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Energy performance gap of the Italian residential building stock: Parametric energy simulations for theoretical deviation assessment from standard conditions
Get PDFEnergy Performance Gap (EPG) is a crucial issue in the building sector that can lead to an overestimation of the national energy policies. It is the difference between the calculated energy consumption and actual energy use, and it is relevant mainly for space heating. As EPG quantification or correction methods could lead to more realistic energy policies, EPG has become a focus of many studies and research. In this framework, this study aims to quantify the theoretical deviation of EPG, i.e., concerning to the standard conditions, for the Italian residential building stock by performing parametric energy simulations of thousands of representative reference buildings. After a comprehensive thermophysical characterization of the national building stock, parametric simulations were carried out by varying the main standard conditions set in the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) calculation. This approach allowed the quantification of EPG according to the climatic zone, building type, usage profile, and thermal insulation level of buildings, while also analysing the influence of these parameters on the EPG and checking for prebound or rebound effects (i.e. when standard consumption is greater or smaller than actual one). The study identified a range of EPG variability for both prebound (0% to +80%) and rebound (−30% to 0%) effects and quantified an average EPG between −3 and +16 kWh per heating degree day of the selected location as a function of the usage profile. This work represents the first attempt to calculate the EPG of the Italian residential building stock and it could lead to the correction of the national energy policies implemented in the building sector
Potential Benefits of Remote Working on Urban Mobility and Related Environmental Impacts: Results from a Case Study in Italy
Get PDFRemote working is increasingly seen as an effective model in several countries in the last decade, mainly thanks to the development of information and communication technologies in support of common daily working tasks. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has represented a pivotal moment for the adoption of remote working in multiple sectors, with positive effects on the environmental impacts caused by the daily commuting of workers. However, due to the fact that pandemic-induced remote working has represented a major forced experiment on a global scale, and that it has often been imposed rather than chosen by employees, workers’ well-being has not always been ensured. This research work presents an analysis of a wide survey of remote workers in public administrations in four different provinces in Italy, with the aim of assessing the main characteristics of the users and the related environmental benefits. Survey data refer to remote workers before COVID-19, thus representing workers who have freely chosen to work from home for different reasons. The results of this work represent a useful tool with which to support the definition of new remote work strategies that could help policy makers reduce a part of the systematic mobility demand. We have also calculated average energy and emission savings to provide useful indicators for a preliminary estimation of the potential environmental benefits of remote working. Considering the entire sample of respondents, workers who would have commuted at least partially by car have saved on average 6 kg of CO2 per day thanks to remote working (with an average round-trip commuting distance of approximately 35 km). The current results will be supplemented by the results of a new survey underway, aimed at evaluating the differences of remote working experiences during the emergency response to COVID-19
Caratterizzazione di una sorgente di 241Am per la determinazione delle grandezze dosimetriche operative in assenza di prescrizioni in ISO 4037:2019
No full textIn questo lavoro di tesi viene presentato il caso della conversione della grandezza kerma in aria alle grandezze dosimetriche operative valido per la sorgente di 241Am dell’Istituto Nazionale di Metrologia delle radiazioni ionizzanti, una sorgente Amersham (attività di 3,53·1010 Bq alla data del 31/12/2021) in un irraggiatore Comecer TM4 (fig n°1). La caratterizzazione della sorgente consiste nel misurare lo spettro di fluenza della radiazione emessa dalla stessa, incluso quella diffusa nei materiali in cui essa è incapsulata, ed è stata effettuata mediante spettrometria. E’ stata poi valutata la variabilità degli spettri di diverse sorgenti di 241Am e stimata l'applicabilità dei coefficienti di conversione ottenuti. Alcune misure spettrometriche sono state svolte in collaborazione con il personale dell’Istituto Metrologico Ceco (CMI) presso DOB e i risultati ottenuti dei coefficienti di conversione per la sorgente di 241Am di ENEA-INMRI sono stati messi a confronto con i dati ottenuti sulla sorgente di 241Am dell’Istituto Metrologico Finlandese, Stuk (dati ancora non pubblicati)
