613 research outputs found
The operation of district heating with heat pumps and thermal energy storage in a zero-emission scenario
With the decarbonisation of electricity generation, large scale heat pumps are becoming an increasingly viable prospect
for district heating installations. Heat pumps couple heat demands to an intermittent electricity supply with varying electricity
prices with the use of thermal energy storage providing flexibility to avoid peak electricity charges and minimise operating
costs. However, the operating strategy for cost minimising in district heating system models is dependent on the size of heat
pump and thermal energy storage capacity chosen and its operational conditions. Model predictive control techniques can be
used to explore district heating configurations with varying forecast horizons. This study applies optimisation to a district
heating operation model simulation to find low cost combinations of heat pump and thermal energy storage sizes.
Physics-based representations of a district heating network and thermal energy storage are developed with ground source
heat pumps and applied to a district heat load profile with hourly marginal electricity costs derived from a modelled zero-carbon
electricity system as a basis for operation. Using a dynamic programming algorithm with different forecast horizons to minimise
operational costs, the total costs of combinations of heat pump and thermal energy storage sizes are calculated.
The operation at smaller thermal store sizes shows cycling multiple times per day, while at larger sizes these sub-daily cycles
are maintained but longer multi-day cycles become more predominant. It was found that thermal energy storage equivalent of
around 1% of annual demand is sufficient to minimise operating costs and enables flexibility beyond 4 days. This has important
consequences for the electricity system and can facilitate the integration of variable renewable electricity
Theoretical He I Emissivities in the Case B Approximation
We calculate the He I case B recombination cascade spectrum using improved
radiative and collisional data. We present new emissivities over a range of
electron temperatures and densities. The differences between our results and
the current standard are large enough to have a significant effect not only on
the interpretation of observed spectra of a wide variety of objects but also on
determinations of the primordial helium abundance.Comment: Accepted to ApJ
Laser frequency locking by direct measurement of detuning
We present a new method of laser frequency locking in which the feedback
signal is directly proportional to the detuning from an atomic transition, even
at detunings many times the natural linewidth of the transition. Our method is
a form of sub-Doppler polarization spectroscopy, based on measuring two Stokes
parameters ( and ) of light transmitted through a vapor cell. This
extends the linear capture range of the lock loop by up to an order of
magnitude and provides equivalent or improved frequency discrimination as other
commonly used locking techniques.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures Revte
CTMC calculations of electron capture and ionization in collisions of multiply charged ions with elliptical Rydberg atoms
We have performed classical trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) studies of electron
capture and ionization in multiply charged (Q=8) ion-Rydberg atom collisions at
intermediate impact velocities. Impact parallel to the minor and to the major
axis, respectively, of the initial Kepler electron ellipse has been
investigated. The important role of the initial electron momentum distribution
found for singly charged ion impact is strongly disminished for higher
projectile charge, while the initial spatial distribution remains important for
all values of Q studied.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figure
Role of filtration in managing the risk from Cryptosporidium in commercial swimming pools – a review
Most commercial swimming pools use pressurised filters, typically containing sand media, to remove suspended solids as part of the water treatment process designed to keep water attractive, clean and safe. The accidental release of faecal material by bathers presents a poorly quantified risk to the safety of swimmers using the pool. The water treatment process usually includes a combination of maintaining a residual concentration of an appropriate biocide in the pool together with filtration to physically remove particles, including microbial pathogens, from the water. However, there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of treatment processes in removing all pathogens, and there has been growing concern about the number of reported outbreaks of the gastrointestinal disease cryptosporidiosis, caused by the chlorine-resistant protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium. A number of interacting issues influence the effectiveness of filtration for the removal of Cryptosporidium oocysts from swimming pools. This review explains the mechanisms by which filters remove particles of different sizes (including oocyst-sized particles, typically 4–6 μm), factors that affect the efficiency of particle removal (such as filtration velocity), current recommended management practices, and identifies further work to support the development of a risk-based management approach for the management of waterborne disease outbreaks from swimming pools
Rotational Cooling of Polar Molecules by Stark-tuned Cavity Resonance
A general scheme for rotational cooling of diatomic heteronuclear molecules
is proposed. It uses a superconducting microwave cavity to enhance the
spontaneous decay via Purcell effect. Rotational cooling can be induced by
sequentially tuning each rotational transition to cavity resonance, starting
from the highest transition level to the lowest using an electric field.
Electrostatic multipoles can be used to provide large confinement volume with
essentially homogeneous background electric field.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Experimental implementation of a four-level N-type scheme for the observation of Electromagnetically Induced Transparency
A nondegenerate four-level N-type scheme was experimentally implemented to
observe electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) at the Rb D
line. Radiations of two independent external-cavity semiconductor lasers were
used in the experiment, the current of one of them being modulated at a
frequency equal to the hyperfine-splitting frequency of the excited 5P
level. In this case, apart from the main EIT dip corresponding to the
two-photon Raman resonance in a three-level -scheme, additional dips
detuned from the main dip by a frequency equal to the frequency of the HF
generator were observed in the absorption spectrum. These dips were due to an
increase in the medium transparency at frequencies corresponding to the
three-photon Raman resonances in four-level N-type schemes. The resonance
shapes are analyzed as functions of generator frequency and magnetic field.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure
Spin Relaxation Resonances Due to the Spin-Axis Interaction in Dense Rubidium and Cesium Vapor
Resonances in the magnetic decoupling curves for the spin relaxation of dense
alkali-metal vapors prove that much of the relaxation is due to the spin-axis
interaction in triplet dimers. Initial estimates of the spin-axis coupling
coefficients for the dimers are 290 MHz for Rb; 2500 MHz for Cs.Comment: submitted to Physical Review Letters, text + 3 figure
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The natural capital of temporary rivers: characterising the value of dynamic aquatic-terrestrial habitats. Valuing Nature Natural Capital Synthesis Reports, VNP12
Temporary rivers naturally transition between flowing, pool and dry states, creating aquatic–terrestrial habitat mosaics that change in space and time. These dynamic habitats are common in the UK's cool, wet climate. Here, they take many forms, from headwater streams that may dominate networks in remote uplands, to winterbourne rivers crossing the chalk of south England. We examine published and unpublished sources to provide an evidence-informed characterisation of the natural assets in temporary rivers
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