This research develops a comprehensive method to solve a combinatorial problem consisting of distribution system reconfiguration, capacitor allocation, and renewable energy resources sizing and siting simultaneously a...This research develops a comprehensive method to solve a combinatorial problem consisting of distribution system reconfiguration, capacitor allocation, and renewable energy resources sizing and siting simultaneously and to improve power system's accountability and system performance parameters. Due to finding solution which is closer to realistic characteristics, load forecasting, market price errors and the uncertainties related to the variable output power of wind based DG units are put in consideration. This work employs NSGA-II accompanied by the fuzzy set theory to solve the aforementioned multi-objective problem. The proposed scheme finally leads to a solution with a minimum voltage deviation, a maximum voltage stability, lower amount of pollutant and lower cost. The cost includes the installation costs of new equipment, reconfiguration costs, power loss cost, reliability cost, cost of energy purchased from power market, upgrade costs of lines and operation and maintenance costs of DGs. Therefore, the proposed methodology improves power quality, reliability and security in lower costs besides its preserve, with the operational indices of power distribution networks in acceptable level. To validate the proposed methodology's usefulness, it was applied on the IEEE 33-bus distribution system then the outcomes were compared with initial configuration.展开更多
The study discusses accuracy evaluation methods for offshore wind energy resources by using scatterometer SeaWinds-derived wind speed and Weibull parameters. The purpose of this study is to evaluate accuracies of SeaW...The study discusses accuracy evaluation methods for offshore wind energy resources by using scatterometer SeaWinds-derived wind speed and Weibull parameters. The purpose of this study is to evaluate accuracies of SeaWinds-derived Weibull mean wind speed and energy density by considering uncertainties inherent in SeaWinds wind speed estimates. In this study, 1159 SeaWinds-derived wind speeds covering the KEO buoy are used for estimating two Weibull parameters, scale and shape. On the other hand, observed wind speeds from 2004 to 2008 at the KEO buoy are used for simulating three kinds of wind speeds in order to quantify some uncertainties inherent in SeaWinds-derived wind speeds. It is found that uncertainties associated with wind speed estimates (operational wind speed range, sampling time) show small differences in scale, shape and Weibull mean wind speed except energy density among the simulated datasets. Furthermore, the upper and lower bounds of 90% confidence interval corresponding to SeaWinds number of observations indicate 4-2.5% error of Weibull mean wind speed and 4-6.8% error of energy density, respectively.展开更多
As non-renewable natural resources, rare minerals' are extensively used as important raw materials in strategic emerging industries. As global consumption continues to increase over recent years, international compet...As non-renewable natural resources, rare minerals' are extensively used as important raw materials in strategic emerging industries. As global consumption continues to increase over recent years, international competition in the area of rare mineral minerals has been escalating. On the basis' of the identification of 22 rare mineral resources of six categories and analysis of their applications in strategic emerging industries, this paper has adopted a three-factor analytical framework and designed nine indicators from the three dimensions of supply risks, environmental impacts and economic impacts of restricted supply to conduct a quantitative evaluation of the strategic significance of rare mineral resources. The result indicates that the strategic significance of platinum-group metals is the highest and the strategic significance of cesium is the lowest. In order to further increase the reliability of evaluation results, this paper has employed the Monte Carlo simulation for uncertainty analysis'. Simulation result demonstrates that after the impacts" of individual indicators have been taken into account, the results' of this paper's evaluation of 22 rare mineral resources remain valid. Given the growing significance of rare mineral resources to strategic emerging industries, China should formulate a national strategy on rare mineral resources', strive to inerease the supply security of key raw materials for strategic emerging industries and achieve the sustainable development and utilization of rare mineral resources for national security of natural resources.展开更多
With the deepening of climate change research, more attention has been paid to vulnerability to climate change. Compared with water resources, forests and other natural ecosystems, agriculture is more vulnerable to cl...With the deepening of climate change research, more attention has been paid to vulnerability to climate change. Compared with water resources, forests and other natural ecosystems, agriculture is more vulnerable to climate change, thereby scientifically assessing agricultural vulnerability to climate change is of great significance to the formulation of rational and effective adaptation strategies. In this paper, the authors give a comprehensive review of the research from the perspective of the definition of climate change vulnerability and agricultural vulnerability to climate change, research topics, and evaluation methodologies. Existing problems in current research, including scenario application, methods, and uncertainties, are analyzed, and meanwhile, a vision of the direction for future research in assessment of agricultural vulnerability is also presented.展开更多
In nature hummingbirds face floral resources whose availability, quality and quantity can vary spatially and temporally. Thus, they must constantly make foraging decisions about which patches, plants and flowers to vi...In nature hummingbirds face floral resources whose availability, quality and quantity can vary spatially and temporally. Thus, they must constantly make foraging decisions about which patches, plants and flowers to visit, partly as a function of the nectar reward. The uncertainty of these decisions would possibly be reduced if an individual could remember locations or use visual cues to avoid revisiting recently depleted flowers. In the present study, we carried out field experiments with white-eared hummingbirds Hylocharis leucotis, to evaluate their use of locations or visual cues when foraging on natural flowers Penstemon roseus. We evaluated the use of spatial memory by observing birds while they were foraging between two plants and within a single plant. Our results showed that hummingbirds prefer to use location when foraging in two plants, but they also use visual cues to efficiently locate unvisited rewarded flowers when they feed on a single plant. However, in absence of visual cues, in both experiments birds mainly used the location of previously visited flowers to make subsequent visits. Our data suggest that hummingbirds are capable of learning and employing this flexibility depending on the faced environmental conditions and the information acquired in previous visits [Current Zoology 57 (4): 468-476, 2011].展开更多
文摘This research develops a comprehensive method to solve a combinatorial problem consisting of distribution system reconfiguration, capacitor allocation, and renewable energy resources sizing and siting simultaneously and to improve power system's accountability and system performance parameters. Due to finding solution which is closer to realistic characteristics, load forecasting, market price errors and the uncertainties related to the variable output power of wind based DG units are put in consideration. This work employs NSGA-II accompanied by the fuzzy set theory to solve the aforementioned multi-objective problem. The proposed scheme finally leads to a solution with a minimum voltage deviation, a maximum voltage stability, lower amount of pollutant and lower cost. The cost includes the installation costs of new equipment, reconfiguration costs, power loss cost, reliability cost, cost of energy purchased from power market, upgrade costs of lines and operation and maintenance costs of DGs. Therefore, the proposed methodology improves power quality, reliability and security in lower costs besides its preserve, with the operational indices of power distribution networks in acceptable level. To validate the proposed methodology's usefulness, it was applied on the IEEE 33-bus distribution system then the outcomes were compared with initial configuration.
