17,967 research outputs found
Retrofit modelling of existing dwellings in the UK : the Salford Energy House case study
There is a clear consensus that improving energy efficiency of existing housing stock is
necessary to meet the UK’s legally binding carbon emission targets by 2050. The aim of this
research is to assess the energy saving potentials from building retrofit using an end terrace
house, similar houses represent about 30% of the existing building stock in the UK. The Salford
Energy House - a unique pre-1919 Victorian end terrace house built within an environmental
chamber was used. Retrofit modelling analysis was carried out using IESVE - a dynamic
thermal simulation tool. The retrofitted model was also evaluated using future projected climate
data (CIBSE latest release) to examine energy demands and overheating. Findings show that
improving building fabric thermal characteristics can reduce space heating demands
substantially. Heating modes, set point preferences and
infiltration level all have strong impact on heating demands. Space heating demand savings can
be as much as 77% when the property facades were upgraded to the similar requirements of
Passivhaus standards. The research implicates that, for dwelling retrofit practices, a whole
house holistic approach should be the preferred option to improve energy
efficiency. With future climate scenarios where temperatures are potentially elevated, the
heating demands can be potentially reduced as much as 27%. The likelihood of overheating in
dwellings after a deep retrofit due to future elevated temperatures becomes apparent. Therefore,
mitigation of overheating risk becomes a necessity for future domestic housing stock retrofit
planning and policy making. The research presented in this paper highlights the effectiveness
of various retrofit measures individually as well as holistically, also the implications on energy
demands and the likelihood of overheating in dwellings under future climate scenarios
Distribution of Abdominal Obesity and Fitness Level in Overweight and Obese Korean Adults
Background. Abdominal obesity and its relative distribution are known to differ in association with metabolic characteristics and cardiorespiratory fitness. This study aimed to determine an association between fitness level and abdominal adiposity in overweight and obese adults. Methods. 228 overweight and obese individuals were classified as either cardiorespiratory unfit or fit based on their recovery heart rate. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), the visceral-to-subcutaneous adipose tissue ratio (VAT/SAT ratio), and cardiometabolic characteristics were analyzed to examine the relationship between recovery heart rate and abdominal adiposity components. Results. After adjustments for age and sex, significant relationships of recovery heart rate and VAT, SAT, and VAT/SAT ratio were found; however, SAT was not significantly associated after further adjustment for body mass index (BMI) (r=0.045, P=0.499), whereas VAT (r=0.232, P<0.001) and VAT/SAT ratio (r=0.214, P=0.001) remained associated. Through stepwise multiple regression analyses after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, lifestyle factors, mean blood pressure, fasting glucose, HOMA-IR, lipid profiles, and hsCRP, recovery heart rate was identified as an independent variable associated with VAT (β=0.204, P<0.001) and VAT/SAT ratio (β=0.163, P=0.008) but not with SAT (β=0.097, P=0.111). Conclusions. Cardiorespiratory fitness level is independently associated with VAT and the VAT/SAT ratio but not with SAT in overweight and obese adults
Density functional calculations of the electronic structure and magnetic properties of the hydrocarbon K3picene superconductor near the metal-insulator transition
We have investigated the electronic structures and magnetic properties of of
K3picene, which is a first hydrocarbon superconductor with high transition
temperature T_c=18K. We have shown that the metal-insulator transition (MIT) is
driven in K3picene by 5% volume enhancement with a formation of local magnetic
moment. Active bands for superconductivity near the Fermi level E_F are found
to have hybridized character of LUMO and LUMO+1 picene molecular orbitals.
Fermi surfaces of K3picene manifest neither prominent nesting feature nor
marked two-dimensional behavior. By estimating the ratio of the Coulomb
interaction U and the band width W of the active bands near E_F, U/W, we have
demonstrated that K3picene is located in the vicinity of the Mott transition.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Heisenberg-picture approach to the exact quantum motion of a time-dependent forced harmonic oscillator
In the Heisenberg picture, the generalized invariant and exact quantum
motions are found for a time-dependent forced harmonic oscillator. We find the
eigenstate and the coherent state of the invariant and show that the
dispersions of these quantum states do not depend on the external force. Our
formalism is applied to several interesting cases.Comment: 15 pages, two eps files, to appear in Phys. Rev. A 53 (6) (1996
Weakly coupled quantum spin singlets in BaCrO
Using single crystal inelastic neutron scattering with and without
application of an external magnetic field and powder neutron diffraction, we
have characterized magnetic interactions in BaCrO. Even without
field, we found that there exist three singlet-to-triplet excitation modes in
scattering plane. Our complete analysis shows that the three modes
are due to spatially anisotropic interdimer interactions that are induced by
local distortions of the tetrahedron of oxygens surrounding the Jahn-Teller
active Cr. The strong intradimer coupling of meV
and weak interdimer interactions ( meV) makes
BaCrO a good model system for weakly-coupled quantum spin
dimers
Spin-lattice order in frustrated ZnCr2O4
Using synchrotron X-rays and neutron diffraction we disentangle spin-lattice
order in highly frustrated ZnCrO where magnetic chromium ions occupy
the vertices of regular tetrahedra. Upon cooling below 12.5 K the quandary of
anti-aligning spins surrounding the triangular faces of tetrahedra is resolved
by establishing weak interactions on each triangle through an intricate lattice
distortion. The resulting spin order is however, not simply a N\'{e}el state on
strong bonds. A complex co-planar spin structure indicates that antisymmetric
and/or further neighbor exchange interactions also play a role as ZnCrO
resolves conflicting magnetic interactions
Putative spin liquid in the triangle-based iridate BaIrTiO
We report on thermodynamic, magnetization, and muon spin relaxation
measurements of the strong spin-orbit coupled iridate BaIrTiO,
which constitutes a new frustration motif made up a mixture of edge- and
corner-sharing triangles. In spite of strong antiferromagnetic exchange
interaction of the order of 100~K, we find no hint for long-range magnetic
order down to 23 mK. The magnetic specific heat data unveil the -linear and
-squared dependences at low temperatures below 1~K. At the respective
temperatures, the zero-field muon spin relaxation features a persistent spin
dynamics, indicative of unconventional low-energy excitations. A comparison to
the isostructural compound BaRuTiO suggests that a concerted
interplay of compass-like magnetic interactions and frustrated geometry
promotes a dynamically fluctuating state in a triangle-based iridate.Comment: Physical Review B accepte
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