WorldWideScience

Sample records for reliability efficiency capacity

  1. Reliability payments to generation capacity in electricity markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olsina, Fernando; Pringles, Rolando; Larisson, Carlos; Garcés, Francisco

    2014-01-01

    Electric power is a critical input to modern economies. Generation adequacy and security of supply in power systems running under competition are currently topics of high concern for consumers, regulators and governments. In a market setting, generation investments and adequacy can only be achieved by an appropriate regulatory framework that sets efficient remuneration to power capacity. Theoretically, energy-only electricity markets are efficient and no additional mechanism is needed. Nonetheless, the energy-only market design suffers from serious drawbacks. Therefore, jointly with the evolution of electricity markets, many remunerating mechanisms for generation capacity have been proposed. Explicit capacity payment was the first remunerating approach implemented and perhaps still the most applied. However, this price-based regulation has been applied no without severe difficulties and criticism. In this paper, a new reliability payment mechanism is envisioned. Capacity of each generating unit is paid according to its effective contribution to overall system reliability. The proposed scheme has many attractive features and preserves the theoretical efficiency properties of energy-only markets. Fairness, incentive compatibility, market power mitigation and settlement rules are investigated in this work. The article also examines the requirements for system data and models in order to implement the proposed capacity mechanism. A numerical example on a real hydrothermal system serves for illustrating the practicability of the proposed approach and the resulting reliability payments to the generation units. - Highlights: • A new approach for remunerating supply reliability provided by generation units is proposed. • The contribution of each generating unit to lessen power shortfalls is determined by simulations. • Efficiency, fairness and incentive compatibility of the proposed reliability payment are assessed

  2. Reliability Capacity of Half-Duplex Channels with Strict Deadlines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Costa, Rui; Roetter, Daniel Enrique Lucani; Vinhoza, Tiago

    2015-01-01

    A fundamental characterization of a half-duplex wireless system with packet losses under traffic with hard deadlines is instrumental to understanding and developing efficient, coding aware policies for real-time applications. We set forth the concept of reliability capacity with a limited number ...

  3. Forward reliability markets: Less risk, less market power, more efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cramton, Peter; Stoft, Steven

    2008-01-01

    A forward reliability market is presented. The market coordinates new entry through the forward procurement of reliability options - physical capacity bundled with a financial option to supply energy above a strike price. The market assures adequate generating resources and prices capacity from the bids of competitive new entry in an annual auction. Efficient performance incentives are maintained from a load-following obligation to supply energy above the strike price. The capacity payment fully hedges load from high spot prices, and reduces supplier risk as well. Market power is reduced in the spot market, since suppliers enter the spot market with a nearly balanced position in times of scarcity. Market power in the reliability market is addressed by not allowing existing supply to impact the capacity price. The approach, which has been adopted in New England and Colombia, is readily adapted to either a thermal system or a hydro system. (author)

  4. Completion of a high efficiency ultralarge capacity three-phase transformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maejima, Masaaki; Maruyama, Katsuya; Fukuda, Teruo.

    1986-01-01

    As for the boosting transformers for thermal and nuclear power stations, at present the ultralarge capacity transformers of 1000 - 1200 MVA class are the main, and particularly in nuclear power, accompanying the development of improved type BWRs and the rise of system stability, there is the tendency toward further large capacity and large size. Consequently, reflecting the recent rise of energy cost, the demand of energy conservation and the reduction of required sites heightened largely as well as the high reliability. In order to meet these demands, Hitachi Ltd. has established the technology of changing to iron machines such as ultralarge iron cores and ultralarge capacity undivided disk windings using the latest design and manufacture techniques were applied to the 525 kV, 1200 MVA transformer for No.4 plant in Fukushima No.2 Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc., thus a three-phase transformer of the highest level, high efficiency and ultralarge capacity was completed. In this paper, the outline of this transformer and the test for verifying its reliability are described. The technical change of large capacity three-phase transformers, the specifications, construction, manufacture, reliability test and the effect of modification of this transformer, and the expansion of application to the next generation ultralarge capacity transformers are reported. (Kako, I.)

  5. Capacity and reliability analyses with applications to power quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azam, Mohammad; Tu, Fang; Shlapak, Yuri; Kirubarajan, Thiagalingam; Pattipati, Krishna R.; Karanam, Rajaiah

    2001-07-01

    The deregulation of energy markets, the ongoing advances in communication networks, the proliferation of intelligent metering and protective power devices, and the standardization of software/hardware interfaces are creating a dramatic shift in the way facilities acquire and utilize information about their power usage. The currently available power management systems gather a vast amount of information in the form of power usage, voltages, currents, and their time-dependent waveforms from a variety of devices (for example, circuit breakers, transformers, energy and power quality meters, protective relays, programmable logic controllers, motor control centers). What is lacking is an information processing and decision support infrastructure to harness this voluminous information into usable operational and management knowledge to handle the health of their equipment and power quality, minimize downtime and outages, and to optimize operations to improve productivity. This paper considers the problem of evaluating the capacity and reliability analyses of power systems with very high availability requirements (e.g., systems providing energy to data centers and communication networks with desired availability of up to 0.9999999). The real-time capacity and margin analysis helps operators to plan for additional loads and to schedule repair/replacement activities. The reliability analysis, based on computationally efficient sum of disjoint products, enables analysts to decide the optimum levels of redundancy, aids operators in prioritizing the maintenance options for a given budget and monitoring the system for capacity margin. The resulting analytical and software tool is demonstrated on a sample data center.

  6. Missing money and missing markets: Reliability, capacity auctions and interconnectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newbery, David

    2016-01-01

    In the energy trilemma of reliability, sustainability and affordability, politicians treat reliability as over-riding. The EU assumes the energy-only Target Electricity Model will deliver reliability but the UK argues that a capacity remuneration mechanism is needed. This paper argues that capacity auctions tend to over-procure capacity, exacerbating the missing money problem they were designed to address. The bias is further exacerbated by failing to address some of the missing market problems also neglected in the debate. It examines the case for, criticisms of, and outcome of the first GB capacity auction and problems of trading between different capacity markets. - Highlights: •Energy-only markets can work if they avoid missing money and missing market problems. •Policy makers over-estimate the cost of so-called “loss of load events”. •Policy makers tend to over-procure capacity, exacerbating the missing money problem. •Rectifying missing market problems simplifies trade between different capacity markets. •Addressing missing market problems makes under-procurement cheaper than over-procurement.

  7. The reliability and stability of visual working memory capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Z; Adam, K C S; Fang, X; Vogel, E K

    2018-04-01

    Because of the central role of working memory capacity in cognition, many studies have used short measures of working memory capacity to examine its relationship to other domains. Here, we measured the reliability and stability of visual working memory capacity, measured using a single-probe change detection task. In Experiment 1, the participants (N = 135) completed a large number of trials of a change detection task (540 in total, 180 each of set sizes 4, 6, and 8). With large numbers of both trials and participants, reliability estimates were high (α > .9). We then used an iterative down-sampling procedure to create a look-up table for expected reliability in experiments with small sample sizes. In Experiment 2, the participants (N = 79) completed 31 sessions of single-probe change detection. The first 30 sessions took place over 30 consecutive days, and the last session took place 30 days later. This unprecedented number of sessions allowed us to examine the effects of practice on stability and internal reliability. Even after much practice, individual differences were stable over time (average between-session r = .76).

  8. Incorporating travel time reliability into the Highway Capacity Manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    This final report documents the activities performed during SHRP 2 Reliability Project L08: Incorporating Travel Time Reliability into the Highway Capacity Manual. It serves as a supplement to the proposed chapters for incorporating travel time relia...

  9. Working memory capacity and redundant information processing efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Endres, Michael J; Houpt, Joseph W; Donkin, Chris; Finn, Peter R

    2015-01-01

    Working memory capacity (WMC) is typically measured by the amount of task-relevant information an individual can keep in mind while resisting distraction or interference from task-irrelevant information. The current research investigated the extent to which differences in WMC were associated with performance on a novel redundant memory probes (RMP) task that systematically varied the amount of to-be-remembered (targets) and to-be-ignored (distractor) information. The RMP task was designed to both facilitate and inhibit working memory search processes, as evidenced by differences in accuracy, response time, and Linear Ballistic Accumulator (LBA) model estimates of information processing efficiency. Participants (N = 170) completed standard intelligence tests and dual-span WMC tasks, along with the RMP task. As expected, accuracy, response-time, and LBA model results indicated memory search and retrieval processes were facilitated under redundant-target conditions, but also inhibited under mixed target/distractor and redundant-distractor conditions. Repeated measures analyses also indicated that, while individuals classified as high (n = 85) and low (n = 85) WMC did not differ in the magnitude of redundancy effects, groups did differ in the efficiency of memory search and retrieval processes overall. Results suggest that redundant information reliably facilitates and inhibits the efficiency or speed of working memory search, and these effects are independent of more general limits and individual differences in the capacity or space of working memory.

  10. Demand response and energy efficiency in the capacity resource procurement: Case studies of forward capacity markets in ISO New England, PJM and Great Britain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Yingqi

    2017-01-01

    Demand-side resources like demand response (DR) and energy efficiency (EE) can contribute to the capacity adequacy underpinning power system reliability. Forward capacity markets are established in many liberalised markets to procure capacity, with a strong interest in procuring DR and EE. With case studies of ISO New England, PJM and Great Britain, this paper examines the process and trends of procuring DR and EE in forward capacity markets, and the design for integration mechanisms. It finds that the contribution of DR and EE varies wildly across these three capacity markets, due to a set of factors regarding mechanism design, market conditions and regulatory provisions, and the offering of EE is more heavily influenced by regulatory utility EE obligation. DR and EE are complementary in targeting end-uses and customers for capacity resources, thus highlighting the value of procuring them both. System needs and resources’ market potential need to be considered in defining capacity products. Over the long-term, it is important to ensure the removal of barriers for these demand-side resources and the capability of providers in addressing risks of unstable funding and forward planning. For the EDR Pilot in the UK, better coordination with forward capacity auction needs to be achieved. - Highlights: • Trends of demand response and energy efficiency in capacity markets are analysed. • Integration mechanisms, market conditions and regulatory provisions are key factors. • Participation of energy efficiency is influenced by regulatory utility obligations. • Procuring both demand response and energy efficiency in capacity market is valuable. • Critical analysis of the design of capacity products and integration mechanisms.

  11. Reliability of Estimation Pile Load Capacity Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yudhi Lastiasih

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available None of numerous previous methods for predicting pile capacity is known how accurate any of them are when compared with the actual ultimate capacity of piles tested to failure. The author’s of the present paper have conducted such an analysis, based on 130 data sets of field loading tests. Out of these 130 data sets, only 44 could be analysed, of which 15 were conducted until the piles actually reached failure. The pile prediction methods used were: Brinch Hansen’s method (1963, Chin’s method (1970, Decourt’s Extrapolation Method (1999, Mazurkiewicz’s method (1972, Van der Veen’s method (1953, and the Quadratic Hyperbolic Method proposed by Lastiasih et al. (2012. It was obtained that all the above methods were sufficiently reliable when applied to data from pile loading tests that loaded to reach failure. However, when applied to data from pile loading tests that loaded without reaching failure, the methods that yielded lower values for correction factor N are more recommended. Finally, the empirical method of Reese and O’Neill (1988 was found to be reliable enough to be used to estimate the Qult of a pile foundation based on soil data only.

  12. Capacity Expansion and Reliability Evaluation on the Networks Flows with Continuous Stochastic Functional Capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Hamzezadeh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In many systems such as computer network, fuel distribution, and transportation system, it is necessary to change the capacity of some arcs in order to increase maximum flow value from source s to sink t, while the capacity change incurs minimum cost. In real-time networks, some factors cause loss of arc’s flow. For example, in some flow distribution systems, evaporation, erosion or sediment in pipes waste the flow. Here we define a real capacity, or the so-called functional capacity, which is the operational capacity of an arc. In other words, the functional capacity of an arc equals the possible maximum flow that may pass through the arc. Increasing the functional arcs capacities incurs some cost. There is a certain resource available to cover the costs. First, we construct a mathematical model to minimize the total cost of expanding the functional capacities to the required levels. Then, we consider the loss of flow on each arc as a stochastic variable and compute the system reliability.

  13. Efficient and reliable inspection through the use of optimised NDT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Highmore, P.J.

    1993-01-01

    Current activities within AEA Technology are described aiming at the constitution of an optimized and reliable inspection technology for the UK nuclear programme. Three main factors, i.e. optimized inspection design, efficient inspection reliability assessment and effective inspector training, influencing the efficiency and reliability of the on-site inspection are discussed. (Z.S.)

  14. Efficient surrogate models for reliability analysis of systems with multiple failure modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bichon, Barron J.; McFarland, John M.; Mahadevan, Sankaran

    2011-01-01

    Despite many advances in the field of computational reliability analysis, the efficient estimation of the reliability of a system with multiple failure modes remains a persistent challenge. Various sampling and analytical methods are available, but they typically require accepting a tradeoff between accuracy and computational efficiency. In this work, a surrogate-based approach is presented that simultaneously addresses the issues of accuracy, efficiency, and unimportant failure modes. The method is based on the creation of Gaussian process surrogate models that are required to be locally accurate only in the regions of the component limit states that contribute to system failure. This approach to constructing surrogate models is demonstrated to be both an efficient and accurate method for system-level reliability analysis. - Highlights: → Extends efficient global reliability analysis to systems with multiple failure modes. → Constructs locally accurate Gaussian process models of each response. → Highly efficient and accurate method for assessing system reliability. → Effectiveness is demonstrated on several test problems from the literature.

  15. Replacement energy, capacity, and reliability costs for permanent nuclear reactor shutdowns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    VanKuiken, J.C., Buehring, W.A.; Hamilton, S.; Kavicky, J.A.; Cavallo, J.D.; Veselka, T.D.; Willing, D.L.

    1993-10-01

    Average replacement power costs are estimated for potential permanent shutdowns of nuclear electricity-generating units. Replacement power costs are considered to include replacement energy, capacity, and reliability cost components. These estimates were developed to assist the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in evaluating regulatory issues that potentially affect changes in serious reactor accident frequencies. Cost estimates were derived from long-term production-cost and capacity expansion simulations of pooled utility-system operations. Factors that affect replacement power cost, such as load growth, replacement sources of generation, and capital costs for replacement capacity, were treated in the analysis. Costs are presented for a representative reactor and for selected subcategories of reactors, based on estimates for 112 individual reactors

  16. A Hierarchical Energy Efficient Reliable Transport Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prabhudutta Mohanty

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The two important requirements for many Wireless Senor Networks (WSNs are prolonged network lifetime and end-to-end reliability. The sensor nodes consume more energy during data transmission than the data sensing. In WSN, the redundant data increase the energy consumption, latency and reduce reliability during data transmission. Therefore, it is important to support energy efficient reliable data transport in WSNs. In this paper, we present a Hierarchical Energy Efficient Reliable Transport Protocol (HEERTP for the data transmission within the WSN. This protocol maximises the network lifetime by controlling the redundant data transmission with the co-ordination of Base Station (BS. The proposed protocol also achieves end-to-end reliability using a hop-by-hop acknowledgement scheme. We evaluate the performance of the proposed protocol through simulation. The simulation results reveal that our proposed protocol achieves better performance in terms of energy efficiency, latency and reliability than the existing protocols.

  17. Coal-Powered Electric Generating Unit Efficiency and Reliability Dialogue: Summary Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taylor, Emmanuel [Energetics, Inc., Columbia, MD (United States)

    2018-02-01

    Coal continues to play a critical role in powering the Nation’s electricity generation, especially for baseload power plants. With aging coal generation assets facing decreased performance due to the state of the equipment, and with challenges exacerbated by the current market pressures on the coal sector, there are opportunities to advance early-stage technologies that can retrofit or replace equipment components. These changes will eventually result in significant improvements in plant performance once further developed and deployed by industry. Research and development in areas such as materials, fluid dynamics, fuel properties and preparation characteristics, and a new generation of plant controls can lead to new components and systems that can help improve the efficiency and reliability of coal-fired power plants significantly, allowing these assets to continue to provide baseload power. Coal stockpiles at electricity generation plants are typically large enough to provide 30 to 60 days of power prior to resupply—significantly enhancing the stability and reliability of the U.S. electricity sector. Falling prices for non-dispatchable renewable energy and mounting environmental regulations, among other factors, have stimulated efforts to improve the efficiency of these coal-fired electric generating units (EGUs). In addition, increased reliance on natural gas and non-dispatchable energy sources has spurred efforts to further increase the reliability of coal EGUs. The Coal Powered EGU Efficiency and Reliability Dialogue brought together stakeholders from across the coal EGU industry to discuss methods for improvement. Participants at the event reviewed performance-enhancing innovations in coal EGUs, discussed the potential for data-driven management practices to increase efficiency and reliability, investigated the impacts of regulatory compliance on coal EGU performance, and discussed upcoming challenges for the coal industry. This report documents the key

  18. Optimum capacity determination of stand-alone hybrid generation system considering cost and reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Hung-Cheng

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► This paper presents a methodology for the installation capacity optimization. ► Hybrid generation system is optimized by application of adaptive genetic algorithm. ► A cost investigation is made under various conditions and component characteristics. ► The optimization scheme is validated to meet the annual power load demand. -- Abstract: The aim of this work is to present an optimization methodology for the installation capacity of a stand-alone hybrid generation system, taking into consideration the cost and reliability. Firstly, on the basis of derived steady state models of a wind generator (WG), a photovoltaic array (PV), a battery and an inverter, the hybrid generation system is modeled for the purpose of capacity optimization. Secondly, the power system is analyzed for determining both the system structure and the operation control strategy. Thirdly, according to hourly weather database of wind speed, temperature and solar irradiation, annual power generation capacity is estimated for the system match design in order that an annual power load demand can be met. The capacity determination of a hybrid generation system becomes complicated as a result of the uncertainty in the renewable energy together with load demand and the nonlinearity of system components. Aimed at the power system reliability and the cost minimization, the capacity of a hybrid generation system is optimized by application of an adaptive genetic algorithm (AGA) to individual power generation units. A total cost investigation is made under various conditions, such as wind generator power curves, battery discharge depth and the loss of load probability (LOLP). At the end of this work, the capacity of a hybrid generation system is optimized at two installation sites, namely the offshore Orchid Island and Wuchi in Taiwan. The optimization scheme is validated to optimize power capacities of a photovoltaic array, a battery and a wind turbine generator with a relative

  19. A Study of Validity and Reliability on the Instructional Capacity Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yalçin, Mehmet Tufan; Eres, Figen

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool that can determine the instructional capacity, according to teacher opinions. In the academic year of 2016-2017, 1011 teachers working in the public high schools and vocational technical schools in Ankara participated in the study. The total number of items on the scale was…

  20. Capacity Issues and Efficiency Drivers in Brazilian Bulk Terminals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Fernandes Wanke

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an efficiency analysis of Brazilian bulk terminals built upon the conjoint use of Data Envelopment Analysis and the bootstrapping technique. Confidence intervals and bias corrected central estimates were used as cornerstone tools, not only to test for significant differences on efficiency scores and their reciprocals, but also on returns to scale indicators provided by different DEA models. The results of the study suggest that most Brazilian bulk terminals present increasing returns-to-scale, that is, they are too small in size comparatively to the tasks performed, indicating a capacity shortfall. Results also suggest paths for improving efficiency levels in a scenario of low investments and capacity constraints: privatization and cargo specialization. A final contribution to the literature lays on the development a simple methodology to assess returns-to-scale based on bootstrap results.

  1. An accurate and efficient reliability-based design optimization using the second order reliability method and improved stability transformation method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Zeng; Yang, Dixiong; Zhou, Huanlin; Yu, Bo

    2018-05-01

    The first order reliability method has been extensively adopted for reliability-based design optimization (RBDO), but it shows inaccuracy in calculating the failure probability with highly nonlinear performance functions. Thus, the second order reliability method is required to evaluate the reliability accurately. However, its application for RBDO is quite challenge owing to the expensive computational cost incurred by the repeated reliability evaluation and Hessian calculation of probabilistic constraints. In this article, a new improved stability transformation method is proposed to search the most probable point efficiently, and the Hessian matrix is calculated by the symmetric rank-one update. The computational capability of the proposed method is illustrated and compared to the existing RBDO approaches through three mathematical and two engineering examples. The comparison results indicate that the proposed method is very efficient and accurate, providing an alternative tool for RBDO of engineering structures.

  2. Improving Reliability, Security, and Efficiency of Reconfigurable Hardware Systems (Habilitation)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ziener, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    In this treatise,  my research on methods to improve efficiency, reliability, and security of reconfigurable hardware systems, i.e., FPGAs, through partial dynamic reconfiguration is outlined. The efficiency of reconfigurable systems can be improved by loading optimized data paths on-the-fly on an

  3. Enhancing power supply adequacy in Spain: Migrating from capacity payments to reliability options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batlle, Carlos; Vazquez, Carlos; Rivier, Michel; Perez-Arriaga, Ignacio J.

    2007-01-01

    There has been total unanimity about the vital importance of reliability of supply since the beginning of the electricity sector deregulation process. This paper describes the procedure proposed by to improve upon the current scheme to guarantee a reasonable reserve margin, the capacity payment mechanism. This alternative design introduces improvements aimed at guaranteeing at least a minimum capacity reserve margin, as well as at providing a strong incentive for generating units to be available when needed, namely, in situations when supply is likely to be insufficient to meet the total demand

  4. The reliability of WorkWell Systems Functional Capacity Evaluation: a systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Functional capacity evaluation (FCE) determines a person’s ability to perform work-related tasks and is a major component of the rehabilitation process. The WorkWell Systems (WWS) FCE (formerly known as Isernhagen Work Systems FCE) is currently the most commonly used FCE tool in German rehabilitation centres. Our systematic review investigated the inter-rater, intra-rater and test-retest reliability of the WWS FCE. Methods We performed a systematic literature search of studies on the reliability of the WWS FCE and extracted item-specific measures of inter-rater, intra-rater and test-retest reliability from the identified studies. Intraclass correlation coefficients ≥ 0.75, percentages of agreement ≥ 80%, and kappa coefficients ≥ 0.60 were categorised as acceptable, otherwise they were considered non-acceptable. The extracted values were summarised for the five performance categories of the WWS FCE, and the results were classified as either consistent or inconsistent. Results From 11 identified studies, 150 item-specific reliability measures were extracted. 89% of the extracted inter-rater reliability measures, all of the intra-rater reliability measures and 96% of the test-retest reliability measures of the weight handling and strength tests had an acceptable level of reliability, compared to only 67% of the test-retest reliability measures of the posture/mobility tests and 56% of the test-retest reliability measures of the locomotion tests. Both of the extracted test-retest reliability measures of the balance test were acceptable. Conclusions Weight handling and strength tests were found to have consistently acceptable reliability. Further research is needed to explore the reliability of the other tests as inconsistent findings or a lack of data prevented definitive conclusions. PMID:24674029

  5. Energy efficiency and capacity retention of Ni–MH batteries for storage applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Wenhua H.; Zhu, Ying; Davis, Zenda; Tatarchuk, Bruce J.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Ni–MH battery energy efficiency was evaluated at full and partial state-of-charge. ► State-of-charge and state-of-recharge were studied by voltage changes and capacity measurement. ► Capacity retention of the NiMH-B2 battery was 70% after fully charge and 1519 h of storage. ► The inefficient charge process started at ca. 90% of rated capacity when charged at ⩽0.2 C rate. ► Battery durability and low self-discharge strategies are analyzed and discussed for energy storage needs. - Abstract: The Ni–MH batteries were tested for battery energy storage characteristics, including the effects of battery charge or discharge at different rates. The battery energy efficiency and capacity retention were evaluated through measuring the charge/discharge capacities and energies during full and partial state-of-charge (SoC) operations. Energy efficiency results were obtained at various charge input levels and different charge and discharge rates. The inefficient charging process started to take place at ca. 90% state-of-recharge (SoR) when charged at no more than 0.2 C rate. For the NiMH-B2 battery after an approximately full charge (∼100% SoC at 120% SoR and a 0.2 C charge/discharge rate), the capacity retention was obtained as 83% after 360 h of storage, and 70% after 1519 h of storage. The energy efficiency was decreased from 74.0% to 50% after 1519 h of storage time. The Coulomb efficiency was initially 83.34%, and was reduced to 57.95% after 1519 h of storage. The battery has relatively higher energy efficiency at approximately 50% SoC. The energy efficiency was calculated to be more than 92% when the NiMH-C3 battery was charged to 30–70% SoC then discharged to 0% SoC at a 0.2 C charge/discharge rate. In consideration of energy efficiency, charge acceptance, capacity retention rate, and power output needs, as well as Nelson’s analysis on HEV power requirements, the Ni–MH battery is appropriate to work at ca. 50 ± 10% SoC with an

  6. Efficient approach for reliability-based optimization based on weighted importance sampling approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan, Xiukai; Lu, Zhenzhou

    2014-01-01

    An efficient methodology is presented to perform the reliability-based optimization (RBO). It is based on an efficient weighted approach for constructing an approximation of the failure probability as an explicit function of the design variables which is referred to as the ‘failure probability function (FPF)’. It expresses the FPF as a weighted sum of sample values obtained in the simulation-based reliability analysis. The required computational effort for decoupling in each iteration is just single reliability analysis. After the approximation of the FPF is established, the target RBO problem can be decoupled into a deterministic one. Meanwhile, the proposed weighted approach is combined with a decoupling approach and a sequential approximate optimization framework. Engineering examples are given to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the presented methodology

  7. Energy Efficient and Reliable Target Monitoring in the Tactical Battlefield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yan-Xiao; Guan, Hua; Zhang, Yue-Ling

    In the tactical battlefield target monitoring it is crucial to take into account the energy efficiency and data reliability issues for the purpose of military decision making, especially in large scale sensor networks. However, due to the inherent nature of power constraint and wireless communication medium it is a challenging problem in the process of actual application. An efficient and reliable data aggregation scheme is proposed to enhance the performance of wireless sensor network used in the target monitoring. Firstly, the energy consumption model is presented and analyzed in the multihop WSNs. Then idea of mobile sinks, adaptive energy saving mechanism is introduced and the concept of multiple sinks cooperation is used to assure the reliability of the data aggregation. The simulation and the associated analysis show the improved results of the presented schema. At last the future discussion about the large scale tactical battlefield application is made to broaden the coming research scope.

  8. Efficiency criteria for high reliability measured system structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sal'nikov, N.L.

    2012-01-01

    The procedures of structural redundancy are usually used to develop high reliability measured systems. To estimate efficiency of such structures the criteria to compare different systems has been developed. So it is possible to develop more exact system by inspection of redundant system data unit stochastic characteristics in accordance with the developed criteria [ru

  9. Test-retest reliability of the isernhagen work systems functional capacity evaluation in healthy adults

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reneman, MF; Brouwer, S; Meinema, A; Dijkstra, PU; Geertzen, JHB; Groothoff, JW

    2004-01-01

    Aim of this study was to investigate test-retest reliability of the Isernhagen Work System Functional Capacity Evaluation (IWS FCE) in healthy subjects. The IWS FCE consists of 28 tests that reflect work-related activities such as lifting, carrying, bending, etc. A convenience sample of 26 healthy

  10. Energy Efficiency in Logistics: An Interactive Approach to Capacity Utilisation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica Wehner

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Logistics operations are energy-consuming and impact the environment negatively. Improving energy efficiency in logistics is crucial for environmental sustainability and can be achieved by increasing the utilisation of capacity. This paper takes an interactive approach to capacity utilisation, to contribute to sustainable freight transport and logistics, by identifying its causes and mitigations. From literature, a conceptual framework was developed to highlight different system levels in the logistics system, in which the energy efficiency improvement potential can be found and that are summarised in the categories activities, actors, and areas. Through semi-structured interviews with representatives of nine companies, empirical data was collected to validate the framework of the causes of the unutilised capacity and proposed mitigations. The results suggest that activities, such as inflexibilities and limited information sharing as well as actors’ over-delivery of logistics services, incorrect price setting, and sales campaigns can cause unutilised capacity, and that problem areas include i.a. poor integration of reversed logistics and the last mile. The paper contributes by categorising causes of unutilised capacity and linking them to mitigations in a framework, providing a critical view towards fill rates, highlighting the need for a standardised approach to measure environmental impact that enables comparison between companies and underlining that costs are not an appropriate indicator for measuring environmental impact.

  11. DESIGN OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS IN THE EVENT OF THE PRE-SET RELIABILITY, REGULAR LOAD AND BEARING CAPACITY DISTRIBUTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tamrazyan Ashot Georgievich

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Accurate and adequate description of external influences and of the bearing capacity of the structural material requires the employment of the probability theory methods. In this regard, the characteristic that describes the probability of failure-free operation is required. The characteristic of reliability means that the maximum stress caused by the action of the load will not exceed the bearing capacity. In this paper, the author presents a solution to the problem of calculation of structures, namely, the identification of reliability of pre-set design parameters, in particular, cross-sectional dimensions. If the load distribution pattern is available, employment of the regularities of distributed functions make it possible to find the pattern of distribution of maximum stresses over the structure. Similarly, we can proceed to the design of structures of pre-set rigidity, reliability and stability in the case of regular load distribution. We consider the element of design (a monolithic concrete slab, maximum stress S which depends linearly on load q. Within a pre-set period of time, the probability will not exceed the values according to the Poisson law. The analysis demonstrates that the variability of the bearing capacity produces a stronger effect on relative sizes of cross sections of a slab than the variability of loads. It is therefore particularly important to reduce the coefficient of variation of the load capacity. One of the methods contemplates the truncation of the bearing capacity distribution by pre-culling the construction material.

  12. Efficient use of highway capacity summary : report to Congress

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-11-01

    This report was developed to summarize the implementation of safety shoulders as travel lanes as a method to increase the efficient use of highway capacity. Its purpose is to provide a succinct overview of efforts to use left or right shoulder lanes ...

  13. Reliability and Validity of a Physical Capacity Evaluation Used to Assess Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Illness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Yuh; Chang, Tzyh-Chyang; Lin, Keh-Chung

    2009-01-01

    Physical capacity evaluations (PCEs) are important and frequently offered services in work practice. This study investigates the reliability and validity of the National Taiwan University Hospital Physical Capacity Evaluation (NTUH PCE) on a sample of 149 participants consisted of three groups: 45 intellectual disability (ID), 56 mental illness…

  14. Increase of hydroelectric power plant operation reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koshumbaev, M.B.

    2006-01-01

    The new design of the turbine of hydroelectric power plant (HPP) is executed in the form of a pipe with plates. Proposed solution allows increasing the hydroelectric power plant capacity at existing head and water flow. At that time the HPP turbine reliability is increase, its operation performances are improving. Design efficiency is effective mostly for small-scale and micro-HPP due to reliable operation, low-end technology, and harmless ecological application. (author)

  15. Reliability and construction control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sherif S. AbdelSalam

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this study was to determine the most reliable and efficient combination of design and construction methods required for vibro piles. For a wide range of static and dynamic formulas, the reliability-based resistance factors were calculated using EGYPT database, which houses load test results for 318 piles. The analysis was extended to introduce a construction control factor that determines the variation between the pile nominal capacities calculated using static versus dynamic formulae. From the major outcomes, the lowest coefficient of variation is associated with Davisson’s criterion, and the resistance factors calculated for the AASHTO method are relatively high compared with other methods. Additionally, the CPT-Nottingham and Schmertmann method provided the most economic design. Recommendations related to a pile construction control factor were also presented, and it was found that utilizing the factor can significantly reduce variations between calculated and actual capacities.

  16. Efficiency evaluation of an electronic equipment: availability,reliability and maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guyot, C.

    1966-01-01

    This concept of efficiency often called ''system effectiveness'', is presented and analyzed in terms of reliability and maintenance. It allows to define the availability factor of an electronic equipment. A procedure of evaluation is proposed. (A.L.B.)

  17. A new efficient algorithm for computing the imprecise reliability of monotone systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Utkin, Lev V.

    2004-01-01

    Reliability analysis of complex systems by partial information about reliability of components and by different conditions of independence of components may be carried out by means of the imprecise probability theory which provides a unified framework (natural extension, lower and upper previsions) for computing the system reliability. However, the application of imprecise probabilities to reliability analysis meets with a complexity of optimization problems which have to be solved for obtaining the system reliability measures. Therefore, an efficient simplified algorithm to solve and decompose the optimization problems is proposed in the paper. This algorithm allows us to practically implement reliability analysis of monotone systems under partial and heterogeneous information about reliability of components and under conditions of the component independence or the lack of information about independence. A numerical example illustrates the algorithm

  18. High-Efficiency Reliable Stirling Generator for Space Exploration Missions, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — NASA needs advanced power-conversion technologies to improve the efficiency and reliability of power conversion for space exploration missions. We propose to develop...

  19. Cycling capacity recovery effect: A coulombic efficiency and post-mortem study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilhelm, Jörn; Seidlmayer, Stefan; Keil, Peter; Schuster, Jörg; Kriele, Armin; Gilles, Ralph; Jossen, Andreas

    2017-10-01

    The analysis of lithium-ion battery aging relies on correct differentiation between irreversible and reversible capacity changes. Anode overhang regions have been observed to influence Coulombic Efficiency (CE) measurements through lithium diffusion into and out of these areas, complicating precise capacity determination. This work presents an analysis of the extent of graphite anode overhang lithiation after calendar storage by means of local X-ray diffraction (XRD), CE measurements, and color change analysis. We found LiC12 lithiation of the anode overhang area after 20 month storage at 40 °C at high state of charge (SoC) and partial lithiation (LiC18) at medium SoC storage at 40 °C and 25 °C. Graphite color changes in the overhang areas are observed and consistent with the state of lithiation measured by XRD. Coulombic efficiencies greater than unity and increasing capacity during 1200 h of cycling are detected for high SoC storage cells. The capacity difference between high and low storage SoC batteries decreases by up to 40 mAh (3.6% of nominal capacity) after cycling compared to tests directly after storage. Consequently, the size of the anode overhang areas as well as the battery storage temperature and duration need to be considered in CE analysis and state of health assessment.

  20. Visual Working Memory Capacity Can Be Increased by Training on Distractor Filtering Efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Cui-Hong; He, Xu; Wang, Yu-Juan; Hu, Zhe; Guo, Chun-Yan

    2017-01-01

    It is generally considered that working memory (WM) capacity is limited and that WM capacity affects cognitive processes. Distractor filtering efficiency has been suggested to be an important factor in determining the visual working memory (VWM) capacity of individuals. In the present study, we investigated whether training in visual filtering efficiency (FE) could improve VWM capacity, as measured by performance on the change detection task (CDT) and changes of contralateral delay activity (CDA) (contralateral delay activity) of different conditions, and evaluated the transfer effect of visual FE training on verbal WM and fluid intelligence, as indexed by performance on the verbal WM span task and Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) test, respectively. Participants were divided into high- and low-capacity groups based on their performance in a CDT designed to test VWM capacity, and then the low-capacity individuals received 20 days of FE training. The training significantly improved the group's performance in the CDT, and their CDA models of different conditions became more similar with high capacity group, and the effect generalized to improve verbal WM span. These gains were maintained at a 3-month follow-up test. Participants' RSPM scores were not changed by the training. These findings support the notion that WM capacity is determined, at least in part, by distractor FE and can be enhanced through training.

  1. Towards high-reliability organising in healthcare: a strategy for building organisational capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aboumatar, Hanan J; Weaver, Sallie J; Rees, Dianne; Rosen, Michael A; Sawyer, Melinda D; Pronovost, Peter J

    2017-08-01

    In a high-reliability organisation (HRO), safety and quality (SQ) is an organisational priority, and all workforce members are engaged, continuously learning and improving their work. To build organisational capacity for SQ work, we have developed a role-tailored capacity-building framework that we are currently employing at the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality as part of an organisational strategy towards HRO. This framework considers organisation-wide competencies for SQ that includes all staff and faculty and is integrated into a broader organisation-wide operating management system for improving quality. In this framework, achieving safe, high-quality care is connected to healthcare workforce preparedness. Capacity-building efforts are tailored to the needs of distinct groups within the workforce that fall within three categories: (1) front-line providers and staff, (2) managers and local improvement personnel and (3) SQ leaders and experts. In this paper we describe this framework, our implementation efforts to date, challenges met and lessons learnt. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  2. Reliable and Efficient Communications in Wireless Sensor Networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdelhakim, M.M.

    2014-01-01

    Wireless sensor network (WSN) is a key technology for a wide range of military and civilian applications. Limited by the energy resources and processing capabilities of the sensor nodes, reliable and efficient communications in wireless sensor networks are challenging, especially when the sensors are deployed in hostile environments. This research aims to improve the reliability and efficiency of time-critical communications in WSNs, under both benign and hostile environments. We start with wireless sensor network with mobile access points (SENMA), where the mobile access points traverse the network to collect information from individual sensors. Due to its routing simplicity and energy efficiency, SENMA has attracted lots of attention from the research community. Here, we study reliable distributed detection in SENMA under Byzantine attacks, where some authenticated sensors are compromised to report fictitious information. The q-out-of-m rule is considered. It is popular in distributed detection and can achieve a good trade-off between the miss detection probability and the false alarm rate. However, a major limitation with this rule is that the optimal scheme parameters can only be obtained through exhaustive search. By exploiting the linear relationship between the scheme parameters and the network size, we propose simple but effective sub-optimal linear approaches. Then, for better flexibility and scalability, we derive a near-optimal closed-form solution based on the central limit theorem. It is proved that the false alarm rate of the q-out-of-m scheme diminishes exponentially as the network size increases, even if the percentage of malicious nodes remains fixed. This implies that large-scale sensor networks are more reliable under malicious attacks. To further improve the performance under time varying attacks, we propose an effective malicious node detection scheme for adaptive data fusion; the proposed scheme is analyzed using the entropy-based trust model

  3. The reliability and internal consistency of one-shot and flicker change detection for measuring individual differences in visual working memory capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pailian, Hrag; Halberda, Justin

    2015-04-01

    We investigated the psychometric properties of the one-shot change detection task for estimating visual working memory (VWM) storage capacity-and also introduced and tested an alternative flicker change detection task for estimating these limits. In three experiments, we found that the one-shot whole-display task returns estimates of VWM storage capacity (K) that are unreliable across set sizes-suggesting that the whole-display task is measuring different things at different set sizes. In two additional experiments, we found that the one-shot single-probe variant shows improvements in the reliability and consistency of K estimates. In another additional experiment, we found that a one-shot whole-display-with-click task (requiring target localization) also showed improvements in reliability and consistency. The latter results suggest that the one-shot task can return reliable and consistent estimates of VWM storage capacity (K), and they highlight the possibility that the requirement to localize the changed target is what engenders this enhancement. Through a final series of four experiments, we introduced and tested an alternative flicker change detection method that also requires the observer to localize the changing target and that generates, from response times, an estimate of VWM storage capacity (K). We found that estimates of K from the flicker task correlated with estimates from the traditional one-shot task and also had high reliability and consistency. We highlight the flicker method's ability to estimate executive functions as well as VWM storage capacity, and discuss the potential for measuring multiple abilities with the one-shot and flicker tasks.

  4. Estimating the Optimal Capacity for Reservoir Dam based on Reliability Level for Meeting Demands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrdad Taghian

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: One of the practical and classic problems in the water resource studies is estimation of the optimal reservoir capacity to satisfy demands. However, full supplying demands for total periods need a very high dam to supply demands during severe drought conditions. That means a major part of reservoir capacity and costs is only usable for a short period of the reservoir lifetime, which would be unjustified in economic analysis. Thus, in the proposed method and model, the full meeting demand is only possible for a percent time of the statistical period that is according to reliability constraint. In the general methods, although this concept apparently seems simple, there is a necessity to add binary variables for meeting or not meeting demands in the linear programming model structures. Thus, with many binary variables, solving the problem will be time consuming and difficult. Another way to solve the problem is the application of the yield model. This model includes some simpler assumptions and that is so difficult to consider details of the water resource system. The applicationof evolutionary algorithms, for the problems have many constraints, is also very complicated. Therefore, this study pursues another solution. Materials and Methods: In this study, for development and improvement the usual methods, instead of mix integer linear programming (MILP and the above methods, a simulation model including flow network linear programming is used coupled with an interface manual code in Matlab to account the reliability based on output file of the simulation model. The acre reservoir simulation program (ARSP has been utilized as a simulation model. A major advantage of the ARSP is its inherent flexibility in defining the operating policies through a penalty structure specified by the user. The ARSP utilizes network flow optimization techniques to handle a subset of general linear programming (LP problems for individual time intervals

  5. Flexible Grouping for Enhanced Energy Utilization Efficiency in Battery Energy Storage Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiping Diao

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available As a critical subsystem in electric vehicles and smart grids, a battery energy storage system plays an essential role in enhancement of reliable operation and system performance. In such applications, a battery energy storage system is required to provide high energy utilization efficiency, as well as reliability. However, capacity inconsistency of batteries affects energy utilization efficiency dramatically; and the situation becomes more severe after hundreds of cycles because battery capacities change randomly due to non-uniform aging. Capacity mismatch can be solved by decomposing a cluster of batteries in series into several low voltage battery packs. This paper introduces a new analysis method to optimize energy utilization efficiency by finding the best number of batteries in a pack, based on capacity distribution, order statistics, central limit theorem, and converter efficiency. Considering both battery energy utilization and power electronics efficiency, it establishes that there is a maximum energy utilization efficiency under a given capacity distribution among a certain number of batteries, which provides a basic analysis for system-level optimization of a battery system throughout its life cycle. Quantitative analysis results based on aging data are illustrated, and a prototype of flexible energy storage systems is built to verify this analysis.

  6. An Energy-Efficient Link Layer Protocol for Reliable Transmission over Wireless Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iqbal Adnan

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available In multihop wireless networks, hop-by-hop reliability is generally achieved through positive acknowledgments at the MAC layer. However, positive acknowledgments introduce significant energy inefficiencies on battery-constrained devices. This inefficiency becomes particularly significant on high error rate channels. We propose to reduce the energy consumption during retransmissions using a novel protocol that localizes bit-errors at the MAC layer. The proposed protocol, referred to as Selective Retransmission using Virtual Fragmentation (SRVF, requires simple modifications to the positive-ACK-based reliability mechanism but provides substantial improvements in energy efficiency. The main premise of the protocol is to localize bit-errors by performing partial checksums on disjoint parts or virtual fragments of a packet. In case of error, only the corrupted virtual fragments are retransmitted. We develop stochastic models of the Simple Positive-ACK-based reliability, the previously-proposed Packet Length Optimization (PLO protocol, and the SRVF protocol operating over an arbitrary-order Markov wireless channel. Our analytical models show that SRVF provides significant theoretical improvements in energy efficiency over existing protocols. We then use bit-error traces collected over different real networks to empirically compare the proposed and existing protocols. These experimental results further substantiate that SRVF provides considerably better energy efficiency than Simple Positive-ACK and Packet Length Optimization protocols.

  7. Ejectors of power plants turbine units efficiency and reliability increasing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aronson, K. E.; Ryabchikov, A. Yu.; Kuptsov, V. K.; Murmanskii, I. B.; Brodov, Yu. M.; Zhelonkin, N. V.; Khaet, S. I.

    2017-11-01

    The functioning of steam turbines condensation systems influence on the efficiency and reliability of a power plant a lot. At the same time, the condensation system operating is provided by basic ejectors, which maintain the vacuum level in the condenser. Development of methods of efficiency and reliability increasing for ejector functioning is an actual problem of up-to-date power engineering. In the paper there is presented statistical analysis of ejector breakdowns, revealed during repairing processes, the influence of such damages on the steam turbine operating reliability. It is determined, that 3% of steam turbine equipment breakdowns are the ejector breakdowns. At the same time, about 7% of turbine breakdowns are caused by different ejector malfunctions. Developed and approved design solutions, which can increase the ejector functioning indexes, are presented. Intercoolers are designed in separated cases, so the air-steam mixture can’t move from the high-pressure zones to the low-pressure zones and the maintainability of the apparatuses is increased. By U-type tubes application, the thermal expansion effect of intercooler tubes is compensated and the heat-transfer area is increased. By the applied nozzle fixing construction, it is possible to change the distance between a nozzle and a mixing chamber (nozzle exit position) for operating performance optimization. In operating conditions there are provided experimental researches of more than 30 serial ejectors and also high-efficient 3-staged ejector EPO-3-80, designed by authors. The measurement scheme of the designed ejector includes 21 indicator. The results of experimental tests with different nozzle exit positions of the ejector EPO-3-80 stream devices are presented. The pressure of primary stream (water steam) is optimized. Experimental data are well-approved by the calculation results.

  8. High power klystrons for efficient reliable high power amplifiers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, M.

    1980-11-01

    This report covers the design of reliable high efficiency, high power klystrons which may be used in both existing and proposed troposcatter radio systems. High Power (10 kW) klystron designs were generated in C-band (4.4 GHz to 5.0 GHz), S-band (2.5 GHz to 2.7 GHz), and L-band or UHF frequencies (755 MHz to 985 MHz). The tubes were designed for power supply compatibility and use with a vapor/liquid phase heat exchanger. Four (4) S-band tubes were developed in the course of this program along with two (2) matching focusing solenoids and two (2) heat exchangers. These tubes use five (5) tuners with counters which are attached to the focusing solenoids. A reliability mathematical model of the tube and heat exchanger system was also generated.

  9. Validity, Reliability, and Performance Determinants of a New Job-Specific Anaerobic Work Capacity Test for the Norwegian Navy Special Operations Command.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angeltveit, Andreas; Paulsen, Gøran; Solberg, Paul A; Raastad, Truls

    2016-02-01

    Operators in Special Operation Forces (SOF) have a particularly demanding profession where physical and psychological capacities can be challenged to the extremes. The diversity of physical capacities needed depend on the mission. Consequently, tests used to monitor SOF operators' physical fitness should cover a broad range of physical capacities. Whereas tests for strength and aerobic endurance are established, there is no test for specific anaerobic work capacity described in the literature. The purpose of this study was therefore to evaluate the reliability, validity, and to identify performance determinants of a new test developed for testing specific anaerobic work capacity in SOF operators. Nineteen active young students were included in the concurrent validity part of the study. The students performed the evacuation (EVAC) test 3 times and the results were compared for reliability and with performance in the Wingate cycle test, 300-m sprint, and a maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) test. In part II of the study, 21 Norwegian Navy Special Operations Command operators conducted the EVAC test, anthropometric measurements, a dual x-ray absorptiometry scan, leg press, isokinetic knee extensions, maximal oxygen uptake test, and countermovement jump (CMJ) test. The EVAC test showed good reliability after 1 familiarization trial (intraclass correlation = 0.89; coefficient of variance = 3.7%). The EVAC test correlated well with the Wingate test (r = -0.68), 300-m sprint time (r = 0.51), and 300-m mean power (W) (r = -0.67). No significant correlation was found with the MAOD test. In part II of the study, height, body mass, lean body mass, isokinetic knee extension torque, maximal oxygen uptake, and maximal power in a CMJ was significantly correlated with performance in the EVAC test. The EVAC test is a reliable and valid test for anaerobic work capacity for SOF operators, and muscle mass, leg strength, and leg power seem to be the most important determinants

  10. Reliability of lifeline networks under seismic hazard

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Selcuk, A. Sevtap; Yuecemen, M. Semih

    1999-01-01

    Lifelines, such as pipelines, transportation, communication and power transmission systems, are networks which extend spatially over large geographical regions. The quantification of the reliability (survival probability) of a lifeline under seismic threat requires attention, as the proper functioning of these systems during or after a destructive earthquake is vital. In this study, a lifeline is idealized as an equivalent network with the capacity of its elements being random and spatially correlated and a comprehensive probabilistic model for the assessment of the reliability of lifelines under earthquake loads is developed. The seismic hazard that the network is exposed to is described by a probability distribution derived by using the past earthquake occurrence data. The seismic hazard analysis is based on the 'classical' seismic hazard analysis model with some modifications. An efficient algorithm developed by Yoo and Deo (Yoo YB, Deo N. A comparison of algorithms for terminal pair reliability. IEEE Transactions on Reliability 1988; 37: 210-215) is utilized for the evaluation of the network reliability. This algorithm eliminates the CPU time and memory capacity problems for large networks. A comprehensive computer program, called LIFEPACK is coded in Fortran language in order to carry out the numerical computations. Two detailed case studies are presented to show the implementation of the proposed model

  11. Distributed generation, storage, demand response and energy efficiency as alternatives to grid capacity enhancement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poudineh, Rahmatallah; Jamasb, Tooraj

    2014-01-01

    The need for investment in capital intensive electricity networks is on the rise in many countries. A major advantage of distributed resources is their potential for deferring investments in distribution network capacity. However, utilizing the full benefits of these resources requires addressing several technical, economic and regulatory challenges. A significant barrier pertains to the lack of an efficient market mechanism that enables this concept and also is consistent with business model of distribution companies under an unbundled power sector paradigm. This paper proposes a market-oriented approach termed as “contract for deferral scheme” (CDS). The scheme outlines how an economically efficient portfolio of distributed generation, storage, demand response and energy efficiency can be integrated as network resources to reduce the need for grid capacity and defer demand driven network investments. - Highlights: • The paper explores a practical framework for smart electricity distribution grids. • The aim is to defer large capital investments in the network by utilizing and incentivising distributed generation, demand response, energy efficiency and storage as network resources. • The paper discusses a possible new market model that enables integration of distributed resources as alternative to grid capacity enhancement

  12. Reliability of Clinician Rated Physical Effort Determination During Functional Capacity Evaluation in Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trippolini, M. A.; Dijkstra, P. U.; Jansen, B.; Oesch, P.; Geertzen, J. H. B.; Reneman, M. F.

    Introduction Functional capacity evaluation (FCE) can be used to make clinical decisions regarding fitness-for-work. During FCE the evaluator attempts to assess the amount of physical effort of the patient. The aim of this study is to analyze the reliability of physical effort determination using

  13. Capacity loss and faradaic efficiency of lithium thionyl chloride cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoier, S. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Schlaikjer, C.; Johnson, A.; Riley, S. [Battery Engineering, Inc., Boston, MA (United States)

    1996-05-01

    In lithium/thionyl chloride (Li/TC) cells, a lithium limited design was thought to be safer than a cathode limited design because the amount of lithium left in discharged cells would be minimal. However, lithium corrosion reduces the capacity faster than does cathode degradation during storage. The optimization of the ratio of lithium to carbon was studied, considering storage time and temperature. The efficiency of converting chemical energy into electrical energy has been studied for the case of D cells with surface area from 45 to 345 cm{sup 2}, under constant and various pulsed loads. Microcalorimetric monitoring of the heat output during discharge allowed the direct measurement of faradaic efficiency, and showed that self discharge is far more pervasive that previously acknowledged. Typical faradaic efficiencies for constant load varied from 30% at low current density to 90% at moderate and 75 % at high current density. Pulsed current further depresses these efficiencies, except at very low average current density.

  14. Reliability benefits of dispersed wind resource development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milligan, M.; Artig, R.

    1998-05-01

    Generating capacity that is available during the utility peak period is worth more than off-peak capacity. Wind power from a single location might not be available during enough of the peak period to provide sufficient value. However, if the wind power plant is developed over geographically disperse locations, the timing and availability of wind power from these multiple sources could provide a better match with the utility's peak load than a single site. There are other issues that arise when considering disperse wind plant development. Singular development can result in economies of scale and might reduce the costs of obtaining multiple permits and multiple interconnections. However, disperse development can result in cost efficiencies if interconnection can be accomplished at lower voltages or at locations closer to load centers. Several wind plants are in various stages of planning or development in the US. Although some of these are small-scale demonstration projects, significant wind capacity has been developed in Minnesota, with additional developments planned in Wyoming, Iowa and Texas. As these and other projects are planned and developed, there is a need to perform analysis of the value of geographically disperse sites on the reliability of the overall wind plant.This paper uses a production-cost/reliability model to analyze the reliability of several wind sites in the state of Minnesota. The analysis finds that the use of a model with traditional reliability measures does not produce consistent, robust results. An approach based on fuzzy set theory is applied in this paper, with improved results. Using such a model, the authors find that system reliability can be optimized with a mix of disperse wind sites

  15. On the complex analysis of the reliability, safety, and economic efficiency of atomic electric power stations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Emel'yanov, I.Ya.; Klemin, A.I.; Polyakov, E.F.

    1977-01-01

    The problem is posed of effectively increasing the engineering performance of nuclear electric power stations (APS). The principal components of the engineering performance of modern large APS are considered: economic efficiency, radiation safety, reliability, and their interrelationship. A nomenclature is proposed for the quantitative indices which most completely characterize the enumerated properties and are convenient for the analysis of the engineering performance. The urgent problem of developing a methodology for the complex analysis and optimization of the principal performance components is considered; this methodology is designed to increase the efficiency of the work on high-performance competitive APS. The principle of complex optimization of the reliability, safety, and economic-efficiency indices is formulated; specific recommendations are made for the practical realization of this principle. The structure of the complex quantiative analysis of the enumerated performance components is given. The urgency and promise of the complex approach to solving the problem of APS optimization is demonstrated, i.e., the solution of the problem of creating optimally reliable, fairly safe, and maximally economically efficient stations

  16. A Compact, Light-weight, Reliable and Highly Efficient Heat Pump for, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — RTI proposes to develop an efficient, reliable, compact and lightweight heat pump for space applications. The proposed effort is expected to lead to (at the end of...

  17. Can we reconcile different capacity adequacy policies with an integrated electricity market?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finon, Dominique

    2013-09-01

    instruments rather than price instruments - that is the bilateral obligation, the auctioning of forward capacity contracts or the auctioning of reliability options -- are the most efficient to limit the distortive interactions between markets with different adequacy approaches. We show that they present two advantages in this respect: first their impact on other energy markets which are targeted to be integrated is limited and second they allow us to limit re-distributional effects whereby the consumers of the system with the most efficient CRM could pay for the increase of reliability in the other systems. 4 - the CRM of strategic reserves which are composed with new equipment and eventual old existing equipment is perceived as the cheapest capacity instrument, but in fact in a long term perspective it has distortive effects on investment decisions by the market (sliding slope, opportunistic behavior of postponing investment in waiting for TSO's call for tenders). 5 - provided that a quantity instrument and a minimal probabilistic criteria is adopted, there is no frontal opposition between the absence of complete harmonization of adequacy policies and adoption or not of CRMs with respect to completion policies principles, in particular in matters of location of equipment and cross-border trade alteration, compared to a counterfactual scenario of perfect harmonization with either no CRMs at all, or strictly harmonized CRMs. 6 - there are few advantages from trade in capacity rights as such trade will impose a very complex and harmonized set of rules to homogenize the capacity rights between systems, and will generate important transaction costs (for the certification and the checking of the reliability of foreign committed equipment, for the eventual limitation on the interconnection capacity to allow flows of reliability rights and energy during scarcity periods). We identify a social efficiency gain only when in some systems, there is a long standing situation of over-capacity

  18. Improved Performance and Safety for High Energy Batteries Through Use of Hazard Anticipation and Capacity Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atwater, Terrill

    1993-01-01

    Prediction of the capacity remaining in used high rate, high energy batteries is important information to the user. Knowledge of the capacity remaining in used batteries results in better utilization. This translates into improved readiness and cost savings due to complete, efficient use. High rate batteries, due to their chemical nature, are highly sensitive to misuse (i.e., over discharge or very high rate discharge). Battery failure due to misuse or manufacturing defects could be disastrous. Since high rate, high energy batteries are expensive and energetic, a reliable method of predicting both failures and remaining energy has been actively sought. Due to concerns over safety, the behavior of lithium/sulphur dioxide cells at different temperatures and current drains was examined. The main thrust of this effort was to determine failure conditions for incorporation in hazard anticipation circuitry. In addition, capacity prediction formulas have been developed from test data. A process that performs continuous, real-time hazard anticipation and capacity prediction was developed. The introduction of this process into microchip technology will enable the production of reliable, safe, and efficient high energy batteries.

  19. Mode change design for capacity modulation in reciprocating compressor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bae, Young Ju; Kim, Jin Kook; Kim, Jong Bong; Chang, Young June

    2008-01-01

    Due to environmental issues, the development of low energy consumption products has become one of the main topics in the home appliance industry. The energy consumption of a refrigerator depends on the efficiency of its compressor as well as on the refrigerator cycle design, such as the capacity modulation. This study features the design of a novel capacity modulation reciprocating compressor, i.e., two-step capacity modulation (TCM). In a TCM compressor, capacity modulation is achieved by changing the dead volume in the cylinder. Instead of a concentric sleeve, an eccentric sleeve is used to change the dead volume for the clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of a motor. For stable capacity modulation, a new latching system with a key, a spring, and an eccentric sleeve is introduced, and the mode change reliability is verified by dynamic analysis

  20. Post-staining electroblotting for efficient and reliable peptide blotting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Der-Yen; Chang, Geen-Dong

    2015-01-01

    Post-staining electroblotting has been previously described to transfer Coomassie blue-stained proteins from polyacrylamide gel onto polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes. Actually, stained peptides can also be efficiently and reliably transferred. Because of selective staining procedures for peptides and increased retention of stained peptides on the membrane, even peptides with molecular masses less than 2 kDa such as bacitracin and granuliberin R are transferred with satisfactory results. For comparison, post-staining electroblotting is about 16-fold more sensitive than the conventional electroblotting for visualization of insulin on the membrane. Therefore, the peptide blots become practicable and more accessible to further applications, e.g., blot overlay detection or immunoblotting analysis. In addition, the efficiency of peptide transfer is favorable for N-terminal sequence analysis. With this method, peptide blotting can be normalized for further analysis such as blot overlay assay, immunoblotting, and N-terminal sequencing for identification of peptide in crude or partially purified samples.

  1. Analysis of the influence of input data uncertainties on determining the reliability of reservoir storage capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marton Daniel

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper contains a sensitivity analysis of the influence of uncertainties in input hydrological, morphological and operating data required for a proposal for active reservoir conservation storage capacity and its achieved values. By introducing uncertainties into the considered inputs of the water management analysis of a reservoir, the subsequent analysed reservoir storage capacity is also affected with uncertainties. The values of water outflows from the reservoir and the hydrological reliabilities are affected with uncertainties as well. A simulation model of reservoir behaviour has been compiled with this kind of calculation as stated below. The model allows evaluation of the solution results, taking uncertainties into consideration, in contributing to a reduction in the occurrence of failure or lack of water during reservoir operation in low-water and dry periods.

  2. Feasibility and reliability of measuring strength, sprint power, and aerobic capacity in athletes and non-athletes with cerebral palsy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Groot, Sonja; Janssen, Thomas W. J.; Evers, Marijn; Van der Luijt, Pieter; Nienhuys, Kirsten N. G.; Dallmeijer, Annet J.

