A new method for measurement of sludge blanket height (SBH) based on image analysis is presented. The proposed method uses a histogram back-projection algorithm to distinguish between the settling sludge and supernatant and can be used with sludge possessing different coloring characteristics both in the sludge color and the color of supernatant produced. Individual pixels in the acquired image are compared with a histogram of a representative sludge region. Therefore, the proposed method relies neither on the assumed shape of light intensity profile nor on the dominant sludge or supernatant color. Batch sedimentation tests are presented for different initial sludge concentrations and different background colors to simulate different sludge characteristics. Parameters of a settling velocity function are estimated based on the obtained results. Additionally, an algorithm is proposed that enables the zone settling velocity (ZSV) to be estimated before the batch sedimentation test is completed.
Is the world’s power engineering at a crossroads? Will ongoing climate changes and rise of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Smart City or e-mobility give us a completely different perspective on the world’s future energy? What are our actual visions and development forecasts in this matter? Who is right concerning this matter, large energy companies and some politicians, environmentalists, climate researchers and all kinds of visionaries? Is transformation based on solar energy and hydrogen a holy grail for the energy sector? The author of this article tries to find answers to these and many other questions. Today we can already accept as a proven thesis that rapid and dangerous climate changes for our civilisation can also be attributed to high carbon and low-efficient power engineering. Power engineering and climate neutrality are no longer just problems for politicians, companies, and scientists, but have become a challenge for our civilisation. If we are to save the Earth, our civilisation has to change its mentality and develop ideas that will not prioritise economic growth and high consumption but sustainable growth in harmony with nature. For this to happen, the way people think about energy and global transformation must also change. The foregoing general remarks, but also the fact that a gradual transition from traditional large-scale fossil fuel-based energy generation to distributed energy generation based on renewable resources is inevitable, constitute the main message of this article. The article also aims to discuss the role of the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IMP PAN) in Gdańsk in the process of energy transformation in our country. The institute, as the coordinating entity of over a dozen of high-budgeted national and European projects in the field of environmentally-friendly power engineering, has contributed to some extent to the creation of conditions required for the development of prosumer power engineering (or more broadly: civic power engineering) in our country.
This work attempts to use nitrogen gas as a shielding gas at the cutting zone, as well as for cooling purposes while machining stainless steel 304 (SS304) grade by Computer Numerical Control (CNC) lathe. The major influencing parameters of speed, feed and depth of cut were selected for experimentation with three levels each. Totally 27 experiments were conducted for dry cutting and N2 gaseous conditions. The major influencing parameters are optimized using Taguchi and Firefly Algorithm (FA). The improvement in obtaining better surface roughness and Material Removal Rate (MRR) is significant and the confirmation results revealed that the deviation of the experimental results from the empirical model is found to be within 5%. A significant improvement of reduction of the specific cutting energy by 2.57 % on average was achieved due to the reduction of friction at the cutting zone by nitrogen gas in CNC turning of SS 304 alloy.
Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have achieved huge popularity in solving problems in image analysis and in text recognition. In this work, we assess the effectiveness of CNN-based architectures where a network is trained in recognizing handwritten characters based on Latin script. European languages such as Dutch, French, German, etc., use different variants of the Latin script, so in the conducted research, the Latin alphabet was extended by certain characters with diacritics used in Polish language. To evaluate the recognition results under the same conditions, a handwritten Latin dataset was also developed. The proposed CNN architecture produced an accuracy of 96% for the extended character set. This is comparable to state-of-the-art results found in the domain of identifying handwritten characters. The presented approach extends the usage of CNN-based recognition to different variants of the Latin characters and shows it can be successfully used for a set of languages based on that script. It seems to be an effective technique for a set of languages written using the Latin script.
The effectiveness of lightning protection on the power and distribution grid is a significant factor, which influences the power distribution reliability and the failure rate of system elements. As part of this article, a mathematical model will be presented, taking into account selected parameters that affect the assessment of the lightning hazard of an overhead line. The proposed model will consider the location of the object near the line and the adjustment of line conductor overhangs. Moreover, the mentioned mathematical model allows for analyzing the impact of considered parameters on the protection level of the power system, and transient overvoltages that occur in this system. The article contains also a detailed description of an effective and fast method to assess the lightning discharge impact on the power system with insufficient data. The introduced model was tested to verify the correctness of its operation by comparison of calculation results and functional data. High convergence of calculated and functional data and uncomplicated model structure ensure a wide range of applications for the proposed solution to easily prevent emergency situations in the power system. Furthermore, the described model gives the opportunity to assess the reduction of the range of selectivity zone associated with the power line, in conjunction with the impact of constructional peculiarities and a near object.
The paper presents a multi-phase doubly fed induction machine operating as a DC voltage generator. The machine consists of a six-phase stator circuit and a three-phase rotor circuit. Two three-phase six-pulse diode rectifiers are connected to each three-phase machine section on the stator side and in parallel to the common DC circuit feeding the isolated load. The same DC bus is also common for the rotor side power electronics converter responsible for machine control. Two methods – direct torque control DTC and field oriented control FOC – were implemented for machine control and compared by means of simulation tests. Field oriented control was implemented in the laboratory test bench.
Short-circuit analysis is conducted based on the nodal impedance matrix, which is the inversion of the nodal admittance matrix. If analysis is conducted for sliding faults, then for each fault location four elements of the nodal admittance matrix are subject to changes and the calculation of the admittance matrix inversion needs to be repeated many times. For large-scale networks such an approach is time consuming and unsatisfactory. This paper proves that for each new fault location a new impedance matrix can be found without recalculation of the matrix inversion. It can be found by a simple extension of the initial nodal impedance matrix calculated once for the input model of the network. This paper derives formulas suitable for such an extension and presents a flowchart of the computational method. Numerical tests performed for a test power system confirm the validity and usefulness of the proposed method.
