Hybrid Storage System Control Strategy for All-Electric Powered Ships

Abstract In marine applications all-electric propulsion systems are employed on surface ships that are subjected to particular constraints, generally due to environmental restrictions. The technological advancement of electrochemical batteries, which are today characterized by higher capacity and efficiency, has widened their fields of application, although these storage systems require an accurate design to limit their initial and maintenance costs. In order to reduce battery charge and discharge peak currents, supercapacitor modules are generally adopted with the aim to extend batteries expected life. The proper management of energy fluxes within the hybrid architecture, and in particular among batteries, capacitors and loads requires a specific control, called EMS – Energy Management Strategy. In this paper, a novel EMS, based on constrained minimization problem, is proposed and verified with reference to a case study of a waterbus operating in restricted waterways on different routes. The procedure is based on a preliminary solution of an off-line optimization with respect to a known mission profile. Hence, a real-time control strategy is properly evaluated, in order to guarantee robustness against the unavoidable uncertainties, which occur during the operating conditions. In the last part of the paper, a numerical application is presented with the purpose to emphasize the feasibility of the proposal

Mothers of invention: an afterword

This paper offers a personal perspective on exchanges at the 2014 NIME panel entitled Gender, Education, Creativity in Digital Music and Sound Art, and also draws on discussion at the 2013 Oxford MusDig Gender Roundtable. Neither anachronistic institutional positions in a fast evolving cultural environment, nor opportunistic promotion of market-driven education programmes doomed to swift obsolescence, is likely to foster the diversity needed to sustain new creative energies in digital music and sound art. Class and race barriers are often indissociable from those that characterise gender discrimination, but this is not just a question of intersectionality. It also concerns thinking specifically about the gendered constructions of the objects and concepts we employ, and about the objectification of gender itself. This overview of a decidedly heterogeneous array of projects and initiatives endeavours to reflect our panel's emphasis on the imperative to uphold diversity and otherness

A bare ground evaporation revision in the ECMWF land-surface scheme: evaluation of its impact using ground soil moisture and satellite microwave data

In situ soil moisture data from 122 stations across the United States are used to evaluate the impact of a new bare ground evaporation formulation at ECMWF. In November 2010, the bare ground evaporation used in ECMWF's operational Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) was enhanced by adopting a lower stress threshold than for the vegetation, allowing a higher evaporation. It results in more realistic soil moisture values when compared to in situ data, particularly over dry areas. Use was made of the operational IFS and offline experiments for the evaluation. The latter are based on a fixed version of the IFS and make it possible to assess the impact of a single modification, while the operational analysis is based on a continuous effort to improve the analysis and modelling systems, resulting in frequent updates (a few times a year). Considering the field sites with a fraction of bare ground greater than 0.2, the root mean square difference (RMSD) of soil moisture is shown to decrease from 0.118 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup> to 0.087 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup> when using the new formulation in offline experiments, and from 0.110 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup> to 0.088 m<sup>3</sup> m<sup>−3</sup> in operations. It also improves correlations. Additionally, the impact of the new formulation on the terrestrial microwave emission at a global scale is investigated. Realistic and dynamically consistent fields of brightness temperature as a function of the land surface conditions are required for the assimilation of the SMOS data. Brightness temperature simulated from surface fields from two offline experiments with the Community Microwave Emission Modelling (CMEM) platform present monthly mean differences up to 7 K. Offline experiments with the new formulation present drier soil moisture, hence simulated brightness temperature with its surface fields are larger. They are also closer to SMOS remotely sensed brightness temperature

Validation of an Emission Model for a Marine Diesel Engine with Data from Sea Operations

In this study, a model is developed to simulate the dynamics of an internal combustion engine, and it is calibrated and validated against reliable experimental data, making it a tool that can effectively be adopted to conduct emission predictions. In this work, the Ricardo WAVE software is applied to the simulation of a particular marine diesel engine, a four-stroke engine used in the maritime field. Results from the bench tests are used for the calibration of the model. Finally, the calibration of the model and its validation with full-scale data measured at sea are presented. The prediction includes not only the classic engine operating parameters for a comparison with surveys but also an estimate of nitrogen oxide emissions, which are compared with similar results obtained with emission factors. The calibration of the model made it possible to obtain an overlap between the simulation results and real data with an average error of approximately 7% on power, torque, and consumption. The model provides encouraging results, suggesting further applications, such as in the study on transient conditions, coupling of the engine model with the ship model for a complete simulation of the operating conditions, and optimization studies on consumption and emissions. The availability of the emission data during the sea trial and validated simulation results are the strengths and novelties of this work