    Aim The aim of this study was to analyse the feasibility and reliability of the tests used to determine muscle strength, sprint power, and aerobic capacity in athletes and non-athletes with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods Twenty individuals with spastic CP (four females, 16 males; age range 1849y;

  3. Ensuring capacity adequacy during energy transition in mature power markets: a social efficiency comparison of scarcity pricing and capacity mechanism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petitet, Marie; Finon, Dominique; Janssen, Tanguy

    2016-01-01

    This paper analyses how a capacity market mechanism can address security of supply objectives in the case of an energy transition scenario which combines both high energy efficiency efforts which stabilise demand in a context of mature markets and rapid increase of renewables share. The exogenous entry of variable renewables introduces a new challenge in matter of security of supply during peak hours. To analyse this situation, power markets are simulated on the long term with a model based on System Dynamics modelling which integrates both new investment and closure decisions. This last trait is an originality of the model which is very relevant to study market maturity. The addition of a capacity mechanism in a market architecture with price cap is compared to scarcity pricing in different situations. Simulations are performed for two different cases: a case without any exogenous closure of existing power plants and a case with exogenous retirements which create a need of new investments. Under the assumption of a risk-neutral investor, the results indicate that compared to an energy-only market with price cap set at euro 3,000/MWh, energy-only with scarcity pricing and capacity mechanism are two efficient market designs to reach an acceptable level of loss of load. Besides, the results highlight that the advantage of one design on the other in terms of social efficiency depends on the future scenarios which are simulated. Moreover, the results illustrates that the three market designs lead to different level of risk for peaking units, suggesting that including risk aversion is a relevant further step in the modelling. (authors)

  4. GPUs, a new tool of acceleration in CFD: efficiency and reliability on smoothed particle hydrodynamics methods.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro C Crespo

    Full Text Available Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH is a numerical method commonly used in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD to simulate complex free-surface flows. Simulations with this mesh-free particle method far exceed the capacity of a single processor. In this paper, as part of a dual-functioning code for either central processing units (CPUs or Graphics Processor Units (GPUs, a parallelisation using GPUs is presented. The GPU parallelisation technique uses the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA of nVidia devices. Simulations with more than one million particles on a single GPU card exhibit speedups of up to two orders of magnitude over using a single-core CPU. It is demonstrated that the code achieves different speedups with different CUDA-enabled GPUs. The numerical behaviour of the SPH code is validated with a standard benchmark test case of dam break flow impacting on an obstacle where good agreement with the experimental results is observed. Both the achieved speed-ups and the quantitative agreement with experiments suggest that CUDA-based GPU programming can be used in SPH methods with efficiency and reliability.

  5. Regulatory Design of Capacity Remuneration Mechanisms in Regional and Low-Carbon Electric Power Markets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mastropietro, P.

    2016-01-01

    Capacity remuneration mechanisms (CRMs) are “climbing” regulatory agendas in all liberalised power sectors, especially in the European Union. CRMs are introduced to improve system reliability and to minimise power shortages to an economically efficient extent. These schemes will have a central role

  6. Feasibility and reliability of measuring strength, sprint power, and aerobic capacity in athletes and non-athletes with cerebral palsy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groot, S.; Janssen, T.W.J.; Evers, M.; Van der Luijt, P.; Nienhuys, K.N.G.; Dallmeijer, A.J.

    2012-01-01

    Aim The aim of this study was to analyse the feasibility and reliability of the tests used to determine muscle strength, sprint power, and aerobic capacity in athletes and non-athletes with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods Twenty individuals with spastic CP (four females, 16 males; age range 18-49y;

  7. Summary of efficiency testing of standard and high-capacity high-efficiency particulate air filters subjected to simulated tornado depressurization and explosive shock waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, P.R.; Gregory, W.S.

    1985-04-01

    Pressure transients in nuclear facility air cleaning systems can originate from natural phenomena such as tornadoes or from accident-induced explosive blast waves. This study was concerned with the effective efficiency of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters during pressure surges resulting from simulated tornado and explosion transients. The primary objective of the study was to examine filter efficiencies at pressure levels below the point of structural failure. Both standard and high-capacity 0.61-m by 0.61-m HEPA filters were evaluated, as were several 0.2-m by 0.2-m HEPA filters. For a particular manufacturer, the material release when subjected to tornado transients is the same (per unit area) for both the 0.2-m by 0.2-m and the 0.61-m by 0.61-m filters. For tornado transients, the material release was on the order of micrograms per square meter. When subjecting clean HEPA filters to simulated tornado transients with aerosol entrained in the pressure pulse, all filters tested showed a degradation of filter efficiency. For explosive transients, the material release from preloaded high-capacity filters was as much as 340 g. When preloaded high-capacity filters were subjected to shock waves approximately 50% of the structural limit level, 1 to 2 mg of particulate was released

  8. A probabilistic capacity spectrum strategy for the reliability analysis of bridge pile shafts considering soil structure interaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dookie Kim

    Full Text Available This paper presents a probabilistic capacity spectrum strategy for the reliability analysis of a bridge pile shaft, accounting for uncertainties in design factors in the analysis and the soil-structure interaction (SSI. Monte Carlo simulation method (MCS is adopted to determine the probabilities of failure by comparing the responses with defined limit states. The analysis considers the soil structure interaction together with the probabilistic application of the capacity spectrum method for different types of limit states. A cast-in-drilledhole (CIDH extended reinforced concrete pile shaft of a bridge is analysed using the proposed strategy. The results of the analysis show that the SSI can lead to increase or decrease of the structure's probability of failure depending on the definition of the limit states.

  9. Ti/TaN Bilayer for Efficient Injection and Reliable AlGaN Nanowires LEDs

    KAUST Repository

    Priante, Davide; Janjua, Bilal; Prabaswara, Aditya; Subedi, Ram Chandra; Elafandy, Rami T.; Lopatin, Sergei; Anjum, Dalaver H.; Zhao, Chao; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.

    2018-01-01

    Reliable operation of UV AlGaN-based nanowires-LED at high injection current was realized by incorporating a Ti-pre-orienting/TaN-diffusion-barrier bilayer, thus enhancing external quantum efficiency, and resolving the existing device degradation

  10. Test-retest reliability for aerodynamic measures of voice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awan, Shaheen N; Novaleski, Carolyn K; Yingling, Julie R

    2013-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the intrasubject reliability of aerodynamic characteristics of the voice within typical/normal speakers across testing sessions using the Phonatory Aerodynamic System (PAS 6600; KayPENTAX, Montvale, NJ). Participants were 60 healthy young adults (30 males and 30 females) between the ages 18 and 31 years with perceptually typical voice. Participants were tested using the PAS 6600 (Phonatory Aerodynamic System) on two separate days with approximately 1 week between each session at approximately the same time of day. Four PAS protocols were conducted (vital capacity, maximum sustained phonation, comfortable sustained phonation, and voicing efficiency) and measures of expiratory volume, maximum phonation time, mean expiratory airflow (during vowel production) and target airflow (obtained via syllable repetition), peak air pressure, aerodynamic power, aerodynamic resistance, and aerodynamic efficiency were obtained during each testing session. Associated acoustic measures of vocal intensity and frequency were also collected. All phonations were elicited at comfortable pitch and loudness. All aerodynamic and associated variables evaluated in this study showed useable test-retest reliability (ie, intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs] ≥ 0.60). A high degree of mean test-retest reliability was found across all subjects for aerodynamic and associated acoustic measurements of vital capacity, maximum sustained phonation, glottal resistance, and vocal intensity (all with ICCs > 0.75). Although strong ICCs were observed for measures of glottal power and mean expiratory airflow in males, weaker overall results for these measures (ICC range: 0.60-0.67) were observed in females subjects and sizable coefficients of variation were observed for measures of power, resistance, and efficiency in both men and women. Differences in degree of reliability from measure to measure were revealed in greater detail using methods such as ICCs and

  11. Impact of Climate Change on Natural Snow Reliability, Snowmaking Capacities, and Wind Conditions of Ski Resorts in Northeast Turkey: A Dynamical Downscaling Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Osman Cenk Demiroglu

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Many ski resorts worldwide are going through deteriorating snow cover conditions due to anthropogenic warming trends. As the natural and the artificially supported, i.e., technical, snow reliability of ski resorts diminish, the industry approaches a deadlock. For this reason, impact assessment studies have become vital for understanding vulnerability of ski tourism. This study considers three resorts at one of the rapidly emerging ski destinations, Northeast Turkey, for snow reliability analyses. Initially one global circulation model is dynamically downscaled by using the regional climate model RegCM4.4 for 1971–2000 and 2021–2050 periods along the RCP4.5 greenhouse gas concentration pathway. Next, the projected climate outputs are converted into indicators of natural snow reliability, snowmaking capacity, and wind conditions. The results show an overall decline in the frequencies of naturally snow reliable days and snowmaking capacities between the two periods. Despite the decrease, only the lower altitudes of one ski resort would face the risk of losing natural snow reliability and snowmaking could still compensate for forming the base layer before the critical New Year’s week. On the other hand, adverse high wind conditions improve as to reduce the number of lift closure days at all resorts. Overall, this particular region seems to be relatively resilient against climate change.

  12. Interaction Entropy: A New Paradigm for Highly Efficient and Reliable Computation of Protein-Ligand Binding Free Energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Lili; Liu, Xiao; Zhang, John Z H

    2016-05-04

    Efficient and reliable calculation of protein-ligand binding free energy is a grand challenge in computational biology and is of critical importance in drug design and many other molecular recognition problems. The main challenge lies in the calculation of entropic contribution to protein-ligand binding or interaction systems. In this report, we present a new interaction entropy method which is theoretically rigorous, computationally efficient, and numerically reliable for calculating entropic contribution to free energy in protein-ligand binding and other interaction processes. Drastically different from the widely employed but extremely expensive normal mode method for calculating entropy change in protein-ligand binding, the new method calculates the entropic component (interaction entropy or -TΔS) of the binding free energy directly from molecular dynamics simulation without any extra computational cost. Extensive study of over a dozen randomly selected protein-ligand binding systems demonstrated that this interaction entropy method is both computationally efficient and numerically reliable and is vastly superior to the standard normal mode approach. This interaction entropy paradigm introduces a novel and intuitive conceptual understanding of the entropic effect in protein-ligand binding and other general interaction systems as well as a practical method for highly efficient calculation of this effect.

  13. Reliable and energy-efficient communications for wireless biomedical implant systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ntouni, Georgia D; Lioumpas, Athanasios S; Nikita, Konstantina S

    2014-11-01

    Implant devices are used to measure biological parameters and transmit their results to remote off-body devices. As implants are characterized by strict requirements on size, reliability, and power consumption, applying the concept of cooperative communications to wireless body area networks offers several benefits. In this paper, we aim to minimize the power consumption of the implant device by utilizing on-body wearable devices, while providing the necessary reliability in terms of outage probability and bit error rate. Taking into account realistic power considerations and wireless propagation environments based on the IEEE P802.l5 channel model, an exact theoretical analysis is conducted for evaluating several communication scenarios with respect to the position of the wearable device and the motion of the human body. The derived closed-form expressions are employed toward minimizing the required transmission power, subject to a minimum quality-of-service requirement. In this way, the complexity and power consumption are transferred from the implant device to the on-body relay, which is an efficient approach since they can be easily replaced, in contrast to the in-body implants.

  14. Reliable and Efficient Autonomous Driving: the Need for Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

    OpenAIRE

    Zheng, Kan; Zheng, Qiang; Yang, Haojun; Zhao, Long; Hou, Lu; Chatzimisios, Periklis

    2015-01-01

    Autonomous driving technology has been regarded as a promising solution to reduce road accidents and traffic congestion, as well as to optimize the usage of fuel and lane. Reliable and high efficient Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications are essential to let commercial autonomous driving vehicles be on the road before 2020. The current paper firstly presents the concept of Heterogeneous Vehicular NETworks (HetVNETs) for autonomous driving, in which an imp...

  15. Ti/TaN Bilayer for Efficient Injection and Reliable AlGaN Nanowires LEDs

    KAUST Repository

    Priante, Davide

    2018-05-07

    Reliable operation of UV AlGaN-based nanowires-LED at high injection current was realized by incorporating a Ti-pre-orienting/TaN-diffusion-barrier bilayer, thus enhancing external quantum efficiency, and resolving the existing device degradation issue in group-III-nanowires-on-silicon devices.

  16. Reliability of a method for establishing the capacity of individuals with an intellectual disability to respond to Likert scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuskelly, Monica; Moni, Karen; Lloyd, Jan; Jobling, Anne

    2013-12-01

    The study reported here was an examination of the reliability of a method for determining acquiescent responding and the capacity to respond to items using a Likert scale response format by adults with an intellectual disability. Reliability of the outcomes of these procedures was investigated using a test-retest design. Associations with receptive vocabulary were examined. The majority of the participants did not demonstrate acquiescent responding. Individuals' responses to the Likert-type discrimination tasks were consistent, although this varied somewhat depending upon the abstractness of the task. There was some association between receptive language age equivalence scores and respondent performance. It is recommended that the pretest protocol (a) be modified to improve its reliability, and (b) this modified version be used with study participants who have an intellectual disability to ascertain the appropriate level of choice to be used for items that use a Likert response format.

  17. Cross Layer Design for Optimizing Transmission Reliability, Energy Efficiency, and Lifetime in Body Sensor Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xi; Xu, Yixuan; Liu, Anfeng

    2017-04-19

    High transmission reliability, energy efficiency, and long lifetime are pivotal issues for wireless body area networks (WBANs. However, these performance metrics are not independent of each other, making it hard to obtain overall improvements through optimizing one single aspect. Therefore, a Cross Layer Design Optimal (CLDO) scheme is proposed to simultaneously optimize transmission reliability, energy efficiency, and lifetime of WBANs from several layers. Firstly, due to the fact that the transmission power of nodes directly influences the reliability of links, the optimized transmission power of different nodes is deduced, which is able to maximize energy efficiency in theory under the premise that requirements on delay and jitter are fulfilled. Secondly, a relay decision algorithm is proposed to choose optimized relay nodes. Using this algorithm, nodes will choose relay nodes that ensure a balance of network energy consumption, provided that all nodes transmit with optimized transmission power and the same packet size. Thirdly, the energy consumption of nodes is still unbalanced even with optimized transmission power because of their different locations in the topology of the network. In addition, packet size also has an impact on final performance metrics. Therefore, a synthesized cross layer method for optimization is proposed. With this method, the transmission power of nodes with more residual energy will be enhanced while suitable packet size is determined for different links in the network, leading to further improvements in the WBAN system. Both our comprehensive theoretical analysis and experimental results indicate that the performance of our proposed scheme is better than reported in previous studies. Relative to the relay selection and power control game (RSPCG) scheme, the CLDO scheme can enhance transmission reliability by more than 44.6% and prolong the lifetime by as much as 33.2%.

  18. Energy Efficiency and Capacity Tradeoff in Cloud Radio Access Network of High-Speed Railways

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shichao Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available To meet the increasing demand of high-data-rate services of high-speed railway (HSR passengers, cloud radio access network (C-RAN is proposed. This paper investigates the tradeoff between energy efficiency (EE performance and capacity in C-RAN of HSR. Considering that the train location can be predicted, we propose a predictable path loss based time domain power allocation method (PPTPA to improve EE performance of HSR communication system. First, we consider that the communication system of HSR only bears the passenger information services (PISs. The energy-efficient power allocation problem with delay constraint is studied. The formulated problem is nonconvex. To deal with it, an equivalent convex problem is reformulated. Based on PPTPA, we propose an iterative algorithm to improve the EE performance. Second, we consider that the PISs and the train control services (TCSs are all bore. A capacity optimization problem with joint EE and services transmission delay constraints is formulated. Based on PPTPA, we propose a hybrid power allocation scheme to improve the capacity of the system. Finally, we analyze the effect of small-scale fading on EE performance. The effectiveness of the proposed power allocation algorithm is validated by HSR channel measurement trace based emulation results and extensive simulation results.

  19. An efficient particle swarm approach for mixed-integer programming in reliability-redundancy optimization applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos Coelho, Leandro dos

    2009-01-01

    The reliability-redundancy optimization problems can involve the selection of components with multiple choices and redundancy levels that produce maximum benefits, and are subject to the cost, weight, and volume constraints. Many classical mathematical methods have failed in handling nonconvexities and nonsmoothness in reliability-redundancy optimization problems. As an alternative to the classical optimization approaches, the meta-heuristics have been given much attention by many researchers due to their ability to find an almost global optimal solutions. One of these meta-heuristics is the particle swarm optimization (PSO). PSO is a population-based heuristic optimization technique inspired by social behavior of bird flocking and fish schooling. This paper presents an efficient PSO algorithm based on Gaussian distribution and chaotic sequence (PSO-GC) to solve the reliability-redundancy optimization problems. In this context, two examples in reliability-redundancy design problems are evaluated. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed PSO-GC is a promising optimization technique. PSO-GC performs well for the two examples of mixed-integer programming in reliability-redundancy applications considered in this paper. The solutions obtained by the PSO-GC are better than the previously best-known solutions available in the recent literature

  20. An efficient particle swarm approach for mixed-integer programming in reliability-redundancy optimization applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos Coelho, Leandro dos [Industrial and Systems Engineering Graduate Program, LAS/PPGEPS, Pontifical Catholic University of Parana, PUCPR, Imaculada Conceicao, 1155, 80215-901 Curitiba, Parana (Brazil)], E-mail: leandro.coelho@pucpr.br

    2009-04-15

    The reliability-redundancy optimization problems can involve the selection of components with multiple choices and redundancy levels that produce maximum benefits, and are subject to the cost, weight, and volume constraints. Many classical mathematical methods have failed in handling nonconvexities and nonsmoothness in reliability-redundancy optimization problems. As an alternative to the classical optimization approaches, the meta-heuristics have been given much attention by many researchers due to their ability to find an almost global optimal solutions. One of these meta-heuristics is the particle swarm optimization (PSO). PSO is a population-based heuristic optimization technique inspired by social behavior of bird flocking and fish schooling. This paper presents an efficient PSO algorithm based on Gaussian distribution and chaotic sequence (PSO-GC) to solve the reliability-redundancy optimization problems. In this context, two examples in reliability-redundancy design problems are evaluated. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed PSO-GC is a promising optimization technique. PSO-GC performs well for the two examples of mixed-integer programming in reliability-redundancy applications considered in this paper. The solutions obtained by the PSO-GC are better than the previously best-known solutions available in the recent literature.

  1. Efficient Control of Energy Storage for Increasing the PV Hosting Capacity of LV Grids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hashemi Toghroljerdi, Seyedmostafa; Østergaard, Jacob

    2016-01-01

    grid is usually limited by overvoltage, and the efficient control of distributed electrical energy storage systems (EESSs) can considerably increase this capacity. In this paper, a new control approach based on the voltage sensitivity analysis is proposed to prevent overvoltage and increase the PV......Photovoltaic (PV) systems are among the renewable sources that electrical energy systems are adopting with increasing frequency. The majority of already-installed PV systems are decentralized units that are usually connected to lowvoltage (LV) distribution grids. The PV hosting capacity of an LV...... hosting capacity of LV grids by determining dynamic set points for EESS management. The method has the effectiveness of central control methods and can effectively decrease the energy storage required for overvoltage prevention, yet it eliminates the need for a broadband and fast communication. The net...

  2. Reliability and Efficiency of Generalized Rumor Spreading Model on Complex Social Networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naimi, Yaghoob; Naimi, Mohammad

    2013-01-01

    We introduce the generalized rumor spreading model and investigate some properties of this model on different complex social networks. Despite pervious rumor models that both the spreader-spreader (SS) and the spreader-stifler (SR) interactions have the same rate α, we define α (1) and α (2) for SS and SR interactions, respectively. The effect of variation of α (1) and α (2) on the final density of stiflers is investigated. Furthermore, the influence of the topological structure of the network in rumor spreading is studied by analyzing the behavior of several global parameters such as reliability and efficiency. Our results show that while networks with homogeneous connectivity patterns reach a higher reliability, scale-free topologies need a less time to reach a steady state with respect the rumor. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  3. An Efficient Scheduling Scheme to Enhance the Capacity of VoIP Services in Evolved UTRA Uplink

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Yong-Seok

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available An efficient scheduling scheme is proposed to increase the available capacity of VoIP services over evolved UTRA uplink. On top of the advantages of persistent scheduling, the proposed scheme adaptively share the resources of two VoIP users to get early-termination gain of dynamic scheduler. Through system-level simulations, the performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated in terms of the capacity enhancement of VoIP services. Comparisons with the original persistent scheduling and the HSUPA scheduler reveal that the proposed scheme increases the capacity of VoIP services up to 20%.

  4. An adaptive cubature formula for efficient reliability assessment of nonlinear structural dynamic systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jun; Kong, Fan

    2018-05-01

    Extreme value distribution (EVD) evaluation is a critical topic in reliability analysis of nonlinear structural dynamic systems. In this paper, a new method is proposed to obtain the EVD. The maximum entropy method (MEM) with fractional moments as constraints is employed to derive the entire range of EVD. Then, an adaptive cubature formula is proposed for fractional moments assessment involved in MEM, which is closely related to the efficiency and accuracy for reliability analysis. Three point sets, which include a total of 2d2 + 1 integration points in the dimension d, are generated in the proposed formula. In this regard, the efficiency of the proposed formula is ensured. Besides, a "free" parameter is introduced, which makes the proposed formula adaptive with the dimension. The "free" parameter is determined by arranging one point set adjacent to the boundary of the hyper-sphere which contains the bulk of total probability. In this regard, the tail distribution may be better reproduced and the fractional moments could be evaluated with accuracy. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a ten-storey shear frame structure under seismic excitations, which exhibits strong nonlinearity. The numerical results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.

  5. Plug and Process Loads Capacity and Power Requirements Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sheppy, M.; Gentile-Polese, L.

    2014-09-01

    This report addresses gaps in actionable knowledge that would help reduce the plug load capacities designed into buildings. Prospective building occupants and real estate brokers lack accurate references for plug and process load (PPL) capacity requirements, so they often request 5-10 W/ft2 in their lease agreements. Limited initial data, however, suggest that actual PPL densities in leased buildings are substantially lower. Overestimating PPL capacity leads designers to oversize electrical infrastructure and cooling systems. Better guidance will enable improved sizing and design of these systems, decrease upfront capital costs, and allow systems to operate more energy efficiently. The main focus of this report is to provide industry with reliable, objective third-party guidance to address the information gap in typical PPL densities for commercial building tenants. This could drive changes in negotiations about PPL energy demands.

  6. FDI Spill‑Overs, Absorptive Capacity and Domestic Firms’ Technical Efficiency in Vietnamese Wearing Apparel Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hoang Duong Vu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study empirically examines relationship between FDI spill-overs and technical efficiency of domestic firms and role of the absorptive capacity of domestic firms. Data on Vietnamese Annual Enterprises Survey are exploited to build a firm-level panel data on the Vietnamese wearing apparel industry from 2009 to 2013. By applying stochastic production frontier model, this paper shows that there are positive vertical spill-over effects but no horizontal effects. Moreover, this study finds the negative impact of the absorptive capacity of domestic firms on benefits reaped from FDI externalities.

  7. Measures of Financial Capacity: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghesquiere, Angela R; McAfee, Caitlin; Burnett, Jason

    2017-05-23

    Capacity to manage finances and make financial decisions can affect risk for financial exploitation and is often the basis for legal determinations of conservatorship/guardianship. Several structured assessments of financial capacity have been developed, but have not been compared regarding their focus, validity, or reliability. Therefore, we conducted a review of financial capacity measures to examine these factors. We searched electronic databases, reference lists in identified articles, conference proceedings and other grey literature for measures of financial capacity. We then extracted data on the length and domains of each measure, the population for which they were intended, and their validity and reliability. We identified 10 structured measures of financial capacity. Most measures could be completed in 25-30 min, and were designed to be administered to older adults with some level of cognitive impairment. Reliability and validity were high for most. Measurement of financial capacity is complex and multidimensional. When selecting a measure of financial capacity, consideration should be made of the population of focus and the domains of capacity to be assessed. More work is needed on the cultural sensitivity of financial capacity measures, their acceptability, and their use in clinical work. Better understanding of when, and to whom, to administer different financial capacity measures could enhance the ability to accurately detect those suffering from impaired financial capacity, and prevent related negative outcomes like financial exploitation. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. An efficient strategy for enhancing traffic capacity by removing links in scale-free networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Wei; Chow, Tommy W S

    2010-01-01

    An efficient link-removal strategy, called the variance-of-neighbor-degree-reduction (VNDR) strategy, for enhancing the traffic capacity of scale-free networks is proposed in this paper. The VNDR strategy, which considers the important role of hub nodes, balances the amounts of packets routed from each node to the node's neighbors. Compared against the outcomes of strategies that remove links among hub nodes, our results show that the traffic capacity can be greatly enhanced, especially under the shortest path routing strategy. It is also found that the average transport time is effectively reduced by using the VNDR strategy only under the shortest path routing strategy

  9. Acid-base buffering in organ preservation solutions as a function of temperature: new parameters for comparing buffer capacity and efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baicu, Simona C; Taylor, Michael J

    2002-08-01

    Control of acidity and preventing intracellular acidosis are recognized as critical properties of an effective organ preservation solution. Buffer capacity and efficiency are therefore important for comparing the relative merits of preservation fluids for optimum hypothermic storage, but these parameters are not available for the variety of organ preservation solutions of interest in transplantation today. Moreover, buffer capacity is dependent upon both concentration and pH such that buffer capacity is not easily predicted for a complex solution containing multiple buffer species. Using standard electrometric methods to measure acid dissociation constants, this study was undertaken to determine the maximum and relative buffer capacities of a variety of new and commonly used hypothermic preservation solutions as a function of temperature. The reference data provided by these measurements show that comparative buffer capacity and efficiency vary widely between the commonly used solutions. Moreover, the fluids containing zwitterionic sulfonic acid buffers such as Hepes possess superior buffering for alpha-stat pH regulation in the region of physiological importance.

  10. Technical-and-Economic Efficiency of Draft Enriched with Oxygen in Small-Capacity Heating Boilers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Ratnikov

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Data on complex experimental and theoretical investigations pertaining to efficiency of oxygen-enriched draft in the small-capacity heating boilers as exemplified by the plant HEIZA (HW-S-10/K have been presented in the paper. The paper provides a calculation model of heating processes in heat generator burner (as exemplified by HEIZA plant. Simulation of heating processes in the operational zone has been executed in paper. The experimental data have proved model adequacy. The calculation scheme of the plant will be used in future for determination of power and ecological efficiency of draft enrichment with oxygen.

  11. Highly Efficient and Reliable Transparent Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Film.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Li-Chuan; Yan, Ding-Xiang; Liu, Xiaofeng; Ma, Rujun; Wu, Hong-Yuan; Li, Zhong-Ming

    2018-04-11

    Electromagnetic protection in optoelectronic instruments such as optical windows and electronic displays is challenging because of the essential requirements of a high optical transmittance and an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE). Herein, we demonstrate the creation of an efficient transparent EMI shielding film that is composed of calcium alginate (CA), silver nanowires (AgNWs), and polyurethane (PU), via a facile and low-cost Mayer-rod coating method. The CA/AgNW/PU film with a high optical transmittance of 92% achieves an EMI SE of 20.7 dB, which meets the requirements for commercial shielding applications. A superior EMI SE of 31.3 dB could be achieved, whereas the transparent film still maintains a transmittance of 81%. The integrated efficient EMI SE and high transmittance are superior to those of most previously reported transparent EMI shielding materials. Moreover, our transparent films exhibit a highly reliable shielding ability in a complex service environment, with 98 and 96% EMI SE retentions even after 30 min of ultrasound treatment and 5000 bending cycles (1.5 mm radius), respectively. The comprehensive performance that is associated with the facile fabrication strategy imparts the CA/AgNW/PU film with great potential as an optimized EMI shielding material in emerging optoelectronic devices, such as flexible solar cells, displays, and touch panels.

  12. Reliability and safety of functional capacity evaluation in patients with whiplash associated disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trippolini, M A; Reneman, M F; Jansen, B; Dijkstra, P U; Geertzen, J H B

    2013-09-01

    Whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) are a burden for both individuals and society. It is recommended to evaluate patients with WAD at risk of chronification to enhance rehabilitation and promote an early return to work. In patients with low back pain (LBP), functional capacity evaluation (FCE) contributes to clinical decisions regarding fitness-for-work. FCE should have demonstrated sufficient clinimetric properties. Reliability and safety of FCE for patients with WAD is unknown. Thirty-two participants (11 females and 21 males; mean age 39.6 years) with WAD (Grade I or II) were included. The FCE consisted of 12 tests, including material handling, hand grip strength, repetitive arm movements, static arm activities, walking speed, and a 3 min step test. Overall the FCE duration was 60 min. The test-retest interval was 7 days. Interclass correlations (model 1) (ICCs) and limits of agreement (LoA) were calculated. Safety was assessed by a Pain Response Questionnaire, observation criteria and heart rate monitoring. ICCs ranged between 0.57 (3 min step test) and 0.96 (short two-handed carry). LoA relative to mean performance ranged between 15 % (50 m walking test) and 57 % (lifting waist to overhead). Pain reactions after WAD FCE decreased within days. Observations and heart rate measurements fell within the safety criteria. The reliability of the WAD FCE was moderate in two tests, good in five tests and excellent in five tests. Safety-criteria were fulfilled. Interpretation at the patient level should be performed with care because LoA were substantial.

  13. Interactive reliability assessment using an integrated reliability data bank

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allan, R.N.; Whitehead, A.M.

    1986-01-01

    The logical structure, techniques and practical application of a computer-aided technique based on a microcomputer using floppy disc Random Access Files is described. This interactive computational technique is efficient if the reliability prediction program is coupled directly to a relevant source of data to create an integrated reliability assessment/reliability data bank system. (DG)

  14. Highly-reliable operation of 638-nm broad stripe laser diode with high wall-plug efficiency for display applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yagi, Tetsuya; Shimada, Naoyuki; Nishida, Takehiro; Mitsuyama, Hiroshi; Miyashita, Motoharu

    2013-03-01

    Laser based displays, as pico to cinema laser projectors have gathered much attention because of wide gamut, low power consumption, and so on. Laser light sources for the displays are operated mainly in CW, and heat management is one of the big issues. Therefore, highly efficient operation is necessitated. Also the light sources for the displays are requested to be highly reliable. 638 nm broad stripe laser diode (LD) was newly developed for high efficiency and highly reliable operation. An AlGaInP/GaAs red LD suffers from low wall plug efficiency (WPE) due to electron overflow from an active layer to a p-cladding layer. Large optical confinement factor (Γ) design with AlInP cladding layers is adopted to improve the WPE. The design has a disadvantage for reliable operation because the large Γ causes high optical density and brings a catastrophic optical degradation (COD) at a front facet. To overcome the disadvantage, a window-mirror structure is also adopted in the LD. The LD shows WPE of 35% at 25°C, highest record in the world, and highly stable operation at 35°C, 550 mW up to 8,000 hours without any catastrophic optical degradation.

  15. Installed capacity in New York

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charlton, J.

    2006-01-01

    This presentation discussed capacity issues related to the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). The NYISO's market volume was approximately $11 billion in 2005, and it was responsible for providing 32,075 MW of electricity at peak load to its users. Regulatory uncertainty is currently discouraging investment in new generating resources. All load serving entities are required to contract for sufficient capacity in order to meet their capacity obligations. Market participants currently determine capacity and energy revenues. The NYISO market allows suppliers to recover variable costs for providing ancillary services, and the economic value of the revenue source governs decisions made in the wholesale electricity market. The installed capacity market was designed as a spot auction deficiency auction. Phased-in demand curves are used to modify the installed capacity market's design. A sloped demand curve mechanism is used to value capacity above the minimum requirement for both reliability and competition. Participation in the day-ahead market enhances competition and exerts downward pressure on energy and ancillary service market prices. It was concluded that the market structures and design features of the installed capacity markets recognize the need for system reliability in addition to encouraging robust competition and recognizing energy price caps and regulatory oversights. tabs., figs

  16. Detecting binary black holes with efficient and reliable templates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Damour, T.; Iyer, B.R.; Sathyaprakash, B.S.

    2001-01-01

    Detecting binary black holes in interferometer data requires an accurate knowledge of the orbital phase evolution of the system. From the point of view of data analysis one also needs fast algorithms to compute the templates that will be employed in searching for black hole binaries. Recently, there has been progress on both these fronts: On one hand, re-summation techniques have made it possible to accelerate the convergence of poorly convergent asymptotic post-Newtonian series and derive waveforms beyond the conventional adiabatic approximation. We now have a waveform model that extends beyond the inspiral regime into the plunge phase followed by the quasi-normal mode ringing. On the other hand, explicit Fourier domain waveforms have been derived that make the generation of waveforms fast enough so as not to be a burden on the computational resources required in filtering the detector data. These new developments should make it possible to efficiently and reliably search for black hole binaries in data from first interferometers. (author)

  17. Representation of Solar Capacity Value in the ReEDS Capacity Expansion Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sigrin, B. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sullivan, P. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Ibanez, E. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Margolis, R. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2014-03-01

    An important issue for electricity system operators is the estimation of renewables' capacity contributions to reliably meeting system demand, or their capacity value. While the capacity value of thermal generation can be estimated easily, assessment of wind and solar requires a more nuanced approach due to the resource variability. Reliability-based methods, particularly assessment of the Effective Load-Carrying Capacity, are considered to be the most robust and widely-accepted techniques for addressing this resource variability. This report compares estimates of solar PV capacity value by the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) capacity expansion model against two sources. The first comparison is against values published by utilities or other entities for known electrical systems at existing solar penetration levels. The second comparison is against a time-series ELCC simulation tool for high renewable penetration scenarios in the Western Interconnection. Results from the ReEDS model are found to compare well with both comparisons, despite being resolved at a super-hourly temporal resolution. Two results are relevant for other capacity-based models that use a super-hourly resolution to model solar capacity value. First, solar capacity value should not be parameterized as a static value, but must decay with increasing penetration. This is because -- for an afternoon-peaking system -- as solar penetration increases, the system's peak net load shifts to later in the day -- when solar output is lower. Second, long-term planning models should determine system adequacy requirements in each time period in order to approximate LOLP calculations. Within the ReEDS model we resolve these issues by using a capacity value estimate that varies by time-slice. Within each time period the net load and shadow price on ReEDS's planning reserve constraint signals the relative importance of additional firm capacity.

  18. A structural approach to constructing perspective efficient and reliable human-computer interfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balint, L.

    1989-01-01

    The principles of human-computer interface (HCI) realizations are investigated with the aim of getting closer to a general framework and thus, to a more or less solid background of constructing perspective efficient, reliable and cost-effective human-computer interfaces. On the basis of characterizing and classifying the different HCI solutions, the fundamental problems of interface construction are pointed out especially with respect to human error occurrence possibilities. The evolution of HCI realizations is illustrated by summarizing the main properties of past, present and foreseeable future interface generations. HCI modeling is pointed out to be a crucial problem in theoretical and practical investigations. Suggestions concerning HCI structure (hierarchy and modularity), HCI functional dynamics (mapping from input to output information), minimization of human error caused system failures (error-tolerance, error-recovery and error-correcting) as well as cost-effective HCI design and realization methodology (universal and application-oriented vs. application-specific solutions) are presented. The concept of RISC-based and SCAMP-type HCI components is introduced with the aim of having a reduced interaction scheme in communication and a well defined architecture in HCI components' internal structure. HCI efficiency and reliability are dealt with, by taking into account complexity and flexibility. The application of fast computerized prototyping is also briefly investigated as an experimental device of achieving simple, parametrized, invariant HCI models. Finally, a concise outline of an approach of how to construct ideal HCI's is also suggested by emphasizing the open questions and the need of future work related to the proposals, as well. (author). 14 refs, 6 figs

  19. Energy efficiency and demand respond programs play vital roles in short- and long-term system reliability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mitola, J. P.

    2003-12-01

    The effects of deregulation of the electric power industry on the reliability of the power grid in the United States are examined. Three major factors -- customer load, utility infrastructure, and demand response -- together are suggested as being most important; the ability of the industry to maintain the equilibrium among these three factors will determine the success or failure of deregulation. Each of these factors are examined in turn, followed by recommendations encouraging demand response or energy efficiency innovations, particularly new demand response technologies that are reliable, measurable, competitive to end-users, and fully dispatchable to utilities.

  20. Design method of a power management strategy for variable battery capacities range-extended electric vehicles to improve energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du, Jiuyu; Chen, Jingfu; Song, Ziyou; Gao, Mingming; Ouyang, Minggao

    2017-01-01

    Energy management strategy and battery capacity are the primary factors for the energy efficiency of range-extended electric buses (REEBs). To improve the energy efficiency of REEBs developed by Tsinghua University, an optimal design method of global optimization-based strategy is investigated. It is real-time and adaptive to variable traction battery capacities of series REEBs. For simulation, the physical model of REEB and key components are established. The optimal strategy is first extracted by the power split ratio (PSR) from REEB simulation result with dynamic program (DP) algorithm. The power distribution map is obtained by series simulations for variable battery capacity options. The control law for developing optimal strategy are achieved by cluster regression for power distribution data. To verify the effect of the proposed energy management strategy, characteristics of powertrain, energy efficiency, operating cost, and computing time are ultimately analyzed. Simulation results show that the energy efficiency of the global optimization-based strategy presented in this paper is similar to that of the DP strategy. Therefore, the overall energy efficiency can be significantly improved compared with that of the CDCS strategy, and operating costs can be substantially reduced. The feasibility of candidate control strategies is thereby assessed via the employment of variable parameters. - Highlights: • Analysis method of powertrain energy efficiency and power distribution is proposed. • The power distribution rules of strategy with variable battery capacities are achieved. • The parametric method of proposed PSR-RB strategy is presented. • The energy efficiency of powertrain is analysis by flow analysis method. • The energy management strategy is global optimization-based and real-time.

  1. Genotypic variation in transpiration efficiency due to differences in photosynthetic capacity among sugarcane-related clones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chunjia; Jackson, Phillip; Lu, Xin; Xu, Chaohua; Cai, Qing; Basnayake, Jayapathi; Lakshmanan, Prakash; Ghannoum, Oula; Fan, Yuanhong

    2017-04-01

    Sugarcane, derived from the hybridization of Saccharum officinarum×Saccharum spontaneum, is a vegetative crop in which the final yield is highly driven by culm biomass production. Cane yield under irrigated or rain-fed conditions could be improved by developing genotypes with leaves that have high intrinsic transpiration efficiency, TEi (CO2 assimilation/stomatal conductance), provided this is not offset by negative impacts from reduced conductance and growth rates. This study was conducted to partition genotypic variation in TEi among a sample of diverse clones from the Chinese collection of sugarcane-related germplasm into that due to variation in stomatal conductance versus that due to variation in photosynthetic capacity. A secondary goal was to define protocols for optimized larger-scale screening of germplasm collections. Genotypic variation in TEi was attributed to significant variation in both stomatal and photosynthetic components. A number of genotypes were found to possess high TEi as a result of high photosynthetic capacity. This trait combination is expected to be of significant breeding value. It was determined that a small number of observations (16) is sufficient for efficiently screening TEi in larger populations of sugarcane genotypes The research methodology and results reported are encouraging in supporting a larger-scale screening and introgression of high transpiration efficiency in sugarcane breeding. However, further research is required to quantify narrow sense heritability as well as the leaf-to-field translational potential of genotypic variation in transpiration efficiency-related traits observed in this study. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

  2. A quick aphasia battery for efficient, reliable, and multidimensional assessment of language function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Stephen M; Eriksson, Dana K; Schneck, Sarah M; Lucanie, Jillian M

    2018-01-01

    This paper describes a quick aphasia battery (QAB) that aims to provide a reliable and multidimensional assessment of language function in about a quarter of an hour, bridging the gap between comprehensive batteries that are time-consuming to administer, and rapid screening instruments that provide limited detail regarding individual profiles of deficits. The QAB is made up of eight subtests, each comprising sets of items that probe different language domains, vary in difficulty, and are scored with a graded system to maximize the informativeness of each item. From the eight subtests, eight summary measures are derived, which constitute a multidimensional profile of language function, quantifying strengths and weaknesses across core language domains. The QAB was administered to 28 individuals with acute stroke and aphasia, 25 individuals with acute stroke but no aphasia, 16 individuals with chronic post-stroke aphasia, and 14 healthy controls. The patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia were tested 3 times each and scored independently by 2 raters to establish test-retest and inter-rater reliability. The Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) was also administered to these patients to assess concurrent validity. We found that all QAB summary measures were sensitive to aphasic deficits in the two groups with aphasia. All measures showed good or excellent test-retest reliability (overall summary measure: intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.98), and excellent inter-rater reliability (overall summary measure: ICC = 0.99). Sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of aphasia (relative to clinical impression) were 0.91 and 0.95 respectively. All QAB measures were highly correlated with corresponding WAB measures where available. Individual patients showed distinct profiles of spared and impaired function across different language domains. In sum, the QAB efficiently and reliably characterized individual profiles of language deficits.

  3. Efficient Control of Active Transformers for Increasing the PV Hosting Capacity of LV Grids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hashemi Toghroljerdi, Seyedmostafa; Østergaard, Jacob; Degner, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    . The potential interferences between the operation of active transformers and the reactive power absorption by PV inverters are investigated, and a voltage droop control approach is proposed for the efficient control of these transformers during high PV generation periods. The proposed method can potentially...... increase the PV hosting capacity of the grid, while eliminating the need for a complex and centralized controller. The voltages of specific locations or the grid state estimations provide adequate data for adjustments of the droop parameters. The simulations and field test results associated...... with the implementation of the proposed method to a newly developed active LV grid with high PV penetration in Felsberg, Germany, confirm the efficiency of the proposed method....

  4. Towards Reliable and Energy-Efficient Incremental Cooperative Communication for Wireless Body Area Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousaf, Sidrah; Javaid, Nadeem; Qasim, Umar; Alrajeh, Nabil; Khan, Zahoor Ali; Ahmed, Mansoor

    2016-02-24

    In this study, we analyse incremental cooperative communication for wireless body area networks (WBANs) with different numbers of relays. Energy efficiency (EE) and the packet error rate (PER) are investigated for different schemes. We propose a new cooperative communication scheme with three-stage relaying and compare it to existing schemes. Our proposed scheme provides reliable communication with less PER at the cost of surplus energy consumption. Analytical expressions for the EE of the proposed three-stage cooperative communication scheme are also derived, taking into account the effect of PER. Later on, the proposed three-stage incremental cooperation is implemented in a network layer protocol; enhanced incremental cooperative critical data transmission in emergencies for static WBANs (EInCo-CEStat). Extensive simulations are conducted to validate the proposed scheme. Results of incremental relay-based cooperative communication protocols are compared to two existing cooperative routing protocols: cooperative critical data transmission in emergencies for static WBANs (Co-CEStat) and InCo-CEStat. It is observed from the simulation results that incremental relay-based cooperation is more energy efficient than the existing conventional cooperation protocol, Co-CEStat. The results also reveal that EInCo-CEStat proves to be more reliable with less PER and higher throughput than both of the counterpart protocols. However, InCo-CEStat has less throughput with a greater stability period and network lifetime. Due to the availability of more redundant links, EInCo-CEStat achieves a reduced packet drop rate at the cost of increased energy consumption.

  5. Reliable tool life measurements in turning - an application to cutting fluid efficiency evaluation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Axinte, Dragos A.; Belluco, Walter; De Chiffre, Leonardo

    2001-01-01

    The paper proposes a method to obtain reliable measurements of tool life in turning, discussing some aspects related to experimental procedure and measurement accuracy. The method (i) allows and experimental determination of the extended Taylor's equation, with a limited set of experiments and (ii......) provides efficiency evaluation. Six cutting oils, five of which formulated from vegetable basestock, were evaluated in turning. Experiments were run in a range of cutting parameters. according to a 2, 3-1 factorial design, machining AISI 316L stainless steel with coated carbide tools. Tool life...

  6. Inverse Reliability Task: Artificial Neural Networks and Reliability-Based Optimization Approaches

    OpenAIRE

    Lehký , David; Slowik , Ondřej; Novák , Drahomír

    2014-01-01

    Part 7: Genetic Algorithms; International audience; The paper presents two alternative approaches to solve inverse reliability task – to determine the design parameters to achieve desired target reliabilities. The first approach is based on utilization of artificial neural networks and small-sample simulation Latin hypercube sampling. The second approach considers inverse reliability task as reliability-based optimization task using double-loop method and also small-sample simulation. Efficie...

  7. A large capacity turbine generator for nuclear power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeda, Susumu; Miki, Takahiro; Suzuki, Kazuichi

    2000-01-01

    In future large capacity nuclear power plant, capacity of a generator to be applied will be 1800 MVA of the largest class in the world. In response to this, the Mitsubishi Electric Co., Ltd. began to carry out element technology verification of a four-pole large capacity turbine generator mainly using upgrading technique of large capacity, since 1994 fiscal year. And, aiming at reliability verification of the 1800 MVA class generator, a model generator with same cross-section as that of an actual one was manufactured, to carry out some verifications on its electrified tests, and so on. Every performance evaluation result of tests on the model generator were good, and high reliability to design and manufacturing technique of the 1800 MVA class generator could be verified. In future, on the base of these technologies, further upgrading of reliability on the large capacity turbine generator for nuclear power generation is intended to be carried out. (G.K.)

  8. Incorporating travel time reliability into the Highway Capacity Manual. [supporting datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-30

    The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) historically has been among the most important reference guides used by transportation professionals seeking a systematic basis for evaluating the capacity, level of service, and performance measures for elements of ...

  9. Improving the Efficiency of Administrative Decision-Making when Monitoring Reliability and Safety of Oil and Gas Equipment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zemenkova Maria

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Methodology of rapid assessment of reliability index was developed based on system analysis of technological parameters. Within functioning of on-line monitoring system of reliability index of industrial facility this method allows to increase efficiency of making managerial decisions on technical and preventive maintenance. The technique is based on the analysis of technological parameters of operational modes of pipeline transport facilities registered by dispatcher controls. The created technique can be used by the operating, research, design institutes and oil and gas transport enterprises when declaring industrial safety. The received mathematical models allow federal services of supervision, the independent expert organizations to predict the development of reliability in the registered block of dispatching data either in real time mode, or taking into account the dynamics of service conditions of the object.

  10. The effects of two types of sleep deprivation on visual working memory capacity and filtering efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drummond, Sean P A; Anderson, Dane E; Straus, Laura D; Vogel, Edward K; Perez, Veronica B

    2012-01-01

    Sleep deprivation has adverse consequences for a variety of cognitive functions. The exact effects of sleep deprivation, though, are dependent upon the cognitive process examined. Within working memory, for example, some component processes are more vulnerable to sleep deprivation than others. Additionally, the differential impacts on cognition of different types of sleep deprivation have not been well studied. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of one night of total sleep deprivation and 4 nights of partial sleep deprivation (4 hours in bed/night) on two components of visual working memory: capacity and filtering efficiency. Forty-four healthy young adults were randomly assigned to one of the two sleep deprivation conditions. All participants were studied: 1) in a well-rested condition (following 6 nights of 9 hours in bed/night); and 2) following sleep deprivation, in a counter-balanced order. Visual working memory testing consisted of two related tasks. The first measured visual working memory capacity and the second measured the ability to ignore distractor stimuli in a visual scene (filtering efficiency). Results showed neither type of sleep deprivation reduced visual working memory capacity. Partial sleep deprivation also generally did not change filtering efficiency. Total sleep deprivation, on the other hand, did impair performance in the filtering task. These results suggest components of visual working memory are differentially vulnerable to the effects of sleep deprivation, and different types of sleep deprivation impact visual working memory to different degrees. Such findings have implications for operational settings where individuals may need to perform with inadequate sleep and whose jobs involve receiving an array of visual information and discriminating the relevant from the irrelevant prior to making decisions or taking actions (e.g., baggage screeners, air traffic controllers, military personnel, health care providers).

  11. The effects of two types of sleep deprivation on visual working memory capacity and filtering efficiency.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sean P A Drummond

    Full Text Available Sleep deprivation has adverse consequences for a variety of cognitive functions. The exact effects of sleep deprivation, though, are dependent upon the cognitive process examined. Within working memory, for example, some component processes are more vulnerable to sleep deprivation than others. Additionally, the differential impacts on cognition of different types of sleep deprivation have not been well studied. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of one night of total sleep deprivation and 4 nights of partial sleep deprivation (4 hours in bed/night on two components of visual working memory: capacity and filtering efficiency. Forty-four healthy young adults were randomly assigned to one of the two sleep deprivation conditions. All participants were studied: 1 in a well-rested condition (following 6 nights of 9 hours in bed/night; and 2 following sleep deprivation, in a counter-balanced order. Visual working memory testing consisted of two related tasks. The first measured visual working memory capacity and the second measured the ability to ignore distractor stimuli in a visual scene (filtering efficiency. Results showed neither type of sleep deprivation reduced visual working memory capacity. Partial sleep deprivation also generally did not change filtering efficiency. Total sleep deprivation, on the other hand, did impair performance in the filtering task. These results suggest components of visual working memory are differentially vulnerable to the effects of sleep deprivation, and different types of sleep deprivation impact visual working memory to different degrees. Such findings have implications for operational settings where individuals may need to perform with inadequate sleep and whose jobs involve receiving an array of visual information and discriminating the relevant from the irrelevant prior to making decisions or taking actions (e.g., baggage screeners, air traffic controllers, military personnel, health care

  12. Research of thermal dynamic characteristics for variable load single screw refrigeration compressor with different capacity control mechanism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Zengli; Wang, Zhenbo; Wang, Jun; Jiang, Wenchun; Feng, Quanke

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Theoretical models of SSRC under part-load condition have been established. • The experiment of SSRC performance under part-load condition was conducted. • Thermal dynamic characteristic of SSRC under part-load condition was gained. • Economy and reliability of SSRC under part-load condition was analyzed. - Abstract: In the single screw refrigeration compressor (SSRC), the capacity control mechanism is normally employed to meet the actual required cooling capacity under different load conditions. In this paper, theoretical calculation models describing the working process of the SSRC with the single slide valve capacity control mechanism (SVCCM) and SSRC with the frequency conversion regulating mechanism (FCRM) are established to research the thermal dynamic characteristics for variable load SSRC under part-load conditions. Experimental investigation on a SSRC under part-load conditions is also carried out to verify the theoretical calculation models. By using these validated models, the thermodynamic performances and dynamic characteristics of the SSRC with different capacity control mechanism under part-load conditions have been analyzed and compared. Through the comparison, the economical efficiency and reliability of the SSRC with different capacity control mechanism were obtained. All of these works can provide the basis for the later optimization design for the variable load single screw refrigeration compressor.

  13. Application of high efficiency and reliable 3D-designed integral shrouded blades to nuclear turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Eiichiro; Ohyama, Hiroharu; Tashiro, Hikaru; Sugitani, Toshiro; Kurosawa, Masaru

    1998-01-01

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. has recently developed new blades for nuclear turbines, in order to achieve higher efficiency and higher reliability. The 3D aerodynamic design for 41 inch and 46 inch blades, their one piece structural design (integral-shrouded blades: ISB), and the verification test results using a model steam turbine are described in this paper. The predicted efficiency and lower vibratory stress have been verified. Based on these 60Hz ISB, 50Hz ISB series are under development using 'the law of similarity' without changing their thermodynamic performance and mechanical stress levels. Our 3D-designed reaction blades which are used for the high pressure and low pressure upstream stages, are also briefly mentioned. (author)

  14. Efficient Estimation of Extreme Non-linear Roll Motions using the First-order Reliability Method (FORM)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Juncher

    2007-01-01

    In on-board decision support systems efficient procedures are needed for real-time estimation of the maximum ship responses to be expected within the next few hours, given on-line information on the sea state and user defined ranges of possible headings and speeds. For linear responses standard...... frequency domain methods can be applied. To non-linear responses like the roll motion, standard methods like direct time domain simulations are not feasible due to the required computational time. However, the statistical distribution of non-linear ship responses can be estimated very accurately using...... the first-order reliability method (FORM), well-known from structural reliability problems. To illustrate the proposed procedure, the roll motion is modelled by a simplified non-linear procedure taking into account non-linear hydrodynamic damping, time-varying restoring and wave excitation moments...

  15. A Simulation Model for Machine Efficiency Improvement Using Reliability Centered Maintenance: Case Study of Semiconductor Factory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Srisawat Supsomboon

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to increase the quality of product by focusing on the machine efficiency improvement. The principle of the reliability centered maintenance (RCM was applied to increase the machine reliability. The objective was to create preventive maintenance plan under reliability centered maintenance method and to reduce defects. The study target was set to reduce the Lead PPM for a test machine by simulating the proposed preventive maintenance plan. The simulation optimization approach based on evolutionary algorithms was employed for the preventive maintenance technique selection process to select the PM interval that gave the best total cost and Lead PPM values. The research methodology includes procedures such as following the priority of critical components in test machine, analyzing the damage and risk level by using Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA, calculating the suitable replacement period through reliability estimation, and optimizing the preventive maintenance plan. From the result of the study it is shown that the Lead PPM of test machine can be reduced. The cost of preventive maintenance, cost of good product, and cost of lost product were decreased.

  16. Assessing efficiency and economic viability of rainwater harvesting systems for meeting non-potable water demands in four climatic zones of China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, S.; Jing, X.

    2017-12-01

    Rainwater harvesting is now increasingly used to manage urban flood and alleviate water scarcity crisis. In this study, a computational tool based on water balance equation is developed to assess stormwater capture and water saving efficiency and economic viability of rainwater harvesting systems (RHS) in eight cities across four climatic zones of China. It requires daily rainfall, contributing area, runoff losses, first flush volume, storage capacity, daily water demand and economic parameters as inputs. Three non-potable water demand scenarios (i.e., toilet flushing, lawn irrigation, and combination of them) are considered. The water demand for lawn irrigation is estimated using the Cropwat 8.0 and Climwat 2.0. Results indicate that higher water saving efficiency and water supply time reliability can be achieved for RHS with larger storage capacities, for lower water demand scenarios and located in more humid regions, while higher stormwater capture efficiency is associated with larger storage capacity, higher water demand scenarios and less rainfall. For instance, a 40 m3 RHS in Shanghai (humid climate) for lawn irrigation can capture 17% of stormwater, while its water saving efficiency and time reliability can reach 96 % and 98%, respectively. The water saving efficiency and time reliability of a 20 m3 RHS in Xining (semi-arid climate) for toilet flushing are 19% and 16%, respectively, but it can capture 63% of stormwater. With the current values of economic parameters, economic viability of RHS can be achieved in humid and semi-humid regions for reasonably designed RHS; however, it is not financially viable to install RHS in arid regions as the benefit-cost ratio is much smaller than 1.0.

  17. Title:Distributed Generation Storage, Demand Response, and Energy Efficiency as Alternatives to Grid Capacity Enhancement

    OpenAIRE

    Poudineh, R.; Zhang, Y.

    2013-01-01

    The need for investment in capital intensive electricity networks is on the rise in many countries. A major advantage of distributed resources is their potential for deferring investments in distribution network capacity. However, utilizing the full benefits of these resources requires addressing several technical, economics and regulatory challenges. A significant barrier pertains to the lack of an efficient market mechanism that enables this concept and also is consistent with business mode...

  18. User's manual of SECOM2: a computer code for seismic system reliability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uchiyama, Tomoaki; Oikawa, Tetsukuni; Kondo, Masaaki; Tamura, Kazuo

    2002-03-01

    This report is the user's manual of seismic system reliability analysis code SECOM2 (Seismic Core Melt Frequency Evaluation Code Ver.2) developed at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute for systems reliability analysis, which is one of the tasks of seismic probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The SECOM2 code has many functions such as: Calculation of component failure probabilities based on the response factor method, Extraction of minimal cut sets (MCSs), Calculation of conditional system failure probabilities for given seismic motion levels at the site of an NPP, Calculation of accident sequence frequencies and the core damage frequency (CDF) with use of the seismic hazard curve, Importance analysis using various indicators, Uncertainty analysis, Calculation of the CDF taking into account the effect of the correlations of responses and capacities of components, and Efficient sensitivity analysis by changing parameters on responses and capacities of components. These analyses require the fault tree (FT) representing the occurrence condition of the system failures and core damage, information about response and capacity of components and seismic hazard curve for the NPP site as inputs. This report presents the models and methods applied in the SECOM2 code and how to use those functions. (author)

  19. Proof tests on reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishima, Yoshitsugu

    1983-01-01

    In order to obtain public understanding on nuclear power plants, tests should be carried out to prove the reliability and safety of present LWR plants. For example, the aseismicity of nuclear power plants must be verified by using a large scale earthquake simulator. Reliability test began in fiscal 1975, and the proof tests on steam generators and on PWR support and flexure pins against stress corrosion cracking have already been completed, and the results have been internationally highly appreciated. The capacity factor of the nuclear power plant operation in Japan rose to 80% in the summer of 1983, and considering the period of regular inspection, it means the operation of almost full capacity. Japanese LWR technology has now risen to the top place in the world after having overcome the defects. The significance of the reliability test is to secure the functioning till the age limit is reached, to confirm the correct forecast of deteriorating process, to confirm the effectiveness of the remedy to defects and to confirm the accuracy of predicting the behavior of facilities. The reliability of nuclear valves, fuel assemblies, the heat affected zones in welding, reactor cooling pumps and electric instruments has been tested or is being tested. (Kako, I.)

  20. Generation capacity adequacy in interdependent electricity markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cepeda, Mauricio; Finon, Dominique

    2011-01-01

    This paper deals with the practical problems related to long-term security of supply in regional electricity markets with transmission constraints. Differences between regulatory policies and market designs in terms of generation adequacy policies may distort the normal functioning of the neighboring markets, as well as the reliability of supply. We test the effect of heterogeneous regulatory design between two interdependent markets: energy-only market, price-capped market without capacity mechanisms and price-capped markets with forward capacity contracts obligation. We rely on a long-term market simulation model in system dynamics that characterizes expansion decision in a competitive regime. The results show that differences in market designs affect both price and reliability of supply in the two markets. We examine both the short and long terms effect, and how free-riding may occur where capacity adequacy policies are adopted in one market but not the other. The main finding is that the lack of harmonization between local markets in policies to ensure capacity adequacy may lead to undesirable side effects. - Research highlights: → We model the long-term dynamic of two interdependent markets. → We examine both the short and long terms effect of heterogeneous regulatory design: energy-only market, price-capped market without capacity mechanisms and price-capped markets with forward capacity contracts obligation. → Differences in market designs affect both price and reliability of supply in the two markets. → Lack of harmonization between local markets in policies to ensure capacity adequacy may lead to undesirable side effects. → Free-riding may occur where capacity adequacy policies are adopted in one market but not the other.

  1. ON THE EFFECT OF ADAPTIVE USER INTERFACES ON RELIABILITY AND EFFICIENCY OF THE AUTOMATED SYSTEMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. O. Furtat

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In modern automated systems users often have to face the information overload problem because of ever increasing volumes of information with short time processing requirements. Working in such conditions affects the system operator’s work quality and the systems reliability. One possible approach to solving the information overload problem is to create personalized interfaces that take into account the user’s information management particularities. System operator’s features, which determine the shape and pace of information representation preferred by him, form the user’s cognitive portrait. To determine the values of portrait characteristics professional testing with the assistance of psychologists or operational testing at the user’s workplace is performed. The second option is more preferable for use in automated systems, since it has no issue with lack of psychologists. Cognitive portrait is then built as a result of user interaction with the software diagnostic tools that are based on the cognitive psychology methods. The effect of personalized user interface application in an automated system can be estimated by quantifying how the reduction in user’s response time to critical events affects the system reliability and efficiency. For this purpose, the formulae of reliability theory for complex automated systems are used, showing the dependence between the system reliability and user’s response time to critical event.

  2. Reliability Calculations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Kurt Erling

    1986-01-01

    Risk and reliability analysis is increasingly being used in evaluations of plant safety and plant reliability. The analysis can be performed either during the design process or during the operation time, with the purpose to improve the safety or the reliability. Due to plant complexity and safety...... and availability requirements, sophisticated tools, which are flexible and efficient, are needed. Such tools have been developed in the last 20 years and they have to be continuously refined to meet the growing requirements. Two different areas of application were analysed. In structural reliability probabilistic...... approaches have been introduced in some cases for the calculation of the reliability of structures or components. A new computer program has been developed based upon numerical integration in several variables. In systems reliability Monte Carlo simulation programs are used especially in analysis of very...

