Pressure equalisation as design strategy for watertightness

Due to rising energy prices and a higher ecological awareness there is a growing attention for energy efficiency and sustainability in building construction. New concepts and techniques for well insulated and airtight buildings require adapted construction methods for weathertightness. This research project aims at developing design guidelines for new building envelope systems concerning weathertightness. Most building envelope systems rely on pressure moderation to achieve a good weathertightness. By separating the airtightness plane from the water shedding surface a drained cavity can be pressure moderated to limit the amount of water that enters the construction. A better understanding of those phenomena makes way for more rapid evolution in energy efficient and sustainable building envelope design

Combined electric applications in transport

Maximizing the efficiency in transport vehicles will be a necessity. This may be realized by introducing a power electronic conversion between the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and the wheels. Hence the ICE may be used at its maximal efficiency point. One still can choose the kind of fuel: liquid or gas hydrocarbons, hydrogen, alcohol. The ICE delivers electrical power by means of a high efficiency generator and rectifier Further on one can recover electrical energy from the exhaust thermal power by means of a bottom cycle. A solution is to use an organic rankine cycle for this. The motion itself is done by high efficiency converters and permanent magnet motors. One can reduce gear losses while using direct drive wheel motors. In ships one can also optimise the propeller and the number of propellers

Light and ultralight electric vehicles

Today electrical vehicles are again considered seriously. However, one is not yet used to their performance. An overview is given in what one can expect from electric vehicles, ranging from electric bicycles to the electrical SUV. Special attention is given to the possibility of ultralight electric cars and the elbev concept, “Ecologic Low Budget Electric Vehicle”. Together with high efficiency power plants, a CO2 emissions of about 10gr/km could be obtained

A multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial protocol to assess Traumeel injection vs dexamethasone injection in rotator cuff syndrome : the TRAumeel in ROtator cuff syndrome (TRARO) study protocol

Background: Shoulder pain is a common musculoskeletal symptom with a wide range of potential causes; however, the majority of conditions can be managed with conservative treatment. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of Traumeel injections versus corticosteroid injections and placebo in the treatment of rotator cuff syndrome and bursitis and expand the current evidence base for the conservative treatment of rotator cuff syndrome. Methods/Design: This is a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, 16-week, three-arm, parallel-group, active-and placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy and safety of Traumeel 2 ml injection versus dexamethasone 8 mg injection versus placebo (saline solution). Patients will be randomly allocated to Traumeel, dexamethasone or placebo in a 2: 2: 1 randomization. After 1 week screening, patients will receive 3 injections at weekly intervals (days 1, 8 and 15) with additional follow-up assessments on day 22, a telephone consultation in week 9 and a final visit at week 15. Male and female patients aged 40 to 65 years, inclusive, will be recruited if they have acute episodes of chronic rotator cuff syndrome and/or bursitis. Patients with calcifications in the shoulder joint or a complete rotator cuff tear will be excluded. At least 160 patients will be recruited. All subacromial injections will be performed under ultrasound guidance utilizing a common technique. The only rescue medication permitted will be paracetamol (acetaminophen), with usage recorded. The primary endpoint is change from baseline in abduction-rotation pain visual analog scale (0-100 mm scale, 0 corresponds to no pain and 100 to extreme pain) at day 22 (Traumeel injections versus dexamethasone injections) for active external rotation. Secondary efficacy parameters include range of motion, disability of arm, shoulder, hand score and patient's/investigator's global assessment. Clinical efficacy will be assessed as non-inferiority of Traumeel with respect to dexamethasone regarding the primary efficacy parameter. Discussion: It is hoped that the results of this trial will expand the treatment options and evidence base available for the management of rotator cuff disease

Influence of the amount of permanent-magnet material in fractional-slot permanent-magnet synchronous machines

The efficiency of permanent-magnet (PM) synchronous machines with outer rotor and concentrated windings is investigated as a function of the mass of magnets used, keeping the power, volume, and mechanical air-gap thickness constant. In order to be useful for electric vehicle motors and wind turbine generators, the efficiency is computed in wide speed and torque ranges, including overload. For a given type and amount of magnets, the geometry of the machine and the efficiency map are computed by analytical models and finite-element models, taken into account the iron loss, copper loss, magnet loss, and pulsewidth-modulation loss. The models are validated by experiments. Furthermore, the demagnetization risk and torque ripple are studied as functions of the mass of magnets in the machine. The effect of the mass of magnets is investigated for several soft magnetic materials, for several combinations of number of poles and number of stator slots, and for both rare earth (NdFeB) magnets and ferrite magnets. It is observed that the amount of PM material can vary in a wide range with a minor influence on the efficiency, torque density, and torque ripple and with a limited demagnetization risk