Enhancing climate resilience in buildings using Collective Intelligence: A pilot study on a Norwegian elderly care center

The combined challenge of climate change and population aging requires novel solutions that enhance the resilience of building energy systems and secure indoor comfort for vulnerable occupants in extreme weather conditions. This research investigates the performance of a newly developed Energy Management (EM) system based on Collective Intelligence (CI) and Reinforcement Learning (RL), called CIRLEM, managing the energy performance of an urban complex in Ålesund, Norway, including an elderly care center with decentralized PV generation, EV charging and storage, while connected to a main electricity grid. CIRLEM controls multiple flexibility assets including independent thermal zones (the demand-side agents) and Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations (the local storage). In a novel approach, CIRLEM coordinates the distributed storage and generation together with the demand side to control energy systems and react collaboratively to environmental variations. Under extreme weather conditions, without applying CIRLEM, the demand can be more than double that of typical weather conditions. The implementation of the double-layer CIRLEM can reduce the total demand by 35 % over a month. Furthermore, the inclusion of photovoltaic (PV) systems allows the system to be independent from the grid for almost 40 % of its operational hours, while adding EV storage can increase it to around 70 %. Finally, the application of CIRLEM reduced overheating hours from 17 h ∙°C to 2 h ∙°C under extreme conditions, while maintaining comfortable conditions even during temperature ramps

Dynamics of entropy wave generation in a simplified model of gas turbine combustor: a theoretical investigation

Entropy noise remains as a largely unexplored mechanism of combustion generated noise. Currently, little is known about the production sources of entropy waves in flames. To address this issue, the present work puts forward a theoretical investigation of the generation of entropy waves in a one-dimensional, ducted flow. A linear theory is developed for the dynamic responses of different sources of unsteady entropy generation including thermal, hydrodynamic, pressure and chemical irreversibility. For the first time in literature, dynamics of chemical sources of unsteady entropy generation are investigated extensively. It is found that the mixture fraction fluctuations are responsible for the production of almost all unsteady chemical entropy and that the effect of chemical potential is negligibly small. For the Strouhal numbers less than unity, fluctuations in pressure are the most significant source of the overall generation of unsteady entropy. However, at higher frequencies, mixture fraction fluctuations dominate the generation of entropy wave. The cut-off frequency for the generation of entropy wave is shown to depend not only on the thermal and hydrodynamic characteristics of the flame, but also on the chemical properties of the downstream gases. It is further argued that the transfer function of entropy generation for a thin flame may feature an unrealistically high amplitude. This study shows that neglecting the chemical sources of entropy wave can result in wrong predictions of the combustor acoustics and impede suppression of combustion instabilities and noise

A New Method for the Selective Removal of Cadmium and Zinc Ions from Aqueous Solution by Modified Clinoptilolite

Natural and modified clinoptilolite were used to remove zinc and cadmium ions from aqueous solution. The raw material was characterized by XRD and XRF analysis. Clinoptilolite was modified with benzyldimethyltetradecylammonium chloride (BDTA) to increase the adsorption of neothorin [2-(2-arsenophenylazo)chromotropic acid disodium salt, C 10 H 11 AsN 2 Na 2 O 11 S 2 ]. All experiments were undertaken using a continuous method. The ultimate goal of these studies was the selective removal of trace amounts of Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions from aqueous solution using a modified form of clinoptilolite. The results obtained showed that Cd(II) and Zn(II) ions were adsorbed quantitatively onto modified clinoptilolite over the respective pH ranges of 4.0–5.4 and 3.3–4.5. The influence on the adsorption process of various parameters such as the ionic concentration, the flow rate, the particle size, the pH value and the presence of other cations was studied to obtain the optimum conditions. Although clinoptilolite and its surfactant-modified form were not capable of the selective adsorption of the cations studied, on the basis of the results obtained it was possible to selectively remove Zn(II) and Cd(II) ions from aqueous solution by modified clinoptilolite using a two-step process, i.e. initial treatment with BDTA followed by treatment with neothorin

A rare case of massive intrapartum hemorrhage followed by inner myometrial laceration during a vaginal delivery: A case report

Key Clinical Message Considering the laceration of the inner layer of the myometrium as an important and controllable cause of bleeding during childbirth can lead to saving the mother's life. Abstract Laceration of the inner layer of the myometrium can cause massive bleeding during and after childbirth, which can lead to the death of the mother if it is not diagnosed in time.we presented a rare case of massive intrapartum bleeding following myometrial laceration that diagnosed correctly and the patient survived with in‐time treatments. The patient was a 26‐year‐old woman who was under observation for term pregnancy and complaint of rupture of membranes (ROM) and vaginal bleeding. Following the spontaneous course of labor and without receiving oxytocin, during the normal course of labor, she was with an estimated total blood loss of 750 mL bleeding, which despite the normal fetal heart rate and with the mother's indication for cesarean section, was transferred to the operating room and underwent cesarean section. During the cesarean section, the amniotic fluid was clear, after the removal of the placenta, severe and clear bleeding was flowing from the posterior wall of the uterus, which was caused by the laceration of the inner layer of the myometrium in the posterior wall of the lower segment of the uterus. The myometrial laceration was repaired with absorbable continuous locked sutures and hemostasis was established, and then the patient used uterotonic drugs, and after monitoring, the patient was discharged from the hospital in good condition

