A reactive power-voltage control strategy of an AC microgrid based on adaptive virtual impedance

As an effective carrier of distributed generation, a microgrid is an effective way to ensure that distributed power can be reasonably utilized. However, due to the property of line impedance and other factors in a microgrid, reactive power supplied by distributed generation units cannot be shared rationally. To efficiently improve reactive power sharing, this paper proposes a reactive power-voltage control strategy based on adaptive virtual impedance. This method changes the voltage reference value by adding an adaptive term based on the traditional virtual impedance. Meanwhile, a voltage recovery mechanism was used to compensate the decline of distributed generation (DG) output voltage in the process. MATLAB/Simulink simulations and experimental results show that the proposed controller can effectively improve the steady state performance of the active and reactive power sharing. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy were verified

Gas migration at the granite-bentonite interface under semi-rigid boundary conditions in the context of HLRW disposal

The corrosion of waste canisters in the deep geological disposal facilities (GDFs) for high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) can generate gas, which can escape from the engineered barrier system. Such escape can happen through the interfaces between the bentonite buffer blocks and the host rock, and also at the interfaces between the bentonite blocks. This paper presents new insights and a quantitative assessment of the impact of the interface between clay and host rock on gas transport through a series of water infiltration and gas breakthrough experiments on granite and on granite-bentonite specimens with smooth and grooved interfaces.The water permeability values from water infiltration tests on granite and granite-bentonite samples (10-19 ~ 10-20 m2) were found to be slightly higher than that of bentonite. The gas permeability of the mock-up samples with smooth interface was one order of magnitude larger than that of the mock-up with grooved interfaces. The gas results of breakthrough pressures for the granite and the granite-bentonite mock-up samples indicated significantly lower pressures than that of bentonite. The results highlight the potential existence of preferential gas migration channels between the rock and bentonite buffer which require further considerations in the safety case assessment.<br/

Estimation of Elasticity of Porous Rock Based on Mineral Composition and Microstructure

Estimation of elastic parameters of porous rock like the compressibility of sandstone is scientifically important and yet an open issue. This study illustrates the estimation of the elastic compressibility of sandstone (ECS) based on the assumption that the ECS is determined closely by the mineral composition and microstructures. In this study, 37 samples are collected to evaluate the estimations of the ECS obtained by different methods. The regression analysis is first implemented using the 37 samples. The results show that ECS exhibits linear relations with the rock minerals, pores, and applied compressive stress. Then the support vector machine (SVM) optimized by the particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) is examined to generate estimations of the ECS based on the mineral composition and microstructures. The SVM is trained with 30 samples to search for optimal parameters using the PSO, and thus the estimation model is established. Afterwards, this model is validated to give predictions of the left 7 samples. By comparison with the regression methods, the proposed strategy, that is, the PSO optimized SVM, performs much better on the training samples and shows a good capability in generating estimations of the ECS of the 7 testing samples based on the mineral composition and microstructures

Source Apportionment of Gaseous and Particulate PAHs from Traffic Emission Using Tunnel Measurements in Shanghai, China

Understanding sources and contributions of gaseous and particulate PAHs from traffic-related pollution can provide valuable information for alleviating air contamination from traffic in urban areas. On-road sampling campaigns were comprehensively conducted during 2011–2012 in an urban tunnel of Shanghai, China. 2–3 rings PAHs were abundant in the tunnel\u27s gas and particle phases. Diagnostic ratios of PAHs were statistically described; several were significantly different between the gas and particle phases. Principal component analysis (PCA), positive matrix factorization (PMF), bivariate correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA) were applied to apportion sources of gaseous and particulate PAHs in the tunnel. Main sources of the gaseous PAHs included evaporative emission of fuel, high-temperature and low-temperature combustion of fuel, accounting for 50–51%, 30–36% and 13–20%, respectively. Unburned fuel particles (56.4–78.3%), high-temperature combustion of fuel (9.5–26.1%) and gas-to-particle condensation (12.2–17.5%) were major contributors to the particulate PAHs. The result reflected, to a large extent, PAH emissions from the urban traffic of Shanghai. Improving fuel efficiency of local vehicles will greatly reduce contribution of traffic emission to atmospheric PAHs in urban areas. Source apportionment of PM10 mass was also performed based on the organic component data. The results showed that high-temperature combustion of fuel and gas-to-particle condensation contributed to 15–18% and 7–8% of PM10 mass, respectively, but 55–57% of the particle mass was left unexplained. Although the results from the PCA and PMF models were comparable, the PMF method is recommended for source apportionment of PAHs in real traffic conditions. In addition, the combination of multivariate statistical method and bivariate correlation analysis is a useful tool to comprehensively assess sources of PAHs

