Tradeoff Analysis for RMS of Equipment Based Operation Availability and Life Cycle Cost

Reliability, maintainability, supportability （RMS） are the important performance indexes of equipment, which affect not only the availability, but also the life cycle cost （LCC） of the equipment. First discussed is the qualitative relation between reliability and LCC and the costs which may be used to enhance the reliability. Secondly, the factors that affect the maintainability are summarized, and if maintainability is advanced, the trend of the LCC is depicted. Thirdly, the qualitative relation between the supportability and LCC is described. Reliability, maintainability and supportability index all have a relation with the availability, so this paper presents the tradeoff for RMS indexes based on the availability calculation models and LCC models. On the condition that the availability value is not below the given value, the decision-making is optimal if the life cycle cost is the minimum value.

Distribution Network Equipment Location and Capacity Planning Method Considering Energy Internet Attribute from the Perspective of Life Cycle Cost

For facing the challenges brought by large-scale renewable energy having access to the system and considering the key technologies of energy Internet,it is very necessary to put forward the location method of distribution network equipment and capacity from the perspective of life cycle cost.Compared with the traditional energy network,the equipment capacity problem of energy interconnected distribution network which involves in electricity network,thermal energy network and natural gas network is comprehensively considered in this paper.On this basis,firstly,the operation architecture of energy interconnected distribution network is designed.Secondly,taking the grid connection location and configuration capacity of key equipment in the system as the control variables and the operation cost of system comprehensive planning in the whole life cycle as the goal,the equipment location and capacity optimization model of energy interconnected distribution network is established.Finally,an IEEE 33 bus energy mutual distribution grid system is taken for example analysis,and the improved chaotic particle swarmoptimization algorithm is used to solve it.The simulation results show that the method proposed in this paper is suitable for the equipment location and capacity planning of energy interconnected distribution network,and it can effectively improve the social and economic benefits of system operation.

Improvement of the Life Cycle Costing Method in DesignStage Using KBIMS Library

With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution,the construction industry has undergone a paradigm shift.The smart construction technology market is expected to grow 12%annually in developed countries due to advanced technology investments.It is expected that businesses requiring highly sophisticated technology,for instance companies that need their old facilities upgraded,will become the main focus of the market.As building information modeling(BIM)design is becoming mandatory,such as in the Korea Public Procurement Service,researches regarding building automation,construction,and operation integration management systems based on BIM are conducted.In addition,for construction projects of over 10 billion won,design value engineering(Design VE)implementation,including life cycle cost(LCC)analysis,is mandatory at the design stage to improve quality and reduce the lifetime costs of buildings.In this study,we propose an improvement plan for LCC analysis at the design stage using the KBIMS library,which is an open BIM library developed by the Korean government and research groups.We analyze the existing LCC method,KBIMS library,and attribute information,and model the process that is applied in the LCC analysis system.This is expected to complement the LCC analysis system and improve work productivity.

Net Present Value Method: A Method Recommended by ISO 15686-5 for Economic Evaluation of Building Life Cycle Costs

The publication of ISO 15686-5 is significant for studies related to the life-cycle costs of buildings. Among the many economic evaluation methods, the NPV method is recommended for use by this standard. This study explains the concept and method of PV, and then provides an explanation of the concept and method of NPV, and points out the limitations in the practical application of the method.

Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Cost of Waste Management—Plastic Cable Waste

The main driver for recycling cable wastes is the high value of the conducting metal, while the plastic with its lower value is often neglected. New improved cable plastic recycling routes can provide both economic and environmental incentive to cable producers for moving up the “cable plastic waste ladder”. Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment, LCA, of the waste management of the cable scrap is suggested and explained as a method to analyze the pros and cons of different cable scrap recycling options at hand. Economic and environmental data about different recycling processes and other relevant processes and materials are given. Cable producers can use this data and method to assess the way they deal with the cable plastic waste today and compare it with available alternatives and thus illuminate the improvement potential of recycling cable plastic waste both in an environmental and in an economic sense. The methodology applied consists of: cradle-to-gate LCA for waste material to a recycled material (recyclate);quantifying the climate impact for each step on the waste ladder for the specific waste material;the use of economic and climate impact data in parallel;climate impact presented as a span to portray the insecurities related to which material the waste will replace;and possibilities for do-it-yourself calculations. Potentially, the methodology can be useful also for other waste materials in the future.

