Development of a Pilot Borehole Storage System of Solar Thermal Energy: Modeling, Design, and Installation

Borehole thermal energy storage systems represent a potential solution to increase the energy efficiency of renewable energy plants, but they generally have to comply with strict regulatory frameworks, mainly due to the deliberate modification of the subsoil’s natural state. This paper presents the design, testing, and monitoring phases carried out to set up a borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) system able to exploit the excess solar heat from photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors. The case study is the refurbishment of a pig nursery barn, hosting up to 2500 weaners, in Northern Italy. This study aims to define a BTES suitable to develop a heating system based on renewable energy, ensuring environmental protection and long-term sustainability. The retrofitting intervention includes the installation of a dual-source heat pump (DSHP), in order to recover the solar heat stored in summer during winter. Specific constraints by the Environmental Authority were as follows: maximum storage temperature of 35 °C, authorization to intercept the shallowest aquifer at a maximum depth of 30 m, obligation of BHE grouting, and the definition of a strategy for continuous measuring and monitoring of the groundwater’s thermophysical properties. The results were used as inputs to optimize the design and installation of the integrated system with PVT, BTES, and DSHP

Il paratesto del libraio. Le vetrine della libreria nell\u2019Italia del Novecento

A partire dal Novecento, la vetrina della libreria divenne un nuovo, strategico, spazio visivo conquistato dal libro, specialmente da quello letterario, nell\u2019interazione materiale che esso intratteneva con i suoi lettori. Dal banco di libreria, in et\ue0 moderna principale arredo della bottega libraria, oltre agli immancabili scaffali, il luogo di incontro venale con la pagina a stampa era accessibile per il tramite di una soglia tutt\u2019altro che neutra, ossia del vetro che separa il libro dal suo auspicabile compratore. L\u2019enfasi dell\u2019aspetto visuale, potenziata dalle colorate copertine editoriali e dal sapiente uso dell\u2019illuminazione elettrica durante le ore notturne, pass\uf2 in seguito dalla vetrina a spazi via via pi\uf9 ampi. All\u2019esterno coinvolse l\u2019intera facciata del negozio inserendo la parete trasparente nel pi\uf9 articolato sistema di comunicazione commerciale del punto vendita (dalle insegne al disegno del negozio), mentre all\u2019interno alter\uf2 l\u2019arredamento, che conobbe espositori e altri contenitori librari sempre pi\uf9 persuasivi. Quanto pi\uf9 aggressiva si far\ue0 la strategia commerciale di un prodotto ormai inevitabilmente segnato dall\u2019industrializzazione, tanto pi\uf9 rilevanti diverranno i significati da veicolare attraverso l\u2019esperienza di acquisto in libreria e nei suoi spazi, tra esigenze pubblicitarie e costruzione di una identit\ue0 del marchio editoriale.Starting from the first decades of the Twentieth century, bookstore display windows became an important - and new - visual space in Italy, especially for the material interaction between (mostly literary) books and their potential readers. From the window the book became accessible through a threshold that was anything but neutral, glass separating the book from its desirable buyer. The emphasis on the visual aspect was enhanced first by the colorful editorial covers and later by the strategic use of electric lighting at night. The new, commercial strategy gradually passed from the window to an encompassing space of interaction. Outside it involved the entire outlook of the store by inserting the transparent wall in the most articulated sales communication system (including signs and bookshop interior design), while inside it implied changing the furniture, that welcomed new display racks and other bookcases more effective in selling. The more aggressive the commercial strategy of a product (now inevitably marked by industrialization) will be, the more significant will become the meanings to be conveyed through the purchase experience in the bookshop and its spaces, going from advertising needs to the construction of an editorial brand identity

