Ultracapacitors for port crane applications: Sizing and techno-economic analysis

The use of energy storage with high power density and fast response time at container terminals (CTs) with a power demand of tens of megawatts is one of the most critical factors for peak reduction and economic benefits. Peak shaving can balance the load demand and facilitate the participation of small power units in generation based on renewable energies. Therefore, in this paper, the economic efficiency of peak demand reduction in ship to shore (STS) cranes based on the ultracapacitor (UC) energy storage sizing has been investigated. The results show the UC energy storage significantly reduce the peak demand, increasing the load factor, load leveling, and most importantly, an outstanding reduction in power and energy cost. In fact, the suggested approach is the start point to improve reliability and reduce peak demand energy consumption

Exploring the Caves of Armenia by the First Official U.S. Caving Expedition (2007-2013)

The first U.S. caving expedition to Armenia, the South Caucasus, by NSS cavers took place in August 2007. Subsequent expeditions took place in 2010, 2011, and 2013, with additional trips planned for the future. The goal is the exploration and photo-documentation of the caves of Armenia, and to increase awareness of its underground realms. Although, in the past, there had been a few known caving expeditions to Armenia, overall little information existed.  In addition, Armenia’s local caving community is small in number.  As a result, this topic was studied and the first official US caving expedition to Armenia was organized in 2007. During the first expedition, four of Armenia’s significant natural caves were explored in the province of Vayots Dzor: Mozrov Cave, Arjeri Cave (Cave of the Bears), Mageli Cave, and Karmir Cave (Red Cave). Man-made caves were also visited.  Subsequent trips to Armenia in 2010, 2011, and 2013 included (1) further exploration of Mozrov, Arjeri, and Mageli caves, (2) a cave trip to the neighboring independent Armenian Republic of Nagorno-Karabagh to explore Azokh Cave, and (3) the exploration of several caves in the northeast Armenian provinces of Tavush and Lori. Natural caves consisting of limestone, conglomerate, and lava were explored during these expeditions.  Also, a number of man-made caves were visited, some of which were used as churches in centuries past.  This article summarizes the four expeditions and discusses both the natural and man-made caves of Armenia. I beleive the article will be interesting to builders, gas pipelines and road engineers. In practice, it can be used by travel agencies and individual tourists, as well as by all lovers of underground monuments of nature and culture

Drying colloidal systems: laboratory models for a wide range of applications

The drying of complex fluids provides a powerful insight into phenomena that take place on time and length scales not normally accessible. An important feature of complex fluids, colloidal dispersions and polymer solutions is their high sensitivity to weak external actions. Thus, the drying of complex fluids involves a large number of physical and chemical processes. The scope of this review is the capacity to tune such systems to reproduce and explore specific properties in a physics laboratory. A wide variety of systems are presented, ranging from functional coatings, food science, cosmetology, medical diagnostics and forensics to geophysics and art