  3. Efficient and reliable characterization of the corticospinal system using transcranial magnetic stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kukke, Sahana N; Paine, Rainer W; Chao, Chi-Chao; de Campos, Ana C; Hallett, Mark

    2014-06-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop a method to reliably characterize multiple features of the corticospinal system in a more efficient manner than typically done in transcranial magnetic stimulation studies. Forty transcranial magnetic stimulation pulses of varying intensity were given over the first dorsal interosseous motor hot spot in 10 healthy adults. The first dorsal interosseous motor-evoked potential size was recorded during rest and activation to create recruitment curves. The Boltzmann sigmoidal function was fit to the data, and parameters relating to maximal motor-evoked potential size, curve slope, and stimulus intensity leading to half-maximal motor-evoked potential size were computed from the curve fit. Good to excellent test-retest reliability was found for all corticospinal parameters at rest and during activation with 40 transcranial magnetic stimulation pulses. Through the use of curve fitting, important features of the corticospinal system can be determined with fewer stimuli than typically used for the same information. Determining the recruitment curve provides a basis to understand the state of the corticospinal system and select subject-specific parameters for transcranial magnetic stimulation testing quickly and without unnecessary exposure to magnetic stimulation. This method can be useful in individuals who have difficulty in maintaining stillness, including children and patients with motor disorders.

  4. A cost-efficient and reliable energy management of a micro-grid using intelligent demand-response program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Safamehr, Hossein; Rahimi-Kian, Ashkan

    2015-01-01

    Providing a cost-efficient and reliable energy is one of the main issues in human societies of the 21st century. In response to this demand, new features of micro grid technology have provided huge potentials, specifically by the capability of having an interactive coordination between energy suppliers and consumers. Accordingly, this paper offers an improved model for achieving an optimal Demand Response programing. To solve the proposed multi-objective optimization problem, Artificial Bee Colony algorithm and quasi-static technique are utilized. The considered objectives in this paper are minimizing the overall cost of energy consumption and also improving the technical parameters of micro grid over a time horizon. This optimization is subject to several constraints such as satisfying the energy balance and the operating constraints of each energy supply sources. Manageable load or load as source is another enabling feature existing in smart energy networks, which is considered in this paper and its effect on cost reduction and reliability improvement is studied. Trying to examine the performance of the proposed Demand Response Programing in real conditions, the uncertainties are also analyzed by stochastic methods. The results show significant improvements which are obtained by applying just intelligent programming and management. - Highlights: • This paper presents a cost-efficient and reliable energy management of a micro-grid. • New models of battery and manageable loads are formulated. • Artificial Bee Colony algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem. • Quasi-static technique is used to simplify the solving procedure. • The uncertainties are also analyzed by stochastic methods.

  5. CONSIDERING TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY AND SAFETY FOR EVALUATION OF CONGESTION RELIEF SCHEMES ON EXPRESSWAY SEGMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Babak MEHRAN

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Evaluation of the efficiency of congestion relief schemes on expressways has generally been based on average travel time analysis. However, road authorities are much more interested in knowing the possible impacts of improvement schemes on safety and travel time reliability prior to implementing them in real conditions. A methodology is presented to estimate travel time reliability based on modeling travel time variations as a function of demand, capacity and weather conditions. For a subject expressway segment, patterns of demand and capacity were generated for each 5-minute interval over a year by using the Monte-Carlo simulation technique, and accidents were generated randomly according to traffic conditions. A whole year analysis was performed by comparing demand and available capacity for each scenario and shockwave analysis was used to estimate the queue length at each time interval. Travel times were estimated from refined speed-flow relationships and buffer time index was estimated as a measure of travel time reliability. it was shown that the estimated reliability measures and predicted number of accidents are very close to observed values through empirical data. After validation, the methodology was applied to assess the impact of two alternative congestion relief schemes on a subject expressway segment. one alternative was to open the hard shoulder to traffic during the peak period, while the other was to reduce the peak period demand by 15%. The extent of improvements in travel conditions and safety, likewise the reduction in road users' costs after implementing each improvement scheme were estimated. it was shown that both strategies can result in up to 23% reduction in the number of occurred accidents and significant improvements in travel time reliability. Finally, the advantages and challenging issues of selecting each improvement scheme were discussed.

  6. Application to nuclear turbines of high-efficiency and reliable 3D-designed integral shrouded blades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Eiichiro; Ohyama, Hiroharu; Tashiro, Hikaru; Sugitani, Toshio; Kurosawa, Masaru

    1999-01-01

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has recently developed new blades for nuclear turbines, in order to achieve higher efficiency and higher reliability. The three-dimensional aerodynamic design for 41-inch and 46-inch blades, their one piece structural design (integral shrouded blades: ISB), and the verification test results using a model steam turbine are described in this paper. The predicted efficiency and lower vibratory stress have been verified. On the basis of these 60 Hz ISB, 50 Hz ISB series are under development using 'the law of similarity' without changing their thermodynamic performance and mechanical stress levels. Our 3D-designed reaction blades which are used for the high pressure and low pressure upstream stages, are also briefly mentioned. (author)

  7. Efficient and reliable 3D dose quality assurance for IMRT by combining independent dose calculations with measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Visser, R.; Wauben, D. J. L.; Godart, J.; Langendijk, J. A.; Veld, A. A. van't; Korevaar, E. W.; Groot, M. de

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Advanced radiotherapy treatments require appropriate quality assurance (QA) to verify 3D dose distributions. Moreover, increase in patient numbers demand efficient QA-methods. In this study, a time efficient method that combines model-based QA and measurement-based QA was developed; i.e., the hybrid-QA. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of the model-based QA and to evaluate time efficiency of the hybrid-QA method. Methods: Accuracy of the model-based QA was determined by comparison of COMPASS calculated dose with Monte Carlo calculations for heterogeneous media. In total, 330 intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment plans were evaluated based on the mean gamma index (GI) with criteria of 3%/3mm and classification of PASS (GI ≤ 0.4), EVAL (0.4 0.6), and FAIL (GI ≥ 0.6). Agreement between model-based QA and measurement-based QA was determined for 48 treatment plans, and linac stability was verified for 15 months. Finally, time efficiency improvement of the hybrid-QA was quantified for four representative treatment plans. Results: COMPASS calculated dose was in agreement with Monte Carlo dose, with a maximum error of 3.2% in heterogeneous media with high density (2.4 g/cm 3 ). Hybrid-QA results for IMRT treatment plans showed an excellent PASS rate of 98% for all cases. Model-based QA was in agreement with measurement-based QA, as shown by a minimal difference in GI of 0.03 ± 0.08. Linac stability was high with an average GI of 0.28 ± 0.04. The hybrid-QA method resulted in a time efficiency improvement of 15 min per treatment plan QA compared to measurement-based QA. Conclusions: The hybrid-QA method is adequate for efficient and accurate 3D dose verification. It combines time efficiency of model-based QA with reliability of measurement-based QA and is suitable for implementation within any radiotherapy department.

  8. Forward Capacity Markets: Maintaining Grid Reliability in Europe

    OpenAIRE

    Chaigneau, Matthieu

    2012-01-01

    The liberalization process of the electricity industry in many countries leads to new rules and new challenges for the grid management. System reliability is a major concern, mainly because of (a) the high level penetration of renewable energy sources and (b) the growing peak load and environmental regulations In most electricity markets, peak resources operate only during a short period, and at a high operating cost, jeopardizing their return on investment, while low-cost base resources make...

  9. Tailoring nanostructured MnO2 as anodes for lithium ion batteries with high reversible capacity and initial Coulombic efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lifeng; Song, Jiajia; Liu, Yi; Yuan, Xiaoyan; Guo, Shouwu

    2018-03-01

    Developing high energy storage lithium ion batteries (LIBs) using manganese oxides as anodes is an attractive challenge due to their high theoretical capacity and abundant resources. However, the manganese oxides anodes still suffer from the low initial Coulombic efficiency and poor rate performance. Herein, we demonstrate that nano-sized morphological engineering is a facile and effective strategy to improve the electrochemical performance of the manganese dioxide (MnO2) for LIBs. The tailored MnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit high reversible capacity (1095 mAh g-1 at 100 mA g-1), high initial Coulombic efficiency (94.5%) and good rate capability (464 mAh g-1 at 2000 mA g-1). The enhanced electrochemical performance of MnO2 NPs can be attributed to the presences of numerous electrochemically active sites and interspaces among the NPs.

  10. A standard for test reliability in group research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Jules L

    2013-03-01

    Many authors adhere to the rule that test reliabilities should be at least .70 or .80 in group research. This article introduces a new standard according to which reliabilities can be evaluated. This standard is based on the costs or time of the experiment and of administering the test. For example, if test administration costs are 7 % of the total experimental costs, the efficient value of the reliability is .93. If the actual reliability of a test is equal to this efficient reliability, the test size maximizes the statistical power of the experiment, given the costs. As a standard in experimental research, it is proposed that the reliability of the dependent variable be close to the efficient reliability. Adhering to this standard will enhance the statistical power and reduce the costs of experiments.

  11. Improved lithium-ion battery anode capacity with a network of easily fabricated spindle-like carbon nanofibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Mengting; Xie, Wenhe; Gu, Lili; Qin, Tianfeng; Hou, Xiaoyi; He, Deyan

    2016-01-01

    A novel network of spindle-like carbon nanofibers was fabricated via a simplified synthesis involving electrospinning followed by preoxidation in air and postcarbonization in Ar. Not only was the as-obtained carbon network comprised of beads of spindle-like nanofibers but the cubic MnO phase and N elements were successfully anchored into the amorphous carbon matrix. When directly used as a binder-free anode for lithium-ion batteries, the network showed excellent electrochemical performance with high capacity, good rate capacity and reliable cycling stability. Under a current density of 0.2 A g -1 , it delivered a high reversible capacity of 875.5 mAh g -1 after 200 cycles and 1005.5 mAh g -1 after 250 cycles with a significant coulombic efficiency of 99.5%.

  12. Visual attention capacity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Habekost, Thomas; Starrfelt, Randi

    2009-01-01

    Psychophysical studies have identified two distinct limitations of visual attention capacity: processing speed and apprehension span. Using a simple test, these cognitive factors can be analyzed by Bundesen's Theory of Visual Attention (TVA). The method has strong specificity and sensitivity......, and measurements are highly reliable. As the method is theoretically founded, it also has high validity. TVA-based assessment has recently been used to investigate a broad range of neuropsychological and neurological conditions. We present the method, including the experimental paradigm and practical guidelines...... to patient testing, and review existing TVA-based patient studies organized by lesion anatomy. Lesions in three anatomical regions affect visual capacity: The parietal lobes, frontal cortex and basal ganglia, and extrastriate cortex. Visual capacity thus depends on large, bilaterally distributed anatomical...

  13. Real-time monitoring of capacity loss for vanadium redox flow battery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Zhongbao; Bhattarai, Arjun; Zou, Changfu; Meng, Shujuan; Lim, Tuti Mariana; Skyllas-Kazacos, Maria

    2018-06-01

    The long-term operation of the vanadium redox flow battery is accompanied by ion diffusion across the separator and side reactions, which can lead to electrolyte imbalance and capacity loss. The accurate online monitoring of capacity loss is therefore valuable for the reliable and efficient operation of vanadium redox flow battery system. In this paper, a model-based online monitoring method is proposed to detect capacity loss in the vanadium redox flow battery in real time. A first-order equivalent circuit model is built to capture the dynamics of the vanadium redox flow battery. The model parameters are online identified from the onboard measureable signals with the recursive least squares, in seeking to keep a high modeling accuracy and robustness under a wide range of working scenarios. Based on the online adapted model, an observer is designed with the extended Kalman Filter to keep tracking both the capacity and state of charge of the battery in real time. Experiments are conducted on a lab-scale battery system. Results suggest that the online adapted model is able to simulate the battery behavior with high accuracy. The capacity loss as well as the state of charge can be estimated accurately in a real-time manner.

  14. RICE: A Reliable and Efficient Remote Instrumentation Collaboration Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prasad Calyam

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Remote access of scientific instruments over the Internet (i.e., remote instrumentation demand high-resolution (2D and 3D video image transfers with simultaneous real-time mouse and keyboard controls. Consequently, user quality of experience (QoE is highly sensitive to network bottlenecks. Further, improper user control while reacting to impaired video caused due to network bottlenecks could result in physical damages to the expensive instrument equipment. Hence, it is vital to understand the interplay between (a user keyboard/mouse actions toward the instrument, and (b corresponding network reactions for transfer of instrument video images toward the user. In this paper, we first present an analytical model for characterizing user and network interplay during remote instrumentation sessions in terms of demand and supply interplay principles of traditional economics. Next, we describe the trends of the model parameters using subjective and objective measurements obtained from QoE experiments. Thereafter, we describe our Remote Instrumentation Collaboration Environment (RICE software that leverages our experiences from the user and network interplay studies, and has functionalities that facilitate reliable and efficient remote instrumentation such as (a network health awareness to detect network bottleneck periods, and (b collaboration tools for multiple participants to interact during research and training sessions.

  15. Extented second moment algebra as an efficient tool in structural reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ditlevsen, O.

    1982-01-01

    During the seventies, second moment structural reliability analysis was extensively discussed with respect to philosophy and method. One recent clarification into a consistent formalism is represented by the extended second moment reliability theory with the generalized reliability index as its measure of safety. Its methods of formal failure probability calculations are useful independent of the opinion that one may adopt about the philosophy of the second moment reliability formalism. After an introduction of the historical development of the philosphy the paper gives a short introductory review of the extended second moment structural reliability theory. (orig.)

  16. An efficient approach to enhance capacity allocation over Bluetooth network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Son, L.T.; Schiøler, Henrik; Madsen, Ole Brun

    2002-01-01

    quality of service requirements and topologically induced constraints in the Bluetooth network, such as node and link capacity limitations. The proposed scheme is decentralized and complies with frequent changes of topology as well as capacity limitations and flow requirements in the network. Simulation...... shows that the performance of Bluetooth network could be improved by applying the hybrid distributed iterative capacity allocation scheme....

  17. Co-emergence of multi-scale cortical activities of irregular firing, oscillations and avalanches achieves cost-efficient information capacity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong-Ping Yang

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The brain is highly energy consuming, therefore is under strong selective pressure to achieve cost-efficiency in both cortical connectivities and activities. However, cost-efficiency as a design principle for cortical activities has been rarely studied. Especially it is not clear how cost-efficiency is related to ubiquitously observed multi-scale properties: irregular firing, oscillations and neuronal avalanches. Here we demonstrate that these prominent properties can be simultaneously observed in a generic, biologically plausible neural circuit model that captures excitation-inhibition balance and realistic dynamics of synaptic conductance. Their co-emergence achieves minimal energy cost as well as maximal energy efficiency on information capacity, when neuronal firing are coordinated and shaped by moderate synchrony to reduce otherwise redundant spikes, and the dynamical clusterings are maintained in the form of neuronal avalanches. Such cost-efficient neural dynamics can be employed as a foundation for further efficient information processing under energy constraint.

  18. Validity and Reliability of the 30-s Continuous Jump for Anaerobic Power and Capacity Assessment in Combat Sport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Drazen Čular

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Cycling test such Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT is used to measure anaerobic power (AP, but not anaerobic capacity (AC, i.e., the metabolic energy demand. However, in sports that do not involve cycling movements (Karate, the continuous jump for 30 s (vertical jumps for 30 s has been extensively used to measure anaerobic performance in all young athletes. Limited information’s are available concerning its validity and reliability especially in children. As such, the current study aimed to test validity and reliability of a continuous jumps test (the CJ30s, using WAnT as a reference. Thirteen female Karate kids (age: 11.07 ± 1.32 years; mass: 41.76 ± 15.32 kg; height: 152 ± 11.52 cm; training experience: 4.38 ± 2.14 years were tested on three separate sessions. The first and second sessions were used to assess the reliability using Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC of CJ30s, whereas on the third session WAnT was administered. Following CJ30s and WAnT, we assessed AP (1/CJ30s, as jump height [JH], fatigue index [FI], and blood lactate [BL]; 2/WAnT, as mechanical power [P], FI, and BL and AC as the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC. Large/highly significant correlations were found between CJ30s and WAnT EPOCs (r = 0.730, P = 0.003, and BLs (r = 0.713, P = 0.009. Moderate/significant correlations were found between CJ30s and WAnT FIs (r = 0.640, P = 0.014, CJ30s first four jumps mean JH and WAnT peak P (r = 0.572, P = 0.032, and CJ30s mean JH and WAnT mean P (r = 0.589, P = 0.021. CJ30s showed excellent and moderate reliability (ICC for AP (maximal JH 0.884, mean JH 0.742, FI 0.657, BL 0.653 and AC (EPOC 0.788, respectively. Correlations observed especially in terms of AC between CJ30s and WAnT provide evidence that former may adequately assess anaerobic performance for the young combat athlete. CJ30 is a reliable test and allow an easy assessment of AP and AC in karate children.

  19. Hawaii Electric System Reliability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loose, Verne William [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Silva Monroy, Cesar Augusto [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2012-08-01

    This report addresses Hawaii electric system reliability issues; greater emphasis is placed on short-term reliability but resource adequacy is reviewed in reference to electric consumers’ views of reliability “worth” and the reserve capacity required to deliver that value. The report begins with a description of the Hawaii electric system to the extent permitted by publicly available data. Electrical engineering literature in the area of electric reliability is researched and briefly reviewed. North American Electric Reliability Corporation standards and measures for generation and transmission are reviewed and identified as to their appropriateness for various portions of the electric grid and for application in Hawaii. Analysis of frequency data supplied by the State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission is presented together with comparison and contrast of performance of each of the systems for two years, 2010 and 2011. Literature tracing the development of reliability economics is reviewed and referenced. A method is explained for integrating system cost with outage cost to determine the optimal resource adequacy given customers’ views of the value contributed by reliable electric supply. The report concludes with findings and recommendations for reliability in the State of Hawaii.

  20. Advanced control systems to improve nuclear power plant reliability and efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-07-01

    The TECDOC is the result of a series of an advisory and consultants meetings held by the IAEA in 1995-1996 in Vienna (March 1995), in Erlangen Germany (December 1995), in Garching, Germany (June 1996) and in Vienna (November 1996). It was prepared with the participation and contributions of experts from Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Norway, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The publication not only describes advanced control systems for the improvement of nuclear power plant reliability and efficiency, but also provides a road map to guide interested readers to plan and execute an advanced instrumentation and control project. The subjects include: identification of needs and requirements, justification for safety and user acceptance, and the development of an engineering process. The report should be of interest to nuclear power plant staff, I and C system designers and integrators as well as regulators and researchers. Refs, figs, tabs

  1. Advanced control systems to improve nuclear power plant reliability and efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-07-01

    The TECDOC is the result of a series of an advisory and consultants meetings held by the IAEA in 1995-1996 in Vienna (March 1995), in Erlangen Germany (December 1995), in Garching, Germany (June 1996) and in Vienna (November 1996). It was prepared with the participation and contributions of experts from Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Norway, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The publication not only describes advanced control systems for the improvement of nuclear power plant reliability and efficiency, but also provides a road map to guide interested readers to plan and execute an advanced instrumentation and control project. The subjects include: identification of needs and requirements, justification for safety and user acceptance, and the development of an engineering process. The report should be of interest to nuclear power plant staff, I and C system designers and integrators as well as regulators and researchers. Refs, figs, tabs.

  2. Efficient reliability analysis of structures with the rotational quasi-symmetric point- and the maximum entropy methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jun; Dang, Chao; Kong, Fan

    2017-10-01

    This paper presents a new method for efficient structural reliability analysis. In this method, a rotational quasi-symmetric point method (RQ-SPM) is proposed for evaluating the fractional moments of the performance function. Then, the derivation of the performance function's probability density function (PDF) is carried out based on the maximum entropy method in which constraints are specified in terms of fractional moments. In this regard, the probability of failure can be obtained by a simple integral over the performance function's PDF. Six examples, including a finite element-based reliability analysis and a dynamic system with strong nonlinearity, are used to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed method. All the computed results are compared with those by Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). It is found that the proposed method can provide very accurate results with low computational effort.

  3. 14CO2 labeling: a reliable technique for rapid measurement of total root exudation capacity and vascular sap flow in crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Bhupinder; Ahuja, Sumedha; Pandey, Renu; Singhal, R.K.

    2014-01-01

    Ability of roots to release organic compounds in its rhizosphere is known to improve plant available nutrients and reduces heavy metal toxicity by immobilization. It is regarded as an important determinant of micro nutrient deficiency tolerance in plants. Uptake of nutrients and translocation of photoassimilates, on the other hand are governed by the strength of the transpiration stream and sink demand respectively. Measurement of vascular sap flow, thus, is critical for understanding of the translocation efficiency and consequently the sink demand that keeps changing during the crop growth cycle. Measurement of the root exudation capacity and the vascular sap flow is cumbersome and time consuming. Since, the exudates released by the roots and the photosynthates translocated between the source and the sink are essentially carbon compounds, use of labeled carbon as tag could potentially be exploited for a rapid and reliable measurement of exudation and vascular sap flow in crop plants. We report here the experimental results involving 14 C labeling of groundnut, a legume crop, as 14 CO 2 generated by acidification of sodium bicarbonate. An additional factor of seed gamma irradiation was used to generate variability in the root exudation and the sap flow. The 14 C release by the roots was compared against the 14 C transport in the vascular sap. An experimental hypothesis that a higher 14 C level in the vascular sap would indicate a higher root release of carbon by the roots into the rhizosphere was verified. (author)

  4. Providing reliable energy in a time of constraints : a North American concern

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Egan, T.; Turk, E.

    2008-04-01

    The reliability of the North American electricity grid was discussed. Government initiatives designed to control carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other emissions in some regions of Canada may lead to electricity supply constraints in other regions. A lack of investment in transmission infrastructure has resulted in constraints within the North American transmission grid, and the growth of smaller projects is now raising concerns about transmission capacity. Labour supply shortages in the electricity industry are also creating concerns about the long-term security of the electricity market. Measures to address constraints must be considered in the current context of the North American electricity system. The extensive transmission interconnects and integration between the United States and Canada will provide a framework for greater trade and market opportunities between the 2 countries. Coordinated actions and increased integration will enable Canada and the United States to increase the reliability of electricity supply. However, both countries must work cooperatively to increase generation supply using both mature and emerging technologies. The cross-border transmission grid must be enhanced by increasing transmission capacity as well as by implementing new reliability rules, building new infrastructure, and ensuring infrastructure protection. Barriers to cross-border electricity trade must be identified and avoided. Demand-side and energy efficiency measures must also be implemented. It was concluded that both countries must focus on developing strategies for addressing the environmental concerns related to electricity production. 6 figs

  5. ECOWAS renewable energy and energy efficiency status report - 2014

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auth, Katie; Musolino, Evan; Thomas, Tristram; Adebiyi, Adeola; Reiss, Karin; Semedo, Eder; Williamson, Laura E.; Chawla, Kanika; Diarra, Charles

    2014-01-01

    In recent years, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), comprising 15 Member States, it has emerged as one of the most active and dynamic regional economic communities on the African continent. Expanding access to modern, reliable, and affordable energy services is a key priority, prompting inter-state cooperation in crucial areas including capacity building, policy development and implementation, and investment. Recognising the critical role that sustainable energy plays in catalysing social, economic, and industrial development across the region, ECOWAS Member States formally inaugurated the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) in 2010 to 'contribute to the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of West Africa by improving access to modern, reliable and affordable energy services, energy security and reduction of energy related externalities'. Drawing on data from the ECOWAS Observatory for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECOWREX) and a network of contributors and researchers across the region, the ECOWAS Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Status Report supports ECREEE's efforts to increase the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency in West Africa by providing a comprehensive regional review of renewable energy and energy efficiency developments, evolving policy landscapes, market trends and related activities, investments in renewable energy and off-grid energy solutions, and the crucial nexus between energy access and gender

  6. Quasi-superactivation for the classical capacity of quantum channels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gyongyosi, Laszlo, E-mail: gyongyosi@hit.bme.hu [Quantum Technologies Laboratory, Department of Telecommunications, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 2 Magyar tudosok krt, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary and Information Systems Research Group, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Hungarian Ac (Hungary); Imre, Sandor [Quantum Technologies Laboratory, Department of Telecommunications, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 2 Magyar tudosok krt, Budapest, H-1117 (Hungary)

    2014-12-04

    The superactivation effect has its roots in the extreme violation of additivity of the channel capacity and enables to reliably transmit quantum information over zero-capacity quantum channels. In this work we demonstrate a similar effect for the classical capacity of a quantum channel which previously was thought to be impossible.

  7. A Highly Reliable and Cost-Efficient Multi-Sensor System for Land Vehicle Positioning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Li

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a novel positioning solution for land vehicles which is highly reliable and cost-efficient. The proposed positioning system fuses information from the MEMS-based reduced inertial sensor system (RISS which consists of one vertical gyroscope and two horizontal accelerometers, low-cost GPS, and supplementary sensors and sources. First, pitch and roll angle are accurately estimated based on a vehicle kinematic model. Meanwhile, the negative effect of the uncertain nonlinear drift of MEMS inertial sensors is eliminated by an H∞ filter. Further, a distributed-dual-H∞ filtering (DDHF mechanism is adopted to address the uncertain nonlinear drift of the MEMS-RISS and make full use of the supplementary sensors and sources. The DDHF is composed of a main H∞ filter (MHF and an auxiliary H∞ filter (AHF. Finally, a generalized regression neural network (GRNN module with good approximation capability is specially designed for the MEMS-RISS. A hybrid methodology which combines the GRNN module and the AHF is utilized to compensate for RISS position errors during GPS outages. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed solution, road-test experiments with various scenarios were performed. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed system can achieve accurate and reliable positioning for land vehicles.

  8. Human Capacity Building in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy System Maintenance for the Yurok Tribe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Engel, R. A.' Zoellick, J J.

    2007-07-31

    From July 2005 to July 2007, the Schatz Energy Research Center (SERC) assisted the Yurok Tribe in the implementation of a program designed to build the Tribe’s own capacity to improve energy efficiency and maintain and repair renewable energy systems in Tribal homes on the Yurok Reservation. Funding for this effort was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tribal Program under First Steps grant award #DE-FG36-05GO15166. The program’s centerpiece was a house-by-house needs assessment, in which Tribal staff visited and conducted energy audits at over fifty homes. The visits included assessment of household energy efficiency and condition of existing renewable energy systems. Staff also provided energy education to residents, evaluated potential sites for new household renewable energy systems, and performed minor repairs as needed on renewable energy systems.

  9. Market liberalization in the European Natural Gas Market. The importance of capacity constraints and efficiency differences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brakman, S. [University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics, Department of International Economics and Business, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen (Netherlands); Van Marrewijk, C.; Van Witteloostuijn, A. [Utrecht University, Utrecht School of Economics, Janskerkhof 12, 3512 BL Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2009-06-15

    In the European Union, energy markets are increasingly being liberalized. A case in point is the European natural gas industry. The general expectation is that more competition will lead to lower prices and higher volumes, and hence higher welfare. This paper indicates that this might not happen for at least two reasons. First, energy markets, including the market for natural gas, are characterized by imperfect competition and increasing costs to develop new energy sources. As a result, new entrants in the market are less efficient than incumbent firms. Second, energy markets, again including the market for natural gas, are associated with capacity constraints. Prices are determined in residual markets where the least efficient firms are active. This is likely to lead to price increases, rather than decreases.

  10. Trends of HVDC technology - highly reliable converting equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muraoka, Yasuo; Kato, Yasushi; Watanabe, Atsumi; Kano, Takashi; Kawai, Tadao

    1983-01-01

    At present, the DC power transmission in Japan is practically used for the system connection of relatively small capacity, and the reliability of AC-DC converting system has been proven to exceed the world level by the operational results. However, when the application of this system to trunk power transmission of large capacity in future is considered, it is desirable to raise the reliability of converting equipment further and to develop the stabilized control techniques in harmony with connected AC system. Hitachi Ltd. has developed diversified system-related technologies centering around DC power transmission and the techniques for raising the reliability of converting equipment tending to large capacity. In this report, the results and the future prospect are described. The recent trend of DC power transmission, the development of DC power transmission technology such as the simulation analysis, the stable operation of a DC system connected to a weak AC system and the DC independent transmission from nuclear power stations, the technical development of light direct ignition thyristor bulbs and control protection equipment are reported. (Kako, I.)

  11. Air capacity for Sydney

    OpenAIRE

    Forsyth, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Like most large cities, Sydney has an airport problem. Demand is increasing faster than supply, and additional capacity will be needed if costly rationing, and delays, are to be avoided. However, compared to many cities, the problems facing Sydney are modest. At the moment, demand is only just exceeding capacity. There is a good chance that the available capacity will be rationed efficiently. Options for expanding capacity are being evaluated well. There may be problems in the future- poor op...

  12. Reliability calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, K.E.

    1986-03-01

    Risk and reliability analysis is increasingly being used in evaluations of plant safety and plant reliability. The analysis can be performed either during the design process or during the operation time, with the purpose to improve the safety or the reliability. Due to plant complexity and safety and availability requirements, sophisticated tools, which are flexible and efficient, are needed. Such tools have been developed in the last 20 years and they have to be continuously refined to meet the growing requirements. Two different areas of application were analysed. In structural reliability probabilistic approaches have been introduced in some cases for the calculation of the reliability of structures or components. A new computer program has been developed based upon numerical integration in several variables. In systems reliability Monte Carlo simulation programs are used especially in analysis of very complex systems. In order to increase the applicability of the programs variance reduction techniques can be applied to speed up the calculation process. Variance reduction techniques have been studied and procedures for implementation of importance sampling are suggested. (author)

  13. Hawaii electric system reliability.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva Monroy, Cesar Augusto; Loose, Verne William

    2012-09-01

    This report addresses Hawaii electric system reliability issues; greater emphasis is placed on short-term reliability but resource adequacy is reviewed in reference to electric consumers' views of reliability %E2%80%9Cworth%E2%80%9D and the reserve capacity required to deliver that value. The report begins with a description of the Hawaii electric system to the extent permitted by publicly available data. Electrical engineering literature in the area of electric reliability is researched and briefly reviewed. North American Electric Reliability Corporation standards and measures for generation and transmission are reviewed and identified as to their appropriateness for various portions of the electric grid and for application in Hawaii. Analysis of frequency data supplied by the State of Hawaii Public Utilities Commission is presented together with comparison and contrast of performance of each of the systems for two years, 2010 and 2011. Literature tracing the development of reliability economics is reviewed and referenced. A method is explained for integrating system cost with outage cost to determine the optimal resource adequacy given customers' views of the value contributed by reliable electric supply. The report concludes with findings and recommendations for reliability in the State of Hawaii.

  14. Control Strategies for Improving Energy Efficiency and Reliability in Autonomous Microgrids with Communication Constraints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Martins Portelinha Júnior

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Microgrids are a feasible path to deploy smart grids, an intelligent and highly automated power system. Their operation demands a dedicated communication infrastructure to manage, control and monitor the intermittent sources of energy and loads. Therefore, smart devices will be connected to support the growth of grid smartness increasing the dependency on communication networks, which consumes a high amount of power. In an energy-limited scenario, one of the main issues is to enhance the power supply time. Therefore, this paper proposes a hybrid methodology for microgrid energy management, integrated with a communication infrastructure to improve and to optimize islanded microgrid operation at maximum energy efficiency. The hybrid methodology applies some control management rules, such as intentional load shedding, priority load management, and communication energy saving. These energy saving rules establish a trade-off between increasing microgrid energy availability and communication system reliability. To achieve a compromised solution, a continuous time Markov chain model describes the impact of energy saving policies into system reliability. The proposed methodology is simulated and tested with the help of the modified IEEE 34 node test-system.

  15. On the Path to SunShot. The Role of Advancements in Solar Photovoltaic Efficiency, Reliability, and Costs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woodhouse, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jones-Albertus, Rebecca [U.S. Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (United States); Feldman, David [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Fu, Ran [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Horowitz, Kelsey [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chung, Donald [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jordan, Dirk [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kurtz, Sarah [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-05-01

    This report examines the remaining challenges to achieving the competitive photovoltaic (PV) costs and large-scale deployment envisioned under the U.S. Department of Energy's SunShot Initiative. Solar-energy cost reductions can be realized through lower PV module and balance-of-system (BOS) costs as well as improved system efficiency and reliability. Numerous combinations of PV improvements could help achieve the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) goals because of the tradeoffs among key metrics like module price, efficiency, and degradation rate as well as system price and lifetime. Using LCOE modeling based on bottom-up cost analysis, two specific pathways are mapped to exemplify the many possible approaches to module cost reductions of 29%-38% between 2015 and 2020. BOS hardware and soft cost reductions, ranging from 54%-77% of total cost reductions, are also modeled. The residential sector's high supply-chain costs, labor requirements, and customer-acquisition costs give it the greatest BOS cost-reduction opportunities, followed by the commercial sector, although opportunities are available to the utility-scale sector as well. Finally, a future scenario is considered in which very high PV penetration requires additional costs to facilitate grid integration and increased power-system flexibility--which might necessitate even lower solar LCOEs. The analysis of a pathway to 3-5 cents/kWh PV systems underscores the importance of combining robust improvements in PV module and BOS costs as well as PV system efficiency and reliability if such aggressive long-term targets are to be achieved.

  16. Value for railway capacity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sameni, Melody Khadem; Preston, John M.

    2012-01-01

    to analyze the efficiency of operators in transforming inputs of allocated capacity of infrastructure and franchise payments into valuable passenger service outputs while avoiding delays. By addressing operational and economic aspects of capacity utilization simultaneously, the paper deviates from existing...... DEA work on the economic efficiency of railways by considering a new combination of input-output that also incorporates quality of service. The constant and variable returns to scale models are applied to the case study of franchised passenger operators in Great Britain. The follow-up Tobit regression...

  17. APPLICATION OF TRAVEL TIME RELIABILITY FOR PERFORMANCE ORIENTED OPERATIONAL PLANNING OF EXPRESSWAYS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehran, Babak; Nakamura, Hideki

    Evaluation of impacts of congestion improvement scheme s on travel time reliability is very significant for road authorities since travel time reliability repr esents operational performance of expressway segments. In this paper, a methodology is presented to estimate travel tim e reliability prior to implementation of congestion relief schemes based on travel time variation modeling as a function of demand, capacity, weather conditions and road accident s. For subject expressway segmen ts, traffic conditions are modeled over a whole year considering demand and capacity as random variables. Patterns of demand and capacity are generated for each five minute interval by appl ying Monte-Carlo simulation technique, and accidents are randomly generated based on a model that links acci dent rate to traffic conditions. A whole year analysis is performed by comparing de mand and available capacity for each scenario and queue length is estimated through shockwave analysis for each time in terval. Travel times are estimated from refined speed-flow relationships developed for intercity expressways and buffer time index is estimated consequently as a measure of travel time reliability. For validation, estimated reliability indices are compared with measured values from empirical data, and it is shown that the proposed method is suitable for operational evaluation and planning purposes.

  18. Reliability-based Assessment of Fatigue Life for Bridges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toft, Henrik Stensgaard; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2012-01-01

    The reliability level for bridges is discussed based on a comparison of the reliability levels proposed and used by e.g. JCSS, ISO, NKB and Eurocodes. The influence of reserve capacity by which failure of a specific detail does not lead to structural collapse is investigated. The results show...

  19. Efficiency evaluation of an electronic equipment: availability,reliability and maintenance; Notion d'efficacite d'un equipement electronique: disponibilite, fiabilite et maintenabilite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guyot, C

    1966-07-01

    This concept of efficiency often called ''system effectiveness'', is presented and analyzed in terms of reliability and maintenance. It allows to define the availability factor of an electronic equipment. A procedure of evaluation is proposed. (A.L.B.)

  20. Optical signal processing for enabling high-speed, highly spectrally efficient and high capacity optical systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazal, Muhammad Irfan

    The unabated demand for more capacity due to the ever-increasing internet traffic dictates that the boundaries of the state of the art maybe pushed to send more data through the network. Traditionally, this need has been satisfied by multiple wavelengths (wavelength division multiplexing), higher order modulation formats and coherent communication (either individually or combined together). WDM has the ability to reduce cost by using multiple channels within the same physical fiber, and with EDFA amplifiers, the need for O-E-O regenerators is eliminated. Moreover the availability of multiple colors allows for wavelength-based routing and network planning. Higher order modulation formats increases the capacity of the link by their ability to encode data in both the phase and amplitude of light, thereby increasing the bits/sec/Hz as compared to simple on-off keyed format. Coherent communications has also emerged as a primary means of transmitting and receiving optical data due to its support of formats that utilize both phase and amplitude to further increase the spectral efficiency of the optical channel, including quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK). Polarization multiplexing of channels can double capacity by allowing two channels to share the same wavelength by propagating on orthogonal polarization axis and is easily supported in coherent systems where the polarization tracking can be performed in the digital domain. Furthermore, the forthcoming IEEE 100 Gbit/s Ethernet Standard, 802.3ba, provides greater bandwidth, higher data rates, and supports a mixture of modulation formats. In particular, Pol-MUX QPSK is increasingly becoming the industry's format of choice as the high spectral efficiency allows for 100 Gbit/s transmission while still occupying the current 50 GHz/channel allocation of current 10 Gbit/s OOK fiber systems. In this manner, 100 Gbit/s transfer speeds using current fiber links, amplifiers, and filters

  1. High-capacity aqueous zinc batteries using sustainable quinone electrodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Qing; Huang, Weiwei; Luo, Zhiqiang; Liu, Luojia; Lu, Yong; Li, Yixin; Li, Lin; Hu, Jinyan; Ma, Hua; Chen, Jun

    2018-01-01

    Quinones, which are ubiquitous in nature, can act as sustainable and green electrode materials but face dissolution in organic electrolytes, resulting in fast fading of capacity and short cycle life. We report that quinone electrodes, especially calix[4]quinone (C4Q) in rechargeable metal zinc batteries coupled with a cation-selective membrane using an aqueous electrolyte, exhibit a high capacity of 335 mA h g−1 with an energy efficiency of 93% at 20 mA g−1 and a long life of 1000 cycles with a capacity retention of 87% at 500 mA g−1. The pouch zinc batteries with a respective depth of discharge of 89% (C4Q) and 49% (zinc anode) can deliver an energy density of 220 Wh kg−1 by mass of both a C4Q cathode and a theoretical Zn anode. We also develop an electrostatic potential computing method to demonstrate that carbonyl groups are active centers of electrochemistry. Moreover, the structural evolution and dissolution behavior of active materials during discharge and charge processes are investigated by operando spectral techniques such as IR, Raman, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopies. Our results show that batteries using quinone cathodes and metal anodes in aqueous electrolyte are reliable approaches for mass energy storage. PMID:29511734

  2. Performance of heat engines with non-zero heat capacity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Odes, Ron; Kribus, Abraham

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Finite heat capacity is a second irreversibility mechanism in addition to thermal resistance. ► Heat capacity introduces thermal transients and reverse heat flow. ► Engine maximum power and efficiency are lower for finite heat capacity. ► Implementing the optimal engine cycle requires active control. - Abstract: The performance of a heat engine is analyzed subject to two types of irreversibility: a non-zero heat capacity, together with the more common finite heat transfer rate between the engine and the external heat reservoirs. The heat capacity represents an engine body that undergoes significant temperature variations during the engine cycle. An option to cut off the heat exchange between the engine and the external surrounding for part of the engine cycle is also explored. A variational approach was taken to find the engine’s internal temperature profile (which defines the internal thermodynamic cycle) that would produce maximum power. The maximum power is shown to be lower than the case of zero heat capacity, due to a loss of heat that is stored in the engine body and then lost, bypassing the thermodynamic cycle. The maximum efficiency and the efficiency at maximum power are also lower than the zero heat capacity case. Similar to the Curzon–Ahlborn analysis, power can be traded for increased efficiency, but for high heat capacity, the range of efficiency that is available for such a trade is diminished. Isolating the engine during part of the cycle reduces maximum power, but the efficiency at maximum power and the maximum efficiency are improved, due to better exploitation of heat stored in the engine body. This might be useful for real engines that are limited by the internal energy change during a single engine cycle or by the operating frequency, leading to a broader power–efficiency curve.

  3. Investigation on output capacity control strategy of variable refrigerant flow air conditioning system with multi-compressor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tu, Qiu; Zou, Deqiu; Deng, Chenmian; Zhang, Jie; Hou, Lifeng; Yang, Min; Nong, Guicai; Feng, Yuhai

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The control model of compressor output capacity has been built. • The control strategy of compressor switching has been presented. • The switching process of standard compressor has been described. • The characteristics of EER and noise have been presented. • The control strategy and model have been proved by experiments. - Abstract: A set of 14 HP variable refrigerant flow air conditioning system (VRF AC) with multi-compressor has been designed, and the output capacity control strategy of compressor(s) including the switching control model of standard compressor has been built. In the output capacity control model, a certain suction pressure is used as the pressure control target to adjust the output capacity of compressors, and a little pressure fluctuation is taken into account to amend the target pressure. Furthermore, in the compressor switching control model, the most favorable operation frequency region is determined on base of the energy efficiency characteristic and noise characteristic of the compressor. And, in order to solve the large fluctuation problem of the system running and frequent ON-OFF action of the standard compressor, the equal output capacity switching principle can be used to determine the thermo-on and thermo-off switched frequency points, and control the switching process of the compressor. Experiments demonstrate the feasibility of this control strategy to ensure the stability and reliability, improve the energy efficiency and reduce the compressor noise.

  4. Reliable and efficient solution of genome-scale models of Metabolism and macromolecular Expression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, Ding; Yang, Laurence; Fleming, Ronan M. T.

    2017-01-01

    orders of magnitude. Data values also have greatly varying magnitudes. Standard double-precision solvers may return inaccurate solutions or report that no solution exists. Exact simplex solvers based on rational arithmetic require a near-optimal warm start to be practical on large problems (current ME......Constraint-Based Reconstruction and Analysis (COBRA) is currently the only methodology that permits integrated modeling of Metabolism and macromolecular Expression (ME) at genome-scale. Linear optimization computes steady-state flux solutions to ME models, but flux values are spread over many...... models have 70,000 constraints and variables and will grow larger). We have developed a quadrupleprecision version of our linear and nonlinear optimizer MINOS, and a solution procedure (DQQ) involving Double and Quad MINOS that achieves reliability and efficiency for ME models and other challenging...

  5. Energy-Efficiency Analysis of Per-Subcarrier Antenna Selection with Peak-Power Reduction in MIMO-OFDM Wireless Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ngoc Phuc Le

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The use of per-subcarrier antenna subset selection in OFDM wireless systems offers higher system capacity and/or improved link reliability. However, the implementation of the conventional per-subcarrier selection scheme may result in significant fluctuations of the average power and peak power across antennas, which affects the potential benefits of the system. In this paper, power efficiency of high-power amplifiers and energy efficiency in per-subcarrier antenna selection MIMO-OFDM systems are investigated. To deliver the maximum overall power efficiency, we propose a two-step strategy for data-subcarrier allocation. This strategy consists of an equal allocation of data subcarriers based on linear optimization and peak-power reduction via cross-antenna permutations. For analysis, we derive the CCDF (complementary cumulative distribution function of the power efficiency as well as the analytical expressions of the average power efficiency. It is proved from the power-efficiency perspective that the proposed allocation scheme outperforms the conventional scheme. We also show that the improvement in the power efficiency translates into an improved capacity and, in turn, increases energy efficiency of the proposed system. Simulation results are provided to validate our analyses.

  6. Evaluation of myocardial damage and cardiac residual capacity by Tl-201 myocardial scintigraphy in valvular heart diseases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Indo, Shunju

    1992-01-01

    This study was performed to clarify whether the extent-score (Ex-Score) calculated by Tl-201 myocardial scintigraphy is a reliable indicator of the severity of myocardial damage and cardiac residual capacity in valvular heart diseases. The subjects consisted of 38 patients (10 with aortic regurgitation (AR), 4 with aortic stenosis (AS), 13 with mitral regurgitation (MR) and 11 with mitral stenosis (MS)). Ex-Scores were significantly correlated with the severity of myocardial damage found in biopsied specimens obtained intraoperatively (correlation efficiency to Ex-Score with cell diameter in AR, % fibrosis in AR, cell diameter in AS, electron microscopic score in MR and % fibrosis in MS was 0.873, 0.734, 0.970, 0.913 and 0.659, respectively). Ex-Scores were also correlated with cardiac residual capacity determined by radioisotope angiography (correlation efficiency to Ex-Score with %Δ ejection fraction in AR, %Δ end-systolic volume in MR, %Δ end-diastolic volume in MS was -0.764, 0.790 and -0.763, respectively). These results suggest that the severity of myocardial damage and cardiac residual capacity can be estimated by Tl-201 myocardial scintigraphy (Ex-Score) in valvular heart diseases. (author)

  7. Efficient Computation of Buffer Capacities for Cyclo-Static Dataflow Graphs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wiggers, M.H.; Bekooij, Marco Jan Gerrit; Bekooij, Marco J.G.; Smit, Gerardus Johannes Maria

    A key step in the design of cyclo-static real-time systems is the determination of buffer capacities. In our multi-processor system, we apply back-pressure, which means that tasks wait for space in output buffers. Consequently buffer capacities affect the throughput. This requires the derivation of

  8. Efficient Computation of Buffer Capacities for Cyclo-Static Dataflow Graphs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wiggers, M.H.; Bekooij, Marco Jan Gerrit; Smit, Gerardus Johannes Maria

    2006-01-01

    A key step in the design of cyclo-static real-time systems is the determination of buffer capacities. In our multi-processor system, we apply back-pressure, which means that tasks wait for space in output buffers. Consequently buffer capacities affect the throughput. This requires the derivation of

  9. Low-capacity wind power systems. Technology, legal aspects, economic efficiency; Kleine Windenergieanlagen. Technik - Recht - Wirtschaftlichkeit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eggersgluess, Walter [Landwirtschaftskammer Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg (Germany); Eckel, Henning; Hartmann, Stefan [Kuratorium fuer Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft e.V. (KTBL), Darmstadt (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    In what conditions will investments in a low-capacity wind power plant be profitable? This leaflet intends to provide a decision aid for farmers and other land owners interested in thes subject. It outlines the technology of low-capacity wind power systems, goes into site selection, expected yields and legal boundary conditions. The most important economic data are defined, and the economic efficiency of wind power plants of 7.5 to 25 kW is discussed. The text is supplemented by useful internet links. [German] Unter welchen Bedingungen rechnet sich die Investition in eine kleine Windenergieanlage? Das Heft hilft Landwirten sowie allen anderen investitionswilligen Grundstueckseigentuemern fuer sich Antworten auf diese Fragen zu finden und die richtigen Entscheidungen zu treffen. Es gibt einen Ueberblick ueber die Technik kleiner Windenergieanlagen, beschreibt was den richtigen Standort auszeichnet, mit welchen Energieertraegen gerechnet werden kann und welchen rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen Bau und Betrieb der Anlagen unterliegen. Die wichtigsten wirtschaftlichen Kenngroessen werden definiert und die Wirtschaftlichkeit kleiner Windenergieanlagen anhand von Beispielanlagen im Leistungsbereich von 7,5 bis 25 kW diskutiert. Nuetzliche Internetadressen zum Thema Windenergie runden das Informationsangebot ab.

  10. Distribution planning with reliability options for distributed generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trebolle, David; Gomez, Tomas; Cossent, Rafael; Frias, Pablo

    2010-01-01

    The promotion of electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES) and combined heat and power (CHP) has resulted in increasing penetration levels of distributed generation (DG). However, large-scale connection of DG involves profound changes in the operation and planning of electricity distribution networks. Distribution System Operators (DSOs) play a key role since these agents have to provide flexibility to their networks in order to integrate DG. Article 14.7 of EU Electricity Directive states that DSOs should consider DG as an alternative to new network investments. This is a challenging task, particularly under the current regulatory framework where DSOs must be legally and functionally unbundled from other activities in the electricity sector. This paper proposes a market mechanism, referred to as reliability options for distributed generation (RODG), which provides DSOs with an alternative to the investment in new distribution facilities. The mechanism proposed allocates the firm capacity required to DG embedded in the distribution network through a competitive auction. Additionally, RODG make DG partly responsible for reliability and provide DG with incentives for a more efficient operation taking into account the network conditions. (author)

  11. Distribution planning with reliability options for distributed generation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trebolle, David [Union Fenosa Distribucion, C/Antonio Lopez, 19, 28026 Madrid (Spain); Gomez, Tomas; Cossent, Rafael; Frias, Pablo [Instituto de Investigacion Tecnologica, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, C/Quintana 21, 28008 Madrid (Spain)

    2010-02-15

    The promotion of electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES) and combined heat and power (CHP) has resulted in increasing penetration levels of distributed generation (DG). However, large-scale connection of DG involves profound changes in the operation and planning of electricity distribution networks. Distribution System Operators (DSOs) play a key role since these agents have to provide flexibility to their networks in order to integrate DG. Article 14.7 of EU Electricity Directive states that DSOs should consider DG as an alternative to new network investments. This is a challenging task, particularly under the current regulatory framework where DSOs must be legally and functionally unbundled from other activities in the electricity sector. This paper proposes a market mechanism, referred to as reliability options for distributed generation (RODG), which provides DSOs with an alternative to the investment in new distribution facilities. The mechanism proposed allocates the firm capacity required to DG embedded in the distribution network through a competitive auction. Additionally, RODG make DG partly responsible for reliability and provide DG with incentives for a more efficient operation taking into account the network conditions. (author)

  12. Traffic-Adaptive and Energy-Efficient Small Cell Networks-Energy, Delay and Throughput

    OpenAIRE

    Nazrul Alam, Mirza

    2016-01-01

    The low power small cell network has emerged as a promising and feasible solution to address the massive wireless traffic resulting from the aggressive growth of wireless applications. It is also estimated that Internet of things (IoT) will consist of around 50 billion physical objects by 2020. As a result, besides capacity enhancement, other challenges, e.g., energy efficiency, dynamic addressing of UL/DL traffic asymmetry, low latency, multi-hop communications, reliability and coverage have...

  13. Efficient and Reliable Solar Panels for Small CubeSat Picosatellites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivo Vertat

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available CubeSat picosatellites have a limited area of walls for solar cells assembling and the available area has to be effectively shared with other parts, such as planar antennas, optical sensors, camera lens, and access port. With standard size of solar cell strings, it is not possible to construct a reliable solar panel for CubeSat with redundant strings interconnection. Typical solar panels for CubeSat consist of two solar cell strings serially wired with no redundancy in case of solar string failure. The loss of electric energy from one solar panel can cause a serious problem for most picosatellites due to minimum margin in the blueprints of the picosatellite subsystem power budget. In this paper, we propose a new architecture of solar panels for PilsenCUBE CubeSat with a high level of redundancy in the case of solar string failure or following switched power regulator failure. Our solar panels use a high efficiency triple junction GaInP2/GaAs/Ge in the form of small triangle strings from the Spectrolab Company. A suitable technology for precise solar cell assembling is also discussed, because CubeSat picosatellites are usually developed by small teams with limited access to high-end facilities.

  14. Reliable on-line storage in the ALICE High-Level Trigger

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalcher, Sebastian; Lindenstruth, Volker [Kirchhoff Institute of Physics, University of Heidelberg (Germany)

    2009-07-01

    The on-line disk capacity within large computing clusters such as used in the ALICE High-Level Trigger (HLT) is often not used due to the inherent unreliability of the involved disks. With currently available hard drive capacities the total on-line capacity can be significant when compared to the storage requirements of present high energy physics experiments. In this talk we report on ClusterRAID, a reliable, distributed mass storage system, which allows to harness the (often unused) disk capacities of large cluster installations. The key paradigm of this system is to transform the local hard drive into a reliable device. It provides adjustable fault-tolerance by utilizing sophisticated error-correcting codes. To reduce the costs of coding and decoding operations the use of modern graphics processing units as co-processor has been investigated. Also, the utilization of low overhead, high performance communication networks has been examined. A prototype set up of the system exists within the HLT with 90 TB gross capacity.

  15. On the computation of the higher order statistics of the channel capacity for amplify-and-forward multihop transmission

    KAUST Repository

    Yilmaz, Ferkan; Tabassum, Hina; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2014-01-01

    Higher order statistics (HOS) of the channel capacity provide useful information regarding the level of reliability of signal transmission at a particular rate. In this paper, we propose a novel and unified analysis, which is based on the moment-generating function (MGF) approach, to efficiently and accurately compute the HOS of the channel capacity for amplify-and-forward (AF) multihop transmission over generalized fading channels. More precisely, our easy-to-use and tractable mathematical formalism requires only the reciprocal MGFs of the transmission hop signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Numerical and simulation results, which are performed to exemplify the usefulness of the proposed MGF-based analysis, are shown to be in perfect agreement. © 2013 IEEE.

  16. An economic perspective on the reliability of lighting systems in building with highly efficient energy: A case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salata, F.; Lieto Vollaro, A. de; Ferraro, A.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Proper design of efficient lighting systems. • The reliability and durability of the light sources. • Maintenance of lighting systems. • Quality standards of LED lamps. • Optimum economic choice of light sources. - Abstract: The performance of lighting system must be calculated in order to determine the energy requirements of the building. In the normative [EN 12464-1] are established lighting requirements which have effects on energy needs. The European standard [EN 15193] provides guidance on that evaluation. The easiest way to comply with reduction of energy requirements leads to the replacement of traditional lamps with LED ones, but if we calculate also the reliability parameters, the economic return is not guaranteed. Using bibliographic data, we have compared lighting’s results for a museum (LED lamps versus CFL and halogen lamps). The objective function of the study is to optimize the energy consumption of lighting systems, but at the same time to assess the reliability (MTTF of the lamps) of these systems. Without accurate information about this last parameters, the right choice of the lamps cannot be done successfully

  17. Towards Reliable, Scalable, and Energy Efficient Cognitive Radio Systems

    KAUST Repository

    Sboui, Lokman

    2017-11-01

    The cognitive radio (CR) concept is expected to be adopted along with many technologies to meet the requirements of the next generation of wireless and mobile systems, the 5G. Consequently, it is important to determine the performance of the CR systems with respect to these requirements. In this thesis, after briefly describing the 5G requirements, we present three main directions in which we aim to enhance the CR performance. The first direction is the reliability. We study the achievable rate of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay-assisted CR under two scenarios; an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) one-way relaying (OWR) and a fixed two-way relaying (TWR). We propose special linear precoding schemes that enable the secondary user (SU) to take advantage of the primary-free channel eigenmodes. We study the SU rate sensitivity to the relay power, the relay gain, the UAV altitude, the number of antennas and the line of sight availability. The second direction is the scalability. We first study a multiple access channel (MAC) with multiple SUs scenario. We propose a particular linear precoding and SUs selection scheme maximizing their sum-rate. We show that the proposed scheme provides a significant sum-rate improvement as the number of SUs increases. Secondly, we expand our scalability study to cognitive cellular networks. We propose a low-complexity algorithm for base station activation/deactivation and dynamic spectrum management maximizing the profits of primary and secondary networks subject to green constraints. We show that our proposed algorithms achieve performance close to those obtained with the exhaustive search method. The third direction is the energy efficiency (EE). We present a novel power allocation scheme based on maximizing the EE of both single-input and single-output (SISO) and MIMO systems. We solve a non-convex problem and derive explicit expressions of the corresponding optimal power. When the instantaneous channel is not available, we

  18. Reliability and efficiency upgrades of power systems operation by implementing intelligent electronic devices with synchrophasor measurement technology support

    OpenAIRE

    Mokeev Alexey

    2017-01-01

    This paper reviews issues of reliability and efficiency upgrades of power systems functions by means of a widespread implementation of intelligent electronic devices (IED) in various purposes supporting synchrophasor measurement technology. Thus, such issues as IED’s operational analysis in the conditions of electromagnetic and electromechanical transient processes and synthesis of digital filters that improve static and dynamic responses of these devices play an important role in their devel...

  19. Analyzing the reliability of shuffle-exchange networks using reliability block diagrams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bistouni, Fathollah; Jahanshahi, Mohsen

    2014-01-01

    Supercomputers and multi-processor systems are comprised of thousands of processors that need to communicate in an efficient way. One reasonable solution would be the utilization of multistage interconnection networks (MINs), where the challenge is to analyze the reliability of such networks. One of the methods to increase the reliability and fault-tolerance of the MINs is use of various switching stages. Therefore, recently, the reliability of one of the most common MINs namely shuffle-exchange network (SEN) has been evaluated through the investigation on the impact of increasing the number of switching stage. Also, it is concluded that the reliability of SEN with one additional stage (SEN+) is better than SEN or SEN with two additional stages (SEN+2), even so, the reliability of SEN is better compared to SEN with two additional stages (SEN+2). Here we re-evaluate the reliability of these networks where the results of the terminal, broadcast, and network reliability analysis demonstrate that SEN+ and SEN+2 continuously outperform SEN and are very alike in terms of reliability. - Highlights: • The impact of increasing the number of stages on reliability of MINs is investigated. • The RBD method as an accurate method is used for the reliability analysis of MINs. • Complex series–parallel RBDs are used to determine the reliability of the MINs. • All measures of the reliability (i.e. terminal, broadcast, and network reliability) are analyzed. • All reliability equations will be calculated for different size N×N

  20. Structural Reliability: An Assessment Using a New and Efficient Two-Phase Method Based on Artificial Neural Network and a Harmony Search Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naser Kazemi Elaki

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In this research, a two-phase algorithm based on the artificial neural network (ANN and a harmony search (HS algorithm has been developed with the aim of assessing the reliability of structures with implicit limit state functions. The proposed method involves the generation of datasets to be used specifically for training by Finite Element analysis, to establish an ANN model using a proven ANN model in the reliability assessment process as an analyzer for structures, and finally estimate the reliability index and failure probability by using the HS algorithm, without any requirements for the explicit form of limit state function. The proposed algorithm is investigated here, and its accuracy and efficiency are demonstrated by using several numerical examples. The results obtained show that the proposed algorithm gives an appropriate estimate for the assessment of reliability of structures.

  1. Nuclear power plants electrical retrofitting for cost effectiveness, reliability and operating efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ciufu, L.; Popescu, M. O.

    2016-01-01

    In the context of continuous fast growing of the energy demand the current power plants retrofitting concept may represent an important step in the emission reduction, being able to offer in the same time a maximum operating efficiency. This desideratum can be obtained by implementing a rigorous energy management plan, based on an increased energy production capacity of non-pollutant electrical power plants and future-oriented frame on extending their lifetime operation. This management is focused on using state-of-art electronic, electrical and industrial control equipments, which can represent a real key factor. Thus, in this paper an analysis of the electrical system retrofitting is presented. As a part of this research the authors propose and simulate ambitious ways to upgrade actual control and command of the electrical operating systems, by promoting variable speed for large pumps and also computer software, as SCADA, for an intelligent control and monitoring of these studied processes. (authors)

  2. Criteriom of efficiency of thermometric systems with increased reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sal'nikov, N.L.; Filimonov, E.V.

