foreword proceedings of the 3rd international electronic conference on sensors and applications

This issue of Proceedings gathers the papers presented at the 3rd International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications (ECSA-3), held online on 15–30 November 2016 through the sciforum.net platform developed by MDPI. The annual ECSA conference was initiated in 2014 on an online basis only, to allow the participation from all over the world with no concerns of travel and related expenditures. This type of conference looks particularly appropriate and useful because research concerned with sensors is rapidly growing, and a platform for rapid and direct exchanges about the latest research findings can provide a further burst in the development of novel ideas

Identification of Value Proposition and Development of Innovative Business Models for Demand Response Products and Services Enabled by the DR-BOB Solution

The work presented is the result of an ongoing European H2020 project entitled DR-BOB Demand Response in Blocks of Buildings (DR-BOB) that seeks to integrate existing technologies to create a scalable solution for Demand Response (DR) in blocks of buildings. In most EU countries, DR programs are currently limited to the industrial sector and to direct asset control. The DR-BOB solution extends applicability to the building sector, providing predictive building management in blocks of buildings, enabling facilities managers to respond to implicit and explicit DR schemes, and enabling the aggregation of the DR potential of many blocks of buildings for use in demand response markets. The solution consists of three main components: the Local Energy Manager (LEM), which adds intelligence and provides the capacity for predictive building management in blocks of buildings, a Consumer Portal (CP) to enable building managers and building occupants to interact with the system and be engaged in demand response operations, and a Decentralized Energy Management System (DEMS®, Siemens plc, Nottingham, England, UK), which enables the aggregation of the DR potential of many blocks of buildings, thus allowing participation in incentive-based demand response with or without an aggregator. The paper reports the key results around Business Modelling development for demand response products and services enabled by the DR-BOB solution. The scope is threefold: (1) illustrate how the functionality of the demand response solution can provide value proposition to underpin its exploitation by four specific customer segments, namely aggregators and three types of Owners of Blocks of Buildings in different market conditions, (2) explore key aspects of the Business Model from the point of view of a demand response solution provider, in particular around most the suitable revenue stream and key partnership, and (3) assess the importance of key variables such as market maturity, user engagement, and type of blocks of buildings as drivers to market penetration and profitability. The work presented is framed by the expected evolution of DR services in different market contexts and the different relationships between the main stakeholders involved in the DR value chain in different EU countries. The analysis also relies on the results of interviews conducted at the fours pilot sites of the DR-BOB project with key representatives of the management, operations, and marketing. These are used to better understand customer needs and sharpen the value proposition

Preface: Proceedings of the 6th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications

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ESTIMATING THERMAL INERTIA AND TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION CONSISTENT WITH MONITORED DATA FROM A RAILWAY BRIDGE

This paper proposes a sequence of analyses allowing the designer to quantify the changes in the structural response due to the temperature variation. This is illustrated for a case study on a railway bridge. The SHM (Structural Health Monitoring) system installed on the bridge consists of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors. A numerical model of the bridge was created. The plot of the daily variation of the vertical displacement of a node, when numerically computed for a temperature field interpolating the readings of the temperature sensors, shows a curve similar to the recorded history plot, but the latter one is delayed. This delay is due to both the thermal inertia of the deck, the reinforced concrete of the superstructure, and the actual temperature distribution across and along the deck. Thus, a refined study of the temperature time histories was conducted by a suitable thermo-mechanical model driven by the temperatures measured at the sensor locations. The obtained field of temperature is then used as input for a stress-strain analysis. The resulting displacements are eventually compared with the measured values. Using a first set of data, the numerical model parameters are calibrated, while a second set of data is used for a validation of the whole procedure

Preface: Proceedings of the 4th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications

This issue of Proceedings gathers the papers presented at the 4th International Electronic [...

Preface: Proceedings of the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications

This issue of Proceedings gathers the papers presented [...