Reinforcement Learning Model for Energy System Management to Ensure Energy Efficiency and Comfort in Buildings

This article focuses on the challenges ofmodeling energy supply systems for buildings,encompassing both methods and tools for simulating thermal regimes and engineering systems within buildings.Enhancing the comfort of living or working in buildings often necessitates increased consumption of energy and material,such as for thermal upgrades,which consequently incurs additional economic costs.It is crucial to acknowledge that such improvements do not always lead to a decrease in total pollutant emissions,considering emissions across all stages of production and usage of energy and materials aimed at boosting energy efficiency and comfort in buildings.In addition,it explores the methods and mechanisms for modeling the operating modes of electric boilers used to collectively improve energy efficiency and indoor climatic conditions.Using the developed mathematical models,the study examines the dynamic states of building energy supply systems and provides recommendations for improving their efficiency.These dynamic models are executed in software environments such as MATLAB/Simscape and Python,where the component detailing schemes for various types of controllers are demonstrated.Additionally,controllers based on reinforcement learning(RL)displayed more adaptive load level management.These RL-based controllers can lower instantaneous power usage by up to 35%,reduce absolute deviations from a comfortable temperature nearly by half,and cut down energy consumption by approximately 1%while maintaining comfort.When the energy source produces a constant energy amount,the RL-based heat controllermore effectively maintains the temperature within the set range,preventing overheating.In conclusion,the introduced energydynamic building model and its software implementation offer a versatile tool for researchers,enabling the simulation of various energy supply systems to achieve optimal energy efficiency and indoor climate control in buildings.

Effect of comprehensive perioperative nursing on pain intensity,complication rates,and comfort levels in patients undergoing gallstone surgery

BACKGROUND Surgery is the gold standard for gallstone treatment.Nevertheless,the complications associated with the surgical procedure can exert diverse and adverse impacts on patients’health and quality of life to varying extents.Hence,it is essential to offer perioperative care to patients undergoing gallstone surgery.AIM To examine the impact of perioperative comprehensive nursing on pain intensity,complication rates,and patient comfort in individuals undergoing gallstone surgery.METHODS From February 2022 to February 2024,195 patients who underwent gallstone surgery at Sanmen People’s Hospital were selected and divided into two groups:A control group receiving routine nursing care(95 patients)and a research group receiving perioperative comprehensive nursing(100 patients).Key postoperative recovery indicators,including time to first postoperative anal exhaust,oral food intake,and ambulation,were observed,along with pain intensity(measured by the numeric rating scale),complication rate(bleeding,incision infection,recurrence),patient comfort(assessed using the visual analogue scale),and quality of life(measured by the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF).RESULTS The research group showed significantly shorter times to first postoperative anal exhaust,oral intake,and ambulation.Moreover,numeric rating scale pain scores in the research group were markedly lower post-nursing,and the total complication rate was significantly reduced compared to the control group.Furthermore,comfort levels improved considerably in the research group,and World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF scores across the physical,psychological,social,and environmental domains were significantly higher compared to the control group following nursing care.CONCLUSION Perioperative comprehensive nursing effectively enhances postoperative recovery in patients undergoing gallstone surgery,reducing pain,lowering complications,and improving patient comfort and quality of life,which deserves clinical application.

Brutal Truth or a Comforting Lie?

The Double Take column looks at a single topic from an African and Chinese perspective.This month,we delve into the dilemma of choosing between telling the harsh truth and offering a wellintentioned lie.

Thermal comfort assessment and energy consumption analysis of ground-source heat pump system combined with radiant heating/cooling

A new ground source heat pump system combined with radiant heating/cooling is proposed, and the principles and the advantages of the system are analyzed. A demonstration of the system is applied to a rebuilt building： Xijindu exhibition hall, which is located in Zhenjiang city in China. Numerical studies on the thermal comfort and energy consumption of the system are carded out by using TRNSYS software. The results indicate that the system with the radiant floor method or the radiant ceiling method shows good thermal comfort without mechanical ventilation in winter. However, the system with either of the methods should add mechanical ventilation to ensure good comfort in summer. At the same level of thermal comfort, it can also be found that the annual energy consumption of the radiant ceiling system is less than that of the radiant floor system.