The subject of this paper is an assessment of the accuracy of a solution based on the linear theory of elasticity describing the interaction of a cylindrical reinforced concrete tank with the subsoil. The subsoil was modeled in the form of an elastic half-space and Winkler springs. The behavior of the shell structure of the RC cylindrical tank, and particularly of the ground slab interacting with the subsoil, depends largely on the distribution of the reactions on the foundation surface. An analysis of this structure with the shell fixed in a circular ground slab was carried out taking into consideration the elastic half-space model using the Gorbunov-Posadov approach and, for comparison, the two-parameter Winkler model. Although the results for both subsoil models proved to be divergent, the conclusions that follow the accuracy assessment of a solution based on the theory of elasticity are fairly important for engineering practice.
In the paper, maximal values xe(τ) of the solutions x(t) of the linear differential equations excited by the Dirac delta function are determined. The analytical solutions of the equations and also the maximal positive values of these solutions are obtained. The analytical formulae enable the design of the system with prescribed properties. The complementary case to the earlier paper is presented. In an earlier paper it was assumed that the roots si are different, and now we consider the case when s1 = s2 = … = sn.
The unmanned underwater tracked bulldozer (UUTB) is an indispensable equipment for dredging and cleaning obstacles on the river bed in the flood season. The investigation on the interaction properties between the UUTB tracks and sediments provides foundation for the evaluation of operation performance when it works on the inland river bed. Based on the current worldwide research, the sediments mixed by sand, bentonite and water with sand content 0%, 10% and 20% were configured in this study to replace the real sediments on the inland river bed in China. The current pressure-sinkage model and shear stress-shear displacement model were discussed. Three different tracks were tested for the pressure-sinkage and the shear stress-shear displacement on the platform. The relationship between pressure and sinkage under sand content 0%, 10% and 20% are revealed based on the experimental results. The modulus of cohesive deformation and friction deformation of the sediments under said sand content are presented. The curves of shear stress and shear displacement are also obtained, which demonstrates the properties between the tracks and configured sediments under sand content 0%, 10% and 20%. The relationship between the tractive force and slip ratio with three different tracks under said sand content is also presented based on the quantitative analysis, which provides reference for the dynamics control and performance evaluation of UUTB on the inland river bed.
This article presents a system of precise navigation for a visually impaired person which uses GPS navigation and an infrared sensor in the form of an infrared matrix. The presented system allows determining the orientation and distance of a blind person relative to a selected object, e.g. a wall or road edge. The application of the above solution facilitates a significant increase in the accuracy of determining the position of a blind person compared to the accuracy offered by commonly used ground satellite devices. The system uses thermal energy accumulated in the environment without the need to generate additional signals. The main parts of the system are a simple infrared matrix, data processing system and vibrating wristband. Messages and navigation warnings are sent to a blind person in the form of a vibration code. The article describes the method of determining the path of a specified width and distance from the wall of a building, curb, etc., along which a blind person should move. The article additionally describes the method of determining the orientation of a blind person depending on the selected object. Such a method facilitates verifying whether the visually impaired person is moving according to the indicated direction. The method can also be used to navigate mobile robots. Due to the use of natural energy for data registration and processing, the mobile navigation system can be operated for a long time without the need to recharge the battery.
This paper is focusing on 3D Finite Elements Analysis (FEA) based modelling of protrusions as defects or imperfections in the XLPE high voltage cable. This study is aiming to examine the impact, protrusions have on the initiation of partial discharges. Spherical and ellipsoidal protrusions with different sizes at the conductor screen of the high voltage cable is an essential content of this paper. In addition, a spherical gas-filled void is placed inside and outside the protrusions, and a water tree produced from protrusions is under consideration. The partial discharge influence taking place at the protrusions and the stress enhancement factor is determined for all the variations mentioned to quantify the rise in the inception of partial discharges due to the protrusions.
The binary classifiers are appropriate for classification problems with two class labels. For multi-class problems, decomposition techniques, like one-vs-one strategy, are used because they allow the use of binary classifiers. The ensemble selection, on the other hand, is one of the most studied topics in multiple classifier systems because a selected subset of base classifiers may perform better than the whole set of base classifiers. Thus, we propose a novel concept of the dynamic ensemble selection based on values of the score function used in the one-vs-one decomposition scheme. The proposed algorithm has been verified on a real dataset regarding the classification of cutting tools. The proposed approach is compared with the static ensemble selection method based on the integration of base classifiers in geometric space, which also uses the one-vs-one decomposition scheme. In addition, other base classification algorithms are used to compare results in the conducted experiments. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.
The purpose of this paper is to propose a model of a novel quasi-resonant boost converter with a tapped inductor. This converter combines the advantages of zero voltage quasi-resonant techniques and different conduction modes with the possibility of obtaining a high voltage conversion ratio by using a tapped inductor, which results in high converter efficiency and soft switching in the whole output power range. The paper contains an analysis of converter operation, a determination of voltage conversion ratio and the maximum voltage across power semiconductor switches as well as a discussion of control methods in discontinuous, critical, and continuous conduction modes. In order to verify the novelty of the proposed converter, a laboratory prototype of 300 W power was built. The highest efficiency η = 94.7% was measured with the output power Po = 260 W and the input voltage Vin = 50 V. The lowest efficiency of 90.7% was obtained for the input voltage Vin = 30 V and the output power Po = 75 W. The model was tested at input voltages (30–50) V, output voltage 380 V and maximum switching frequency 100 kHz.
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