Potential of \u3cem\u3ePanicum maximum\u3c/em\u3e as a Source of Energy

The use of plant biomass as a source of energy presents many advantages, mainly that it is a renewable, clean source of energy. Many tropical grasses have excellent po-tential as energy crops. The main one in Brazil is Pennisetum purpureum (elephant grass) owing to its very high yields. However, it is vegetatively propagated, thus more difficult to establish than seed propagated species. The use of Panicum maximum (guinea grass) is a possible alternative for use as a source of energy, due to its high yields as well as seed propagation. The objective of this research was to evaluate the potential of different P. maximum genotypes for use as energy crops, in comparison with elephant grass

DETECÇÃO AUTOMÁTICA DE CONTORNOS DE EDIFICAÇÕES UTILIZANDO IMAGEM GERADA POR CÂMARA DIGITAL DE PEQUENO FORMATO E DADOS LIDAR

This work presents a methodology to automatically extract 2D building contours from the integration between a small format digital camera image and laser scanning raw data. The external image orientation and internal camera orientation parameters are assumed to be known. As a common space to integrate  information from both sources it is used the image space without distortion. To remove systematic errors in the original image, the Newton-Raphson iterative method for simultaneous equation is used in a resampling process to this space. At this step, allthe pixels have color and altitude associated information. The RGB color values are transformed to (almost isotropic) CIELUV color space and the image is segmented according to these values, by mean shift algorithm. The forward steps filter the gotten segments, using colors (to remove green vegetation), medium altitude of a region comparing it with the altitude of its neighbours (to preserve high regions), and polygonal simplification degree (Douglas-Peucker), attempting to detect linear features. Several experiments realized over a Centro Politécnico - UFPR area, inCuritiba/PR, are discussed, with good results for isolated buildings.Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia para detectar contornos de edificaçõesautomaticamente, a partir da integração de imagem tomada por câmara digital não fotogramétrica com dados de varredura LASER. Assume-se o conhecimento da orientação exterior da imagem e orientação interior da câmara. Como espaçocomum de trabalho, das informações provenientes da imagem e dos dados LASER, usa-se o espaço-imagem, isento de distorções relativas à câmara digital não fotogramétrica. Para a remoção dos erros sistemáticos, contidos na imagem original, emprega-se o método iterativo de Newton-Raphson para sistemas de equações,corrigindo a imagem. Essa imagem é segmentada, segundo suas cores, no espaço de cores CIELUV, via algoritmo de deslocamento pela média (mean shift). Realiza-se, a seguir, uma avaliação dos segmentos gerados, segundo propriedades como tons de verde (removendo vegetação), altitude média de regiões frente a  regiões vizinhas (preservando regiões altas), e grau de simplificação do polígono envolvente (usando o algoritmo de Douglas-Peucker), sempre com objetivo de identificar feiçõesretilíneas (edificações potenciais). Diversos experimentos realizados sobre área do Centro Politécnico - UFPR, em Curitiba/PR, são discutidos, com resultados promissores para edificações isoladas

Study of a simplified model for DFIG-based wind turbines

In the study of the dynamical behavior of doublyfed induction generators (DFIG), for wind power applications, the use of reduced order models is useful in order to design specific control strategies for wind power plants as well as to obtain lightweight computing simulations. Within this field this paper presents a new dynamic model for wind turbines, based on DFIG, able of representing accurately its behavior during both the steady state and the transient of the grid voltage. As it will be proven this model permits to perform an accurate analysis of the system when there is a voltage dip in the grid. In the following a theoretical study of this model will be carried out and the accuracy of its performance will be tested under different conditions, by means of PSCAD/EMTDC simulations, in order to show its reliability. Finally the reliability of the simplified model will be tested in a scaled experimental setup.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Use of Cellulosic Materials as Dye Adsorbents — A Prospective Study

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer of nature, and it is widely used in the synthesis of new materials as well as in the adsorption of dye. This study reports a literature review (articles) and technology review (patents) about publications and product invention, which contain information on the use of cellulose on the adsorption of dyes in the period 2004–2014. For this work, research database and keywords were used to find articles and patents related to the subject under review. Specific words were used to find articles and patents related to the subject under review. After a demanding research, 1 patent and 23 articles that contain the words “cellulose,” “dye,” and “adsorption or sorption” in their titles were assessed, and annual evolution studies were performed for publications and countries that publish more

Transformações químicas: elaboração conceitual por meio de atividades experimentais

..