A new Risk-Managed planning of electric distribution network incorporating customer engagement and temporary solutions

The connection of renewable-based distributed generation (DG) in distribution networks has been increasing over the last few decades, which would result in increased network capacity to handle their uncertainties along with uncertainties associated with demand forecast. Temporary non-network solutions (NNSs) such as demand response (DR) and temporary energy storage system/DG are considered as promising options for handling these uncertainties at a lower cost than network alternatives. In order to manage and treat the risk associated with these uncertainties using NNSs, this paper presents a new risk-managed approach for multi-stage distribution expansion planning (MSDEP) at a lower cost. In this approach, the uncertainty of available DR is also taken into account. The philosophy of the proposed approach is to find the “optimal level of demand” for each year at which the network should be upgraded using network solutions while procuring temporary NNSs to supply the excess demand above this level. A recently developed forward-backward approach is fitted to solve the risk-managed MSDEP model presented here for real sized networks with a manageable computational cost. Simulation results of two case studies, IEEE 13-bus and a realistic 747-bus distribution network, illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach

Smart Data Collection Using Mobile Devices To Improve Transportation Systems

Travel time is a matter that affects most of us, especially those that live in highly congested cities. Ideally, we want to reduce travel time as much as possible, thereby freeing up more of our time and enabling a higher quality of life. Data collection of transportation metrics helps us get a clearer picture of the transportation system, and helps us make smarter choices when it comes to improving the existing system. The rapid emergence of interconnected mobile devices carried along by travelers opens up many possibilities for gathering data as they travel, and also to serve them relevant data so that they can make smarter choices when it comes to their traveling. It is estimated that the market share of smartphones would continue to grow for the foreseeable future, making it a rich source for data collection at large scale. Therefore, with the goal of minimizing travel time in mind, we explore various means of making use of these mobile devices to collect data and ultimately improve transportation systems. In particular, we report on the evolution of data collection in the area of transportation research, report on novel case studies in this area, and report in depth on one implementation of a smart data collection application

A Comprehensive Comparison of Air Pollution in Main Cities in Sri Lanka

Industrialization, increasing population and the vast usage of vehicles have been deterioratedthe quality of air in developing countries. Sri Lanka is one such developing country facing theproblem in quality of the air severely. Since Colombo is the commercial capital of Sri Lankait is a foremost victim of environmental pollution and many researches have been conductedto control the air pollution in Colombo. However when concerning the quality of air,attention should be paid on the other cities as well, which are more populated andindustrialized, since air pollution is a silent hazard that may even cause death to humanbeings. Main objectives of this research are to analyse the air quality data and to compare andcontrast the pollutant levels, at the four different locations Colombo, Kandy, Maharagamaand Kurunegala. Data were collected by a leading environment organization, Cleanco LankaLimited and published in “Ada” news paper. Concentrations measured in mg/m3 for the fivecriterion air pollutants; Carbon Monoxide (CO), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide(NO2), Ozone (O3) and Particulate Matter (PM 10) were gathered during the time period 1.00p.m. to 4.00 p.m. The period October 2010 to April 2013 was considered for this study. Dataare analysed using descriptive statistical techniques including summary measurements,graphical representations and correlation analysis. Furthermore, univariate statistical controlcharts are drawn to assess the quality of air of the selected cities. The data reveals that theconcentrations of CO and NO2 are high at Colombo and the concentrations of the fivepollutants are comparatively large at Maharagama on average, indicating that the other citiesmay also highly polluted as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. However, the concentrationsof the air pollutants are decreasing after February, 2011 whilst the PM 10 concentrationshows erratic movements around the maximum permissible level of 0.5 mg/m3. It should beaffirmed that the CO concentration has not exceeded the maximum permissible level duringthe past two years. Moreover, the relationships between primary and secondary air pollutantssuch as O3 with CO and NO2 can be examined through the correlation structure of the data.

