Manufacturing challenges for custom made solar vehicles in South Africa

Solar challenges are designed to test the reliability and efficiency of solar powered vehicles in endurance races. In the past these manufactured vehicles were technology drivers and led to advances in electric motors and solar cell efficiency. The speed in relation to power consumption is one of the main design considerations, with the only energy source being solar power. In the design and manufacturing of these vehicles a number of requirements need to be met in order to pass the safety standards. The Sasol Solar Challenge (SSC) created an opportunity for South African universities to design and manufacture custom made solar powered vehicles. This paper explores and discusses the challenges for manufacturing solar vehicles in South Africa. Key elements like the communication gap between design and manufacturing, the cost of lightweight solar encapsulation, the shortage of local suppliers and expertise in composite manufacturing are evaluated. These insights can be used as foundation for strategic decisions by future stakeholders

Application opportunities of geographic information systems analysis to support achievement of the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets in South Africa

In an effort to achieve control of the HIV epidemic, 90-90-90 targets have been proposed whereby 90% of the HIV-infected population should know their status, 90% of those diagnosed should be receiving antiretroviral therapy, and 90% of those on treatment should be virologically suppressed. In this article we present approaches for using relatively simple geographic information systems (GIS) analyses of routinely available data to support HIV programme management towards achieving the 90-90-90 targets, with a focus on South Africa (SA) and other high-prevalence settings in low- and middle-income countries. We present programme-level GIS applications to map aggregated health data and individual-level applications to track distinct patients. We illustrate these applications using data from City of Johannesburg Region D, demonstrating that GIS has great potential to guide HIV programme operations and assist in achieving the 90-90-90 targets in SA

Implementation of an electronic monitoring and evaluation system for the antiretroviral treatment programme in the Cape Winelands district, South Africa: a qualitative evaluation

BACKGROUND: A pragmatic three-tiered approach to monitor the world's largest antiretroviral treatment (ART) programme was adopted by the South African National Department of Health in 2010. With the rapid expansion of the programme, the limitations of the paper-based register (tier 1) were the catalyst for implementation of the stand-alone electronic register (tier 2), which offers simple digitisation of the paper-based register. This article engages with theory on implementation to identify and contextualise enabling and constraining factors for implementation of the electronic register, to describe experiences and use of the register, and to make recommendations for implementation in similar settings where standardisation of ART monitoring and evaluation has not been achieved. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative evaluation of the roll-out of the register. This comprised twenty in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of stakeholders at facility, sub-district, and district levels of the health system. Facility-level participants were selected across five sub-districts, including one facility per sub-district. Responses were coded and analysed using a thematic approach. An implementation science framework guided interpretation of the data. Results & DISCUSSION: We identified the following seven themes: 1) ease of implementation, 2) perceived value of an electronic M&E system, 3) importance of stakeholder engagement, 4) influence of a data champion, 5) operational and logistical factors, 6) workload and role clarity, and 7) importance of integrating the electronic register with routine facility monitoring and evaluation. Interpreting our findings through an implementation theory enabled us to construct the scaffolding for implementation across the five facility-settings. This approach illustrated that implementation was not a linear process but occurred at two nodes: at the adoption of the register for roll-out, and at implementation at facility-level. CONCLUSION: In this study we found that relative advantage of an intervention and stakeholder engagement are critical to implementation. We suggest that without these aspects of implementation, formative and summative outcomes of implementation at both the adoption and coalface stages of implementation would be negatively affected

Argonne National Laboratory Reports

This report is designed to analyze the commercialization potential of various concepts of community-scale energy systems that have been termed Integrated Community Energy Systems (ICES). A case analysis of alternative ICES concepts applied to a major metropolitan development complex is documented. The intent of this study is twofold: (1) to develop a framework for comparing ICES technologies to conventional energy supply systems and (2) to identify potential problems in the commercialization of new systems approaches to energy conservation. In brief, the ICES Program of the ERDA Office of Energy Conservation is intended to identify the opportunities for energy conservation in the community context through analysis, development, and/or demonstration of: location and design of buildings, building complexes, and infrastructure links; engineering and systems design of existing, emerging, and advanced energy production and delivery technologies and systems; regulatory designs for public planning, administration, and regulation of energy-conserving community development and energy services; and financial planning for energy-conserving community development and energy supply systems

PENGARUH PENAMBAHAN LENSA NOZZLE DAN JUMLAH BLADE AIRFOIL TIPE NACA 4415 TERHADAP HASIL DAYA LISTRIK TURBIN ANGIN SUMBU HORISONTAL

