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Abstract The relationship between fuel consumption in a multi-storey block of flats and climatic exposure is investigated. Fuel consumption anomalies between identical flats are attributed to vagaries in the airflow around the building and highlight the need for improved standards of thermal insulation and/or differential thermal insulation, dependent upon flat location. Climate and building design and the subject of building Climatology in architectural education are discussed briefly.

Constructed in 1986, the Biosphere 2 Test Module has been used since the end of that year for closed ecological systems experiments. It is the largest closed ecological facility ever built, with a sealed variable volume of some 480 cubic meters. It is built with a skin of steel spaceframes with double-laminated glass panels admitting about 65 percent Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR). The floor is of welded steel and there is an underground atmospheric connection via an air duct to a variable volume chamber ("lung") permitting expansion and contraction of the Test Module's air volume caused by changes in temperature and barometric pressure, which causes a slight positive pressure from inside the closed system to the outside thereby insuring that the very small leakage rate is outward. Several series of closed ecological system investigations have been carried out in this facility. One series of experiments investigated the dynamics of higher plants and associated soils with the atmosphere under varying light and temperature conditions. Another series of experiments included one human in the closed system for three, five and twenty-one days. During these experiments the Test Module had subsystems which completely recycled its water and atmosphere; all the human dietary needs were produced within the facility, and all wastes were recycled using a marsh plant/microbe system. Other experiments have examined the capability of individual component systems used, such as the soil bed reactors, to eliminate experimentally introduced trace gases. Analytic systems developed for these experiments include continuous monitors of eleven atmospheric gases in addition to the complete gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) examinations of potable, waste system and irrigation water quality.

The design of the facility is described in terms of its use as an investigation tool for evaluating crop growth in space with reference to required emerging technologies. NASA's CELSS Test Facility (CTF) is designed to permit the measurement of crop-plant productivity under microgravity conditions including biomass production, food production, water transpiration, and O2/CO2 exchanges. Crucial hardware tests and qualifications are identified to assure the operation of CTF technologies in space including the nutrient-delivery, water-condensation, and gas-liquid-mixing subsystems. The design concept and related scientific requirements are described and shown to provide microgravity crop research. The CTF is expected to provide data for plant research and for concepts for bioregenerative life-support systems for applications to Martian, lunar, and space-station missions.

To satisfy the needs of a demanding and competitive market, Amtrol-Alfa decided to allocate its resources in a new innovative composite cylinder. The CoMet cylinder consists of a thin steel inner liner, wrapped in a commingled glass and polypropylene fibre inside a plastic jacket, which exceeded our expectations. Safety and environment are on the top of Amtrol-Alfa’s priorities. As such, the manufacturing of the CoMet cylinder has no dangerous emissions to the environment, in comparison with thermoset traditional processes, and uses inert products such as PP and HDPE. Regarding recyclability, the steel can be reprocessed, the commingled fibres can be chopped and used in injection processes, including the HDPE exterior jacket that can also be chopped and re-injected. The use of only recyclable products contributes to a better environment. The design was thoroughly studied, so that the handling is less aggressive to the costumer. The cylinder exterior is also very important, not only because the new design may look more ergonomic and elegant, but also because it is cleaner and safer. CoMet lightweight cylinder integrates in one cylinder, the Past and the Future, the Proven and the Innovation, in an elegant compromise.

Abstract An EHC (electrically heated catalyst) of a four stroke motorcycle engine with heat storing material was used to investigate the effect of input energy on the carbon monoxide (CO) conversion efficiency after cold start. The factors studied included the length of the heat storing material, heating temperature and pre-heating time. The stainless steel heat storing material was 15 mm wide and 0.3 mm deep and was installed at the inlet and mid-section of the catalyst. The settings of the parameters were heat storing material lengths of 30 and 60 cm, pre-heating time of 5, 15 and 25 s, a CO setting level of 1.3% and 1.8% and a heating temperature of 140, 180 and 220 °C. It was revealed that for the shorter heat storing material, better conversion efficiency was attained when heating at the inlet. Heating at the mid-section of the catalyst with the same length of heat storing material resulted in less energy stored, quicker heat dissipation and more frequent re-heating required. In contrast, with a longer heat storing material, the temperature rise was more gradual and more heat was absorbed, resulting in a more stable overall temperature development. It was further showed that under the same input energy, the shorter heat storing material provided a higher CO conversion efficiency than the longer material. Further, a threshold total input energy for achieving a CO conversion efficiency above 65% was found to be 100 kJ.

AbstractSolid‐state cooling is an environmentally friendly, no global warming potential alternative to vapor compression‐based systems. Elastocaloric cooling based on NiTi shape memory alloys exhibits excellent cooling capabilities. Due to the high specific latent heats activated by mechanical loading/unloading, large temperature changes can be generated in the material. The small required work input enables a high coefficient of performance. An overview of elastocaloric cooling from basic principles, such as elastocaloric cooling cycles, material characterization, modeling, and optimization, to the design of elastocaloric cooling devices is presented. Current work performed within the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) Priority Program SPP 1599 “Ferroic Cooling”, which is focused on the development and realization of a continuously operating elastocaloric cooling device, is highlighted. The cooling device operates in a rotatory mode with wires under tensile loading. The design allows maximization of cooling power by suitable wire diameter scaling as well as efficiency optimization by implementing a novel drive concept. Finally, computer‐aided design (CAD) models of the discussed solid‐state air cooling device are presented.

Materials and technologies applied in the manufacture of equipment and the installation of wind-diesel power generation systems operating in harsh climatic conditions, including those in northern regions, are considered.

Abstract Offshore wind has been identified as one of the emerging sustainable energy sources in the United Kingdom. Offshore wind turbine support structures are mainly fabricated of welded tubular members, similar to structures used for oil and gas applications, and are exposed to highly dynamic, harsh marine environments. However, their structural details and design requirements are significantly different due to the magnitude and frequency of operational and environmental loadings acting on the support structures. These conditions would significantly affect their structural dynamic response characteristics due to the magnitude of the applied load. This may therefore have some significant effects on the crack growth behaviour and the extent to which corrosion can be associated with damage to the support structures. However, the magnitude of the applied load might depend on turbine size, water depth, soil conditions and type of support structures. It is therefore essential to design wind turbine support structures against prescribed limit states to ensure economical and safe operation. This paper presents a review of corrosion fatigue in offshore structures as regards the effects of seawater, environment and mechanical loading. Existing literature which documents results from previous campaigns is presented, including works referring to oil and gas structures, highlighting the significant difference in the aspects of loading and use of modern fabrication processes, with a view to illustrating the requirements for an update to the existing corrosion fatigue database that will suit offshore wind structures׳ design requirements.

In Advanced Life Support (ALS) systems with bioregenerative components, plant photosynthesis would be used to produce O2 and food, while removing CO2. Much of the plant biomass would be inedible and hence must be considered in waste management. This waste could be oxidized (e.g., incinerated or aerobically digested) to resupply CO2 to the plants, but this would not be needed unless the system were highly closed with regard to food. For example, in a partially closed system where some of the food is grown and some is imported, CO2 from oxidized waste when combined with crew and microbial respiration could exceed the CO2 removal capability of the plants. Moreover, it would consume some O2 produced from photosynthesis that could have been used by the crew. For partially closed systems it would be more appropriate to store or find other uses for the inedible biomass and excess carbon, such as generating soils or growing woody plants (e.g., dwarf fruit trees). Regardless of system closure, high harvest crops (i.e., crops with a high edible to total biomass ratio) would increase food production per unit area and O2 yields for systems where waste biomass is oxidized to recycle CO2. Such interlinking effects between the plants and waste treatment strategies point out the importance of oxidizing only that amount of waste needed to optimize system performance.