Traffic Modeling of a Cooperative Charge While Driving System in a Freight Transport Scenario

The aim of this paper is to present a research study on a traffic model developed for analysing the performance of the wireless inductive systems for charging while driving (CWD) fully electric vehicles (FEVs) from both traffic and energy points of view. The design assumptions of the developed traffic model are aimed to simulate in particular a freight distribution service in a fully cooperative traffic environment. In this case, the CWD service could be used to guarantee the minimum state of charge (SOC) of the batteries at the arrival to the depot that allows the vehicles to shortly start with further activities. In this way, the fleet manager could avoid wasting time for the stationary recharge, thus increasing the level of service of the freight distribution. The CWD system is applied to a multilane ring road with several intermediate on-ramp entrances, where the slowest lane is reserved for the charging activities, when authorized vehicles are present. A specific traffic model has been developed and implemented adopting a mesoscopic approach, where vehicle energy needs and charging opportunities affect drivers’ behavior. Overtaking maneuvers, as well as new entries in the CWD lane of vehicles which need to charge, have been modeled by taking into account a fully cooperative driving system among vehicles which manages an adequate gap between consecutive vehicles. Finally, a speed control strategy in which vehicles can be delayed to create an empty time-space slot in the CWD lane, is simulated at a defined node. This type of control, though is simulated to allow extraordinary maintenance operations, which may require a free charging zone for a given time slot, could also be applied to support merging maneuvers for on ramp vehicles

Granular activated carbon from grape seeds hydrothermal char

A two-stage conversion process for the production of a valuable product from biomass waste, i.e., grape seeds activated carbon (GSAC) was investigated. Such process involved hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of grape seeds, followed by chemical activation with potassium hydroxide (KOH). Different HTC temperatures (THTC = 180–250 °C), as well as different KOH:hydrochar ratios (R = 0.25:1–1:1), were explored. The samples that were obtained from both stages of the biomass conversion process were analyzed in terms of textural characterization (apparent total and micro-pore surface areas, total and micro-pore volumes, pore size distribution), proximate and ultimate compositions, thermal stability, surface morphology (via SEM), and surface chemistry characterization (via FTIR). Overall yields of approximately 35% were achieved, which are comparable to those obtained with the state-of-art one-stage process. In a wide range of operating conditions, the higher THTC and R, the higher was the surface area of the GSAC, which was maximal (above 1000 m2/g) for THTC = 250 °C and R = 0.5. At such optimal conditions, around 90% of the total porosity was due to micro-pores. Such a trend was not fulfilled at the most severe operating conditions (THTC = 250 °C; R = 1), which resulted in larger pore size, causing surface area reduction. A proper selection of the process parameters of both the process stages gives great opportunities of tuning and optimizing the overall process. The produced GSACs showed a remarkable thermal stability, and their surface appeared rather free of functional groups

Supercritical Water Gasification of Biomass in a Ceramic Reactor:Long-Time Batch Experiments

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is an emerging technology for the valorization of (wet) biomass into a valuable fuel gas composed of hydrogen and/or methane. The harsh temperature and pressure conditions involved in SCWG (T > 375 °C, p > 22 MPa) are definitely a challenge for the manufacturing of the reactors. Metal surfaces are indeed subject to corrosion under hydrothermal conditions, and expensive special alloys are needed to overcome such drawbacks. A ceramic reactor could be a potential solution to this issue. Finding a suitable material is, however, complex because the catalytic effect of the material can influence the gas yield and composition. In this work, a research reactor featuring an internal alumina inlay was utilized to conduct long-time (16 h) batch tests with real biomasses and model compounds. The same experiments were also conducted in batch reactors made of stainless steel and Inconel 625. The results show that the three devices have similar performance patterns in terms of gas production, although in the ceramic reactor higher yields of C2+ hydrocarbons were obtained. The SEM observation of the reacted alumina surface revealed a good resistance of such material to supercritical conditions, even though some intergranular corrosion was observed

"Charge while driving" for electric vehicles: road traffic modeling and energy assessment

The aim of this research study is to present a method for analyzing the performance of the wireless inductive charge-while-driving (CWD) electric vehicles, from both traffic and energy points of view. To accurately quantify the electric power required from an energy supplier for the proper management of the charging system, a traffic simulation model is implemented. This model is based on a mesoscopic approach, and it is applied to a freight distribution scenario. Lane changing and positioning are managed according to a cooperative system among vehicles and supported by advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). From the energy point of view, the analyses indicate that the traffic may have the following effects on the energy of the system: in a low traffic level scenario, the maximum power that should be supplied for the entire road is simulated at approximately 9 MW; and in a high level traffic scenario with lower average speeds, the maximum power required by the vehicles in the charging lane increases by more than 50 %

