Optimization of Stand-Alone Hybrid Solar-Wind System by Using General Morphological Analysis

At the beginning of this chapter is a brief introduction to the issue of renewable energy sources. Next, aspects that should be considered when choosing a location of both solar photovoltaics panels and wind turbines are discussed. Afterwards, there is a brief theoretical introduction to the General Morphological Analysis (GMA), followed by practical application of GMA to optimize the structure of hybrid solar-wind system, which is preceded by a description of the adopted design assumptions. At the end of the chapter is a numerical model of a hybrid solar-wind system developed in the MATLAB/Simulink environment and analysis of the results of numerical simulations

A Pilot Study in Order to Examine the Relationship between the Degree of Visual Impairment of Patient and His Postural Stability

The main aim of the pilot study was to evaluate the relationship between degree of visual impairment of patient and his postural stability. The article contains basic explanation and requirements for stabilography research. The paper also describes statistic analysis of influence of visual impairment on postural stability opposed to control group (people perfectly sighted). These results allowed us to verify the approved research plan

Solving a system of nonlinear equations with the use of optimization methods in problems related to the wheel-rail contact

The article presents the methods for defining the geometry of the contact surface between a rigid wheel and a rigid rail. The calculation model that has been developed allowed for any arrangement of the wheel in relation to the rail. This allowed for the creation of a system of nonlinear equations, the solution of which allows one to determine the presumable wheel-rail contact points. The search for the solution of the system of strongly nonlinear equations was conducted using a few optimization methods. This allowed one to study both the selection of the starting point and the convergence of the method

The impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Master graduates’ employability

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the global economy to a near standstill. The scale of the coronavirus and the associated losses have left many countries facing a humanitarian, social and economic crisis. The main objective of the research presented in this article was to determine to what extent the support provided within the activities of the Motokadra project (2018–2020) within the framework of the Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development, funded by the European Social Fund, enabled its participants to adapt to the labour market conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project participants were full-time Master’s students within the faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology. They formed the experimental group. The authors examined changes in the employability of the experimental group in the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods. The students in the experimental group represented several fields of study, which also allowed the authors to analyse which discipline appeared to be more resilient to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and whether the profile of the discipline affected employability. The employability of graduates in the automotive industry was particularly examined. The results of the analyses allow us to conclude that the labour market crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the experimental group’s employability level. Furthermore, it has been shown that the study of the automation and robotics discipline increases the chances of finding a job after graduation