Development of Optimization Tool for Air Conditioning System Operation

This study aims to realize the optimization of the air-conditioning system operation. Although set values of air-conditioning systems are usually fixed, variable setting values are used in this study. It is possible that less energy consumption with greater comfort is achieved by selecting appropriate set values in consideration of situations which change from day to day. In this study, the optimization of air-conditioning system operation is carried out by selecting appropriate set values in terms of energy consumptions and the comfort. The prediction of building heat loads is necessary to realize the optimization in ever-changing environments. Therefore, a more robust optimization method which handles errors in the prediction was proposed, and the optimization tool for an air-conditioning system was developed. The developed optimization tool is incorporated into the Building and Energy Management System (BEMS), and it automatically changes setting values acquiring data including driving data from the BEMS. Experiments were conducted to clarify the effectiveness of the tool, and simulations in the case of a medium-scale office building were also done for the evaluation of the tool. Experiments prove that the evaluation value tends to improve by using the optimization tool. As the result of simulations, it is found out that the evaluation value improves by considering prediction errors and that the evaluation value is reduced by 12.1% at maximum

Transformation in Lotus Corniculatus: Towards Low-Lignin Pasture Through Antisense RNA

We have developed a rapid and reproducible transformation system for bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) by using Agrobacterium-mediated T-DNA transfer and the incorporation of the antisense gene for cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) from Aralia cordata into Lotus for lignin reduction. The presence of the transferred antisense gene in regenerated plants has been confirmed by PCR analysis

Development and Verification for the Control Method Using Surplus Pressure of Primary Pumps in Chiller Plant Systems for Air Conditioning which Adopts Primary/Secondary Piping Systems PPT

The primary/secondary piping systems are often employed in large chiller plant Systems. Normally, the primary flow becomes more than secondary flow, and the flow difference returns to a chiller via decoupler, which is common to primary flow loop (chiller side) and secondary flow loop (load side). It is a huge energy loss, because the primary pumps use their head to lead much flow to the decoupler. Therefore, we have developed new control method using surplus pressure of the primary pump to reduce the primary and secondary pumps' energy. In this paper, we used this control method to the actual chiller plant buildings and verified its effectiveness. As a result, cold water conveyances, both primary loop and secondary loop, could be covered by only primary pumps during plant operating time, and the water conveyance power energy was reduced approximately 80%

Application of thermoluminescence for detection of cascade shower 2: Detection of cosmic ray cascade shower at Mount Fuji

The results of a thermoluminescence (TL) chamber exposed at Mt. Fuji during Aug. '83 - Aug. '84 are reported. The TL signal induced by cosmic ray shower is detected and compared with the spot darkness of X-ray film exposed at the same time

Application of thermoluminescence for detection of cascade shower 1: Hardware and software of reader system

A reader system for the detection of cascade showers via luminescence induced by heating sensitive material (BaSO4:Eu) is developed. The reader system is composed of following six instruments: (1) heater, (2) light guide, (3) image intensifier, (4) CCD camera, (5) image processor, (6) microcomputer. The efficiency of these apparatuses and software application for image analysis is reported

Identification and Biochemical Characterization of the Serine Biosynthetic Enzyme 3-Phosphoglycerate Dehydrogenase in Marchantia polymorpha

L-serine is an important molecule in all living organisms, and thus its biosynthesis is considered to be regulated according to demand. 3-Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PGDH), the first committed enzyme of the phosphorylated pathway of L-serine biosynthesis, is regulated by negative feedback from L-serine in bacteria. In the case of the vascular plant Arabidopsis thaliana, two PGDH isozymes out of three are inhibited by L-serine and activated by L-alanine, L-valine, L-methionine, L-homoserine, and L-homocysteine, suggesting a more complicated regulatory mechanism of L-serine biosynthesis in A. thaliana than in bacteria. However, it remains to be clarified whether the activation mechanism of PGDH by amino acids is conserved in land plants. In this study, we identified the sole isozyme of PGDH in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha (MpPGDH) and elucidated its biochemical characteristics. MpPGDH cDNA encodes a 65.6 kDa protein that contains a putative transit peptide for chloroplast localization. MpPGDH shares 75–80% identity with A. thaliana isozymes and forms a homotetramer in vitro. Recombinant MpPGDH exhibited an optimal pH of 9.0, apparent Michaelis constants of 0.49 ± 0.04 and 0.096 ± 0.010 mM for 3-PGA and NAD+, respectively, and apparent maximum velocity of 5.65 ± 0.10 μmol⋅min−1⋅mg−1, similar to those of A. thaliana isozymes. Phosphate ions were found to stabilize MpPGDH, suggesting that phosphate ions are also a crucial factor in the regulation of serine biosynthesis via the phosphorylated pathway in Marchantia polymorpha. MpPGDH was inhibited by L-serine in a cooperative manner and was activated by L-alanine, L-valine, L-methionine, L-homoserine, and L-homocysteine to a lesser extent than it is in A. thaliana. The results suggest that an ancestral PGDH of land plants was inhibited byL-serine and slightly activated by five other amino acids

Evaluation on Energy Performance of Heating Plant System Installed Energy Saving Technologies

This paper is concerned with energy performance of building heating plant system installed energy saving technologies. The energy performance from design to operation phase is evaluated by actual measurements and model-based simulation analysis, and the fault on the system operation are detected and was solved through the evaluation is also reported in this paper. The building and the heating plant system were built in Japan in September 2001, and the operation data have been measured for last about two years. The model-based simulation using heat load data is also carried out. The effectiveness of energy saving technologies is clarified by means of that each technology is considered in the simulation models on a step-by-step basis. Some faults were actually detected in the last season through these evaluations by measured data and simulation analysis. This fact can show the importance of fault detection and diagnosis and optimization in a system operation phase