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Abstract. Urban air quality and human health are among the key aspects of future urban planning. In order to address pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter, efforts need to be made to quantify and reduce their concentrations. One important aspect in understanding urban air quality is the influence of urban vegetation which may act as both emitter and sink for trace gases and aerosol particles. In this context, the "Berlin Air quality and Ecosystem Research: Local and long-range Impact of anthropogenic and Natural hydrocarbons 2014" (BAERLIN2014) campaign was conducted between 2 June and 29 August in the metropolitan area of Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany. The predominant goals of the campaign were (1) the characterization of urban gaseous and particulate pollution and its attribution to anthropogenic and natural sources in the region of interest, especially considering the connection between biogenic volatile organic compounds and particulates and ozone; (2) the quantification of the impact of urban vegetation on organic trace gas levels and the presence of oxidants such as ozone; and (3) to explain the local heterogeneity of pollutants by defining the distribution of sources and sinks relevant for the interpretation of model simulations. In order to do so, the campaign included stationary measurements at urban background station and mobile observations carried out from bicycle, van and airborne platforms. This paper provides an overview of the mobile measurements (Mobile BAERLIN2014) and general conclusions drawn from the analysis. Bicycle measurements showed micro-scale variations of temperature and particulate matter, displaying a substantial reduction of mean temperatures and particulate levels in the proximity of vegetated areas compared to typical urban residential area (background) measurements. Van measurements extended the area covered by bicycle observations and included continuous measurements of O3, NOx, CO, CO2 and point-wise measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at representative sites for traffic- and vegetation-affected sites. The quantification displayed notable horizontal heterogeneity of the short-lived gases and particle number concentrations. For example, baseline concentrations of the traffic-related chemical species CO and NO varied on average by up to ±22.2 and ±63.5 %, respectively, on the scale of 100 m around any measurement location. Airborne observations revealed the dominant source of elevated urban particulate number and mass concentrations being local, i.e., not being caused by long-range transport. Surface-based observations related these two parameters predominantly to traffic sources. Vegetated areas lowered the pollutant concentrations substantially with ozone being reduced most by coniferous forests, which is most likely caused by their reactive biogenic VOC emissions. With respect to the overall potential to reduce air pollutant levels, forests were found to result in the largest decrease, followed by parks and facilities for sports and leisure. Surface temperature was generally 0.6–2.1 °C lower in vegetated regions, which in turn will have an impact on tropospheric chemical processes. Based on our findings, effective future mitigation activities to provide a more sustainable and healthier urban environment should focus predominantly on reducing fossil-fuel emissions from traffic as well as on increasing vegetated areas.
Parabolrinnen nutzen parabolisch gekrümmte Spiegel, um die direkte Globalstrahlung auf ein Vakuum-Absorberrohr zu konzentrieren. Eine Effizienzsteigerung dieser Technologie wird durch eine vollständige Automatisierung der Sonnennachführung optimiert. Die an einem Parabolrinnen-Versuchsträger der Hochschule Düsseldorf realisierte Steuerung und Berechnung der Nachführung werden kontinuierlich über einen Microcontroller realisiert. Eine Kalibrierung der Parabolrinne im Labormaßstab zur Erkennung des Winkels erfolgt über Infrarotsensoren. Die Berechnung des Sonnenstandes, durch den Algorithmus, kann unabhängig von einer Stromzufuhr durch eine Real-Time-Clock bestimmt werden. Mittels Schrittmotor und Treiber verfährt die Parabolrinne in die errechnete Position. Die Feinausrichtung der Parabolrinne erfolgt über ein Verschattungsmodul und zwei Photowiderstände. Durch den Einsatz von 3D-gedruckten Bestandteilen sind die genutzten Komponenten kostengünstig und können standortunabhängig reproduziert werden. Durch das Zusammenspiel der Komponenten ist ein autonomer Einsatz möglich.
