Analysis of curtailment at The Geysers geothermal Field, California

Geothermal energy has traditionally been viewed as a baseload energy source, but the rapid growth of intermittent renewable energy has led to a need for more flexibility in power generation to avoid mandatory curtailment imposed by grid operators. This study of curtailment at The Geysers provides insights into the magnitude, duration, frequency, temporal and spatial distribution, and potential causes of curtailment events between 2013 and 2018. Annual levels of curtailment range during this period from 9 to 47 GW h, representing 0.15 to 0.81 % of the net generation. Most curtailments occurred at the power plants connected to a lower capacity transmission line and may result from transmission constriction. There is a clear link between negative pricing and economic curtailment, especially when solar production is higher. Economic curtailment events tend to be only a few hours and vary in magnitude up to almost 300 MW, whereas transmission-related curtailment events can be up to several weeks in duration. It is likely that curtailment of geothermal power will be an increasing concern, and could be mitigated by flexible generation strategies and increases in energy storage. It is critical to know the nature of curtailment events so that flexible generation options can be assessed properly

Water side Corrosion in Boilers - Tata Steel's Experiences

Captive power plants in an integrated steel Plant like Tata Steel have got two basic functions to perform, viz. meeting the essential power requirement and supplying the process steam. Process steam requirement gets the first priority and has to be met under all conditions. Even though the steel plant may have a tie-up with the utility for getting a certain contracted power supply, the captive power plants have to produce the base load-the sum of the most essential loads which cannot be shed-off from equipment and process safety point of view after meeting process steam demand.Under the present scenario of economic liberalisation, the cost of operations has to be brought down and kept at the lowest levels dictated by market forces. The capitve power plants can meet all these objectives only if all the boilers are operated at a high efficiency, availability and reliability

CloudNeg: An autonomous multi issue negotiation system, with preference elicitation component, for trading cloud services

Cloud services provide its users with flexible resource provisioning. But in the current market, a user has to choose from a limited set of configurations at a fixed price. This paper presents an autonomous negotiation system termed CloudNeg for negotiating cloud services. CloudNeg provides buyers and sellers of cloud services with autonomous agents to negotiate on the specifications of a cloud instance, including price, on their behalf. These agents elicit their buyers’ time preferences and use them in negotiations. Further, this paper presents two artifacts: a negotiation algorithm and a prototype which together form CloudNeg

Video-based eyetracking methods and algorithms in head-mounted displays

Head pose is utilized to approximate a user\u27s line-of-sight for real-time image rendering and interaction in most of the 3D visualization applications using head-mounted displays (HMD). The eye often reaches an object of interest before the completion of most head movements. It is highly desirable to integrate eye-tracking capability into HMDs in various applications. While the added complexity of an eyetracked-HMD (ETHMD) imposes challenges on designing a compact, portable, and robust system, the integration offers opportunities to improve eye tracking accuracy and robustness. In this paper, based on the modeling of an eye imaging and tracking system, we examine the challenges and identify parametric requirements for video-based pupil-glint tracking methods in an ET-HMD design, and predict how these parameters may affect the tracking accuracy, resolution, and robustness. We further present novel methods and associated algorithms that effectively improve eye-tracking accuracy and extend the tracking range

The influence of flavoring components on the physicochemical properties of spray-dried high oleic (HO) and tofu line (TL) soymilk powder

With the increased interest in plant-based foods, a growing demand for high protein plant-based alternatives has spiked the food industry. Consumer acceptance of a food product is influenced by the natural flavor or through the addition of familiar flavors, which influence the purchase of the food product. There is a wide variety of soy-based products available on the market, with soymilk being one of the most popular among vegetarian diets. Soybean products have been known for their beany or malty flavor, having advantage in certain types of food products like tofu yet experiencing market resistance among certain population groups that are unfamiliar with the beany flavor of soybean. Improving the flavor profile might significantly change consumer perceptions toward soy-based food products. In the current study, chocolate and vanilla flavors were added to newly developed varieties of soybean milk (high oleic and tofu line) to investigate the impact of flavoring components on the physicochemical characteristics of novel soybean varieties. Soymilk with flavoring components were spray-dried, and the resultant powders were subjected to physical, reconstitution, rheological, particle, and thermal property analysis. Experimental analysis and statistical data showed that powder properties were improved with the addition of flavoring components. Obtained product yield (57%–66%), flowability (good to passable), wettability (2.52–1.34 min), dispersibility (83%–95%), solubility (75%–86%), viscosity (3.22–10.35 mPa s), thermal stability (≥15°C), particle size distribution (improved homogeneity), and morphology (smooth and spherical). The obtained results would be of interest to food processors and food product developers looking for plant-based alternatives