Synergistic photoelectrochemical performance of La-doped RuO 2 -TiO 2 /Ti electrodes

Abstract(#br)RuO 2 -TiO 2 /Ti electrodes with low-content La-doping are prepared by thermal decomposition method. The effect of La doping on their electrochemical performance upon UV illumination are investigated. The doped electrodes show higher density of cracks and rugosity in microscale on the surface than the undoped ones. They also have a negative shift of the onset potential of oxygen evolution from 1.1 V to 1.0 V and higher current intensity under UV irradiation as well. Electrochemical impedence spectroscopy analysis demonstrates a better electrical conductivity of the doped film. Electron paramagnetic resonance results show that the obtained La-doped TiO 2 surface provides a higher density of oxygen vacancies. This anode also has 7.5% higher degradation rate of the methylene blue than La-undoped ones under UV irradiation. This is probably due to the increased surface rugosity and better electric conductivity, higher density of oxygen vacancies under UV irradiation by the doping of La ions

Variations in olfactory function among bipolar disorder patients with different episodes and subtypes

PurposeMost studies on olfactory function in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) have not distinguished between the different subtypes or between the acute phase (mania or depression) and euthymic state. In this study, we compared olfactory function among BD patients with different subtypes and episodes to explore the potential use of olfactory function as a biomarker for the early identification of BD.Patients and methodsThe study sample consisted of 117 BD patients who were hospitalized between April 2019 and June 2019, and 47 healthy volunteers as controls. The BD patients were divided into a bipolar I disorder (BD I) (n = 86) and bipolar II disorder (BD II) group (n = 31) according to the different subtypes, and divided into depressive BD (n = 36), manic BD (n = 44), or euthymic BD (n = 37) groups according to the types of episodes they experienced. We assessed olfactory sensitivity (OS) and olfactory identification (OI) via the Sniffin’ Sticks test and used the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) and Young Manic Rating Scale (YMRS) to evaluate BD characteristics among all subjects.ResultsCompared with controls, the participants with BD showed decreased OS and OI. We found statistically significant differences in OS and OI between the BD I group and controls, as well as differences in OS between the BD I and BD II group. Least-significant difference multiple comparisons revealed statistically significant differences in OS between the depressive BD group, manic BD group and controls and also between the manic BD and euthymic BD group. OI was positively correlated with the YMRS score in the BD I group and OS was negatively correlated with the HAMD score in the BD II group.ConclusionThis may be the first study to compare olfactory function in patients with BD I vs. BD II via pairwise comparisons. Our findings suggest that OS may have potential as a biomarker for distinguishing the different subtypes of BD and as a state-related biomarker for differentiating the acute phase from the euthymic state of BD. However, further prospective research is warranted

COVID-19 TestNorm: A tool to normalize COVID-19 testing names to LOINC codes.

Large observational data networks that leverage routine clinical practice data in electronic health records (EHRs) are critical resources for research on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Data normalization is a key challenge for the secondary use of EHRs for COVID-19 research across institutions. In this study, we addressed the challenge of automating the normalization of COVID-19 diagnostic tests, which are critical data elements, but for which controlled terminology terms were published after clinical implementation. We developed a simple but effective rule-based tool called COVID-19 TestNorm to automatically normalize local COVID-19 testing names to standard LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes) codes. COVID-19 TestNorm was developed and evaluated using 568 test names collected from 8 healthcare systems. Our results show that it could achieve an accuracy of 97.4% on an independent test set. COVID-19 TestNorm is available as an open-source package for developers and as an online Web application for end users (https://clamp.uth.edu/covid/loinc.php). We believe that it will be a useful tool to support secondary use of EHRs for research on COVID-19

Whole-genome resequencing of 472 Vitis accessions for grapevine diversity and demographic history analyses

Despite the importance of grapevine cultivation in human history and the economic values of cultivar improvement, large-scale genomic variation data are lacking. Here the authors resequence 472 Vitis accessions and use the identified genetic variations for domestication history, demography, and GWAS analyses