Vehicle Ride Comfort Based on Matching Suspension System

The existing investigations of vehicle ride comfort mainly include motion characteristics analysis based on creating a multi-body dynamic simulation model,and the parameters analysis to improve the suspension control for the target.In the study of creating multi-body dynamics simulation models,there is usually without considering calibration and test verification,which make it difficult to ensure the production of engineering.In the study of improving the suspension control parameters for the target,there is a lack of systematic match about comfortable and human characteristics,so it is difficult to implement in the field of driving and leading the vehicle design.In this paper,based on the different characteristic of suspension system that effects on the vehicle ride comfort, according to the suspension system dynamic mechanism,the research methods of vehicle road test,bench test and CAE simulation is used,at the same time,several sensitivity analysis of vehicle ride comfort related to suspension stiffness and damping and speed is made. As a result,the key suspension systematic parameters are given that have important impact on vehicle ride comfort.Through matching parameters,a calibration analysis of suspension system based on human comfort is obtained.The analysis results show that the analysis methods for the design target of making the vehicle with best comfort are effective.On the basis of the theory study,five suspension parameter matching principles are explored to promise the vehicle with perfect ride comfort,which also provide theoretical basis and design methods for the passenger car best match of suspension system stiffness and damping.The research results have the promotional value of practicability and a wide range of engineering application.

Digital Evaluation of Sitting Posture Comfort in Human-vehicle System under Industry 4.0 Framework

Most of the previous studies on the vibration ride comfort of the human-vehicle system were focused only on one or two aspects of the investigation. A hybrid approach which integrates all kinds of investigation methods in real environment and virtual environment is described. The real experimental environment includes the WBV（whole body vibration） test, questionnaires for human subjective sensation and motion capture. The virtual experimental environment includes the theoretical calculation on simplified 5-DOF human body vibration model, the vibration simulation and analysis within ADAMS/VibrationTM module, and the digital human biomechanics and occupational health analysis in Jack software. While the real experimental environment provides realistic and accurate test results, it also serves as core and validation for the virtual experimental environment. The virtual experimental environment takes full advantages of current available vibration simulation and digital human modelling software, and makes it possible to evaluate the sitting posture comfort in a human-vehicle system with various human anthropometric parameters. How this digital evaluation system for car seat comfort design is fitted in the Industry 4.0 framework is also proposed.

Annoyance Rate Evaluation Method on Ride Comfort of Vehicle Suspension System

The existing researches of the evaluation method of ride comfort of vehicle mainly focus on the level of human feelings to vibration. The level of human feelings to vibration is influenced by many factors, however, the ride comfort according to the common principle of probability and statistics and simple binary logic is tmable to reflect these uncertainties. The random fuzzy evaluation model from people subjective response to vibration is adopted in the paper, these uncertainties are analyzed from the angle of psychological physics. Discussing the traditional evaluation of ride comfort during vehicle vibration, a fuzzily random evaluation model on the basis of annoyance rate is proposed for the human body＇s subjective response to vibration, with relevant fuzzy membership function and probability distribution given. A half-car four degrees of freedom suspension vibration model is described, subject to irregular excitations from the road surface, with the aid of software Matlab/Simulink. A new kind of evaluation method for ride comfort of vehicles is proposed in the paper, i.e., the annoyance rate evaluation method. The genetic algorithm and neural network control theory are used to control the system. Simulation results are obtained, such as the comparison of comfort reaction to vibration environments between before and after control, relationship of annoyance rate to vibration frequency and weighted acceleration, based on ISO 2631 / 1 （1982）, ISO 2631-1 （1997） and annoyance rate evaluation method, respectively. Simulated assessment results indicate that the proposed active suspension systems prove to be effective in the vibration isolation of the suspension system, and the subjective response of human being can be promoted from very uncomfortable to a little uncomfortable. Furthermore, the novel evaluation method based on annoyance rate can further estimate quantitatively the number of passengers who feel discomfort due to vibration. A new analysis method of vehicle comfort is presented.

