Analysis of a passive ankle exoskeleton for reduction of metabolic costs during walking

Modern conflicts demand substantial physical and psychological exertion,often resulting in fatigue and diminished combat or operational readiness.Several exoskeletons have been developed recently to address these challenges,presenting various limitations that affect their operational or everyday usability.This article evaluates the performance of a dual-purpose passive ankle exoskeleton developed for the reduction of metabolic costs during walking,seeking to identify a force element that could be applied to the target population.Based on the 6-min walk test,twenty-nine subjects participated in the study using three different force elements.The results indicate that it is possible to reduce metabolic expenditure while using the developed exoskeleton.Additionally,the comfort and range of motion results verify the exoskeleton's suitability for use in uneven terrain and during extended periods.Nevertheless,the choice of the force element should be tailored to each user,and the control system should be adjustable to optimise the exoskeleton's performance.

Assessing the cost reduction potential of CCUS cluster projects of coal-fired plants in Guangdong Province in China

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) have garnered extensive attention as a target of carbon neutrality in China. The development trend of international CCUS projects indicates that the cluster construction of CCUS projects is the main direction of future development. The cost reduction potential of CCUS cluster projects has become a significant issue for CCUS stakeholders. To assess the cost reduction potential of CCUS cluster projects, we selected three coal-fired power plants in the coastal area of Guangdong as research targets. We initially assessed the costs of building individual CCUS projects for each plant and subsequently designed a CCUS cluster project for these plants. By comparing individual costs and CCUS cluster project costs, we assessed the cost reduction potential of CCUS cluster projects. The results show that the unit emission reduction cost for each plant with a capacity of 300 million tonnes per year is 392.34, 336.09, and 334.92 CNY/tCO_(2). By building CCUS cluster project, it could save 56.43 CNY/tCO_(2) over the average cost of individual projects (354.45 CNY/tCO_(2)) when the total capture capacity is 9 million tonnes per year (by 15.92%). Furthermore, we conducted a simulation for the scenario of a smaller designed capture capacity for each plant. We found that as the capture scale increases, the cost reduction potential is higher in the future.

A single-manufacturer multi-retailer sustainable reworking model for green and environmental sensitive demand under discrete ordering cost reduction

This paper develops an economic production quantity(EPQ)model for a singlemanufacturer multi-retailer(SMMR)production and reworking system with green and environmental sensitive customer demand.The minimum cost of the manufacturer has obtained under carbon emissions(CE)policies and discrete ordering cost reduction.The model is used to optimize the total number of shipments,greening investment level,environmental measure,and lot size for productions and rework.This research work determines that the manufacturer’s and retailer’s profits will be increased after considering the environmental and green dependent demand of customers.Further,the development of green and environmental demand is proposed to minimize the CE and maximize the demand for the customers.In the existing literature,no discrete investment is developed for reducing the cost of ordering for the retailer/buyer.However,in this paper,we have introduced it.We provide numerical examples to explain the models and determine the significance of model parameters.

Verification of Solar Energy Measurements by (ERA-5) and Its Impact on Electricity Costs in North Africa

The target of this research is to estimate the distribution of global solar radiation (GSR) and reanalysis datasets (ERA-5) for development of PV cost reduction and predict of level cost energy over five countries in North Africa during the period time from 2011 to 2020. The effectiveness of reanalysis datasets (ERA-5) for North African countries was evaluated against high-quality surfaces measured using statistical analysis. The average values of mean bias error (MBE), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) of the reanalysis data of solar radiation vary from 0.079 to 0.222, 0.055 to 0.178, and 0.0145 to 0.198 respectively during the period time in the present research. The correlation coefficient (R2) varies from 0.93 to 99% in the present research. North African countries are among the most vulnerable regions to the potential impacts of climate change. The increasing impact of climate change shows the need to build up a reliable energy mix and improve the resilience of existing and new energy systems. The development of PV cost reduction and the predicted of level cost of energy (LCOE) are discussed and used one PV Module to calculate the total cost for five countries in North Africa. This research’s objective is to provide a reliable representation of the world’s solar radiation to aid in the use of solar energy in all sectors.

Optimal Operation of Distributed Generations Considering Demand Response in a Microgrid Using GWO Algorithm

The widespread penetration of distributed energy sources and the use of load response programs,especially in a microgrid,have caused many power system issues,such as control and operation of these networks,to be affected.The control and operation of many small-distributed generation units with different performance characteristics create another challenge for the safe and efficient operation of the microgrid.In this paper,the optimum operation of distributed generation resources and heat and power storage in a microgrid,was performed based on real-time pricing through the proposed gray wolf optimization(GWO)algorithm to reduce the energy supply cost with the microgrid.Distributed generation resources such as solar panels,diesel generators with battery storage,and boiler thermal resources with thermal storage were used in the studied microgrid.Also,a combined heat and power(CHP)unit was used to produce thermal and electrical energy simultaneously.In the simulations,in addition to the gray wolf algorithm,some optimization algorithms have also been used.Then the results of 20 runs for each algorithm confirmed the high accuracy of the proposed GWO algorithm.The results of the simulations indicated that the CHP energy resources must be managed to have a minimum cost of energy supply in the microgrid,considering the demand response program.

