Heuristic remedial actions in the reliability assessment of high voltage direct current networks

Planning of high voltage direct current (HVDC) grids requires inclusion of reliability assessment of alternatives under study. This paper proposes a methodology to evaluate the adequacy of voltage source converter/VSC-HVDC networks. The methodology analyses the performance of the system using N-1 and N-2 contingencies in order to detect weaknesses in the DC network and evaluates two types of remedial actions to keep the entire system under the acceptable operating limits. The remedial actions are applied when a violation of these limits on the DC system occurs; those include topology changes in the network and adjustments of power settings of VSC converter stations. The CIGRE B4 DC grid test system is used for evaluating the reliability/adequacy performance by means of the proposed methodology in this paper. The proposed remedial actions are effective for all contingencies; then, numerical results are as expected. This work is useful for planning and operation of grids based on VSC-HVDC technology

Efeito dos parâmetros de extrusão termoplástica sobre as propriedades tecnológicas de farinhas pré-cozidas elaboradas com arroz e feijão.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi obter uma farinha pré-gelatinizada elaborada a partir de farinha mista de arroz e feijão, e avaliar a influência das formulações e condições do processamento sobre as propriedades tecnológicas e o teor proteico do produto final. Para a elaboração da farinha pré-gelatinizada mista, utilizou-se o planejamento experimental completo 23 com pontos centrais e axiais, testando-se os parâmetros porcentagem de farinha de feijão, umidade e temperatura de processamento, tendo como respostas teor de proteína (Y1), índice de absorção de água (Y2) e índice de solubilidade em água (Y3). As formulações testadas foram processadas em extrusora monorrosca. A temperatura na zona 3 do extrusor variou entre 46 e 114 °C, conforme o planejamento experimental. Os ensaios processados foram submetidos à secagem em estufa com circulação de ar a 50 °C por cerca de 15 horas, apresentando umidade final entre 4 e 6%, sendo, a seguir, triturados em moinho de facas e armazenados em sacos de polietileno até o momento das análises. Para a variável teor de proteína, somente a porcentagem de farinha de feijão foi significativa e com efeito positivo, ou seja, aumentando-se a quantidade desta farinha, o produto final terá um maior teor proteico, independentemente da temperatura ou da umidade utilizada no processamento. Para a variável índice de absorção de água, a farinha de feijão, o teor de umidade, a temperatura e a interação umidade e temperatura foram significativos. Observou-se maior índice de absorção de água em temperaturas intermediárias (60 a 80 °C) e altas umidades (17 a 20%). Para a resposta índice de solubilidade em água, as variáveis umidade, temperatura e a interação umidade e temperatura também foram significativas, observando-se maiores índices de solubilidade em água em temperaturas mais elevadas (100 °C) e umidades mais baixas (14%). De acordo com o planejamento experimental, a farinha pré-gelatinizada mista de arroz e feijão apresenta as melhores características tecnológicas quando processada sob temperatura de 70 °C, 21% de umidade e com adição de 30% de farinha de feijão à mistura

Color of corn grains and carotenoid profile of importance for human health.

This work aimed at studying the influence of the color of the grains in the profile of carotenoids in four different Brazilian genotypes

Solar-Sail Navigation: Estimation of Force, Moments, and Optical Parameters

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77367/1/AIAA-24340-772.pd

Variability of the transport of anthropogenic CO2 at the Greenland-Portugal OVIDE section:Controlling mechanisms

The interannual to decadal variability in the transport of anthropogenic CO2 (Cant) across the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA) is investigated, using summer data of the FOUREX and OVIDE high-resolution transoceanic sections, from Greenland to Portugal, occupied six times from 1997 to 2010. The transport of Cant across this section, Tcant hereafter, is northward, with a mean value of 254 ± 29 kmol s-1 over the 1997-2010 period. We find that Tcant undergoes interannual variability, masking any trend different from 0 for this period. In order to understand the mechanisms controlling the variability of Tcant across the SPNA, we propose a new method that quantifies the transport of Cant caused by the diapycnal and isopycnal circulation. The diapycnal component yields a large northward transport of Cant (400 ± 29 kmol s-1) that is partially compensated by a southward transport of Cant caused by the isopycnal component (-171 ± 11 kmol s-1), mainly localized in the Irminger Sea. Most importantly, the diapycnal component is found to be the main driver of the variability of Tcant across the SPNA. Both the Meridional Overturning Circulation (computed in density coordinates, MOCσ) and the Cant increase in the water column have an important effect on the variability of the diapycnal component and of Tcant itself. Based on this analysis, we propose a simplified estimator for the variability of T cant based on the intensity of the MOCσ and on the difference of Cant between the upper and lower limb of the MOCσ (ΔCant). This estimator shows a good consistency with the diapycnal component of T cant, and help to disentangle the effect of the variability of both the circulation and the Cant increase on the Tcant variability. We find that ΔCant keeps increasing over the past decade, and it is very likely that the continuous Cant increase in the water masses will cause an increase in Tcant across the SPNA at long timescale. Nevertheless, at the timescale analyzed here (1997-2010), the MOCσ controls the T cant variability, blurring any Tcant trend. Extrapolating the observed ΔCant increase rate and considering the predicted slow-down of 25% of the MOCσ, Tcant across the SPNA is expected to increase by 430 kmol s-1 during the 21st century. Consequently, an increase in the storage rate of Cant in the SPNA could be envisaged