltaic system. It takes into consideration a home building case study and it investigates its monthly energy demand based on a specific location and a typical occupancy. The capability of a photovoltaic (PV) system to generate more profit occurs when solar intensity is maximum while the electric energy price is at its highest rate. The paper traces a framework that encompasses different aspects such as energy demand, energy price, and solar intensity. This framework identifies profit alternatives according to different installation parameters. A tool that predicts a PV installation hourly electric energy production is developed. The profit generated is simulated for home buildings located in Beirut (Lebanon) and Xihua (China), both at 33.8° latitude north. The paper highlights a new approach for BIPV installations, taking into account weather conditions, energy demand, and electric energy utility rates.     

Longitudinal permeability determination of dual-scale fibrous materials

In this work, the longitudinal permeability of squarely packed dual-scale fiber preforms is studied theoretically. These fiber preforms are composed of aligned porous tows and the tows are tightly packed. The effective permeability is calculated as a parallel-like network of intra-tow permeability and inter-tow permeability, which are quantified by Darcy’s law and the inscribed radius between tows, respectively. The jump velocity at the interface between inter-tow fluids and porous tows is considered, as derived by substituting Beavers and Joseph’s correlation into Brinkman’s equation. We further examine the effects of intra-tow permeability on the effective permeability of the fibrous system with three interface conditions: (1) interface velocity = 0, (2) interface velocity = mean intra-tow velocity, and (3) interface velocity = jump velocity. The jump-velocity-based model is found to be closest to numerical data. The influence of the fiber volume fraction of tows on the effective permeability is also analyzed.     

Off‐grid DoA estimation method of wideband signals

In this paper, an off‐grid direction of arrival (DoA) estimation method is proposed for wideband signals. This method is based on the sparse representation (SR) of the array covariance matrix. Similar to the time domain DoA estimation methods, the correlation function of the sources was assumed to be the same and known. A new measurement vector is obtained using the lower‐left triangular elements of the covariance matrix. The DoAs are estimated by quantizing the entire range of continuous angle space into discrete grid points. However, the exact DoAs may be located between two grid points; therefore, this estimation has errors. The accuracy of DoA estimation is improved by the minimization of the difference between the new measurement vector and its estimated values. Simulation results revealed that the proposed method can enhance the DoA estimation accuracy of wideband signals.     

干扰条件下的“北斗”信号解扩重构DOA估计

在干扰条件下，卫星导航抗干扰波束形成算法往往需要卫星信号波达方向（Direction-of-Arrival，DOA）的先验信息。但当存在低信噪比信号或主动干扰源时，常规的DOA估计算法性能急剧下降甚至失效。针对此问题，提出了一种被干扰信号压制的低信噪比“北斗”信号的DOA估计算法。该算法首先通过对接收信号进行子空间投影抑制干扰信号，然后对抑制干扰后的信号进行解扩重构处理，最后通过多重信号分类算法完成对“北斗”信号的DOA估计。仿真结果表明，在干扰信号干信比80 dB条件下，“北斗”信号DOA估计误差在5°以内，为下一步进行波束形成计算提供了高精度的入射角信息。     

Revisiting rock classification to estimate rock mass properties

This paper presents the results of ongoing research carried out by the author exploring methods to provide a more robust estimate of rock mass properties specifically for use in tunnel design. Data from various large-scale rock mass failures are introduced, including coal pillars. The damage-initiation,spalling-limit approach is compared to the coal pillar database. New comparisons of estimating the geological strength index(GSI) and relationships to estimate the Hoeke Brown failure criterion parameters, mb, s and a, are presented.     