Thermal-environment characteristics and comfort of combined radiant-floor (Korean heating system ondol) and convective cooling system

The thermal-environment characteristics of the existing forced-convection cooling system were compared with those of the convective cooling system, which combined the radiant-floor cooling system using floor-heating panel typically applied to apartments in South Korea with the forced-convection cooling system using improved fan coil unit. The subjective warm/cool-feeling responses to the combined radiant-floor and convective cooling system in the questionnaire survey conducted among the test subjects were analyzed to establish the basic data for the combined cooling system. The results show that in the thermal-equilibrium condition, the vertical air temperature difference in the model living room is larger in the forced-convection-cooling condition. Most of the subjects feel a proper warm/cool feeling on their entire body, but they feel colder on the foot and lower body in the combined-cooling condition.

A Review on Effects of Personalized Ventilation Systems on Air Quality and Thermal Comfort in Aircraft Cabin Mini-Environments

This study conducts an evaluation of air quality,dispersion of airborne expiratory pollutants and thermal comfort in aircraft cabin mini-environments using a critical examination of significant studies conducted over the last20 years.The research methods employed in these studies are also explained in detail.Based on the current literature,standard procedures for airplane personal ventilation and air quality investigations are defined for each study approach.Present study gaps are examined,and prospective study subjects for various research approaches are suggested.

Lighting Products' Health and Comfort Evaluation System

With the global promotion of LED lighting products, the health and safety of LED products has drawn wider attention. This paper systematically introduces the ergonomic evaluation （methods and indicators） svstem for heahh and comfort which differs from the traditional manpowered physical detection, and sketches out the evaluation indicators and its industrialization prospect.

Evaporative Condensers in Comfortable Air Conditioning System

The operating theory of an evaporative condenser was expatiated.The difference between an evaporative condensing refrigeration system and a general refrigeration system was analyzed.Compared with the air-cooled and the water-cooled,the virtues of energy-conservation and water-conservation of evaporative condensers were analyzed.Some questions existing in the application of evaporative condensers were pointed out,the corresponding solving methods were analyzed accordingly,and the development trend of evaporative condensing technique in mechanical refrigeration system field and the applied foreground of evaporative condensers in comfortable air conditioning were prospected.

Analysis of the Thermohydro - comfort Durability for Microfil - polypropylene Knitted Fabric under Grey System

Thin microfll - polypropylene knitted fabric that is knitted to use new single plated theory on large diameter circular weft knitting machine is a new functional fabric. After military use, the reflective opinions are that it is light, thin, soft, smooth - touch, and it has excellent elasticity, good air perviousness, large water vapor permeability . In this paper, an analysis is held to use grey system theory, and the thermohydro - comfort durability of this microfil - polypropylene knitted fabric is compared with that of common knitted fabrics. The analytical result proves the microfil - polypropylene knitted fabric is satisfactory under the climatic conditions that human body needs to eliminate or retain the quantity of heat. It can be use to seam up not only physical ability training uniform of serviceman but also civil sporty and sportswear et cetera.

A utility and easily fabricated dual-mode fiber film for efficient and comfortable thermal management

Nowadays, the global climate is constantly being destroyed and the fluctuations in ambient temperature are becoming more frequent. However, conventional single-mode thermal management strategies(heating or cooling) failed to resolve such dynamic temperature changes. Moreover, developing thermal management devices capable of accommodating these temperature variations while remaining simple to fabricate and durable has remained a formidable obstacle. To address these bottlenecks, we design and successfully fabricate a novel dual-mode hierarchical(DMH) composite film featuring a micronanofiber network structure, achieved through a straightforward two-step continuous electrospinning process. In cooling mode, it presents a high solar reflectivity of up to 97.7% and an excellent atmospheric transparent window(ATW) infrared emissivity of up to 98.9%. Noted that this DMH film could realize a cooling of 8.1 ℃ compared to the ambient temperature outdoors. In heating mode, it also exhibits a high solar absorptivity of 94.7% and heats up to 11.9 ℃ higher than black cotton fabric when utilized by individuals. In practical application scenarios, a seamless transition between efficient cooling and heating is achieved by simply flipping the film. More importantly, the DMH film combining the benefits of composites demonstrates portability, durability, and easy-cleaning, promising to achieve large-scale production and use of thermally managed textiles in the future. The energy savings offered by film applications provide a viable solution for the early realization of carbon neutrality.

