The transition to a zero-carbon economy is the inclusive growth story of the twenty-first century. It needs to be managed with effective and cohesive policies, whilst recognizing that sustainable development, inclusive growth and climate action are interwoven and mutually supportive.
The zero attraction affine projection algorithm (ZA-APA) achieves better performance in terms of convergence rate and steady state error than standard APA when the system is sparse. It uses l1 norm penalty to exploit sparsity of the channel. The performance of ZA-APA depends on the value of zero attractor controller. Moreover a fixed attractor controller is not suitable for varying sparsity environment. This paper proposes an optimal adaptive zero attractor controller based on Mean Square Deviation (MSD) error to work in variable sparsity environment. Experiments were conducted to prove the suitability of the proposed algorithm for identification of unknown variable sparse system.
The increased power density, reduced switching losses with minimum electromagnetic interference (EMI), and high efficiency are essential requirements of power converters. To achieve these characteristics, soft power converters employing soft switching techniques are indispensable. In this paper, a ZCS/ZVS PWM AC/DC converter topology has been emphasized, which finds applications in high power systems such as automobile battery charging and renewable energy systems. This converter scheme maintains zero current and zero voltage switching conditions at turn on and turn off moments of semiconductor switches, respectively and soft operation of rectifier diodes that lead to negligible switching and diode reverse recovery losses. Moreover, it improves power quality and presents high input power factor, low total harmonic distortion of the input current (THDI) and improved efficiency. The validity of theoretical analysis of the proposed converter has been carried out experimentally on a 10 kW laboratory prototype. Experimental results prove that the soft switching operation of the semiconductor switches and diodes is maintained at 98.6% rated load efficiency. In addition, the performance evaluation has been performed by comparative analysis of the proposed converter with some prior art high power AC/DC converters. Efficiencies of the proposed and prior art high power topologies have been determined for different load conditions. The highest efficiency, power factor and lower THDI of the proposed converter topology complies with international standards.
The article introduces an innovative approch for the inspection challenge that represents a generalization of the classical Traveling Salesman Problem. Its priciple idea is to visit continuous areas (circles) in a way, that minimizes travelled distance. In practice, the problem can be defined as an issue of scheduling unmanned aerial vehicle which has discrete-continuous nature. In order to solve this problem the use of local search algorithms is proposed.
The removal of nitrates from aqueous solutions is cumbersome because of their high solubility in water. The use of zero-valent iron (ZVI) for the reduction of nitrates is the chemical process and it is an alternative method to the biological ones. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the eff ectiveness of nitrates removal from water solution by using the ZVI process. The process was coupled with the removal of COD, phosphates and turbidity by using by-products of nitrates reduction. Batch tests were performed to evaluate the eff ectiveness of ZVI in the removal of nitrates from aqueous solutions. The eff ectiveness of nitrates removal was analyzed after 5, 10, 20, 30 and 60 min. and compared to the initial concentration of pollutants. Simultaneously analysis of ammonium nitrogen and nitrites was controlled to identify products of nitrates reduction under various pH. The removal of COD, phosphates and turbidity was also performed in batch tests. The eff ectiveness of the emoval by using three types of chemicals was compared – PIX, FeSO4, and waste Fe2+/Fe3+ from the ZVI process. The results obtained in the study indicate that ZVI can be eff ectively used in the treatment of water polluted with nitrates and the by-products of the process could be further applied in the removal of COD, phosphates and turbidity. Based on the results the method should be advised as a promising alternative to the technologies used nowadays under technical scale as a technology that fits with a circular economy.
In Polish coal mining, medium voltage power distribution networks operate with an insulated neutral point. Zero-sequence current transformers are the basic sensors that generate input signals for earth-fault protection relays. In the literature, the problem of frequency response analysis of various types of current transformers has been examined many times, e.g. [1] [2], but not for zero-sequence current transformers so far. As part of the work, two types of zero-sequence current transformers in the range from 0.1 Hz to 100 kHz were tested. Both the change of the current ratio and the angular shift between the transformer secondary current and the total primary current were analyzed.