    1995-01-01

    Problems on metrological reliability of thermometric systems, intended for temperature regime control at nuclear power facilities are discussed. Thermoelectrical converters and resistance thermoconverters are the most utilized sources of thermometric information at nuclear power plants. Two or more transducers are proposed to be unified in one measurement system in order to increase the accuracy of temperature measurements through obtaining surplus values. Two versions of thermometric systems organization are considered. The first system combined various-type temperature transducers whereas the second system consists of two similar-type transducers. It is established that thermometric systems with various-type transducers are characterized by higher metrological reliability. 3 refs.; 2 figs

  3. Clinical Functional Capacity Testing in Patients With Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy: Construct Validity and Interrater Reliability of Antigravity Tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rijken, Noortje H; van Engelen, Baziel G; Weerdesteyn, Vivian; Geurts, Alexander C

    2015-12-01

    To evaluate the construct validity and interrater reliability of 4 simple antigravity tests in a small group of patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Case-control study. University medical center. Patients with various severity levels of FSHD (n=9) and healthy control subjects (n=10) were included (N=19). Not applicable. A 4-point ordinal scale was designed to grade performance on the following 4 antigravity tests: sit to stance, stance to sit, step up, and step down. In addition, the 6-minute walk test, 10-m walking test, Berg Balance Scale, and timed Up and Go test were administered as conventional tests. Construct validity was determined by linear regression analysis using the Clinical Severity Score (CSS) as the dependent variable. Interrater agreement was tested using a κ analysis. Patients with FSHD performed worse on all 4 antigravity tests compared with the controls. Stronger correlations were found within than between test categories (antigravity vs conventional). The antigravity tests revealed the highest explained variance with regard to the CSS (R(2)=.86, P=.014). Interrater agreement was generally good. The results of this exploratory study support the construct validity and interrater reliability of the proposed antigravity tests for the assessment of functional capacity in patients with FSHD taking into account the use of compensatory strategies. Future research should further validate these results in a larger sample of patients with FSHD. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Capacity-achieving CPM schemes

    OpenAIRE

    Perotti, Alberto; Tarable, Alberto; Benedetto, Sergio; Montorsi, Guido

    2008-01-01

    The pragmatic approach to coded continuous-phase modulation (CPM) is proposed as a capacity-achieving low-complexity alternative to the serially-concatenated CPM (SC-CPM) coding scheme. In this paper, we first perform a selection of the best spectrally-efficient CPM modulations to be embedded into SC-CPM schemes. Then, we consider the pragmatic capacity (a.k.a. BICM capacity) of CPM modulations and optimize it through a careful design of the mapping between input bits and CPM waveforms. The s...

  5. Safety Criteria and Standards for Bearing Capacity of Foundation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanlong Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the evaluation standards of factor of safety for foundation stability analysis. The problem of foundation stability is analyzed via the methods of risk analysis of engineering structures and reliability-based design, and the factor of safety for foundation stability is determined by using bearing capacity safety-factor method (BSFM and strength safety-factor method (SSFM. Based on a typical example, the admissible factors of safety were calibrated with a target reliability index specified in relevant standards. Two safety criteria and their standards of bearing capacity of foundation for these two methods (BSFM and SSFM were established. The universality of the safety criteria and their standards for foundation reliability was verified based on the concept of the ratio of safety margin (RSM.

  6. Reliability and efficiency upgrades of power systems operation by implementing intelligent electronic devices with synchrophasor measurement technology support

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mokeev Alexey

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews issues of reliability and efficiency upgrades of power systems functions by means of a widespread implementation of intelligent electronic devices (IED in various purposes supporting synchrophasor measurement technology. Thus, such issues as IED’s operational analysis in the conditions of electromagnetic and electromechanical transient processes and synthesis of digital filters that improve static and dynamic responses of these devices play an important role in their development.

  7. Decision Diagram Based Symbolic Algorithm for Evaluating the Reliability of a Multistate Flow Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rongsheng Dong

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Evaluating the reliability of Multistate Flow Network (MFN is an NP-hard problem. Ordered binary decision diagram (OBDD or variants thereof, such as multivalued decision diagram (MDD, are compact and efficient data structures suitable for dealing with large-scale problems. Two symbolic algorithms for evaluating the reliability of MFN, MFN_OBDD and MFN_MDD, are proposed in this paper. In the algorithms, several operating functions are defined to prune the generated decision diagrams. Thereby the state space of capacity combinations is further compressed and the operational complexity of the decision diagrams is further reduced. Meanwhile, the related theoretical proofs and complexity analysis are carried out. Experimental results show the following: (1 compared to the existing decomposition algorithm, the proposed algorithms take less memory space and fewer loops. (2 The number of nodes and the number of variables of MDD generated in MFN_MDD algorithm are much smaller than those of OBDD built in the MFN_OBDD algorithm. (3 In two cases with the same number of arcs, the proposed algorithms are more suitable for calculating the reliability of sparse networks.

  8. Quantum capacity of Pauli channels with memory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Peng; He Guangqiang; Lu Yuan; Zeng Guihua

    2011-01-01

    The amount of coherent quantum information that can be reliably transmitted down the memory Pauli channels with Markovian correlated noise is investigated. Two methods for evaluating the quantum capacity of the memory Pauli channels are proposed to try to trace the memory effect on the transmissions of quantum information. We show that the evaluation of quantum capacity can be reduced to the calculation of the initial memory state of each successive transmission. Furthermore, we derive quantum capacities of the memory phase flip channel, bit flip channel and bit-phase flip channel. Also, a lower bound of the quantum capacity of the memory depolarizing channel is obtained. An increase of the degree of memory of the channels has a positive effect on the increase of their quantum capacities.

  9. Pulmonary hypertension in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - the predictive value of exercise capacity and gas exchange efficiency.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sven Gläser

    Full Text Available Exercise capacity and survival of patients with IPF is potentially impaired by pulmonary hypertension. This study aims to investigate diagnostic and prognostic properties of gas exchange during exercise and lung function in IPF patients with or without pulmonary hypertension. In a multicentre setting, patients with IPF underwent right heart catheterization, cardiopulmonary exercise and lung function testing during their initial evaluation. Mortality follow up was evaluated. Seventy-three of 135 patients [82 males; median age of 64 (56; 72 years] with IPF had pulmonary hypertension as assessed by right heart catheterization [median mean pulmonary arterial pressure 34 (27; 43 mmHg]. The presence of pulmonary hypertension was best predicted by gas exchange efficiency for carbon dioxide (cut off ≥152% predicted; area under the curve 0.94 and peak oxygen uptake (≤56% predicted; 0.83, followed by diffusing capacity. Resting lung volumes did not predict pulmonary hypertension. Survival was best predicted by the presence of pulmonary hypertension, followed by peak oxygen uptake [HR 0.96 (0.93; 0.98]. Pulmonary hypertension in IPF patients is best predicted by gas exchange efficiency during exercise and peak oxygen uptake. In addition to invasively measured pulmonary arterial pressure, oxygen uptake at peak exercise predicts survival in this patient population.

  10. Reliable, Economic, Efficient CO2 Heat Pump Water Heater for North America

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Radcliff, Thomas D; Sienel, Tobias; Huff, Hans-Joachim; Thompson, Adrian; Sadegh, Payman; Olsommer, Benoit; Park, Young

    2006-12-31

    Adoption of heat pump water heating technology for commercial hot water could save up to 0.4 quads of energy and 5 million metric tons of CO2 production annually in North America, but industry perception is that this technology does not offer adequate performance or reliability and comes at too high of a cost. Development and demonstration of a CO2 heat pump water heater is proposed to reduce these barriers to adoption. Three major themes are addressed: market analysis to understand barriers to adoption, use of advanced reliability models to design optimum qualification test plans, and field testing of two phases of water heater prototypes. Market experts claim that beyond good performance, market adoption requires 'drop and forget' system reliability and a six month payback of first costs. Performance, reliability and cost targets are determined and reliability models are developed to evaluate the minimum testing required to meet reliability targets. Three phase 1 prototypes are designed and installed in the field. Based on results from these trials a product specification is developed and a second phase of five field trial units are built and installed. These eight units accumulate 11 unit-years of service including 15,650 hours and 25,242 cycles of compressor operation. Performance targets can be met. An availability of 60% is achieved and the capability to achieve >90% is demonstrated, but overall reliability is below target, with an average of 3.6 failures/unit-year on the phase 2 demonstration. Most reliability issues are shown to be common to new HVAC products, giving high confidence in mature product reliability, but the need for further work to minimize leaks and ensure reliability of the electronic expansion valve is clear. First cost is projected to be above target, leading to an expectation of 8-24 month payback when substituted for an electric water heater. Despite not meeting all targets, arguments are made that an industry leader could

  11. Design considerations for energy efficient, resilient, multi-layer networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fagertun, Anna Manolova; Hansen, Line Pyndt; Ruepp, Sarah Renée

    2016-01-01

    measures. In this complex problem, considerations such as client traffic granularity, applied grooming policies and multi-layer resiliency add even more complexity. A commercially available network planning tool is used to investigate the interplay between different methods for resilient capacity planning......This work investigates different network design considerations with respect to energy-efficiency, under green-field resilient multi-layer network deployment. The problem of energy efficient, reliable multi-layer network design is known to result in different trade-offs between key performance....... Switching off low-utilized transport links has been investigated via a pro-active re-routing applied during the network planning. Our analysis shows that design factors such as the applied survivability strategy and the applied planning method have higher impact on the key performance indicators compared...

  12. Application of Reliability in Breakwater Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiani, Erik

    methods to design certain types of breakwaters. Reliability analyses of the main armour and toe berm interaction is exemplified to show the effect of a multiple set of failure mechanisms. First the limit state equations of the main armour and toe interaction are derived from laboratory tests performed...... response, but in one area information has been lacking; bearing capacity has not been treated in depth in a probabilistic manner for breakwaters. Reliability analysis of conventional rubble mound breakwaters and conventional vertical breakwaters is exemplified for the purpose of establishing new ways...... by Bologna University. Thereafter a multiple system of failure for the interaction is established. Relevant stochastic parameters are characterized prior to the reliability evaluation. Application of reliability in crown wall design is illustrated by deriving relevant single foundation failure modes...

  13. On the Path to SunShot - The Role of Advancements in Solar Photovoltaic Efficiency, Reliability, and Costs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woodhouse, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jones-Albertus, Rebecca [Dept. of Energy (DOE), Washington DC (United States); Feldman, David [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Fu, Ran [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Horowitz, Kelsey [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chung, Donald [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jordan, Dirk [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kurtz, Sarah [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-05-01

    Although tremendous progress has been made in reducing the cost of PV systems, additional LCOE reductions of 40%–50% between 2015 and 2020 will be required to reach the SunShot Initiative’s targets (see Woodhouse et al. 2016). Understanding the tradeoffs between installed prices and other PV system characteristics—such as module efficiency, module degradation rate, and system lifetime—are vital. For example, with 29%-efficient modules and high reliability (a 50-year lifetime and a 0.2%/year module degradation rate), a residential PV system could achieve the SunShot LCOE goal with modules priced at almost $1.20/W. But change the lifetime to 10 years and the degradation rate to 2%/year, and the system would need those very high-efficiency modules at zero cost to achieve the same LCOE. Although these examples are extreme, they serve to illustrate the wide range of technological combinations that could help drive PV toward the LCOE goals. SunShot’s PV roadmaps illustrate specific potential pathways to the target cost reductions.

  14. Integrating generation and transmission networks reliability for unit commitment solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jalilzadeh, S.; Shayeghi, H.; Hadadian, H.

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a new method with integration of generation and transmission networks reliability for the solution of unit commitment (UC) problem. In fact, in order to have a more accurate assessment of system reserve requirement, in addition to unavailability of generation units, unavailability of transmission lines are also taken into account. In this way, evaluation of the required spinning reserve (SR) capacity is performed by applying reliability constraints based on loss of load probability and expected energy not supplied (EENS) indices. Calculation of the above parameters is accomplished by employing a novel procedure based on the linear programming which it also minimizes them to achieve optimum level of the SR capacity and consequently a cost-benefit reliability constrained UC schedule. In addition, a powerful solution technique called 'integer-coded genetic algorithm (ICGA)' is being used for the solution of the proposed method. Numerical results on the IEEE reliability test system show that the consideration of transmission network unavailability has an important influence on reliability indices of the UC schedules

  15. Metamodel for Efficient Estimation of Capacity-Fade Uncertainty in Li-Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaewook Lee

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an efficient method for estimating capacity-fade uncertainty in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs in order to integrate them into the battery-management system (BMS of electric vehicles, which requires simple and inexpensive computation for successful application. The study uses the pseudo-two-dimensional (P2D electrochemical model, which simulates the battery state by solving a system of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs. The model parameters that are responsible for electrode degradation are identified and estimated, based on battery data obtained from the charge cycles. The Bayesian approach, with parameters estimated by probability distributions, is employed to account for uncertainties arising in the model and battery data. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC technique is used to draw samples from the distributions. The complex computations that solve a PDE system for each sample are avoided by employing a polynomial-based metamodel. As a result, the computational cost is reduced from 5.5 h to a few seconds, enabling the integration of the method into the vehicle BMS. Using this approach, the conservative bound of capacity fade can be determined for the vehicle in service, which represents the safety margin reflecting the uncertainty.

  16. THE RELIABILITY ANALYSIS OF EXISTING REINFORCED CONCRETE PILES IN PERMAFROST REGIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir S. Utkin

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the general problem of safe operation of buildings and structures with the dynamics of permafrost in Russia and other countries. The global warming on Earth will lead to global disasters such as failures of buildings and structures. The main reason of these failures will be a reduction of bearing capacity and the reliability of foundations. It is necessary to organize the observations (monitoring for the process of reducing the bearing capacity of foundations to prevent such accidents and reduce negative consequences, to development of preventive measures and operational methods for the piles reliability analysis. The main load-bearing elements of the foundation are reinforced concrete piles and frozen ground. Reinforced concrete piles have a tendency to decrease the bearing capacity and reliability of the upper (aerial part and the part in the soil. The article discusses the problem of reliability analysis of existing reinforced concrete piles in upper part in permafrost regions by the reason of pile degradation in the contact zone of seasonal thawing and freezing soil. The evaluation of the probability of failure is important in itself, but also it important for the reliability of foundation: consisting of piles and frozen soil. Authors offers the methods for reliability analysis of upper part of reinforced concrete piles in the contact zone with seasonally thawed soil under different number of random variables (fuzzy variables in the design mathematical model of a limit state by the strength criterion.

  17. Testing the reliability and efficiency of the pilot Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) for systematic mixed studies review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pace, Romina; Pluye, Pierre; Bartlett, Gillian; Macaulay, Ann C; Salsberg, Jon; Jagosh, Justin; Seller, Robbyn

    2012-01-01

    Systematic literature reviews identify, select, appraise, and synthesize relevant literature on a particular topic. Typically, these reviews examine primary studies based on similar methods, e.g., experimental trials. In contrast, interest in a new form of review, known as mixed studies review (MSR), which includes qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies, is growing. In MSRs, reviewers appraise studies that use different methods allowing them to obtain in-depth answers to complex research questions. However, appraising the quality of studies with different methods remains challenging. To facilitate systematic MSRs, a pilot Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) has been developed at McGill University (a checklist and a tutorial), which can be used to concurrently appraise the methodological quality of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies. The purpose of the present study is to test the reliability and efficiency of a pilot version of the MMAT. The Center for Participatory Research at McGill conducted a systematic MSR on the benefits of Participatory Research (PR). Thirty-two PR evaluation studies were appraised by two independent reviewers using the pilot MMAT. Among these, 11 (34%) involved nurses as researchers or research partners. Appraisal time was measured to assess efficiency. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by calculating a kappa statistic based on dichotomized responses for each criterion. An appraisal score was determined for each study, which allowed the calculation of an overall intra-class correlation. On average, it took 14 min to appraise a study (excluding the initial reading of articles). Agreement between reviewers was moderate to perfect with regards to MMAT criteria, and substantial with respect to the overall quality score of appraised studies. The MMAT is unique, thus the reliability of the pilot MMAT is promising, and encourages further development. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Assessment of capacity loss in low-rate lithium/bromine chloride in thionyl chloride cells by microcalorimetry and long-term discharge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takeuchi, E. S.; Meyer, S. M.; Holmes, C. F.

    1990-06-01

    Real-time discharge is one of the few reliable methods available for determining capacities of low-rate cells. The utilization of high energy density lithium batteries in low-rate implantable applications has increased the need for more time-efficient methods of predicting cell longevity since cells have been shown to last in excess of eight years. The relationship between heat dissipation and self-discharge of low-rate lithium/BCX (bromine chloride in thionyl chloride) cells was studied and allows prediction of cell life prior to the availability of real-time data. The method was verified by real-time cell discharge data and provided estimates of delivered capacity within 6 percent of the actual values.

  19. A least squares approach for efficient and reliable short-term versus long-term optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Lasse Hjuler; Capolei, Andrea; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

    2017-01-01

    The uncertainties related to long-term forecasts of oil prices impose significant financial risk on ventures of oil production. To minimize risk, oil companies are inclined to maximize profit over short-term horizons ranging from months to a few years. In contrast, conventional production...... optimization maximizes long-term profits over horizons that span more than a decade. To address this challenge, the oil literature has introduced short-term versus long-term optimization. Ideally, this problem is solved by a posteriori multi-objective optimization methods that generate an approximation...... the balance between the objectives, leaving an unfulfilled potential to increase profits. To promote efficient and reliable short-term versus long-term optimization, this paper introduces a natural way to characterize desirable Pareto points and proposes a novel least squares (LS) method. Unlike hierarchical...

  20. Developing MESA : an accelerated reliability test

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baskoro, G.; Rouvroye, J.L.; Bacher, W.; Brombacher, A.C.

    2003-01-01

    This paper describes the on-going research on an accelerated reliability test strategy called MESA (Multiple Environment Stress Analysis) intended to find in a fast and efficient manner (potential) reliability problems during the design phase of high volume consumer products. This test has shown

  1. Building America Case Study: Impact of Improved Duct Insulation on Fixed-Capacity (SEER 13) and Variable-Capacity (SEER 22) Heat Pumps, Cocoa, Florida

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2017-04-01

    A new generation of central, ducted variable-capacity heat pump systems has come on the market, promising very high cooling and heating efficiency. Instead of cycling on at full capacity and then cycling off when the thermostat is satisfied, they vary their cooling and heating output over a wide range (approximately 40 to 118% of nominal full capacity); thus, staying 'on' for 60% to 100% more hours per day compared to fixed-capacity systems. Current Phase 4 experiments in an instrumented lab home with simulated occupancy evaluate the impact of duct R-value enhancement on the overall operating efficiency of the variable-capacity system compared to the fixed-capacity system.

  2. Free energy and heat capacity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurata, M.; Devanathan, R.

    2015-01-01

    Free energy and heat capacity of actinide elements and compounds are important properties for the evaluation of the safety and reliable performance of nuclear fuel. They are essential inputs for models that describe complex phenomena that govern the behaviour of actinide compounds during nuclear fuels fabrication and irradiation. This chapter introduces various experimental methods to measure free energy and heat capacity to serve as inputs for models and to validate computer simulations. This is followed by a discussion of computer simulation of these properties, and recent simulations of thermophysical properties of nuclear fuel are briefly reviewed. (authors)

  3. An efficient phased mission reliability analysis for autonomous vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Remenyte-Prescott, R., E-mail: R.Remenyte-Prescott@nottingham.ac.u [Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Andrews, J.D. [Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Chung, P.W.H. [Department of Computer Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU (United Kingdom)

    2010-03-15

    Autonomous systems are becoming more commonly used, especially in hazardous situations. Such systems are expected to make their own decisions about future actions when some capabilities degrade due to failures of their subsystems. Such decisions are made without human input, therefore they need to be well-informed in a short time when the situation is analysed and future consequences of the failure are estimated. The future planning of the mission should take account of the likelihood of mission failure. The reliability analysis for autonomous systems can be performed using the methodologies developed for phased mission analysis, where the causes of failure for each phase in the mission can be expressed by fault trees. Unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAVs) are of a particular interest in the aeronautical industry, where it is a long term ambition to operate them routinely in civil airspace. Safety is the main requirement for the UAV operation and the calculation of failure probability of each phase and the overall mission is the topic of this paper. When components or subsystems fail or environmental conditions throughout the mission change, these changes can affect the future mission. The new proposed methodology takes into account the available diagnostics data and is used to predict future capabilities of the UAV in real time. Since this methodology is based on the efficient BDD method, the quickly provided advice can be used in making decisions. When failures occur appropriate actions are required in order to preserve safety of the autonomous vehicle. The overall decision making strategy for autonomous vehicles is explained in this paper. Some limitations of the methodology are discussed and further improvements are presented based on experimental results.

  4. An efficient phased mission reliability analysis for autonomous vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Remenyte-Prescott, R.; Andrews, J.D.; Chung, P.W.H.

    2010-01-01

    Autonomous systems are becoming more commonly used, especially in hazardous situations. Such systems are expected to make their own decisions about future actions when some capabilities degrade due to failures of their subsystems. Such decisions are made without human input, therefore they need to be well-informed in a short time when the situation is analysed and future consequences of the failure are estimated. The future planning of the mission should take account of the likelihood of mission failure. The reliability analysis for autonomous systems can be performed using the methodologies developed for phased mission analysis, where the causes of failure for each phase in the mission can be expressed by fault trees. Unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAVs) are of a particular interest in the aeronautical industry, where it is a long term ambition to operate them routinely in civil airspace. Safety is the main requirement for the UAV operation and the calculation of failure probability of each phase and the overall mission is the topic of this paper. When components or subsystems fail or environmental conditions throughout the mission change, these changes can affect the future mission. The new proposed methodology takes into account the available diagnostics data and is used to predict future capabilities of the UAV in real time. Since this methodology is based on the efficient BDD method, the quickly provided advice can be used in making decisions. When failures occur appropriate actions are required in order to preserve safety of the autonomous vehicle. The overall decision making strategy for autonomous vehicles is explained in this paper. Some limitations of the methodology are discussed and further improvements are presented based on experimental results.

  5. Collision risk-capacity tradeoff analysis of an en-route corridor model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ye Bojia

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Flow corridors are a new class of trajectory-based airspace which derives from the next generation air transportation system concept of operations. Reducing the airspace complexity and increasing the capacity are the main purposes of the en-route corridor. This paper analyzes the collision risk-capacity tradeoff using a combined discrete–continuous simulation method. A basic two-dimensional en-route flow corridor with performance rules is designed as the operational environment. A second-order system is established by combining the point mass model and the proportional derivative controller together to simulate the self-separation operations of the aircrafts in the corridor and the operation performance parameters from the User Manual for the Base of Aircraft Data are used in this research in order to improve the reliability. Simulation results indicate that the aircrafts can self-separate from each other efficiently by adjusting their velocities, and rationally setting the values of some variables can improve the rate and stability of the corridor with low risks of loss of separation.

  6. Time-Varying Value of Energy Efficiency in Michigan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mims, Natalie; Eckman, Tom; Schwartz, Lisa C.

    2018-04-02

    Quantifying the time-varying value of energy efficiency is necessary to properly account for all of its benefits and costs and to identify and implement efficiency resources that contribute to a low-cost, reliable electric system. Historically, most quantification of the benefits of efficiency has focused largely on the economic value of annual energy reduction. Due to the lack of statistically representative metered end-use load shape data in Michigan (i.e., the hourly or seasonal timing of electricity savings), the ability to confidently characterize the time-varying value of energy efficiency savings in the state, especially for weather-sensitive measures such as central air conditioning, is limited. Still, electric utilities in Michigan can take advantage of opportunities to incorporate the time-varying value of efficiency into their planning. For example, end-use load research and hourly valuation of efficiency savings can be used for a variety of electricity planning functions, including load forecasting, demand-side management and evaluation, capacity planning, long-term resource planning, renewable energy integration, assessing potential grid modernization investments, establishing rates and pricing, and customer service (KEMA 2012). In addition, accurately calculating the time-varying value of efficiency may help energy efficiency program administrators prioritize existing offerings, set incentive or rebate levels that reflect the full value of efficiency, and design new programs.

  7. Seismic fragility capacity of equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iijima, Toru; Abe, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Kenichi

    2006-01-01

    Seismic probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) is an available method to evaluate residual risks of nuclear plants that are designed on definitive seismic conditions. From our preliminary seismic PSA analysis, horizontal shaft pumps are important components that have significant influences on the core damage frequency (CDF). An actual horizontal shaft pump and some kinds of elements were tested to evaluate realistic fragility capacities. Our test results showed that the realistic fragility capacity of horizontal shaft pump would be at least four times as high as a current value, 1.6 x 9.8 m/s 2 , used for our seismic PSA. We are going to incorporate the fragility capacity data that were obtained from those tests into our seismic PSA analysis, and we expect that the reliability of seismic PSA should increase. (author)

  8. Network capacity auctions: promise and problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newbery, David M.

    2003-01-01

    Well-designed auctions work favorably for allocating idiosyncratic properties efficiently. Auctions are used to allocate entry capacity for United Kingdom gas and inter-connector capacity for electricity in several European Union countries and can work well for allocating existing capacity, though careful auction design is needed to mitigate potential market power. Using auction prices to guide investment decisions in networks is problematic if bidders fear that sub-optimal investment will be compensated by regulatory fiat, lowering future capacity values. (Author)

  9. S. 1225: to bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, to establish a comprehensive, equitable, reliable, and efficient mechanism for full compensation of the public in the event of an accident. Introduced in the Senate of the United States, Ninety-Ninth Congress, Second Session, May 24, 1985

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1986-01-01

    The Price-Anderson Act Amendments of 1985 amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to establish a comprehensive, equitable, reliable, and efficient mechanism for full compensation of the public in the event of an accident. The amended Act sets the amount of financial protection required as the amount of liability insurance available from private sources, with power plants having a rated capacity of 100,000 KWe or more required to have the maximum amount available at reasonable cost. The Act also changes the terms of indemnification agreements for activities done under contract to DOE

  10. Capacity Maximizing Constellations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barsoum, Maged; Jones, Christopher

    2010-01-01

    Some non-traditional signal constellations have been proposed for transmission of data over the Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel using such channel-capacity-approaching codes as low-density parity-check (LDPC) or turbo codes. Computational simulations have shown performance gains of more than 1 dB over traditional constellations. These gains could be translated to bandwidth- efficient communications, variously, over longer distances, using less power, or using smaller antennas. The proposed constellations have been used in a bit-interleaved coded modulation system employing state-ofthe-art LDPC codes. In computational simulations, these constellations were shown to afford performance gains over traditional constellations as predicted by the gap between the parallel decoding capacity of the constellations and the Gaussian capacity

  11. A double-loop adaptive sampling approach for sensitivity-free dynamic reliability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Zequn; Wang, Pingfeng

    2015-01-01

    Dynamic reliability measures reliability of an engineered system considering time-variant operation condition and component deterioration. Due to high computational costs, conducting dynamic reliability analysis at an early system design stage remains challenging. This paper presents a confidence-based meta-modeling approach, referred to as double-loop adaptive sampling (DLAS), for efficient sensitivity-free dynamic reliability analysis. The DLAS builds a Gaussian process (GP) model sequentially to approximate extreme system responses over time, so that Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) can be employed directly to estimate dynamic reliability. A generic confidence measure is developed to evaluate the accuracy of dynamic reliability estimation while using the MCS approach based on developed GP models. A double-loop adaptive sampling scheme is developed to efficiently update the GP model in a sequential manner, by considering system input variables and time concurrently in two sampling loops. The model updating process using the developed sampling scheme can be terminated once the user defined confidence target is satisfied. The developed DLAS approach eliminates computationally expensive sensitivity analysis process, thus substantially improves the efficiency of dynamic reliability analysis. Three case studies are used to demonstrate the efficacy of DLAS for dynamic reliability analysis. - Highlights: • Developed a novel adaptive sampling approach for dynamic reliability analysis. • POD Developed a new metric to quantify the accuracy of dynamic reliability estimation. • Developed a new sequential sampling scheme to efficiently update surrogate models. • Three case studies were used to demonstrate the efficacy of the new approach. • Case study results showed substantially enhanced efficiency with high accuracy

  12. Equipment Reliability Program in NPP Krsko

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skaler, F.; Djetelic, N.

    2006-01-01

    Operation that is safe, reliable, effective and acceptable to public is the common message in a mission statement of commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs). To fulfill these goals, nuclear industry, among other areas, has to focus on: 1 Human Performance (HU) and 2 Equipment Reliability (EQ). The performance objective of HU is as follows: The behaviors of all personnel result in safe and reliable station operation. While unwanted human behaviors in operations mostly result directly in the event, the behavior flaws either in the area of maintenance or engineering usually cause decreased equipment reliability. Unsatisfied Human performance leads even the best designed power plants into significant operating events, which can be found as well-known examples in nuclear industry. Equipment reliability is today recognized as the key to success. While the human performance at most NPPs has been improving since the start of WANO / INPO / IAEA evaluations, the open energy market has forced the nuclear plants to reduce production costs and operate more reliably and effectively. The balance between these two (opposite) goals has made equipment reliability even more important for safe, reliable and efficient production. Insisting on on-line operation by ignoring some principles of safety could nowadays in a well-developed safety culture and human performance environment exceed the cost of electricity losses. In last decade the leading USA nuclear companies put a lot of effort to improve equipment reliability primarily based on INPO Equipment Reliability Program AP-913 at their NPP stations. The Equipment Reliability Program is the key program not only for safe and reliable operation, but also for the Life Cycle Management and Aging Management on the way to the nuclear power plant life extension. The purpose of Equipment Reliability process is to identify, organize, integrate and coordinate equipment reliability activities (preventive and predictive maintenance, maintenance

  13. Implementing voice over Internet protocol in mobile ad hoc network – analysing its features regarding efficiency, reliability and security

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naveed Ahmed Sheikh

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Providing secure and efficient real-time voice communication in mobile ad hoc network (MANET environment is a challenging problem. Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP has originally been developed over the past two decades for infrastructure-based networks. There are strict timing constraints for acceptable quality VoIP services, in addition to registration and discovery issues in VoIP end-points. In MANETs, ad hoc nature of networks and multi-hop wireless environment with significant packet loss and delays present formidable challenges to the implementation. Providing a secure real-time VoIP service on MANET is the main design objective of this paper. The authors have successfully developed a prototype system that establishes reliable and efficient VoIP communication and provides an extremely flexible method for voice communication in MANETs. The authors’ cooperative mesh-based MANET implementation can be used for rapidly deployable VoIP communication with survivable and efficient dynamic networking using open source software.

  14. Evaluation of ECT reliability for axial ODSCC in steam generator tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jae Bong; Park, Jai Hak; Kim, Hong Deok; Chung, Han Sub

    2010-01-01

    The integrity of steam generator tubes is usually evaluated based on eddy current test (ECT) results. Because detection capacity of the ECT is not perfect, all of the physical flaws, which actually exist in steam generator tubes, cannot be detected by ECT inspection. Therefore it is very important to analyze ECT reliability in the integrity assessment of steam generators. The reliability of an ECT inspection system is divided into reliability of inspection technique and reliability of quality of analyst. And the reliability of ECT results is also divided into reliability of size and reliability of detection. The reliability of ECT sizing is often characterized as a linear regression model relating true flaw size data to measured flaw size data. The reliability of detection is characterized in terms of probability of detection (POD), which is expressed as a function of flaw size. In this paper the reliability of an ECT inspection system is analyzed quantitatively. POD of the ECT inspection system for axial outside diameter stress corrosion cracks (ODSCC) in steam generator tubes is evaluated. Using a log-logistic regression model, POD is evaluated from hit (detection) and miss (no detection) binary data obtained from destructive and non-destructive inspections of cracked tubes. Crack length and crack depth are considered as variables in multivariate log-logistic regression and their effects on detection capacity are assessed using two-dimensional POD (2-D POD) surface. The reliability of detection is also analyzed using POD for inspection technique (POD T ) and POD for analyst (POD A ).

  15. RTE - Reliability report 2016

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2017-06-01

    Every year, RTE produces a reliability report for the past year. This document lays out the main factors that affected the electrical power system's operational reliability in 2016 and the initiatives currently under way intended to ensure its reliability in the future. Within a context of the energy transition, changes to the European interconnected network mean that RTE has to adapt on an on-going basis. These changes include the increase in the share of renewables injecting an intermittent power supply into networks, resulting in a need for flexibility, and a diversification in the numbers of stakeholders operating in the energy sector and changes in the ways in which they behave. These changes are dramatically changing the structure of the power system of tomorrow and the way in which it will operate - particularly the way in which voltage and frequency are controlled, as well as the distribution of flows, the power system's stability, the level of reserves needed to ensure supply-demand balance, network studies, assets' operating and control rules, the tools used and the expertise of operators. The results obtained in 2016 are evidence of a globally satisfactory level of reliability for RTE's operations in somewhat demanding circumstances: more complex supply-demand balance management, cross-border schedules at interconnections indicating operation that is closer to its limits and - most noteworthy - having to manage a cold spell just as several nuclear power plants had been shut down. In a drive to keep pace with the changes expected to occur in these circumstances, RTE implemented numerous initiatives to ensure high levels of reliability: - maintaining investment levels of euro 1.5 billion per year; - increasing cross-zonal capacity at borders with our neighbouring countries, thus bolstering the security of our electricity supply; - implementing new mechanisms (demand response, capacity mechanism, interruptibility, etc.); - involvement in tests or projects

  16. Low-Budget Instrumentation of a Conventional Leg Press to Measure Reliable Isometric-Strength Capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baur, Heiner; Groppa, Alessia Severina; Limacher, Regula; Radlinger, Lorenz

    2016-02-02

    Maximum strength and rate of force development (RFD) are 2 important strength characteristics for everyday tasks and athletic performance. Measurements of both parameters must be reliable. Expensive isokinetic devices with isometric modes are often used. The possibility of cost-effective measurements in a practical setting would facilitate quality control. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of measurements of maximum isometric strength (Fmax) and RFD on a conventional leg press. Sixteen subjects (23 ± 2 y, 1.68 ± 0.05 m, 59 ± 5 kg) were tested twice within 1 session. After warm-up, subjects performed 2 times 5 trials eliciting maximum voluntary isometric contractions on an instrumented leg press (1- and 2-legged randomized). Fmax (N) and RFD (N/s) were extracted from force-time curves. Reliability was determined for Fmax and RFD by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), the test-retest variability (TRV), and the bias and limits of agreement. Reliability measures revealed good to excellent ICCs of .80-.93. TRV showed mean differences between measurement sessions of 0.4-6.9%. The systematic error was low compared with the absolute mean values (Fmax 5-6%, RFD 1-4%). The implementation of a force transducer into a conventional leg press provides a viable procedure to assess Fmax and RFD. Both performance parameters can be assessed with good to excellent reliability allowing quality control of interventions.

  17. Effect of humidity and particle hygroscopicity on the mass loading capacity of high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, A.; Biswas, P.; Monson, P.R.; Novick, V.J.

    1993-01-01

    The effect of humidity, particle hygroscopicity, and size on the mass loading capacity of glass fiber high efficiency particulate air filters was studied. Above the deliquescent point, the pressure drop across the filter increased nonlinearly with areal loading density (mass collected/filtration area) of a NaCl aerosol, thus significantly reducing the mass loading capacity of the filter compared to dry hygroscopic or nonhygroscopic particle mass loadings. The specific cake resistance K 2 was computed for different test conditions and used as a measure of the mass loading capacity. K 2 was found to decrease with increasing humidity for nonhygroscopic aluminum oxide particles and for hygroscopic NaCl particles (at humidities below the deliquescent point). It is postulated that an increase in humidity leads to the formation of a more open particulate cake which lowers the pressure drop for a given mass loading. A formula for predicting K 2 for lognormally distributed aerosols (parameters obtained from impactor data) was derived. The resistance factor, R, calculated using this formula was compared to the theoretical R calculated using the Rudnick-Happel expression. For the nonhygroscopic aluminum oxide, the agreement was good but for the hygroscopic sodium chloride, due to large variation in the cake porosity estimates, the agreement was poor. 17 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs

  18. Studies on capacity management for factories of nuclear fuel for research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Negro, Miguel Luiz Miotto; Durazzo, Michelangelo; Mesquita, Marco Aurélio de; Carvalho, Elita Fontenele Urano de; Andrade, Delvonei Alves de; Universidade de São Paulo

    2017-01-01

    The use and the power of nuclear reactors for research and materials testing is increasing worldwide. That implies the demand for nuclear fuel for this kind of reactors is rising. Thus, the production facilities of this kind of fuel need reliable guidance on how to augment their production in order to meet the increasing demand efficiently, safely and keeping good quality. Focus is given to factories that produce plate type fuel elements loaded with LEU U_3Si_2-Al fuel, which are typically used in nuclear research reactors. Of the various production routes for this kind of fuel, we chose the route which uses hydrolysis of uranium hexafluoride. Raising the capacity of this kind of plants faces several problems, especially regarding safety against nuclear criticality. Some of these problems are briefly addressed. The new issue of the paper is the application of knowledge from the area of production administration to the fabrication of nuclear fuel for research reactors. A specific method for the increase in production capacity is proposed. That method was tested by means of discrete event simulation. The data were collected from the nuclear fuel factory at IPEN. The results indicated the proposed method achieved its goal as well as ways of raising production capacity in up to 50%. (author). (author)

  19. Circuit variability interacts with excitatory-inhibitory diversity of interneurons to regulate network encoding capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Kuo-Ting; Hu, Chin-Kun; Li, Kuan-Wei; Hwang, Wen-Liang; Chou, Ya-Hui

    2018-05-23

    Local interneurons (LNs) in the Drosophila olfactory system exhibit neuronal diversity and variability, yet it is still unknown how these features impact information encoding capacity and reliability in a complex LN network. We employed two strategies to construct a diverse excitatory-inhibitory neural network beginning with a ring network structure and then introduced distinct types of inhibitory interneurons and circuit variability to the simulated network. The continuity of activity within the node ensemble (oscillation pattern) was used as a readout to describe the temporal dynamics of network activity. We found that inhibitory interneurons enhance the encoding capacity by protecting the network from extremely short activation periods when the network wiring complexity is very high. In addition, distinct types of interneurons have differential effects on encoding capacity and reliability. Circuit variability may enhance the encoding reliability, with or without compromising encoding capacity. Therefore, we have described how circuit variability of interneurons may interact with excitatory-inhibitory diversity to enhance the encoding capacity and distinguishability of neural networks. In this work, we evaluate the effects of different types and degrees of connection diversity on a ring model, which may simulate interneuron networks in the Drosophila olfactory system or other biological systems.

  20. Capacity adequacy in power markets facing energy transition: A comparison of scarcity pricing and capacity mechanism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petitet, Marie; Finon, Dominique; Janssen, Tanguy

    2017-01-01

    This article analyses how a capacity mechanism can address security of supply objectives in a power market undergoing an energy transition that combines energy efficiency efforts to stabilise demand and a rapid increase in the proportion of renewables. To analyse this situation, power markets are simulated over the long term with a System Dynamics model integrating new investment and closure decisions. This last trait is relevant to studying investment in power generation in mature markets undergoing policy shocks. The energy-only market design with a price cap, with and without a capacity mechanism, is compared to scarcity pricing in two investment behaviour scenarios with and without risk aversion. The results show that the three market designs lead to different levels of risk for peaking unit investment and results thus differ according to which risk aversion hypothesis is adopted. Assuming a risk-neutral investor, the results indicate that compared to an energy-only market with a price cap at 3 000 €/MWh, an energy-only market with scarcity pricing and the market design with a capacity mechanism are two efficient options to reach similar levels of load loss. But under the hypothesis of risk aversion, the results highlight the advantage of the capacity mechanism over scarcity pricing. - Highlights: • Investment decisions in electricity markets are simulated by a System Dynamics model. • Capacity mechanism enhances capacity adequacy compared to the energy-only market. • With no risk aversion, capacity mechanism or scarcity pricing provide similar results. • With risk aversion, capacity mechanism appears to be the preferable market design.

  1. Capacity Development for Sustainable Urban Transportation in Developing Countries

    OpenAIRE

    Senbil, Metin; Fujiwara, Akimasa; Zhang, Junyi

    2008-01-01

    To make urban transport sustainable, effective and efficient, first and foremost, there is a need for capacity development-capacity is defined as the ability to deal with problems in efficient and effective ways-in developing countries. Apart from many important capacity related problems such as lack of adequate infrastructure, older vehicle population, etc., policy makers in developing countries have to consider changing individual behavior to realize sustainable urban transportation policie...

  2. Apples to Apples: Equivalent-Reliability Power Systems Across Diverse Resource Mix Scenarios

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stephen, Gordon W [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Frew, Bethany A [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sigler, Devon [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Jones, Wesley B [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2018-03-28

    Electricity market research is highly price sensitive, and prices are strongly influenced by balance of supply and demand. This work looks at how to combine capacity expansion models and reliability assessment tools to assess equivalent-reliability power systems across diverse resource mix scenarios.

  3. Fundamental Tradeoffs among Reliability, Latency and Throughput in Cellular Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soret, Beatriz; Mogensen, Preben; Pedersen, Klaus I.

    2014-01-01

    We address the fundamental tradeoffs among latency, reliability and throughput in a cellular network. The most important elements influencing the KPIs in a 4G network are identified, and the inter-relationships among them is discussed. We use the effective bandwidth and the effective capacity......, in which latency and reliability will be two of the principal KPIs....

  4. Online Capacity Estimation of Lithium-Ion Batteries Based on Novel Feature Extraction and Adaptive Multi-Kernel Relevance Vector Machine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Zhang

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Prognostics is necessary to ensure the reliability and safety of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric vehicles or satellites. This process can be achieved by capacity estimation, which is a direct fading indicator for assessing the state of health of a battery. However, the capacity of a lithium-ion battery onboard is difficult to monitor. This paper presents a data-driven approach for online capacity estimation. First, six novel features are extracted from cyclic charge/discharge cycles and used as indirect health indicators. An adaptive multi-kernel relevance machine (MKRVM based on accelerated particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to determine the optimal parameters of MKRVM and characterize the relationship between extracted features and battery capacity. The overall estimation process comprises offline and online stages. A supervised learning step in the offline stage is established for model verification to ensure the generalizability of MKRVM for online application. Cross-validation is further conducted to validate the performance of the proposed model. Experiment and comparison results show the effectiveness, accuracy, efficiency, and robustness of the proposed approach for online capacity estimation of lithium-ion batteries.

  5. Validy and Reliability of two Working Memory Tests: Aritmetic Amplitude and Counting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burin, Débora I.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Working Memory is a memory system involved in the storage and concurrent processing of information (Baddeley, 2000. Arithmetic Span (Conway et al., 2005 and Counting Span (Conway, et al. 2005 are two traditional verbal working memory capacity tasks. The aim of this article is to present reliability and validity data of Arithmetic and Counting Span Tasks. They were administered, along with Reading Span task, to 88 university students with a mean age of 23.10 years. The reliability analysis showed an excellent internal consistency, and a one factor model with a very good fit to the data was observed using a confirmatory factor analysis. These results indicate that both tasks are reliable and valid measures to assess verbal working memory capacity.

  6. Nitrogen use efficiency evaluation of aerobic rice under field capacity water potential using 15N isotopic tracer technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahid, Ahmad Nazrul Abd; Rahim, Sahibin Abd; Rahim, Khairuddin Abdul; Harun, Abdul Rahim

    2015-01-01

    This study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency use of the nitrogen fertilizer on aerobic rice varieties MR219-4 and MR219-9 which were grown aerobically under field capacity water potential at the controlled environment area or shield house. Direct 15 N isotope tracer method was used in this study, whereby the 15 N isotope was utilized as a tracer for nitrogen nutrient uptake. 15 N isotope presence in the samples is determined by using emission spectrometer analysis and percentage of total nitrogen is determined by using Kjeldahl method. 15 N atom access value contained in the sample will be used in determining the effectiveness of the use of nitrogen in fertilizers through the specific calculation formulas. In this work, the data several data of nitrogen derived from fertilizer (Ndff), total nitrogen, nitrogen uptake and nitrogen use efficiency was obtained

  7. Unified Importance Sampling Schemes for Efficient Simulation of Outage Capacity over Generalized Fading Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Rached, Nadhir B.; Kammoun, Abla; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Tempone, Raul

    2015-01-01

    The outage capacity (OC) is among the most important performance metrics of communication systems operating over fading channels. Of interest in the present paper is the evaluation of the OC at the output of the Equal Gain Combining (EGC) and the Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) receivers. In this case, it can be seen that this problem turns out to be that of computing the Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) for the sum of independent random variables. Since finding a closedform expression for the CDF of the sum distribution is out of reach for a wide class of commonly used distributions, methods based on Monte Carlo (MC) simulations take pride of price. In order to allow for the estimation of the operating range of small outage probabilities, it is of paramount importance to develop fast and efficient estimation methods as naive Monte Carlo (MC) simulations would require high computational complexity. In this line, we propose in this work two unified, yet efficient, hazard rate twisting Importance Sampling (IS) based approaches that efficiently estimate the OC of MRC or EGC diversity techniques over generalized independent fading channels. The first estimator is shown to possess the asymptotic optimality criterion and applies for arbitrary fading models, whereas the second one achieves the well-desired bounded relative error property for the majority of the well-known fading variates. Moreover, the second estimator is shown to achieve the asymptotic optimality property under the particular Log-normal environment. Some selected simulation results are finally provided in order to illustrate the substantial computational gain achieved by the proposed IS schemes over naive MC simulations.

  8. Unified Importance Sampling Schemes for Efficient Simulation of Outage Capacity over Generalized Fading Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Rached, Nadhir B.

    2015-11-13

    The outage capacity (OC) is among the most important performance metrics of communication systems operating over fading channels. Of interest in the present paper is the evaluation of the OC at the output of the Equal Gain Combining (EGC) and the Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) receivers. In this case, it can be seen that this problem turns out to be that of computing the Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) for the sum of independent random variables. Since finding a closedform expression for the CDF of the sum distribution is out of reach for a wide class of commonly used distributions, methods based on Monte Carlo (MC) simulations take pride of price. In order to allow for the estimation of the operating range of small outage probabilities, it is of paramount importance to develop fast and efficient estimation methods as naive Monte Carlo (MC) simulations would require high computational complexity. In this line, we propose in this work two unified, yet efficient, hazard rate twisting Importance Sampling (IS) based approaches that efficiently estimate the OC of MRC or EGC diversity techniques over generalized independent fading channels. The first estimator is shown to possess the asymptotic optimality criterion and applies for arbitrary fading models, whereas the second one achieves the well-desired bounded relative error property for the majority of the well-known fading variates. Moreover, the second estimator is shown to achieve the asymptotic optimality property under the particular Log-normal environment. Some selected simulation results are finally provided in order to illustrate the substantial computational gain achieved by the proposed IS schemes over naive MC simulations.

  9. Improving the capacity of lithium-sulfur batteries by tailoring the polysulfide adsorption efficiency of hierarchical oxygen/nitrogen-functionalized carbon host materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Artur; Janek, Jürgen; Brezesinski, Torsten

    2017-03-22

    The use of monolithic carbons with structural hierarchy and varying amounts of nitrogen and oxygen functionalities as sulfur host materials in high-loading lithium-sulfur cells is reported. The primary focus is on the strength of the polysulfide/carbon interaction with the goal of assessing the effect of (surface) dopant concentration on cathode performance. The adsorption capacity - which is a measure of the interaction strength between the intermediate lithium polysulfide species and the carbon - was found to scale almost linearly with the nitrogen level. Likewise, the discharge capacity of lithium-sulfur cells increased linearly. This positive correlation can be explained by the favorable effect of nitrogen on both the chemical and electronic properties of the carbon host. The incorporation of additional oxygen-containing surface groups into highly nitrogen-functionalized carbon helped to further enhance the polysulfide adsorption efficiency, and therefore the reversible cell capacity. Overall, the areal capacity could be increased by almost 70% to around 3 mA h cm -2 . We believe that the design parameters described here provide a blueprint for future carbon-based nanocomposites for high-performance lithium-sulfur cells.

  10. Effect of efficient microorganisms on cation exchange capacity in acacia seedlings (Acacia melanoxylon) for soil recovery in Mondonedo, Cundinamarca

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diaz Barragan Olga Angelica; Montero Robayo Diana Mercedes; Lagos Caballero Jesus Alberto

    2009-01-01

    We determined the effect of efficient microorganisms (EM) on the cation exchange capacity for soil recovery in the municipality of Mondonedo, Cundinamarca. A greenhouse unit was installed in order to maintain stable conditions. After harvesting, sifted and homogenization of the soil sample, initial physical and chemical analyses were made. For the experimental units we used Acacia melanoxylon seedlings from Zabrinsky. A completely randomized design was done with eight treatments and three repetitions. For the maintenance and monitoring of the seedlings behaviour, a frequency of irrigation of three times per week was found. The application of the EM was done during three months: in the first month, it was applied four times (once a week); during the second month, it was applied twice (biweekly), and during the third month there was only one application. Additionally, every 15 days morphological analyses were made (number of leaves, branches and stem diameter). In the end, soil samples were taken from each plant pot. In the laboratory we analysed the cation exchange capacity, alkali ion exchange, saturation alkali, relations between elements and plant tissue. These were done using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Statistical analyses consisted on multiple comparisons test and variance tests, in order to find whether or not treatments exhibited significant differences. In that way, the best alternative for improving environmental quality of eroded soils as the Zabrinsky desert is the efficient microorganisms in 5% doses in irrigation water. Additionally, the cation exchange capacity must be enhanced using organic fertilizers (compost, mulch and gallinaza) in one pound doses, and chemical fertilizers: electrolytic Mn (0.0002 g), Cu (0.0002 g), Zn (0.0001 g), URFOS 44 (166.66 g) and klip-boro (5 g).

  11. How often should we monitor for reliable detection of atrial fibrillation recurrence? Efficiency considerations and implications for study design.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Efstratios I Charitos

    Full Text Available Although atrial fibrillation (AF recurrence is unpredictable in terms of onset and duration, current intermittent rhythm monitoring (IRM diagnostic modalities are short-termed and discontinuous. The aim of the present study was to investigate the necessary IRM frequency required to reliably detect recurrence of various AF recurrence patterns.The rhythm histories of 647 patients (mean AF burden: 12 ± 22% of monitored time; 687 patient-years with implantable continuous monitoring devices were reconstructed and analyzed. With the use of computationally intensive simulation, we evaluated the necessary IRM frequency to reliably detect AF recurrence of various AF phenotypes using IRM of various durations.The IRM frequency required for reliable AF detection depends on the amount and temporal aggregation of the AF recurrence (p95% sensitivity of AF recurrence required higher IRM frequencies (>12 24-hour; >6 7-day; >4 14-day; >3 30-day IRM per year; p<0.0001 than currently recommended. Lower IRM frequencies will under-detect AF recurrence and introduce significant bias in the evaluation of therapeutic interventions. More frequent but of shorter duration, IRMs (24-hour are significantly more time effective (sensitivity per monitored time than a fewer number of longer IRM durations (p<0.0001.Reliable AF recurrence detection requires higher IRM frequencies than currently recommended. Current IRM frequency recommendations will fail to diagnose a significant proportion of patients. Shorter duration but more frequent IRM strategies are significantly more efficient than longer IRM durations.Unique identifier: NCT00806689.

  12. Quantum-capacity-approaching codes for the detected-jump channel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grassl, Markus; Wei Zhaohui; Ji Zhengfeng; Zeng Bei

    2010-01-01

    The quantum-channel capacity gives the ultimate limit for the rate at which quantum data can be reliably transmitted through a noisy quantum channel. Degradable quantum channels are among the few channels whose quantum capacities are known. Given the quantum capacity of a degradable channel, it remains challenging to find a practical coding scheme which approaches capacity. Here we discuss code designs for the detected-jump channel, a degradable channel with practical relevance describing the physics of spontaneous decay of atoms with detected photon emission. We show that this channel can be used to simulate a binary classical channel with both erasures and bit flips. The capacity of the simulated classical channel gives a lower bound on the quantum capacity of the detected-jump channel. When the jump probability is small, it almost equals the quantum capacity. Hence using a classical capacity-approaching code for the simulated classical channel yields a quantum code which approaches the quantum capacity of the detected-jump channel.

  13. Cross-border effects of capacity mechanisms in electricity markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elberg, Christina

    2014-01-01

    To ensure security of supply in liberalized electricity markets, different types of capacity mechanisms are currently being debated or have recently been implemented in many European countries. The purpose of this study is to analyze the cross-border effects resulting from different choices on capacity mechanisms in neighboring countries. We consider a model with two connected countries that differ in the regulator's choice on capacity mechanism, namely strategic reserves or capacity payments. In both countries, competitive fi rms invest in generation capacity before selling electricity on the spot market. We characterize market equilibria and find the following main result: While consumers' costs may be the same under both capacity mechanisms in non-connected countries, we show that the different capacity mechanisms in interconnected countries induce redistribution effects. More precisely, we nd that consumers' costs are higher in countries in which reserve capacities are procured than in countries in which capacity payments are used to ensure the targeted reliable level of electricity.

  14. Cross-border effects of capacity mechanisms in electricity markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elberg, Christina

    2014-07-15

    To ensure security of supply in liberalized electricity markets, different types of capacity mechanisms are currently being debated or have recently been implemented in many European countries. The purpose of this study is to analyze the cross-border effects resulting from different choices on capacity mechanisms in neighboring countries. We consider a model with two connected countries that differ in the regulator's choice on capacity mechanism, namely strategic reserves or capacity payments. In both countries, competitive fi rms invest in generation capacity before selling electricity on the spot market. We characterize market equilibria and find the following main result: While consumers' costs may be the same under both capacity mechanisms in non-connected countries, we show that the different capacity mechanisms in interconnected countries induce redistribution effects. More precisely, we nd that consumers' costs are higher in countries in which reserve capacities are procured than in countries in which capacity payments are used to ensure the targeted reliable level of electricity.

  15. Gender differences in power production, energetic capacity and efficiency of elite cross‑country skiers during whole‑body, upper‑body, and arm poling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegge, Ann Magdalen; Bucher, Elias; Ettema, Gertjan; Faude, Oliver; Holmberg, Hans-Christer; Sandbakk, Øyvind

    2016-02-01

    To characterize gender differences in power output, energetic capacity and exercise efficiency during whole-body (WP), upper-body (UP), and arm poling (AP). Ten male and ten female elite cross-country skiers, matched for international performance level, completed three incremental submaximal tests and a 3-min self-paced performance test on a Concept2 SkiErg. Power output, cardiorespiratory and kinematic variables were monitored. Body composition was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The men demonstrated 87, 97 and 103% higher power output, and 51, 65 and 71% higher VO2peak (L min(−1)) than the women during WP, UP and AP, respectively, while utilizing ~10% more of their running VO2max in all modes (all P lean mass in the whole body, upper body and arms (all P production and peak aerobic capacity increased sequentially from WP to UP to AP, coinciding with a greater portion of the muscle mass in the arms of the men. Although the men and women employed each poling technique differently, the estimated efficiency of double poling was independent of gender.

  16. Designing reliable supply chain network with disruption risk

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Bozorgi Amiri

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Although supply chains disruptions rarely occur, their negative effects are prolonged and severe. In this paper, we propose a reliable capacitated supply chain network design (RSCND model by considering random disruptions in both distribution centers and suppliers. The proposed model determines the optimal location of distribution centers (DC with the highest reliability, the best plan to assign customers to opened DCs and assigns opened DCs to suitable suppliers with lowest transportation cost. In this study, random disruption occurs at the location, capacity of the distribution centers (DCs and suppliers. It is assumed that a disrupted DC and a disrupted supplier may lose a portion of their capacities, and the rest of the disrupted DC's demand can be supplied by other DCs. In addition, we consider shortage in DCs, which can occur in either normal or disruption conditions and DCs, can support each other in such circumstances. Unlike other studies in the extent of literature, we use new approach to model the reliability of DCs; we consider a range of reliability instead of using binary variables. In order to solve the proposed model for real-world instances, a Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II is applied. Preliminary results of testing the proposed model of this paper on several problems with different sizes provide seem to be promising.

  17. Assessing Capacity of Faith-Based Organizations for Health Promotion Activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagai, Erin Kelly; Scheirer, Mary Ann; Santos, Sherie Lou Z; Haider, Muhiuddin; Bowie, Janice; Slade, Jimmie; Whitehead, Tony L; Wang, Min Qi; Holt, Cheryl L

    2017-10-01

    Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are important venues for health promotion, particularly in medically underserved communities. These organizations vary considerably in their structural capacities, which may be linked to variability in implementation success for health promotion initiatives. Lacking an existing validated assessment of organizational capacity specific to FBOs, an initial prototype assessment was developed. The Faith-Based Organization Capacity Inventory (FBO-CI) assesses three structural areas of capacity: Staffing and Space, Health Promotion Experience, and External Collaboration. The multidisciplinary team, including FBO leaders, codeveloped the initial instrument. The initial reliability from a convenience sample of 34 African American churches including descriptions of FBOs representing three capacity levels is reported. The FBO-CI demonstrated feasibility of administration using an in-person interview format, and the three subscales had acceptable internal reliability (α ~ .70). Most churches had an established health ministry (n = 23) and had conducted activities across an average of seven health areas in the previous 2 years. This initial FBO-CI prototype is promising, and future work should consider validation with a larger sample of churches and domain expansion based on the conceptual model. The FBO-CI has a number of potential uses for researchers, FBO leaders, and practitioners working with FBOs in health promotion initiatives.

  18. Reliability assessment based on subjective inferences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Zhibo; Zhu Jianshi; Xu Naixin

    2003-01-01

    The reliability information which comes from subjective analysis is often incomplete prior. This information can be generally assumed to exist in the form of either a stated prior mean of R (reliability) or a stated prior credibility interval on R. An efficient approach is developed to determine a complete beta prior distribution from the subjective information according to the principle of maximum entropy, and the the reliability of survival/failure product is assessed via Bayes theorem. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the methods

  19. Reliability Analysis of Wireless Sensor Networks Using Markovian Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin Zhu

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates reliability analysis of wireless sensor networks whose topology is switching among possible connections which are governed by a Markovian chain. We give the quantized relations between network topology, data acquisition rate, nodes' calculation ability, and network reliability. By applying Lyapunov method, sufficient conditions of network reliability are proposed for such topology switching networks with constant or varying data acquisition rate. With the conditions satisfied, the quantity of data transported over wireless network node will not exceed node capacity such that reliability is ensured. Our theoretical work helps to provide a deeper understanding of real-world wireless sensor networks, which may find its application in the fields of network design and topology control.

  20. Investigation of suction anchor pullout capacity under undrained conditions

    OpenAIRE

    Jarand, Pollestad

    2015-01-01

    Master's thesis in Offshore technology Floating units are dependent on reliable mooring systems to ensure safety during marine operations. Suction anchors have proved to be a technologically viable and cost-effective concept. They are capable of precision installation, re-use, and provide large resistive capacity. This thesis investigates load capacity and failure modes of suction anchors subjected to vertical, horizontal (lateral), and incline loading. Suction anchor design co...

  1. Completion of high-efficiency BWR turbine plant 'Hamaoka unit No. 4'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsuji, Kunio; Hamaura, Norikazu; Shibashita, Naoaki; Kazama, Seiichi

    1995-01-01

    Accompanying the increase of capacity of nuclear power plants in Japan, the plants having heightened economical efficiency, which are supported by the improvement of thermal efficiency and the reduction of dose, are demanded. Hitachi Ltd. has completed No. 4 turbine unit of 1137 MW output in Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., which is the largest capacity machine in Japanese BWR plants. In this unit, the moisture separator heater, the steam turbine with high efficiency, and the hollow thread film condensate filter which treats the total flow rate of condensate are used as the reheating type BWR plant for the first time in Japan, and the plan of heightened economy and operation was adopted. It was confirmed by the trial for about 10 months that the planned performance was sufficiently satisfied, and the commercial operation was started in September, 1993. The features of the 1137 MW turbine unit are explained. The turbine is of tandem six-flow exhaust condensation type. Diffuser type low pressure turbine exhaust chambers, butterfly type combination intermediate valve are adopted. The stages with the blades having moisture-separating grooves were corrected. The reliability of the shaft system was improved. The adoption of the moisture separator heater and the application of the hollow thread film type condensate filter are explained. (K.I.)