Numerical Prediction of Ride Comfort of Tracked Vehicle Equipped with Novel Flexible Road Wheels

Enhancing ride comfort has always constituted a crucial focus in the design and research of modern tracked vehicles,heavily reliant on the driving system's performance.While the road wheel is a key component of the driving system,traditional road wheels predominantly adopt a solid structure,exhibiting subpar adhesion performance and damping effects,thereby falling short of meeting the demands for high-speed,stable,and long-distance driving in tracked vehicles.Addressing this issue,this paper proposes a novel type of flexible road wheel(FRW)characterized by a catenary construction.The study investigates the ride comfort of tracked vehicles equipped with flexible road wheels by integrating finite element and vehicle dynamic.First,three-dimensional(3D)finite element(FE)models of both flexible and rigid road wheels are established,considering material and contact nonlinearities.These models are validated through a wheel radial loading test.Based on the validated FE model,the paper uncovers the relationship between load and radial deformation of the road wheel,forming the basis for a nonlinear mathematical model.Subsequently,a half-car model of a tracked vehicle with seven degrees of freedom is established using Newton's second law.A random road model,considering the track effect and employing white noise,is constructed.The study concludes by examining the ride comfort of tracked vehicles equipped with flexible and rigid road wheels under various speeds and road grades.The results demonstrate that,in comparison to the rigid road wheel(RRW),the flexible road wheel enhances the ride comfort of tracked vehicles on randomly uneven roads.This research provides a theoretical foundation for the implementation of flexible road wheels in tracked vehicles.

Advances in Active Suspension Systems for Road Vehicles

Active suspension systems(ASSs)have been proposed and developed for a few decades,and have now once again become a thriving topic in both academia and industry,due to the high demand for driving comfort and safety and the compatibility of ASSs with vehicle electrification and autonomy.Existing review papers on ASSs mainly cover dynamics modeling and robust control;however,the gap between academic research outcomes and industrial application requirements has not yet been bridged,hindering most ASS research knowledge from being transferred to vehicle companies.This paper comprehensively reviews advances in ASSs for road vehicles,with a focus on hardware structures and control strategies.In particular,state-of-the-art ASSs that have been recently adopted in production cars are discussed in detail,including the representative solutions of Mercedes active body control(ABC)and Audi predictive active suspension;novel concepts that could become alternative candidates are also introduced,including series active variable geometry suspension,and the active wheel-alignment system.ASSs with compact structure,small mass increment,low power consumption,high-frequency response,acceptable economic costs,and high reliability are more likely to be adopted by car manufacturers.In terms of control strategies,the development of future ASSs aims not only to stabilize the chassis attitude and attenuate the chassis vibration,but also to enable ASSs to cooperate with other modules(e.g.,steering and braking)and sensors(e.g.,cameras)within a car,and even with high-level decision-making(e.g.,reference driving speed)in the overall transportation system-strategies that will be compatible with the rapidly developing electric and autonomous vehicles.

Impact of Varying Blower Opening Degrees on Indoor Environment and Thermal Comfort

At present,air handling units are usually used indoors to improve the indoor environment quality.However,while introducing fresh air to improve air quality,air velocity has a certain impact on the occupants’thermal comfort.Therefore,it is necessary to explore the optimization of air-fluid-body interaction dynamics.In this study,the indoor air flow was changed by changing the opening and closing degree of the blower,and the thermal manikin is introduced to objectively evaluate the human thermal comfort under different air velocities.The main experimental results show that the air change rate increases with the increase of the opening and closing degree of the blower considering an ACH(air changes per hour)range between 3.8 and 10.For a better prediction,a linear correlation with a coefficient of 0.995 is proposed.As the blower’s opening is adjusted to 20%,25%,30%,35%,and 40%,the air velocity sensor positioned directly beneath the air inlet records average velocities of 0.19,0.20,0.21,0.28,and 0.34 m/s over four hours,respectively.Observations on thermal comfort and the average sensation experienced by individuals indicate an initial increase followed by a decline when the blower’s operation begins,with optimal conditions achieved at a 35%opening.These findings offer valuable insights for future indoor air ventilation and heat transfer design strategies.

