Navigating the Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Conservation Standard and Test Procedure for Pumps

TutorialAs the compliance date of January 27, 2020 approaches, the complexity of the US DOE Energy Conservation Standard (ECS) and Test Procedure (TP) for Pumps leaves many pump manufacturers, distributors, engineering procurement contractors, consultants, and end users with uncertainty regarding the requirements and impact of the regulation. Since this is a first in the United States, this paper addresses the contents of this ECS and TP to provide an understanding of the scope; implications to the manufacturer, end users, and other interested parties; and the benefits of the rule and voluntary product energy labeling initiatives. As pump energy conservation standards progress, it will be more difficult to achieve the required energy savings through pump efficiency alone; therefore, an extended product approach will be required to achieve the energy savings. More and more, pumps will be sold with motors and controls. This paper aims to provide some additional information and training to the manufacturer, specifier, installer, and end user to ensure that published energy savings are achieved and that intelligent systems are not misapplied, resulting in reduced functionality, reliability, and potentially increased power consumption when misapplied

Capability of APSIM-Oryza to stimulate lowland rice-based farming systems under nitrogen treatments in a tropical climate

Rice is the most important crop in Asia and the staple food for most of the world’s population. Due to the overwhelming importance of this crop, modelling rice-based farming systems will provide valuable help to compare experimental research findings across regions, extrapolate field experimental data to wider environments, develop management recommendations and decision-support systems, explore effects of climate change and adaptation options, and prediction of crop yield. There is an increasing demand for the capability to simulate rice-based cropping systems, especially in Asia. Such a system capability will allow expanded investigation of nitrogen dynamics, crop sequencing, intercropping, crop residue management and soil and water management. Incorporation of the ORYZA2000 rice model(Bouman and van Laar, 2006) into APSIM (Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM-Oryza) together with recent work on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in transitional flooded/non-flooded systems(Gaydon et al., 2009) has facilitated long-term simulation of lowland rice-based farming systems scenarios. However, the capability of APSIM-Oryza to simulate rice-based crop sequences involving other crops has undergone limited testing to this point and under a variety of crop management practices and cropping systems. In this paper, we detail testing of the APSIM-Oryza simulation model against an experimental dataset involving lowland rice-rice-soybean crop rotation in West Nusa Tenggara Province(NTB) Indonesi

Sense of Belonging Increases Performance Expectations among Women in STEM Fields

This research examines threatening educational environments for women STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) majors. Previous research found that underrepresented groups receive subtle and overt messages that they do not belong in science and academia which leads to lower science identity, lower grades, and switching to a non-STEM major (Ong et al. 2011; Robnett 2016; Rainey et al., 2018). This study used survey data from students (N = 213) from a western university. The results indicate a 2-way interaction between sense of belonging (or the acceptance an individual feels regarding a specific group or environment) and science identity (how strongly a person identifies with their STEM field) on science performance expectations. Results showed that higher science identity predicted higher performance expectations; however, moderate to higher sense of belonging significantly strengthened this relationship. This result can better help us understand why women are underrepresented in STEM fields, and provide insight into possible interventions, such as improving sense of belonging for underrepresented groups within STEM

Lived epistemology, the childlike and a virtuous education

The following thesis provides an account of what it means to approach epistemic concepts in a lived rather than abstract fashion. It argues that taking such a position naturally leads to an assessment of how the epistemic life might be lived virtuously, and it grounds this in experiences of being-with-worth. It then isolates and gives a thorough account of the key, childlike virtues found in the Golden Age of British children’s literature: playfulness, a capacity for wonder, and intellectual humility and open-mindedness. After exploring how this model of a virtuous epistemic life might re-orientate philosophical discussions of nostalgia and the epistemic worth of literature, the thesis finishes by cashing out what a virtuous education might look like. This final move includes an analysis of some of my own attempts to achieve a virtuous education whilst teaching

Navigating The Department Of Energy (Doe) Energy Conservation Standard And Test Procedure For Pumps

TutorialFollowing the European Union’s (EU) lead, the United States (US) Department of Energy (DOE) began the long process of regulating the energy consumption of pumps in 2011 and, with support from the industry and advocates, published a final Energy Conservation Standard (ECS) and Test Procedure (TP) for Pumps (US Department of Energy 2016a) in January 2016. Compliance to the standard levels set in the ECS is slated for January 27, 2020. The rulemaking process was very thorough involving many stakeholders; however, the complexity of the standard and inexperience in the United States leaves many pump manufacturers, engineering procurement contractors, consultants, and end users with uncertainty regarding the requirements and impact of the regulation. Since this is a first for the United States, this paper will address the contents of the ECS and TP to provide an understanding of the scope; implications to the manufacturer, end users, and other interested parties; and the benefits of the rule and future voluntary product energy labeling initiatives

Navigating the Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Conservation Standard and Test Procedure for Pumps

