Higher Institute on Territorial Systems for Innovation
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Analysis of Fuel Gasification Using Solar Technology: A Patent Review
Get PDFSolar energy enhances the energy and environmental performance of coal gasification by lowering carbon emissions and increasing the yield and quality of synthesis gas. This patent review surveys recent global advances in solar thermochemical reactors for coal gasification, focusing on key innovations disclosed in patent applications and grants, with particular attention to technologies that improve process efficiency and sustainability. The novelty of the review is that unlike most patent reviews that focus primarily on statistical indicators such as application counts, geography, and classification, this work integrates qualitative analysis of specific technical solutions alongside statistical evaluation. This combined approach enables a deeper assessment of technological maturity and practical applicability. Fifteen patents from different countries were reviewed. The largest number (8, 53%) belongs to the United States. China has the second place with 4 (27%). The remaining countries (the EU, Korea, and Russia) hold 1 patent (7% each). The present work emphasises the technological and engineering solutions associated with the integration of solar energy into gasification processes. The author’s design is free of the disadvantages of its counterparts and is a simplified design with a high degree of adaptability to various types of fuel, including brown coal, biomass, and other carbon-containing materials
Editorial article on the publications from the IX Symposium on Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Advanced Batteries, HYCELTEC 2024
No full textAttitude profiles for ground-path pointing and alignment of radar footprints: Application to the INCUS mission
Get PDFThis work presents the derivation of pointing profiles for a satellite mission requiring continuous observations of a ground path. The study is directly applied to the INvestigation of Convective Updrafts (INCUS) mission, a three-satellite constellation designed to investigate tropical convective storms through time-differenced radar observations. A sequence of pitch, roll, and yaw rotations was investigated to align each spacecraft with the reference ground path, while accounting for mission-specific requirements and constraints. A pointing strategy with fixed pitch and time-varying roll was examined to achieve ground-path pointing. A subsequent yaw rotation was then studied to ensure correct cross-track alignment of the radar footprints. A numerical search-strategy was performed to derive the time difference between observations and the pointing profiles, while an additional analytical formulation was also developed to address the footprint alignment problem. The effects of in-track spacecraft knowledge position errors on both the pointing profiles and cross-track alignment of the footprints were also investigated. Moreover, the effects of variations in orbital inclination and altitude on the pointing profiles have been addresse
Surgical Procedures to Enhance Prosthetic Prognosis in the Rehabilitation of a Maxillectomy Defect Due to Sinonasal Carcinoma: A Case Report
Get PDFBackground: Rehabilitation of head and neck cancer patients with acquired intraoral defects is challenging and requires multidisciplinary collaboration. This case report describes an integrated surgical and prosthetic approach in which palatal obturator rehabilitation is used to restore palatal integrity, speech, swallowing, aesthetics, and overall quality of life after maxillectomy. The objective is to show how careful surgical planning to optimize prosthetic prognosis, combined with a precisely designed obturator prosthesis, can achieve satisfactory functional rehabilitation. Methods: A man in his 50s with sinonasal carcinoma underwent partial left maxillectomy followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The defect was classified as Aramany class I and Brown class 2b, and the surgical resection was planned to preserve structures favorable to prosthetic support. Prosthetic management included fabrication of a removable partial denture incorporating a hollow-bulb obturator. Results: During trial and delivery, the patient demonstrated improved speech and swallowing, enhanced denture stability, and favorable aesthetics. The patient reported satisfaction with functional and cosmetic outcomes and was provided with instructions for use and cleaning, with a plan for regular follow-up. Conclusions: Palatal obturator prostheses remain a gold standard for unilateral maxillectomy rehabilitation when adequate retention is achievable. Surgical-prosthetic collaboration permits restoring palatal contours, and dentition can normalize speech and swallowing, and substantially improve the quality of life
Material Degradation: Findings from Historical Accident Analysis in Process Industries
Get PDFMaterial degradation represents a source of risk in the process industry, being responsible for 30% of loss of containment events. This investigation focuses on the analysis of historical events related to material degradation to gain awareness and enhance preparedness in the process industry. A database containing 3,772 records was built. Data collection was performed using industrial-accident open access databases, classifying the information according to macro-sector, type of equipment, substance involved, scenario, age of the plant, actions taken after the event and type of losses. Corrosion emerged as the main failure mechanism, followed by vibration and fatigue. This phenomenon occurs predominantly in plants with more than 25 years of operation, where prolonged exposure to chemical and environmental agents accelerates the degradation of materials. In contrast, more recent plants are more prone to failures caused by vibration. Corrosion events were frequently associated with environmental contamination episodes, with Event Tree Analysis showing it as the most likely scenario, representing approximately 50% conditional probability in documented corrosion incidents. To complete the analysis, two representative case studies were chosen for the application of the quantitative risk assessment. Conditional relationships among the variables of the database were found using Bayesian networks after the first frequentist analysis. This method allowed the investigation of uncertain data revealing a notable rise in the frequency of LOC and toxic gas dispersion. The analysis of past events highlighted the critical failure factors, which can be considered for the adoption of more effective preventive measures
Progress in the analysis of the cavity resonances in the ITER ICRF antenna port plug