Comparison of co-current and counter-current flow in a bifunctional reactor containing ammonia synthesis and 2-butanol dehydrogenation to MEK

In this study, a multi-tubular thermally coupled packed bed reactor in which simultaneous production of ammonia and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) takes place is simulated. The simulation results are presented in two co-current and counter-current flow modes. Based on this new configuration, the released heat from the ammonia synthesis reaction as an extremely exothermic reaction in the inner tube is employed to supply the required heat for the endothermic 2-butanol dehydrogenation reaction in the outer tube. On the other hand, MEK and hydrogen are produced by the dehydrogenation reaction of 2-butanol in the endothermic side, and the produced hydrogen is used to supply a part of the ammonia synthesis feed in the exothermic side. Thus, 30.72% and 31.88% of the required hydrogen for the ammonia synthesis are provided by the dehydrogenation reaction in the co-current and counter-current configurations, respectively. Also, according to the thermal coupling, the required cooler and furnace for the ammonia synthesis and 2-butanol dehydrogenation conventional plants are eliminated, respectively. As a result, operational costs, energy consumption and furnace emissions are considerably decreased. Finally, a sensitivity analysis and optimization are applied to study the effect of the main process parameters variation on the system performance and obtain the minimum hydrogen make-up flow rate, respectively.     

Analysis of adhesively bonded CFRE composite scarf joints modified with MWCNTs

The main objective of the present work is to improve the performance of bonded joints in carbon fiber composite structures through introducing Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) into Epocast 50-A1/946 epoxy, which was primarily developed for joining and repairing of composite aircraft structures. Results from tension characterizations of structural adhesive joints (SAJs) with different scarf angles (5–45°) showed improvement up to 40% compared to neat epoxy (NE)–SAJs. Special attention was considered to investigate the performance of SAJs with 5° scarf angle under different environments. The tensile strength and stiffness of both NE-SAJs and MWCNT/E-SAJs were dramatically decreased at elevated temperature. Water absorption showed a marginal drop of about 2.0% in the tensile strength of the moist SAJs compared to the dry one. Cracks initiation and propagation were detected effectively using instrumented-SAJs with eight strain gauges. The experimental results agree well with the predicted using three-dimensional finite element analysis model.     

Stochastic free vibration analyses of composite shallow doubly curved shells – A Kriging model approach

This paper presents the Kriging model approach for stochastic free vibration analysis of composite shallow doubly curved shells. The finite element formulation is carried out considering rotary inertia and transverse shear deformation based on Mindlin’s theory. The stochastic natural frequencies are expressed in terms of Kriging surrogate models. The influence of random variation of different input parameters on the output natural frequencies is addressed. The sampling size and computational cost is reduced by employing the present method compared to direct Monte Carlo simulation. The convergence studies and error analysis are carried out to ensure the accuracy of present approach. The stochastic mode shapes and frequency response function are also depicted for a typical laminate configuration. Statistical analysis is presented to illustrate the results using Kriging model and its performance.     

Microwave assisted-in situ synthesis of porous titanium/calcium phosphate composites and their in vitro apatite-forming capability

Microwave irradiation has been proven to be an effective heating source in synthetic chemistry, and can accelerate the reaction rate, provide more uniform heating and help in developing better synthetic routes for the fabrication of bone-grafting implant materials. In this study, a new technique, which comprises microwave heating and powder metallurgy for in situ synthesis of Ti/CaP composites by using Ti powders, calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) powders and dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (CaHPO₄·2H₂O) powders, has been developed. Three different compositions of Ti:CaCO₃:CaHPO₄·2H₂O powdered mixture were employed to investigate the effect of the starting atomic ratio of the CaCO₃ to CaHPO₄·2H₂O on the phase, microstructural formation and compressive properties of the microwave synthesized composites. When the starting atomic ratio reaches 1.67, composites containing mainly alpha-titanium (α-Ti), hydroxyapatite (HA), beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and calcium titanate (CaTiO₃) with porosity of 26%, pore size up to 152 μm, compressive strength of 212 MPa and compressive modulus of 12 GPa were formed. The in vitro apatite-forming capability of the composite was evaluated by immersing the composite into a simulated body fluid (SBF) for up to 14 days. The results showed that biodissolution occurred, followed by apatite precipitation after immersion in the SBF, suggesting that the composites are suitable for bone implant applications as apatite is an essential intermediate layer for bone cells attachment. The quantity and size of the apatite globules increased over the immersion time. After 14 days of immersion, the composite surface was fully covered by an apatite layer with a Ca/P atomic ratio approximately of 1.68, which is similar to the bone-like apatite appearing in human hard tissue. The results suggested that the microwave assisted-in situ synthesis technique can be used as an alternative to traditional powder metallurgy for the fabrication of Ti/CaP biocomposites.