Research Characteristics of Thermal Comfort of Urban Block Landscape Based on Knowledge Graph Analysis

The landscape environment of urban blocks plays a significant role in improving the comfort of urban thermal environment and promoting green and high-quality development.The 342 papers related to the research on the impact of urban block landscape environment on thermal comfort in China,collected by CNKI(China National Knowledge Infrastructure)from 2002 to 2022,are used as the research object.Through bibliometric statistical analysis,LLR algorithm,and cluster analysis,the current research status of the impact of urban block landscape environment on thermal comfort in China is analyzed and processed,and its external characteristics are identified.Using the information visualization software CiteSpace,the research topics in the field of the impact of urban block landscape environment on thermal comfort are presented in the form of knowledge graphs.Through co-occurrence analysis of keywords and trend of word frequency changes,the development trends of research hotspots and cutting-edge fields of the impact of urban block landscape environment on thermal comfort are determined,hoping to provide reference for future research in this field.

Changing Characteristics of Comfort Index of Human Body in Bengbu City in the Past 40 Years under the Background of Climate Change

Based on the daily meteorological data of Bengbu City during 1981-2020,the changing characteristics of three elements needed for the calculation of the comfort index of human body(CIHB)were discussed,and daily CIHB was classified and discussed.The results show that from 1981 to 2020,annual average temperature tended to increase significantly.Annual average wind speed and relative humidity showed a decreasing trend before 2011 but an increasing trend after 2011.The duration of the four seasons in Bengbu City mainly rose in spring,reduced in winter,declined first and then increased in summer,and rose first and then decreased in autumn.As CIHB was at grades 1 and 9(the most uncomfortable),the three factors had different effects on them.For cold weather,the influence of relative humidity and wind speed on CIHB can not be ignored besides temperature.In hot weather,the influence of temperature was dominant,and the change of annual average temperature could well correspond to the change in the number of very hot days.In the context of climate warming,the number of cold days tended to decline generally,but it was larger in the years with fewer very cold days.Under the background of climate warming,there was no obvious change in the number of days of the overall comfort of human body.The number of hot days was closely related to the duration of summer,and the number of days of grade 8 rose significantly in the years with an increase in the duration of summer.

Wearable Inflatable Massage Chair:The Future of Comfort

With the continuous advancement of science and technology,our lifestyles are undergoing significant changes,with wearable technology emerging as a captivating trend.In this digital era,there is a growing demand for solutions that cater to people’s needs for health and comfort.The wearable inflatable massage chair represents one such innovation designed to meet these evolving needs.This project is focused on creating a“wearable and portable massage chair”that is both convenient and lightweight.It serves as a massage solution particularly beneficial for the elderly and sedentary individuals.This innovative chair can be used by the elderly during outings or errands,as well as by office workers on business trips,while driving,or commuting via subway.Users can simply lean against the seat or a wall,enjoying moments of relaxation amid the busy and fast-paced modern era.

Determination of Comfort Conditions Using the PMV, Set and PDD Thermal Comfort Indexes in Ivory Coast

This work falls within the context of reducing energy consumption in Côte d’Ivoire. As the building sector is one of the energy consumers worldwide, it could be a major source of energy savings. A major source of energy savings. With this in mind thermal comfort in buildings in Côte d’Ivoire (Abidjan) in order to determine (Abidjan) to determine thermal comfort conditions. To carry out study, measurement campaigns were carried out in various buildings. These measured parameters were used to calculate comfort indices such as PMV, PDD, SET and operating temperature. A correlation was then made between the PMV index and the operating temperature, then between the SET and the operating temperature to determine the thermoneutrality temperature and the different thermal comfort thermal comfort ranges. The PMV gave a thermoneutrality temperature of 24.87˚C in the rainy season and a thermoneutrality temperature of 25.15˚C during the dry season. In addition, the SET gave comfort ranges, with values ranging from 23.23˚C to 25.70˚C in the rainy season and 23.35˚C to 26.08˚C in the dry season. In addition, the acceptability predicted by the PDD showed that in the rainy season, the premises were more acceptable than in the dry season.