  2. Application of subset simulation in reliability estimation of underground pipelines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tee, Kong Fah; Khan, Lutfor Rahman; Li, Hongshuang

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents a computational framework for implementing an advanced Monte Carlo simulation method, called Subset Simulation (SS) for time-dependent reliability prediction of underground flexible pipelines. The SS can provide better resolution for low failure probability level of rare failure events which are commonly encountered in pipeline engineering applications. Random samples of statistical variables are generated efficiently and used for computing probabilistic reliability model. It gains its efficiency by expressing a small probability event as a product of a sequence of intermediate events with larger conditional probabilities. The efficiency of SS has been demonstrated by numerical studies and attention in this work is devoted to scrutinise the robustness of the SS application in pipe reliability assessment and compared with direct Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method. Reliability of a buried flexible steel pipe with time-dependent failure modes, namely, corrosion induced deflection, buckling, wall thrust and bending stress has been assessed in this study. The analysis indicates that corrosion induced excessive deflection is the most critical failure event whereas buckling is the least susceptible during the whole service life of the pipe. The study also shows that SS is robust method to estimate the reliability of buried pipelines and it is more efficient than MCS, especially in small failure probability prediction

  3. High efficiency-large capacity circulating water pump for Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station unit No.3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Akihiko; Sasamuro, Takemi; Takeda, Hirohisa.

    1988-01-01

    No.3 plant in the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station, Chube Electric Power Co., Inc. is the latest plant of 1100 MW class BWR type, which began the commercial operation in August, 1987. The seawater intake and discharge system of this plant is composed of the channel exceeding 2 km in the total length from the intake tower to the discharge port. The circulating water pump installed in this system has the capacity of 1620 m 3 /min and the total head of 16.5 m, which are the largest in the world. It attained the efficiency as high as more than 90%. Three pumps supply seawater to three-body condensers. The design of the impeller and the casing for obtaining high efficiency, the structural design for facilitating maintenance, the manufacture of a model pump and the performance test using it and so on are reported. The most important item in the manufacture was the form of the onebody impeller weighing 4.5t. The confirmation of the performance of the actual machines was carried out as a part of the synthetic function confirmation test at the power station, and the flow rate was measured with Pitot tubes and ultrasonic flowmeters. (Kako, I.)

  4. Optimal integrated sizing and planning of hubs with midsize/large CHP units considering reliability of supply

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moradi, Saeed; Ghaffarpour, Reza; Ranjbar, Ali Mohammad; Mozaffari, Babak

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • New hub planning formulation is proposed to exploit assets of midsize/large CHPs. • Linearization approaches are proposed for two-variable nonlinear CHP fuel function. • Efficient operation of addressed CHPs & hub devices at contingencies are considered. • Reliability-embedded integrated planning & sizing is formulated as one single MILP. • Noticeable results for costs & reliability-embedded planning due to mid/large CHPs. - Abstract: Use of multi-carrier energy systems and the energy hub concept has recently been a widespread trend worldwide. However, most of the related researches specialize in CHP systems with constant electricity/heat ratios and linear operating characteristics. In this paper, integrated energy hub planning and sizing is developed for the energy systems with mid-scale and large-scale CHP units, by taking their wide operating range into consideration. The proposed formulation is aimed at taking the best use of the beneficial degrees of freedom associated with these units for decreasing total costs and increasing reliability. High-accuracy piecewise linearization techniques with approximation errors of about 1% are introduced for the nonlinear two-dimensional CHP input-output function, making it possible to successfully integrate the CHP sizing. Efficient operation of CHP and the hub at contingencies is extracted via a new formulation, which is developed to be incorporated to the planning and sizing problem. Optimal operation, planning, sizing and contingency operation of hub components are integrated and formulated as a single comprehensive MILP problem. Results on a case study with midsize CHPs reveal a 33% reduction in total costs, and it is demonstrated that the proposed formulation ceases the need for additional components/capacities for increasing reliability of supply.

  5. Reliability-based trajectory optimization using nonintrusive polynomial chaos for Mars entry mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yuechen; Li, Haiyang

    2018-06-01

    This paper presents the reliability-based sequential optimization (RBSO) method to settle the trajectory optimization problem with parametric uncertainties in entry dynamics for Mars entry mission. First, the deterministic entry trajectory optimization model is reviewed, and then the reliability-based optimization model is formulated. In addition, the modified sequential optimization method, in which the nonintrusive polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) method and the most probable point (MPP) searching method are employed, is proposed to solve the reliability-based optimization problem efficiently. The nonintrusive PCE method contributes to the transformation between the stochastic optimization (SO) and the deterministic optimization (DO) and to the approximation of trajectory solution efficiently. The MPP method, which is used for assessing the reliability of constraints satisfaction only up to the necessary level, is employed to further improve the computational efficiency. The cycle including SO, reliability assessment and constraints update is repeated in the RBSO until the reliability requirements of constraints satisfaction are satisfied. Finally, the RBSO is compared with the traditional DO and the traditional sequential optimization based on Monte Carlo (MC) simulation in a specific Mars entry mission to demonstrate the effectiveness and the efficiency of the proposed method.

  6. Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials in Solar-Thermal Conversion Systems: Understanding Geometry-Dependent Heating Efficiency and System Reliability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Zhaoliang; Chang, Zhuo; Xu, Guang-Kui; McBride, Fiona; Ho, Alexandra; Zhuola, Zhuola; Michailidis, Marios; Li, Wei; Raval, Rasmita; Akhtar, Riaz; Shchukin, Dmitry

    2017-01-24

    The performance of solar-thermal conversion systems can be improved by incorporation of nanocarbon-stabilized microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCMs). The geometry of MPCMs in the microcapsules plays an important role for improving their heating efficiency and reliability. Yet few efforts have been made to critically examine the formation mechanism of different geometries and their effect on MPCMs-shell interaction. Herein, through changing the cooling rate of original emulsions, we acquire MPCMs within the nanocarbon microcapsules with a hollow structure of MPCMs (h-MPCMs) or solid PCM core particles (s-MPCMs). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy reveals that the capsule shell of the h-MPCMs is enriched with nanocarbons and has a greater MPCMs-shell interaction compared to s-MPCMs. This results in the h-MPCMs being more stable and having greater heat diffusivity within and above the phase transition range than the s-MPCMs do. The geometry-dependent heating efficiency and system stability may have important and general implications for the fundamental understanding of microencapsulation and wider breadth of heating generating systems.

  7. An Assessment of the VHTR Safety Distance Using the Reliability Physics Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Joeun; Kim, Jintae; Jae, Moosung

    2015-01-01

    In Korea planning the production of hydrogen using high temperature from nuclear power is in progress. To produce hydrogen from nuclear plants, supplying temperature above 800 .deg. C is required. Therefore, Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) which is able to provide about 950 .deg. C is suitable. In situation of high temperature and corrosion where hydrogen might be released easily, hydrogen production facility using VHTR has a danger of explosion. Moreover explosion not only has a bad influence upon facility itself but also on VHTR. Those explosions result in unsafe situation that cause serious damage. However, In terms of thermal-hydraulics view, long distance makes low efficiency Thus, in this study, a methodology for the safety assessment of safety distance between the hydrogen production facilities and the VHTR is developed with reliability physics model. Based on the standard safety criteria which is a value of 1 x 10 -6 , the safety distance between the hydrogen production facilities and the VHTR using reliability physics model are calculated to be a value of 60m - 100m. In the future, assessment for characteristic of VHTR, the capacity to resist pressure from outside hydrogen explosion and the overpressure for the large amount of detonation volume in detail is expected to identify more precise safety distance using this reliability physics model

  8. Efficient/reliable dc-to-dc inverter circuit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasciutti, E. R.

    1970-01-01

    Feedback loop, which contains an inductor in series with a saturable reactor, is added to a standard inverter circuit to permit the inverter power transistors to be switched in a controlled and efficient manner. This inverter is applicable where the power source has either high or low impedance properties.

  9. Efficiency and Loading Evaluation of High Efficiency Mist Eliminators (HEME) - 12003

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giffin, Paxton K.; Parsons, Michael S.; Waggoner, Charles A. [Institute for Clean Energy Technology, Mississippi State University, 205 Research Blvd Starkville, MS 39759 (United States)

    2012-07-01

    High efficiency mist eliminators (HEME) are filters primarily used to remove moisture and/or liquid aerosols from an air stream. HEME elements are designed to reduce aerosol and particulate load on primary High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters and to have a liquid particle removal efficiency of approximately 99.5% for aerosols down to sub-micron size particulates. The investigation presented here evaluates the loading capacity of the element in the absence of a water spray cleaning system. The theory is that without the cleaning system, the HEME element will suffer rapid buildup of solid aerosols, greatly reducing the particle loading capacity. Evaluation consists of challenging the element with a waste surrogate dry aerosol and di-octyl phthalate (DOP) at varying intervals of differential pressure to examine the filtering efficiency of three different element designs at three different media velocities. Also, the elements are challenged with a liquid waste surrogate using Laskin nozzles and large dispersion nozzles. These tests allow the loading capacity of the unit to be determined and the effectiveness of washing down the interior of the elements to be evaluated. (authors)

  10. [Preliminary study on civil capacity rating scale for mental disabled patients].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qin-Ting; Pang, Yan-Xia; Cai, Wei-Xiong; Tang, Tao; Huang, Fu-Yin

    2010-10-01

    To create civil capacity rating scale for mentally disabled patients, and explore its feasibility during the forensic psychiatric expertise. The civil capacity-related items were determined after discussion and consultation. The civil capacity rating scale for mentally disabled patients was established and the manual was created according to the logistic sequence of the assessment. The rating scale was used during the civil assessment in four institutes. There were 14 items in civil capacity rating scale for mentally disabled patients. Two hundred and two subjects were recruited and divided into three groups according to the experts' opinion on their civil capacities: full civil capacity, partial civil capacity and no civil capacity. The mean score of the three groups were 2.32 +/- 2.45, 11.62 +/- 4.01 and 25.02 +/- 3.90, respectively, and there was statistical differences among the groups. The Cronbach alpha of the rating scale was 0.9724, and during the split-reliability test, the two-splited part of the rating scale were highly correlated (r = 0.9729, P = 0.000). The Spearman correlative coefficient between each item and the score of the rating scale was from 0.643 to 0.882 (P = 0.000). There was good correlation between the conclusion according to the rating scale and the experts' opinion (kappa = 0.841, P = 0.000). When the discriminate analysis was used, 7 items were included into the discrimination equation, and 92.6% subjects were identified as the correct groups using the equation. There is satisfied reliability and validity on civil capacity rating scale for mentally disabled patients. The rating scale can be used as effective tools to grade their civil capacity during the forensic expertise.

  11. Comparing antioxidant capacity of purine alkaloids: a new, efficient trio for screening and discovering potential antioxidants in vitro and in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsoi, Bun; Yi, Ruo-Nan; Cao, Ling-Fang; Li, Shan-Bing; Tan, Rui-Rong; Chen, Min; Li, Xiao-Xiao; Wang, Chen; Li, Yi-Fang; Kurihara, Hiroshi; He, Rong-Rong

    2015-06-01

    The most commonly applied strategies for the evaluation of antioxidant capacity are the chemical- or cell-based approaches. However, the results obtained from these methods might not reflect the antioxidant ability of test samples within organisms. In this study, we propose a combination of experiments, including oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), cellular antioxidant activity assay (CAA), and the chick embryo model, as an efficient trio to evaluate antioxidant capacity of food components. Taking purine alkaloids as example, results demonstrate that chemical and cellular method might misinterpret their true ability on antioxidation. In chick embryo model, caffeine and theacrine can significantly improve vessel density on chorioallantoic membrane and myocardial apoptosis. The mechanism can be involving multiple targets within the organism. We believe that the trio proposed can be widely utilized in screening massive number of antioxidant in a cost-effective way. It will also help discovering new antioxidants that are easily being omitted due to their relatively poor in vitro activities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Reliability and diagnostic of modular systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Kohlas

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Reliability and diagnostic are in general two problems discussed separately. Yet the two problems are in fact closely related to each other. Here, this relation is considered in the simple case of modular systems. We show, how the computation of reliability and diagnostic can efficiently be done within the same Bayesian network induced by the modularity of the structure function of the system.

  13. System Statement of Tasks of Calculating and Providing the Reliability of Heating Cogeneration Plants in Power Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biryuk, V. V.; Tsapkova, A. B.; Larin, E. A.; Livshiz, M. Y.; Sheludko, L. P.

    2018-01-01

    A set of mathematical models for calculating the reliability indexes of structurally complex multifunctional combined installations in heat and power supply systems was developed. Reliability of energy supply is considered as required condition for the creation and operation of heat and power supply systems. The optimal value of the power supply system coefficient F is based on an economic assessment of the consumers’ loss caused by the under-supply of electric power and additional system expences for the creation and operation of an emergency capacity reserve. Rationing of RI of the industrial heat supply is based on the use of concept of technological margin of safety of technological processes. The definition of rationed RI values of heat supply of communal consumers is based on the air temperature level iside the heated premises. The complex allows solving a number of practical tasks for providing reliability of heat supply for consumers. A probabilistic model is developed for calculating the reliability indexes of combined multipurpose heat and power plants in heat-and-power supply systems. The complex of models and calculation programs can be used to solve a wide range of specific tasks of optimization of schemes and parameters of combined heat and power plants and systems, as well as determining the efficiency of various redundance methods to ensure specified reliability of power supply.

  14. Reliability assessment of restructured power systems using reliability network equivalent and pseudo-sequential simulation techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding, Yi; Wang, Peng; Goel, Lalit; Billinton, Roy; Karki, Rajesh

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents a technique to evaluate reliability of a restructured power system with a bilateral market. The proposed technique is based on the combination of the reliability network equivalent and pseudo-sequential simulation approaches. The reliability network equivalent techniques have been implemented in the Monte Carlo simulation procedure to reduce the computational burden of the analysis. Pseudo-sequential simulation has been used to increase the computational efficiency of the non-sequential simulation method and to model the chronological aspects of market trading and system operation. Multi-state Markov models for generation and transmission systems are proposed and implemented in the simulation. A new load shedding scheme is proposed during generation inadequacy and network congestion to minimize the load curtailment. The IEEE reliability test system (RTS) is used to illustrate the technique. (author)

  15. Measures for Increasing of Company’s Production Capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ernesta Žikevičiūtė

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Production capacity improvements are poorly explored areas of economic literature and the existing methods are difficult to apply. For this reason, the organization has only a superficial analysis of capacity, but after all this time, each production company had to improve the production capacity for the market economy and the most economical use of production factors.This article explores the company’s production capacity for better use of tools. It also presents the capacity of their concept, establishment, evaluates the factors leading to their production capacity, for developing efficiency measures and model presentation.Article in Lithuanian

  16. PERHITUNGAN IDLE CAPACITY DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN CAM-I CAPACITY MODEL DALAM RANGKA EFISIENSI BIAYA PADA PT X

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muammar Aditya

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Aim for this research are to analyze capacity cost which incure from company production machines and human resources whose operate the production machine using CAM-I capacity model. CAM-I capacity model is an approach which focus  upon how to manage company resources. This research initiated at PT X which focus to production activity that used small mixer machine, extruder machine, oven drying machine, enrober machine, pan coting machine which consist of hot and cold pan coating machine, and packing machine which consist of vertical packing machine and horizontal packing machine as well as human resources that operates those machine. This research focus on rate capacity, productive capacity, idle capacity, and nonproductive capacity to measure capacity cost. Result of this research shows most of the capacity owned by either by production machine or human resources are not utilized to its maximum potential. There are need to reduce capacity cost owned by production machine and human resoures to increase the product sales but if its unachieveable there will be need to increase efficiency from production machine and human resources by reducing their quantityDOI: 10.15408/ess.v4i1.1961

  17. Capacity mechanisms and cross-border participation: the EU wide approach in question

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finon, Dominique

    2014-07-01

    A capacity remuneration mechanism (CRM) which excludes cross border participants is considered to have serious distortive effects on long term competition, compared to explicit cross border participation (CBP), on the grounds that it doesn't capture the advantages of multi-system competition. This paper examines the reality of these advantages by distinguishing situations with and without congestion between systems during critical periods because congestion separates markets and their collective goods of reliability and adequacy for each system, and suppresses any economic and physical relevance of a capacity commitment from a new external participant to a CRM. From the limited perspective of any single system, there are two potential advantages of explicit CBP: the first is the supplement of the set of committed capacities to a CRM; the second is the lower cost of the adequacy policy of the system, thanks to enlarged competition, but it is illusory because the clearing price of capacity is the same with and without explicit CBP. Moreover concretization of such benefits for the system is not possible when there is congestion. From the EU wide perspective, we identify some potential gains of social efficiency from explicit CBP at the multi-system level, when we have systems with a long standing situation of over-capacity beside systems with tight situations during their critical periods; or when there exists projects of hydro equipment (pumping storage, etc... But again, congestion removes any sense to any additional revenue to them. In any case erratic revenues certainly do not steer new investment towards either system. Furthermore exchanges of capacity rights between systems equipped with different CRMs introduce a supplement of distortions compared to the same situation with implicit CPB and no trade of capacity rights. It is problematic in the case of congestion; this delays the price signal of capacity scarcity in the system with the least attractive CRM in

  18. Studies on capacity management for factories of nuclear fuel for research reactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Negro, Miguel Luiz Miotto; Durazzo, Michelangelo; Mesquita, Marco Aurélio de; Carvalho, Elita Fontenele Urano de; Andrade, Delvonei Alves de, E-mail: mlnegro@ipen.br, E-mail: mdurazzo@ipen.br, E-mail: elitaucf@ipen.br, E-mail: delvonei@ipen.br, E-mail: mamesqui@usp.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Universidade de São Paulo (USP), SP (Brazil). Escola Politécnica. Departamento de Engenharia de Produção

    2017-11-01

    The use and the power of nuclear reactors for research and materials testing is increasing worldwide. That implies the demand for nuclear fuel for this kind of reactors is rising. Thus, the production facilities of this kind of fuel need reliable guidance on how to augment their production in order to meet the increasing demand efficiently, safely and keeping good quality. Focus is given to factories that produce plate type fuel elements loaded with LEU U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}-Al fuel, which are typically used in nuclear research reactors. Of the various production routes for this kind of fuel, we chose the route which uses hydrolysis of uranium hexafluoride. Raising the capacity of this kind of plants faces several problems, especially regarding safety against nuclear criticality. Some of these problems are briefly addressed. The new issue of the paper is the application of knowledge from the area of production administration to the fabrication of nuclear fuel for research reactors. A specific method for the increase in production capacity is proposed. That method was tested by means of discrete event simulation. The data were collected from the nuclear fuel factory at IPEN. The results indicated the proposed method achieved its goal as well as ways of raising production capacity in up to 50%. (author). (author)

  19. An efficiency booster for energy conversion in natural circulation loops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Dongqing, E-mail: wangdongqing@stu.xjtu.edu.cn [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049 (China); Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing 100084 (China); Jiang, Jin, E-mail: jjiang@eng.uwo.ca [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B9 (Canada); Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2016-08-01

    Highlights: • Low driving power conversion efficiency of natural circulation loops is proved. • The low conversion efficiency leads to low heat transfer capacity of such loops. • An efficiency booster is designed with turbine to increase the efficiency. • Performance of the proposed booster has been numerically simulated. • The booster drastically enhances heat transfer capacity of such loops. - Abstract: In this paper, the capacity of a natural circulation loop for transferring heat from a heat source to a heat sink has been analyzed. It is concluded that the capacity of the natural circulation loop depends on the conversion efficiency of the thermal energy from the heat source to the driving force for the circulation of the flow. The low conversion efficiency leading to weak driving force in such loops has been demonstrated analytically and validated through simulation results. This issue has resulted in a low heat transfer capacity in the circulation loop. To increase the heat transfer capacity, one has to improve this efficiency. To meet such a need, a novel efficiency booster has been developed in this paper. The booster essentially increases the flow driving force and hence significantly improves the overall heat transfer capacity. Design and analysis of this booster have been performed in detail. The performance has been examined through extensive computer simulations. It is concluded that the booster can indeed drastically improve the heat transfer capacity of the natural circulation loop.

  20. An efficiency booster for energy conversion in natural circulation loops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Dongqing; Jiang, Jin

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Low driving power conversion efficiency of natural circulation loops is proved. • The low conversion efficiency leads to low heat transfer capacity of such loops. • An efficiency booster is designed with turbine to increase the efficiency. • Performance of the proposed booster has been numerically simulated. • The booster drastically enhances heat transfer capacity of such loops. - Abstract: In this paper, the capacity of a natural circulation loop for transferring heat from a heat source to a heat sink has been analyzed. It is concluded that the capacity of the natural circulation loop depends on the conversion efficiency of the thermal energy from the heat source to the driving force for the circulation of the flow. The low conversion efficiency leading to weak driving force in such loops has been demonstrated analytically and validated through simulation results. This issue has resulted in a low heat transfer capacity in the circulation loop. To increase the heat transfer capacity, one has to improve this efficiency. To meet such a need, a novel efficiency booster has been developed in this paper. The booster essentially increases the flow driving force and hence significantly improves the overall heat transfer capacity. Design and analysis of this booster have been performed in detail. The performance has been examined through extensive computer simulations. It is concluded that the booster can indeed drastically improve the heat transfer capacity of the natural circulation loop.

  1. A new approach for reliability analysis with time-variant performance characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Zequn; Wang, Pingfeng

    2013-01-01

    Reliability represents safety level in industry practice and may variant due to time-variant operation condition and components deterioration throughout a product life-cycle. Thus, the capability to perform time-variant reliability analysis is of vital importance in practical engineering applications. This paper presents a new approach, referred to as nested extreme response surface (NERS), that can efficiently tackle time dependency issue in time-variant reliability analysis and enable to solve such problem by easily integrating with advanced time-independent tools. The key of the NERS approach is to build a nested response surface of time corresponding to the extreme value of the limit state function by employing Kriging model. To obtain the data for the Kriging model, the efficient global optimization technique is integrated with the NERS to extract the extreme time responses of the limit state function for any given system input. An adaptive response prediction and model maturation mechanism is developed based on mean square error (MSE) to concurrently improve the accuracy and computational efficiency of the proposed approach. With the nested response surface of time, the time-variant reliability analysis can be converted into the time-independent reliability analysis and existing advanced reliability analysis methods can be used. Three case studies are used to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of NERS approach

  2. Rotor Design for an Efficient Single-Phase Induction Motor for Refrigerator Compressors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyun-Jin Ahn

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This article describes a rotor making technology for the production of high-efficiency single-phase induction motors (SPIMs to be used in refrigerator compressors. Rotors can have different aluminum fill factors according to the fabrication method. In order to examine the association between the fill factor and the efficiency of the rotor, we analyzed the distribution of magnetic flux density using the finite element method (FEM. Next, we made prototype rotors by conventional casting methods and by the proposed casting method and compared their fill factors. In addition, SPIMs were made using the rotors, and their efficiencies were measured using a dynamometer. Moreover, the SPIMs were put to use in a compressor, for testing, and for each SPIM the refrigerating capacity of the compressor was measured with a calorimeter. Based on the results of the FEM analysis of the magnetic flux density and the experiments, the reliability and validity of the proposed method were proven.

  3. Reliability criteria selection for integrated resource planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruiu, D.; Ye, C.; Billinton, R.; Lakhanpal, D.

    1993-01-01

    A study was conducted on the selection of a generating system reliability criterion that ensures a reasonable continuity of supply while minimizing the total costs to utility customers. The study was conducted using the Institute for Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) reliability test system as the study system. The study inputs and results for conditions and load forecast data, new supply resources data, demand-side management resource data, resource planning criterion, criterion value selection, supply side development, integrated resource development, and best criterion values, are tabulated and discussed. Preliminary conclusions are drawn as follows. In the case of integrated resource planning, the selection of the best value for a given type of reliability criterion can be done using methods similar to those used for supply side planning. The reliability criteria values previously used for supply side planning may not be economically justified when integrated resource planning is used. Utilities may have to revise and adopt new, and perhaps lower supply reliability criteria for integrated resource planning. More complex reliability criteria, such as energy related indices, which take into account the magnitude, frequency and duration of the expected interruptions are better adapted than the simpler capacity-based reliability criteria such as loss of load expectation. 7 refs., 5 figs., 10 tabs

  4. Reliability-based design optimization via high order response surface method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Hong Shuang

    2013-01-01

    To reduce the computational effort of reliability-based design optimization (RBDO), the response surface method (RSM) has been widely used to evaluate reliability constraints. We propose an efficient methodology for solving RBDO problems based on an improved high order response surface method (HORSM) that takes advantage of an efficient sampling method, Hermite polynomials and uncertainty contribution concept to construct a high order response surface function with cross terms for reliability analysis. The sampling method generates supporting points from Gauss-Hermite quadrature points, which can be used to approximate response surface function without cross terms, to identify the highest order of each random variable and to determine the significant variables connected with point estimate method. The cross terms between two significant random variables are added to the response surface function to improve the approximation accuracy. Integrating the nested strategy, the improved HORSM is explored in solving RBDO problems. Additionally, a sampling based reliability sensitivity analysis method is employed to reduce the computational effort further when design variables are distributional parameters of input random variables. The proposed methodology is applied on two test problems to validate its accuracy and efficiency. The proposed methodology is more efficient than first order reliability method based RBDO and Monte Carlo simulation based RBDO, and enables the use of RBDO as a practical design tool.

  5. Reliable and Efficient Procedure for Steady-State Analysis of Nonautonomous and Autonomous Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Dobes

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The majority of contemporary design tools do not still contain steady-state algorithms, especially for the autonomous systems. This is mainly caused by insufficient accuracy of the algorithm for numerical integration, but also by unreliable steady-state algorithms themselves. Therefore, in the paper, a very stable and efficient procedure for the numerical integration of nonlinear differential-algebraic systems is defined first. Afterwards, two improved methods are defined for finding the steady state, which use this integration algorithm in their iteration loops. The first is based on the idea of extrapolation, and the second utilizes nonstandard time-domain sensitivity analysis. The two steady-state algorithms are compared by analyses of a rectifier and a C-class amplifier, and the extrapolation algorithm is primarily selected as a more reliable alternative. Finally, the method based on the extrapolation naturally cooperating with the algorithm for solving the differential-algebraic systems is thoroughly tested on various electronic circuits: Van der Pol and Colpitts oscillators, fragment of a large bipolar logical circuit, feedback and distributed microwave oscillators, and power amplifier. The results confirm that the extrapolation method is faster than a classical plain numerical integration, especially for larger circuits with complicated transients.

  6. Pilot Use of a Novel Tool to Assess Neurosurgical Capacity in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ploss, Brittany; Abdelgadir, Jihad; Smith, Emily R; Fuller, Anthony; Nickenig Vissoci, Joao Ricardo; Muhindo, Alex; Galukande, Moses; Haglund, Michael M

    2017-12-01

    There is a significant burden of unmet surgical need in many low- and middle-income countries (>80% in parts of Africa). This need is even larger for specialties such as neurosurgery. Surgical capacity tools have been developed and used to assess needs and plan for resource allocation. This study piloted a new tool to assess neurosurgical capacity and describes its use. A surgical capacity tool was adapted to assess neurosurgical capacity. An expert panel of neurosurgeons and researchers reviewed the Surgeons OverSeas PIPES (personnel, infrastructure, procedures, equipment, and supplies) assessment and added additional items essential to perform common neurosurgery procedures. This tool was then piloted at 3 public hospitals in Uganda and each hospital was given a score of neurosurgical capacity. At 1 hospital, 3 respondents were asked to answer the survey to assess reliability. The hospital with the largest neurosurgery caseload and 5 neurosurgeons scored the highest on our survey, followed by a regional hospital with 1 practicing neurosurgeon. The third hospital, without a neurosurgeon, scored the lowest on the scale. At the hospital that completed the reliability assessment, scores were varied between respondents. NeuroPIPES survey scores were in keeping with the number of neurosurgeons and respective caseloads of each hospital. However, the variation in scores between respondents at the same hospital suggests that adaptations could be made to the tool that may improve reliability and validity. The methodology used to create NeuroPIPES may be successfully applied to a variety of other surgical subspecialties for similar assessments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Efficiency of scanning automatons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shkundenkov, V.N.

    1977-01-01

    Investigated are the methods for improving the efficiency of the picture processing system based on an automatic scanner. Discussed are two types of such a system. In the first case the system contains both automatic and semi-automatic scanners. In the second case the system includes only the automatic scanners with the man-to-computer dialog facilities. For analyzing the role of the automatic scanner and the role of the operator in the processing system use is made of the processing system balance equation. It is proved that the picture processing system should be designed in two steps. The first step should, by all means, insure high efficiency in processing but the high capacity is not obligatory. The second step is aimed at higher capacity along with high efficiency. So, such a two-step designing makes it possible to solve the problem of higher capacity and lesser cost of picture processing

  8. Time-dependent reliability sensitivity analysis of motion mechanisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei, Pengfei; Song, Jingwen; Lu, Zhenzhou; Yue, Zhufeng

    2016-01-01

    Reliability sensitivity analysis aims at identifying the source of structure/mechanism failure, and quantifying the effects of each random source or their distribution parameters on failure probability or reliability. In this paper, the time-dependent parametric reliability sensitivity (PRS) analysis as well as the global reliability sensitivity (GRS) analysis is introduced for the motion mechanisms. The PRS indices are defined as the partial derivatives of the time-dependent reliability w.r.t. the distribution parameters of each random input variable, and they quantify the effect of the small change of each distribution parameter on the time-dependent reliability. The GRS indices are defined for quantifying the individual, interaction and total contributions of the uncertainty in each random input variable to the time-dependent reliability. The envelope function method combined with the first order approximation of the motion error function is introduced for efficiently estimating the time-dependent PRS and GRS indices. Both the time-dependent PRS and GRS analysis techniques can be especially useful for reliability-based design. This significance of the proposed methods as well as the effectiveness of the envelope function method for estimating the time-dependent PRS and GRS indices are demonstrated with a four-bar mechanism and a car rack-and-pinion steering linkage. - Highlights: • Time-dependent parametric reliability sensitivity analysis is presented. • Time-dependent global reliability sensitivity analysis is presented for mechanisms. • The proposed method is especially useful for enhancing the kinematic reliability. • An envelope method is introduced for efficiently implementing the proposed methods. • The proposed method is demonstrated by two real planar mechanisms.

  9. The Influence of Grain Refiners on the Efficiency of Ceramic Foam Filters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Towsey, Nicholas; Schneider, Wolfgang; Krug, Hans-Peter; Hardman, Angela; Keegan, Neil J.

    An extensive program of work has been carried out to evaluate the efficiency of ceramic foam filters under carefully controlled conditions. Work reported at previous TMS meetings showed that in the absence of grain refiners, ceramic foam filters have the capacity for high filtration efficiency and consistent, reliable performance. The current phase of the investigation focuses on the impact grain refiner additions have on filter performance. The high filtration efficiencies obtained using 50 or 80ppi CFF's in the absence of grain refiners diminish when Al-3%Ti-1%B grain refiners are added. This, together with the impact of incoming inclusion loading on filter performance and the level of grain refiner addition are considered in detail. The new generation Al-3%Ti-0.15%C grain refiner has also been included. At typical addition levels (1kg/tonne) the effect on filter efficiency is similar to that for TiB2based grain refiners. The work was again conducted on a production scale using AA1050 alloy. Metal quality was determined using LiMCA and PoDFA. Spent filters were also analysed.

  10. Design for Reliability of Power Electronic Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Huai; Ma, Ke; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2012-01-01

    Advances in power electronics enable efficient and flexible processing of electric power in the application of renewable energy sources, electric vehicles, adjustable-speed drives, etc. More and more efforts are devoted to better power electronic systems in terms of reliability to ensure high......). A collection of methodologies based on Physics-of-Failure (PoF) approach and mission profile analysis are presented in this paper to perform reliability-oriented design of power electronic systems. The corresponding design procedures and reliability prediction models are provided. Further on, a case study...... on a 2.3 MW wind power converter is discussed with emphasis on the reliability critical components IGBTs. Different aspects of improving the reliability of the power converter are mapped. Finally, the challenges and opportunities to achieve more reliable power electronic systems are addressed....

  11. Capacity payments in imperfect electricity markets: Need and design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joskow, Paul L.

    2008-01-01

    This paper argues that a variety of imperfections in wholesale 'energy-only' electricity markets lead to generators earning net revenues that are inadequate to support investment in a least cost portfolio of generating capacity and to satisfy consumer preferences for reliability. Theoretical and numerical examples are used to illustrate the sources of this 'missing money' problem. Improvements in 'energy-only' wholesale electricity markets, especially those that improve pricing when capacity is fully utilized, can reduce the magnitude of the missing money problem. However, these improvements are unlikely to fully ameliorate it. Forward capacity obligations and associated auction mechanisms to determine capacity prices are necessary to restore appropriate wholesale market prices and associated investment incentives to support the optimal portfolio of generating investments. The deficiencies of the original capacity payment mechanisms adopted in the US are discussed and the necessary improvements identified. (author)

  12. Structural Reliability of Wind Turbine Blades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dimitrov, Nikolay Krasimirov

    turbine blades. The main purpose is to draw a clear picture of how reliability-based design of wind turbines can be done in practice. The objectives of the thesis are to create methodologies for efficient reliability assessment of composite materials and composite wind turbine blades, and to map...... the uncertainties in the processes, materials and external conditions that have an effect on the health of a composite structure. The study considers all stages in a reliability analysis, from defining models of structural components to obtaining the reliability index and calibration of partial safety factors...... by developing new models and standards or carrying out tests The following aspects are covered in detail: ⋅ The probabilistic aspects of ultimate strength of composite laminates are addressed. Laminated plates are considered as a general structural reliability system where each layer in a laminate is a separate...

  13. Reliability-Based Decision Fusion in Multimodal Biometric Verification Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kryszczuk Krzysztof

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a methodology of reliability estimation in the multimodal biometric verification scenario. Reliability estimation has shown to be an efficient and accurate way of predicting and correcting erroneous classification decisions in both unimodal (speech, face, online signature and multimodal (speech and face systems. While the initial research results indicate the high potential of the proposed methodology, the performance of the reliability estimation in a multimodal setting has not been sufficiently studied or evaluated. In this paper, we demonstrate the advantages of using the unimodal reliability information in order to perform an efficient biometric fusion of two modalities. We further show the presented method to be superior to state-of-the-art multimodal decision-level fusion schemes. The experimental evaluation presented in this paper is based on the popular benchmarking bimodal BANCA database.

  14. The Development of DNA Based Methods for the Reliable and Efficient Identification of Nicotiana tabacum in Tobacco and Its Derived Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sukumar Biswas

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Reliable methods are needed to detect the presence of tobacco components in tobacco products to effectively control smuggling and classify tariff and excise in tobacco industry to control illegal tobacco trade. In this study, two sensitive and specific DNA based methods, one quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR assay and the other loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP assay, were developed for the reliable and efficient detection of the presence of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum in various tobacco samples and commodities. Both assays targeted the same sequence of the uridine 5′-monophosphate synthase (UMPS, and their specificities and sensitivities were determined with various plant materials. Both qPCR and LAMP methods were reliable and accurate in the rapid detection of tobacco components in various practical samples, including customs samples, reconstituted tobacco samples, and locally purchased cigarettes, showing high potential for their application in tobacco identification, particularly in the special cases where the morphology or chemical compositions of tobacco have been disrupted. Therefore, combining both methods would facilitate not only the detection of tobacco smuggling control, but also the detection of tariff classification and of excise.

  15. Nitrogen use efficiency evaluation of aerobic rice under field capacity water potential using {sup 15}N isotopic tracer technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wahid, Ahmad Nazrul Abd, E-mail: a-nazrul@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my [Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, 43600, Selangor (Malaysia); Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia); Rahim, Sahibin Abd, E-mail: haiyan@ukm.edu.my [Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, 43600, Selangor (Malaysia); Rahim, Khairuddin Abdul; Harun, Abdul Rahim [Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia)

    2015-09-25

    This study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency use of the nitrogen fertilizer on aerobic rice varieties MR219-4 and MR219-9 which were grown aerobically under field capacity water potential at the controlled environment area or shield house. Direct {sup 15}N isotope tracer method was used in this study, whereby the {sup 15}N isotope was utilized as a tracer for nitrogen nutrient uptake. {sup 15}N isotope presence in the samples is determined by using emission spectrometer analysis and percentage of total nitrogen is determined by using Kjeldahl method. {sup 15}N atom access value contained in the sample will be used in determining the effectiveness of the use of nitrogen in fertilizers through the specific calculation formulas. In this work, the data several data of nitrogen derived from fertilizer (Ndff), total nitrogen, nitrogen uptake and nitrogen use efficiency was obtained.

  16. Reliability-Based Optimization of Series Systems of Parallel Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enevoldsen, I.; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    1993-01-01

    Reliability-based design of structural systems is considered. In particular, systems where the reliability model is a series system of parallel systems are treated. A sensitivity analysis for this class of problems is presented. Optimization problems with series systems of parallel systems...... optimization of series systems of parallel systems, but it is also efficient in reliability-based optimization of series systems in general....

  17. Reliability analysis and updating of deteriorating systems with subset simulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schneider, Ronald; Thöns, Sebastian; Straub, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    An efficient approach to reliability analysis of deteriorating structural systems is presented, which considers stochastic dependence among element deterioration. Information on a deteriorating structure obtained through inspection or monitoring is included in the reliability assessment through B...... is an efficient and robust sampling-based algorithm suitable for such analyses. The approach is demonstrated in two case studies considering a steel frame structure and a Daniels system subjected to high-cycle fatigue....

  18. Component fragility data base for reliability and probability studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bandyopadhyay, K.; Hofmayer, C.; Kassier, M.; Pepper, S.

    1989-01-01

    Safety-related equipment in a nuclear plant plays a vital role in its proper operation and control, and failure of such equipment due to an earthquake may pose a risk to the safe operation of the plant. Therefore, in order to assess the overall reliability of a plant, the reliability of performance of the equipment should be studied first. The success of a reliability or a probability study depends to a great extent on the data base. To meet this demand, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has formed a test data base relating the seismic capacity of equipment specimens to the earthquake levels. Subsequently, the test data have been analyzed for use in reliability and probability studies. This paper describes the data base and discusses the analysis methods. The final results that can be directly used in plant reliability and probability studies are also presented in this paper

  19. Reliability improvements on Thales RM2 rotary Stirling coolers: analysis and methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cauquil, J. M.; Seguineau, C.; Martin, J.-Y.; Benschop, T.

    2016-05-01

    The cooled IR detectors are used in a wide range of applications. Most of the time, the cryocoolers are one of the components dimensioning the lifetime of the system. The cooler reliability is thus one of its most important parameters. This parameter has to increase to answer market needs. To do this, the data for identifying the weakest element determining cooler reliability has to be collected. Yet, data collection based on field are hardly usable due to lack of informations. A method for identifying the improvement in reliability has then to be set up which can be used even without field return. This paper will describe the method followed by Thales Cryogénie SAS to reach such a result. First, a database was built from extensive expertizes of RM2 failures occurring in accelerate ageing. Failure modes have then been identified and corrective actions achieved. Besides this, a hierarchical organization of the functions of the cooler has been done with regard to the potential increase of its efficiency. Specific changes have been introduced on the functions most likely to impact efficiency. The link between efficiency and reliability will be described in this paper. The work on the two axes - weak spots for cooler reliability and efficiency - permitted us to increase in a drastic way the MTTF of the RM2 cooler. Huge improvements in RM2 reliability are actually proven by both field return and reliability monitoring. These figures will be discussed in the paper.

  20. Environmental efficiency analysis of power industry in China based on an entropy SBM model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Yan; Xing, Xinpeng; Fang, Kuangnan; Liang, Dapeng; Xu, Chunlin

    2013-01-01

    In order to assess the environmental efficiency of power industry in China, this paper first proposes a new non-radial DEA approach by integrating the entropy weight and the SBM model. This will improve the assessment reliability and reasonableness. Using the model, this study then evaluates the environmental efficiency of the Chinese power industry at the provincial level during 2005–2010. The results show a marked difference in environmental efficiency of the power industry among Chinese provinces. Although the annual, average, environmental efficiency level fluctuates, there is an increasing trend. The Tobit regression analysis reveals the innovation ability of enterprises, the proportion of electricity generated by coal-fired plants and the generation capacity have a significantly positive effect on environmental efficiency. However the waste fees levied on waste discharge and investment in industrial pollutant treatment are negatively associated with environmental efficiency. - Highlights: ► We assess the environmental efficiency of power industry in China by E-SBM model. ► Environmental efficiency of power industry is different among provinces. ► Efficiency stays at a higher level in the eastern and the western area. ► Proportion of coal-fired plants has a positive effect on the efficiency. ► Waste fees and the investment have a negative effect on the efficiency

  1. Reliability Analysis Techniques for Communication Networks in Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, T. J.; Jang, S. C.; Kang, H. G.; Kim, M. C.; Eom, H. S.; Lee, H. J.

    2006-09-01

    The objectives of this project is to investigate and study existing reliability analysis techniques for communication networks in order to develop reliability analysis models for nuclear power plant's safety-critical networks. It is necessary to make a comprehensive survey of current methodologies for communication network reliability. Major outputs of this study are design characteristics of safety-critical communication networks, efficient algorithms for quantifying reliability of communication networks, and preliminary models for assessing reliability of safety-critical communication networks

  2. Improving Reliability and Durability of Efficient and Clean Energy Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Prabhakar [Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)

    2010-08-01

    Overall objective of the research program was to develop an in-depth understanding of the degradation processes in advanced electrochemical energy conversion systems. It was also the objective of the research program to transfer the technology to participating industries for implementation in manufacturing of cost effective and reliable integrated systems.

  3. Capacity Utilization in European Railways

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khadem Sameni, Melody; Landex, Alex

    2013-01-01

    and unprecedented approach for this aim. Relative operational efficiency of 24 European railways in capacity utilization is studied for the first time by data envelopment analysis (DEA). It deviates from previous applications of DEA in the railway industry that are conducted to analyze cost efficiency of railways....... Six DEA models quantify various aspects of micro, macro and quality of railway capacity utilization in these countries. New inputs like gross domestic product, population and area of the country help to provide a better picture of the status of railways. Passenger satisfaction data about different...... aspects of railway services in European countries has recently been quantified by European commission and are used for the first time in the literature. Invaluable insights can be inferred from the results which can provide a ground basis for railway practitioners and policy makers....

  4. Downtown Detroit Energy Efficient Street Lighting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goodwin, Malik [Detroit Economic Growth Corp, Detroit, MI (United States)

    2013-11-29

    Reliable public lighting remains a critically important and valuable public service in Detroit, Michigan. The Downtown Detroit Energy Efficiency Lighting Program (the, “Program”) was designed and implemented to bring the latest advancements in lighting technology, energy efficiency, public safety and reliability to Detroit’s Central Business District, and the Program accomplished those goals successfully. Downtown’s nighttime atmosphere has been upgraded as a result of the installation of over 1000 new LED roadway lighting fixtures that were installed as part of the Program. The reliability of the lighting system has also improved.

  5. Compact, Efficient, and Reliable Ventilation Fan for EVA Suits, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Advanced EVA suits for space exploration will need a portable life support system (PLSS) that is compact, lightweight, highly reliable, and meets stringent...

  6. Stimulation of the sensory pudendal nerve increases bladder capacity in the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hokanson, James A; Langdale, Christopher L; Sridhar, Arun; Grill, Warren M

    2018-04-01

    Pudendal nerve stimulation is a promising treatment approach for lower urinary tract dysfunction, including symptoms of overactive bladder. Despite some promising clinical studies, there remain many unknowns as to how best to stimulate the pudendal nerve to maximize therapeutic efficacy. We quantified changes in bladder capacity and voiding efficiency during single-fill cystometry in response to electrical stimulation of the sensory branch of the pudendal nerve in urethane-anesthetized female Wistar rats. Increases in bladder capacity were dependent on both stimulation amplitude and rate. Stimulation that produced increases in bladder capacity also led to reductions in voiding efficiency. Also, there was a stimulation carryover effect, and increases in bladder capacity persisted during several nonstimulated trials following stimulated trials. Intravesically administered PGE 2 reduced bladder capacity, producing a model of overactive bladder (OAB), and sensory pudendal nerve stimulation again increased bladder capacity but also reduced voiding efficiency. This study serves as a basis for future studies that seek to maximize the therapeutic efficacy of sensory pudendal nerve stimulation for the symptoms of OAB.

  7. Nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Ho-Myung; Park, Jae Hoon; Gwak, Kyung Hyun [Hong Ik University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul, 121-791 (Korea, Republic of); Choe, Kun Hyung [Korea Gas Corporation, Incheon, 406-130 (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-01-29

    Thermodynamic study is performed on nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas. In order to substantially increase the capacity, a Brayton refrigeration cycle with nitrogen expander was recently added to the cold end of the reputable propane pre-cooled mixed-refrigerant (C3-MR) process. Similar modifications with a nitrogen expander cycle are extensively investigated on a variety of cycle configurations. The existing and modified cycles are simulated with commercial process software (Aspen HYSYS) based on selected specifications. The results are compared in terms of thermodynamic efficiency, liquefaction capacity, and estimated size of heat exchangers. The combination of C3-MR with partial regeneration and pre-cooling of nitrogen expander cycle is recommended to have a great potential for high efficiency and large capacity.

  8. Nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Ho-Myung; Park, Jae Hoon; Gwak, Kyung Hyun; Choe, Kun Hyung

    2014-01-01

    Thermodynamic study is performed on nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas. In order to substantially increase the capacity, a Brayton refrigeration cycle with nitrogen expander was recently added to the cold end of the reputable propane pre-cooled mixed-refrigerant (C3-MR) process. Similar modifications with a nitrogen expander cycle are extensively investigated on a variety of cycle configurations. The existing and modified cycles are simulated with commercial process software (Aspen HYSYS) based on selected specifications. The results are compared in terms of thermodynamic efficiency, liquefaction capacity, and estimated size of heat exchangers. The combination of C3-MR with partial regeneration and pre-cooling of nitrogen expander cycle is recommended to have a great potential for high efficiency and large capacity.

  9. Nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Ho-Myung; Park, Jae Hoon; Gwak, Kyung Hyun; Choe, Kun Hyung

    2014-01-01

    Thermodynamic study is performed on nitrogen expander cycles for large capacity liquefaction of natural gas. In order to substantially increase the capacity, a Brayton refrigeration cycle with nitrogen expander was recently added to the cold end of the reputable propane pre-cooled mixed-refrigerant (C3-MR) process. Similar modifications with a nitrogen expander cycle are extensively investigated on a variety of cycle configurations. The existing and modified cycles are simulated with commercial process software (Aspen HYSYS) based on selected specifications. The results are compared in terms of thermodynamic efficiency, liquefaction capacity, and estimated size of heat exchangers. The combination of C3-MR with partial regeneration and pre-cooling of nitrogen expander cycle is recommended to have a great potential for high efficiency and large capacity

  10. Scheduling for energy and reliability management on multiprocessor real-time systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Xuan

    Scheduling algorithms for multiprocessor real-time systems have been studied for years with many well-recognized algorithms proposed. However, it is still an evolving research area and many problems remain open due to their intrinsic complexities. With the emergence of multicore processors, it is necessary to re-investigate the scheduling problems and design/develop efficient algorithms for better system utilization, low scheduling overhead, high energy efficiency, and better system reliability. Focusing cluster schedulings with optimal global schedulers, we study the utilization bound and scheduling overhead for a class of cluster-optimal schedulers. Then, taking energy/power consumption into consideration, we developed energy-efficient scheduling algorithms for real-time systems, especially for the proliferating embedded systems with limited energy budget. As the commonly deployed energy-saving technique (e.g. dynamic voltage frequency scaling (DVFS)) will significantly affect system reliability, we study schedulers that have intelligent mechanisms to recuperate system reliability to satisfy the quality assurance requirements. Extensive simulation is conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms on reduction of scheduling overhead, energy saving, and reliability improvement. The simulation results show that the proposed reliability-aware power management schemes could preserve the system reliability while still achieving substantial energy saving.

  11. Quantized hopfield networks for reliability optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nourelfath, Mustapha; Nahas, Nabil

    2003-01-01

    The use of neural networks in the reliability optimization field is rare. This paper presents an application of a recent kind of neural networks in a reliability optimization problem for a series system with multiple-choice constraints incorporated at each subsystem, to maximize the system reliability subject to the system budget. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear binary integer programming problem and characterized as an NP-hard problem. Our design of neural network to solve efficiently this problem is based on a quantized Hopfield network. This network allows us to obtain optimal design solutions very frequently and much more quickly than others Hopfield networks

  12. Compact, Efficient, and Reliable Ventilation Fan for EVA Suits, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Advanced EVA suits for space exploration will need a portable life support system (PLSS) that is compact, lightweight, and highly reliable. A key component is a...

  13. Assessing the criminal capacity of children: a challenge to the capacity of mental health professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pillay, Anthony L; Willows, Clive

    2015-01-01

    With increasing numbers of juveniles accused of serious crimes international concern is growing around the procedural consequences for affected individuals within the context of the law and criminal justice. Issues of culpability in children and adolescents are often raised, with much deliberation and insufficient agreement among legal and child development experts. Exactly when and to what extent juveniles can be held responsible for their action is a matter requiring careful consideration to avoid substantial erring in either direction. Although some international guiding standards and principles have been established, these are rather broad and unable to provide specific prescriptions. In addition, the assessment of criminal capacity in juveniles is a complex task, and one that is not wholly without reliability and validity problems. As in the case of South Africa and a few other countries, mental health specialists are often tasked with conducting developmental assessments to provide courts with expert evidence regarding criminal capacity. This paper examines the concept of criminal capacity in the context of the theory, controversies and challenges that affect this area of psychological focus.

  14. Analysis of the operational performance and efficiency characteristic for photovoltaic system in Hong Kong

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Danny H.W.; Cheung, Gary H.W.; Lam, Joseph C.

    2005-01-01

    The applications of photovoltaic (PV) systems have become more widespread in both developed and developing countries. The most critical exercise in designing a PV system is the determination of the optimum size of the solar panel and the battery capacity to meet the load demand with acceptable reliability. The amount of power generated by a PV system strongly depends on the availability of solar insolation at the required location. Also, the efficiency of a PV system is influenced considerably by a number of climatic variables, such as solar irradiance availability and ambient temperature. The technical information is provided for standard test conditions that may never occur in practice. Reliable knowledge of the performance of PV systems under actual operating conditions is essential for correct product selection and accurate performance prediction. This paper investigates the operational performance and efficiency characteristic of a small PV system installed at the City University of Hong Kong. The solar data and the power generated by the PV system are systematically recorded and analysed. The findings provide technical data in different months for designers and engineers to assess and size PV systems

  15. Energy Efficient Authentication and Authorization for Multinode Cooperative Connectivity and Reliability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rohokale, Vandana M.

    2013-01-01

    their effective QoS via cooperation. The performance of wireless networks is greatly affected by some of the channel parameters such as bandwidth and power scarcity, multi-user interference, non-reliability due to signal fading, vulnerability to the attacks, etc. The cooperative diversity mechanism makes use...... of the benefits of wireless sensor network scalability in terms of cooperative resource sharing wherein multiple diversity channels are created that results into the higher transmission rates, increased throughput and coverage range, improvement in reliability and end-to-end performance and much more. Cooperative......Wireless communication is a great revolution but it still suffers from limited battery life, broken connections from multi-path fading and insufficient coverage. Simple cooperation can mak a big difference in coverage range, energy and battery life. In CWC, the active nodes may increase...

  16. Method for estimating capacity and predicting remaining useful life of lithium-ion battery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Chao; Jain, Gaurav; Tamirisa, Prabhakar; Gorka, Tom

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We develop an integrated method for the capacity estimation and RUL prediction. • A state projection scheme is derived for capacity estimation. • The Gauss–Hermite particle filter technique is used for the RUL prediction. • Results with 10 years’ continuous cycling data verify the effectiveness of the method. - Abstract: Reliability of lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable batteries used in implantable medical devices has been recognized as of high importance from a broad range of stakeholders, including medical device manufacturers, regulatory agencies, physicians, and patients. To ensure Li-ion batteries in these devices operate reliably, it is important to be able to assess the capacity of Li-ion battery and predict the remaining useful life (RUL) throughout the whole life-time. This paper presents an integrated method for the capacity estimation and RUL prediction of Li-ion battery used in implantable medical devices. A state projection scheme from the author’s previous study is used for the capacity estimation. Then, based on the capacity estimates, the Gauss–Hermite particle filter technique is used to project the capacity fade to the end-of-service (EOS) value (or the failure limit) for the RUL prediction. Results of 10 years’ continuous cycling test on Li-ion prismatic cells in the lab suggest that the proposed method achieves good accuracy in the capacity estimation and captures the uncertainty in the RUL prediction. Post-explant weekly cycling data obtained from field cells with 4–7 implant years further verify the effectiveness of the proposed method in the capacity estimation

  17. Product quality, service reliability and management of operations at ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    High product quality, service reliability, and management of operations are key factors in business growth and sustainability. Analyzing “The Starbucks Experience” is a pedagogical approach to reinforcing the concepts of control and management of quality, service reliability, and efficient operations in action. The objective ...

  18. Reliable and Efficient Access for Alarm-initiated and Regular M2M Traffic in IEEE 802.11ah Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madueño, Germán Corrales; Stefanovic, Cedomir; Popovski, Petar

    2016-01-01

    IEEE 802.11ah is a novel WiFi-based protocol, aiming to provide an access solution for the machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. In this paper, we propose an adaptive access mechanism that can be seamlessly incorporated into IEEE 802.11ah protocol operation and that supports all potential M2M...... reporting regimes, which are periodic, on-demand and alarm reporting. The proposed access method is based a periodically re- occurring pool of time slots, whose size is proactively determined on the basis of the reporting activity in the cell. We show that it is possible to both efficiently and reliably...

  19. Cost-efficient staffing under annualized hours

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Veen, Egbert; Hans, Elias W.; Veltman, Bart; Berrevoets, Leo M.; Berden, Hubert J.J.M.

    2012-01-01

    We study how flexibility in workforce capacity can be used to efficiently match capacity and demand. Flexibility in workforce capacity is introduced by the annualized hours regime. Annualized hours allow organizations to measure working time per year, instead of per month or per week. An additional

  20. Using natural gas generation to improve power system efficiency in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Junfeng; Kwok, Gabe; Xuan, Wang; Williams, James H.; Kahrl, Fredrich

    2013-01-01

    China's electricity sector faces the challenge of managing cost increases, improving reliability, and reducing its environmental footprint even as operating conditions become more complex due to increasing renewable penetration, growing peak demand, and falling system load factors. Addressing these challenges will require changes in how power generation is planned, priced, and dispatched in China. This is especially true for natural gas generation, which is likely to play an important role in power systems worldwide as a flexible generation resource. Although natural gas is commonly perceived to be economically uncompetitive with coal in China, these perceptions are based on analysis that fails to account for the different roles that natural gas generation plays in power systems—baseload, load following, and peaking generation. Our analysis shows that natural gas generation is already cost-effective for meeting peak demand in China, resulting in improved capacity factors and heat rates for coal-fired generators and lower system costs. We find that the largest barrier to using natural gas for peaking generation in China is generation pricing, which could be addressed through modest reforms to support low capacity factor generation. - Highlights: • Using gas generation as a “capacity resource” in China could have multiple benefits. • Benefits include lower total costs, improved efficiency for coal generators. • Price reforms needed to support low capacity factor generation in China

  1. System reliability evaluation of a touch panel manufacturing system with defect rate and reworking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Yi-Kuei; Huang, Cheng-Fu; Chang, Ping-Chen

    2013-01-01

    In recent years, portable consumer electronic products, such as cell phone, GPS, digital camera, tablet PC, and notebook are using touch panel as interface. With the demand of touch panel increases, performance assessment is essential for touch panel production. This paper develops a method to evaluate system reliability of a touch panel manufacturing system (TPMS) with defect rate of each workstation and takes reworking actions into account. The system reliability which evaluates the possibility of demand satisfaction can provide to managers with an understanding of the system capability and can indicate possible improvements. First, we construct a capacitated manufacturing network (CMN) for a TPMS. Second, a decomposition technique is developed to determine the input flow of each workstation based on the CMN. Finally, we generate the minimal capacity vectors that should be provided to satisfy the demand. The system reliability is subsequently evaluated in terms of the minimal capacity vectors. A further decision making issue is discussed to decide a reliable production strategy. -- Graphical abstract: The proposed procedure to evaluate system reliability of the touch panel manufacturing system (TPMS). Highlights: • The system reliability of a touch panel manufacturing system (TPMS) is evaluated. • The reworking actions are taken into account in the TPMS. • A capacitated manufacturing network is constructed for the TPMS. • A procedure is proposed to evaluate system reliability of TPMS

  2. Design for Reliability in Renewable Energy Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blaabjerg, Frede; Zhou, Dao; Sangwongwanich, Ariya

    2017-01-01

    Power electronics are widely used in renewable energy systems to achieve lower cost of energy, higher efficiency and high power density. At the same time, the high reliability of the power electronics products is demanded, in order to reduce the failure rates and ensure cost-effective operation...... of the renewable energy systems. This paper thus describes the basic concepts used in reliability engineering, and presents the status and future trends of Design for Reliability (DfR) in power electronics, which is currently undergoing a paradigm shift to a physics-of-failure approach. Two case studies of a 2 MW...

  3. Locational Prices in Capacity Subscription Market Considering Transmission Limitations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Babaeinejad Sarookolaee

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This study focuses on one of the most effective type of capacity markets named Capacity Subscription (CS market which is predicted to be widely used in the upcoming smart grids. Despite variant researches done about the mechanism and structure of capacity markets, their performances have been rarely tested in the presence of network constraints. Considering this deficiency, we tried to propose a new method to determine capacity prices in the network considering the transmission line flow limitations named Local capacity Prices (LP. This method is quite new and has not been tried before in any other similar researches. The philosophy of the proposed method is to determine capacity prices considering each consumer share of total peak demand. The first advantage of LP is that the consumers who benefit from the transmission facilities and are the responsible for transmission congestions, pay higher capacity prices than those whom their needed electricity is prepared locally. The second advantage of LP is that consumers connected to the same bus do not have to pay same capacity price due to their different shares of total peak demand. For more clarification, two other different methods named Branches Flow limit as a Global Limit (BFGL and Locational Capacity Prices (LCP are proposed and compared to the LP method in order to show LP method efficiency. The numerical results obtained from case studies show that the LP method follows more justice market procedure which results in more efficient capacity prices in comparison to BFGL and LCP methods.

  4. Does more international transmission capacity increase competition in the Belgian electricity market?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kupper, G.; Delarue, E.; Delvaux, B.; Meeus, L.; Bekaert, D.; Willems, Bert; Proost, S.; D'haeseleer, W.; Deketelaere, K.; Belmans, R.

    2009-01-01

    From a national market perspective, taking transmission capacity into account reduces current concentration measures, although they remain fairly high even after substantial capacity increases. From an international perspective, a more efficient use of current transmission capacity by coupling

  5. How to make Fischer-Tropsch catalyst scale-up fully reliable?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fischer, L.; Heraud, J.P.; Forret, A.; Gazarian, J. [IFP Energies nouvelles, Solaize (France); Cornaro, U. [Eni S.p.A., San Donato Milanese (Italy). R and M Div.; Carugati, A. [Eni S.p.A., San Donato Milanese (Italy). E and P Div.