The purpose of this paper is to propose a model of a novel quasi-resonant boost converter with a tapped inductor. This converter combines the advantages of zero voltage quasi-resonant techniques and different conduction modes with the possibility of obtaining a high voltage conversion ratio by using a tapped inductor, which results in high converter efficiency and soft switching in the whole output power range. The paper contains an analysis of converter operation, a determination of voltage conversion ratio and the maximum voltage across power semiconductor switches as well as a discussion of control methods in discontinuous, critical, and continuous conduction modes. In order to verify the novelty of the proposed converter, a laboratory prototype of 300 W power was built. The highest efficiency η = 94.7% was measured with the output power Po = 260 W and the input voltage Vin = 50 V. The lowest efficiency of 90.7% was obtained for the input voltage Vin = 30 V and the output power Po = 75 W. The model was tested at input voltages (30–50) V, output voltage 380 V and maximum switching frequency 100 kHz.
Presented article contain the teachers opinions of the perceived social expectations in relation to their own expectations of both the institutions of school and local educational authorities. The starting point is a thesis that asymmetrical and disproportionate expectations conducive to the construction of the reduced school reality a specified group of students. as reality shows school does not always reflect the social expectations, which is closely connected with the attitudes of teachers in mainstream schools. however, their expectations of working conditions and the same students with disabilities often remain inconsistent. To identify and interpret the reality that create the appearance of the school, the topic is examined in the context of the concept of the reduced space and the theory of games.
Although the explicit commutativitiy conditions for second-order linear time-varying systems have been appeared in some literature, these are all for initially relaxed systems. This paper presents explicit necessary and sufficient commutativity conditions for commutativity of second-order linear time-varying systems with non-zero initial conditions. It has appeared interesting that the second requirement for the commutativity of non-relaxed systems plays an important role on the commutativity conditions when non-zero initial conditions exist. Another highlight is that the commutativity of switched systems is considered and spoiling of commutativity at the switching instants is illustrated for the first time. The simulation results support the theory developed in the paper.
In this study, different amounts of tantalum carbide (TaC) powders (5, 10 and 15 wt.%) are added to Vanadis 4 Extra steel powders. The composite powders are sintered at 1260, 1280, 1300, 1320, 1340 and 1360°C for 1 h, respectively. The experimental results showed that good mechanical properties (hardness 79.7 HRA, TRS 2246 MPa) were obtained by the addition of 10% TaC sintered at 1320°C for 1 h. Furthermore, the optimal sintered V4ES/TaC (Vanadis 4 Extra steel / TaC) composites after sub-zero treatment possess the highest hardness (80.9 HRA) and transverse rupture strength (TRS) values (2445 MPa), as well as a better polarization resistance (658.99 Ω·cm2). After sub-zero treatment, the VC carbides decompose and re-precipitate refined VC carbides within the grains (VC carbides are formed in steel powder); moreover, the TaC particles are still uniformly distributed around the grain boundaries, which results in dispersion strengthening and precipitation hardening. The results clearly reveal that sub-zero heat treatment effectively improves the microstructure and strengthens the V4ES/TaC composite.
The manuscript presents the condition of circular economy in Poland in diversified approach: subjective (waste streams, energy), sectoral (construction, wastewater treatment, coal energy), related to the resources (phosphorous and anthropogenic minerals) and considering proper energy management (almost zero energy buildings). The achievements reached in different sectors as well as the requirements towards implementation of CE are presented. The advancement of recycling technologies does not deviate from the global level, in terms of areas specific to Poland. Limiting the exploitation of natural resources and usage of new materials as well as producing more durable products are of CE concern. Also energy and heat recovery in buildings and technological processes (e.g. during wastewater treatment), ways of utilization of combustion by-products and water decarbonization waste are described. The implementation of CE in Poland needs not only research and technical activities, but also the modification of technological processes, the right policy, overcoming crosssectoral barriers, developing legal regulations and support schemes for CE.
Underwater Acoustic Communications (UWAC) is an emerging technology in the field of underwater communications, and it is challenging because of the signal attenuation of the sound waves. Multiple Input and Multiple- Output (MIMO) is introduced in UWAC because of its support in enhancing the data throughput even under the conditions of interference, signal fading, and multipath. The paper presents the concept and analysis of 2× 2 MIMO UWAC systems that uses a 4- QAM spatial modulation scheme thus minimizing the decoding complexity and overcoming the Inter Channel Interference (IChI). Bit Error Rate (BER) investigation is carried out over different link distances under acoustic Line of Sight (LOS). The utilization of Zero Forcing (ZF) and Vertical-Bell Laboratories Layered Space-Time (VBLAST) equalizers, which estimates the transmitted data proves a success of removing Inter Symbol Interference (ISI). The ISI caused due to multipath effect and scattering in UWAC can be reduced by iterative process considered in VBLAST. A study is made on how the distance between the transmitter and the receiver and the Doppler Effect has its impact on the performance of the system.