Tsunami risk assessments in Messina, Sicily – Italy

Abstract. We present a first detailed tsunami risk assessment for the city of Messina where one of the most destructive tsunami inundations of the last centuries occurred in 1908. In the tsunami hazard evaluation, probabilities are calculated through a new general modular Bayesian tool for Probability Tsunami Hazard Assessment. The estimation of losses of persons and buildings takes into account data collected directly or supplied by: (i) the Italian National Institute of Statistics that provides information on the population, on buildings and on many relevant social aspects; (ii) the Italian National Territory Agency that provides updated economic values of the buildings on the basis of their typology (residential, commercial, industrial) and location (streets); and (iii) the Train and Port Authorities. For human beings, a factor of time exposition is introduced and calculated in terms of hours per day in different places (private and public) and in terms of seasons, considering that some factors like the number of tourists can vary by one order of magnitude from January to August. Since the tsunami risk is a function of the run-up levels along the coast, a variable tsunami risk zone is defined as the area along the Messina coast where tsunami inundations may occur

Centroid moment tensor catalog with 3D lithospheric wavespeed model. The 2016–2017 Central Apennines sequence

Moment tensor inversions of broadband velocity data are usually managed by adopting Green's functions for 1D layered seismic wave speed models. This assumption can impact on source parameter estimates in regions with complex 3D heterogeneous structures and discontinuities in rock properties. In this work, we present a new centroid moment tensor (CMT) catalog for the Amatrice-Visso-Norcia (AVN) seismic sequence based on a recently generated 3D wave speed model for the Italian lithosphere. Forward synthetic seismograms and Fréchet derivatives for CMT-3D inversions of 159 earthquakes with Mw ≥ 3.0 are simulated using a spectral-element method (SEM) code. By comparing the retrieved solutions with those from time domain moment tensor (TDMT) catalog, obtained with a 1D wave speed model calibrated for Central Apennines (Italy), we observe a remarkable degree of consistency in terms of source geometry, kinematics, and magnitude. Significant differences are found in centroid depths, which are more accurately estimated using the 3D model. Finally, we present a newly designed parameter, τ, to better quantify and compare a-posteriori the reliability of the obtained MT solutions. τ measures the goodness of fit between observed and synthetic seismograms accounting for differences in amplitude, arrival time, percentage of fitted seconds, and the usual L2-norm estimate. The CMT-3D solutions represent the first Italian CMT catalog based on a full-waveform 3D wave speed model. They provide reliable source parameters with potential implications for the structures activated during the sequence. The developed approach can be readily applied to more complex Italian regions where 1D models are underperforming and not representative of the area

Recovery of renal function in liver transplant alone versus combined liver kidney transplantation: analysis from the NHSBT UK registry

Introduction and Aims: Recovery of renal function after liver transplantation is strongly influenced by pretransplant degree and duration of renal insufficiency, despite imprecise methods for measuring renal dysfunction. Indications for combined liver-kidney transplantation (CLKT) have been defined, but these are still under debate and hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is a particularly challenging condition given the hardly predictable spontaneous improvement with liver transplant alone (LTA). Methods: We analysed data of 6035 patients (Jan 2001-Dec 2012) from NHSBT UK Transplant Registry. Renal function at 1 years after transplantation was compared between CLKT and LTA with stratification on the basis of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at transplant (KDIGO Guidelines) and treatment with renal replacement therapy (RRT). Renal function post-transplantation was classified as eGFR >60, between 59-30 and <30 ml/min/1.73m2, the latter identified as non recovery of renal function. Univariate and multivariable analysis were performed. Results: 5912 patients (98.0%) underwent liver transplant alone (LTA) and 123 (2.0%) patients received a CLKT. 305 (5.2%) of the LTA group were on RRT at time of transplantation, compared to 72 (58.5%) of the CKLT group. No patient with a MELD score <20 received RRT before transplant. No patients with eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73m2 received CLKT. 27% of patients receiving CLKT were diagnosed with pre-transplant glomerular/tubular kidney disease, 39% with polycystic disease and 34% were not specified. LTA patients on RRT were more frequently presenting ascites ( p<0.001), variceal bleeding ( p=0.002), higher MELD score ( p<0.001), higher INR ( p<0.001) and bilirubin at transplant ( p<0.001), suggesting the occurrence of HRS (data not available). Patients on RRT experience a significant difference of renal function recovery at 1 year post-transplant when receiving LTA versus CLKT, with the latter group experiencing a higher percentage of non-recovery ( p=0.001; table 1). This difference was not detected for other eGFR stratifications.The univariate analysis identified recipient age >50 years, female gender, RRT in patients with MELD >20, polycystic disease and diabetes as predictive factors for non-recovery of renal function in patients undergoing LTA. In a multivariable model including all clinically relevant variables simultaneously, the independent predictors of renal function non-recovery were female gender (HR 2.76; 95% CI 1.52-4.99, p=0.001), RRT in patients with MELD >20 (HR 3.62; 95% CI 1.44-9.08, p=0.006) and diabetes (HR 2.55; 95% CI 1.38-4.73, p=0.003). Conclusions: Recovery of renal function post-LTA is acceptable for patients with different stratifications of eGFR pre-transplant. RRT, female gender and diabetes may suggest to perform CLKT

