Design of Surface Plasmon Resonance Devices for Biosensing

Treballs Finals de Grau de Física, Facultat de Física, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2021, Tutor: Mauricio Moreno SerenoA study of the effects of geometry of a SPR device based on a gold nanohole array for its use as a biosensor has been done. For this, the OptiFDTD software has been used. It has allowed to obtain the dependence between the position of the SPR dip and the period, the diameter of the hole and the thickness of the gold film. The simulations have been done for mediums with different refractive index to observe the effect of using different substances. Small shifts in the SPR peak have been observed caused by little changes in the refractive index. The results obtained are the expected ones, as there are many biosensing devices based on this principle

Hardware Realization of a Residential Static Var Compensator

Conservation by Voltage Reduction (CVR) is the implementation of a distribution voltage strategy whereby all distribution voltages are lowered to the minimum allowed by the equipment manufacturer. This strategy is rooted in the fact that many loads consume less power when they are fed with a voltage lower than nominal. Electric utility companies consider CVR as a potential solution for managing power in distribution networks. However, a difficult challenge is to keep end-of-line (EOL) voltages within an acceptable range of the ANSI Standard C84.1. Therefore, to achieve maximum benefit from CVR, electric utilities should be able to regulate residential voltages depending on load requirements. Hence, there is a need for a local solution which can regulate residential voltage levels from the first customer on the distribution feeder until the EOL of the distribution network. Such a solution will not only provide flexibility to electric utilities for better control over residential voltages but it can also maximize the benefits from CVR. The goal of this research is to develop a Residential Static Var Compensator (RSVC) that will allow electric utility companies to develop strategies for CVR and other applications. The proposed RSVC is in fact a reactive power compensator that can regulate a residential load voltage with a fixed capacitor in shunt with a reactor controlled by two bidirectional switches. The two switches are turned on and off in a complementary manner using a pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique that allows the reactor to function as a continuously-variable inductor. The proposed RSVC has several advantages compared to a conventional thyristor-based static var compensator (SVC), such as a quasi-sinusoidal inductor current, sub-cycle reactive power controllability, lower footprint for reactive components, and its realization as a single-phase device

Demand-Side Load Management Using Single-Phase Residential Static VAR Compensators

Distribution systems are going through a structural transformation from being radially-operated simple systems to becoming more complex networks to operate in the presence of the distributed energy resources (DERs) with significant levels of penetration. It is predicted that the share of electricity generation from DERs will keep increasing as the world is moving away from the power generation involving carbon-emission and towards cleaner energy sources such as solar, wind, and biofuels. However, the unstable behavior of the renewables resources presents challenges to the already existing distribution systems. One such problem is when the distribution feeder experience variable power supply due to the unpredictable behavior of renewable resources. Therefore, it becomes difficult to maintain end-of-line (EOL) voltages within an acceptable range of the ANSI C84.1 Standard. Moreover, electric utility companies consider Conservation by Voltage Reduction (CVR) as a potential solution for managing peak power demand in distribution feeders. Conservation by Voltage Reduction is the implementation of a distribution voltage strategy whereby all distribution voltages are lowered to the minimum allowed by the equipment manufacturer. This strategy is rooted in the fact that many loads consume less power when they are fed with a voltage lower than nominal. Therefore, by implementing CVR, the utility companies can potentially reduce the peak power demand and can delay the up-gradation of the distribution feeder assets. To maximize the benefits from CVR, the whole distribution feeder must participate in regulating power to lower the demand during hours of demand. Hence, there is a need for a local solution that can regulate residential voltage levels from the first customer on the distribution feeder until the EOL of the distribution network. Such a solution will not only provide flexibility to electric utilities for better control over residential voltages but it can also maximize the benefits from CVR. This dissertation presents the concept of a closed-loop Residential Static VAR Compensator (RSVC) that will allow electric utility companies to locally regulate the voltage across the distribution feeder. The proposed RSVC is a novel smart-grid device that can regulate a residential load voltage with a fixed capacitor in shunt with a reactor controlled by two bi-directional switches. The two switches are turned on and off in a complementary manner using a pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique that allows the reactor to function as a continuously-variable inductor. The proposed RSVC has several advantages compared to a conventional thyristor-based Static VAR Compensator (SVC), such as a quasi-sinusoidal inductor current, sub-cycle reactive power controllability, lower footprint for reactive components, and its realization as a single-phase device. The closed-loop RSVC contains two regulation control loops: the primary control loop regulates the customer load voltage to any desired reference voltage within ANSI C84.1 (120 V nominal $\pm$ 5\%) and a secondary loop adjusting the reference voltage to track the point of minimum power consumption by the loads. This approach to CVR has the merit of adapting to the nature of the customer load, which may or may not decrease its energy consumption under a reduced voltage. This local approach to voltage regulation and CVR is a radical departure from current CVR strategies that have been in existence for over 30 years but have not been widely adopted by electric utilities due to high costs and technical challenges

Mitigation of Distribution Voltage Violations Using Single-Phase Residential Static VAr Compensators

