Low-cost/high-precision smart power supply for data loggers

This paper presents a low-cost/high-precision smart power supply for application on data loggers. The microprocessor unit is the brain of the system and manages the events and was optimized to provide electrical energy to the electronic devices under normal operation and under the presence of disruptive events. The measurements showed that when switching either from battery to AC or from AC to battery, neither caused the shutdown of the power supply nor affected the behavior of the power supply. The power supply was able to charge 80% of the battery on a fast recharge of 1 h and the remaining 20% on a slow recharge of 2 h. The current allocated to the battery did not affect the operation of the power supply. The tests also showed that the power supply was able to transmit relevant information about its operation to external computers through a serial connection. This information includes the voltages at the battery and at the output of the voltage regulators, the voltage level of the AC network, the level of the battery charge and if it was being recharged, the current being drained, the internal temperatures at two locations (one measured on the resistor that limits battery charge and another measured on the output diode of the regulators), and whether the cooling system is being used. The total cost of this smart power supply is less than $150, demonstrating good potential for its popularization.This work was partially supported by FCT national funds, under the national support to R&D units grant, through the reference project UIDB/04436/2020 and UIDP/04436/2020. This research was also partially supported by the FAPESP agency (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) through the project with the reference 2019/05248-7. Professor João Paulo Carmo was support by a PQ scholarship with the reference CNPq 304312/2020-7

Process optimization of the flaring gas for field applications

During petroleum industry operations, burning flammable gas components in the flaring stacks is common, normally a symbol for stable production, but flaring these components creates harmful emissions for the environment. This flaring gas has components with a high quantity of heating power, an important measurement that quantifies the energy that can potentially be obtained from this wasted resource. This paper aims to evaluate the energy usage of the flaring gas, estimating the possible energy produced with this usable resource by modeling a treatment and energy generation process employing the Aspen HYSYS® simulator. The flaring gas is characterized using different models and compositional ranges of natural gas to know what kind of gas it is and identify what type of equipment could be used for treatment and energy generation from this resource. After the gas characterization, the selection of the equipment of treatment and energy generation is necessary; this is done using a multicriteria analysis by taking into consideration the variables of gas composition, electrical efficiency, economic performance, and GHG emissions, ensuring to generate the greatest amount of energy possible to be produced with this flaring gas. By increasing the LHV, 0.95 MMSCF of flared gas of an oilfield in the VMM basin produced 5133 kW, enough energy to supply gas treatment and power generation facilities and four times the total gross consumption energy of a model oilfield in the basin, while the CO2 emissions were reduced 11.4%, and cost savings using this resource instead of diesel were obtained. In conclusion, to minimize flaring and to recover and reuse these waste components, looking for alternatives for the use of this gas-like power generation is an important option that reduces pollutants emission, gives a new source of fuel, and gives an energy usefulness to this wasted resource.This research was funded by PROPESQ/UFPB research edit N◦001/2022 of the Federal University of Paraiba (UFPB). The O.H.A.J. was funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), grant numbers 407531/2018-1 and 303293/2020-9. The F.S. was funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), grant number 307588/2020-3. The research was also partially supported by the Portuguese FCT with project reference UIDB/00690/2020 and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020). João Paulo Carmo was supported by a PQ scholarship with the reference CNPq 304312/2020-7info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Piezoelectric insole for gait analysis behavior

A atividade de caminhar é um dos principais movimentos executados pelos seres humanos dado a necessidade de mobilidade e independência pessoal de todo e qualquer indivíduo, bem como essencial para realização da maioria das atividades do dia a dia. Nas últimas décadas, duas vertentes de pesquisa tornaram-se alvo de atenção e intenso estudo de muitos pesquisadores. A primeira com o desenvolvimento de técnicas e estudos que permitissem entender, analisar e caracterizar o comportamento da marcha, e a segunda com o desenvolvimento de sistemas para obtenção de parâmetros relativos à marcha, com o intuito de facilitar sua análise e caracterização. A identificação do comportamento de marcha, especificamente a distribuição de pressão plantar do pé, permite aplicabilidade em áreas como esporte e saúde. Em aplicações esportivas, por exemplo, para analisar o comportamento de marcha de atletas de alto rendimento para melhorar o treinamento. Em aplicações de saúde, como diagnósticos de patogêneses que tenham a marcha como um dos parâmetros para diagnóstico e/ou progressão, como por exemplo, a doença de Parkinson ou algumas demências como Alzheimer. Dessa forma, o objetivo desta dissertação visa construir um sistema constituído de uma palmilha utilizando quatro sensores, embebidos em material polimérico a base de silicone e devidamente posicionados. E também projetar uma placa eletrônica, que será conectada aos piezoeletretos da palmilha por um cabo. Essa placa será responsável por adquirir os sinais de tensão provenientes da deformação da palmilha originada pelo usuário; filtrar, amplificar e transmitir os sinais de tensão por meio wireless para um computador; e armazenar os sinais adquiridos em um cartão de memória microSD.Given the need for mobility and personal independence for each person, walking is one of the main movements performed by human beings, as well as essential for carrying out most of daily activities. In the last decades, two strands of research have become the focus of intense study by many researchers. The first one relates to the development of techniques and studies that would allow understanding, analyzing and characterizing the gait behavior and the second one, the development of systems to obtain parameters related to the gait in order to facilitate its analysis and characterization. The identification of gait behavior, specifically the distribution of plantar pressure on the foot, allows applications in areas such as sports and health. Furthermore, allows analyzing the gait behavior of high-performance athletes to improve training, or diagnosis and/or progression, such as Parkinson\'s disease or some dementias such as Alzheimer\'s. Thus, the objective of this work is to build a system consisting of an insole using four sensors, embedded in polymeric material based on silicone properly positioned. In addition, it aims to design an electronic board, which will be connected to the piezoelectrets of the insole by cable. This board will be responsible for acquiring the voltage signals derived from the deformation of the insole applied by the user; filter, amplify and transmit voltage signal by wireless network to a computer, and store the acquired signals on a microSD memory card

Low-Cost/High-Precision Smart Power Supply for Data Loggers

This paper presents a low-cost/high-precision smart power supply for application on data loggers. The microprocessor unit is the brain of the system and manages the events and was optimized to provide electrical energy to the electronic devices under normal operation and under the presence of disruptive events. The measurements showed that when switching either from battery to AC or from AC to battery, neither caused the shutdown of the power supply nor affected the behavior of the power supply. The power supply was able to charge 80% of the battery on a fast recharge of 1 h and the remaining 20% on a slow recharge of 2 h. The current allocated to the battery did not affect the operation of the power supply. The tests also showed that the power supply was able to transmit relevant information about its operation to external computers through a serial connection. This information includes the voltages at the battery and at the output of the voltage regulators, the voltage level of the AC network, the level of the battery charge and if it was being recharged, the current being drained, the internal temperatures at two locations (one measured on the resistor that limits battery charge and another measured on the output diode of the regulators), and whether the cooling system is being used. The total cost of this smart power supply is less than $150, demonstrating good potential for its popularization