Development and Actuality of Life Cycle Cost Technique in China

Life cycle cost technique is a powerful tool to make a scientific decision and a useful method of advancing the continuable development of the society. In this paper, development course, application actuality and up-to-date research trends of life cycle cost technique in China are summarized. Some suggestions are given on how to general- ize the application of life cycle cost technique which are used as the reference to study life cycle cost technique.

A Comparative Analysis of Thermal Performance,Annual Energy Use,and Life Cycle Costs of Low-cost Houses Made with Mud Bricks and Earthbag Wall Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Given the high demand for low-cost housing by the low-income earners,coupled with the tropical climate expe-rienced in sub-Saharan Africa,new-built housing stock needs utmost attention to cost,durability,and efficiency.With the walls accounting for a substantial proportion of the total building cost,choice of a wall system for use in building construction is critical.This choice usually depends on how durable,comfortable,ecological,and economical a given system is,to meet both the quality standards and low-cost aspects of housing.Although the earthbag building system allows for the construction of strong,affordable,and sustainable housing,it is not widely known.As such,its sustainable characteristics have gone unrecognised throughout the building industry.This paper examines and compares the thermal properties and total Life Cycle Costs(LCC)of earthbag walls with the commonly used burnt brick walls-based on the Degree-Days method and Life Cycle Costing analyses of building walls located in one of the hottest regions in Uganda.In-situ measurements of temperature and heat flux were conducted in accordance with ISO 9869 and the annual energy requirements obtained.The total LCC were calculated based on the initial construction costs and annual energy costs attributed to the building wall systems.Earthbags housing was found to be thermal-physically better than the brick wall with a lower U-value resulting in lower annual energy requirements and a huge saving in annual energy costs of up to 83.2%.This saving,coupled with low initial construction costs made the earthbag unit 68.7%cheaper than the burnt brick unit over a 30-year period.Therefore,this study findings suggest earthbag walling system as an economically viable and technically feasible low-cost construction option for rural areas and low-incomers earners’housing in warm climatic conditions,a characteristic of sub-Saharan countries-so as to promote regional development.

Test sequencing problem arising at the design stage for reducing life cycle cost

Previous test sequencing algorithms only consider the execution cost of a test at the application stage. Due to the fact that the placement cost of some tests at the design stage is considerably high compared with the execution cost, the sequential diagnosis strategy obtained by previous methods is actually not optimal from the view of life cycle. In this paper, the test sequencing problem based on life cycle cost is presented. It is formulated as an optimization problem, which is non-deterministic polynomial-time hard （NP-hard）. An algorithm and a strategy to improve its computational efficiency are proposed. The formulation and algorithms are tested on various simulated systems and comparisons are made with the extant test sequencing methods. Application on a pump rotational speed control （PRSC） system of a spacecraft is studied in detail. Both the simulation results and the real-world case application results suggest that the solution proposed in this paper can significantly reduce the life cycle cost of a sequential fault diagnosis strategy.

An Investigation into the Life Cycle Cost of a Typical Computer Numerical Control Machine

This paper relates to a typical computer numerical control (CNC) machine, model FDXNC 128, and analyzes the payoff period quantitatively and forecasts the future maintenance cost and the evaluation of the economic benefit by using Life Cycle Cost (LCC) method and grey theory. The discussion shows conclusions that are beneficial to the production, management, and decision making of the enterprise.