TutorialAs the compliance date of January 27, 2020 approaches, the complexity of the US DOE Energy Conservation Standard (ECS) and Test Procedure (TP) for Pumps leaves many pump manufacturers, distributors, engineering procurement contractors, consultants, and end users with uncertainty regarding the requirements and impact of the regulation. Since this is a first in the United States, this paper addresses the contents of this ECS and TP to provide an understanding of the scope; implications to the manufacturer, end users, and other interested parties; and the benefits of the rule and voluntary product energy labeling initiatives. As pump energy conservation standards progress, it will be more difficult to achieve the required energy savings through pump efficiency alone; therefore, an extended product approach will be required to achieve the energy savings. More and more, pumps will be sold with motors and controls. This paper aims to provide some additional information and training to the manufacturer, specifier, installer, and end user to ensure that published energy savings are achieved and that intelligent systems are not misapplied, resulting in reduced functionality, reliability, and potentially increased power consumption when misapplied

Living with less water: development of viable adaptation options for Riverina irrigators

In Australia, the best use of limited national water resources continues to be a major political and scientific issue. Average water allocations for rice-cereal irrigation farmers in the Riverina region have been drastically reduced since 1998 as a consequence of high rainfall variability and prolonged periods of drought, together with political changes. This has severely impacted regional crop production during the last decade, threatening the livelihoods of many farmers and is in stark contrast to much of this region’s 100 year agricultural history, where water resources were available to farmers in steady abundance. The water ‘landscape’ has changed - bringing with it considerable social, economic and environmental consequences and forcing a rethink of how valuable water resources are best used under such variable, changed and changing conditions. This thesis presents details of investigations into on-farm adaptation options for rice-cereal farmers, using field experimentation, participatory engagement, and farming systems modelling as the major tools of research. Additionally, a major component of this work has been the development and testing of new modelling tools and decision-support structures. Well-tested cropping systems models that capture interactions between soil water and nutrient dynamics, crop growth, climate and management can assist in the evaluation of new agricultural practices. At the beginning of this research project, all available models were lacking in at least some major element required for simulation of rice-based cropping systems. The capacity to simulate C and N dynamics during transitions between aerobic and anaerobic soil environments was added into the APSIM model, to facilitate our need to model farming system scenarios which involved flooded rice in rotation with other crops and pastures. Thorough testing against international datasets was subsequently conducted. Photosynthetic aquatic biomass (PAB – algae) is a significant source of organic carbon (C) in rice-based cropping systems. A portion of PAB is capable of fixing nitrogen (N), and is hence also a source of N for crops. To account for this phenomenon in long term simulation studies of rice-based cropping systems, the APSIM model was modified to include new descriptions of biological and chemical processes responsible for loss and gain of C and N in rice floodwater. Using this improved APSIM model as a tool, together with participatory involvement of Riverina case-study farmers, it was demonstrated that the best on-farm cropping and irrigation strategies in years of high water availability were substantially different to those when water supplies were low. The strategies leading to greatest farm returns vary on a season-by-season basis, depending primarily on the water availability level. Significant improvements in average farm profits are possible by modifying irrigation strategies on a season-by-season basis. The opportunities for Riverina farmers to exploit their irrigation water resources also extend beyond the farm gate. Currently there is considerable confusion amongst farmers on how to evaluate and compare on-farm and off-farm water options. Direct selling of water seasonally on the open market and even permanent sale of irrigation water entitlements are possibilities. In response to this confusion, a new conceptual framework was developed that enables quantitative comparisons between various options. The framework is based on a method regularly employed in the financial world for share portfolio analysis. Simulation modelling provided risk-return characteristics for on-farm options, and helped to elucidate circumstances under which off-farm options were viable. A modified version of alternate wet-and-dry water management for Australian rice-growing conditions (delayed continuous flooding, DCF) was investigated via a 2 year field experiment – aimed at reducing irrigation water requirement and increasing water productivity (WP). We demonstrated up to a 17% increase in WP, and field data was generated on system performance for a range of discrete irrigation strategies. The APSIM model was then parameterized, calibrated and validated before being used to extrapolate findings from the two year experimental period to a much broader climatic record (55 years), allowing detailed investigation of optimal management strategies and a more realistic estimation of likely long-term gains in water productivity, and associated risks, from this new rice irrigation practice. Best practice guidelines were developed, and the potential impact of a changing climate on both optimal practice and likely benefits was assessed. This thesis concludes by synthesising the approaches taken - addressing the question of whether improved rice irrigation practices, seasonally-flexible cropping and irrigation strategies and off-farm exploitation options, can in combination address the challenges of reduced irrigation water allocations in Australia’s Riverina region. Evidence is presented that the answer is yes under certain circumstances, but that limits to change exist beyond which the investigated on-farm adaptations are not enough. The thesis also proposes that the concepts and methods developed during this project are globally applicable and useful in the design of farming system adaptation options. Keywords: irrigation, limited water resources, farming systems modelling, participatory engagement.</p

Du musée traditionnel au Musée du XXIe siècle, la transformation numérique de l’institution

Mémoire du Master archives numériques portant sur la transformation des musées avec l\u27arrivée du numérique, le cas des musées lyonnais