Análisis de los cambios en los canales turísticos por la implantación de las TIC: una aproximación a la adopción del comercio móvil para la planificación de viajes

La revisión de la literatura nos ha permitido observar que, tras el proceso de maduración del comercio electrónico los investigadores y los gestores de empresas están prestando una gran atención a los dispositivos móviles. En este contexto, se estima que la incorporación del canal móvil al sistema de distribución de las empresas del sector turístico puede constituir una herramienta clave de diferenciación. Además, se observa una tendencia creciente a que los consumidores actúen a través de diferentes canales por lo que las empresas deberán conocer los efectos que las interacciones entre canales provocan. De este modo, esta tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo general analizar el impacto de las TIC en la comercialización del producto turístico. En concreto, desde la perspectiva del consumidor se analizan los determinantes de la intención de uso del comercio móvil (en adelante, m-comercio) para la planificación de viajes, en un contexto multicanal. Con tal fin se extiende el Modelo de Aceptación Tecnológica incorporando nuevas variables. Particularmente, se incluyen como antecedentes de la utilidad percibida y de la facilidad de uso percibida del m-comercio dos tipos de variables: (1) factores contextuales que recogen los aspectos sociales de la adopción (la influencia social) y (2) comportamientos irracionales como son: el hábito de utilizar el smartphone, el hábito de acudir a la agencia de viajes (AAVV) o el hábito de dirigirse al ordenador (PC) para la planificación de viajes. Estos constructos se han incorporados al TAM en base a la Teoría Preferencia del Status Quo, a la Teoría Resistencia a la Innovación y a los efectos sinérgicos y de desplazamientos que la introducción de un nuevo canal provoca. Además, partiendo de la idea de que los consumidores no pueden ser analizados como un único conjunto, se examina la influencia de determinadas características de los consumidores turísticos (edad, género y experiencia en el m-comercio) en la adopción del canal móvil para la planificación de viajes. Siguiendo el método hipotético-deductivo se realiza una investigación cuantitativa con el objetivo de contrastar las hipótesis planteadas. Mediante cuestionario autoadministrado online se obtiene una muestra de 624 consumidores turísticos. La información es analizada empleando diferentes métodos estadísticos (análisis descriptivo, análisis bivariante, Test de Kruskal-Wallis, análisis cluster, modelos de ecuaciones estructurales basados en la varianza y análisis multigrupo) obteniéndose importantes conclusiones. Por ejemplo, las empresas del sector turístico que quieran integrar el canal móvil en la comercialización de su producto, deben conocer que en la actualidad su público objetivo está formado por consumidores con edades entre los 25 y los 44 años, que viajan de 2 a 4 veces al año por ocio, que tienen más de 2 años de experiencia en el acceso a Internet a través del móvil y que cuentan con experiencia en el m-comercio. Además, se pone de manifiesto el efecto que la opinión del círculo cercano al individuo y el hábito del uso del smartphone ejercen en las estructuras cognitivas de los consumidores. También se concluye que la edad es la variable que más diferencias de comportamiento provoca frente a la adopción de una nueva tecnología descubriendo que para el segmento de los consumidores mayores de 44 años los efectos de la Teoría Preferencia del Status Quo y de la Teoría Resistencia a la Innovación son más evidentes

The connection between the heat storage capability of PCM as a material property and their performance in real scale applications

Using phase change materials (PCM) for Thermal Energy Storage, the most important material property is their heat storage capability, usually given as h(T). Ideally, h(T) changes suddenly at a single temperature. However, many PCM change phase in a temperature range and show hysteresis. In addition, experience shows that even measurements with the same device on the same material can give different results when the heating rate, the amount of sample mass or the equipment device are varied. The question thus arises how to deal with different h(T) results when trying to predict the performance of a real scale application. This paper identifies the main origins of these effects and gives strategies for dealing with them.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° PIRSES-GA-2013-610692 (INNOSTORAGE) and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 657466 (INPATH-TES). The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research groups GREA (2014 SGR 123) and DIOPMA (2014 SGR 1543). GREA and DIOPMA are certified agents TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. This work has been partially funded by the Spanish government (ENE2015-64117-C5-1-R (MINECO/FEDER)). Dr. Camila Barreneche and Dr. Aran Solé would like to thank Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España for Grant Juan de la Cierva, FJCI-2014-22886 and FJCI-2015-25741, respectively