Overall Life Cycle Comprehensive Assessment of Pneumatic and Electric Actuator

Pneumatic actuators and electric actuators have almost been applied to all manufacturing industries. The two kinds of actuators can replace each other in most fields, such as the point to point transmission occasion and some rotating occasions. However, there are very few research results about the advantages and disadvantages of two kinds of actuators under the same working conditions so far. In this paper, a novel comprehensive assessment method, named as overall life cycle comprehensive assessment （OLCCA）, is proposed for comparison and assessment of pneumatic and electric actuators. OLCCA contains mechanical properties evaluation （MPE）, life cycle cost analysis based on users （LCCABOU） and life cycle environmental impact analysis （LCEIA） algorithm in order to solve three difficult problems： mechanical properties assessment, cost analysis and environmental impact assessment about actuators. The mechanical properties evaluation of actuators is a multi-objective optimization problem. The fuzzy data quantification and information entropy methods are combined to establish MPE algorithm of actuators. Two kinds of pneumatic actuators and electric actuators with similar bearing capacity and similar work stroke were taken for example to verify the correctness of MPE algorithm. The case study of MPE algorithm for actuators verified its correctness. LCCABOU for actuators is also set up. Considering cost complex structure of pneumatic actuators, public device cost even method （PDCEM） is firstly presented to solve cost division of public devices such as compressors, aftercooler, receivers, etc. LCCABOU method is also effective and verified by the three groups of pneumatic actuators and electric actuators. Finally, LCEIA model of actuators is established for the environmental impact assessment of actuators. LCEIA data collection method and model establishment procedure for actuators are also put forward. With Simapro 7, LCEIA comparison results of six actuators can be obtained： Fossil fuels are the major environmental factor of pneumatic and electric actuators; Environmental impact of electric actuator is large than one of pneumatic actuator under the similar mechanical properties and working conditions of pneumatic and electric actuators. The results are correct and correspond with the actual mechanical properties of actuators. This paper proposes a comprehensive evaluation method of the actuators, which can solve the critical problem that similar electromechanical products are very difficult to be compared with each other from the angle of performance, cost and environment impact.

Optimal Location and Sizing ofMulti-Resource Distributed Generator Based onMulti-Objective Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm

Distribution generation(DG)technology based on a variety of renewable energy technologies has developed rapidly.A large number of multi-type DG are connected to the distribution network(DN),resulting in a decline in the stability of DN operation.It is urgent to find a method that can effectively connect multi-energy DG to DN.photovoltaic(PV),wind power generation(WPG),fuel cell(FC),and micro gas turbine(MGT)are considered in this paper.A multi-objective optimization model was established based on the life cycle cost(LCC)of DG,voltage quality,voltage fluctuation,system network loss,power deviation of the tie-line,DG pollution emission index,and meteorological index weight of DN.Multi-objective artificial bee colony algorithm(MOABC)was used to determine the optimal location and capacity of the four kinds of DG access DN,and compared with the other three heuristic algorithms.Simulation tests based on IEEE 33 test node and IEEE 69 test node show that in IEEE 33 test node,the total voltage deviation,voltage fluctuation,and system network loss of DN decreased by 49.67%,7.47%and 48.12%,respectively,compared with that without DG configuration.In the IEEE 69 test node,the total voltage deviation,voltage fluctuation and system network loss of DN in the MOABC configuration scheme decreased by 54.98%,35.93%and 75.17%,respectively,compared with that without DG configuration,indicating that MOABC can reasonably plan the capacity and location of DG.Achieve the maximum trade-off between DG economy and DN operation stability.

Estimating Military Aircraft Cost Using Least Squares Support Vector Machines

A multi-layer adaptive optimizing parameters algorithm is developed forimproving least squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) , and a military aircraft life-cycle-cost(LCC) intelligent estimation model is proposed based on the improved LS-SVM. The intelligent costestimation process is divided into three steps in the model. In the first step, a cost-drive-factorneeds to be selected, which is significant for cost estimation. In the second step, militaryaircraft training samples within costs and cost-drive-factor set are obtained by the LS-SVM. Thenthe model can be used for new type aircraft cost estimation. Chinese military aircraft costs areestimated in the paper. The results show that the estimated costs by the new model are closer to thetrue costs than that of the traditionally used methods.