Minimization of Air Consumption and Potential Savings of Textile Denim Fabric Manufacturing Process

One of the most important aspects of Bangladesh’s textile industry is denim. Bangladesh now has a new opportunity thanks to the global demand for denim among fashion industry professionals. Entrepreneurs from Bangladesh provide denim products to well-known international merchants all over the world. The worldwide denim market is predicted to expand by roughly 8% through the year 2020. We must raise the standard of denim if we are to keep up with the expanding industry. In contrast to projectile and rapier systems, air-jet weaving machines nowadays can weave practically all types of yarns without any issues and at higher rates. Due to this, air-jet looms are an excellent substitute for other weft insertion techniques. This kind of device still has one significant flaw, though, and that is the enormous power consumption brought on by the creation of compressed air. Researchers and manufacturers of air-jet looms have therefore worked very hard to find a solution to this issue and achieve a huge reduction in air consumption without compromising loom performance or fabric quality. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to look into ways to decrease air consumption and reduce auxiliary selvedge waste without any decrease in loom performance and fabric quality on existing air-jet weaving looms which reduce the manufacturing costs with process improvement. Just updating the air pressure allowed a weaving mill to reduce air usage by 11 cfm. So, with just almost no cost, a company with 100 looms could save $0.15 M each year, on compressed air. Two new methods for decreasing process costs on air jet looms have also been developed by this project work.

Decision Tree Based Key Management for Secure Group Communication

Group communication is widely used by most of the emerging network applications like telecommunication,video conferencing,simulation applications,distributed and other interactive systems.Secured group communication plays a vital role in case of providing the integrity,authenticity,confidentiality,and availability of the message delivered among the group members with respect to communicate securely between the inter group or else within the group.In secure group communications,the time cost associated with the key updating in the proceedings of the member join and departure is an important aspect of the quality of service,particularly in the large groups with highly active membership.Hence,the paper is aimed to achieve better cost and time efficiency through an improved DC multicast routing protocol which is used to expose the path between the nodes participating in the group communication.During this process,each node constructs an adaptive Ptolemy decision tree for the purpose of generating the contributory key.Each of the node is comprised of three keys which will be exchanged between the nodes for considering the group key for the purpose of secure and cost-efficient group communication.The rekeying process is performed when a member leaves or adds into the group.The performance metrics of novel approach is measured depending on the important factors such as computational and communicational cost,rekeying process and formation of the group.It is concluded from the study that the technique has reduced the computational and communicational cost of the secure group communication when compared to the other existing methods.

Importance of Developing Photovoltaics-Powered Vehicles

The development of photovoltaics (PV)-powered vehicles are expected to contribute to reduce CO2 emission of vehicles and create a clean energy society. This paper presents the impact of high-efficiency solar cell modules on reduction in CO2 emission, charging cost reduction for electric vehicles, and reducing storage capacity of PV-powered electric vehicles. In this paper, the effects of solar cell module efficiency upon driving distance of PV-powered vehicles are also shown. Especially, the potential of Si tandem solar cells for PV-powered vehicle applications is discussed. This paper presents that the III-V/Si 3-junction solar cell modules with an efficiency of more than 37% have the potential of longer driving distance of 30 km/day average and more than 50 km/day on a clear day compared to an average 16 km/day driving by vehicles powered by 20% efficiency Si solar cell modules.

Development of six sigma concurrent parameter and tolerance design method based on response surface methodology

Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM), an optimizing model of concurrent parameter and tolerance design is proposed where response mean equals its target in the target being best. The optimizing function of the model is the sum of quality loss and tolerance cost subjecting to the variance confidence region of which six sigma capability can be assured. An example is illustrated in order to compare the differences between the developed model and the parameter design with minimum variance. The results show that the proposed method not only achieves robustness, but also greatly reduces cost. The objectives of high quality and low cost of product and process can be achieved simultaneously by the application of six sigma concurrent parameter and tolerance design.

Power Output Improvement of PV Module for Agricultural Use by Using Inexpensive Sunlight Concentrator

PV modules are used as stand alone power sources for agricultural equipments such as lifting pumps in farms, where the power infrastructure is not yet improved. In order to expand the agricultural use of PV module, the cost of PV generation should be reduced. In this paper, the power output performance of a commercial PV module was improved by using a sunlight concentrator that could be assembled inexpensively and a simple sun-tracking method.

Fine Single Channel Identification Controlled by Sedimentary Facies—Taking KLA Oilfield as an Example

The Neogene fluvial reservoir in the Bohai oilfield is one of the leading development horizons for increasing reserves and production in the Bohai oilfield. However, the development of offshore fluvial reservoirs is faced with the problems of thin reservoir thickness, narrow plane width, rapid lateral change, and thin well pattern. Taking the KLA oilfield as an example, this paper discusses the nuanced characterization and configuration of a single channel controlled by sedimentary facies to guide developing offshore river facies’ narrow channel main control oilfield. Firstly, based on a large number of core data, the acceptable sedimentary facies identification is realized, the sedimentary model of the study area is established, the delicate calibration of logging facies and seismic facies is realized under the constraint of the sedimentary model, and a set of technical methods for nuanced reservoir characterization guided by seismic sedimentology is summarized, to realize the boundary identification of composite channel configuration and further realize the nuanced characterization of the single narrow channel. Based on this set of technology, it guides the smooth implementation of horizontal wells in the oilfield. The drilling encounter rate of the reservoir in the horizontal section of the single well exceeds 90%, ensuring the injection production connectivity and increasing the reserve production rate by more than 10%.

Holonic Manufacturing System:the Holonic Revolution

This work shows how to develop a methodology to support and integrate the concepts and projects of the Holonic Manufacturing System(HMS)with the other areas of the organization for full organizational management success,being a new entrepreneurial management,with support of this new technology in the reduction of costs and increased value added.HMS is in the process of being developed in the so-called"Consortium of the Rich Countries for the 21st Century",which involves governments,companies and universities from the first world countries,developing technology and knowledge related to the Holonic Manufacturing System(HMS).This new concept,under development by the above consortium,will allow the countries that hold this advancement to overcome the challenges of the globalized market and gain even more international competitiveness.

Strategies for reducing the costs of clean-energy technologies in buildings in Nigeria

The costs of clean-energy technologies are currently very high and their adoption in buildings is voluntary.This study evaluated strategies for improving the cost performance of photovoltaic(PV)electricity applied in buildings in Nigeria using a questionnaire survey involving 415 targets.The efficacy of each strategy and consensus in respondents’perceptions were determined using Fuzzy Set Theory and Kruskal-Wallis tests.The top four strategies for achieving PV-cost reduction are mandating green buildings,standardization of building designs and PV components,facilitating import licensing and massive public education.Developing these strategies to improve the PV value chain will increase the supply capacity of clean energy in emerging markets.

Bi-objective optimal active and reactive power flow management in grid-connected AC/DC hybrid microgrids using metaheuristic-PSO

In the context of evolving energy needs and environmental concerns,efficient management of distributed energy resources within microgrids has gained prominence.This paper addresses the optimization of power flow management in a hybrid AC/DC microgrid through an energy management system driven by particle swarm optimization.Unlike traditional approaches that focus solely on active power distribution,our energy management system optimizes both active and reactive power allocation among sources.By leveraging 24-hour-ahead forecasting data encompassing load predictions,tariff rates and weather conditions,our strategy ensures an economically and environmentally optimized microgrid operation.Our proposed energy management system has dual objectives:minimizing costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.Through optimized operation of polluting sources and efficient utilization of the energy storage system,our approach achieved significant cost savings of~15%compared with the genetic algorithm coun-terpart.This was largely attributed to the streamlined operation of the gas turbine system,which reduced fuel consumption and associated expenses.Moreover,particle swarm optimization maintained the efficiency of the gas turbine by operating at~80%of its nominal power,effectively lowering greenhouse gas emissions.The effectiveness of our proposed strategy is validated through simu-lations conducted using the MATLAB®software environment.

Additive manufacturing of high-entropy alloys by thermophysical calculations and in situ alloying

Electron beam melting(EBM)is a promising technology to manufacture various alloys with outstanding properties;however,the number of available alloys is limited.We propose in situ alloying to accelerate the development of advanced and novel alloys,based on thermophysical calculations and CALPHAD approach,during the EBM process.We demonstrate our concept through the design and fabrication of high entropy alloys(HEAs).Three CoCrFeNiMn-xTi(x=0.18,0.50,2.00,in molar%)HEAs are manufactured.EBM-built HEAs achieve a homogeneous distribution of elements while forming multiphase alloys resulted from the hot powder bed.The topological structures formed by secondary phases contribute to an increase in the hardness of EBM-built HEAs up to 900 HV1.Considering alloy design,a systematic analysis on Co Cr Fe Ni Mn-0.18 Ti HEA elucidates the microstructural evolution in detail.These findings provide a deep understanding of in situ alloying and pave the way to develop new alloys specific to the EBM process.

Predistortion of high speed optical OFDM signal for aliasing-free receiving in multiple low-bandwidth receiver system

A cost-effective method of multi-receiver optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing（OOFDM） system is proposed to reduce the requirement for the speed of the receiver and the size of fast Fourier transform（FFT）.The sampling rate of analog-to-digital converters（ADCs） can be reduced to 1/N of the original signal bandwidth in an N-receiver system.Aided by signal predistortion at the transmitter, aliasing-free signal can be retrieved independently and directly at the low speed receivers.A back-to-back experimental result is given for a two-receiver system.The effect of the electrical filters added before the ADC is studied and the analysis for filters optimization is given.

Development Trends of Transmissions for Hybrid Electric Vehicles Using an Optimized Energy Management Strategy

Energy conservation and emissions reduction have become increasingly significant for automobiles due to the severity of the current energy situation.Hybrid electric vehicle(HEV)technology is one of the most promising solutions.This study investigated the total efficiency of a HEV powertrain.To improve the total efficiency,the engine should be regulated to work at its highest efficiency and drive the wheels directly as much as possible.To accomplish this,we developed an energy management strategy based on the direct drive area(DDA)of the engine’s efficiency map.Several typical HEV models were built to compare the fuel consumption using DDA and rule-based strategies.Furthermore,the function of the HEV transmission system with DDA was considered.The transmission in a HEV should regulate the engine to work at its highest efficiency as much as possible,which is rather different than the regulation in an internal combustion engine vehicle.The functional change may lead to transmission systems with fewer gears but optimal gear ratios.If this trend is realized,the manufacturing cost of HEVs could be largely reduced.

Water wave optimization-based routing protocol for vehicular adhoc networks

It is well known that Vehicular Adhoc Network(VANET)plays the major role in the field of Intelligent Transport System(ITS)to enhance road safety as well.The entire communication among vehicles is covered in VANETs.Since the number of researches is in progress for the enhancement of VANET model.Usually,the issues arising with this field is the achievement of multi-constrained Quality of Service(QoS)measures.To solve this issue,our paper intends to propose a cost model that considers certain network quality measures like travel,collision,congestion and the awareness about the QoS.Moreover,this paper adopts a renowned algorithm named Water Wave Optimization algorithm(WWO)to find the optimal route.The proposed method analyses its performance over other conventional methods like Lion Algorithm(LA),Genetic Algorithm(GA)and LA with Adaptive Mutation(LAAM)in terms of cost analysis,Convergence analysis and Computational time.Then the analytical results prove the superiority of proposed work in terms of decreased routing cost.

On Test Data Compression Using Selective Don＇t-Care Identification

This paper proposes an effective method for reducing test data volume undermultiple scan chain designs. The proposed method is based on reduction of distinct scan vectorsusing selective don't-care identification. Selective don't-care identification is repeatedlyexecuted under condition that each bit of frequent scan vectors is fixed to binary values (0 or 1).Besides, a code extension technique is adopted for improving compression efficiency with keepingdecompressor circuits simple in the manner that the code length for infrequent scan vectors isdesigned as double of that for frequent ones. The effectiveness of the proposed method is shownthrough experiments for ISCAS'89 and ITC'99 benchmark circuits.

Precise Electro-thermal Power Loss Model of a Three-level ANPC Inverter with Hybrid Si/SiC Switches

Hybrid Si/SiC switches constituting a parallel connection of a lower current rated SiC MOSFET and a higher current rated Si IGBT are becoming very attractive solution for designing high frequency and high-power density power electronic converters.Due to the complementary nature of Si IGBT devices(smaller inverter cost and smaller conduction loss)and SiC devices(smaller switching loss and higher junction temperature capability),these novel switch device configurations enable a good tradeoff between cost and efficiency for high power converter applications.One such recent application of hybrid Si/SiC switches for efficiency-cost optimization is an Si/SiC hybrid switch based ANPC inverter proposed in Ref.[30].In Ref.[30]the topology structure,modulation strategy and the efficiency-cost benefits of the proposed ANPC inverter is presented.In this paper a precise electro-thermal power loss model for this ANPC inverter topology will be presented based on the modulation strategy of the inverter and the operating characteristics of the Si/SiC hybrid switches.The power loss model development takes into account how the current sharing between the two internal devices of the Si/SiC hybrid switches and their corresponding gate control method affects their power loss.A brief introduction to the topology structure and operation principle of the Si/SiC based ANPC inverter is first highlighted to provide context for readers and then a detailed description of the proposed electro-thermal power loss model is presented.The precision of the electro-thermal power loss model introduced in this paper is then validated using experimentally measured energy loss,device temperature and inverter efficiency data.