    2011-07-01

    Several players use Fischer-Tropsch catalysts and technologies industrially [1,2] or declare to be ready for industrial application [e.g. 3]. Present R and D aims to further increase capacities per train [4] or improve catalyst selectivity towards middle distillates [5]. For transforming promising laboratory results into industrial reality, representative catalyst testing is of particular importance for slurry bubble column FT. In the Italian eni's refinery of Sannazzaro, a 20 BPD slurry bubble column pilot plant has cumulated more than 20,000 hours time on stream in different campaigns. Non reactive slurry bubble columns corresponding to reactor capacities between 20 BPD and 1000 BPD permitted to determine the profiles for gas hold up and liquid velocities as a function of gas flow, catalyst loading, reactor diameter and internals. A hydrodynamic model based on those data led to design a Large Validation Tool, which can reproduce under reaction conditions a high mechanical stress on the catalyst equivalent to the one experienced in an industrial 15000 BPD reactor. While those tools have proven to be efficient for developing an industrial scale FT catalyst [3], they predict today in a representative manner fines formation, activity and selectivity of improved catalysts and / or for optimization of operation conditions to increase the capacity per train. We compare the here presented approach to others. We have found that it is mandatory to combine chemical stress from the reaction products with mechanical stress as experienced in an industrial slurry bubble column, in order to evaluate in a reliable way catalyst performance stability and fines formation. The potential of improvements are discussed. (orig.)

  6. Accountability for enhanced reliability for ALWRs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanford, M.O.

    1993-01-01

    Advanced nuclear units must compete with alternative generating technologies for inclusion in a utility's future planning. Operating reliability, or capacity factor, and operating cost are important factors in this competition. The ALWR Utility Requirements Document has established targets for both ALWR Capacity Factors (87%) and O ampersand M costs (13--16 mils/KWh), but recognizes that these O ampersand M cost targets need to be lower. The recently published USCEA cost study estimates O ampersand M costs on the order of 6 mils/kw. Meeting, or better yet improving on, these targets is essential for nuclear to be competitive. A number of specific items have been included in the Utility Requirements Document to improve reliability based on experience with operating units. For the most part, these include either avoiding known problems, or simplifying the design. Vendor design organizations are generally complying with the URD and this is expected to produce an improved design both in terms of reliability and ease of operation and maintenance. As one embarks on First-of-a-Kind Engineering (FOAKE), however, it is useful to revisit the issue of responsibility for assuring that reliability improvements are embodied in the new plant designs. The vendor design team must ultimately assume this responsibility. While utility operating and maintenance experience is an essential input to an effective design, decisions on how best to design for this experience remain a designer function. This poses a dilemma for the designer in that such decisions seem to invariably require a trade-off between the capital cost of the product and the ultimate O ampersand M cost. Since traditionally only capital cost has had a direct measurable impact on the vendor, it has received the greater weight. A more appropriate balance must be struck in the future, however, for nuclear to be competitive. Utilities must demand a balance in the design of ALWRs which truly reflects the total cost of power

  7. Classifier Fusion With Contextual Reliability Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhunga; Pan, Quan; Dezert, Jean; Han, Jun-Wei; He, You

    2018-05-01

    Classifier fusion is an efficient strategy to improve the classification performance for the complex pattern recognition problem. In practice, the multiple classifiers to combine can have different reliabilities and the proper reliability evaluation plays an important role in the fusion process for getting the best classification performance. We propose a new method for classifier fusion with contextual reliability evaluation (CF-CRE) based on inner reliability and relative reliability concepts. The inner reliability, represented by a matrix, characterizes the probability of the object belonging to one class when it is classified to another class. The elements of this matrix are estimated from the -nearest neighbors of the object. A cautious discounting rule is developed under belief functions framework to revise the classification result according to the inner reliability. The relative reliability is evaluated based on a new incompatibility measure which allows to reduce the level of conflict between the classifiers by applying the classical evidence discounting rule to each classifier before their combination. The inner reliability and relative reliability capture different aspects of the classification reliability. The discounted classification results are combined with Dempster-Shafer's rule for the final class decision making support. The performance of CF-CRE have been evaluated and compared with those of main classical fusion methods using real data sets. The experimental results show that CF-CRE can produce substantially higher accuracy than other fusion methods in general. Moreover, CF-CRE is robust to the changes of the number of nearest neighbors chosen for estimating the reliability matrix, which is appealing for the applications.

  8. Management model of productive capacity: integrating theory of constraints and the global operational efficiency index (IROG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Augusto Pacheco

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a model of management capacity in productive systems integrating the concepts of the Theory of Constraints and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM. The main objective of this study is to discuss and propose a model of management capacity, able to answer the following key questions: i capacity indicators which should be considered and how to measure them to measure the productive capacity of manufacturing systems? ii what is the real productive capacity of the system analyzed under a determined relationship between capacity and demand? The discussion of the proposed model is relevant because the definition of productive capacity system enables better management of resources and capabilities, improve production scheduling on the factory floor and meeting the demands imposed by the market. This paper presents the proposition of using the Operating Income Index Global (IROG with a different approach from traditional literature dealing with the theme, presented by Nakajima (1988. The results of this paper enable to develop a model to determine the capacity of the production system and the impact on the productive capacity of the entire system, not to consider the quality conformances that occur after the bottleneck resource of the production flow.

  9. Chip-Level Electromigration Reliability for Cu Interconnects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gall, M.; Oh, C.; Grinshpon, A.; Zolotov, V.; Panda, R.; Demircan, E.; Mueller, J.; Justison, P.; Ramakrishna, K.; Thrasher, S.; Hernandez, R.; Herrick, M.; Fox, R.; Boeck, B.; Kawasaki, H.; Haznedar, H.; Ku, P.

    2004-01-01

    Even after the successful introduction of Cu-based metallization, the electromigration (EM) failure risk has remained one of the most important reliability concerns for most advanced process technologies. Ever increasing operating current densities and the introduction of low-k materials in the backend process scheme are some of the issues that threaten reliable, long-term operation at elevated temperatures. The traditional method of verifying EM reliability only through current density limit checks is proving to be inadequate in general, or quite expensive at the best. A Statistical EM Budgeting (SEB) methodology has been proposed to assess more realistic chip-level EM reliability from the complex statistical distribution of currents in a chip. To be valuable, this approach requires accurate estimation of currents for all interconnect segments in a chip. However, no efficient technique to manage the complexity of such a task for very large chip designs is known. We present an efficient method to estimate currents exhaustively for all interconnects in a chip. The proposed method uses pre-characterization of cells and macros, and steps to identify and filter out symmetrically bi-directional interconnects. We illustrate the strength of the proposed approach using a high-performance microprocessor design for embedded applications as a case study

  10. Toddlers favor communicatively presented information over statistical reliability in learning about artifacts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanna Marno

    Full Text Available Observed associations between events can be validated by statistical information of reliability or by testament of communicative sources. We tested whether toddlers learn from their own observation of efficiency, assessed by statistical information on reliability of interventions, or from communicatively presented demonstration, when these two potential types of evidence of validity of interventions on a novel artifact are contrasted with each other. Eighteen-month-old infants observed two adults, one operating the artifact by a method that was more efficient (2/3 probability of success than that of the other (1/3 probability of success. Compared to the Baseline condition, in which communicative signals were not employed, infants tended to choose the less reliable method to operate the artifact when this method was demonstrated in a communicative manner in the Experimental condition. This finding demonstrates that, in certain circumstances, communicative sanctioning of reliability may override statistical evidence for young learners. Such a bias can serve fast and efficient transmission of knowledge between generations.

  11. 75 FR 26057 - Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Calculation of Available Transfer Capability, Capacity...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-11

    ... the Use of Capacity Benefit Margins 24. In the Final Rule, the Commission determined that ISOs, RTOs... explicitly list reserve margin or resource adequacy requirements established by RTOs and ISOs among the...

  12. A dynamic allocation mechanism of delivering capacity in coupled networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du, Wen-Bo; Zhou, Xing-Lian; Zhu, Yan-Bo; Zheng, Zheng

    2015-01-01

    Traffic process is ubiquitous in many critical infrastructures. In this paper, we introduce a mechanism to dynamically allocate the delivering capacity into the data-packet traffic model on the coupled Internet autonomous-system-level network of South Korea and Japan, and focus on its effect on the transport efficiency. In this mechanism, the total delivering capacity is constant and the lowest-load node will give one unit delivering capacity to the highest-load node at each time step. It is found that the delivering capacity of busy nodes and non-busy nodes can be well balanced and the effective betweenness of busy nodes with interconnections is significantly reduced. Consequently, the transport efficiency such as average traveling time and packet arrival rate is remarkably improved. Our work may shed some light on the traffic dynamics in coupled networks.

  13. Reliability and standard market design : a square plug and a round socket, the fundamental flaw of the market design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bekman, K.

    2003-01-01

    A electricity power system is designed and built to deliver reliable power supplies. A failure of a single component should not lead to the failure of the entire system. Oversupply results in prices at marginal cost of production, inadequate return on capital investment and economic failure of supplies. Uneconomic sources of supply would pull out in cases of oversupply. Competitive markets need flexible supply and demand and scarcity pricing in order to promote new investment. The problem with such a scenario is that scarcity reduces the level of reliability. An oversupply, while ensuring reliability, offers an inadequate return on capital. This presentation included several graphs depicting results of market failure with reference to NYMEX analysis of credit quality, NEPOOL summer capacity 2001, NYS summer capacity 2001, and PJM summer capacity 2001. A graph illustrating a New England 2002 load duration curve and its analysis was also included. According to the author, the market design is flawed because it does not pay for reliability. It fails to compensate generation for capital at risk, and it fails to address the fact that nearly half of the capacity supplies less than 10 per cent energy. He notes that the liquidity crisis will continue and grow unless changes are made and new entrants come into the market. 8 figs

  14. A fast approximation method for reliability analysis of cold-standby systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Chaonan; Xing, Liudong; Amari, Suprasad V.

    2012-01-01

    Analyzing reliability of large cold-standby systems has been a complicated and time-consuming task, especially for systems with components having non-exponential time-to-failure distributions. In this paper, an approximation model, which is based on the central limit theorem, is presented for the reliability analysis of binary cold-standby systems. The proposed model can estimate the reliability of large cold-standby systems with binary-state components having arbitrary time-to-failure distributions in an efficient and easy way. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method are illustrated using several different types of distributions for both 1-out-of-n and k-out-of-n cold-standby systems.

  15. New, Efficient, and Reliable Air Electrode Material for Proton-Conducting Reversible Solid Oxide Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huan, Daoming; Shi, Nai; Zhang, Lu; Tan, Wenzhou; Xie, Yun; Wang, Wanhua; Xia, Changrong; Peng, Ranran; Lu, Yalin

    2018-01-17

    Driven by the demand to minimize fluctuation in common renewable energies, reversible solid oxide cells (RSOCs) have drawn increasing attention for they can operate either as fuel cells to produce electricity or as electrolysis cells to store electricity. Unfortunately, development of proton-conducting RSOCs (P-RSOCs) faces a major challenge of poor reliability because of the high content of steam involved in air electrode reactions, which could seriously decay the lifetime of air electrode materials. In this work, a very stable and efficient air electrode, SrEu 2 Fe 1.8 Co 0.2 O 7-δ (SEFC) with layer structure, is designed and deployed in P-RSOCs. X-ray diffraction analysis and High-angle annular dark-filed scanning transmission electron microscopy images of SEFC reveal that Sr atoms occupy the center of perovskite slabs, whereas Eu atoms arrange orderly in the rock-salt layer. Such a special structure of SEFC largely depresses its Lewis basicity and therefore its reactivity with steam. Applying the SEFC air electrode, our button switches smoothly between both fuel cell and electrolysis cell (EC) modes with no obvious degradation over a 135 h long-term test under wet H 2 (∼3% H 2 O) and 10% H 2 O-air atmospheres. A record of over 230 h is achieved in the long-term stability test in the EC mode, doubling the longest test that had been previously reported. Besides good stability, SEFC demonstrates great catalytic activity toward air electrode reactions when compared with traditional La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ air electrodes. This research highlights the potential of stable and efficient P-RSOCs as an important part in a sustainable new energy power system.

  16. Practical methodologies for the calculation of capacity in electricity markets for wind energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Botero B, Sergio; Giraldo V, Luis Alfonso; Isaza C, Felipe

    2008-01-01

    Determining the real capacity of the generators in a power market is an essential task in order to estimate the actual system reliability, and to estimate the reward for generators due to their capacity in the firm energy market. In the wind power case, which is an intermittent resource, several methodologies have been proposed to estimate the capacity of a wind power emplacement, not only for planning but also for firm energy remuneration purposes. This paper presents some methodologies that have been proposed or implemented around the world in order to calculate the capacity of this energy resource.

  17. Reliability-Based Topology Optimization Using Stochastic Response Surface Method with Sparse Grid Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qinghai Zhao

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A mathematical framework is developed which integrates the reliability concept into topology optimization to solve reliability-based topology optimization (RBTO problems under uncertainty. Two typical methodologies have been presented and implemented, including the performance measure approach (PMA and the sequential optimization and reliability assessment (SORA. To enhance the computational efficiency of reliability analysis, stochastic response surface method (SRSM is applied to approximate the true limit state function with respect to the normalized random variables, combined with the reasonable design of experiments generated by sparse grid design, which was proven to be an effective and special discretization technique. The uncertainties such as material property and external loads are considered on three numerical examples: a cantilever beam, a loaded knee structure, and a heat conduction problem. Monte-Carlo simulations are also performed to verify the accuracy of the failure probabilities computed by the proposed approach. Based on the results, it is demonstrated that application of SRSM with SGD can produce an efficient reliability analysis in RBTO which enables a more reliable design than that obtained by DTO. It is also found that, under identical accuracy, SORA is superior to PMA in view of computational efficiency.

  18. Good performance in Japan is proof of continuing safety and reliability improvement practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sumi, Y.

    1987-01-01

    Nuclear power is a vital energy supply source for both security and economy for such countries as Japan whose sources of energy are dependent on imported materials. This is the very reason why Japan gives her national priority to the improvement of nuclear power safety and reliability. As of the end of 1986, total nuclear power capacity owned and operated by private utility companies in Japan amounted to 24521 MW with 32 units sharing -- 19% of the total generating capacity. Moreover, during 1986 these units scored a remarkably high capacity factor of 76.2% and shared almost 28% of the nationwide electric power production, thereby contributing to a considerable saving of imported sources of energy. This outstanding record has been achieved by the parties concerned who dedicated themselves to furthering nuclear plant safety and reliability improvement. In this connection, this paper summarizes those key factors contributing to the good nuclear power plant performance of the Kansai Electric Power Company

  19. An integrated multi attribute decision model for energy efficiency processes in petrochemical industry applying fuzzy set theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylan, Osman; Kaya, Durmus; Demirbas, Ayhan

    2016-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Evaluation of compressors by comparing the different cost parameters. - Highlights: • Fuzzy sets and systems are used for decision making in MCDM problems. • An integrated Fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS approaches are employed for compressor selection. • Compressor selection is a highly complex and non-linear process. • This approach increases the efficiency, reliability of alternative scenarios, and reduces the pay-back period. - Abstract: Energy efficient technologies offered by the market increases productivity. However, decision making for these technologies is usually obstructed in the firms and comes up with organizational barriers. Compressor selection in petrochemical industry requires assessment of several criteria such as ‘reliability, energy consumption, initial investment, capacity, pressure, and maintenance cost.’ Therefore, air compressor selection is a multi-attribute decision making (MADM) problem. The aim of this study is to select the most eligible compressor(s) so as to avoid the high energy consumption due to the capacity and maintenance costs. It is also aimed to avoid failures due to the reliability problems and high pressure. MADM usually takes place in a vague and imprecise environment. Soft computing techniques such as fuzzy sets and system can be used for decision making where vague and imprecise knowledge is available. In this study, an integrated fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) methodologies are employed for the compressor selection. Fuzzy AHP was used to determine the weights of criteria and fuzzy TOPSIS was employed to order the scenarios according to their superiority. The total effect of all criteria was determined for all alternative scenarios to make an optimal decision. Moreover, the types of compressor, carbon emission, waste heat recovery and their capacities were analyzed and compared by statistical

  20. Development and validation of SEER (Seeking, Engaging with and Evaluating Research): a measure of policymakers' capacity to engage with and use research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, Sue E; McKenzie, Joanne E; Turner, Tari; Redman, Sally; Makkar, Steve; Williamson, Anna; Haynes, Abby; Green, Sally E

    2017-01-17

    Capacity building strategies are widely used to increase the use of research in policy development. However, a lack of well-validated measures for policy contexts has hampered efforts to identify priorities for capacity building and to evaluate the impact of strategies. We aimed to address this gap by developing SEER (Seeking, Engaging with and Evaluating Research), a self-report measure of individual policymakers' capacity to engage with and use research. We used the SPIRIT Action Framework to identify pertinent domains and guide development of items for measuring each domain. Scales covered (1) individual capacity to use research (confidence in using research, value placed on research, individual perceptions of the value their organisation places on research, supporting tools and systems), (2) actions taken to engage with research and researchers, and (3) use of research to inform policy (extent and type of research use). A sample of policymakers engaged in health policy development provided data to examine scale reliability (internal consistency, test-retest) and validity (relation to measures of similar concepts, relation to a measure of intention to use research, internal structure of the individual capacity scales). Response rates were 55% (150/272 people, 12 agencies) for the validity and internal consistency analyses, and 54% (57/105 people, 9 agencies) for test-retest reliability. The individual capacity scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability (alpha coefficients > 0.7, all four scales) and test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficients > 0.7 for three scales and 0.59 for fourth scale). Scores on individual capacity scales converged as predicted with measures of similar concepts (moderate correlations of > 0.4), and confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence that the scales measured related but distinct concepts. Items in each of these four scales related as predicted to concepts in the measurement model derived

  1. Brain oscillatory substrates of visual short-term memory capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauseng, Paul; Klimesch, Wolfgang; Heise, Kirstin F; Gruber, Walter R; Holz, Elisa; Karim, Ahmed A; Glennon, Mark; Gerloff, Christian; Birbaumer, Niels; Hummel, Friedhelm C

    2009-11-17

    The amount of information that can be stored in visual short-term memory is strictly limited to about four items. Therefore, memory capacity relies not only on the successful retention of relevant information but also on efficient suppression of distracting information, visual attention, and executive functions. However, completely separable neural signatures for these memory capacity-limiting factors remain to be identified. Because of its functional diversity, oscillatory brain activity may offer a utile solution. In the present study, we show that capacity-determining mechanisms, namely retention of relevant information and suppression of distracting information, are based on neural substrates independent of each other: the successful maintenance of relevant material in short-term memory is associated with cross-frequency phase synchronization between theta (rhythmical neural activity around 5 Hz) and gamma (> 50 Hz) oscillations at posterior parietal recording sites. On the other hand, electroencephalographic alpha activity (around 10 Hz) predicts memory capacity based on efficient suppression of irrelevant information in short-term memory. Moreover, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation at alpha frequency can modulate short-term memory capacity by influencing the ability to suppress distracting information. Taken together, the current study provides evidence for a double dissociation of brain oscillatory correlates of visual short-term memory capacity.

  2. Reliability and accuracy of Cooper's test in male long distance runners

    OpenAIRE

    J.R. Alvero-Cruz; M.A. Giráldez García; E.A. Carnero

    2017-01-01

    Objective: Endurance capacity can be assessed by field test such as Cooper's test; however, reliability and accuracy are rarely reported in the literature. It was our aims to describe reliability and accuracy of Cooper's test in long distance runners. Method: Fifteen male long distance runners performed twice all-out Cooper's test in a 400 m track. Total distance covered, maximum heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion were recorded. Bias correction factor (Bc) was used to describe ...

  3. How do cognitively impaired elderly patients define "testament": reliability and validity of the testament definition scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinik, J; Werner, P; Lin, R

    1999-01-01

    The testament definition scale (TDS) is a specifically designed six-item scale aimed at measuring the respondent's capacity to define "testament." We assessed the reliability and validity of this new short scale in 31 community-dwelling cognitively impaired elderly patients. Interrater reliability for the six items ranged from .87 to .97. The interrater reliability for the total score was .77. Significant correlations were found between the TDS score and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Cambridge Cognitive Examination scores (r = .71 and .72 respectively, p = .001). Criterion validity yielded significantly different means for subjects with MMSE scores of 24-30 and 0-23: mean 3.9 and 1.6 respectively (t(20) = 4.7, p = .001). Using a cutoff point of 0-2 vs. 3+, 79% of the subjects were correctly classified as severely cognitively impaired, with only 8.3% false positives, and a positive predictive value of 94%. Thus, TDS was found both reliable and valid. This scale, however, is not synonymous with testamentary capacity. The discussion deals with the methodological limitations of this study, and highlights the practical as well as the theoretical relevance of TDS. Future studies are warranted to elucidate the relationships between TDS and existing legal requirements of testamentary capacity.

  4. Pilot testing of SHRP 2 reliability data and analytical products: Washington.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-07-30

    The second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) addresses the challenges of moving people and goods efficiently and safely on the nations highways. In its Reliability focus area, the research emphasizes improving the reliability of highway ...

  5. Part load efficiency of packaged air-cooled water chillers with inverter driven scroll compressors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cecchinato, Luca

    2010-01-01

    In this paper different packaged air-cooled systems, operating on scroll compressors, are experimentally analysed from the point of view of the relation between energy efficiency and actual capacity. Single compressor, double compressors and double compressors with uneven volumetric capacity units are tested. Experimental tests demonstrated that cooling capacity control by means of variation of rotational speed is an suitable solution for improving the part load efficiency of these systems. Step capacity units obtained by splitting the system volumetric capacity between two compressors are also effective solutions. Nevertheless they appear to be more efficient than single inverter driven chillers only for part load conditions lower than 60%. In the analysed cooling capacity range (25-50 kW), tandem compressors chillers with one inverter driven compressor appear the most efficient solution combining rotational speed with step capacity control. Seasonal energy efficiency ratios were obtained with prEN 14825 calculation method confirming reduced energy consumption associated to continuous and step cooling capacity control.

  6. Reliability improvement: where do we go from here. The role of codes and standards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davidson, R.H.

    1976-01-01

    The role of codes and standards in contributing to the future improvement is discussed. The Nuclear Plant Reliability Data System is examined. It is suggested that two systems of the type are needed. One system should focus on component and system reliability while the other should focus on system availability, capacity factor, and fixed outage rate assessment

  7. The impact of electricity market design upon investment under uncertainty: The effectiveness of capacity mechanisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vries, Laurens de; Heijnen, Petra

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents an analysis of different market designs under uncertainty about the future growth rate of demand. Markets for electricity generation appear to be prone to an investment cycle due to their capital-intensiveness and the long lead time of new generation facilities. We tested the stability of different capacity mechanisms in the presence of uncertainty regarding the demand growth rate with a stochastic dynamic model. Investment decisions were assumed to maximize profit, based on an assumed growth rate of demand that was equal to the rolling average of the previous five years. All capacity mechanisms proved effective in reducing the tendency towards an investment cycle, but to different degrees. Interestingly, an oligopoly that is able to raise average prices by 10% would also be able to substantially reduce price volatility and decrease the risk of shortages by increasing the reserve margin. Benefits of such a strategy for the generating companies could be that it would deter new market entrants and stave off the political attention that shortages and price spikes would bring about. However, the benefits to consumers are compromised by the lack of economic efficiency and distributional effects of an oligopoly, while the stability of such an oligopolistic strategy can be questioned. The most attractive solution is a system of reliability contracts, which can be used to stabilize both investment and prices, while reducing market power and providing more efficient operational incentives to generating companies. (author)

  8. Analysis of performance reliability of electrical and electronic equipment of car-tractor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kravchenko О.Р.

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of the operational reliability of electrical and electronic equipment of vehicles, trucks Mercedes-Benz Actros 1844 LS and Volvo FH 1242, conducting international cargo transportation is performed. It is established that the equipment is reliable, which meets modern requirements, but where there is a violation of the resolution. The reason for repair work is constructive and operational factors. Distribution of efficiency and overall performance of operational reliability is retrieved. Items with more bounce are found. Common factors of violation of efficiency cars, trucks in operation, are largely different stages in warranty runs are obtained.

  9. Future High Capacity Backbone Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Jiayuan

    are proposed. The work focuses on energy efficient routing algorithms in a dynamic optical core network environment, with Generalized MultiProtocol Label Switching (GMPLS) as the control plane. Energy ef- ficient routing algorithms for energy savings and CO2 savings are proposed, and their performance...... aiming for reducing the dynamic part of the energy consumption of the network may increase the fixed part of the energy consumption meanwhile. In the second half of the thesis, the conflict between energy efficiency and Quality of Service (QoS) is addressed by introducing a novel software defined......This thesis - Future High Capacity Backbone Networks - deals with the energy efficiency problems associated with the development of future optical networks. In the first half of the thesis, novel approaches for using multiple/single alternative energy sources for improving energy efficiency...

  10. Snow reliability in ski resorts considering artificial snowmaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofstätter, M.; Formayer, H.; Haas, P.

    2009-04-01

    Snow reliability is the key factor to make skiing on slopes possible and to ensure added value in winter tourism. In this context snow reliability is defined by the duration of a snowpack on the ski runs of at least 50 mm snow water equivalent (SWE), within the main season (Dec-Mar). Furthermore the snowpack should form every winter and be existent early enough in season. In our work we investigate the snow reliability of six Austrian ski resorts. Because nearly all Austrian resorts rely on artificial snowmaking it is of big importance to consider man made snow in the snowpack accumulation and ablation in addition to natural snow. For each study region observed weather data including temperature, precipitation and snow height are used. In addition we differentiate up to three elevations on each site (valley, intermediate, mountain top), being aware of the typical local winter inversion height. Time periods suitable for artificial snow production, for several temperature threshold (-6,-4 or -1 degree Celsius) are calculated on an hourly base. Depending on the actual snowpack height, man made snow can be added in the model with different defined capacities, considering different technologies or the usage of additives. To simulate natural snowpack accumulation and ablation we a simple snow model, based on daily precipitation and temperature. This snow model is optimized at each site separately through certain parameterization factors. Based on the local observations and the monthly climate change signals from the climate model REMO-UBA, we generate long term time series of temperature and precipitation, using the weather generator LARS. Thereby we are not only able to simulate the snow reliability under current, but also under future climate conditions. Our results show significant changes in snow reliability, like an increase of days with insufficient snow heights, especially at mid and low altitudes under natural snow conditions. Artificial snowmaking can partly

  11. A Test of Canine Olfactory Capacity: Comparing Various Dog Breeds and Wolves in a Natural Detection Task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polgár, Zita; Kinnunen, Mari; Újváry, Dóra; Miklósi, Ádám; Gácsi, Márta

    2016-01-01

    Many dog breeds are bred specifically for increased performance in scent-based tasks. Whether dogs bred for this purpose have higher olfactory capacities than other dogs, or even wolves with whom they share a common ancestor, has not yet been studied. Indeed, there is no standard test for assessing canine olfactory ability. This study aimed to create a simple procedure that requires no pre-training and to use it to measure differences in olfactory capacity across four groups of canines: (1) dog breeds that have been selected for their scenting ability; (2) dog breeds that have been bred for other purposes; (3) dog breeds with exaggerated short-nosed features; and (4) hand-reared grey wolves. The procedure involved baiting a container with raw turkey meat and placing it under one of four identical ceramic pots. Subjects were led along the row of pots and were tasked with determining by olfaction alone which of them contained the bait. There were five levels of increasing difficulty determined by the number of holes on the container's lid. A subsample of both dogs and wolves was retested to assess reliability. The results showed that breeds selected for scent work were better than both short-nosed and non-scent breeds. In the most difficult level, wolves and scenting breeds performed better than chance, while non-scenting and short-nosed breeds did not. In the retested samples wolves improved their success; however, dogs showed no change in their performances indicating that a single test may be reliable enough to assess their capacity. Overall, we revealed measurable differences between dog breeds in their olfactory abilities and suggest that the Natural Detection Task is a good foundation for developing an efficient way of quantifying them.

  12. A Test of Canine Olfactory Capacity: Comparing Various Dog Breeds and Wolves in a Natural Detection Task.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zita Polgár

    Full Text Available Many dog breeds are bred specifically for increased performance in scent-based tasks. Whether dogs bred for this purpose have higher olfactory capacities than other dogs, or even wolves with whom they share a common ancestor, has not yet been studied. Indeed, there is no standard test for assessing canine olfactory ability. This study aimed to create a simple procedure that requires no pre-training and to use it to measure differences in olfactory capacity across four groups of canines: (1 dog breeds that have been selected for their scenting ability; (2 dog breeds that have been bred for other purposes; (3 dog breeds with exaggerated short-nosed features; and (4 hand-reared grey wolves. The procedure involved baiting a container with raw turkey meat and placing it under one of four identical ceramic pots. Subjects were led along the row of pots and were tasked with determining by olfaction alone which of them contained the bait. There were five levels of increasing difficulty determined by the number of holes on the container's lid. A subsample of both dogs and wolves was retested to assess reliability. The results showed that breeds selected for scent work were better than both short-nosed and non-scent breeds. In the most difficult level, wolves and scenting breeds performed better than chance, while non-scenting and short-nosed breeds did not. In the retested samples wolves improved their success; however, dogs showed no change in their performances indicating that a single test may be reliable enough to assess their capacity. Overall, we revealed measurable differences between dog breeds in their olfactory abilities and suggest that the Natural Detection Task is a good foundation for developing an efficient way of quantifying them.

  13. Influence of the effectiveness of raw materials on the reliability of thermoelectric cooling devices. Part I: single-stage TEDs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaikov V. P.

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Increase of the reliability of information systems depends on the reliability improvement of their component elements, including cooling devices, providing efficiency of thermally loaded components. Thermoelectric devices based on the Peltier effect have significant advantages compared with air and liquid systems for thermal modes of the radio-electronic equipment. This happens due to the absence of moving parts, which account for the failure rate. The article presents research results on how thermoelectric efficiency modules affect the failure rate and the probability of non-failure operation in the range of working temperature of thermoelectric coolers. The authors investigate a model of relative failure rate and the probability of failure-free operation single-stage thermoelectric devices depending on the main relevant parameters: the operating current flowing through the thermocouple and resistance, temperature changes, the magnitude of the heat load and the number of elements in the module. It is shown that the increase in the thermoelectric efficiency of the primary material for a variety of thermocouple temperature changes causes the following: maximum temperature difference increases by 18%; the number of elements in the module decreases; cooling coefficient increases; failure rate reduces and the probability of non-failure operation of thermoelectric cooling device increases. Material efficiency increase by 1% allows reducing failure rate by 2,6—4,3% in maximum refrigeration capacity mode and by 4,2—5,0% in minimal failure rate mode when temperature difference changes in the range of 40—60 K. Thus, the increase in the thermoelectric efficiency of initial materials of thermocouples can significantly reduce the failure rate and increase the probability of failure of thermoelectric coolers depending on the temperature difference and the current operating mode.

  14. Exact reliability quantification of highly reliable systems with maintenance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bris, Radim, E-mail: radim.bris@vsb.c [VSB-Technical University Ostrava, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Applied Mathematics, 17. listopadu 15, 70833 Ostrava-Poruba (Czech Republic)

    2010-12-15

    When a system is composed of highly reliable elements, exact reliability quantification may be problematic, because computer accuracy is limited. Inaccuracy can be due to different aspects. For example, an error may be made when subtracting two numbers that are very close to each other, or at the process of summation of many very different numbers, etc. The basic objective of this paper is to find a procedure, which eliminates errors made by PC when calculations close to an error limit are executed. Highly reliable system is represented by the use of directed acyclic graph which is composed from terminal nodes, i.e. highly reliable input elements, internal nodes representing subsystems and edges that bind all of these nodes. Three admissible unavailability models of terminal nodes are introduced, including both corrective and preventive maintenance. The algorithm for exact unavailability calculation of terminal nodes is based on merits of a high-performance language for technical computing MATLAB. System unavailability quantification procedure applied to a graph structure, which considers both independent and dependent (i.e. repeatedly occurring) terminal nodes is based on combinatorial principle. This principle requires summation of a lot of very different non-negative numbers, which may be a source of an inaccuracy. That is why another algorithm for exact summation of such numbers is designed in the paper. The summation procedure uses benefits from a special number system with the base represented by the value 2{sup 32}. Computational efficiency of the new computing methodology is compared with advanced simulation software. Various calculations on systems from references are performed to emphasize merits of the methodology.

  15. Transmission cost allocation based on power flow tracing considering reliability benefit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leepreechanon, N.; Singharerg, S.; Padungwech, W.; Nakawiro, W.; Eua-Arporn, B.; David, A.K.

    2007-01-01

    Power transmission networks must be able to accommodate the continuously growing demand for reliable and economical electricity. This paper presented a method to allocate transmission use and reliability cost to both generators and end-consumers. Although transmission cost allocation methods change depending on the local context of the electric power industry, there is a common principle that transmission line capacity should be properly allocated to accommodate actual power delivery with an adequate reliability margin. The method proposed in this paper allocates transmission embedded cost to both generators and loads in an equitable manner, incorporating probability indices to allocate transmission reliability margin among users in both supply and demand sides. The application of the proposed method was illustrated using Bialek's tracing method on a multiple-circuit, six-bus transmission system. Probabilistic indices known as the transmission internal reliability margin (TIRM) and transmission external reliability margin (TERM) decomposed from the transmission reliability margin (TRM) were introduced, making true cost of using overall transmission facilities. 6 refs., 11 tabs., 5 figs

  16. Solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem using efficient epsilon-constraint, multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm, and DEA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khalili-Damghani, Kaveh; Amiri, Maghsoud

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, a procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and data envelopment analysis (DEA) is proposed for solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem (MORAP). In first module, a set of qualified non-dominated solutions on Pareto front of binary-state MORAP is generated using an efficient epsilon-constraint method. In order to test the quality of generated non-dominated solutions in this module, a multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm is also proposed for MORAP. The performance of both procedures is compared using different metrics on well-known benchmark instance. The statistical analysis represents that not only the proposed efficient epsilon-constraint method outperform the multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm but also it improves the founded upper bound of benchmark instance. Then, in second module, a DEA model is supplied to prune the generated non-dominated solutions of efficient epsilon-constraint method. This helps reduction of non-dominated solutions in a systematic manner and eases the decision making process for practical implementations. - Highlights: ► A procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and DEA was proposed for solving MORAP. ► The performance of proposed procedure was compared with a multi-start PBEA. ► Methods were statistically compared using multi-objective metrics.

  17. Regeneration limit of classical Shannon capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorokina, M. A.; Turitsyn, S. K.

    2014-05-01

    Since Shannon derived the seminal formula for the capacity of the additive linear white Gaussian noise channel, it has commonly been interpreted as the ultimate limit of error-free information transmission rate. However, the capacity above the corresponding linear channel limit can be achieved when noise is suppressed using nonlinear elements; that is, the regenerative function not available in linear systems. Regeneration is a fundamental concept that extends from biology to optical communications. All-optical regeneration of coherent signal has attracted particular attention. Surprisingly, the quantitative impact of regeneration on the Shannon capacity has remained unstudied. Here we propose a new method of designing regenerative transmission systems with capacity that is higher than the corresponding linear channel, and illustrate it by proposing application of the Fourier transform for efficient regeneration of multilevel multidimensional signals. The regenerative Shannon limit—the upper bound of regeneration efficiency—is derived.

  18. System reliability with correlated components: Accuracy of the Equivalent Planes method

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roscoe, K.; Diermanse, F.; Vrouwenvelder, A.C.W.M.

    2015-01-01

    Computing system reliability when system components are correlated presents a challenge because it usually requires solving multi-fold integrals numerically, which is generally infeasible due to the computational cost. In Dutch flood defense reliability modeling, an efficient method for computing

  19. System reliability with correlated components : Accuracy of the Equivalent Planes method

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roscoe, K.; Diermanse, F.; Vrouwenvelder, T.

    2015-01-01

    Computing system reliability when system components are correlated presents a challenge because it usually requires solving multi-fold integrals numerically, which is generally infeasible due to the computational cost. In Dutch flood defense reliability modeling, an efficient method for computing

  20. Reliability analysis under epistemic uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nannapaneni, Saideep; Mahadevan, Sankaran

    2016-01-01

    This paper proposes a probabilistic framework to include both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty within model-based reliability estimation of engineering systems for individual limit states. Epistemic uncertainty is considered due to both data and model sources. Sparse point and/or interval data regarding the input random variables leads to uncertainty regarding their distribution types, distribution parameters, and correlations; this statistical uncertainty is included in the reliability analysis through a combination of likelihood-based representation, Bayesian hypothesis testing, and Bayesian model averaging techniques. Model errors, which include numerical solution errors and model form errors, are quantified through Gaussian process models and included in the reliability analysis. The probability integral transform is used to develop an auxiliary variable approach that facilitates a single-level representation of both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. This strategy results in an efficient single-loop implementation of Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) and FORM/SORM techniques for reliability estimation under both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. Two engineering examples are used to demonstrate the proposed methodology. - Highlights: • Epistemic uncertainty due to data and model included in reliability analysis. • A novel FORM-based approach proposed to include aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. • A single-loop Monte Carlo approach proposed to include both types of uncertainties. • Two engineering examples used for illustration.

  1. A methodology for strain-based fatigue reliability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Y.X.

    2000-01-01

    A significant scatter of the cyclic stress-strain (CSS) responses should be noted for a nuclear reactor material, 1Cr18Ni9Ti pipe-weld metal. Existence of the scatter implies that a random cyclic strain applied history will be introduced under any of the loading modes even a deterministic loading history. A non-conservative evaluation might be given in the practice without considering the scatter. A methodology for strain-based fatigue reliability analysis, which has taken into account the scatter, is developed. The responses are approximately modeled by probability-based CSS curves of Ramberg-Osgood relation. The strain-life data are modeled, similarly, by probability-based strain-life curves of Coffin-Manson law. The reliability assessment is constructed by considering interference of the random fatigue strain applied and capacity histories. Probability density functions of the applied and capacity histories are analytically given. The methodology could be conveniently extrapolated to the case of deterministic CSS relation as the existent methods did. Non-conservative evaluation of the deterministic CSS relation and availability of present methodology have been indicated by an analysis of the material test results

  2. Ductility and Ultimate Capacity of Prestressed Steel Reinforced Concrete Beams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chengquan Wang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Nonlinear numerical analysis of the structural behaviour of prestressed steel reinforced concrete (PSRC beams was carried out by using finite element analysis software ABAQUS. By comparing the load-deformation curves, the rationality and reliability of the finite element model have been confirmed; moreover, the changes of the beam stiffness and stress in the forcing process and the ultimate bearing capacity of the beam were analyzed. Based on the model, the effect of prestressed force, and H-steel to the stiffness, the ultimate bearing capacity and ductility of beam were also analyzed.

  3. Approximation of the Monte Carlo Sampling Method for Reliability Analysis of Structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahdi Shadab Far

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Structural load types, on the one hand, and structural capacity to withstand these loads, on the other hand, are of a probabilistic nature as they cannot be calculated and presented in a fully deterministic way. As such, the past few decades have witnessed the development of numerous probabilistic approaches towards the analysis and design of structures. Among the conventional methods used to assess structural reliability, the Monte Carlo sampling method has proved to be very convenient and efficient. However, it does suffer from certain disadvantages, the biggest one being the requirement of a very large number of samples to handle small probabilities, leading to a high computational cost. In this paper, a simple algorithm was proposed to estimate low failure probabilities using a small number of samples in conjunction with the Monte Carlo method. This revised approach was then presented in a step-by-step flowchart, for the purpose of easy programming and implementation.

  4. Plant and control system reliability and risk model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemelae, I.M.

    1986-01-01

    A new reliability modelling technique for control systems and plants is demonstrated. It is based on modified boolean algebra and it has been automated into an efficient computer code called RELVEC. The code is useful for getting an overall view of the reliability parameters or for an in-depth reliability analysis, which is essential in risk analysis, where the model must be capable of answering to specific questions like: 'What is the probability of this temperature limiter to provide a false alarm', or 'what is the probability of air pressure in this subsystem to drop below lower limit'. (orig./DG)

  5. [Mycotrophic capacity and efficiency of microbial consortia of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi native of soils from Buenos Aires province under contrasting management].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thougnon Islas, Andrea J; Eyherabide, Mercedes; Echeverría, Hernán E; Sainz Rozas, Hernán R; Covacevich, Fernanda

    2014-01-01

    We characterized the infective and sporulation capacities of microbial consortia of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) native of Buenos Aires province (Argentina) and determined if some soil characteristics and mycorrhizal parameters could allow to select potentially beneficial inocula. Soil samples were selected from seven locations in Buenos Aires province all under agricultural (A) and pristine (P) conditions. The AMF were multiplied and mycorrhizal root colonization of trap plants was observed at 10 weeks of growth. Spore number in field was low; however, after multiplication spore density accounted for 80-1175 spores per 100g of soil. The principal component analysis showed that the P and Fe soil contents are the main modulators of infectivity and sporulation capacity. The mycorrhizal potential was determined in three locations, being high in Pristine Lobería and Agricultural Trenque Lauquen and low in Junín. Agricultural Lobería (AL) and Pristine Lobería (PL) inocula were selected and their efficiency was evaluated under controlled conditions. Even though shoot dry matter increases after inoculation was not significant (p>0.05) mycorrhizal response was greater than 40% for tomato and 25% for corn, particularly after inoculation with inocula from the agricultural management. These results could be associated to the incipient development of mycorrhizae in both species. Additional research should be conducted to further develop our findings in order to determine the factors involved in the selection of efficient inocula. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  6. A rapid and efficient in vitro regeneration system for lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armas, Isabel; Pogrebnyak, Natalia; Raskin, Ilya

    2017-01-01

    Successful biotechnological improvement of crop plants requires a reliable and efficient in vitro regeneration system. Lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.), one the most important vegetable crops worldwide, is strongly genotype-dependent in terms of regeneration capacity, limiting the potential for biotechnological improvement of cultivars which show recalcitrance under currently available protocols. The effect of different nutrient sources, plant hormone combinations and activated charcoal supplementation on shoot induction efficiency was evaluated on the cultivar 'RSL NFR', which had previously shown poor regeneration efficiency. Multiple shoot organogenesis from cotyledon explants was recorded at the highest frequency and speed on Murashige and Skoog regeneration medium supplemented with 200 mg/l of activated charcoal, 3% sucrose, 10 mg/l benzylaminopurine and 0.5 mg/l naphthaleneacetic acid, which induced shoots through direct regeneration in 90.8 ± 7.9% of explants. High shoot induction efficiency was also observed, albeit not quantified, when using this medium on some other cultivars. This activated charcoal-containing regeneration medium might offer a rapid and efficient option for direct shoot induction in some lettuce genotypes that do not respond well to common lettuce regeneration protocols. This is also the first report of the effect of activated charcoal in lettuce tissue culture.

  7. Regulatory Approaches for Adding Capacity to Existing Hydropower Facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levine, Aaron L. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Curtis, Taylor L. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Kazerooni, Borna [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2017-10-24

    In 2015, hydroelectric generation accounted for more than 6 percent of total net electricity generation in the United States and 46 percent of electricity generation from all renewables. The United States has considerable hydroelectric potential beyond what is already being developed. Nearly 7 GW of this potential is found by adding capacity to existing hydropower facilities. To optimize the value of hydroelectric generation, the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydropower Vision Study highlights the importance of adding capacity to existing facilities. This report provides strategic approaches and considerations for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensed and exempt hydropower facilities seeking to increase generation capacity, which may include increases from efficiency upgrades. The regulatory approaches reviewed for this report include capacity and non-capacity amendments, adding capacity during relicensing, and adding capacity when converting a license to a 10-MW exemption.

  8. Capacity Market Design: Motivation and Challenges in Alberta’s Electricity Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Brown

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Alberta’s electricity market is currently undergoing a period of substantial transition. The province should proceed with caution as it switches from an energy-only electricity market to a capacity market by 2021. Many other jurisdictions have already made the changeover and Alberta can learn from their experiences in order to avoid common mistakes and pitfalls that can arise with the deployment of a capacity market.There were growing concerns that the existing electricity market structure would not attract sufficient investment from conventional generation (e.g., natural gas due to the increased penetration of zero marginal cost renewable generation. As a result, the Alberta government has chosen to transition to a capacity market. For consumers, a capacity market aims to ensure there is sufficient investment in new generation capacity to “keep the lights on” and reduce price swings in the wholesale market. The capacity market will also help the province meet its goals for attracting investors and transitioning away from its dependence on coal-fired electricity generation.However, a switchover is not as simple as it sounds. In an energy-only market, firms are paid solely based on the provision of electricity in hourly wholesale markets. In capacity markets, electricity-generating firms are also paid for providing generation capacity, reflecting the potential to provide electricity at some point in the future. While capacity markets can help ensure there is a reliable supply of electricity, there are several challenges in the implementation of capacity markets. This paper discusses the motivation for the adoption of capacity markets, highlights challenges regulators face when implementing this market design in the context of Alberta, and summarizes the key trade-offs associated with energy-only versus capacity market designs.Relative to an energy-only market, a capacity market is more complex and requires that regulators specify numerous

  9. Design and Construction of a Test Bench to Characterize Efficiency and Reliability of High Voltage Battery Energy Storage Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blank, Tobias; Thomas, Stephan; Roggendorf, Christoph

    2010-01-01

    system efficiency. High voltage batteries may be advantageous for future medium voltage DC-grids as well. In all cases, high availability and reliability is indispensable. Investigations on the operating behavior of such systems are needed. For this purpose, a test bench for high voltage storage systems...... was built to analyze these processes for different battery technologies. A special safety infrastructure for the test bench was developed due to the high voltage and the storable energy of approximately 120 kWh. This paper presents the layout of the test bench for analyzing high voltage batteries with about...... 4,300 volts including all components, the safety requirements with the resultant safety circuit and the aim of the investigations to be performed with the test bench....

  10. Climate technology initiative capacity building seminar: best practice in climate technology and energy efficiency in central and eastern Europe. Seminar Proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pichl, P [ed.

    2000-08-01

    The Capacity Building Seminar on 'Best Practice in Climate Technology and Energy Efficiency in Central and Eastern Europe', held 6-10 December 1999 in Marienthal/Ostritz in Germany, was a very successful event in the framework of the CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (CTI). One reason for that is that the seminar allowed delegates from 22 nations, from Kazakhstan to Estonia, come together for an exchange of opinions about 'Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection' and all related issues. A reason is that this seminar provided an excellent starting point for future networking in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia. The colleagues who got to know each other at the seminar will meet again in future workshops and seminars. They can now contact a colleague from abroad to get information about special questions of Energy Efficiency when they need it. A third reason - and the most important one for the entire co-operation within the CTI organisation - is the special character of the seminar as a starting point for multitude of activities on Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection. At the end of the Ostritz seminar eleven delegations stated that they would organise follow up workshops in their own countries to go deeper into the details and to co-operate on a higher level. It may be that these workshops will be followed by others in other European regions. (orig./GL)

  11. Climate technology initiative capacity building seminar: best practice in climate technology and energy efficiency in central and eastern Europe. Seminar Proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pichl, P. [ed.

    2000-08-01

    The Capacity Building Seminar on 'Best Practice in Climate Technology and Energy Efficiency in Central and Eastern Europe', held 6-10 December 1999 in Marienthal/Ostritz in Germany, was a very successful event in the framework of the CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (CTI). One reason for that is that the seminar allowed delegates from 22 nations, from Kazakhstan to Estonia, come together for an exchange of opinions about 'Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection' and all related issues. A reason is that this seminar provided an excellent starting point for future networking in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia. The colleagues who got to know each other at the seminar will meet again in future workshops and seminars. They can now contact a colleague from abroad to get information about special questions of Energy Efficiency when they need it. A third reason - and the most important one for the entire co-operation within the CTI organisation - is the special character of the seminar as a starting point for multitude of activities on Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection. At the end of the Ostritz seminar eleven delegations stated that they would organise follow up workshops in their own countries to go deeper into the details and to co-operate on a higher level. It may be that these workshops will be followed by others in other European regions. (orig./GL)

  12. Psychometric properties of Persian version of the Sustained Auditory Attention Capacity Test in children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soltanparast, Sanaz; Jafari, Zahra; Sameni, Seyed Jalal; Salehi, Masoud

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the Persian version of the Sustained Auditory Attention Capacity Test in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Persian version of the Sustained Auditory Attention Capacity Test was constructed to assess sustained auditory attention using the method provided by Feniman and colleagues (2007). In this test, comments were provided to assess the child's attentional deficit by determining inattention and impulsiveness error, the total scores of the sustained auditory attention capacity test and attention span reduction index. In the present study for determining the validity and reliability of in both Rey Auditory Verbal Learning test and the Persian version of the Sustained Auditory Attention Capacity Test (SAACT), 46 normal children and 41 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity (ADHD), all right-handed and aged between 7 and 11 of both genders, were evaluated. In determining convergent validity, a negative significant correlation was found between the three parts of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning test (first, fifth, and immediate recall) and all indicators of the SAACT except attention span reduction. By comparing the test scores between the normal and ADHD groups, discriminant validity analysis showed significant differences in all indicators of the test except for attention span reduction (pAttention Capacity test has good validity and reliability, that matches other reliable tests, and it can be used for the identification of children with attention deficits and if they suspected to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

  13. High Reliability Oscillators for Terahertz Systems, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — To develop reliable THz sources with high power and high DC-RF efficiency, Virginia Diodes, Inc. will develop a thorough understanding of the complex interactions...

  14. Systematic review and meta-analysis of factors that help or hinder treatment decision-making capacity in psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larkin, Amanda; Hutton, Paul

    2017-10-01

    Background The evidence on factors that may influence treatment decisional capacity ('capacity') in psychosis has yet to be comprehensively synthesised, which limits the development of effective strategies to improve or support it. Aims To determine the direction, magnitude and reliability of the relationship between capacity in psychosis and a range of clinical, demographic and treatment-related factors, thus providing a thorough synthesis of current knowledge. Method We conducted a systematic review, meta-analytical and narrative synthesis of factors that help or hinder treatment decision-making capacity in psychosis, assessing the direction, magnitude, significance and reliability of reported associations. Results We identified 23 relevant studies ( n = l823). Psychotic symptoms had small, moderate and strong associations with appreciation, understanding and reasoning respectively. Both verbal cognitive functioning and duration of education had small to moderate correlations with understanding and reasoning. Better capacity was also associated with better insight, better metacognitive ability, higher anxiety and lower perceived coercion. No linear relationship with depression was observed. Interventions linked to improved capacity over time were in-patient care, information simplification, shared decision-making and metacognitive training. Conclusions Although much is known about the role of symptoms and other clinical variables, effective and acceptable psychological interventions to support capacity in this group are lacking. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017.

  15. A Reliability Assessment Method for the VHTR Safety Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Hyung Sok; Jae, Moo Sung; Kim, Yong Wan

    2011-01-01

    The Passive safety system by very high temperature reactor which has attracted worldwide attention in the last century is the reliability safety system introduced for the improvement in the safety of the next generation nuclear power plant design. The Passive system functionality does not rely on an external source of energy, but on an intelligent use of the natural phenomena, such as gravity, conduction and radiation, which are always present. Because of these features, it is difficult to evaluate the passive safety on the risk analysis methodology having considered the existing active system failure. Therefore new reliability methodology has to be considered. In this study, the preliminary evaluation and conceptualization are tried, applying the concept of the load and capacity from the reliability physics model, designing the new passive system analysis methodology, and the trial applying to paper plant.

  16. High-capacity NO2 denuder systems operated at various temperatures (298-473 K).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Jan-Christoph; Niessner, Reinhard

    2012-12-01

    In this study, we investigated several coatings for high-temperature, high-capacity, and high-efficiency denuder-based NO(2) removal, with the scope to face the harsh conditions and requirements of automotive exhaust gas sampling. As first coating, we propose a potassium iodide (KI)/polyethylene glycol coating with a high removal efficiency (ε > 98%) for about 2 h and 50 ppm NO(2) at room temperature (298 K). At elevated temperatures (423 K), the initial capacity (100 ppmh) is decreased to 15 ppmh. Furthermore, this is the first proposal of the ionic liquid methyl-butyl-imidazolium iodide ([BMIm(+)][I(-)]) as denuder coating material. At room temperature, this ionic liquid exhibits far greater capacity (300 ppmh) and NO(2) removal efficiency (ε > 99.9%) than KI. Nevertheless, KI exhibits a slightly (~10%) higher capacity at elevated temperatures than [BMIm(+)][I(-)]. Both coatings presented are suitable for applications requiring selective denuding of NO(2) at temperatures up to 423 K.

  17. 8760-Based Method for Representing Variable Generation Capacity Value in Capacity Expansion Models: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frew, Bethany A [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Cole, Wesley J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sun, Yinong [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mai, Trieu T [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Richards, James [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2017-08-01

    Capacity expansion models (CEMs) are widely used to evaluate the least-cost portfolio of electricity generators, transmission, and storage needed to reliably serve demand over the evolution of many years or decades. Various CEM formulations are used to evaluate systems ranging in scale from states or utility service territories to national or multi-national systems. CEMs can be computationally complex, and to achieve acceptable solve times, key parameters are often estimated using simplified methods. In this paper, we focus on two of these key parameters associated with the integration of variable generation (VG) resources: capacity value and curtailment. We first discuss common modeling simplifications used in CEMs to estimate capacity value and curtailment, many of which are based on a representative subset of hours that can miss important tail events or which require assumptions about the load and resource distributions that may not match actual distributions. We then present an alternate approach that captures key elements of chronological operation over all hours of the year without the computationally intensive economic dispatch optimization typically employed within more detailed operational models. The updated methodology characterizes the (1) contribution of VG to system capacity during high load and net load hours, (2) the curtailment level of VG, and (3) the potential reductions in curtailments enabled through deployment of storage and more flexible operation of select thermal generators. We apply this alternate methodology to an existing CEM, the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS). Results demonstrate that this alternate approach provides more accurate estimates of capacity value and curtailments by explicitly capturing system interactions across all hours of the year. This approach could be applied more broadly to CEMs at many different scales where hourly resource and load data is available, greatly improving the representation of challenges

  18. Reliable quantum communication over a quantum relay channel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gyongyosi, Laszlo, E-mail: gyongyosi@hit.bme.hu [Quantum Technologies Laboratory, Department of Telecommunications, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 2 Magyar tudosok krt, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary and Information Systems Research Group, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Hungarian Ac (Hungary); Imre, Sandor [Quantum Technologies Laboratory, Department of Telecommunications, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 2 Magyar tudosok krt, Budapest, H-1117 (Hungary)

    2014-12-04

    We show that reliable quantum communication over an unreliable quantum relay channels is possible. The coding scheme combines the results on the superadditivity of quantum channels and the efficient quantum coding approaches.

  19. Measuring Social carrying Capacity: An Exploratory Study

    OpenAIRE

    López-Bonilla, Jesús Manuel; López-Bonilla, Luis Miguel

    2007-01-01

    The tourist carrying capacity commands a growing interest given that it is closely linked with sustainable tourist development. The justification of the utility of this concept is given by means of a simple and efficient methodological proposal, by analysing the social carrying capacity. To this end, an empirical application is carried out in the Western Andalusia. In some of the cases analysed, the satisfaction of the tourist is found to decline when the levels of the tourist use are higher ...

  20. Power system reliability enhancement by using PowerformerTM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahmat-Allah Hooshmand

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available A high-voltage generator PowerformerTM is a new generation of the AC generators. The most significant advantages of these PowerformerTM are their direct connection to high-voltage grid, higher availability, and more reactive power margin, short term overloading capacity and removing the power transformer from the structure of the power plant. In this paper, the installation effect of these generators on the power system reliability is investigated. The amount of the effects depends on the type and location of the power plant, location of the PowerformerTM, the size of load and network topology. For this purpose, in the 6-bus IEEE RBTS system, the conventional generators are replaced by these new PowerformerTM and then, the reliability indices are evaluated. The simulation results show that the reliability indices such as the expected duration of load curtailment (EDLC and the expected energy not served (EENS are improved. .

  1. Where is the Efficient Frontier

    OpenAIRE

    Jing Chen

    2010-01-01

    Tremendous effort has been spent on the construction of reliable efficient frontiers. However, mean-variance efficient portfolios constructed using sample means and covariance often perform poorly out of sample. We prove that, the capital market line is the efficient frontier for the risky assets in a financial market with liquid fixed income trading. This unified understanding of riskless asset as the boundary of risky assets relieves the burden of constructing efficient frontiers in asset a...

  2. Reliability Assessment of Transformerless PV Inverters considering Mission Profiles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongheng Yang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the small volume and high efficiency, transformerless inverters have gained much popularity in grid-connected PV applications, where minimizing leakage current injection is mandatory. This can be achieved by either modifying the modulation schemes or adding extra power switching devices, resulting in an uneven distribution of the power losses on the switching devices. Consequently, the device thermal loading is redistributed and thus may alter the entire inverter reliability performance, especially under a long-term operation. In this consideration, this paper assesses the device reliability of three transformerless inverters under a yearly mission profile (i.e., solar irradiance and ambient temperature. The mission profile is translated to device thermal loading, which is used for lifetime prediction. Comparison results reveal the lifetime mismatches among the power switching devices operating under the same condition, which offers new thoughts for a robust design and a reliable operation of grid-connected transformerless PV inverters with high efficiency.

  3. Scotts Valley Energy Office and Human Capacity Building that will provide energy-efficiency services and develop sustainable renewable energy projects.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, Temashio [Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians

    2013-06-28

    The primary goal of this project is to develop a Scotts Valley Energy Development Office (SVEDO). This office will further support the mission of the Tribe's existing leadership position as the DOE Tribal Multi-County Weatherization Energy Program (TMCWEP) in creating jobs and providing tribal homes and buildings with weatherization assistance to increase energy efficiency, occupant comfort and improved indoor air quality. This office will also spearhead efforts to move the Tribe towards its further strategic energy goals of implementing renewable energy systems through specific training, resource evaluation, feasibility planning, and implementation. Human capacity building and continuing operations are two key elements of the SVEDO objectives. Therefore, the project will 1) train and employ additional Tribal members in energy efficiency, conservation and renewable resource analyses and implementation; 2) purchase materials and equipment required to implement the strategic priorities as developed by the Scotts Valley Tribe which specifically include implementing energy conservation measures and alternative energy strategies to reduce energy costs for the Tribe and its members; and 3) obtain a dedicated office and storage space for ongoing SVEDO operations.

  4. System reliability as perceived by maintenance personnel on petroleum production facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Antonovsky, A.; Pollock, C.; Straker, L.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this research was to understand the relationship between maintenance staff perceptions of organisational effectiveness and operational reliability in petroleum operations. Engineering measures exist that assess the effectiveness of maintenance and reliability of equipment. These measures are typically retrospective and may not provide insight into what impedes system reliability. Perceptions of organisational effectiveness by the workforce may provide a predictive measure that could improve our understanding of the human factors that influence system reliability. Maintenance personnel (n=133) from nine petroleum production facilities completed a survey as part of a study of human factors and maintenance reliability. 69 respondents (51.9%) provided comments to an open-ended question in the survey, and these data were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to extract themes. Four super-ordinate themes were identified from the analysis: 1) Communication and access to information, 2) Efficiency of current work systems, 3) Need for better workgroup support, and 4) Management impacts on the workplace. We found a significant relationship between the frequency of the four super-ordinate themes and the facility reliability level as measured by ‘Mean Time Between Failures’: χ"2(6,N=158)=16.2, p=.013. These results demonstrated that operational effectiveness might be differentiated on the basis of survey-derived perceptions of maintenance personnel. - Highlights: • Thematic analysis of survey comments provided insights into workplace reliability • Worker’s comments on reliability related to technical data on time between failures • Management decision-making was the main theme in the lower reliability workplaces • Improving efficiency was the main theme in the higher reliability workplaces • Communication and better workgroup support were themes at all reliability levels

  5. Salivary pH and Buffering Capacity as Risk Markers for Early Childhood Caries: A Clinical Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayaraj, D; Ganesan, S

    2015-01-01

    The diagnostic utility of saliva is currently being explored in various branches of dentistry, remarkably in the field of caries research. This study was aimed to determine if assessment of salivary pH and buffering capacity would serve as reliable tools in risk prediction of early childhood caries (ECC). Paraffin-stimulated salivary samples were collected from 50 children with ECC (group I) and 50 caries free children (group II). Salivary pH and buffering capacity (by titration with 0.1 N hydrochloric acid) were assessed using a handheld digital pH meter in both groups. The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. Statistically, no significant difference was observed between both the groups for all salivary parameters assessed, except for the buffering capacity level at 150 μl titration of 0.1 N hydrochloric acid (p = 0.73; significant at 1% level). Salivary pH and buffering capacity may not serve as reliable markers for risk prediction of ECC. How to cite this article: Jayaraj D, Ganesan S. Salivary pH and Buffering Capacity as Risk Markers for Early Childhood Caries: A Clinical Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2015;8(3):167-171.

