The problem of determining displacements of objects is an important and current issue, in particular in terms of operational safety. This is a requirement that covers geodetic, periodic control measurements in order to determine horizontal and vertical displacements. The paper is focused on the analysis of vertical displacements. Geodetic measurements and their interpretation allow to reduce the risk of possible structural catastrophes. The major research topic of the majority of available papers is displacement determination of individual controlled points, in a situation where there are identified as fixed reference points. There are cases making identification of such points difficult or impossible to use in displacement analysis. This paper addresses a rare case of determining vertical displacements in unstable reference systems. Due to the fact that most of the existing and known literature methods do not always bring satisfactory results, the paper propose a new method of vertical displacement determination in the absence of reference points in the local coordinate system. Practical considerations on simulated data show that the presented method performs the task correctly.

The author writes about the diff erences in maritime insurance that exist to the present day. The new maritime code of the Russian Federation was implemented on May 1, 1999. It consists of 430 articles in 27 chapters. The XV chapter of the code consists of 38 articles and it regulates maritime insurance agreement issues. The subject of maritime insurance can include any financial business concemed with the merchant marine or compensation for work and other sums of money for vessel captains and crews, including repatriation and reinsurance. Unlike in Polish maritime code, the agreement for maritime insurance under Russian Federation law must be in writing. By definition, a maritime insurance agreement names not only the insurer and the party who is taking out the insurance but it also names the person for whom the agreement was ente red into. In generał, the policy only covers insured cargo.

Participation in loss or damage by sacrifice stems from either custom or legal regulations. This obligation can also be limited by agreement between parties. The instrument for modifying the range of loss or damage by sacrifice is the set of principles in the York-Antwerp Rules. The York-Antwerp Rules are currently the oldest maritime trade institution in such common practical use. The definition of loss or damage by sacrifice comes from the rules accepted in 1924 which originated from British regulations on maritime insurance dating from 1906. In Polish maritime code, the term “loss or damage by sacrifice ” describes only a certain type of damage, independent of the means it was inflicted. Norwegian maritime code is a good example of a rational attitude towards this issue; article 211 of this code refers directly to the York-Antwerp Rules. In terms of legislative techniques, the York-Antwerp Rules are not perfect. The terms of dispatch and the role of the dispatcher, which are closely related to the loss and damage by sacrifice, are rather incidental in the York-Antwerp Rules and are on the margins of issues regarding the effectivity of settlement.

The paper analyzes the impact of potential changes in the price relation between domestic and imported coal and its influence on the volume of coal imported to Poland. The study is carried out with the application of a computable model of the Polish energy system. The model reflects fundamental relations between coal suppliers (domestic coal mines, importers) and key coal consumers (power plants, combined heat and power plants, heat plants, industrial power plants). The model is run under thirteen scenarios, differentiated by the ratio of the imported coal price versus the domestic coal price for 2020–2030. The results of the scenario in which the prices of imported and domestic coal, expressed in PLN/GJ, are equal, indicate that the volume of supplies of imported coal is in the range of 8.3–11.5 million Mg (depending on the year). In the case of an increase in prices of imported coal with respect to the domestic one, supplies of imported coal are at the level of 0.4–4.1 million Mg (depending on the year). With a decrease in the price of imported coal, there is a gradual increase in the supply of coal imports. For the scenario in which a 30% lower imported coal price is assumed, the level of imported coal almost doubles (180%), while the supply from domestic mines is reduced by around 28%, when compared to the levels observed in the reference scenario. The obtained results also allow for the development of an analysis of the range of coal imports depending on domestic versus imported coal price relations in the form of cartograms.

The DiSTFA method (Displacements and Strains using Transformation and Free Adjustment) was presented in Kamiński (2009). The method has been developed for the determination of displacements and strains of engineering objects in unstable reference systems, as well as for examining the stability of reference points. The DiSTFAG (Gross errors) method presented in the paper is the extension of the DiSTFA method making it robust to gross errors. Theoretical considerations have been supplemented with an example of a practical application on a simulated 3D surveying network.