Lattice-Boltzmann numerical simulation of double-diffusive natural convection and entropy generation in an n-shaped partially heated storage tank

Energy and mass storage in various single-phase fluid flows is of particular interest, as the world currently faces energy challenges. Double-diffusive natural convection in an n-shaped storage tank is numerically studied which can be a general guideline to maintain a storage tank with higher exergy. Lattice-Boltzmann's approach in an in-house computational code is used to simulate the problem. To display the results, it is considered that the Rayleigh number lies between 103 and 105, and the Lewis number in the range of 0.1 and 10. The average Nusselt and Sherwood number, as well as entropy generation, showing the energy loss, are illustrated. It is observed that the average Nusselt and Sherwood number rises with increasing Rayleigh number and buoyancy ratio. Further, the average Sherwood number boosts by increasing the Lewis number. The most promising parameter in increasing the heat and mass transfer are found to be Rayleigh and Lewis number, respectively, with a maximum 300 percent improvement. The flow friction can be regarded as the main source of entropy generation, with a share of 90 percent. The Rayleigh number increment from 103 to 105 leads to the rise in the total entropy generation by approximately fivefold

Laminar Mixed Convection of Al 2 O 3 -Water Nanofluid in a Three-Dimensional Microchannel

Abstract The fluid flow and heat transfer in a three-dimensional microchannel filled with Al 2 O 3 -water nanofluid is numerically investigated. The hybrid scheme is used to discretize the convection terms and SIMPLER algorithm is adopted to couple the velocity and pressure field in the momentum equations. The temperature fields, variation of horizontal velocity along the centre line of the channel, average Nusselt number and the thermal resistance in different aspect ratios are presented. It is observed that aspect ratio mainly affected the temperature gradient as well as heat transfer. Analyzing the results of numerical simulations indicates that with increasing aspect ratio, horizontal velocity along the centre line increased and then, average Nusselt number and the inlet and outlet thermal resistance decrease in the microchannel. JNS All rights reserved Article history

Hybridized power-hydrogen generation using various configurations of Brayton-organic flash Rankine cycles fed by a sustainable fuel: Exergy and exergoeconomic analyses with ANN prediction

This paper investigates different configurations of organic Rankine flash cycles combined with a Brayton cycle by performing thermodynamic, exergy, and exergoeconomic analyses. The thermal energy of the cycle is produced through burning gaseous methane generated via gasification of biomass. A systematic analysis of these configurations is conducted to enhance the exergy efficiency of the cycles. Additionally, the reutilization of the thermal energy that would otherwise be wasted in the Brayton cycle contributes to a notable enhancement in the overall thermal efficiency of the combined cycle. A range of working fluids, namely m-Xylene, o-Xylene, p-Xylene, toluene, and ethylbenzene are analyzed for the organic Rankine cycle. Predictions using an artificial neural network (radial base function) are also carried out. The results indicate that the p-Xylene increases exergy efficiency more than other working fluids. Further, the improved organic Rankine cycle mitigates exergy destruction by 10 %. Although applying double flash evaporators improves the exergy efficiency by 3 %, it increases the unit cost of power generated by more than 10 %. The application of a data-driven model to predict various configurations of combined organic Rankin cycle with a Brayton cycle fed by biomass has rarely been investigated

Improving Climate Resilience and Thermal Comfort in a Complex Building through Enhanced Flexibility of the Energy System

This research evaluates the impacts of flexible demand-side management on electricity load and indoor thermal comfort under extreme weather conditions, focusing on elderly people. For this purpose, an elderly care center in Alesund, Norway is chosen as the pilot building. A high spatiotemporal resolution building energy model is developed including thermal zones and energy systems, verified against metered electricity use. The performance of the flexible demand-side management is assessed in relation with the installed PV production, during extreme warm conditions considering 13 future climate scenarios over the 30-year period of 2021-2050. Adaptation measures are applied to respond to the environment variations, providing flexibility while ensuring the thermal comfort of the residents. Results show 22% and 20% peak power and load curtailment, respectively. The discomfort hours are reduced by 22%. The performance of the flexible energy management appears when the PV production is not sufficient for the demand. Therefore, the impacts are on the grid electricity which leads toward a higher grid independency. The most significant change is the peak shaving in the afternoon hours when the grid experiences high loads. Further research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of installing battery system on load shifting

Eculizumab in Pediatric Kidney Disorders: A Review: Eculizumab in Kidney Disorders

Eculizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting the C5 (complement 5) memberof complement proteins and inhibiting its cleavage to C5a and C5b. Eculizumab has beenproven to be effective in a wide array of nephrologic, neurologic, and hematologic pediatricdisorders. Kidney disorders, particularly those with immune-mediated pathomechanism,are the most common indications of eculizumab, including atypical hemolytic uremicsyndrome (aHUS), hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), membranoproliferativeglomerulonephritis (MPGN), immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, hematopoietic stemcell transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy, and less commonly post-infectiousglomerulonephritis and diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis. In this review, we aimed tosummarize the current evidence on approved and off-label applications of eculizumab andtheir specific considerations in pediatric kidney disorders