Investigation of corrosion-erosion phenomena in the primary cooling system of SPIDER

SPIDER dedicated cooling plant has to remove up to 10 MW thermal power from in-vessel components and auxiliary systems. The circuit is characterized by three main heat transfer systems: primary, secondary and tertiary systems. The primary system is made of four circuits, with only three operating so far, these are called PC01, PC02 and PC03. These three circuits respectively cool SPIDER power supplies and the beam source components using ultrapure water. During 2019 SPIDER experimental campaigns, it was observed that electrical resistivity of water degraded considerably and more quickly (∼25 MΩ cm h−1 in PC01) than estimated by design. To overcome this issue, water had to be restored very frequently to maintain the desired characteristics and avoid possible detrimental leakage currents throughout the circuit. The reason for this severe water degradation has to be better understood before issues such as abrupt failures may arise. This work presents a preliminary analysis of the two main circuits (PC01 and PC02) where an estimation of water degradation induced by general corrosion of stainless steels and copper components was made. This preliminary estimation showed that PC01 could be more prone to general corrosion than PC02; however, the rate of water conductivity increase was 5.3 times smaller than that observed during experiments in 2019 and 2020

Polycrystalline diamond films grown by MWPECVD technique and application in photocathodes

Diamond is an extremely interesting material for photoemission applications, due to the negative electron affinity which can be obtained after suitable surface treatments. In the present work, two sets of polycrystalline diamond films, characterized by dif-ferent thickness and deposition conditions, are ana-lyzed. In particular, the relationship among the grain size, the amount of non-diamond carbon (sp2) located at the grain boundaries and the film sensitivity as a photocathode has been found and carefully investi-gated. The photoemission yield in the UV range has been evaluated for all the samples, before and after hydrogenation process, and after air exposure. The critical parameter for the photocathode performances has been found not to be the film thickness, but the properties of polycrystalline diamond films, tunable with the plasma modulation and the methane percent-age in the gas mixture

RATAN-600 7.6-cm Deep Sky Strip Surveys at the Declination of the SS433 Source During the 1980-1999 Period. Data Reduction and the Catalog of Radio Sources in the Right-Ascension Interval 7h < R.A. < 17h

We use two independent methods to reduce the data of the surveys made with RATAN-600 radio telescope at 7.6 cm in 1988-1999 at the declination of the SS433 source. We also reprocess the data of the "Cold" survey (1980-1981). The resulting RCR (RATAN COLD REFINED) catalog contains the right ascensions and fluxes of objects identified with those of the NVSS catalog in the right-ascension interval 7h < R.A. < 17h. We obtain the spectra of the radio sources and determine their spectral indices at 3.94 and 0.5 GHz. The spectra are based on the data from all known catalogs available from the CATS, Vizier, and NED databases, and the flux estimates inferred from the maps of the VLSS and GB6 surveys. For 245 of the 550 objects of the RCR catalog the fluxes are known at two frequencies only: 3.94 GHz (RCR) and 1.4 GHz (NVSS). These are mostly sources with fluxes smaller than 30 mJy. About 65% of these sources have flat or inverse spectra (alpha > -0.5). We analyze the reliability of the results obtained for the entire list of objects and construct the histograms of the spectral indices and fluxes of the sources. Our main conclusion is that all 10-15 mJy objects found in the considered right-ascension interval were already included in the decimeter-wave catalogs.Comment: 26 pages, 18 figure