The dynamic development of wind power in recent years has generated the demand for production forecasting tools in wind farms. The data obtained from mathematical models is useful both for wind farm owners and distribution and transmission system operators. The predictions of production allow the wind farm operator to control the operation of the turbine in real time or plan future repairs and maintenance work in the long run. In turn, the results of the forecasting model allow the transmission system operator to plan the operation of the power system and to decide whether to reduce the load of conventional power plants or to start the reserve units.

The presented article is a review of the currently applied methods of wind power generation forecasting. Due to the nature of the input data, physical and statistical methods are distinguished. The physical approach is based on the use of data related to atmospheric conditions, terrain, and wind farm characteristics. It is usually based on numerical weather prediction models (NWP). In turn, the statistical approach uses historical data sets to determine the dependence of output variables on input parameters. However, the most favorable, from the point of view of the quality of the results, are models that use hybrid approaches. Determining the best model turns out to be a complicated task, because its usefulness depends on many factors. The applied model may be highly accurate under given conditions, but it may be completely unsuitable for another wind farm.

Taking the importance of time and risk into account has a significant impact on the value of

investment projects. Investments in the energy sector are long-term projects and, as such, are burdened

with uncertainty associated with the long-term freezing of capital and obtaining the expected

return. In the power industry, this uncertainty is increased by factors specific to the sector,

including in particular changes in the political and legal environment and the rapid technological

development. In the case of discounted cash flow analysis (DCF), commonly used for assessing the

economic efficiency of investments, the only parameter expressing investor uncertainty regarding

investment opportunities is the discount rate, which increases with the increasing risk of the project.

It determines the value of the current project, thus becoming an important criterion affecting

investors’ decisions. For this reason, it is of great importance for the assessment of investment

effectiveness. This rate, usually in the form of the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), generally

includes two elements: the cost of equity capital and borrowed capital. Due to the fluctuant

relationship between these two parameters in project financing, performing a WACC analysis in

order to compare the risks associated with the different technologies is not completely justified.

A good solution to the problem is to use the cost of equity. This article focuses on the analysis of this

cost as a measure of risk related to energy investments in the United States, Europe and worldwide.

With the upcoming implementation of the centralized capacity market in Poland, capacity auctions will be organized where domestic power companies will offer their available capacities. It is assumed that bidding will be auctioned according to the so called descending clock auction system with uniform-price (Pay-as-Clear), which will lead to the market equilibrium price. Some analysts, however, are of the view that it is more appropriate to organize capacity auctions in the Pay-as-Bid formula, as this system should lead to lower prices that those of Pay-as-Clear, hence lower costs of capacity purchase. However, this opinion does not confirm the practice – theoretical considerations do not take into account such important factors as the behavior of market players and the tendency of bidders to accept a higher risk or the lack of access to advanced analyses, and thus better information for all market participants. This paper presents a hypothetical calculation of the prices in the centralized capacity market using Monte Carlo simulations. The results of the study confirm that the price level for the Pay-as-Bid system, due to the asymmetry of information and the level of concentration of the power generation sector in Poland would lead to higher prices than for the Pay-as-Clear system on average by approximately 2.5%. The implementation of the PAB system would, therefore, be less efficient to electricity consumers.

This Article investigates how the European Court of Human Rights becomes competent to make decisions in cases concerning (or taking roots in) “historical situations” preceding the ratifi cation of the European Convention by a given Member State or even the enactment of the Convention. “Historical situations” refer to events that occurred in the period of Second World War or shortly thereafter. In all such cases, the preliminary question arises whether the Court is competent temporally (ratione temporis) to deal with the application. This group of cases concerned usually allegations touching upon the right to life and the right to property. The Court had to decide if the allegation in question related to a temporally closed event (making the Court not competent) or rather to a continuous violation (where the Court could adjudicate). A specifi c set of legal questions arose vis-à-vis the right to life, fi rst of all that of the autonomy of the procedural obligation to conduct an effi cient investigation. The Strasbourg case law did not provide a clear answer. However, following two crucial judgements rendered by the Grand Chamber, the Court has established an interesting legal framework. Article analyses also two other situations having a historical dimension: bringing to justice those accused of war crimes or other crimes under international law (in light of the alleged confl ict with the principle of nullum crimes sine lege) and pursuing authors of pro-Nazi statements or speech denying the reality of Nazi atrocities.