Stainless steel and sustainability

The paper focus on the life cycle analysis of stainless steels.It describes the system boundaries and gives an evaluation of the CO_2 emissions of Stainless Steels from cradle to gate.It gives as well an evaluation of the recycling rates of stainless steels according to the market applications and an evaluation of the overall cycle of manufacturing and scraps in 2005 on a world wide basis.It concludes with a presentation of some remarkable application focusing on green energy and future growth markets.

Optimum Sizing and Economic Analysis of Standalone PV System with a Small Size Grinding Mill

This work presents the results of the characterization of a standalone photovoltaic system for the electrification of a household located in rural area in the western region of Cameroon: Nziih-Bafou in Dschang (5.35°N, 10.05°E and 1900 m). In order to cope with the maintenance charges and reduce the investment cost, a small mill was added to the appliances of the household for income generation. The assessment of the energy demand was made by taking into account the reactive energy due to the heavy consumption of energy by the mill’s motor, especially during ignition. The sizing of all the system’s components was carried out with the prospect of determining an optimum design in accordance with daily electricity demand, site irradiance profile and climatic conditions. In this context, tilt angles applicable to the PV structure and that allow to receive the maximum irradiance as a function of the periods of the year were determined using the Hay model. This approach provides the system with incident irradiance greater than or at the limit equal to that received by a horizontal surface on the same site compared to the case of a single tilt angle where the irradiance on the inclined plane is often lower than that on the horizontal. The economic analysis of the PV system showed an initial cost of $4448 and the Life Cost Cycle amounted to $24,495. This amount corresponds to a present cost per kilowatt hour of $0.44. The Net Present Value (NPV) of the project ($7793) over its lifetime (20 years) shows a payback period of less than 4 years.

Energy and Emission Reduction Potential for Bank ATM Units in India

With the growing economy of India, banking sector growth has led to installation of thousands of Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) throughout the country. ATMs provide 24 × 7 services as well as operate at low-temperature ranges of cooling, hence have high operating energy costs. Insulating an ATM’s envelope is not a prevalent technique in India. In the present study, an effort has been made to determine the optimum insulation thickness for three different insulation materials for the typical ATM envelope in four different climatic zones of India. Life cycle savings and payback periods for various insulation materials are also evaluated. Further, these optimally insulated ATM envelopes can be integrated with grid connected rooftop solar PV systems. The energy saving and emissions reduction potential due to these two interventions have been estimated on the national basis. Altogether in the four selected climate zones, energy saving of 17% - 30% provides the annual economic benefit of Indian National Rupees (Rs.) 3570 million with annual carbon reduction potential of about 0.60 million tCO2. From this study, it is observed that properly insulated ATMs integrated with rooftop solar PV systems, can significantly reduce the energy costs as well as carbon emissions in India’s context.

Aircraft Combat Survivability Estimation and Synthetic Tradeoff Methods

A new concept is proposed that susceptibility, vulnerability, reliability, maintainability and supportability should be essential factors of aircraft combat survivability. A weight coefficient method and a synthetic method are proposed to estimate aircraft combat survivability based on the essential factors. Considering that it takes cost to enhance aircraft combat survivability, a synthetic tradeoff model between aircraft combat survivability and life cycle cost is built. The aircraft combat survivability estimation methods and synthetic tradeoff with a life cycle cost model will be helpful for aircraft combat survivability design and enhancement.

A Study on Maintenance Management and Maintenance Decision-Making Methods

By comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the main popular maintenance modes, this paper analyses the relationship between maintenance modes, and gives a model of maintenance decision-making. The model can be used in enterprises to minimize life cycle cost (LCC).