Estimating benefits of energy storage for aggregate storage applications in electricity distribution networks in Queensland

Electric Energy Storage (EES) is considered as one of the promising options for reducing the need for costly upgrades in distribution networks in Queensland (QLD). However, It is expected, the full potential for storage for distribution upgrade deferral cannot be fully realized due to high cost of EES. On the other hand, EES used for distribution deferral application can support a variety of complementary storage applications such as energy price arbitrage, time of use (TOU) energy cost reduction, wholesale electricity market ancillary services, and transmission upgrade deferral. Aggregation of benefits of these complementary storage applications would have the potential for increasing the amount of EES that may be financially attractive to defer distribution network augmentation in QLD. In this context, this paper analyzes distribution upgrade deferral, energy price arbitrage, TOU energy cost reduction, and integrated solar PV-storage benefits of EES devices in QLD

Design and analysis of simultaneous control charting schemes

Master'sMASTER OF SCIENC

Usage of Knowledge Management Techniques in IT Based Company in Sri Lanka: A Case Study

AbstractKnowledge Management (KM) and Project Management (PM) are very substantial techniques to gain the competitive advantage within the Information Technology (IT) industry. In IT projects, it is essential to get the right knowledge to the right people at the right time. KM techniques are used to fulfill the above knowledge gaps. The main objective of this study is to determine the usage of KM techniques in an IT company in Sri Lanka. Simple random sample of size 108 is selected from the target population of all 150 project team members in the selected company. Since, the hypotheses were tested using statistical methods the positivism philosophy was used in this study. A deductive approach is used in cross-sectional time horizon and mixed approach is used to gather data. Collected data were analyzed to identify the usage of KM techniques in successful and failure projects. KM techniques were compared with respect to the status of the project (Success/Failure) and the category of the project (Government/Privet/Banking/Insurance/other). Male representation is higher than the female representation in the company. Majority of respondents belongs to the age group 26-30 and bachelor’s degree holders. More than half of the respondents do not have any KM qualification. Among the projects undertaken by the company 30% projects are related to insurance industry while government, banking, and private company with 20% each. The rest of the projects come under other category. Usages of the different type of KM techniques were examined. The successful projects mainly used after action review, brainstorming, collaborative virtual workshop, communication of practice, peer assist, learning review as important techniques while failure projects do not. In the successful projects knowledge banks is not considered as an important technique while in the failure projects does. The analyzed results stated that after action review, gone well note, learning review have significantly effect on all project categories. Moreover, blog, knowledge bases, storytelling and social networks are found to be effectiveness on successfulness of government and private projects.Keywords: Knowledge management, Project Management, Knowledge management technique

Reintegration of Sri Lankan Returnee Migrant Workers from South Korea

This paper attempts to shed light on reintegration of contractual laborers who are returning to Sri Lanka with new knowledge, skills and substantial monetary savings, after serving approximately 5 years in South Korea. The importance of foreign currency remittances sent by the migrant workers to Sri Lankan economy is shown at the beginning. Then, it proceeds to review various theories and empirical evidences that are used to explain the success or failure of reintegration process. South Korea became one of the top destinations for prospective Sri Lankan labour migrants due to several reasons such as; (1) low pre-departure costs, (2) no need to pay for agencies, (3) specific educational qualifications are not required, (4) except basic Korean language, other skills or professional tests are not required, (5) substantial high salaries (6) legally accepted working visa granted for five years. Therefore, in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively 7,406, 5,630 and 5,389 Sri Lankan workers had the opportunity to enter South Korea. Through interviews of selected 100 informants and by analyzing data available, paper proceeds to highlight characteristics of Sri Lankan returnee migrants from South Korea and analyze current level of reintegration of these returnees. The final section of the paper evaluate the migration experience based on the productivity of migrants after arriving home, rather than focusing on the experience from the host country. Contrary to structuralists understanding, only 32 percent of the respondents have focused in obtaining lands or building or renovating their houses, while 60 percent of the returnees claimed to be in business ventures in line with the original objectives of migration. The overall findings of this study challenge the popular understanding that unproductive investments and conspicuous consumption patterns breed the unequal relationship between the core (receiving countries) and the periphery (sending countries) forcing the returnees to re-migrate