Experiences of Additive Manufacturing for Nuclear Fusion Applications: The Case of the Wishbone of the Divertor of DEMO Project
No full textThe aim of this work is to describe some experiences of additive manufacturing - AM - for nuclear fusion applications. In this paper, a first case study is introduced concerning the realization of a scale prototype of an in-vessel component for tokamak nuclear fusion reactors, a wishbone of the deflector made in Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The 3D model of the wishbone component was designed, optimized with simulation, and then fabricated using AM in collaboration with the Laboratory for Advanced Mechatronics - LAMA FVG - and researchers at the University of Udine. For the construction of the prototype, a SLM machine using powder bed metal laser melting was used. The design, simulation and fabrication activities of the AM mock-up are presented in this paper, discussing the main limitations and possibilities arising from the 3D printing of titanium alloy. In addition, a further scale prototype of the wishbone was produced using conventional milling techniques, allowing an economic comparison and evaluation of the two manufacturing processes. The prototypes will then be used for a future evaluation of the mechanical properties of this material (Ti-6Al-4V), first on material samples and then on the mock-ups, under irradiations conditions, due to nuclear fusion applications
Il Catasto Energetico Unico regionale degli edifici e la sua contestualizzazione a una Regione pilota
Get PDFIl presente Rapporto Tecnico propone le specifiche tecnico ed il manuale d’uso del Catasto Energetico Unico regionale degli edifici (CEU) e la sua contestualizzazione alla Regione Siciliana, individuata quale Regione pilota, nell’ottica di fornire alla Pubblica Amministrazione uno strumento integrato che consenta l’interoperabilità dei dati provenienti dal catasto degli attestati di prestazione energetica degli edifici (APE-R), dal catasto degli edifici virtuali (CEV) e dal catasto degli impianti termici (CIT-R). Il Catasto Energetico Unico regionale degli edifici (CEU) è una piattaforma informatica che consente di censire gli Attestati di Prestazione Energetica (APE) e gli impianti termici, dotati di libretto di impianto, afferenti ad una unità immobiliare catastalmente individuata. La piattaforma è organizzata in modo che, ad ogni unità immobiliare, dotata di identificativi catastali (codice Comune, foglio e particella), sia associato un dato vettoriale che ne riporta la geometria su cartografia interattiva, che rileva la presenza di APE, trasmessi al relativo catasto regionale e di Libretti di impianto, presenti sul catasto degli impianti termici. La piattaforma è accessibile da due tipologie di utenze, con diverse funzionalità permesse: - Autorità Competenti e/o Organismi Esterni, da queste appositamente delegati, e ispettori per la ricerca e consultazione dei libretti di impianto, dei rapporti di controllo dell’efficienza energetica e per l’inserimento dei rapporti di prova degli ispettori; - Amministrazione Regionale per la consultazione di tutte le banche dati e la gestione delle Autorità Competenti.This Technical Report proposes the technical specifications and the user manual of the Integrated Regional Energy Cadastre of buildings (CEU) and its contextualization to the Regione Siciliana, identified as the Italian pilot Region, with a view to providing the Public Administration with an integrated tool that allows the interoperability of data from the register of energy performance certificates of buildings (APE-R), from the register of virtual buildings (CEV) and from the register of thermal plants (CIT-R). CEU is an IT platform that collects, at the regional level, Energy Performance Certificates (APE) and data on heating and colling systems, equipped with plant booklet, related to a specific real estate unit, identified in the corresponding real estate registry. This platform is organized in such a way that each real estate unit, equipped with cadastral identifiers (municipality code, cadastral sheet and parcel), is associated with vector data which shows its geometry on interactive cartography, which detects the presence of APEs, just transmitted to the corresponding regional cadastre and plant booklets, registered in the thermal plants cadastre. The platform is accessible by two types of users, with different functions allowed: - Competent Authorities and/or External Organisms, specifically delegated by them, and inspectors, able to search and consult the plant booklets and the energy efficiency control reports and transmit the inspectors' test reports; - Regional Administration for the consultation of all databases and the management of the Competent Authorities