Hydrothermal carbonization of off-specification compost: A byproduct of the organic municipal solid waste treatment

International audienceh i g h l i g h t s HTC of off-specification compost at 180, 220, 250 °C and 1, 3, 8 h reaction time RT. The increase in hydrochar HHV with respect to raw feedstock from 7% to 61%. Hydrochar elemental composition similar to that of peat and lignite for T = 250 °C. Hydrochar thermal stability greatly increased at T = 250 °C and at T = 220 °C when RT = 8 h. HTC results were highly dependent on T, while the effect of RT was much lower. a b s t r a c t The possibility to apply the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process to off-specification compost (EWC 19.05.03) at present landfilled was investigated in this work. The aim was to produce a carbonaceous solid fuel for energy valorization, with the perspective of using HTC as a complementary technology to common organic waste treatments. Thus, samples of EWC 19.05.03 produced by a composting plant were processed through HTC in a batch reactor. Analytical activities allowed to characterize the HTC products and their yields. The hydrochar was characterized in terms of heating value, thermal stability and C, H, O, N, S and ash content. The liquid phase was characterized in terms of total organic carbon and mineral content. The composition of the gas phase was measured. Results show that the produced hydrochar has a great potentiality for use as solid fuel

Supercritical Water Gasification of Biomass in a Ceramic Reactor: Long-Time Batch Experiments

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is an emerging technology for the valorization of (wet) biomass into a valuable fuel gas composed of hydrogen and/or methane. The harsh temperature and pressure conditions involved in SCWG (T > 375 °C, p > 22 MPa) are definitely a challenge for the manufacturing of the reactors. Metal surfaces are indeed subject to corrosion under hydrothermal conditions, and expensive special alloys are needed to overcome such drawbacks. A ceramic reactor could be a potential solution to this issue. Finding a suitable material is, however, complex because the catalytic effect of the material can influence the gas yield and composition. In this work, a research reactor featuring an internal alumina inlay was utilized to conduct long-time (16 h) batch tests with real biomasses and model compounds. The same experiments were also conducted in batch reactors made of stainless steel and Inconel 625. The results show that the three devices have similar performance patterns in terms of gas production, although in the ceramic reactor higher yields of C2+ hydrocarbons were obtained. The SEM observation of the reacted alumina surface revealed a good resistance of such material to supercritical conditions, even though some intergranular corrosion was observed. View Full-Tex

Acute decompensated heart failure in the emergency department: Identification of early predictors of outcome

Identification of clinical factors that can predict mortality and hospital early readmission in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients can help emergency department (ED) physician optimize the care-path and resource utilization.We conducted a retrospective observational study of 530 ADHF patients evaluated in the ED of an Italian academic hospital in 2013.Median age was 82 years, females were 55%; 31.1% of patients were discharged directly from the ED (12.5% after short staying in the observation unit), while 68.9% were admitted to a hospital ward (58.3% directly from the ED and 10.6% after a short observation). At 30 days, readmission rate was 17.7% while crude mortality rate was 9.4%; this latter was higher in patients admitted to a hospital ward in comparison to those who were discharged directly from the ED (12.6% vs. 2.4%, P\u200a 104\u200amm Hg, POS\u200a>\u200a94%, may guide the ED physician to identify low-risk patients who can be safely discharged directly from the emergency room or after observation unit stay

Search for supersymmetry in events with opposite-sign dileptons and missing transverse energy using an artificial neural network

In this paper, a search for supersymmetry (SUSY) is presented in events with two opposite-sign isolated leptons in the final state, accompanied by hadronic jets and missing transverse energy. An artificial neural network is employed to discriminate possible SUSY signals from a standard model background. The analysis uses a data sample collected with the CMS detector during the 2011 LHC run, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.98  fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at the center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. Compared to other CMS analyses, this one uses relaxed criteria on missing transverse energy (E̸T>40  GeV) and total hadronic transverse energy (HT>120  GeV), thus probing different regions of parameter space. Agreement is found between standard model expectation and observations, yielding limits in the context of the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model and on a set of simplified model