Experimental validation of the exact analytical solution to the steady periodic heat transfer problem in a PCM layer

Phase change materials (PCM) are used in many industrial and residential applications for their advantageous characteristic of high capacity of latent thermal storage by means of an isothermal process. In this context, it is very useful to have predictive mathematical models for the analysis of the thermal performance and for the thermal design of these layers. In this work, an experimental validation of an analytical model that resolves the steady periodic heat transfer problem in a finite layer of PCM is presented. The experimental investigation was conducted employing a PCM with thermophysical and thermochemical behavior very close to those hypothesized in the formulation of the analytical model. For the evaluation of the thermophysical properties of the PCM sample used, an experimental procedure created by the authors was employed. In all tests realized in a sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal periodic regime, the comparison between the measured and calculated trends of the temperature at different sample heights and of the surface heat fluxes show an excellent agreement. Moreover, also having verified the analytical total stored energy, the analytical model constitutes a valid instrument for the evaluation of the latent and sensible contribution and the trend in time of the position of the bi-phase interface.The work was partially funded by the Spanish government (ENE2015-64117-C5-1-R (MINECO/FEDER), ENE2015-64117-C5-3-R (MINECO/FEDER), and ULLE10-4E-1305). GREA is certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group (2014 SGR 123). This project has received funding from the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) under Grant agreement Nº PIRSES-GA-2013-610692 (INNOSTORAGE) and from European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement Nº 657466 (INPATH-TES). Alvaro de Gracia would like to thank Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad de España for Grant Juan de la Cierva, FJCI-2014-19940. Julià Coma would like to thank the Departament d'Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya for his research fellowship (2016FI_B2 00147). Aran Solé would like to thank Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España for Grant Juan de la Cierva, FJCI-2015-25741

Review of Reactors with Potential Use in Thermochemical Energy Storage in Concentrated Solar Power Plants

The aim of this study is to perform a review of the state-of-the-art of the reactors available in the literature, which are used for solid-gas reactions or thermal decomposition processes around 1000 ºC that could be further implemented for thermochemical energy storage in CSP (concentrated solar power) plants, specifically for SPT (solar power tower) technology. Both direct and indirect systems can be implemented, with direct and closed systems being the most studied ones. Among direct and closed systems, the most used configuration is the stacked bed reactor, with the fixed bed reactor being the most frequent option. Out of all of the reactors studied, almost 70% are used for solid-gas chemical reactions. Few data are available regarding solar efficiency in most of the processes, and the available information indicates relatively low values. Chemical reaction efficiencies show better values, especially in the case of a fluidized bed reactor for solid-gas chemical reactions, and fixed bed and rotary reactors for thermal decompositions.The work is partially funded by the Spanish government (ENE2015-64117-C5-1-R (MINECO/FEDER) and ENE2015-64117-C5-2-R (MINECO/FEDER)). The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research groups GREA (2017 SGR 1537) and DIOPMA (2017 SGR 118). GREA and DIOPMA are certified agents TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. Dr. Aran Solé would like to thank Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España for Grant Juan de la Cierva, FJCI-2015-25741

Geometry optimization of a heat storage system for concentrated solar power plants (CSP)