An alternative method to support the voltage at the end of a distribution feeder using residential static VAR compensators (RSVCs) is presented. The distribution feeder and the RSVCs were modeled using OpenDSS and validated by comparing the results of measured data with the output of the model. Results show that the use of RSVCs on the low side of the service transformers is an efficient way to mitigate low- and high-voltage violations in the distribution feeder. During a onemonth evaluation of the system, the results show that the use of RSVCs was able to eliminate all voltage violations below 113 V and it reduced the number of voltage violations under 114 V by 88%

Challenges Faced to Mazri Palm (Nannorhops ritchieana): A Case Study of Jhandey, District Mardan-Pakistan

Mazri is the local name for dwarf palm (Nannorhops ritchieana). About 65,000 people are involved in processing of Mazri leaves- 78% of them are women, in Pakistan. Average annual production of raw Mazri leaves in the country is 37,315 tones. Jhandey (Kalpani) is small town famous for its various products made from Mazri palm. 90% of the people of the area are dependent on Mazri products business. Price of the raw material (leaves) used in product preparation is Rs. 200-220 per 50 kg. Various products are prepared by the local people, which are really attractive to the domestic and international tourists. The number of products prepared per shop is 10-14. Various challenges are faced to the business of Mazri products like unsustainable processing of raw material, higher rates of raw material compared to prices of the products, lack of advertisement, improper marketing and substitution of Mazri products by polythene products etc. The study aimed at addressing issues and challenges faced to marketing and processing of Mazri in the area

Development of new integrated CNC system for ISO 6983 data interface model

CNC (Computer Numeric Control) has long been used in manufacturing. Hardware and software integration is part of the CNC system. Various integrations have been developed to address issues such as vendor dependency, affordability, adaptability, and sustainability. The Open Architecture Control (OAC) technology-based system was a big hit among them. This research created a new integrated CNC system based on OAC, virtual component, and microcontroller technologies. Machine motion control, simulator, monitoring, remote access, and report generation are all included in the system. It can work with a variety of firmware and is suitable for milling machines, 3D printers, and three-axis laser cutting. The system has been put to the test and has proven to be reliable. The paper’s content discusses the system’s development, working principle, experimental study, and future directions

Towards Delay-sensitive Routing in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

AbstractIn Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks (UASNs), fundamental difference between operational methodologies of routing schemes arises due to the requirement of time-critical applications therefore, there is a need for the design of delay-sensitive techniques. In this paper, Delay-Sensitive Depth-Based Routing (DSDBR), Delay-Sensitive Energy Efficient Depth-Based Routing (DSEEDBR) and Delay-Sensitive Adaptive Mobility of Courier nodes in Threshold-optimized Depth-based routing (DSAMCTD) protocols are proposed to empower the depth-based routing schemes. The proposed approaches formulate delay-efficient Priority Factors (PF) and Delay-Sensitive Holding time (DS HT) to minimize end-to-end delay with a small decrease in network throughput. These schemes also employ an optimal weight function WF for the computation of transmission loss and speed of received signal. Furthermore, solution for delay lies in efficient data forwarding, minimal relative transmissions in low-depth region and better forwarder selection. Simulations are performed to assess the proposed protocols and the results indicate that the three schemes largely minimize end-to-end delay of network

Genetic effects of Calotropis procera CpTIP1 gene on fiber quality in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)

Background: The importance of cotton crop (Gossypium hirsutum) in textile industry is based on its fiber quality. A number of fiber-specific genes play important role in the development of cotton fiber. Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of genes that are responsible for metabolic functions and their involvement in cotton fiber development.Methods: This study was focused at successful Agrobacterium mediated stable transformation of the fiber gene CpTIP1, isolated from the wild plant Calotropis procera, into cotton variety NIAB-846 for one generation. Results: Transformation efficiency was calculated to be 1.01% for the target gene. Different molecular techniques such as PCR were used for confirmation and Real-Time PCR was used to check the level of quantitative expression of fiber expansin gene in putative transgenic cotton plants. On the base of molecular analysis, results showed higher expression level of fiber gene (CpTIP1) in transgenic plants as compared to the control plants.Conclusion: The results of this study support the idea of improved cotton fiber through genetic modification especially the cotton fiber strength

Assessment of endophytic fungi cultural filtrate on soybean seed germination

Soybean seeds have high amount of isoflavones but its germination is often confronted with a variety of environmental problems resulting in low germination rate and growth. To overcome this in eco-friendly manner, we investigated the influence of cultural filtrate (CF) of gibberellins-producing endophytic fungi on soybean seed germination. Three endophytic fungi namely: Chrysosporium pseudomerdarium, Aspergillus fumigatus and Paecilomyces sp. were previously isolated from the roots of soybean plants. The culture filtrate application of the three endophyte resulted in significantly higher rate of soybean seed germination, germination percentage, relative seed germination percentage, peak value, germination value, shoot and root length, germination index and vigour index. Among the endophytes, A. fumigatus significantly increased the rate of germination, shoot and root length and vigour index. Same trend was noted in germination percentage and relative seed germination percentage for all the endophytic fungi. However, C. pseudomerdarium was the only one that enhanced germination index. The enhanced soybean seed germination by endophytes can be used for seed priming and hence improved crop plant growth under extreme environmental conditions.Key words: Chrysosporium pseudomerdarium, Aspergillus fumigatus, Paecilomyces sp., soybean, seed germination