Get PDFThe ITER ICRF antenna plug [1, 2] can exhibit resonances at specific frequencies, some of them in the relevant range of frequencies for IC heating. These resonances have been identified as eigenmodes of the coaxial cavity, where the array plays the role of inner conductor [3], that can substantially increase the level of electric fields within the cavity as well as the level of RF losses. As no grounding solution is considered, RF probes should be installed to monitor the RF fields in the port plug cavity and additional simulations of a realistic magnetized plasma are required to properly assess the integration (position, orientation) and their effectiveness. Several numerical tools are available and have been extensively used to simulate the ITER ICRF antenna, such as TOPICA [5] or CST Microwave Studio (MWS [6]), but none of these codes allow to combine realistic geometries, realistic magnetized plasma profiles, and lossy materials. In this paper we pursue the effort started in [8] where a method based on a modal analysis in the cavity was introduced to decouple solving the computationally intensive plasma facing front of the launcher from the cavity. The method reproduces the TOPICA electric fields (with gyrotropic plasma effects) obtained in a given vertical reference plane, in a MWS cavity (including lossy materials) using the multimodal scattering matrix of the cavity obtained with MWS. This method is here applied to several realistic ITER plasma profiles. The recently extracted magnetic fields [9] from the TOPICA modeling results, provide an alternate way to compute the excitation spectrum of the cavity and therefore allow to confirm our results. Accurate levels of RF losses can then be obtained from various plasma profiles and excitation of the antenna straps
AI in GUI-based testing: A survey of techniques, tools, and perceived advantages and limitations
No full textBackground: The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques in Software Testing (ST) has grown rapidly, particularly in response to the increasing complexity of modern systems. In GUI-based testing, AI is often cited as a promising means to automate repetitive tasks and improve testing efficiency. However, the actual use of AI in this domain remains underexplored through systematic empirical investigation.
Objective: This study aims to analyze how AI is adopted in GUI-based testing, identifying the techniques and tools employed, the testing activities they support, and the perceived benefits and limitations.
Method: We conducted a large-scale survey involving 107 participants from both academia and industry. The survey focuses on three core testing activities: test case definition, test oracle design, and test case optimization. It extends a prior study based on interviews with 45 industry practitioners.
Results:Findings show that AI is primarily used to support test case definition, with techniques such as Natural Language Processing, Optimization, and Large Language Models (LLMs) being the most common. AI also provides support in test oracle design, where image processing and knowledge representation play key roles, and in test suite optimization, through the use of supervised learning, reinforcement learning, and search-based techniques.
Conclusion: The paper identifies ongoing challenges and outlines future directions, including the need for transparent AI tools, guidelines for LLM integration, and the deployment of a continuously open survey to monitor trends in AI adoption over time
The Palgrave Handbook of Just Green Transitions in the Western Balkans and Beyond
No full textThis open access handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the concept of just green transitions and its key dimensions. With a specific focus on the Western Balkans and other key European regions, it explores the core policy thematic areas at the heart of the just green transition and the socio-economic and governance challenges and opportunities within each policy theme. Each chapter provides examples of good practice and of just green transition policies developed and implemented across this region. Finally, the handbook outlines forward-thinking recommendations that help facilitate the development of effective policies and governance structures that support the delivery of just green transitions and promote socio-economic growth to meet the needs of citizens
Directional flows using capillary assembly of photo-deformable colloidal particles at water-air interfaces
Get PDFColloidal particles at liquid interfaces experience long-ranged capillary interactions, whose magnitude and directionality depend on the particle shapes. When particle shapes are determined by fabrication or synthesis, the resulting shape-mediated interactions are predefined and often lead to the formation of persistent interfacial structures. Here, we introduce polymer particles at water-air interfaces whose shape and, therefore, interactions can be altered by illumination with polarized light. Specifically, we selectively trigger capillary self-assembly by anisotropically deforming the particles at the interface. Intriguingly, further deformation of already assembled particles induces sustained interfacial flows with velocities of up to 90 mu m/s. Benefitting from polarization-defined deformation directions, we create flow-patterns that do not simply follow the illumination intensity pattern, such as shear flows along a single rectangular illumination stripe. We anticipate that this interplay between photo-deformation and capillary interactions of particles will enable various forms of mixing, manipulation, and assembly of soft matter at liquid interfaces
Multi-objective optimization for dimensional synthesis of tendon placement and structural design for energy-efficient and feasible static workspace in continuum robots
Get PDFTendon-driven continuum robots (TDCRs) face a critical trade-off between energy efficiency and static performance for navigating constrained environments, a challenge in medical and industrial applications. This study proposes a bi-objective optimization framework to enhance tendon placement and dimensional synthesis in a two-segment TDCR, featuring seven disks and four tendons per segment. Leveraging a kineto-static model based on piecewise constant curvature (PCC) theory and a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA), radial tendon distances and angular offsets have been optimized. These solutions achieve up to 30 % reduction in mechanical work and a 3–5 % workspace expansion, validated through 100 randomized tendon force samples. The results offer practical guidelines for improving TDCR performance in both minimally invasive surgery and industrial inspection