In the present study, geometry optimization of a phase change material (PCM) heat storage system is presented. The existing PCM-fins heat exchanger system works at the back side of a solar receiver in order to minimize the effect of the solar radiation fluctuations inside the cavity. As initially designed, the system does not accomplish the expected design purposes and thus optimization is needed. Optimization is usually time-consuming and some algorithms need a starting point, therefore one suitable method is geometrical optimization which aims to find the optimal shape of a system for a given criteria and providing a rough optimal geometry. Here, constructal theory, 'point to volume', is applied to find the optimum shape factor of the elemental volume of the presented PCM-heat exchanger. With this methodology, an optimum ratio of the PCM and fin width and length is found and beyond that the method is extended to 'surface to volume' problem. Results have been numerically validated using a CFD software and demonstrate that it gives a very good approximation of the real optimum which can be used as initial configuration for further optimization through CFD simulation or other optimization methods that require a starting point.The author Aran Solé would like to thank the Societat Economica Barcelonesa Amics del Pais (SEBAP) for the funds that made possible her research stay. The authors would like to thank Jean-Marie Mancaux for his help and Jinqiu Shen for her contribution in the work. The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group GREA (2014 SGR 123). GREA is certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. The work is partially funded by the Spanish government (ENE2015-64117-C5-1-R (MINECO/FEDER)). The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 657466 (INPATH-TES). Aran Solé would like to thank Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España for Grant Juan de la Cierva, FJCI-2015-440 25741

Corrosion evaluation and prevention of reactor materials to contain thermochemical material for thermal energy storage

Thermochemical materials (TCM) can be used for seasonal heat storage, storing high amounts of thermal energy coming from the sun in summer and releasing it in winter, when heating for houses is needed. One promising TCM for building comfort applications is the Na2S/water pair due to its high energy density and appropriate reaction temperature that can be achieved by a solar collector. Nonetheless, Na2S reacts with oxygen and is corrosive to metals, especially with those used to build up heat exchangers or reactors that contain the TCM. Therefore, corrosion tests in a self-developed experimental setup under vacuum conditions, 13 mbar, between Na2S·9H2O/5H2O and two reactor metals - copper and stainless steel 316 - have been performed. Since copper is corroded and is highly used for thermochemical reactors, two promising coatings, Halar and electroless nickel, have been applied. Furthermore, aluminium has also been tested coated with these coatings. Halar is a potential candidate to protect both copper and aluminium heat exchangers/reactor that may contain Na2S/H2O pair for thermochemical energy storage. Stainless steel 316 is also corrosion resistant to the selected TCM

La influencia de la edad y el género sobre los determinantes de la adopción del smartphone para la planificación de viajes

Vallespín, M., Molinillo, S. & Pérez-Aranda, J. (2016).La influencia de la edad y el género sobre los determinantes de la asopción del smartphone para la planificación de viajes. In Correia, M., Santos, J.A.C., Santos, M., Aguas, P. & Baptista (Eds.), Tourism & Management Studies International Conference TMS Algarve (p. 176), Portugal.Objetivo: Esta investigación analiza el comportamiento del turista ante la llegada de un nuevo canal de comercialización como es el canal móvil. Para ello, y con el objetivo de guiar a las empresas del sector en sus estrategias de segmentación, se analiza por separado, el comportamiento de los diferentes segmentos. Metodología: Mediante análisis ANOVA, sobre una muestra de 624 consumidores turísticos españoles, se estudia la influencia de la edad y el género para la planificación de viajes a través del canal móvil. En concreto, las variables dependientes consideradas son: la facilidad de uso, la utilidad percibida y el hábito que perciben hacia el canal móvil, su futura intención de uso, el apoyo que perciben de su círculo más cercano y los hábitos arraigados a otros canales como son el canal online y el canal offline. Principales resultados: Se encuentra que la variable edad genera diferentes comportamientos en casi todas las variables analizadas. De este modo, son los turistas menores de 45 años los que parecen presentar un mayor potencial ya que presentan un mayor hábito hacia el canal online y hacia el canal móvil en detrimento de los canales offline. Además, este segmento (menores de 45 años) también encuentran esta canal más fácil de usar. En cambio, el género parece no generar apenas diferencias, tan solo los hombres parecen presentar un mayor arraigo hacia las agencias de viajes. Podría concluirse, por tanto, que las diferencias de género encontradas antaño sobre el uso de las tecnologías parecen estar desapareciendo.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech