A Trnsys Simulation of a Solar-Driven Air Refrigerating System for a Low-Temperature Room of an Agro-Industry site in the Southern part of Italy

Solar cooling technologies are of great interest because the cooling load in buildings is directly correlated to the intensity of solar radiation. In this paper, a feasibility study of a solar cooling system for a cold room in the Southern part of Italy is carried out. This feasibility study can be an example for future achievements in Southern of Italy. The cold room is part of an agro-industrial structure; the set point of temperature is 10°C. The room is 11.0 m long, 9.5 m wide and 3.5 m high. Two sliding doors 3.0 m high are present and strawberries are inside mainly. Thermal loads are evaluated by means of the software TRNSYS 17. Parabolic Though Collectors (PTCs) are employed to capture the solar energy. The solar field extends for 210 m2. Two double-effect chillers (with a total installed power equal to 150 kW) for the collectors are employed. In addition, a conventional heat pump is installed to meet the demand for refrigeration during unfavorable weather conditions or during the maintenance of chillers. There are two different storage tanks: a tank with volume 10 m3 for hot water storage and a tank with volume 40 m3 for cold storage. The terminal part is constituted by dry coolers. Results are given in terms of heat transfer rates and solar fraction. Besides, an economic analysis is carried out to evaluate the payback time

An Open Logical Framework

The LFP Framework is an extension of the Harper-Honsell-Plotkin's Edinburgh Logical Framework LF with external predicates, hence the name Open Logical Framework. This is accomplished by defining lock type constructors, which are a sort of \u25a1-modality constructors, releasing their argument under the condition that a possibly external predicate is satisfied on an appropriate typed judgement. Lock types are defined using the standard pattern of constructive type theory, i.e. via introduction, elimination and equality rules. Using LFP, one can factor out the complexity of encoding specific features of logical systems, which would otherwise be awkwardly encoded in LF, e.g. side-conditions in the application of rules in Modal Logics, and sub-structural rules, as in non-commutative Linear Logic. The idea of LFP is that these conditions need only to be specified, while their verification can be delegated to an external proof engine, in the style of the Poincar Principle or Deduction Modulo. Indeed such paradigms can be adequately formalized in LFP. We investigate and characterize the meta-theoretical properties of the calculus underpinning LFP: strong normalization, confluence and subject reduction. This latter property holds under the assumption that the predicates are well-behaved, i.e. closed under weakening, permutation, substitution and reduction in the arguments. Moreover, we provide a canonical presentation of LFP, based on a suitable extension of the notion of \u3b2\u3b7-long normal form, allowing for smooth formulations of adequacy statements. \ua9 The Author, 2013

Efficient management of industrial electric vehicles by means of static and dynamic wireless power transfer systems

Industrial companies are moving toward the electrification of equipment and processes, in line with the broader energy transition taking place across the economy. Particularly, the energy efficiency and, consequently, the reduction of environmental pollution of intralogistics activities have become a competitive element and are now an actual research and development objective. A wireless power transfer is a contactless electrical energy transmission technology based on the magnetic coupling between coils installable under the ground level and a coil mounted under the vehicle floor, and it represents an excellent solution to decrease the demand for batteries by reducing vehicle downtimes during the recharge. This work aims to define a methodology to determine the optimal positioning of wireless charging units across the warehouse, both for static and dynamic recharging. To this aim, firstly, a mathematical model of the warehouse is proposed to describe transfers and storage/retrieval operations executed by the forklifts. Then, an integer linear programming problem is applied to find the best possible layout of the charging infrastructures. The optimal solution respects the energetic requirements given by the customer and minimizes the overall system cost. The proposed approach was applied to optimize the installation in a real-size warehouse of a tire manufacturing company. Several scenarios were computer generated through discrete event simulation in order to test the optimizer in different warehouse conditions. The obtained results show that integrated dynamic and static WPT systems ensure a constant state of charge of the electric vehicles during their operations

Are treated celiac patients at risk for mycotoxins? An Italian case-study

Urinary biomarkers of mycotoxin exposure were evaluated in a group of celiac patients (n = 55) and in a control group of healthy subjects (n = 50) following their habitual diet. Deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEN), and fumonisin B1 (FB1) were monitored in 105 urinary samples collected from the two groups. Dietary habits were also recorded through compilation of a seven-day weighed dietary diary. Biomarkers of mycotoxin exposure were detected in 21 celiac patients and in 15 control subjects, corresponding to about 34% of total participants. In particular, ZEN was the most detected mycotoxin among all the studied subjects with a total of 19 positive cases. Results did not show a statistically significant difference in mycotoxin exposure between the two groups, and the presence of specific mycotoxins was not related to the intake of any particular food category. Our findings suggest little urgency of specific regulation for gluten free products, although the prevalence of exposure observed in free-living diets of both celiac and healthy subjects underlines the need of a constant surveillance on mycotoxins occurrence at large

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Ichthyoplankton in Manila Bay in Relation to Oceanographic Conditions

