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The paper comprises a systematic experimental investigation into the influence of AC test source parameters on the leakage current pulses, voltage fluctuations and flashover voltages of polluted insulators. The test techniques include both salt-and clean-fog methods, while the test insulators comprise long-rod and cap and pin strings of different lengths as well as support columns.

A mathematical model of the LiAl/LiCl, KCl/FeS cell has been used to study the behavior of the system during relaxation and charging. The effects of state of charge, cell temperature, and current density are presented, and the influence of a period of relaxation on the subsequent charging operation is investigated. In addition, factors that can have a significant impact on the charging characteristics are identified.

Short-term generation scheduling is an important function in daily operational planning of power systems. It is defined as optimal scheduling of power generators over a scheduling period while respecting various generator constraints and system constraints. Objective of the problem includes costs associated with energy production, start-up cost and shut-down cost along with profits. The resulting problem is a large scale nonlinear mixed-integer optimization problem for which there is no exact solution technique available. The solution to the problem can be obtained only by complete enumeration, often at the cost of a prohibitively computation time requirement for realistic power systems. This paper presents a hybrid algorithm which combines Lagrangian Relaxation (LR) together with Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) to solve the problem in cooperative and competitive energy environments. Simulation studies were carried out on different systems containing various numbers of units. The outcomes from different algorithms are compared with that from the proposed hybrid algorithm and the advantages of the proposed algorithm are briefly discussed.

Purpose This study aims to consider environmental sustainability, a global challenge under the preview of sustainable development goals, highlighting the significance of knowledge economy in attaining sustainable aggregate demand behavior globally. For this purpose, 155 countries that have data available from 1995 to 2021 were selected. The purpose of selecting these countries is to test the global responsibility of the knowledge economy to attain environmental sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Results are estimated with the help of panel quantile regression. The empirical existence of aggregate demand-based environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) was tested using non-linear tests. Moreover, principal component analysis has been incorporated to construct the knowledge economy index. Findings U-shaped aggregate demand-based EKC at global level is validated. However, environmental deterioration increases with an additional escalation after US$497.945m in aggregate demand. As a determinant, the knowledge economy is reducing CO2 emissions. The knowledge economy has played a significant role in global responsibility, shifting the EKC downward and extending the CO2 reduction phase for every selected country. Further, urbanization, energy intensity, financial development and trade openness significantly deteriorate the environmental quality. Originality/value This study contains the empirical existence of aggregate demand-based EKC. The role of the knowledge economy is examined through an index which is calculated by using four pillars of the knowledge economy (technology, innovations, education and institutions). This study is based on a combined panel of all the countries for which the data was available.

The division of return stroke current among the arresters and groundings of two unenergized test distribution lines, one horizontally configured and the other vertically configured, was studied at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing in Florida. The division of return stroke currents for the vertically configured line was initially similar to the division on the horizontally configured line: at the time the return stroke current reached peak value (after one microsecond, or so) the two closest arresters/grounds on both lines passed about 90% of the total current. However, the time during which the return stroke current flowed primarily through the closest arresters to the neutral conductor was significantly shorter on the vertically configured line. On that line, the arrester current was about equally divided among all four arresters after several tens of microseconds. The arrester current division as a function of time measured on the vertical line was successfully modeled using the published VI-characteristic, while the division on the horizontal line after some tens of microseconds was only successfully modeled if the residual voltage of the two arresters closest to the current injection point was reduced by 20%. Based on the triggered lightning current division observed on our line, the minimum energy absorbed in each of the two arresters closest to the strike point during a typical natural first stroke is estimated to be 40 kJ.

AbstractIf the energy‐density of prey bodies is not uniform, predators usually should maximize their rate of energy intake while foraging by selectively consuming energy‐rich regions of their prey and discarding other parts. In this study, the hypothesis of selective body‐part consumption was tested using two species of dasyurid marsupials, Sminthopsis youngsoni and Ningaui ridei, and their invertebrate prey in arid central Australia. Energy‐densities were similar for several divergent types of prey, including whole insects, centipedes, and spiders (20.2 ± 2.19 (sd) J/mg ash‐free dry mass), but there were marked differences in energy‐density among orders of insects and also between different body regions of invertebrates. In captivity, the two dasyurid species consumed different body regions of prey in the same way. For beetles and cockroaches, the rank order for selection of body parts was abdomen, thorax, head, then legs; for centipedes it was body, then head + legs; and for spiders it was opisthosoma, prosoma and then legs. Selection of prey body regions by the marsupials correlated closely with the energy‐densities of these regions, and also with the rates of energy intake that they yielded. In the field, selection of body parts of arthropod prey by dasyurids probably occurs primarily when prey is abundant. This selection should allow maximization of rates of energy intake in favourable periods and should, in turn, allow dasyurid predators to effectively exploit pulses of prey resources in the temporally variable desert environment.

Power System Stabilizers (PSS) have broad application throughout the world. PSS application requires careful tuning which is usually accomplished in the field with the generator and power system in an abnormal condition. Recently developed equipment which combines fast Fourier transform capability with digital computer technique provides a means of PSS tuning which is faster and more accurate than was previously obtainable. This paper describes a PSS tuning test conducted using the new technique. The advantages will be apparent to the reader. The described test is very poignant as evidenced by two unexpected occurrences of instability.

Abstract Molten salt reactors (MSRs) are a class of next-generation nuclear reactors that have received recent industrial and research interest. A generalized species transport solver was implemented in the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) computing suite to extend this tool to analyze liquid-fueled MSRs. This core simulator has been extended to model the transport of fission product gases into a collection of circulating gas bubbles with the purpose of removing the gases. This paper presents the governing species transport equation, along with various nuclear source terms. Development of the source term for phase migration is discussed, along with a simplified interfacial area tracking method. Finally, a case study on a simplified MSR loop is presented in which modeling parameters were varied to assess their impact on gas removal. The steady state results show that parameters such as bubble diameter, gas injection rate and mass transfer coefficient have a low to moderate effect on the fraction of xenon in the core region. Removal efficiency has the greatest effect on the fraction in the core region. After the pump bowl, bubble diameter has a minor effect on the fraction of xenon in the gas void. These results point out that increasing parameters such as mass transfer coefficient, gas injection rate, and removal efficiency drives the xenon into the circulating gas void, while decreasing bubble diameter also drives xenon into the gas void by increasing interfacial area.

Abstract Thermal performance of three naturally ventilated public buildings in which the wind tower is an important architectural freature is studied. One of the three builidings as well as it's wind tower is instrumented for temperature, relative humidity and airflow velocity measurements, and the other two are instrumented for temperature measurement. The results have led to a discussion concerning the degree of wind tower effectiveness in achieving thermal comfort.