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This paper highlights the importance of accurately modeling the operational constraints of Combined-Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGTs) within a unit-commitment framework. In practice, in Colombia, when given an initial dispatch by the Independent System Operator, CCGT plants are operated according to the results of heuristic simulation codes. Such heuristics often omit technical operating constraints, including hot, warm, or cold startup ramps; the minimum operation hours required for a gas turbine to start a steam turbine; the relationship between the dispatched number of steam and gas turbines; the load distribution among gas turbines; and supplementary fires. Most unit-commitment models in the literature represent standard technical constraints like startup, shutdown, up/down ramps, and in some cases, supplementary fires. However, they typically overlook other real-life CCGT operating constraints, which were considered in this work. These constraints are crucial in integrated energy systems to avoid equipment damage, which can potentially put CCGT plants out of service and ultimately lead to lower operating costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates a low-temperature three-circuit cooling system for a 55 kW industrial electric motor. The cooling system provides an increase of the power-to-dimension ratio by 63%, together with an improvement in motor performance. The three-circuit cooling system includes water cooling of the housing and stator and air-cooling of the motor's interior. The test results show that the motor efficiency was maintained in the range between 92.5 and 94.5%, with respect to the motor's power. With power increases up to 90 kW, a winding temperature of 67 °C was observed during three hours of operation. This advancement is particularly valuable for vehicles, ships, and aircraft applications, where maximizing power within limited space is crucial. An analysis of the experimental data showed that the cooling system operates at an average efficiency of 79.2%, indicating that roughly 20% of heat was accumulated in the rotor. This leads to a gradual temperature rise, particularly in the rotor, posing a risk of overheating and failure during motor overloads above 90 kW. Enhancing the cooling efficiency within the motor's interior can be achieved by incorporating extra heat exchangers, implementing evaporative heat transfer, and employing water-cooling circuits at lower temperatures. This, in turn, can boost the electric motor's power-to-dimension ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to address two major issues: (1) the spread of epidemics such as COVID-19 due to long waiting times caused by a large number of waiting for customers, and (2) excessive energy consumption resulting from the elevator patterns used by various customers. The first issue is addressed through the development of a mobile application, while the second issue is tackled by implementing two strategies: (1) determining optimal stopping strategies for elevators based on registered passengers and (2) assigning passengers to elevators in a way that minimizes the number of floors the elevators need to stop at. The mobile application serves as an input parameter for the optimization toolbox, which employs the exact method and multi-objective variable neighborhood strategy adaptive search (M-VaNSAS) to find the optimal plan for passenger assignment and elevator scheduling. The proposed method, which adopts an even-odd floor strategy, outperforms the currently practiced procedure and leads to a 42.44% reduction in waiting time and a 29.61% reduction in energy consumption. Computational results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK, as elsewhere, has seen an accelerating trend of bank branch closures and reduced opening hours since the early 2000s. The reasons given by the banks are well rehearsed, but the impact assessments they provide to justify such programs and signpost alternatives have been widely criticized as being inadequate. This is particularly so for vulnerable customers dependent on financial services who may face difficulties in accessing remaining branches. There is a need whilst analyzing spatial patterns of access to also include temporal availability in relation to transport opportunities. Drawing on a case study of potential multi-modal accessibility to banks in Wales, we demonstrate how open-source tools can be used to examine patterns of access whilst considering the business operating hours of branches in relation to public transport schedules. The inclusion of public and private travel modes provides insights into access that are often overlooked by a consideration of service-side measures alone. Furthermore, findings from the types of tools developed in this study are illustrative of the additional information that could be included in holistic impact assessments, allowing the consequences of decisions being taken to close or reduce the operating hours of bank branches to be more clearly communicated to customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of microgrids within a smart distribution grid can be raised in the future. Microgrid-based distribution network reconfiguration is analyzed in this research by taking demand response programs and power-sharing into account to optimize costs and reduce power losses. The suggested method determined the ideal distribution network configuration to fulfil the best scheduling goals. The ideal way of interconnecting switches between microgrids and the main grid was also identified. For each hour of operation, the ideal topology of microgrid-based distribution networks was determined using optimal power flow. The results were produced with and without the use of a demand response program and power-sharing in each microgrid. Different load profiles, such as residential, industrial, commercial, and academic, were taken into account and modified using appropriate demand response programs and power-sharing using the Artificial Bee Colony algorithm. Various scenarios were explored independently to suit the diverse aims considered by the distribution network operator for improved observation. The ABC optimization in this research attempted to reduce the system's total operation costs and power losses through efficient networked microgrid reconfiguration. The results of optimal microgrid topology revealed the effects of power-sharing and demand response (TOU) programs. The results obtained in the proposed idea shows that costs were reduced by 8.3% and power losses were reduced by 4%. The IEEE 33-bus test system was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital location traces are a relevant source of insights into how citizens experience their cities. Previous works using call detail records (CDRs) tend to focus on modeling the spatial and temporal patterns of human mobility, not paying much attention to the semantics of places, thus failing to model and enhance the understanding of the motivations behind people's mobility. In this paper, we applied a methodology for identifying individual users' routine locations and propose an approach for attaching semantic meaning to these locations. Specifically, we used circular sectors that correspond to cellular antennas' signal areas. In those areas, we found that all contained points of interest (POIs), extracted their most important attributes (opening hours, check-ins, category) and incorporated them into the classification. We conducted experiments with real-world data from Coimbra, Portugal, and the initial experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology to infer activities in the user's routine areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For thermal power generation, the natural draft hybrid cooling system (NDHCs) with airflows in parallel design gives a multi-objective solution for water saving, performance enhancement and maintenance issues, like corrosion, by switching the loads of wet and dry sections. Performances of dry and wet sections interact with each other in the highly integrated system, increasing the complexity of operation strategies. In this context the present paper examines eight different operation schemes to reveal the relationships of ambient conditions and operation schemes. Comprehensive comparisons in the view of cooling efficiency with a same water inlet temperature are conducted firstly. Results show that there exists energy-saving potentials of the water evaporated rate, cooling performances and the pump power for different schemes. Based on the practical boundary conditions, including those of weather data, operation hours and market factors, optimal operation strategies of hybrid cooling are designed to minimize the operation costs of the energy system. For the 660 MW power generating unit integrated with a natural draft dry cooling system (NDDCs), operation costs based on NDHC after optimization decreased about 0.8% in 2010 and 0.35% in 2018 compared with that of the basic system. When comparing with the designed operation modes of hybrid cooling, 0.07 million dollars is saved after optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth in renewable energy integration over the past few years, primarily fueled by the drop in capital cost, has revealed the requirement for more sustainable methods of integration. This paper presents a collocated hybrid plant consisting of solar photovoltaic (PV) and Ternary pumped-storage hydro (TPSH) and designs controls that integrate the PV plant such that the behavior and the controllability of the hybrid plant are similar to those of a conventional plant within operational constraints. The PV array control and hybrid plant control implement a neural–network-based framework to coordinate the response, de-loading, and curtailment of multiple arrays with the response of the TPSH. With the help of the designed controls, a symbiotic relationship is developed between the two energy resources, where the PV compensates for the TPSH nonlinearities and provides required speed of response, while the TPSH firms the PV system and allows the PV to be integrated using its existing infrastructure. Simulations demonstrate that the designed controls enable the PV system to track references, while the TPSH's firming and shifting transforms the PV system into a base load plant for most of the day and extends its hours of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]