The Chylla–Haase polymerization reactor is widely accepted as a benchmark process for the evaluation of control strategies for batch reactors. In this contribution a control concept based on Exact I/O-Linearization is proposed and compared to a conventional cascade control structure. In order to adapt the exact linearization control strategy to various polymerization products and batch conditions, an advanced probabilistic inference algorithm (Sigma-Point Kalman Filter) is applied and investigated. Sigma-Point Kalman Filters have the major improvement of simplified implementation compared to local linearization methods (i.e. Extended Kalman Filter) because no analytical Jacobians are required. Stochastic simulation studies are introduced and show the effectiveness, accuracy and benefit of the control concept. Within several scenarios a satisfying robustness against structural errors in the underlying model equations for the nonlinear control law and the inference algorithm is demonstrated. Furthermore it is pointed out, that with little effort in reassembling the plant design, control performance can be improved significantly.
Men afflicted with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) show signs of muscle dysfunction, such as increased muscle fatigue and acidosis during exercise. We hypothesize that muscle elasticity of the lower extremities differs between patients with COPD and age-related controls. The shear modulus of the soleus muscle was measured non-invasively using MR elastography (MRE) at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of the subject’s maximum applied force. The results from this study showed statistical differences between the patients and controls, even though there were no statistical differences in the maximum applied force.
Men afflicted with hypogonadism have reduced fat-free mass and in some cases a loss in muscle strength. We hypothesize that muscle elasticity of the lower extremities differs between patients with hypogonadism and healthy controls. The shear modulus of the soleus muscle was measured non-invasively using MR elastography (MRE) at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of the subject’s maximum applied force. The results from this study showed statistical differences between the patients and controls, even though there were no statistical differences in applied force.
Higher control engineering concepts, including artificial intelligence and model-based control, are recently becoming more popular in complex industrial applications because they enable a significant increase in efficiency. E.g., a model-based approach can be used to enhance the control and monitoring of several coupled components of a larger turbomachinery train. This requires dynamic models of the components, including all machine characteristics, which may experience a shift in their behavior over the course of their lifetime. Such changes occur due to natural fouling, wear of sub-components or external effects induced by maintenance measures. To overcome this problem, we model machine-characteristic maps with artificial neural networks, which may be used as part of prediction models in a model predictive control unit. If an appropriate data set is available, this allows us to adapt the model to the current behavior of the machine without requiring in-depth knowledge about the underlying physics of this “concept drift”, as it is known in literature. However, the training of neural networks is usually connected with high computational effort while the task needs to be executed in real-time during operation. Furthermore, in real operating conditions, machine sensors can only provide labeled data from the current operating point of the machine, which can be stationary for long operation periods of up to several months. In general, this yields only an unrepresentative data subset of the machine-characteristics, which is not sufficient to retrain the whole model to a new state. To solve these problems, we firstly reduce the model adaptation to a convex optimization problem, which can be efficiently solved in real-time conditions. Secondly, we use a specialized data management system with which we can integrate historical data to supplement the unrepresentative data subset. In this paper we show the application of the outlined method on a compressor map and discuss the advantages and requirements of the method in the context of modeling applications for industrial turbomachinery.
Eye tracking is a measurement technique for determining the orientation and viewing direction of an individual’s eyes. It allows for an evaluation of the individual’s gaze and other related information.There is a wide variety of application areas for eye tracking, however the usage in engineeringindustry is still limited. This paper presents a case study for the use of eye tracking in a testingstation for electrical circuit breakers. The case study aims to evaluate the measurement and analysispossible with the Tobii wearable eye tracking system. From the case study, possibilities, limitationsand considerations for eye tracking in industrial settings are identified and discussed. The paperconcludes that while eye tracking can be used to effectively capture and visualize insightfulinformation, it faces major challenges related to subjectivity in analysis and labour intensiveness.
We derive a nonlinear model of the steam cycle of a solar power plant, estimate its unknown parameters with measured data, and design a linear model predictive controller based on the resulting model. Simulations show that the linear model predictive controller is able to regulate the electrical power of the nonlinear steam process of the plant to a given reference trajectory very well. Moreover, it results in very good disturbance rejection.