  6. Total Longitudinal Moment Calculation and Reliability Analysis of Yacht Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhi, Wenzheng; Lin, Shaofen

    In order to check the reliability of the yacht in FRP (Fiber Reinforce Plastic) materials, in this paper, the vertical force and the calculation method of the overall longitudinal bending moment on yacht was analyzed. Specially, this paper focuses on the impact of speed on the still water bending moment on yacht. Then considering the mechanical properties of the cap type stiffeners in composite materials, the ultimate bearing capacity of the yacht has been worked out, finally the reliability of the yacht was calculated with using response surface methodology. The result can be used in yacht design and yacht driving.

  7. Aeration tank settling and real time control as a tool to improve the hydraulic capacity and treatment efficiency during wet weather: Results from 7 years' full-scale operational data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sharma, Anitha Kumari; Guildal, T.; Thomsen, H.A.R.

    2013-01-01

    This paper investigates the aeration tank settling (ATS) operation in combination with real time control (RTC) as a tool for increasing the hydraulic capacity and improving the treatment efficiency of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) during wet weather flows. Results from 7 years' full...

  8. Assessment of the transportation route of oversize and excessive loads in relation to the load-bearing capacity of existing bridges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doležel, Jiří; Novák, Drahomír; Petrů, Jan

    2017-09-01

    Transportation routes of oversize and excessive loads are currently planned in relation to ensure the transit of a vehicle through critical points on the road. Critical points are level-intersection of roads, bridges etc. This article presents a comprehensive procedure to determine a reliability and a load-bearing capacity level of the existing bridges on highways and roads using the advanced methods of reliability analysis based on simulation techniques of Monte Carlo type in combination with nonlinear finite element method analysis. The safety index is considered as a main criterion of the reliability level of the existing construction structures and the index is described in current structural design standards, e.g. ISO and Eurocode. An example of a single-span slab bridge made of precast prestressed concrete girders of the 60 year current time and its load bearing capacity is set for the ultimate limit state and serviceability limit state. The structure’s design load capacity was estimated by the full probability nonlinear MKP analysis using a simulation technique Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS). Load-bearing capacity values based on a fully probabilistic analysis are compared with the load-bearing capacity levels which were estimated by deterministic methods of a critical section of the most loaded girders.

  9. Finite Element Reliability Analysis of Chloride Ingress into Reinforced Concrete Structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frier, Christian; Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

    2007-01-01

    For many reinforced concrete structures corrosion of the reinforcement is an important problem since it can result in maintenance and repair actions. Further, a reduction of the load-bearing capacity can occur. In the present paper the Finite Element Reliability Method (FERM) is employed for obta......For many reinforced concrete structures corrosion of the reinforcement is an important problem since it can result in maintenance and repair actions. Further, a reduction of the load-bearing capacity can occur. In the present paper the Finite Element Reliability Method (FERM) is employed...... concentration and reinforcement cover depth are modelled by stochastic fields, which are discretized using the Expansion Optimum Linear Estimation (EOLE) approach. The response gradients needed for FORM analysis are derived analytically using the Direct Differentiation Method (DDM). As an example, a bridge pier...... in a marine environment is considered and the results are given in terms of distributions of time for initiation of corrosion....

  10. Analysis of Power Network for Line Reactance Variation to Improve Total Transmission Capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ikram Ullah

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The increasing growth in power demand and the penetration of renewable distributed generations in competitive electricity market demands large and flexible capacity from the transmission grid to reduce transmission bottlenecks. The bottlenecks cause transmission congestion, reliability problems, restrict competition, and limit the maximum dispatch of low cost generations in the network. The electricity system requires efficient utilization of the current transmission capability to improve the Available Transfer Capability (ATC. To improve the ATC, power flow among the lines can be managed by using Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS devices as power flow controllers, which alter the parameters of power lines. It is important to place FACTS devices on suitable lines to vary the reactance for improving Total Transmission Capacity (TTC of the network and provide flexibility in the power flow. In this paper a transmission network is analyzed based on line parameters variation to improve TTC of the interconnected system. Lines are selected for placing FACTS devices based on real power flow Performance Index (PI sensitivity factors. TTC is computed using the Repeated Power Flow (RPF method using the constraints of lines thermal limits, bus voltage limits and generator limits. The reactance of suitable lines, selected on the basis of PI sensitivity factors are changed to divert the power flow to other lines with enough transfer capacity available. The improvement of TTC using line reactance variation is demonstrated with three IEEE test systems with multi-area networks. The results show the variation of the selected lines’ reactance in improving TTC for all the test networks with defined contingency cases.

  11. Co-estimation of state-of-charge, capacity and resistance for lithium-ion batteries based on a high-fidelity electrochemical model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, Linfeng; Zhang, Lei; Zhu, Jianguo; Wang, Guoxiu; Jiang, Jiuchun

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The numerical solution for an electrochemical model is presented. • Trinal PI observers are used to concurrently estimate SOC, capacity and resistance. • An iteration-approaching method is incorporated to enhance estimation performance. • The robustness against aging and temperature variations is experimentally verified. - Abstract: Lithium-ion batteries have been widely used as enabling energy storage in many industrial fields. Accurate modeling and state estimation play fundamental roles in ensuring safe, reliable and efficient operation of lithium-ion battery systems. A physics-based electrochemical model (EM) is highly desirable for its inherent ability to push batteries to operate at their physical limits. For state-of-charge (SOC) estimation, the continuous capacity fade and resistance deterioration are more prone to erroneous estimation results. In this paper, trinal proportional-integral (PI) observers with a reduced physics-based EM are proposed to simultaneously estimate SOC, capacity and resistance for lithium-ion batteries. Firstly, a numerical solution for the employed model is derived. PI observers are then developed to realize the co-estimation of battery SOC, capacity and resistance. The moving-window ampere-hour counting technique and the iteration-approaching method are also incorporated for the estimation accuracy improvement. The robustness of the proposed approach against erroneous initial values, different battery cell aging levels and ambient temperatures is systematically evaluated, and the experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  12. The dependence of human reliability upon task information content

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hermanson, E.M.; Golay, M.W.

    1994-09-01

    The role of human error in safety mishaps is an important factor in system design. As systems become increasingly complex the capacity of the human to deal with the added complexity is diminished. It is therefore crucial to understand the relationship between system complexity and human reliability so that systems may be built in such a way as to minimize human error. One way of understanding this relationship is to quantify system complexity and then measure the human reaction in response to situations of varying complexity. The quantification of system complexity may be performed by determining the information content present in the tasks that the human must execute. The purpose of this work is therefore to build and perform a consistent experiment which will determine the extent to which human reliability depends upon task information content. Two main conclusions may be drawn from this work. The first is that human reliability depends upon task information content. Specifically, as the information content contained in a task increases, the capacity of a human to deal successfully with the task decreases monotonically. Here the definition of total success is the ability to complete the task at hand fully and correctly. Furthermore, there exists a value of information content below which a human can deal with the task successfully, but above which the success of an individual decreases monotonically with increasing information. These ideas should be generalizable to any model where system complexity can be clearly and consistently defined

  13. Moisture buffer capacity of cement-lime plasters with enhanced thermal storage capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fořt, Jan; Pavlíková, Milena; Pavlík, Zbyšek

    2017-07-01

    Indoor air temperature and relative humidity represent important parameters for health and working efficiency of buildings occupants. Beside the moderation of temperature, investigation of hygric properties of building materials with connection to indoor relative humidity variation became recognized as a relevant factor for energy efficient building maintenance. The moisture buffer value introduced in the Nordtest protocol can be used for estimation of moisture buffer capacity of building materials or their multi-layered systems. In this paper, both the ideal and real moisture buffer values are examined on the basis of simulation of diurnal relative humidity fluctuations in plasters with incorporated PCM admixture. Retrieved data points to a complex effect of the tested plasters on possible moderation of buildings interior climate.

  14. Capacity Remuneration Mechanisms for Reliability in the Integrated European Electricity Market: Effects on Welfare and Distribution through 2023

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Traber, Thure

    2017-01-01

    emuneration mechanisms (CRMs) based on the assumption that a CRM is indicated. A strategic reserve (SR) policy with administratively set capacity targets, a capacity market (CM) based on public procurement, and a decentralized reserve market with the obligation of generators to finance reserves in relation...

  15. Subset simulation for structural reliability sensitivity analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song Shufang; Lu Zhenzhou; Qiao Hongwei

    2009-01-01

    Based on two procedures for efficiently generating conditional samples, i.e. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation and importance sampling (IS), two reliability sensitivity (RS) algorithms are presented. On the basis of reliability analysis of Subset simulation (Subsim), the RS of the failure probability with respect to the distribution parameter of the basic variable is transformed as a set of RS of conditional failure probabilities with respect to the distribution parameter of the basic variable. By use of the conditional samples generated by MCMC simulation and IS, procedures are established to estimate the RS of the conditional failure probabilities. The formulae of the RS estimator, its variance and its coefficient of variation are derived in detail. The results of the illustrations show high efficiency and high precision of the presented algorithms, and it is suitable for highly nonlinear limit state equation and structural system with single and multiple failure modes

  16. Capacity Building in Land Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enemark, Stig; Ahene, Rexford

    2003-01-01

    There is a significant need for capacity building in the interdisciplinary area of land management especially in developing countries and countries in transition, to deal with the complex issues of building efficient land information systems and sustainable institutional infrastructures. Capacity...... building in land management is not only a question of establishing a sufficient technological level or sufficient economic resources. It is mainly a question of understanding the interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral nature of land administration systems, and understanding the need for human resource...... and professionals for implementing the new land policy. The curriculum combines the diploma and the bachelor level and it combines the key areas of land surveying, land management and physical planning....

  17. METRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME TESTS FOR EVALUATION OF AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC CAPACITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Slobodan Stojiljković

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available This research was aimed at cheking the metric characteristics of some specific functional tests often used in practice for the evaluation of aerobic and anaerobic capacities and muscular capabilities. Keeping track of the changes and behavior of the functional abilities was performed on the basis of several repeated measurements of the same test on a sample consisting of 110 examinees, Students of the nursing school “Dr Milenko Hadzic” iz Nis, 17 years of age (± 6 months, regularly attending the classes of physical education.Two measuring instruments were tested: MARGARIA TEST and HARVARD STEP TEST.The reliability of said tests was evaluated on the basis of five successive measurements using Spearman-Brown method, based on determining of the value of the coefficients of determination of all measurements and of the main component h1.The outcome revealed high reliability of the results of most of the measurements and of the first main component H1, so that the acquired results were 91.2% for the MARGARIA TEST (anaerobic capacity and 93.4% for5 the HARVARD STEP TEST (aerobic capacity.

  18. CSTI High Capacity Power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winter, J.M.

    1989-01-01

    The SP-100 program was established in 1983 by DOD, DOE, and NASA as a joint program to develop the technology necessary for space nuclear power systems for military and civil application. During FY-86 and 87, the NASA SP-100 Advanced Technology Program was devised to maintain the momentum of promising technology advancement efforts started during Phase 1 of SP-100 and to strengthen, in key areas, the chances for successful development and growth capability of space nuclear reactor power systems for future space applications. In FY-88, the Advanced Technology Program was incorporated into NASA's new Civil Space Technology Initiative (CSTI). The CSTI Program was established to provide the foundation for technology development in automation and robotics, information, propulsion, and power. The CSTI High Capacity Power Program builds on the technology efforts of the SP-100 program, incorporates the previous NASA SP-100 Advanced Technology project, and provides a bridge to NASA Project Pathfinder. The elements of CSTI High Capacity Power development include Conversion Systems, Thermal Management, Power Management, System Diagnostics, and Environmental Interactions. Technology advancement in all areas, including materials, is required to assure the high reliability and 7 to 10 year lifetime demanded for future space nuclear power systems. The overall program will develop and demonstrate the technology base required to provide a wide range of modular power systems as well as allowing mission independence from solar and orbital attitude requirements. Several recent advancements in CSTI High Capacity power development will be discussed

  19. Effect of uncertainties on probabilistic-based design capacity of hydrosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tung, Yeou-Koung

    2018-02-01

    Hydrosystems engineering designs involve analysis of hydrometric data (e.g., rainfall, floods) and use of hydrologic/hydraulic models, all of which contribute various degrees of uncertainty to the design process. Uncertainties in hydrosystem designs can be generally categorized into aleatory and epistemic types. The former arises from the natural randomness of hydrologic processes whereas the latter are due to knowledge deficiency in model formulation and model parameter specification. This study shows that the presence of epistemic uncertainties induces uncertainty in determining the design capacity. Hence, the designer needs to quantify the uncertainty features of design capacity to determine the capacity with a stipulated performance reliability under the design condition. Using detention basin design as an example, the study illustrates a methodological framework by considering aleatory uncertainty from rainfall and epistemic uncertainties from the runoff coefficient, curve number, and sampling error in design rainfall magnitude. The effects of including different items of uncertainty and performance reliability on the design detention capacity are examined. A numerical example shows that the mean value of the design capacity of the detention basin increases with the design return period and this relation is found to be practically the same regardless of the uncertainty types considered. The standard deviation associated with the design capacity, when subject to epistemic uncertainty, increases with both design frequency and items of epistemic uncertainty involved. It is found that the epistemic uncertainty due to sampling error in rainfall quantiles should not be ignored. Even with a sample size of 80 (relatively large for a hydrologic application) the inclusion of sampling error in rainfall quantiles resulted in a standard deviation about 2.5 times higher than that considering only the uncertainty of the runoff coefficient and curve number. Furthermore, the

  20. Efficient Algorithm for a k-out-of-N System Reliability Modeling-Case Study: Pitot Sensors System for Aircraft Velocity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wajih Ezzeddine

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The k-out-of-N system is widely applied in several industrial systems. This structure is a part of fault-tolerant systems for which both parallel and series systems are special cases. Because of the importance of industrial systems reliability determination for production and maintenance management purposes, a number of techniques and methods are incorporated to formulate and estimate its analytic expression. In this paper, an algorithm is put forward for a k-out-of-N system with identical components under information about the influence factors that affect the system efficiency. The developed approach is applied in the case of the Pitot sensors system. However, the algorithm application could be generalized for any device which during a mission is subject to environmental and operational factors that affect its degradation process.

  1. Capacity to improve fine motor skills in Williams syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berencsi, A; Gombos, F; Kovács, I

    2016-10-01

    Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) are known to have difficulties in carrying out fine motor movements; however, a detailed behavioural profile of WS in this domain is still missing. It is also unknown how great the capacity to improve these skills with focused and extensive practice is. We studied initial performance and learning capacity in a sequential finger tapping (FT) task in WS and in typical development. Improvement in the FT task has been shown to be sleep dependent. WS subjects participating in the current study have also participated in earlier polysomnography studies, although not directly related to learning. WS participants presented with great individual variability. In addition to generally poor initial performance, learning capacity was also greatly limited in WS. We found indications that reduced sleep efficiency might contribute to this limitation. Estimating motor learning capacity and the depth of sleep disorder in a larger sample of WS individuals might reveal important relationships between sleep and learning, and contribute to efficient intervention methods improving skill acquisition in WS. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research published by MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Use of reliability analysis for the safety evaluation of technical facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balfanz, H.P.; Eggert, H.; Lindauer, E.

    1975-01-01

    Using examples from nuclear technology, the following is discussed: how efficient the present practical measures are for increasing reliability, which weak points can be recognized and what appears to be the most promising direction to take for improvements. The following are individually dealt with: 1) determination of the relevant parameters for the safety of a plant; 2) definition and fixing of reliability requirements; 3) process to prove the fulfilment of requirements; 4) measures to guarantee the reliability; 5) data feed-back to check and improve the reliability. (HP/LH) [de

  3. An analytical model for computation of reliability of waste management facilities with intermediate storages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kallweit, A.; Schumacher, F.

    1977-01-01

    A high reliability is called for waste management facilities within the fuel cycle of nuclear power stations which can be fulfilled by providing intermediate storage facilities and reserve capacities. In this report a model based on the theory of Markov processes is described which allows computation of reliability characteristics of waste management facilities containing intermediate storage facilities. The application of the model is demonstrated by an example. (orig.) [de

  4. Impact of Operating Rules on Planning Capacity Expansion of Urban Water Supply Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Neufville, R.; Galelli, S.; Tian, X.

    2017-12-01

    This study addresses the impact of operating rules on capacity planning of urban water supply systems. The continuous growth of metropolitan areas represents a major challenge for water utilities, which often rely on industrial water supply (e.g., desalination, reclaimed water) to complement natural resources (e.g., reservoirs). These additional sources increase the reliability of supply, equipping operators with additional means to hedge against droughts. How do their rules for using industrial water supply impact the performance of water supply system? How might it affect long-term plans for capacity expansion? Possibly significantly, as demonstrated by the analysis of the operations and planning of a water supply system inspired by Singapore. Our analysis explores the system dynamics under multiple inflow and management scenarios to understand the extent to which alternative operating rules for the use of industrial water supply affect system performance. Results first show that these operating rules can have significant impact on the variability in system performance (e.g., reliability, energy use) comparable to that of hydro-climatological conditions. Further analyses of several capacity expansion exercises—based on our original hydrological and management scenarios—show that operating rules significantly affect the timing and magnitude of critical decisions, such as the construction of new desalination plants. These results have two implications: Capacity expansion analysis should consider the effect of a priori uncertainty about operating rules; and operators should consider how their flexibility in operating rules can affect their perceived need for capacity.

  5. Visual attention capacity: a review of TVA-based patient studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Habekost, Thomas; Starrfelt, Randi

    2009-02-01

    Psychophysical studies have identified two distinct limitations of visual attention capacity: processing speed and apprehension span. Using a simple test, these cognitive factors can be analyzed by Bundesen's Theory of Visual Attention (TVA). The method has strong specificity and sensitivity, and measurements are highly reliable. As the method is theoretically founded, it also has high validity. TVA-based assessment has recently been used to investigate a broad range of neuropsychological and neurological conditions. We present the method, including the experimental paradigm and practical guidelines to patient testing, and review existing TVA-based patient studies organized by lesion anatomy. Lesions in three anatomical regions affect visual capacity: The parietal lobes, frontal cortex and basal ganglia, and extrastriate cortex. Visual capacity thus depends on large, bilaterally distributed anatomical networks that include several regions outside the visual system. The two visual capacity parameters are functionally separable, but seem to rely on largely overlapping brain areas.

  6. Parts and Components Reliability Assessment: A Cost Effective Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Lydia

    2009-01-01

    System reliability assessment is a methodology which incorporates reliability analyses performed at parts and components level such as Reliability Prediction, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) to assess risks, perform design tradeoffs, and therefore, to ensure effective productivity and/or mission success. The system reliability is used to optimize the product design to accommodate today?s mandated budget, manpower, and schedule constraints. Stand ard based reliability assessment is an effective approach consisting of reliability predictions together with other reliability analyses for electronic, electrical, and electro-mechanical (EEE) complex parts and components of large systems based on failure rate estimates published by the United States (U.S.) military or commercial standards and handbooks. Many of these standards are globally accepted and recognized. The reliability assessment is especially useful during the initial stages when the system design is still in the development and hard failure data is not yet available or manufacturers are not contractually obliged by their customers to publish the reliability estimates/predictions for their parts and components. This paper presents a methodology to assess system reliability using parts and components reliability estimates to ensure effective productivity and/or mission success in an efficient manner, low cost, and tight schedule.

  7. Reliability-based design of a retaining wall

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, John Sang

    1995-01-01

    A retaining wall is subject to various limit states such as sliding, overturning and bearing capacity, and it can fail by anyone of them. Since a great deal of uncertainty is involved in the analysis of the limit states~ the use of detenninistic conventional safety factors may produce a misleading result. The main objective of this study is to develop a procedure for the optimum design of a retaining wall by using the reliability theory. Typical gravity retaining walls with fou...

  8. Training modalities: impact on endurance capacity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flueck, Martin; Eilers, Wouter

    2010-03-01

    Endurance athletes demonstrate an exceptional resistance to fatigue when exercising at high intensity. Much research has been devoted to the contribution of aerobic capacity for the economy of endurance performance. Important aspects of the fine-tuning of metabolic processes and power output in the endurance athlete have been overlooked. This review addresses how training paradigms exploit bioenergetic pathways in recruited muscle groups to promote the endurance phenotype. A special focus is laid on the genome-mediated mechanisms that underlie the conditioning of fatigue resistance and aerobic performance by training macrocycles and complements. The available data on work-induced muscle plasticity implies that different biologic strategies are exploited in athletic and untrained populations to boost endurance capacity. Olympic champions are probably endowed with a unique constitution that renders the conditioning of endurance capacity for competition particularly efficient. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Reliable CPS design for mitigating semiconductor and battery aging in electric vehicles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chang, W.; Proebstl, A.; Goswami, D.; Zamani, M.; Chakraborty, S.

    2015-01-01

    Reliability and performance of cyber-physical systems (CPS) in electric vehicles (EVs) are influenced by three design aspects: (i) controller design, (ii) battery usage, i.e., Battery rate capacity and aging effects, (iii) processor aging of the in-vehicle embedded platform. In this paper, we

  10. Improving the Solar Panel Efficiency by Using Cooling and Cleaning Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anmar Khalil Ibrahim

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper is a contribution to research work which aims at ending the electricity crisis in Iraq. The electric power stations, which use conventional fuel, are unable to provide the growing population with electricity all day-long. Moreover, electric distribution lines are sometimes exposed to attacks by terrorists. This paper recommends solar energy as the optimum solution to the electricity problem in Iraq, since it is both renewable and friendly to the environment. The paper also concentrated on reliability techniques to improve the efficiency of the solar energy system. This was achieved by means of designing and constructing a cooling system that consists of fans, sprinklers and wipers to eliminate excessive heat from solar panels when temperature rises to maximum levels. Sprinklers and wipers are also useful for cleaning the panels because dust is a negative factor which undermines the generation capacity of solar panels.   The cooling system is operated by means of a microcontroller that is programmed through Proteus 8, Arduino, and Matlab2016. Statistics reveal that a cooling system has significantly improved the productive capacity of the solar system and it can achieve an energy gain of (34.55%.

  11. Assessment of system reliability for a stochastic-flow distribution network with the spoilage property

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yi-Kuei; Huang, Cheng-Fu; Yeh, Cheng-Ta

    2016-04-01

    In supply chain management, satisfying customer demand is the most concerned for the manager. However, the goods may rot or be spoilt during delivery owing to natural disasters, inclement weather, traffic accidents, collisions, and so on, such that the intact goods may not meet market demand. This paper concentrates on a stochastic-flow distribution network (SFDN), in which a node denotes a supplier, a transfer station, or a market, while a route denotes a carrier providing the delivery service for a pair of nodes. The available capacity of the carrier is stochastic because the capacity may be partially reserved by other customers. The addressed problem is to evaluate the system reliability, the probability that the SFDN can satisfy the market demand with the spoilage rate under the budget constraint from multiple suppliers to the customer. An algorithm is developed in terms of minimal paths to evaluate the system reliability along with a numerical example to illustrate the solution procedure. A practical case of fruit distribution is presented accordingly to emphasise the management implication of the system reliability.

  12. Structural capacity assessment of WWER-1000 MW reactor containment. Progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jordanov, M.

    1999-01-01

    The objective of the project is to provide assessment of the structural behaviour and safety capacity of the WWER-1000 MW Reactor Building Containment at Kozloduy NPP under critical combination of loads according to the current international requirements. The analysis is focused on a realistic assessment of the Containment taking into account the non-linear shell behaviour of the pre-stressed reinforced concrete structure. Previous assessments of the status of pre stressing cables pointed out that the efficiency of the Containment as a final defence barrier for internal and external events depends on their reliability. Due to this, the experimental data obtained from embedded sensors (gauges) at pre-stressed shell structure is to be compared with the results from analytical investigations. The reliability of the WWER-1000 MW accident prevention system is under evaluation in the project. The Soviet standard design WWER-1000 MW type units installed in Kozloduy NPP were originally designed for a Safe Shutdown Earthquake (SSE) with a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.1g. The new site seismicity studies revealed that the seismic hazard for the site significantly exceeds the originally estimated and a Review Level Earthquake (RLE) anchored to PGA=0.20g was proposed for re-assessment of the structures and equipment at Kozloduy NPP. The scope of the study is a re-assessment of the Containment structure under critical combination of loads according to the current safety and reliability requirements, including comparison between the Russian design requirements and the international regulations. Additionally, an investigation of the pre-stressing technology and the annual control of the cables' pre-stressing of the Containment is to be made. The crane influence on the dynamic behaviour of the Containment will be done as well as a study of the integrity of the Containment as a final defence barrier

  13. Supporting Capacity Development for Sustainable Land Administration Infrastructures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enemark, Stig

    2005-01-01

    and for identifying an adequate response to these needs at societal, organisational and individual levels. The paper examines the capacity building concept and underpins the need for institutional development to facilitate the design and implementation of efficient Land Administration Models and to support good......Land management is the process by which the resources of land are put into good effect. Land management encompasses all activities associated with the management of land and natural resources that are required to achieve sustainable development. Land Administration Systems are institutional......, the national capacity to manage land rights, restrictions and responsibilities is not well developed in terms of mature institutions and the necessary human resources and skills. In this regard, the capacity building concept offers some guidance for analysing and assessing the capacity needs...

  14. Dynamic reliability of digital-based transmitters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brissaud, Florent, E-mail: florent.brissaud.2007@utt.f [Institut National de l' Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Parc Technologique Alata, BP 2, 60550 Verneuil-en-Halatte (France) and Universite de Technologie de Troyes - UTT, Institut Charles Delaunay - ICD and UMR CNRS 6279 STMR, 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes Cedex (France); Smidts, Carol [Ohio State University (OSU), Nuclear Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Scott Laboratory, 201 W 19th Ave, Columbus OH 43210 (United States); Barros, Anne; Berenguer, Christophe [Universite de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), Institut Charles Delaunay (ICD) and UMR CNRS 6279 STMR, 12 rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes Cedex (France)

    2011-07-15

    Dynamic reliability explicitly handles the interactions between the stochastic behaviour of system components and the deterministic behaviour of process variables. While dynamic reliability provides a more efficient and realistic way to perform probabilistic risk assessment than 'static' approaches, its industrial level applications are still limited. Factors contributing to this situation are the inherent complexity of the theory and the lack of a generic platform. More recently the increased use of digital-based systems has also introduced additional modelling challenges related to specific interactions between system components. Typical examples are the 'intelligent transmitters' which are able to exchange information, and to perform internal data processing and advanced functionalities. To make a contribution to solving these challenges, the mathematical framework of dynamic reliability is extended to handle the data and information which are processed and exchanged between systems components. Stochastic deviations that may affect system properties are also introduced to enhance the modelling of failures. A formalized Petri net approach is then presented to perform the corresponding reliability analyses using numerical methods. Following this formalism, a versatile model for the dynamic reliability modelling of digital-based transmitters is proposed. Finally the framework's flexibility and effectiveness is demonstrated on a substantial case study involving a simplified model of a nuclear fast reactor.

  15. Have We Overestimated Saline Aquifer CO2 Storage Capacities?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thibeau, S.; Mucha, V.

    2011-01-01

    During future, large scale CO 2 geological storage in saline aquifers, fluid pressure is expected to rise as a consequence of CO 2 injection, but the pressure build up will have to stay below specified values to ensure a safe and long term containment of the CO 2 in the storage site. The pressure build up is the result of two different effects. The first effect is a local overpressure around the injectors, which is due to the high CO 2 velocities around the injectors, and which can be mitigated by adding CO 2 injectors. The second effect is a regional scale pressure build up that will take place if the storage aquifer is closed or if the formation water that flows away from the pressurised area is not large enough to compensate volumetrically the CO 2 injection. This second effect cannot be mitigated by adding additional injectors. In the first section of this paper, we review some major global and regional assessments of CO 2 storage capacities in deep saline aquifers, in term of mass and storage efficiency. These storage capacities are primarily based on a volumetric approach: storage capacity is the volumetric sum of the CO 2 that can be stored through various trapping mechanisms. We then discuss in Section 2 storage efficiencies derived from a pressure build up approach, as stated in the CO2STORE final report (Chadwick A. et al. (eds) (2008) Best Practice for the Storage of CO 2 in Saline Aquifers, Observations and Guidelines from the SACS and CO2STORE Projects, Keyworth, Nottingham, BGS Occasional Publication No. 14) and detailed by Van der Meer and Egberts (van der Meer L.G.H., Egberts P.J.P. (2008) A General Method for Calculating Subsurface CO 2 Storage Capacity, OTC Paper 19309, presented at the OTC Conference held in Houston, Texas, USA, 5-8 May). A quantitative range of such storage efficiency is presented, based on a review of orders of magnitudes of pore and water compressibilities and allowable pressure increase. To illustrate the relevance of this

  16. An investigation of the leaf retention capacity, efficiency and mechanism for atmospheric particulate matter of five greening tree species in Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jinqiang; Cao, Zhiguo; Zou, Songyan; Liu, Huanhuan; Hai, Xiao; Wang, Shihua; Duan, Jie; Xi, Benye; Yan, Guangxuan; Zhang, Shaowei; Jia, Zhongkui

    2018-03-01

    Urban trees have the potential to reduce air pollution, but the retention capacity and efficiency of different tree species for atmospheric particulate matter (PM) accumulation and the underlying mechanism hasn't been well understood. To select tree species with high air purification abilities, the supplementing ultrasonic cleaning (UC) procedure was first introduced into the conventional leaf cleaning methods [single water cleaning (WC) or plus brush cleaning (BC)] for eluting the leaf-retained PM. Further updates to the methodology were applied to investigate the retention capacity, efficiency, and mechanism for PM of five typical greening tree species in Beijing, China. Meanwhile, the particle size distribution of PM on the leaves, the PM retention efficiencies of easily removable (ERP), difficult-to-remove (DRP) and totally removable (TRP) particles on the leaf (AE leaf ), and the individual tree scales were estimated. The experimental leaf samples were collected from trees with similar sizes 4 (SDR) and 14days (LDR) after rainfall. When the leaves were cleaned by WC+BC, there was, on average, 29%-46% of the PM remaining on the leaves of different species, which could be removed almost completely if UC was supplemented. From SDR to LDR, the mass of the leaf-retained PM increased greatly, and the particle size distribution changed markedly for all species except for Sophorajaponica. Pinus tabuliformis retains particles with the largest average diameter (34.2μm), followed by Ginkgo biloba (20.5μm), Sabina chinensis (16.4μm), Salix babylonica (16.0μm), and S. japonica (13.1μm). S. japonica and S. chinensis had the highest AE leaf to retain the TRP and ERP of both PM 1 and PM 1-2.5 , respectively. Conversely, S. babylonica and P. tabuliformis could retain both TRP and ERP of PM 2.5-5 and PM 5-10 , and PM >10 and TSP with the highest AE leaf , respectively. In conclusion, our results could be useful in selecting greening tree species with high air purification

  17. An integrated reliability-based design optimization of offshore towers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karadeniz, Halil; Togan, Vedat; Vrouwenvelder, Ton

    2009-01-01

    After recognizing the uncertainty in the parameters such as material, loading, geometry and so on in contrast with the conventional optimization, the reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) concept has become more meaningful to perform an economical design implementation, which includes a reliability analysis and an optimization algorithm. RBDO procedures include structural analysis, reliability analysis and sensitivity analysis both for optimization and for reliability. The efficiency of the RBDO system depends on the mentioned numerical algorithms. In this work, an integrated algorithms system is proposed to implement the RBDO of the offshore towers, which are subjected to the extreme wave loading. The numerical strategies interacting with each other to fulfill the RBDO of towers are as follows: (a) a structural analysis program, SAPOS, (b) an optimization program, SQP and (c) a reliability analysis program based on FORM. A demonstration of an example tripod tower under the reliability constraints based on limit states of the critical stress, buckling and the natural frequency is presented.

  18. An integrated reliability-based design optimization of offshore towers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karadeniz, Halil [Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands)], E-mail: h.karadeniz@tudelft.nl; Togan, Vedat [Department of Civil Engineering, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon (Turkey); Vrouwenvelder, Ton [Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands)

    2009-10-15

    After recognizing the uncertainty in the parameters such as material, loading, geometry and so on in contrast with the conventional optimization, the reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) concept has become more meaningful to perform an economical design implementation, which includes a reliability analysis and an optimization algorithm. RBDO procedures include structural analysis, reliability analysis and sensitivity analysis both for optimization and for reliability. The efficiency of the RBDO system depends on the mentioned numerical algorithms. In this work, an integrated algorithms system is proposed to implement the RBDO of the offshore towers, which are subjected to the extreme wave loading. The numerical strategies interacting with each other to fulfill the RBDO of towers are as follows: (a) a structural analysis program, SAPOS, (b) an optimization program, SQP and (c) a reliability analysis program based on FORM. A demonstration of an example tripod tower under the reliability constraints based on limit states of the critical stress, buckling and the natural frequency is presented.

  19. Design Optimization Method for Composite Components Based on Moment Reliability-Sensitivity Criteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Zhigang; Wang, Changxi; Niu, Xuming; Song, Yingdong

    2017-08-01

    In this paper, a Reliability-Sensitivity Based Design Optimization (RSBDO) methodology for the design of the ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) components has been proposed. A practical and efficient method for reliability analysis and sensitivity analysis of complex components with arbitrary distribution parameters are investigated by using the perturbation method, the respond surface method, the Edgeworth series and the sensitivity analysis approach. The RSBDO methodology is then established by incorporating sensitivity calculation model into RBDO methodology. Finally, the proposed RSBDO methodology is applied to the design of the CMCs components. By comparing with Monte Carlo simulation, the numerical results demonstrate that the proposed methodology provides an accurate, convergent and computationally efficient method for reliability-analysis based finite element modeling engineering practice.

  20. A simple MC-based algorithm for evaluating reliability of stochastic-flow network with unreliable nodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeh, W.-C.

    2004-01-01

    A MP/minimal cutset (MC) is a path/cut set such that if any edge is removed from this path/cut set, then the remaining set is no longer a path/cut set. An intuitive method is proposed to evaluate the reliability in terms of MCs in a stochastic-flow network subject to both edge and node failures under the condition that all of the MCs are given in advance. This is an extension of the best of known algorithms for solving the d-MC (a special MC but formatted in a system-state vector, where d is the lower bound points of the system capacity level) problem from the stochastic-flow network without unreliable nodes to with unreliable nodes by introducing some simple concepts. These concepts were first developed in the literature to implement the proposed algorithm to reduce the number of d-MC candidates. This method is more efficient than the best of known existing algorithms regardless if the network has or does not have unreliable nodes. Two examples are illustrated to show how the reliability is determined using the proposed algorithm in the network with or without unreliable nodes. The computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is analyzed and compared with the existing methods

  1. Analysis of travel time reliability on Indiana interstates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-09-15

    Travel-time reliability is a key performance measure in any transportation system. It is a : measure of quality of travel time experienced by transportation system users and reflects the efficiency : of the transportation system to serve citizens, bu...

  2. Workload Capacity: A Response Time-Based Measure of Automation Dependence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamani, Yusuke; McCarley, Jason S

    2016-05-01

    An experiment used the workload capacity measure C(t) to quantify the processing efficiency of human-automation teams and identify operators' automation usage strategies in a speeded decision task. Although response accuracy rates and related measures are often used to measure the influence of an automated decision aid on human performance, aids can also influence response speed. Mean response times (RTs), however, conflate the influence of the human operator and the automated aid on team performance and may mask changes in the operator's performance strategy under aided conditions. The present study used a measure of parallel processing efficiency, or workload capacity, derived from empirical RT distributions as a novel gauge of human-automation performance and automation dependence in a speeded task. Participants performed a speeded probabilistic decision task with and without the assistance of an automated aid. RT distributions were used to calculate two variants of a workload capacity measure, COR(t) and CAND(t). Capacity measures gave evidence that a diagnosis from the automated aid speeded human participants' responses, and that participants did not moderate their own decision times in anticipation of diagnoses from the aid. Workload capacity provides a sensitive and informative measure of human-automation performance and operators' automation dependence in speeded tasks. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

  3. Reliability factors of tube-to-tubesheet joints

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sang, Z.F.; Zhu, Y.Z.; Widera, G.E.O.

    1992-01-01

    The main purpose of this paper is to provide an applicable method to establish reliability factors for expanded tube-to-tubesheet joints. The paper also reports on the results of a preliminary study to validate experimentally the reliability efficiencies listed in Table A-2 of Appendix A of Section VIII, Division 1, of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. A comparison between the actual reliability factors f r , determined from testing the damage strength of the joint and calculated according to Appendix A-4 of the ASME Code, and those of Table A-2 is carried out. The results are discussed in light of the restrictions inherent in Table A-2. It is confirmed that some existing values of f r are conservative while others are less so. (orig.)

  4. Selected Methods For Increases Reliability The Of Electronic Systems Security

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paś Jacek

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the issues related to the different methods to increase the reliability of electronic security systems (ESS for example, a fire alarm system (SSP. Reliability of the SSP in the descriptive sense is a property preservation capacity to implement the preset function (e.g. protection: fire airport, the port, logistics base, etc., at a certain time and under certain conditions, e.g. Environmental, despite the possible non-compliance by a specific subset of elements this system. Analyzing the available literature on the ESS-SSP is not available studies on methods to increase the reliability (several works similar topics but moving with respect to the burglary and robbery (Intrusion. Based on the analysis of the set of all paths in the system suitability of the SSP for the scenario mentioned elements fire events (device critical because of security.

  5. Provision of reliable core cooling in vessel-type boiling reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alferov, N.S.; Balunov, B.F.; Davydov, S.A.

    1987-01-01

    Methods for providing reliable core cooling in vessel-type boiling reactors with natural circulation for heat supply are analysed. The solution of this problem is reduced to satisfaction of two conditions such as: water confinement over the reactor core necessary in case of an accident and confinement of sufficient coolant flow rate through the bottom cross section of fuel assemblies for some time. The reliable fuel element cooling under conditions of a maximum credible accident (brittle failure of a reactor vessel) is shown to be provided practically in any accident, using the safety vessel in combination with the application of means of standard operation and minimal composition and capacity of ECCS

  6. Analysis of Dowlink Macro-Femto Cells Environment Based on Per-Energy Capacity

    KAUST Repository

    León, Jaime

    2012-05-01

    Placing smaller cells in a heterogeneous cellular network can be beneficial in terms of energy because better capacities can be obtained for a given energy constraint. These type of deployments not only highlight the need for appropriate metrics to evaluate how well energy is being spent, but also raise important issues that need to be taken into account when analysing the overall use of energy. In this work, handoff strategies, bandwidth allocation, and path loss models in different scenarios, illustrate how energy can be consumed in a more efficient way when cell size is decreased. A handoff strategy based on per-energy capacity is studied in order to give priority to a more energy efficient handoff option. Energy can also be spent more adequately if the transmit power is adjusted as a function of interference. As a result, users can experience higher capacities while spending less energy, depending whether they handoff or not, increasing the overall performance of the network in terms of energy efficiency.

  7. A Reliable, Efficient Cryogenic Propellant Mixing Pump With No Moving Parts, Phase II

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Refueling spacecraft in space offers tremendous benefits for increased spacecraft payload capacity and reduced launch cost. However, there are several key challenges...

  8. Highly reliable electro-hydraulic control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mande, Morima; Hiyama, Hiroshi; Takahashi, Makoto

    1984-01-01

    The unscheduled shutdown of nuclear power stations disturbs power system, and exerts large influence on power generation cost due to the lowering of capacity ratio; therefore, high reliability is required for the control system of nuclear power stations. Toshiba Corp. has exerted effort to improve the reliability of the control system of power stations, and in this report, the electro-hydraulic control system for the turbines of nuclear power stations is described. The main functions of the electro-hydraulic control system are the control of main steam pressure with steam regulation valves and turbine bypass valves, the control of turbine speed and load, the prevention of turbine overspeed, the protection of turbines and so on. The system is composed of pressure sensors and a speed sensor, the control board containing the electronic circuits for control computation and protective sequence, the oil cylinders, servo valves and opening detectors of the valves for control, a high pressure oil hydraulic machine and piping, the operating panel and so on. The main features are the adoption of tripling intermediate value selection method, the multiplying of protection sensors and the adoption of 2 out of 3 trip logic, the multiplying of power sources, the improvement of the reliability of electronic circuit hardware and oil hydraulic system. (Kako, I.)

  9. Capacity subscription and its market design impact

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doorman, Gerard; Solem, Gerd

    2005-04-01

    most important are the establishment of the necessary infrastructure and the acceptability for especially small consumers. Implementation should be evaluated against other options like Capacity Obligation and Reliability Contracts. (author)

  10. If you have got the capacity, enter the mechanism..

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Signoret, Stephane

    2014-01-01

    At the end of a conciliation which has led to find a compromise between the stakeholders, RTE, the public French Transmission System Operator has proposed the rules of the future capacity mechanisms. In order to guaranty the security of supply, the price fixed by the Regulatory Commission of Energy (CRE), will have to be sufficiently incentive to allow a reliable anticipation of the electricity needs

  11. Evaluation of Stock Management Strategies Reliability at Dependent Demand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lukinskiy Valery

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available For efficiently increasing the logistic systems, the core specialists’ attention has to be directed to reducing costs and increasing supply chains reliability. A decent attention to costs reduction has already been paid, so it can be stated that in this way there is a significant progress. But the problem of reliability evaluation is still insufficiently explored, particularly, in such an important sphere as inventory management at the dependent demand.

  12. Modeling Sensor Reliability in Fault Diagnosis Based on Evidence Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaijuan Yuan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Sensor data fusion plays an important role in fault diagnosis. Dempster–Shafer (D-R evidence theory is widely used in fault diagnosis, since it is efficient to combine evidence from different sensors. However, under the situation where the evidence highly conflicts, it may obtain a counterintuitive result. To address the issue, a new method is proposed in this paper. Not only the statistic sensor reliability, but also the dynamic sensor reliability are taken into consideration. The evidence distance function and the belief entropy are combined to obtain the dynamic reliability of each sensor report. A weighted averaging method is adopted to modify the conflict evidence by assigning different weights to evidence according to sensor reliability. The proposed method has better performance in conflict management and fault diagnosis due to the fact that the information volume of each sensor report is taken into consideration. An application in fault diagnosis based on sensor fusion is illustrated to show the efficiency of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method improves the accuracy of fault diagnosis from 81.19% to 89.48% compared to the existing methods.

  13. Reliability engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Chi Woo; Kim, Sun Jin; Lee, Seung Woo; Jeong, Sang Yeong

    1993-08-01

    This book start what is reliability? such as origin of reliability problems, definition of reliability and reliability and use of reliability. It also deals with probability and calculation of reliability, reliability function and failure rate, probability distribution of reliability, assumption of MTBF, process of probability distribution, down time, maintainability and availability, break down maintenance and preventive maintenance design of reliability, design of reliability for prediction and statistics, reliability test, reliability data and design and management of reliability.

  14. EFFICIENCY OF THE CAPACITY-TYPE SOLAR WATER HEATER WITH THE FLEXIBLE POLYMER ABSORBER.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ermuratschii V.V.

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Energetic indexes of solar capacity-type water heaters with flexible polymer absorbers and different constructions of enclosures using the refined method of calculus were obtained.

  15. AK-SYS: An adaptation of the AK-MCS method for system reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fauriat, W.; Gayton, N.

    2014-01-01

    A lot of research work has been proposed over the last two decades to evaluate the probability of failure of a structure involving a very time-consuming mechanical model. Surrogate model approaches based on Kriging, such as the Efficient Global Reliability Analysis (EGRA) or the Active learning and Kriging-based Monte-Carlo Simulation (AK-MCS) methods, are very efficient and each has advantages of its own. EGRA is well suited to evaluating small probabilities, as the surrogate can be used to classify any population. AK-MCS is built in relation to a given population and requires no optimization program for the active learning procedure to be performed. It is therefore easier to implement and more likely to spend computational effort on areas with a significant probability content. When assessing system reliability, analytical approaches and first-order approximation are widely used in the literature. However, in the present paper we rather focus on sampling techniques and, considering the recent adaptation of the EGRA method for systems, a strategy is presented to adapt the AK-MCS method for system reliability. The AK-SYS method, “Active learning and Kriging-based SYStem reliability method”, is presented. Its high efficiency and accuracy are illustrated via various examples

  16. Design for Reliability of Power Electronic Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Yongheng; Wang, Huai; Sangwongwanich, Ariya

    2018-01-01

    Power density, efficiency, cost, and reliability are the major challenges when designing a power electronic system. Latest advancements in power semiconductor devices (e.g., silicon carbide devices) and topological innovations have vital contributions to power density and efficiency. Nevertheless......, dedicated heat sink systems for thermal management are required to dissipate the power losses in power electronic systems; otherwise, the power devices will be heated up and eventually fail to operate. In addition, in many mission critical applications (e.g., marine systems), the operating condition (i...

  17. Reliability demonstration methodology for products with Gamma Process by optimal accelerated degradation testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Chunhua; Lu, Xiang; Tan, Yuanyuan; Wang, Yashun

    2015-01-01

    For products with high reliability and long lifetime, accelerated degradation testing (ADT) may be adopted during product development phase to verify whether its reliability satisfies the predetermined level within feasible test duration. The actual degradation from engineering is usually a strictly monotonic process, such as fatigue crack growth, wear, and erosion. However, the method for reliability demonstration by ADT with monotonic degradation process has not been investigated so far. This paper proposes a reliability demonstration methodology by ADT for this kind of product. We first apply Gamma process to describe the monotonic degradation. Next, we present a reliability demonstration method by converting the required reliability level into allowable cumulative degradation in ADT and comparing the actual accumulative degradation with the allowable level. Further, we suggest an analytical optimal ADT design method for more efficient reliability demonstration by minimizing the asymptotic variance of decision variable in reliability demonstration under the constraints of sample size, test duration, test cost, and predetermined decision risks. The method is validated and illustrated with example on reliability demonstration of alloy product, and is applied to demonstrate the wear reliability within long service duration of spherical plain bearing in the end. - Highlights: • We present a reliability demonstration method by ADT for products with monotonic degradation process, which may be applied to verify reliability with long service life for products with monotonic degradation process within feasible test duration. • We suggest an analytical optimal ADT design method for more efficient reliability demonstration, which differs from the existed optimal ADT design for more accurate reliability estimation by different objective function and different constraints. • The methods are applied to demonstrate the wear reliability within long service duration of

  18. Evaluating the efficiency of shortcut span protection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruepp, Sarah Renée; Dittmann, Lars; Berger, Michael Stübert

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents a comparison of various recovery methods in terms of capacity efficiency with the underlying aim of reducing control plane load. In particular, a method where recovery requests are bundled towards the destination (Shortcut Span Protection) is evaluated can compared against tra...... traditional recovery methods. The optimization model is presented and our simulation results show that Shortcut Span Protection uses more capacity than the unbundled related methods, but this is compensated by easier control and management of the recovery actions.......This paper presents a comparison of various recovery methods in terms of capacity efficiency with the underlying aim of reducing control plane load. In particular, a method where recovery requests are bundled towards the destination (Shortcut Span Protection) is evaluated can compared against...

  19. Individual Differences in Zhong-Yong tendency and Processing Capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ting-Yun eChang

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigated how an individual’s Zhong-Yong tendency is related to his/her perceptual processing capacity. In two experiments, participants completed a Zhong-Yong Thinking Style Scale and performed a redundant-target detection task. Processing capacity was assessed with a nonparametric approach (systems factorial technology, SFT and a parametric (linear ballistic accumulator model, LBA approach. Results converged to suggest a positive correlation between Zhong-Yong tendency and processing capacity. High middle-way thinkers had larger processing capacity in multiple-signal processing compared with low middle-way thinkers, indicating that they processed information more efficiently and in an integrated fashion. Zhong-Yong tendency positively correlates with the processing capacity. These findings suggest that the individual differences in processing capacity can account for the reasons why high middle-way thinkers tend to adopt a global and flexible processing strategy to deal with the external world. Furthermore, the influence of culturally dictated thinking style on cognition can be revealed in a perception task.

  20. Large-capacity current leads

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballarino, A.

    2008-01-01

    Feeding superconducting magnets with reliable low-loss devices is a key issue for any cryo-electrical system. Conventional or HTS current leads can be used, and cooling methods, materials, and geometries can be chosen to optimize the thermo-electrical performance of the system. The LHC magnets are powered via more than 3000 current leads transporting altogether about 3 MA of current. With thousands of leads, the LHC lead project represents today the largest project of its kind ever undertaken. Following a review of the LHC lead project, an overview of the choices that can be made for the optimization of large capacity current leads is presented. Examples are given of other leads for large scale magnet systems for which the use of HTS is being envisaged

  1. Climate controls photosynthetic capacity more than leaf nitrogen contents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, A. A.; Xu, C.; McDowell, N. G.

    2013-12-01

    Global vegetation models continue to lack the ability to make reliable predictions because the photosynthetic capacity varies a lot with growth conditions, season and among species. It is likely that vegetation models link photosynthetic capacity to concurrent changes in leaf nitrogen content only. To improve the predictions of the vegetation models, there is an urgent need to review species growth conditions and their seasonal response to changing climate. We sampled the global distribution of the Vcmax (maximum carboxylation rates) data of various species across different environmental gradients from the literature and standardized its value to 25 degree Celcius. We found that species explained the largest variation in (1) the photosynthetic capacity and (2) the proportion of nitrogen allocated for rubisco (PNcb). Surprisingly, climate variables explained more variations in photosynthetic capacity as well as PNcb than leaf nitrogen content and/or specific leaf area. The chief climate variables that explain variation in photosynthesis and PNcb were radiation, temperature and daylength. Our analysis suggests that species have the greatest control over photosynthesis and PNcb. Further, compared to leaf nitrogen content and/or specific leaf area, climate variables have more control over photosynthesis and PNcb. Therefore, climate variables should be incorporated in the global vegetation models when making predictions about the photosynthetic capacity.

  2. High Efficiency Room Air Conditioner

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bansal, Pradeep [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2015-01-01

    This project was undertaken as a CRADA project between UT-Battelle and Geberal Electric Company and was funded by Department of Energy to design and develop of a high efficiency room air conditioner. A number of novel elements were investigated to improve the energy efficiency of a state-of-the-art WAC with base capacity of 10,000 BTU/h. One of the major modifications was made by downgrading its capacity from 10,000 BTU/hr to 8,000 BTU/hr by replacing the original compressor with a lower capacity (8,000 BTU/hr) but high efficiency compressor having an EER of 9.7 as compared with 9.3 of the original compressor. However, all heat exchangers from the original unit were retained to provide higher EER. The other subsequent major modifications included- (i) the AC fan motor was replaced by a brushless high efficiency ECM motor along with its fan housing, (ii) the capillary tube was replaced with a needle valve to better control the refrigerant flow and refrigerant set points, and (iii) the unit was tested with a drop-in environmentally friendly binary mixture of R32 (90% molar concentration)/R125 (10% molar concentration). The WAC was tested in the environmental chambers at ORNL as per the design rating conditions of AHAM/ASHRAE (Outdoor- 95F and 40%RH, Indoor- 80F, 51.5%RH). All these modifications resulted in enhancing the EER of the WAC by up to 25%.

  3. Multidisciplinary Inverse Reliability Analysis Based on Collaborative Optimization with Combination of Linear Approximations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin-Jia Meng

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Multidisciplinary reliability is an important part of the reliability-based multidisciplinary design optimization (RBMDO. However, it usually has a considerable amount of calculation. The purpose of this paper is to improve the computational efficiency of multidisciplinary inverse reliability analysis. A multidisciplinary inverse reliability analysis method based on collaborative optimization with combination of linear approximations (CLA-CO is proposed in this paper. In the proposed method, the multidisciplinary reliability assessment problem is first transformed into a problem of most probable failure point (MPP search of inverse reliability, and then the process of searching for MPP of multidisciplinary inverse reliability is performed based on the framework of CLA-CO. This method improves the MPP searching process through two elements. One is treating the discipline analyses as the equality constraints in the subsystem optimization, and the other is using linear approximations corresponding to subsystem responses as the replacement of the consistency equality constraint in system optimization. With these two elements, the proposed method realizes the parallel analysis of each discipline, and it also has a higher computational efficiency. Additionally, there are no difficulties in applying the proposed method to problems with nonnormal distribution variables. One mathematical test problem and an electronic packaging problem are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  4. Reliability-oriented multi-resource allocation in a stochastic-flow network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsieh, C.-C.; Lin, M.-H.

    2003-01-01

    A stochastic-flow network consists of a set of nodes, including source nodes which supply various resources and sink nodes at which resource demands take place, and a collection of arcs whose capacities have multiple operational states. The network reliability of such a stochastic-flow network is the probability that resources can be successfully transmitted from source nodes through multi-capacitated arcs to sink nodes. Although the evaluation schemes of network reliability in stochastic-flow networks have been extensively studied in the literature, how to allocate various resources at source nodes in a reliable means remains unanswered. In this study, a resource allocation problem in a stochastic-flow network is formulated that aims to determine the optimal resource allocation policy at source nodes subject to given resource demands at sink nodes such that the network reliability of the stochastic-flow network is maximized, and an algorithm for computing the optimal resource allocation is proposed that incorporates the principle of minimal path vectors. A numerical example is given to illustrate the proposed algorithm

  5. RF-MEMS capacitive switches with high reliability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldsmith, Charles L.; Auciello, Orlando H.; Carlisle, John A.; Sampath, Suresh; Sumant, Anirudha V.; Carpick, Robert W.; Hwang, James; Mancini, Derrick C.; Gudeman, Chris

    2013-09-03

    A reliable long life RF-MEMS capacitive switch is provided with a dielectric layer comprising a "fast discharge diamond dielectric layer" and enabling rapid switch recovery, dielectric layer charging and discharging that is efficient and effective to enable RF-MEMS switch operation to greater than or equal to 100 billion cycles.

  6. Feasibility and reliability of digital imaging for estimating food selection and consumption from students' packed lunches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Jennifer C; Sutter, Carolyn; Ontai, Lenna L; Nishina, Adrienne; Zidenberg-Cherr, Sheri

    2018-01-01

    Although increasing attention is placed on the quality of foods in children's packed lunches, few studies have examined the capacity of observational methods to reliably determine both what is selected and consumed from these lunches. The objective of this project was to assess the feasibility and inter-rater reliability of digital imaging for determining selection and consumption from students' packed lunches, by adapting approaches previously applied to school lunches. Study 1 assessed feasibility and reliability of data collection among a sample of packed lunches (n = 155), while Study 2 further examined reliability in a larger sample of packed (n = 386) as well as school (n = 583) lunches. Based on the results from Study 1, it was feasible to collect and code most items in packed lunch images; missing data were most commonly attributed to packaging that limited visibility of contents. Across both studies, there was satisfactory reliability for determining food types selected, quantities selected, and quantities consumed in the eight food categories examined (weighted kappa coefficients 0.68-0.97 for packed lunches, 0.74-0.97 for school lunches), with lowest reliability for estimating condiments and meats/meat alternatives in packed lunches. In extending methods predominately applied to school lunches, these findings demonstrate the capacity of digital imaging for the objective estimation of selection and consumption from both school and packed lunches. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Exact reliability formula and bounds for general k-out-of-n systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koucky, Miroslav

    2003-01-01

    The paper deals with reliability of general k-out-of-n systems whose component failures need not be independent and identically distributed. The result is an exact closed form reliability formula which is based on Feller's result. The formula is efficient and easy to use for manual and computer computations. The approximations for the system reliability are given and are useful when dealing with large systems. Two examples illustrate the use of the results

  8. Creation of reactor's reliable system of emergency energy supply

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batyrbekov, G.A.; Brovkin, A.Yu.; Petukhov, V.K.; Chekushin, A.I.; Chernyaev, V.P.; Yagotinets, N.A.

    1998-01-01

    System of reliable power supply of the WWR-K reactor complex is described, which completely provides safety operation of reactor equipment in the case of total voltage loss from external power transmission lines as well as under destruction of accumulation batteries by earthquake more than 6 balls. Switching on in operation of diesel-generators and system of constant current supply from accumulator batteries is occurred automatically under cessation of voltage supply from centralized power system. Reliable reactor dampening in case it work on capacity has been ensured. Reactor cooling under its emergency shutdown during both the partial or the total loss of coolant in first counter has been carried out. Under full coolant loss the system of emergency reactor cooling has been switched on in operation

  9. Basic Numerical Capacities and Prevalence of Developmental Dyscalculia: The Havana Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reigosa-Crespo, Vivian; Valdes-Sosa, Mitchell; Butterworth, Brian; Estevez, Nancy; Rodriguez, Marisol; Santos, Elsa; Torres, Paul; Suarez, Ramon; Lage, Agustin

    2012-01-01

    The association of enumeration and number comparison capacities with arithmetical competence was examined in a large sample of children from 2nd to 9th grades. It was found that efficiency on numerical capacities predicted separately more than 25% of the variance in the individual differences on a timed arithmetical test, and this occurred for…

  10. Reliability assessment of a multistate freight network for perishable merchandise with multiple suppliers and buyers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yi-Kuei; Yeh, Cheng-Ta; Huang, Cheng-Fu

    2017-01-01

    This study develops a multistate freight network for single and perishable merchandise to assess the freight performance, where a node denotes a supplier, a distribution centre, or a buyer, while a logistics company providing a freight traffic service is denoted by an edge. For each logistics company, carrying capacity should be multistate since partial capacity may be reserved by some customers. The merchandise may perish or be perished during conveyance because of disadvantageous weather or collision in carrying such that the number of intact cargoes may be insufficient for the buyers. Hence, according to the perspective of supply chain management, the reliability, a probability of the network to successfully deliver the cargoes from the suppliers to the buyers subject to a budget, is proposed to be a performance index, where the suppliers and buyers are not the previous customers. An algorithm in terms of minimal paths to assess the reliability is developed. A fruit logistics case is adopted to explore the managerial implications of the reliability using sensitivity analysis.

  11. Adjoint sensitivity analysis of dynamic reliability models based on Markov chains - II: Application to IFMIF reliability assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cacuci, D. G. [Commiss Energy Atom, Direct Energy Nucl, Saclay, (France); Cacuci, D. G.; Balan, I. [Univ Karlsruhe, Inst Nucl Technol and Reactor Safetly, Karlsruhe, (Germany); Ionescu-Bujor, M. [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Fus Program, D-76021 Karlsruhe, (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    In Part II of this work, the adjoint sensitivity analysis procedure developed in Part I is applied to perform sensitivity analysis of several dynamic reliability models of systems of increasing complexity, culminating with the consideration of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) accelerator system. Section II presents the main steps of a procedure for the automated generation of Markov chains for reliability analysis, including the abstraction of the physical system, construction of the Markov chain, and the generation and solution of the ensuing set of differential equations; all of these steps have been implemented in a stand-alone computer code system called QUEFT/MARKOMAG-S/MCADJSEN. This code system has been applied to sensitivity analysis of dynamic reliability measures for a paradigm '2-out-of-3' system comprising five components and also to a comprehensive dynamic reliability analysis of the IFMIF accelerator system facilities for the average availability and, respectively, the system's availability at the final mission time. The QUEFT/MARKOMAG-S/MCADJSEN has been used to efficiently compute sensitivities to 186 failure and repair rates characterizing components and subsystems of the first-level fault tree of the IFMIF accelerator system. (authors)

  12. Adjoint sensitivity analysis of dynamic reliability models based on Markov chains - II: Application to IFMIF reliability assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cacuci, D. G.; Cacuci, D. G.; Balan, I.; Ionescu-Bujor, M.