文摘The study discusses accuracy evaluation methods for offshore wind energy resources by using scatterometer SeaWinds-derived wind speed and Weibull parameters. The purpose of this study is to evaluate accuracies of SeaWinds-derived Weibull mean wind speed and energy density by considering uncertainties inherent in SeaWinds wind speed estimates. In this study, 1159 SeaWinds-derived wind speeds covering the KEO buoy are used for estimating two Weibull parameters, scale and shape. On the other hand, observed wind speeds from 2004 to 2008 at the KEO buoy are used for simulating three kinds of wind speeds in order to quantify some uncertainties inherent in SeaWinds-derived wind speeds. It is found that uncertainties associated with wind speed estimates (operational wind speed range, sampling time) show small differences in scale, shape and Weibull mean wind speed except energy density among the simulated datasets. Furthermore, the upper and lower bounds of 90% confidence interval corresponding to SeaWinds number of observations indicate 4-2.5% error of Weibull mean wind speed and 4-6.8% error of energy density, respectively.
基金Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(Grant No.SKGJCX2013-04)Key Program of National Social Sciences Foundation of China(Grant No.13&ZD169)Young Scientists Fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.71203232)
文摘As non-renewable natural resources, rare minerals' are extensively used as important raw materials in strategic emerging industries. As global consumption continues to increase over recent years, international competition in the area of rare mineral minerals has been escalating. On the basis' of the identification of 22 rare mineral resources of six categories and analysis of their applications in strategic emerging industries, this paper has adopted a three-factor analytical framework and designed nine indicators from the three dimensions of supply risks, environmental impacts and economic impacts of restricted supply to conduct a quantitative evaluation of the strategic significance of rare mineral resources. The result indicates that the strategic significance of platinum-group metals is the highest and the strategic significance of cesium is the lowest. In order to further increase the reliability of evaluation results, this paper has employed the Monte Carlo simulation for uncertainty analysis'. Simulation result demonstrates that after the impacts" of individual indicators have been taken into account, the results' of this paper's evaluation of 22 rare mineral resources remain valid. Given the growing significance of rare mineral resources to strategic emerging industries, China should formulate a national strategy on rare mineral resources', strive to inerease the supply security of key raw materials for strategic emerging industries and achieve the sustainable development and utilization of rare mineral resources for national security of natural resources.
基金supported by the China Meteorological Administration(NoGYHY200806008)the China-UK -Swiss ACCC Project
文摘With the deepening of climate change research, more attention has been paid to vulnerability to climate change. Compared with water resources, forests and other natural ecosystems, agriculture is more vulnerable to climate change, thereby scientifically assessing agricultural vulnerability to climate change is of great significance to the formulation of rational and effective adaptation strategies. In this paper, the authors give a comprehensive review of the research from the perspective of the definition of climate change vulnerability and agricultural vulnerability to climate change, research topics, and evaluation methodologies. Existing problems in current research, including scenario application, methods, and uncertainties, are analyzed, and meanwhile, a vision of the direction for future research in assessment of agricultural vulnerability is also presented.
文摘In nature hummingbirds face floral resources whose availability, quality and quantity can vary spatially and temporally. Thus, they must constantly make foraging decisions about which patches, plants and flowers to visit, partly as a function of the nectar reward. The uncertainty of these decisions would possibly be reduced if an individual could remember locations or use visual cues to avoid revisiting recently depleted flowers. In the present study, we carried out field experiments with white-eared hummingbirds Hylocharis leucotis, to evaluate their use of locations or visual cues when foraging on natural flowers Penstemon roseus. We evaluated the use of spatial memory by observing birds while they were foraging between two plants and within a single plant. Our results showed that hummingbirds prefer to use location when foraging in two plants, but they also use visual cues to efficiently locate unvisited rewarded flowers when they feed on a single plant. However, in absence of visual cues, in both experiments birds mainly used the location of previously visited flowers to make subsequent visits. Our data suggest that hummingbirds are capable of learning and employing this flexibility depending on the faced environmental conditions and the information acquired in previous visits [Current Zoology 57 (4): 468-476, 2011].