This paper proposes a modification of the classical process for evaluating the statistical significance of displacements in the case of heterogeneous (e.g. linear-angular) control networks established to deformation measurements and analysis. The basis for the proposed solution is the idea of local variance factors. The theoretical discussion was complemented with an example of its application on a simulated horizontal control network. The obtained results showed that the evaluation of the statistical significance of displacements in the case of heterogeneous control networks should be carried out using estimators of local variance factors.

This document contains results of research on complex motion common magnetic circuit electromagnetic converter characteristic that allows making independent axial and rotary shaft motion. The converter in addition to linear-rotary mechanism consists of two drive rotors and one common magnetic circuit excitator. Such a solution allows to reduce volume of the machine and makes it easier to use. The paper cites design intent and possible structure of the device. Phenomenon of common magnetic circuit adverse effect on correct operation of device is discussed. The concept of using relative error as a way to evaluate the influence of that phenomenon in the torques is discussed. Waveforms of determined relative errors for all possible cases is presented. Furthermore the concept of average relative error is defined and its use as a quantitative method of assessing the degree of common circuit impact is indicated. Definition of relative error ripple factor is given, and its usage is shown. Winding inductance calculation based on free FEM application is shown and its influence on control strategy and power system.

The article focuses on multicomponent system separation with the use of an innovative membrane-based technique i.e. pervaporation. Pervaporation is a membrane technique for separation of liquid mixtures on solid nonporous membranes. Pervaporation is used in this study to separate a quaternary system acetone-butanol-ethanol-water. Such a system may be derived from ABE fermentation process, and the resulting product, biobutanol, is a potential biofuel and may be used in internal combustion engines.

Experiments in the study involving concentration of butanol by pervaporation were performed using PERVAP 4060 flat-sheet commercial membrane. To describe the PV process a semi-empirical approach was used. As a result of experiments and calculations permeance coefficients were obtained. Separation and permeance factors were calculated to assess the efficiency of the system separation. Beforehand, activity coefficients were determined for all the components of the mixture with the NRTL equation. Separation coefficients for all the components differed depending on process parameters: concentration, feed flow rate and process temperature. The study confirmed the separation effect of the quaternary system. The most interesting results were obtained for the concentration of butanol. Pervaporation allows to concentrate butanol over 10 times. The permeance coefficient reached for butanol an average value of 7.06·10-3 in comparison with the results for ethanol 3.24·10-2 and acetone 1.83·10-2 [kmol(m2h)-1]. The temperature change from 50 to 70°C led to an increased permeance factor and there was no apparent effect on it in the feed flow rate. Due to the hydrophobicity of the membrane water fluxes in the quaternary system were negative.

In the last decade a growing interest was observed in low-cost adsorbents for heavy metal ions. Clinoptilolite is a mineral sorbent extracted in Poland that is used to remove heavy metal ions from diluted solutions. The experiments in this study were carried out in a laboratory column for multicomponent water solutions of heavy metal ions, i.e. Cu(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II). A mathematical model to calculate the metals' concentration of water solution at the column outlet and the concentration of adsorbed substances in the adsorbent was proposed. It enables determination of breakthrough curves for different process conditions and column dimensions. The model of process dynamics in the column took into account the specificity of sorption described by the Elovich equation (for chemical sorption and ion exchange). Identification of the column dynamics consisted in finding model coefficients β, KE and Deff and comparing the calculated values with experimental data. Searching for coefficients which identify the column operation can involve the use of optimisation methods to find the area of feasible solutions in order to obtain a global extremum. For that purpose our own procedure of genetic algorithm is applied in the study.