    2008-01-01

    In Part II of this work, the adjoint sensitivity analysis procedure developed in Part I is applied to perform sensitivity analysis of several dynamic reliability models of systems of increasing complexity, culminating with the consideration of the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) accelerator system. Section II presents the main steps of a procedure for the automated generation of Markov chains for reliability analysis, including the abstraction of the physical system, construction of the Markov chain, and the generation and solution of the ensuing set of differential equations; all of these steps have been implemented in a stand-alone computer code system called QUEFT/MARKOMAG-S/MCADJSEN. This code system has been applied to sensitivity analysis of dynamic reliability measures for a paradigm '2-out-of-3' system comprising five components and also to a comprehensive dynamic reliability analysis of the IFMIF accelerator system facilities for the average availability and, respectively, the system's availability at the final mission time. The QUEFT/MARKOMAG-S/MCADJSEN has been used to efficiently compute sensitivities to 186 failure and repair rates characterizing components and subsystems of the first-level fault tree of the IFMIF accelerator system. (authors)

  13. Sodium fire aerosol loading capacity of several sand and gravel filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barreca, J.R.; McCormack, J.D.

    1980-04-01

    Improved specific loading capacity for sodium fire aerosols was the objective of a sand and gravel test series. The aerosol capacity and related differential pressure of eight aggregate filters is presented. A maximum specific aerosol capacity, for dry aerosol, of 2.4 kg (Na) m -2 was obtained. This filter was loaded to a final differential pressure of 2.6 kPa. The average superficial face velocity was 0.5 cm/s and the average efficiency was 99.8%. The test results indicate that filter capacity increases with aerosol moisture content and with decreasing superficial velocity

  14. Photovoltaic and Wind Turbine Integration Applying Cuckoo Search for Probabilistic Reliable Optimal Placement

    OpenAIRE

    R. A. Swief; T. S. Abdel-Salam; Noha H. El-Amary

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents an efficient Cuckoo Search Optimization technique to improve the reliability of electrical power systems. Various reliability objective indices such as Energy Not Supplied, System Average Interruption Frequency Index, System Average Interruption, and Duration Index are the main indices indicating reliability. The Cuckoo Search Optimization (CSO) technique is applied to optimally place the protection devices, install the distributed generators, and to determine the size of ...

  15. Reliability modeling and analysis of smart power systems

    CERN Document Server

    Karki, Rajesh; Verma, Ajit Kumar

    2014-01-01

    The volume presents the research work in understanding, modeling and quantifying the risks associated with different ways of implementing smart grid technology in power systems in order to plan and operate a modern power system with an acceptable level of reliability. Power systems throughout the world are undergoing significant changes creating new challenges to system planning and operation in order to provide reliable and efficient use of electrical energy. The appropriate use of smart grid technology is an important drive in mitigating these problems and requires considerable research acti

  16. Building and Benefiting from Member State Laboratory Capacities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2014-01-01

    The Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications implement a number of activities that are designed to enhance and capitalize upon the capacities of Member States’ laboratories worldwide. The Nuclear Sciences and Applications (NA) laboratories strengthen Member States’ analytical capacities through activities such as proficiency tests and inter-laboratory comparisons, and share the capacities of Member States’ laboratories with other Member States through the coordination of relevant networks and participation in the IAEA Collaborating Centre scheme. An example of these activities is the collaborative work carried out by the Terrestrial Environment Laboratory (TEL). The TEL cooperates with the IAEA Environment Laboratories in Monaco to distribute 92 types of reference materials for characterizing radionuclides, stable isotopes, trace elements or organic contaminants. These materials serve as international standards for establishing and evaluating the reliability and accuracy of analytical measurements. This collaborative work between NA laboratories, Member States and laboratories around the globe contribute to the IAEA’s mandate of fostering scientific and technical exchanges for the peaceful use of nuclear science and technology throughout the world

  17. Final Report: Cooling Seasonal Energy and Peak Demand Impacts of Improved Duct Insulation on Fixed-Capacity (SEER 13) and Variable-Capacity (SEER 22) Heat Pumps

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Withers, C. [Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction, Cocoa, FL (United States); Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), Cocoa, FL (United States); Cummings, J. [Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction, Cocoa, FL (United States); Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), Cocoa, FL (United States); Nigusse, B. [Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction, Cocoa, FL (United States); Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), Cocoa, FL (United States)

    2016-09-01

    A new generation of full variable-capacity, central, ducted air-conditioning (AC) and heat pump units has come on the market, and they promise to deliver increased cooling (and heating) efficiency. They are controlled differently than standard single-capacity (fixed-capacity) systems. Instead of cycling on at full capacity and then cycling off when the thermostat is satisfied, they can vary their capacity over a wide range (approximately 40% to 118% of nominal full capacity), thus staying “on” for up to twice as many hours per day compared to fixed-capacity systems of the same nominal capacity. The heating and cooling capacity is varied by adjusting the indoor fan air flow rate, compressor, and refrigerant flow rate as well as the outdoor unit fan air flow rate. Note that two-stage AC or heat pump systems were not evaluated in this research effort. The term dwell is used to refer to the amount of time distributed air spends inside ductwork during space-conditioning cycles. Longer run times mean greater dwell time and therefore greater exposure to conductive gains and losses.

  18. Final Report: Cooling Seasonal Energy and Peak Demand Impacts of Improved Duct Insulation on Fixed-Capacity (SEER 13) and Variable-Capacity (SEER 22) Heat Pumps

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Withers, C. [Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction, Cocoa, FL (United States); Florida Solar Energy Center, Cocoa, FL (United States); Cummings, J. [Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction, Cocoa, FL (United States); Florida Solar Energy Center, Cocoa, FL (United States); Nigusse, B. [Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction, Cocoa, FL (United States); Florida Solar Energy Center, Cocoa, FL (United States)

    2016-09-08

    A new generation of full variable-capacity, central, ducted air-conditioning (AC) and heat pump units has come on the market, and they promise to deliver increased cooling (and heating) efficiency. They are controlled differently than standard single-capacity (fixed-capacity) systems. Instead of cycling on at full capacity and then cycling off when the thermostat is satisfied, they can vary their capacity over a wide range (approximately 40% to 118% of nominal full capacity), thus staying “on” for up to twice as many hours per day compared to fixed-capacity systems of the same nominal capacity. The heating and cooling capacity is varied by adjusting the indoor fan air flow rate, compressor, and refrigerant flow rate as well as the outdoor unit fan air flow rate. Note that two-stage AC or heat pump systems were not evaluated in this research effort. The term dwell is used to refer to the amount of time distributed air spends inside ductwork during space-conditioning cycles. Longer run times mean greater dwell time and therefore greater exposure to conductive gains and losses.

  19. DMD reliability: a MEMS success story

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglass, Michael

    2003-01-01

    The Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) developed by Texas Instruments (TI) has made tremendous progress in both performance and reliability since it was first invented in 1987. From the first working concept of a bistable mirror, the DMD is now providing high-brightness, high-contrast, and high-reliability in over 1,500,000 projectors using Digital Light Processing technology. In early 2000, TI introduced the first DMD chip with a smaller mirror (14-micron pitch versus 17-micron pitch). This allowed a greater number of high-resolution DMD chips per wafer, thus providing an increased output capacity as well as the flexibility to use existing package designs. By using existing package designs, subsequent DMDs cost less as well as met our customers' demand for faster time to market. In recent years, the DMD achieved the status of being a commercially successful MEMS device. It reached this status by the efforts of hundreds of individuals working toward a common goal over many years. Neither textbooks nor design guidelines existed at the time. There was little infrastructure in place to support such a large endeavor. The knowledge we gained through our characterization and testing was all we had available to us through the first few years of development. Reliability was only a goal in 1992 when production development activity started; a goal that many throughout the industry and even within Texas Instruments doubted the DMD could achieve. The results presented in this paper demonstrate that we succeeded by exceeding the reliability goals.

  20. Efficient on-chip hotspot removal combined solution of thermoelectric cooler and mini-channel heat sink

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hao, Xiaohong; Peng, Bei; Xie, Gongnan; Chen, Yi

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A combined solution of thermoelectric cooler (TEC) and mini-channel heat sink to remove the hotspot of the chip has been proposed. • The TEC's mathematical model is established to assess its work performance. • A comparative study on the proposed efficient On-Chip Hotspot Removal Combined Solution. - Abstract: Hotspot will significantly degrade the reliability and performance of the electronic equipment. The efficient removal of hotspot can make the temperature distribution uniform, and ensure the reliable operation of the electronic equipment. This study proposes a combined solution of thermoelectric cooler (TEC) and mini-channel heat sink to remove the hotspot of the chip in the electronic equipment. Firstly, The TEC's mathematical model is established to assess its work performance under different boundary conditions. Then, the hotspot removal capability of the TEC is discussed for different cooling conditions, which has shown that the combined equipment has better hotspot removal capability compared with others. Finally, A TEC is employed to investigate the hotspot removal capacity of the combined solution, and the results have indicated that it can effectively remove hotspot in the diameter of 0.5 mm, the power density of 600W/cm 2 when its working current is 3A and heat transfer thermal resistance is 0 K/W.

  1. Efficiency of emergency exercises

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zander, N.; Sogalla, M.

    2011-01-01

    In order to cope with accidents beyond the design basis within German nuclear power plants which possibly lead to relevant radiological consequences, the utilities as well as the competent authorities exist emergency organisations. The efficiency, capacity for teamwork and preparedness of such organisations should be tested by regular, efficient exercise activities. Such activities can suitably be based on scenarios which provide challenging tasks for all units of the respective emergency organisation. Thus, the demonstration and further development of the efficiency of the respective organisational structures, including their ability to collaborate, is promoted. (orig.)

  2. Determination of installation capacity in reservoir hydro-power plants considering technical, economical and reliability indices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hosseini, S.M.H.; Forouzbakhsh, Farshid; Fotouh-Firuzabad, Mahmood

    2008-01-01

    One of the most important issues in planning the ‘‘reservoir” type of hydro-power plants (HPP) is to determine the installation capacity of the HPPs and estimate its annual energy value. In this paper, a method is presented. A computer program has been developed to analyze energy calculation...

  3. An Energy-Based Limit State Function for Estimation of Structural Reliability in Shock Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael A. Guthrie

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available limit state function is developed for the estimation of structural reliability in shock environments. This limit state function uses peak modal strain energies to characterize environmental severity and modal strain energies at failure to characterize the structural capacity. The Hasofer-Lind reliability index is briefly reviewed and its computation for the energy-based limit state function is discussed. Applications to two degree of freedom mass-spring systems and to a simple finite element model are considered. For these examples, computation of the reliability index requires little effort beyond a modal analysis, but still accounts for relevant uncertainties in both the structure and environment. For both examples, the reliability index is observed to agree well with the results of Monte Carlo analysis. In situations where fast, qualitative comparison of several candidate designs is required, the reliability index based on the proposed limit state function provides an attractive metric which can be used to compare and control reliability.

  4. Emotional-volitional components of operator reliability. [sensorimotor function testing under stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mileryan, Y. A.

    1975-01-01

    Sensorimotor function testing in a tracking task under stressfull working conditions established a psychological characterization for a successful aviation pilot: Motivation significantly increased the reliability and effectiveness of their work. Their acitivities were aimed at suppressing weariness and the feeling of fear caused by the stress factors; they showed patience, endurance, persistence, and a capacity for lengthy volitional efforts.

  5. Use of COMCAN III in system design and reliability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rasmuson, D.M.; Shepherd, J.C.; Marshall, N.H.; Fitch, L.R.

    1982-03-01

    This manual describes the COMCAN III computer program and its use. COMCAN III is a tool that can be used by the reliability analyst performing a probabilistic risk assessment or by the designer of a system desiring improved performance and efficiency. COMCAN III can be used to determine minimal cut sets of a fault tree, to calculate system reliability characteristics, and to perform qualitative common cause failure analysis

  6. Maximum Entropy Discrimination Poisson Regression for Software Reliability Modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatzis, Sotirios P; Andreou, Andreas S

    2015-11-01

    Reliably predicting software defects is one of the most significant tasks in software engineering. Two of the major components of modern software reliability modeling approaches are: 1) extraction of salient features for software system representation, based on appropriately designed software metrics and 2) development of intricate regression models for count data, to allow effective software reliability data modeling and prediction. Surprisingly, research in the latter frontier of count data regression modeling has been rather limited. More specifically, a lack of simple and efficient algorithms for posterior computation has made the Bayesian approaches appear unattractive, and thus underdeveloped in the context of software reliability modeling. In this paper, we try to address these issues by introducing a novel Bayesian regression model for count data, based on the concept of max-margin data modeling, effected in the context of a fully Bayesian model treatment with simple and efficient posterior distribution updates. Our novel approach yields a more discriminative learning technique, making more effective use of our training data during model inference. In addition, it allows of better handling uncertainty in the modeled data, which can be a significant problem when the training data are limited. We derive elegant inference algorithms for our model under the mean-field paradigm and exhibit its effectiveness using the publicly available benchmark data sets.

  7. Reliability analysis with linguistic data: An evidential network approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Xiaoge; Mahadevan, Sankaran; Deng, Xinyang

    2017-01-01

    In practical applications of reliability assessment of a system in-service, information about the condition of a system and its components is often available in text form, e.g., inspection reports. Estimation of the system reliability from such text-based records becomes a challenging problem. In this paper, we propose a four-step framework to deal with this problem. In the first step, we construct an evidential network with the consideration of available knowledge and data. Secondly, we train a Naive Bayes text classification algorithm based on the past records. By using the trained Naive Bayes algorithm to classify the new records, we build interval basic probability assignments (BPA) for each new record available in text form. Thirdly, we combine the interval BPAs of multiple new records using an evidence combination approach based on evidence theory. Finally, we propagate the interval BPA through the evidential network constructed earlier to obtain the system reliability. Two numerical examples are used to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. We illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method by comparing with Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) results. - Highlights: • We model reliability analysis with linguistic data using evidential network. • Two examples are used to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. • We compare the results with Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS).

  8. Organizational capacity for change in health care: Development and validation of a scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spaulding, Aaron; Kash, Bita A; Johnson, Christopher E; Gamm, Larry

    We do not have a strong understanding of a health care organization's capacity for attempting and completing multiple and sometimes competing change initiatives. Capacity for change implementation is a critical success factor as the health care industry is faced with ongoing demands for change and transformation because of technological advances, market forces, and regulatory environment. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a tool to measure health care organizations' capacity to change by building upon previous conceptualizations of absorptive capacity and organizational readiness for change. A multistep process was used to develop the organizational capacity for change survey. The survey was sent to two populations requesting answers to questions about the organization's leadership, culture, and technologies in use throughout the organization. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to validate the survey as a measurement tool for organizational capacity for change in the health care setting. The resulting organizational capacity for change measurement tool proves to be a valid and reliable method of evaluating a hospital's capacity for change through the measurement of the population's perceptions related to leadership, culture, and organizational technologies. The organizational capacity for change measurement tool can help health care managers and leaders evaluate the capacity of employees, departments, and teams for change before large-scale implementation.

  9. Research on Connection and Function Reliability of the Oil＆Gas Pipeline System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Bo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Pipeline transportation is the optimal way for energy delivery in terms of safety, efficiency and environmental protection. Because of the complexity of pipeline external system including geological hazards, social and cultural influence, it is a great challenge to operate the pipeline safely and reliable. Therefore, the pipeline reliability becomes an important issue. Based on the classical reliability theory, the analysis of pipeline system is carried out, then the reliability model of the pipeline system is built, and the calculation is addressed thereafter. Further the connection and function reliability model is applied to a practical active pipeline system, with the use of the proposed methodology of the pipeline system; the connection reliability and function reliability are obtained. This paper firstly presented to considerate the connection and function reliability separately and obtain significant contribution to establish the mathematical reliability model of pipeline system, hence provide fundamental groundwork for the pipeline reliability research in the future.

  10. Establishing strategic energy assessment indicators for Zimbabwe: A key to improving electrical energy efficiency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goto, Felix

    In Zimbabwe, there is still very little realization of the potential of demand side management (DSM) to increase industrial energy efficiency. Without clear guidelines that indicate the most economic energy efficiency strategies to implement, it is difficult for industry to easily evaluate the benefits of energy assessments. This research focused on establishing and evaluating indicators that guide correct implementation of energy assessments into Zimbabwean industry. This quantitative and qualitative study used a theoretic approach to develop indicators that identified industrial subsectors that should be targeted for DSM interventions. This may bring about reduction in energy demand in high power consuming Zimbabwean industrial companies, which were compared with energy utility performances of similar industrial companies in countries located in other parts of the world. This research used pattern-matching, categorical aggregation, and stochastic frontier regression analysis for data analysis. In maximizing electrical efficiency, the implications of this study may be used by individual companies in Zimbabwe to perform energy efficiency self-diagnoses, operational efficiency evaluations, and capital resource justifications. From a societal perspective, this study may benefit Zimbabwe because it provides opportunities for the alleviation of both shortages in power supply and the capital constraints of building new generating capacity. This study will also benefit ordinary Zimbabweans by lowering energy costs and providing reliable power. This promotes sustainable economic growth and lowers the need for foreign currency to import power.

  11. Capacity expansion model of wind power generation based on ELCC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Bo; Zong, Jin; Wu, Shengyu

    2018-02-01

    Capacity expansion is an indispensable prerequisite for power system planning and construction. A reasonable, efficient and accurate capacity expansion model (CEM) is crucial to power system planning. In most current CEMs, the capacity of wind power generation is considered as boundary conditions instead of decision variables, which may lead to curtailment or over construction of flexible resource, especially at a high renewable energy penetration scenario. This paper proposed a wind power generation capacity value(CV) calculation method based on effective load-carrying capability, and a CEM that co-optimizes wind power generation and conventional power sources. Wind power generation is considered as decision variable in this model, and the model can accurately reflect the uncertainty nature of wind power.

  12. The effect of loss functions on empirical Bayes reliability analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camara Vincent A. R.

    1998-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study is to investigate the sensitivity of empirical Bayes estimates of the reliability function with respect to changing of the loss function. In addition to applying some of the basic analytical results on empirical Bayes reliability obtained with the use of the “popular” squared error loss function, we shall derive some expressions corresponding to empirical Bayes reliability estimates obtained with the Higgins–Tsokos, the Harris and our proposed logarithmic loss functions. The concept of efficiency, along with the notion of integrated mean square error, will be used as a criterion to numerically compare our results. It is shown that empirical Bayes reliability functions are in general sensitive to the choice of the loss function, and that the squared error loss does not always yield the best empirical Bayes reliability estimate.

  13. The Need for a Higher Fuel Efficiency of the Electricity Sector - An Analysis of Opportunities and Barriers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klimstra, J.

    2007-07-01

    The electricity sector is the single largest user of primary energy in the world. The issues of fuel prices, security of supply and greenhouse gas emissions are therefore closely connected with electricity generation. The total energy efficiency of the electricity sector is only 32.5% so that quick improvements are required. However, the uncertainty over fuel prices and technology preferences is such that most investors are hesitant. The life of existing, often low-efficiency, power plants is therefore extended. At the same time, the demand for electricity is rapidly increasing and the gap between capacity and demand decreases. This paper intends to bring more clarity into the economic and environmental boundary conditions of power plants. The goal is to find an attractive way for rapid efficiency improvement with an even better system reliability without increasing the costs. The paper discusses fuel price developments and the costs of generating technologies in connection with the typical demand pattern of electricity. Ultimately, it appears that local generation, preferably coupled with cogeneration, can be an important part of the solution. (auth)

  14. Energy-efficient fault-tolerant systems

    CERN Document Server

    Mathew, Jimson; Pradhan, Dhiraj K

    2013-01-01

    This book describes the state-of-the-art in energy efficient, fault-tolerant embedded systems. It covers the entire product lifecycle of electronic systems design, analysis and testing and includes discussion of both circuit and system-level approaches. Readers will be enabled to meet the conflicting design objectives of energy efficiency and fault-tolerance for reliability, given the up-to-date techniques presented.

  15. A dynamic simulation model for assessing the overall impact of incentive policies on power system reliability, costs and environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ibanez-Lopez, A.S.; Martinez-Val, J.M.; Moratilla-Soria, B.Y.

    2017-01-01

    The liberalization of power markets has entailed dramatic changes in power system planning worldwide. The inception of new alternative technologies, smart grids and distributed generation and storage is expected to make system planning even more challenging. Government policies still play a major role in the evolution of a country's power generation mix, even in those countries with liberalized markets. This paper presents a System Dynamics model aimed at assessing the overall technical, economic and environmental impact of renewable energy incentives and capacity payment policies. The model has been used to simulate Spain's power industry in order to assess the impact of electric power policies with the goal of getting insights regarding how to achieve an optimum power generation mix. The main conclusions of the present paper are (i) the necessity of specific regulatory actions in Spain in order to keep adequate reliability levels, avoid price spikes and boom and bust investment cycles as well as to deploy specific technologies, (ii) the fact that capacity payments are a better instrument for keeping adequate reserve margins and avoiding power price spikes than renewable energy incentives and (iii) the evidence that both instruments entail additional system costs over the base case scenario. - Highlights: • A System Dynamics model of Spain's power generation mix is proposed. • The overall policy impact on system costs, environment and reliability is assessed. • Current policies are not enough to keep adequate reliability levels. • Capacity payments are an adequate instrument for guaranteeing system reliability. • RES incentives do not solve reliability issues and entail greater system costs.

  16. Assessment of leg muscles mechanical capacities: Which jump, loading, and variable type provide the most reliable outcomes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Ramos, Amador; Feriche, Belén; Pérez-Castilla, Alejandro; Padial, Paulino; Jaric, Slobodan

    2017-07-01

    This study aimed to explore the strength of the force-velocity (F-V) relationship of lower limb muscles and the reliability of its parameters (maximum force [F 0 ], slope [a], maximum velocity [V 0 ], and maximum power [P 0 ]). Twenty-three men were tested in two different jump types (squat and countermovement jump: SJ and CMJ), performed under two different loading conditions (free weight and Smith machine: Free and Smith) with 0, 17, 30, 45, 60, and 75 kg loads. The maximum and averaged values of F and V were obtained for the F-V relationship modelling. All F-V relationships were strong and linear independently whether observed from the averaged across the participants (r ≥ 0.98) or individual data (r = 0.94-0.98), while their parameters were generally highly reliable (F 0 [CV: 4.85%, ICC: 0.87], V 0 [CV: 6.10%, ICC: 0.82], a [CV: 10.5%, ICC: 0.81], and P 0 [CV: 3.5%, ICC: 0.93]). Both the strength of the F-V relationships and the reliability of their parameters were significantly higher for (1) the CMJ over the SJ, (2) the Free over the Smith loading type, and (3) the maximum over the averaged F and V variables. In conclusion, although the F-V relationships obtained from all the jumps tested were linear and generally highly reliable, the less appropriate choice for testing the F-V relationship could be through the averaged F and V data obtained from the SJ performed either in a Free weight or in a Smith machine. Insubstantial differences exist among the other combinations tested.

  17. Cost-effective solutions to maintaining smart grid reliability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Qiu

    As the aging power systems are increasingly working closer to the capacity and thermal limits, maintaining an sufficient reliability has been of great concern to the government agency, utility companies and users. This dissertation focuses on improving the reliability of transmission and distribution systems. Based on the wide area measurements, multiple model algorithms are developed to diagnose transmission line three-phase short to ground faults in the presence of protection misoperations. The multiple model algorithms utilize the electric network dynamics to provide prompt and reliable diagnosis outcomes. Computational complexity of the diagnosis algorithm is reduced by using a two-step heuristic. The multiple model algorithm is incorporated into a hybrid simulation framework, which consist of both continuous state simulation and discrete event simulation, to study the operation of transmission systems. With hybrid simulation, line switching strategy for enhancing the tolerance to protection misoperations is studied based on the concept of security index, which involves the faulted mode probability and stability coverage. Local measurements are used to track the generator state and faulty mode probabilities are calculated in the multiple model algorithms. FACTS devices are considered as controllers for the transmission system. The placement of FACTS devices into power systems is investigated with a criterion of maintaining a prescribed level of control reconfigurability. Control reconfigurability measures the small signal combined controllability and observability of a power system with an additional requirement on fault tolerance. For the distribution systems, a hierarchical framework, including a high level recloser allocation scheme and a low level recloser placement scheme, is presented. The impacts of recloser placement on the reliability indices is analyzed. Evaluation of reliability indices in the placement process is carried out via discrete event

  18. Efficient fabrication of high-capacity immobilized metal ion affinity chromatographic media: The role of the dextran-grafting process and its manipulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Lan; Zhang, Jingfei; Huang, Yongdong; Li, Qiang; Zhang, Rongyue; Zhu, Kai; Suo, Jia; Su, Zhiguo; Zhang, Zhigang; Ma, Guanghui

    2016-03-01

    Novel high-capacity Ni(2+) immobilized metal ion affinity chromatographic media were prepared through the dextran-grafting process. Dextran was grafted to an allyl-activated agarose-based matrix followed by functionalization for the immobilized metal ion affinity chromatographic media. With elaborate regulation of the allylation degree, dextran was completely or partly grafted to agarose microspheres, namely, completely dextran-grafted agarose microspheres and partly dextran-grafted ones, respectively. Confocal laser scanning microscope results demonstrated that a good adjustment of dextran-grafting degree was achieved, and dextran was distributed uniformly in whole completely dextran-grafted microspheres, while just distributed around the outside of the partly dextran-grafted ones. Flow hydrodynamic properties were improved greatly after the dextran-grafting process, and the flow velocity increased by about 30% compared with that of a commercial chromatographic medium (Ni Sepharose FF). A significant improvement of protein binding performance was also achieved by the dextran-grafting process, and partly dextran-grafted Ni(2+) chelating medium had a maximum binding capacity for His-tagged lactate dehydrogenase about 2.5 times higher than that of Ni Sepharose FF. The results indicated that this novel chromatographic medium is promising for applications in high-efficiency and large-scale protein purification. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  19. A framework for self-assessment of capacity needs in land administration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Enemark, Stig; van der Molen, Paul

    2006-01-01

    This paper is facing the widely stated problem of poor institutional capacity of land administration agencies in many developing and transition countries. Responding to this problem has not been simple. The challenges of building capacity in land administration are immense and not similar to just...... human resource development. Capacity building addresses the broader concept of the ability of organisations and individuals to perform functions effectively, efficiently and sustainable. The guidelines presented in this paper address the ability/capacity of land administration systems at the societal...... processes; to needed human resources and training programs. For each step the capacity of the system can be assessed and possible or needed improvement can be identified. The guidelines aim to function as a basis for in-country self-assessment of the capacity needs in land administration. The government may...

  20. Achieving High Reliability with People, Processes, and Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunders, Candice L; Brennan, John A

    2017-01-01

    High reliability as a corporate value in healthcare can be achieved by meeting the "Quadruple Aim" of improving population health, reducing per capita costs, enhancing the patient experience, and improving provider wellness. This drive starts with the board of trustees, CEO, and other senior leaders who ingrain high reliability throughout the organization. At WellStar Health System, the board developed an ambitious goal to become a top-decile health system in safety and quality metrics. To achieve this goal, WellStar has embarked on a journey toward high reliability and has committed to Lean management practices consistent with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's definition of a high-reliability organization (HRO): one that is committed to the prevention of failure, early identification and mitigation of failure, and redesign of processes based on identifiable failures. In the end, a successful HRO can provide safe, effective, patient- and family-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable care through a convergence of people, processes, and technology.

  1. An Efficient Back-off Mechanism for Simulation Study of VoWLAN Capacity Improvement using OPNET

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmed M. ABDEL NABI; Mohamed R. M. RIZK; Mohamed. S. IBRAHIM; Emad Eldin A. MAZIED

    2014-01-01

    Integration of delivering VoIP services over WLAN access networks (VoWLAN) increased the demand to support multiple of active simultaneous calls. Thus improving VoWLAN capacity has been addressed. The researchers are continuously contributing in improving VoWLAN capacity, (i.e. increasing the number of VoIP simultaneous calls), for various WLAN architectures. Although a lot of modifications have been developed for IEEE 802.11 standards toward improving its performance with real-time applicati...

  2. SiC for more efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilming, Wilhelm

    2013-07-01

    In the past, inverter manufacturers have succeeded in improving the degree of efficiency of their devices. However, the power electronics used until now, with the silicon-based electronic switches, are increasingly reaching the limits of their physical capacity. The semiconductor silicon carbide could push these limits further upwards, enabling degrees of efficiency of over 99 % to become the standard. (orig.)

  3. Energy efficiency and reliability solutions for rail operations and facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-01

    The objectives of the study included examining energy consumption of : the facilities comprising the three major rail yards on the New Haven Rail Line as : well as platform stations and identifying energy efficiency and cost savings : opportunities f...

  4. Estimating aquifer transmissivity from specific capacity using MATLAB.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLin, Stephen G

    2005-01-01

    Historically, specific capacity information has been used to calculate aquifer transmissivity when pumping test data are unavailable. This paper presents a simple computer program written in the MATLAB programming language that estimates transmissivity from specific capacity data while correcting for aquifer partial penetration and well efficiency. The program graphically plots transmissivity as a function of these factors so that the user can visually estimate their relative importance in a particular application. The program is compatible with any computer operating system running MATLAB, including Windows, Macintosh OS, Linux, and Unix. Two simple examples illustrate program usage.

  5. Reliable Rescue Routing Optimization for Urban Emergency Logistics under Travel Time Uncertainty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiuping Li

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The reliability of rescue routes is critical for urban emergency logistics during disasters. However, studies on reliable rescue routing under stochastic networks are still rare. This paper proposes a multiobjective rescue routing model for urban emergency logistics under travel time reliability. A hybrid metaheuristic integrating ant colony optimization (ACO and tabu search (TS was designed to solve the model. An experiment optimizing rescue routing plans under a real urban storm event, was carried out to validate the proposed model. The experimental results showed how our approach can improve rescue efficiency with high travel time reliability.

  6. Reliability in individual monitoring service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mod Ali, N

    2011-03-01

    As a laboratory certified to ISO 9001:2008 and accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, the Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory (SSDL)-Nuclear Malaysia has incorporated an overall comprehensive system for technical and quality management in promoting a reliable individual monitoring service (IMS). Faster identification and resolution of issues regarding dosemeter preparation and issuing of reports, personnel enhancement, improved customer satisfaction and overall efficiency of laboratory activities are all results of the implementation of an effective quality system. Review of these measures and responses to observed trends provide continuous improvement of the system. By having these mechanisms, reliability of the IMS can be assured in the promotion of safe behaviour at all levels of the workforce utilising ionising radiation facilities. Upgradation of in the reporting program through a web-based e-SSDL marks a major improvement in Nuclear Malaysia's IMS reliability on the whole. The system is a vital step in providing a user friendly and effective occupational exposure evaluation program in the country. It provides a higher level of confidence in the results generated for occupational dose monitoring of the IMS, thus, enhances the status of the radiation protection framework of the country.

  7. RISK LEVEL ANALYSIS ON THE PREVENTIVE EROSION CAPACITY OF BRIDGES

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    无

    2002-01-01

    Deficiency of the Preventive Erosion Capacity (PEC) of a bridge pier is the main factor leading to bridge failures. In this paper, the PEC of bridge piers was analyzed using the stochastic analysis method. The definitions of the reliability and risk level of a bridge pier subjected to water erosion were proposed and a computational model for erosion depth and risk level in was suggested.

  8. Approximation of reliability of direct genomic breeding values

    Science.gov (United States)

    Two methods to efficiently approximate theoretical genomic reliabilities are presented. The first method is based on the direct inverse of the left hand side (LHS) of mixed model equations. It uses the genomic relationship matrix for a small subset of individuals with the highest genomic relationshi...

  9. Amine-Functionalized Amino Acid-based Ionic Liquids as Efficient and High-Capacity Absorbents for CO2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shunmugavel, Saravanamurugan; Kunov-Kruse, Andreas Jonas; Fehrmann, Rasmus

    2014-01-01

    Ionic liquids (ILs) comprised of ammonium cations and anions of naturally occurring amino acids containing an additional amine group (e.g., lysine, histidine, asparagine, and glutamine) were examined as high-capacity absorbents for CO2. An absorption capacity of 2.1 mol CO2 per mol of IL (3.5 mol...

  10. Systems reliability/structural reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, A.E.

    1980-01-01

    The question of reliability technology using quantified techniques is considered for systems and structures. Systems reliability analysis has progressed to a viable and proven methodology whereas this has yet to be fully achieved for large scale structures. Structural loading variants over the half-time of the plant are considered to be more difficult to analyse than for systems, even though a relatively crude model may be a necessary starting point. Various reliability characteristics and environmental conditions are considered which enter this problem. The rare event situation is briefly mentioned together with aspects of proof testing and normal and upset loading conditions. (orig.)

  11. Improvement of the reliability on nondestructive inspection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Sung Jin; Kim, Young H.; Lee, Hyang Beom; Shin, Young Kil; Jung, Hyun Jo; Park, Ik Keun; Park, Eun Soo

    2002-03-01

    Retaining reliabilities of nondestructive testing is essential for the life-time maintenance of Nuclear Power Plant. The nondestructive testing methods which are frequently used in the Nuclear Power Plant are eddy current testing for the inspection of steam generator tubes and ultrasonic testing for the inspection of weldments. In order to improve reliabilities of ultrasonic testing and eddy current testing, the subjects carried out in this study are as follows : development of BEM analysis technique for ECT of SG tube, development of neural network technique for the intelligent analysis of ECT flaw signals of SG tubes, development of RFECT technology for the inspection of SG tube, FEM analysis of ultrasonic scattering field, evaluation of statistical reliability of PD-RR test of ultrasonic testing and development of multi-Gaussian beam modeling technique to predict accurate signal of signal beam ultrasonic testing with the efficiency in calculation time

  12. Improvement of the reliability on nondestructive inspection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Song, Sung Jin; Kim, Young H. [Sungkyunkwan Univ., Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hyang Beom [Soongsil Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Young Kil [Kunsan National Univ., Gunsan (Korea, Republic of); Jung, Hyun Jo [Wonkwang Univ., Iksan (Korea, Republic of); Park, Ik Keun; Park, Eun Soo [Seoul Nationl Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2002-03-15

    Retaining reliabilities of nondestructive testing is essential for the life-time maintenance of Nuclear Power Plant. The nondestructive testing methods which are frequently used in the Nuclear Power Plant are eddy current testing for the inspection of steam generator tubes and ultrasonic testing for the inspection of weldments. In order to improve reliabilities of ultrasonic testing and eddy current testing, the subjects carried out in this study are as follows : development of BEM analysis technique for ECT of SG tube, development of neural network technique for the intelligent analysis of ECT flaw signals of SG tubes, development of RFECT technology for the inspection of SG tube, FEM analysis of ultrasonic scattering field, evaluation of statistical reliability of PD-RR test of ultrasonic testing and development of multi-Gaussian beam modeling technique to predict accurate signal of signal beam ultrasonic testing with the efficiency in calculation time.

  13. Comparing Resource Adequacy Metrics and Their Influence on Capacity Value: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ibanez, E.; Milligan, M.

    2014-04-01

    Traditional probabilistic methods have been used to evaluate resource adequacy. The increasing presence of variable renewable generation in power systems presents a challenge to these methods because, unlike thermal units, variable renewable generation levels change over time because they are driven by meteorological events. Thus, capacity value calculations for these resources are often performed to simple rules of thumb. This paper follows the recommendations of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation?s Integration of Variable Generation Task Force to include variable generation in the calculation of resource adequacy and compares different reliability metrics. Examples are provided using the Western Interconnection footprint under different variable generation penetrations.

  14. Reliability Engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Sang Yong

    1992-07-01

    This book is about reliability engineering, which describes definition and importance of reliability, development of reliability engineering, failure rate and failure probability density function about types of it, CFR and index distribution, IFR and normal distribution and Weibull distribution, maintainability and movability, reliability test and reliability assumption in index distribution type, normal distribution type and Weibull distribution type, reliability sampling test, reliability of system, design of reliability and functionality failure analysis by FTA.

  15. Mitochondrial Spare Respiratory Capacity Is Negatively Correlated with Nuclear Reprogramming Efficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yan, Zhou; Al-Saaidi, Rasha Abdelkadhem; Fernandez Guerra, Paula

    2017-01-01

    Nuclear reprogramming efficiency has been shown to be highly variable among different types of somatic cells and different individuals, yet the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Several studies have shown that reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced pluripotent stem cells (i......, opposed to fibroblasts with the highest mitochondrial SRC, which showed lowest reprogramming efficiency. Furthermore, we found that targeted fluorescent tagging of endogenous genes (MYH6 and COL2A1) by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous recombination was accompanied by an increase in the SRC level...

  16. Mitochondrial Spare Respiratory Capacity Is Negatively Correlated With Nuclear Reprogramming Efficiency

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Yan; Al-Saaidi, Rasha Abdelkadhem; Guerra, Paula Fernandez

    2017-01-01

    Nuclear reprogramming efficiency has been shown to be highly variable among different types of somatic cells and different individuals, yet the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Several studies have shown that reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced pluripotent stem cells (i......, opposed to fibroblasts with the highest mitochondrial SRC, which showed lowest reprogramming efficiency. Furthermore, we found that targeted fluorescent tagging of endogenous genes (MYH6 and COL2A1) by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated homologous recombination was accompanied by an increase in the SRC level...

  17. High capacity getter pump for UHV operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manini, P.; Marino, M.; Belloni, F.; Porro, M.

    1993-01-01

    UHV pumps based on non-evaporable getter coated strips find widespread use in particle accelerators, synchrotron radiation machines and nuclear fusion experimental devices. Depending on the geometric constraints, pressure operation conditions and the foreseen gas loads, optimized getter structures, such as modules and cartridges, can be designed and assembled into a high-efficiency pump. In the present paper, the design and performance of a newly conceived High Capacity Getter Pump (HCGP) based on sintered getter bodies, in the shape of blades instead of strips, is illustrated. The porosity and the specific surface area of the blades and their arrangement in the cartridge have been optimized to significantly increase sorption capacity at a given speed. These pumps are well suited for those applications where a very high gas load is expected during the machine operation. The sintered getter bodies increase surface area and capacity, requiring less frequent reactivation and facilitating greater overall life of the pump. A discussion of the experimental results in terms of sorption speed and capacity for various gases is presented

  18. Rocky Mountain Regional CO{sub 2} Storage Capacity and Significance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Laes, Denise; Eisinger, Chris; Esser, Richard; Morgan, Craig; Rauzi, Steve; Scholle, Dana; Matthews, Vince; McPherson, Brian

    2013-08-30

    The purpose of this study includes extensive characterization of the most promising geologic CO{sub 2} storage formations on the Colorado Plateau, including estimates of maximum possible storage capacity. The primary targets of characterization and capacity analysis include the Cretaceous Dakota Formation, the Jurassic Entrada Formation and the Permian Weber Formation and their equivalents in the Colorado Plateau region. The total CO{sub 2} capacity estimates for the deep saline formations of the Colorado Plateau region range between 9.8 metric GT and 143 metric GT, depending on assumed storage efficiency, formations included, and other factors.

  19. Ob/ob mouse livers show decreased oxidative phosphorylation efficiencies and anaerobic capacities after cold ischemia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael J J Chu

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Hepatic steatosis is a major risk factor for graft failure in liver transplantation. Hepatic steatosis shows a greater negative influence on graft function following prolonged cold ischaemia. As the impact of steatosis on hepatocyte metabolism during extended cold ischaemia is not well-described, we compared markers of metabolic capacity and mitochondrial function in steatotic and lean livers following clinically relevant durations of cold preservation. METHODS: Livers from 10-week old leptin-deficient obese (ob/ob, n = 9 and lean C57 mice (n = 9 were preserved in ice-cold University of Wisconsin solution. Liver mitochondrial function was then assessed using high resolution respirometry after 1.5, 3, 5, 8, 12, 16 and 24 hours of storage. Metabolic marker enzymes for anaerobiosis and mitochondrial mass were also measured in conjunction with non-bicarbonate tissue pH buffering capacity. RESULTS: Ob/ob and lean mice livers showed severe (>60% macrovesicular and mild (<30% microvesicular steatosis on Oil Red O staining, respectively. Ob/ob livers had lower baseline enzymatic complex I activity but similar adenosine triphosphate (ATP levels compared to lean livers. During cold storage, the respiratory control ratio and complex I-fueled phosphorylation deteriorated approximately twice as fast in ob/ob livers compared to lean livers. Ob/ob livers also demonstrated decreased ATP production capacities at all time-points analyzed compared to lean livers. Ob/ob liver baseline lactate dehydrogenase activities and intrinsic non-bicarbonate buffering capacities were depressed by 60% and 40%, respectively compared to lean livers. CONCLUSIONS: Steatotic livers have impaired baseline aerobic and anaerobic capacities compared to lean livers, and mitochondrial function indices decrease particularly from after 5 hours of cold preservation. These data provide a mechanistic basis for the clinical recommendation of shorter cold storage durations in

  20. Assessment of Stochastic Capacity Consumption in Railway Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Lars Wittrup; Landex, Alex; Nielsen, Otto Anker

    2015-01-01

    The railway industry continuously strive to reduce cost and utilise resources optimally. Thus, there is a demand for tools that are able to fast and efficiently provide decision-makers with solutions that can help them achieve their goals. In strategic planning of capacity, this translates...

  1. Iteration particle swarm optimization for contract capacities selection of time-of-use rates industrial customers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Tsung-Ying; Chen, Chun-Lung

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents a new algorithm for solving the optimal contract capacities of a time-of-use (TOU) rates industrial customer. This algorithm is named iteration particle swarm optimization (IPSO). A new index, called iteration best is incorporated into particle swarm optimization (PSO) to improve solution quality and computation efficiency. Expanding line construction cost and contract recovery cost are considered, as well as demand contract capacity cost and penalty bill, in the selection of the optimal contract capacities. The resulting optimal contract capacity effectively reaches the minimum electricity charge of TOU rates users. A significant reduction in electricity costs is observed. The effects of expanding line construction cost and contract recovery cost on the selection of optimal contract capacities can also be estimated. The feasibility of the new algorithm is demonstrated by a numerical example, and the IPSO solution quality and computation efficiency are compared to those of other algorithms

  2. New advances in wet scrubbing improvement efficiencies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keen, A.R. [Altech Group, Toronto, ON (Canada)

    2000-07-01

    Wet scrubbing systems are the most versatile and cost efficient of all air pollution abatement technologies. This paper presented System REITHER{sup TM} which is a new generation of venturi scrubber. The advantages of this design are that it is simple and compact, has high removal efficiencies for sub-micron dusts or aerosols and it is flexible to handle any mass flow rate. It also provides high and constant reliability, is easy to control and has the potential to absorb gaseous pollutants. Another advantage is that it can handle corrosive streams through corrosion resistant materials. Innovations in wet scrubbing have made it possible to provide reliable and efficient separation of fine particles, corrosive aerosols and gases. New technology provides industrial engineers with a cost effective option when control air emissions is required. 1 fig.

  3. High-reliability, 4. pi. -scan, leakage-x-ray dosimeter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaneko, T; Iida, H; Yoshida, T; Sugimoto, H [Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co. Ltd., Kawasaki, Kanagawa (Japan). Tamagawa Works

    1978-04-01

    A world-wide movement is growing for the protection of living bodies against leakage radiations. In Japan, detailed regulations have been established for the enforcement of the law in regard to this problem. The substances of the measurement provided in the regulations are extremely diversified, much affecting the reliability and the economic efficiency of the equipment. Now a new 4..pi..-scan X-ray dosimeter with high reliability has been developed and proved to effect qualitative improvement of measurement as well as elevation of productivity.

  4. Computational intelligence methods for the efficient reliability analysis of complex flood defence structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kingston, Greer B.; Rajabali Nejad, Mohammadreza; Gouldby, Ben P.; van Gelder, Pieter H.A.J.M.

    2011-01-01

    With the continual rise of sea levels and deterioration of flood defence structures over time, it is no longer appropriate to define a design level of flood protection, but rather, it is necessary to estimate the reliability of flood defences under varying and uncertain conditions. For complex

  5. Statistically-Based Comparison of the Removal Efficiencies and Resilience Capacities between Conventional and Natural Wastewater Treatment Systems: A Peak Load Scenario

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Long Ho

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Emerging global threats, such as climate change, urbanization and water depletion, are driving forces for finding a feasible substitute for low cost-effective conventional activated sludge (AS technology. On the other hand, given their low cost and easy operation, nature-based systems such as constructed wetlands (CWs and waste stabilization ponds (WSPs appear to be viable options. To examine these systems, a 210-day experiment with 31 days of peak load scenario was performed. Particularly, we conducted a deliberate strategy of experimentation, which includes applying a preliminary study, preliminary models, hypothetical tests and power analysis to compare their removal efficiencies and resilience capacities. In contrast to comparable high removal efficiencies of organic matter—around 90%—both natural systems showed moderate nutrient removal efficiencies, which inferred the necessity for further treatment to ensure their compliance with environmental standards. During the peak period, the pond treatment systems appeared to be the most robust as they indicated a higher strength to withstanding the organic matter and nitrogen shock load and were able to recover within a short period. However, high demand of land—2.5 times larger than that of AS—is a major concern of the applicability of WSPs despite their lower operation and maintenance (O&M costs. It is also worth noting that initial efforts on systematic experimentation appeared to have an essential impact on ensuring statistically and practically meaningful results in this comparison study.

  6. Increasing Capacity of Intersections with Transit Priority

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanxi Hao

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Dedicated bus lane (DBL and transit signal priority (TSP are two effective and low-cost ways of improving the reliability of transits. However, these strategies reduce the capacity of general traffic. This paper presents an integrated optimization (IO model to improve the performance of intersections with dedicated bus lanes. The IO model integrated geometry layout, main-signal timing, pre-signal timing and transit priority. The optimization problem is formulated as a Mix-Integer-Non-Linear-Program (MINLP that can be transformed into a Mix-Integer-Linear-Program (MILP and then solved by the standard branch-and-bound technique. The applicability of the IO model is tested through numerical experiment under different intersection layouts and traffic demands. A VISSIM micro simulation model was developed and used to evaluate the performance of the proposed IO model. The test results indicate that the proposed model can increase the capacity and reduce the delay of general traffic when providing priority to buses.

  7. Reliability and energy efficiency of zero energy homes (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhere, Neelkanth G.

    2016-09-01

    Photovoltaic (PV) modules and systems are being installed increasingly on residential homes to increase the proportion of renewable energy in the energy mix. The ultimate goal is to attain sustainability without subsidy. The prices of PV modules and systems have declined substantially during the recent years. They will be reduced further to reach grid parity. Additionally the total consumed energy must be reduced by making the homes more energy efficient. FSEC/UCF Researchers have carried out research on development of PV cells and systems and on reducing the energy consumption in homes and by small businesses. Additionally, they have provided guidance on PV module and system installation and to make the homes energy efficient. The produced energy is fed into the utility grid and the consumed energy is obtained from the utility grid, thus the grid is assisting in the storage. Currently the State of Florida permits net metering leading to equal charge for the produced and consumed electricity. This paper describes the installation of 5.29 KW crystalline silicon PV system on a south-facing tilt at approximately latitude tilt on a single-story, three-bedroom house. It also describes the computer program on Building Energy Efficiency and the processes that were employed for reducing the energy consumption of the house by improving the insulation, air circulation and windows, etc. Finally it describes actual consumption and production of electricity and the installation of additional crystalline silicon PV modules and balance of system to make it a zero energy home.

  8. High efficiency, variable geometry, centrifugal cryogenic pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forsha, M.D.; Nichols, K.E.; Beale, C.A.

    1994-01-01

    A centrifugal cryogenic pump has been developed which has a basic design that is rugged and reliable with variable speed and variable geometry features that achieve high pump efficiency over a wide range of head-flow conditions. The pump uses a sealless design and rolling element bearings to achieve high reliability and the ruggedness to withstand liquid-vapor slugging. The pump can meet a wide range of variable head, off-design flow requirements and maintain design point efficiency by adjusting the pump speed. The pump also has features that allow the impeller and diffuser blade heights to be adjusted. The adjustable height blades were intended to enhance the pump efficiency when it is operating at constant head, off-design flow rates. For small pumps, the adjustable height blades are not recommended. For larger pumps, they could provide off-design efficiency improvements. This pump was developed for supercritical helium service, but the design is well suited to any cryogenic application where high efficiency is required over a wide range of head-flow conditions

  9. Reliability

    OpenAIRE

    Condon, David; Revelle, William

    2017-01-01

    Separating the signal in a test from the irrelevant noise is a challenge for all measurement. Low test reliability limits test validity, attenuates important relationships, and can lead to regression artifacts. Multiple approaches to the assessment and improvement of reliability are discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of several different approaches to reliability are considered. Practical advice on how to assess reliability using open source software is provided.

  10. Reliable Geographical Forwarding in Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks Using Virtual Clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zubair, Suleiman; Fisal, Norsheila

    2014-01-01

    The need for implementing reliable data transfer in resource-constrained cognitive radio ad hoc networks is still an open issue in the research community. Although geographical forwarding schemes are characterized by their low overhead and efficiency in reliable data transfer in traditional wireless sensor network, this potential is still yet to be utilized for viable routing options in resource-constrained cognitive radio ad hoc networks in the presence of lossy links. In this paper, a novel geographical forwarding technique that does not restrict the choice of the next hop to the nodes in the selected route is presented. This is achieved by the creation of virtual clusters based on spectrum correlation from which the next hop choice is made based on link quality. The design maximizes the use of idle listening and receiver contention prioritization for energy efficiency, the avoidance of routing hot spots and stability. The validation result, which closely follows the simulation result, shows that the developed scheme can make more advancement to the sink as against the usual decisions of relevant ad hoc on-demand distance vector route select operations, while ensuring channel quality. Further simulation results have shown the enhanced reliability, lower latency and energy efficiency of the presented scheme. PMID:24854362

  11. Reliable Geographical Forwarding in Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks Using Virtual Clusters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suleiman Zubair

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The need for implementing reliable data transfer in resource-constrained cognitive radio ad hoc networks is still an open issue in the research community. Although geographical forwarding schemes are characterized by their low overhead and efficiency in reliable data transfer in traditional wireless sensor network, this potential is still yet to be utilized for viable routing options in resource-constrained cognitive radio ad hoc networks in the presence of lossy links. In this paper, a novel geographical forwarding technique that does not restrict the choice of the next hop to the nodes in the selected route is presented. This is achieved by the creation of virtual clusters based on spectrum correlation from which the next hop choice is made based on link quality. The design maximizes the use of idle listening and receiver contention prioritization for energy efficiency, the avoidance of routing hot spots and stability. The validation result, which closely follows the simulation result, shows that the developed scheme can make more advancement to the sink as against the usual decisions of relevant ad hoc on-demand distance vector route select operations, while ensuring channel quality. Further simulation results have shown the enhanced reliability, lower latency and energy efficiency of the presented scheme.

  12. More efficient optimization of long-term water supply portfolios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirsch, Brian R.; Characklis, Gregory W.; Dillard, Karen E. M.; Kelley, C. T.

    2009-03-01

    The use of temporary transfers, such as options and leases, has grown as utilities attempt to meet increases in demand while reducing dependence on the expansion of costly infrastructure capacity (e.g., reservoirs). Earlier work has been done to construct optimal portfolios comprising firm capacity and transfers, using decision rules that determine the timing and volume of transfers. However, such work has only focused on the short-term (e.g., 1-year scenarios), which limits the utility of these planning efforts. Developing multiyear portfolios can lead to the exploration of a wider range of alternatives but also increases the computational burden. This work utilizes a coupled hydrologic-economic model to simulate the long-term performance of a city's water supply portfolio. This stochastic model is linked with an optimization search algorithm that is designed to handle the high-frequency, low-amplitude noise inherent in many simulations, particularly those involving expected values. This noise is detrimental to the accuracy and precision of the optimized solution and has traditionally been controlled by investing greater computational effort in the simulation. However, the increased computational effort can be substantial. This work describes the integration of a variance reduction technique (control variate method) within the simulation/optimization as a means of more efficiently identifying minimum cost portfolios. Random variation in model output (i.e., noise) is moderated using knowledge of random variations in stochastic input variables (e.g., reservoir inflows, demand), thereby reducing the computing time by 50% or more. Using these efficiency gains, water supply portfolios are evaluated over a 10-year period in order to assess their ability to reduce costs and adapt to demand growth, while still meeting reliability goals. As a part of the evaluation, several multiyear option contract structures are explored and compared.

  13. Modifying nodal pricing method considering market participants optimality and reliability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. R. Soofiabadi

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper develops a method for nodal pricing and market clearing mechanism considering reliability of the system. The effects of components reliability on electricity price, market participants’ profit and system social welfare is considered. This paper considers reliability both for evaluation of market participant’s optimality as well as for fair pricing and market clearing mechanism. To achieve fair pricing, nodal price has been obtained through a two stage optimization problem and to achieve fair market clearing mechanism, comprehensive criteria has been introduced for optimality evaluation of market participant. Social welfare of the system and system efficiency are increased under proposed modified nodal pricing method.

  14. The effect of loss functions on empirical Bayes reliability analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincent A. R. Camara

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study is to investigate the sensitivity of empirical Bayes estimates of the reliability function with respect to changing of the loss function. In addition to applying some of the basic analytical results on empirical Bayes reliability obtained with the use of the “popular” squared error loss function, we shall derive some expressions corresponding to empirical Bayes reliability estimates obtained with the Higgins–Tsokos, the Harris and our proposed logarithmic loss functions. The concept of efficiency, along with the notion of integrated mean square error, will be used as a criterion to numerically compare our results.

  15. Design for reliability in power electronics in renewable energy systems – status and future

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Huai; Blaabjerg, Frede; Ma, Ke

    2013-01-01

    Advances in power electronics enable efficient and flexible interconnection of renewable sources, loads and electric grids. While targets concerning efficiency of power converters are within reach, recent research endeavors to predict and improve their reliability to ensure high availability, low...... maintenance costs, and herefore, low Levelized-Cost-of-Energy (LCOE) of renewable energy systems. This paper presents the prior-art Design for Reliability (DFR) process for power converters and addresses the paradigm shift to Physics-of-Failure (PoF) approach and mission profile based analysis. Moreover...

  16. Structural reliability analysis based on the cokriging technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Wei; Wang Wei; Dai Hongzhe; Xue Guofeng

    2010-01-01

    Approximation methods are widely used in structural reliability analysis because they are simple to create and provide explicit functional relationships between the responses and variables in stead of the implicit limit state function. Recently, the kriging method which is a semi-parameter interpolation technique that can be used for deterministic optimization and structural reliability has gained popularity. However, to fully exploit the kriging method, especially in high-dimensional problems, a large number of sample points should be generated to fill the design space and this can be very expensive and even impractical in practical engineering analysis. Therefore, in this paper, a new method-the cokriging method, which is an extension of kriging, is proposed to calculate the structural reliability. cokriging approximation incorporates secondary information such as the values of the gradients of the function being approximated. This paper explores the use of the cokriging method for structural reliability problems by comparing it with the Kriging method based on some numerical examples. The results indicate that the cokriging procedure described in this work can generate approximation models to improve on the accuracy and efficiency for structural reliability problems and is a viable alternative to the kriging.

  17. Reliability Evaluation for Clustered WSNs under Malware Propagation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Shigen; Huang, Longjun; Liu, Jianhua; Champion, Adam C.; Yu, Shui; Cao, Qiying

    2016-01-01

    We consider a clustered wireless sensor network (WSN) under epidemic-malware propagation conditions and solve the problem of how to evaluate its reliability so as to ensure efficient, continuous, and dependable transmission of sensed data from sensor nodes to the sink. Facing the contradiction between malware intention and continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) randomness, we introduce a strategic game that can predict malware infection in order to model a successful infection as a CTMC state transition. Next, we devise a novel measure to compute the Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) of a sensor node, which represents the reliability of a sensor node continuously performing tasks such as sensing, transmitting, and fusing data. Since clustered WSNs can be regarded as parallel-serial-parallel systems, the reliability of a clustered WSN can be evaluated via classical reliability theory. Numerical results show the influence of parameters such as the true positive rate and the false positive rate on a sensor node’s MTTF. Furthermore, we validate the method of reliability evaluation for a clustered WSN according to the number of sensor nodes in a cluster, the number of clusters in a route, and the number of routes in the WSN. PMID:27294934

  18. Reliability Evaluation for Clustered WSNs under Malware Propagation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Shigen; Huang, Longjun; Liu, Jianhua; Champion, Adam C; Yu, Shui; Cao, Qiying

    2016-06-10

    We consider a clustered wireless sensor network (WSN) under epidemic-malware propagation conditions and solve the problem of how to evaluate its reliability so as to ensure efficient, continuous, and dependable transmission of sensed data from sensor nodes to the sink. Facing the contradiction between malware intention and continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) randomness, we introduce a strategic game that can predict malware infection in order to model a successful infection as a CTMC state transition. Next, we devise a novel measure to compute the Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) of a sensor node, which represents the reliability of a sensor node continuously performing tasks such as sensing, transmitting, and fusing data. Since clustered WSNs can be regarded as parallel-serial-parallel systems, the reliability of a clustered WSN can be evaluated via classical reliability theory. Numerical results show the influence of parameters such as the true positive rate and the false positive rate on a sensor node's MTTF. Furthermore, we validate the method of reliability evaluation for a clustered WSN according to the number of sensor nodes in a cluster, the number of clusters in a route, and the number of routes in the WSN.

  19. Architectural Techniques to Enable Reliable and Scalable Memory Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Nair, Prashant J.

    2017-01-01

    High capacity and scalable memory systems play a vital role in enabling our desktops, smartphones, and pervasive technologies like Internet of Things (IoT). Unfortunately, memory systems are becoming increasingly prone to faults. This is because we rely on technology scaling to improve memory density, and at small feature sizes, memory cells tend to break easily. Today, memory reliability is seen as the key impediment towards using high-density devices, adopting new technologies, and even bui...

  20. Developing the Observatory Test of Capacity, Performance, and Developmental Disregard (OTCPDD for Children with Cerebral Palsy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuan-Chun Liu

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument, named the Observatory Test of Capacity, Performance, and Developmental Disregard (OTCPDD, for measuring the amount and quality of use of affected upper limb functions in the daily routines of children with CP.Forty-eight participants (24 children with CP and 24 matched typically developing children were recruited. The OTCPDD was administered twice (the spontaneous use condition first, followed by the forced use condition on children with CP. Their parents were asked to complete the Pediatric Motor Activity Log-Revised (PMAL-R. The internal consistency, the intrarater and interrater reliabilities, and the convergent and discriminate validities were measured.The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha and the intrarater and interrater reliabilities were higher than 0.9 for all of the OTCPDD scores. The convergent validity was confirmed by significant correlations between the OTCPDD and the PMAL-R. For the discriminant validity, significant differences (p<0.05 were found between children with CP and typically developing children.The results support that the OTCPDD is a reliable and valid observation-based assessment. The OTCPDD, which uses bimanual daily living activities, is able to represent the children's general affected hand functions (including capacity, performance, and developmental disregard in their daily routines.

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