Bacterial community analysis on the Mediaeval stained glass window "Natività" in the Florence Cathedral

Microbial corrosion of glass causes problems on delicates antique glass samples. Until now, the effect of microbial activity on corrosion phenomena has not been well documented. Only a few studies have been published concerning the microflora growing on glass surfaces. The present study deals with the characterization of cultivable aerobic bacteria isolated from the historical glass window "Natività" in the Florence Cathedral, designed by Paolo Uccello and realized by Angelo Lippi between 1443 and 1444. Microbial strains were sampled from four of the 25 panels of the "Natività" in the occasion of a recent conservation treatment, due to the presence of various kinds of crusts. One hundred microorganisms were isolated, about 50% bacteria and 50% fungi. Bacteria were submitted to morphological characterization and classified in the Gram group. For twenty strains, from different glass panels, the 16S rDNA gene was amplified and sequenced. Sequence analysis showed genus Bacillus, Arthrobacter and Paenibacillus as the most representative. In particular Bacillus and Paenibacillus are crusts associated. Phylogenetic relationship among isolates was determined. Chemical analysis of the glass and crusts completed the study

Evaluating the Factor Structure of the Emotion Dysregulation Scale-Short (EDS-s): A Preliminary Study

Emotion dysregulation (ED) can be considered a psychopathological transdiagnostic dimension, the presence of which should be reliably screened in clinical settings. The aim of the current study was to validate the Italian version of the Emotion Dysregulation Scale-short (EDS-s), a brief self-report tool assessing emotion dysregulation, in a non-clinical sample of 1087 adults (768 women and 319 men). We also assessed its convergent validity with scales measuring binge eating and general psychopathology. Structural equation modeling suggested the fit of a one-factor model refined with correlations between the errors of three pairs of items (χ2 = 255.56, df = 51, p < 0.001, RMSEA = 0.08, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, SRMR = 0.04). The EDS-s demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (ordinal alpha = 0.94). Moreover, EDS-s scores partly explained the variance of both binge eating (0.35, p < 0.001) and general psychopathology (0.60, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the EDS-s can be considered to be a reliable and valid measure of ED

Sessile macrobenthos (Ochrophyta) drives seasonal change of meiofaunal community structure on temperate rocky reefs

none7noUnlike the soft bottom meiofauna, meiofauna associated to hard substrata is poorly studied, despite its ecological relevance. Since communities of hard substrata are usually characterized by species with different life cycles and strategies from those of soft bottom assemblages, information on hard substrata meiofauna is still needed. In this study, sessile macrobenthos and the associated meiofaunal assemblages of two sites of Portofino (NW Mediterranean) were investigated in two seasons at three different depths on both sub-vertical and inclined reefs. The study aimed to assess the abundance, diversity and composition of the meiofauna and the factors structuring its assemblages. Moreover, as meiofauna is known to be dependent upon the substrate characteristics, the study investigated whether the meiofaunal patterns could be related to the sessile macrobenthos structure and composition, and to which extent. Macroalgae dominated the sessile macrobenthic assemblages, while Nematoda and Copepoda were the main meiofaunal groups. Meiofaunal higher-taxa richness and diversity resulted very high, due to the large number of different microhabitats offered by macroalgae. Macrobenthic assemblages were dominated by Rodophyta and Ochrophyta in summer, the latter dramatically collapsing in winter. The meiofaunal abundance and composition changed significantly with the season, consistently with the sessile macrobenthic assemblages, and resulted strongly correlated with Ochrophyta. Shaping the meiofaunal assemblages, macroalgae appeared to act as ecosystem engineer for the meiofauna.openLosi, V; Sbrocca, C; Gatti, G; Semprucci, F; Rocchi, M; Bianchi, C N; Balsamo, MLosi, V; Sbrocca, C; Gatti, G; Semprucci, F; Rocchi, M; Bianchi, C N; Balsamo,