Danur Lambang Pristiandaru. PENGARUH PENAMBAHAN LENSA NOZZLE TURBIN ANGIN DAN JUMLAH BLADE AIRFOIL TIPE NACA 4415 TERHADAP HASIL DAYA LISTRIK. Skripsi, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta. Januari 2016 Tujuan penelitian ini adalah: (1) Menyelidiki pengaruh jumlah blade pada turbin angin non-twisted blade tipe airfoil NACA 4415 terhadap daya listrik yang dihasilkan. (2) Menyelidiki pengaruh penambahan lensa nozzle pada turbin angin non-twisted blade tipe airfoil NACA 4415 terhadap daya listrik yang dihasilkan turbin angin. (3) Menyelidiki pengaruh bersama (interaksi) antara penambahan lensa nozzle dan jumlah blade terhadap daya listrik yang dihasilkan turbin angin. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kuantitatif. Sampel dalam penelitian ini adalah Turbin Angin Sumbu Horisontal (TASH) dengan desain blade airfoil NACA 4415 non-twisted. 3 desain lensa nozzle digunakan untuk mengetahui pengaruhnya terhadap peningkatan daya listrik TASH. Terdapat 3 variasi jumlah blade yaitu jumlah blade 2, jumlah blade 3, dan jumlah blade 4. Variasi kecepatan angin yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah 2,5 m/s, 3,5 m/s, dan 4,5 m/s. Data diperoleh dengan melakukan pengujian TASH menggunakan angin rekayasa, daya listrik yang dihasilkan dibaca dan direkam oleh data logger. Data yang diperoleh dari hasil penelitian dimasukkan ke dalam tabel dan ditampilkan dalam bentuk grafik, kemudian dianalisis. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan bahwa: (1) Adanya pengaruh variasi jumlah blade terhadap daya listrik turbin angin. TASH 3 blade menghasilkan daya listrik yang paling besar yaitu 0,7222 W pada kecepatan angin 4,5 m/s. (2) Adanya pengaruh penambahan lensa nozzle terhadap turbin angin. Lensa nozzle mampu meningkatkan hasil daya listrik turbin angin semua jenis variasi jumlah blade dibandingkan turbin angin tanpa lensa nozzle. (3) Ada pengaruh bersama yang signifikan antara variasi jumlah blade dan variasi jenis lensa terhadap daya listrik turbin angin. TASH 3 blade dengan lensa C pada kecepatan angin 4,5 m/s memiliki daya listrik tertinggi yaitu sebesar 0,82041 W. Daya listrik tersebut meningkat 13,60% dibanding TASH 3 blade tanpa penambahan lensa, yaitu 0,7222 W. Kata kunci: Turbin Angin, Lensa Nozzle, Daya Listrik, Data Logge

A Review of Temporal Data Visualizations Based on Space-Time Cube Operations

International audienceWe review a range of temporal data visualization techniques through a new lens, by describing them as series of op- erations performed on a conceptual space-time cube. These operations include extracting subparts of a space-time cube, flattening it across space or time, or transforming the cube's geometry or content. We introduce a taxonomy of elementary space-time cube operations, and explain how they can be combined to turn a three-dimensional space-time cube into an easily-readable two-dimensional visualization. Our model captures most visualizations showing two or more data dimensions in addition to time, such as geotemporal visualizations, dynamic networks, time-evolving scatterplots, or videos. We finally review interactive systems that support a range of operations. By introducing this conceptual framework we hope to facilitate the description, criticism and comparison of existing temporal data visualizations, as well as encourage the exploration of new techniques and systems

A discrete firefly algorithm to solve a rich vehicle routing problem modelling a newspaper distribution system with recycling policy

A real-world newspaper distribution problem with recycling policy is tackled in this work. In order to meet all the complex restrictions contained in such a problem, it has been modeled as a rich vehicle routing problem, which can be more specifically considered as an asymmetric and clustered vehicle routing problem with simultaneous pickup and deliveries, variable costs and forbidden paths (AC-VRP-SPDVCFP). This is the first study of such a problem in the literature. For this reason, a benchmark composed by 15 instances has been also proposed. In the design of this benchmark, real geographical positions have been used, located in the province of Bizkaia, Spain. For the proper treatment of this AC-VRP-SPDVCFP, a discrete firefly algorithm (DFA) has been developed. This application is the first application of the firefly algorithm to any rich vehicle routing problem. To prove that the proposed DFA is a promising technique, its performance has been compared with two other well-known techniques: an evolutionary algorithm and an evolutionary simulated annealing. Our results have shown that the DFA has outperformed these two classic meta-heuristics