Factors Associated with Production Input Difference of a Manufacturing Plant in Sri Lanka: A Case Study

AbstractThe supply chain is a system of organizations, peoples, activities, information, and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. As the whole supply chain is linked together, any inconsistency in one link can badly affect the overall supply chain. Each organization in the supply chain has its own internal individual supply chains. The internal supply chain is mainly based on the production demand and material supply to the production. Any inconsistency between the demand and the supply, directly affects the status of internal supply chain. Only few studies have been done on internal supply demand variance, and this study is one of the few approaches into this area. The main objective of this study is to identify the factors associated with production input difference of a manufacturing plant. This is an explanatory research, which is done using appropriate sampling methods and Vector Auto regressive (VAR) modeling. Eviews (7.0.0.1) version is used to analyze the data. First of all the data has been checked for stationary property and the related lag length has been selected. Then the VAR modeling techniques has been applied and later the diagnostic tests have been performed on the resulted models. In briefing the results, it is stated that style of the product (Style) does not impact the input variance models or downtime models. Considering input variance models, it is found that downtime at lag 1 does not have any impact on the input variance. Furthermore, the previous day input variance has a significant impact to the next day input variance. The style and previous day downtime influence the demand variance only in special cases. As heteroskedasticity is present in some of the models, exponential & power transformations have been done in order to avoid heteroskedasticity. But the results do not dramatically change due to transformations.Keywords: Factors, Internal Supply Chain, Manufacturing Plant, Vector Auto Regressiv

Experimental and computational analysis of initiation and propagation of shear bands in bulk metallic glasses

Shear bands (SBs) play a key role in the mechanical deformation of Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMGs). The key to obtaining an insight into the shear band mechanism is to understand the root cause of shear band initiation and propagation. SB initiation is a difficult event to capture, considering the negligible macroscopic ductility of BMGs. It is the premature shear localisation in the nano scale which is responsible for the noticeable brittle nature in the macro-scale. Plastic deformation of BMGs occurs due to the formation of highly localised SBs of approximately10–20 nm in thickness. These then propagate at a velocity of around 100 ms−1 and results in catastrophic failure in both tension and compression due to the micro-cracks formed through the coalescence of the nano voids. This study develops a technique to capture the early initiation of SBs through a wedge indentation test. The work found that incremental loading (a definite load applying incrementally by 1 kN in stages) did not affect the overall mechanical response of the BMG material, indicating that SB evolution can be examined with an incremental indentation test. A predictive numerical model for SB initiation and propagation in BMGs is presented using two approaches: a strain gradient model and an integral-type non-local approach employing the Vermeer–Brinkgreve modelling strategy(Strömberg, Ristinmaa 1996). Comparisons are made between the outcomes of physical tests and numerical modelling to obtain an insight into the relative merits

ANTIMICROBIAL EFFECTS IN MANAGEMENT OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS

Many wastewater treatment plants operating today in various industries have one or morebiological treatment component. which could he either aerobic or anaerobic. or acombination of hoth. The type of biological treatment utiliscd will vary from one plant toanother depending on the nature of the wastewater treated. Industries such as chemicalprocess. pharmaccutical etc. have to pay more attention to their wastewater sent to thewastewater treatment plant as these wastewaters may contain substances in quantitieswhich can cause harmful effects to the living organisms in the biological treatment system.thus action should he taken 10 reduce these antimicrohial substances entering the hiologicaltreatment component of the wastewater treatment plant to levels to which the biologicalpopulation is more capable of handling those in the degradation process. An action tomanage this type of situation will call for the need for monitoring techniques or quantities.In this concept paper. online and offline monitoring techniques of such substances and itsmanagemcnt concepts arc illucid.ucd. In monitoring wastewater the use of the parameterBOD and the inhibition chnractcristics of the microorganism were looked at with referenceto wastcwater from a pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.