Data Driven Understanding of Energy-Meteorological Variability and its Impact on Energy System Operations

Earth’s climate is changing. For a habitable planet in the future the emission of greenhouse gasses needs to be stopped. As future societies still require energy for their basic needs, a transition away from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources is needed. Nothing is as variable as the weather, and weather is the driving force of renewable energy resources. The interaction of societal and weather driven variability, here coined the energy-meteorological variability, is still largely unchartered. This variability is the central theme of this thesis. The different backgrounds and expertise of those working at the intersection of the energy and climate domain mean that the current methods to assess this variability in energy system operations are inadequate. A data driven approach is needed to incorporate the energy-meteorological variability within assessments of (future) energy systems. In this thesis we investigate data driven methods and metrics to quantify and identify a deviation of the expected patterns. We need to overcome the disconnect between energy and climate scientists in order to integrate an understanding of variability in energy system operations. The applicability of approaches in operational energy system assessments is key. Intensive and sustainable collaborations between the different disciplines is needed to facilitate the energy transition, between the different domains of science as well as between science and industry

Uso de herramientas de simulación en el dominio del tiempo para el diseño de vehículos sumergibles operados remotamente

Designing a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is a complicated task in which the design team deals with a considerable amount of uncertainty before the device is able to be tested at full scale. A way to cope with such uncertainty is to use simulation software to evaluate design concepts along the different levels of abstraction of the process. In this work, the use of aNySIM, the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) multibody time-domain simulation tool, as a part of the design process of an ROV is addressed. The simulation software is able to solve the equations of motion of the vehicle based on rigid body dynamics, including features such as hydrodynamics, hydrostatics, thrusters, thrust allocation, and PID control. Different simulation scenarios are proposed to evaluate different concept solutions to the design, including thruster parameters and distribution. The results are further used to select the concept solutions to be implemented in the final design.El diseño de vehículos operados remotamente (ROV) es una tarea complicada en la cual el equipo de diseño trabaja con una cantidad importante de incertidumbres antes de que el dispositivo pueda ser probado a escala real. Una forma de reducir esta incertidumbre es usar software de simulación para evaluar conceptos de diseño a lo largo de los diferentes niveles de abstracción del proceso. En este trabajo se usa aNySIM dentro del proceso de diseño del ROV; esta es una herramienta de simulación multicuerpo en el dominio del tiempo desarrollada por el Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN). El software de simulación es capaz de resolver las ecuaciones de movimiento del vehículo con base en la dinámica del cuerpo rígido, incluyendo elementos de hidrodinámica, hidrostática, propulsores, distribución de fuerza de propulsión y control PID. Se proponen diferentes escenarios para evaluar diferentes conceptos en las soluciones de diseño, tales como los parámetros y distribución de los propulsores. Estos resultados son usados luego para para seleccionar las soluciones que son implementadas en el diseño final

Performance Evaluation of Low-Cost BTEX Sensors and Devices within the EURAMET Key-VOCs Project

The KEY-VOCs project is a EURAMET joint research project focused on key Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in air. One of its activities is the evaluation of sensors-based measurement systems. In Europe, the monitoring of benzene in ambient air is mandatory as set by the European Directive for air quality (AQD) [1]. This Directive states that the reference method of measurement shall consist of active or on-line sampling followed by gas chromatography [2]. These methods are time consuming, expensive to implement and not easily portable prohibiting more local estimation of the population exposure. However, the AQD allows using indicative measurements with higher uncertainty than those of the reference methods. Sensor systems are good candidates for indicative methods with the additional ability of near-to real-time measurements

Review of Portable and Low-Cost Sensors for the Ambient Air Monitoring of Benzene and Other Volatile Organic Compounds

This article presents a literature review of sensors for the monitoring of benzene in ambient air and other volatile organic compounds. Combined with information provided by stakeholders, manufacturers and literature, the review considers commercially available sensors, including PID-based sensors, semiconductor (resistive gas sensors) and portable on-line measuring devices as for example sensor arrays. The bibliographic collection includes the following topics: sensor description, field of application at fixed sites, indoor and ambient air monitoring, range of concentration levels and limit of detection in air, model descriptions of the phenomena involved in the sensor detection process, gaseous interference selectivity of sensors in complex VOC matrix, validation data in lab experiments and under field conditions