Levelized costs of the energy chains of new energy vehicles targeted at carbon neutrality in China

The diffusion of new energy vehicles(NEVs),such as battery electric vehicles(BEVs)and fuel cell vehicles(FCVs),is critical to the transportation sector's deep decarbonization.The cost of energy chains is an important factor in the diffusion of NEVs.Although researchers have addressed the technological learning effect of NEVs and the life cycle emissions associated with the diffusion of NEVs,little work has been conducted to analyze the life cycle costs of different energy chains associated with different NEVs in consideration of technological learning potential.Thus,relevant information on investment remains insufficient to promote the deployment of NEVs.This study proposes a systematic framework that includes various(competing or coordinated)energy chains of NEVs formed with different technologies of power generation and transmission,hydrogen production and transportation,power-to-liquid fuel,and fuel transportation.The levelized costs of three typical carbon-neutral energy chains are investigated using the life cycle cost model and considering the technological learning effect.Results show that the current well-to-pump levelized costs of the energy chains in China for BEVs,FCVs,and internal combustion engine vehicles(ICEVs)are approximately 3.60,4.31,and 2.21 yuan/GJ,respectively,and the well-to-wheel levelized costs are 4.50,6.15,and 7.51 yuan/GJ,respectively.These costs primarily include raw material costs and they vary greatly for BEVs and FCVs from resource and consumer costs.In consideration of the technological learning effect,the energy chains'well-to-wheel levelized costs are expected todecrease by 24.82%for BEVs,27.12%for FCVs,and 19.25%for ICEVs by 2060.This work also summarizes policy recommendations on developing energy chains to promote the diffusion of NEVs in China.

Cost effectiveness of new roadway lighting systems

Appropriate and adequate lighting at select locations on roadways is essential for roadway safety. As the lighting technologies advance, many Wpes of new lighting devices have been developed for roadway lightings. The most promising new lighting technologies for roadway lighting include light emitting diode, induction, plasma, and metal halide lighting systems. A study was conducted to compare the new systems with the conventional high pressure sodium systems that are currently used on the Indiana roadway systems. In this study, the engineering issues, were analyzed such as illuminance, color rendering, power usage, cost effectiveness, and approval procedures for new roadway lighting systems. This paper, however, presents only the study findings related to cost effectiveness of the evaluated roadway lighting systems. Illustrated in this paper are the main features of the roadway lighting systems under evaluations, installations of the new lighting systems, measurements of power consumptions, and life cycle cost analyses of the lighting systems. Through this study, experience and knowledge have been obtained on the installations, power measurements, and cost effectiveness of the new types of the roadway lighting devices. The actual power values of various luminaires were obtained by measuring the electric current with a multi-meter. It was found that the differences between the rated and measured power values could be significant. The results of the life cycle cost analysis indicate that the lower life cycle costs of some of the alternative lighting devices are attributed to their relatively lower electricity usages and longer lamp/emitter replacement cycles.

Battery Storage Configuration of AC/DC Hybrid Distribution Networks

The upscaling requirements of energy transition highlight the urgent need for ramping up renewables and boosting system efficiencies.However,the stochastic nature of excessive renewable energy resources has challenged stable and efficient operation of the power system.Battery energy storage systems(BESSs)have been identified as critical to mitigate random fluctuations,unnecessary green energy curtailment and load shedding with rapid response and flexible connection.On the other hand,an AC/DC hybrid distribution system can offer merged benefits in both AC and DC subsystems without additional losses during AC/DC power conversion.Therefore,configuring BESSs on an AC/DC distribution system is wellpositioned to meet challenges brought by carbon reductions in an efficient way.A bi-level optimization model of BESS capacity allocation for AC/DC hybrid distribution systems,considering the flexibility of voltage source converters(VSCs)and power conversion systems(PCSs),has been established in this paper to address the techno-economic issues that hindered wide implementation.The large-scale nonlinear programming problem has been solved utilizing a genetic algorithm combined with second-order cone programming.Rationality and effectiveness of the model have been verified by setting different scenarios through case studies.Simulation results have demonstrated the coordinated operation of BESS and AC/DC hybrid systems can effectively suppress voltage fluctuations and improve the cost-benefit of BESSs from a life cycle angle.