Manila Bay faces serious problems today such as pollution, coastal area reclamation and infrastructure, overfishing, and other activities that worsen the present condition of the bay. It is considered as one of the major fishing grounds in the Philippines. Fish eggs and larvae collection was carried out to determine their distribution, abundance, and composition in the bay. Eight established sampling stations were placed throughout the bay with an average distance of 5-6 nautical miles apart and sampled every other month on a monsoonal basis. Bongo net (360 microns mesh size, 1.5 meters in length, and a diameter of 50-centimeter mouth opening) with attached calibrated flowmeter was used in collecting fish larvae. Physical (salinity, temperature,), chemical (nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, silicate, dissolved oxygen), and biological (phytoplankton, zooplankton) parameters were also carefully studied to be able to explain such uncommon event within the bay. In spite of the current status and worsening condition of water quality of the bay, high abundances of fish eggs and larvae were consistently observed during the northeast monsoon surveys (March) from 2012 to 2015. A total of 3,008 individuals were identified belonging to 34 fish families. The highest fish egg density was observed during March 2013 with 1,550 ind./100m3, followed by March 2012 and 2015 with 1,484 ind./100m3 and 1,182 ind./100m3, respectively. An abundance of fish larvae was observed during March 2015 with 414 ind./100m3, followed by March 2012 (329 ind./100m3), and March 2014 (311 ind./100m3). The lowest density observed was in September 2012 with a density of 132 ind/100m3 fish eggs and 46 ind/100m3 fish larvae. The results were consistent that most fish eggs aggregate in the middle part of the bay especially in Stations 4 and 2 from 2012-2015. For fish larvae, they were consistently found in the eastern part of the bay (stations 6, 8, and 7) throughout the duration of the study, it was also the areas where high concentrations of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and nutrients were observed. A high abundance of fish eggs and fish larvae was observed during northeast monsoon than southwest monsoon. In addition, fish larvae family was dominated by small pelagic fish such as sardines, slipmouths, and mullets. The most dominant fish families found were Clupeidae, followed Leiognathidae, and Nemipteridae. Sillaginidae and Mugilidae were also included in the top five abundant families that occur during every sampling period were

Profile of Salinity, Temperature, Heavy Metal (Pb, Cd, Hg) and Sediment Hydrogen Sulfide Concentration of Manila Bay, Philippines from 2012 to 2015

The physical parameters of seawater are important determinants of water quality. Heavy metals are components that are naturally present in a considerable amount in the ocean but are observed to be rising above the allowable level due to pollution outputs of industrialization. Heavy metal contamination is among the environmental pollution problems that the world faces. Additionally, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is also a toxic compound that accumulates in the ocean floor posing threat to the marine organisms when present in high concentrations. The objective of this study is to document the distribution of temperature and salinity in the water column, heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg) and sediment H2S in Manila Bay from 2012 to 2015. Stratification in the bay was generally a factor of salinity and less of temperature. Stratification due to salinity was consistently observed in September with the halocline occurring around 10 m to 15 m. Most of the time, the bay had evenly distributed temperatures, but the slightly higher temperatures were usually recorded near the coast. Inverse trends were observed for the salinity and temperature of the bay. Pb, Cd, and Hg concentrations in the bay occasionally exceeded the permissible limits especially the lead concentration in January 2013 (ave: 809.81 µg/L), March 2013 (ave: 1102.88 µg/L) and November 2015 (1507.50 µg/L). Cd and Hg concentrations were generally below the permissible limit and the reported limit of analysis. H2S concentration ranged from < 4 mg/kg to 9.99 mg/kg for all the survey months. Distribution was higher in the northwestern part and southeastern areas of the bay

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Hypoxia and Eutrophication in Manila Bay During the Northeast and Southwest Monsoons from 2012 to 2015

Manila Bay is a major source of livelihood for the fishermen living around the area. The occurrence of hypoxia, a state where dissolved oxygen (DO) is not enough to support marine life, poses a serious threat to the bay and consequently to its fisheries sector. This study documents the variation of hypoxia throughout the bay for a sampling period of four years, from January 2012 to November 2015, with a monthly interval each survey. A total of 24 field surveys on 16 designated sampling stations, at varying depths, were conducted. Results show that hypoxia was present all year round but was more severe during the wet season (July, September, November) compared to the dry season. The averages of bay-wide DO concentration ranged from 3.42 to 7.63mg/l during the 4-year survey. Low DO concentrations were associated with high concentrations of nutrients, particularly nitrate. Nitrate spiked to a 44.6 µM concentration while bay-wide DO concentration dropped to as low as 0.01 mg/l in the wet season. An occurrence of hypoxia along the coasts, transitioning from western, northern and eastern areas, was observed as a common trend for all surveys. However, DO concentrations in areas near the coast, in depths around 5m to 15m, and in the deeper areas near the mouth of the bay, from around 10m to 35m depths were noted to be lower. In conclusion, hypoxia has been occurring year-round in Manila Bay with varying intensity but more prominent during the wet season

Variable Curvature Slab Molecular Dynamics as a Method to Determine Surface Stress

A thin plate or slab, prepared so that opposite faces have different surface stresses, will bend as a result of the stress difference. We have developed a classical molecular dynamics (MD) formulation where (similar in spirit to constant-pressure MD) the curvature of the slab enters as an additional dynamical degree of freedom. The equations of motion of the atoms have been modified according to a variable metric, and an additional equation of motion for the curvature is introduced. We demonstrate the method to Au surfaces, both clean and covered with Pb adsorbates, using many-body glue potentials. Applications to stepped surfaces, deconstruction and other surface phenomena are under study.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, REVTeX, submitted to Physical Review