Fundamentals of digital I&C systems
No full textIn this chapter, an overview of digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems is given. The basic concepts of the main digital components and systems, together with some application examples, are here illustrated. Without any claim of completeness, given the vastness of the topic and its daily innovation, the reader is introduced to the main aspects of the digital world useful for working in the field of nuclear I&C. The chapter will thus introduce the key concepts of digital signals, circuits, and systems, with specific attention to the important topic of digital conversion. The second part is devoted to digital devices, from the classic PLCs to the new boards based on FPGAs. The chapter concludes with two case studies useful to show how, starting from basic concepts, more complex digital systems can be built for innovative experimental applications
Small modular reactors and insights on passive mitigation strategy modeling
No full textIn the last decades, taking into account the operational experience of fission nuclear reactors, the nuclear international technical community started the development of advanced reactor designs in order to satisfy the demand of the people to improve the safety of NPPs and to take into consideration the industry needs to improve the economic efficiency and reduce the capital costs of nuclear power technology. In this framework Small Modular Reactors (SMR) adopting light water as coolant, taking advantage of the experience developed in current larger scale LWR, can bring advantages in terms of increasing “inherent safety” due to the integral type configuration, lower nominal power, and the adoption of passive mitigation strategy. Starting from some of the research activities on code applications developed by the authors along the last decade, and available in the public scientific literature, the target of this paper is to give some insights and recommendations for the future development of new research activities, in national and international frameworks, in relation to thermal hydraulics of SMRs
Three-Dimensional-Printed Sensing Samples Embedding Fiber Bragg Gratings: Metrological Evaluation of Different Sample Materials and Fiber Coatings
Get PDFEmbedding optical fibers with fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors in 3-D-printed samples can effectively facilitate the systematic use of smart materials in many fields, such as civil, biomedical, and soft robotics applications. The aim of this study is to analyze different combinations of filament materials and FBG coatings and to assess their metrological characteristics. Eighteen samples are fabricated and tested under different mechanical and thermal conditions. The repeated tests allow to perform an evaluation of the measurement repeatability for each sample, along with an analysis of the sample's sensitivity. The filaments employed are acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The fiber coatings are acrylate, Ormocer,Registered trademark. and polyimide. Results indicate that the fiber coating has no sigificative influence on the performance of the sensors. The tests for temperature sensitivity highlight a good performance of ABS (116 pm/°C) and TPU samples (32 pm/°C) up to 60 °C, whereas the fabricated PLA samples (139 pm/°C for polyimide, 55 pm/°C for acrylate, and 14 pm/°C for Ormocer1) cannot be used above 40 °C. The tests for strain sensitivity in axial elongation show an average sensitivity of 3.049 nm/mm for ABS, 1.991 nm/mm for PLA, and 3.726 nm/mm for TPU. The bending tests show that all specimen materials have different sensitivities to elongation (2.994 nm/mm for ABS, 0.668 nm/mm for PLA, and 0.149 nm/mm for TPU). Only for acrylate in PLA samples, an effective difference for bending sensitivity resulted (1.241 nm/mm for the acrylate coating versus 2.366 nm/mm for the other coatings)
A Spatial Decision Support System for Prioritizing Repair Interventions on Power Networks
No full textThe business continuity of services provided by Critical Infrastructures is vital in order to ensure the security, the economy and the public's health of a nation. Delays and bad recovery strategies after disasters or failures can lead to impairing impacts in terms of injury to people, environmental pollution and loss of time, money and resources. In such a context, the adoption of a spatial Decision Support System (DSS) might play a crucial role in order to help operators to adopt the best recovery strategy in the shortest possible time frame. Current approaches do not consider the problem of assigning an intervention location to a maintenance crew and do not account for the effective time needed for emergency intervention. In this paper we develop a novel spatial multi-criteria DSS methodology for prioritizing repair interventions on power networks. The multi criteria strategy is solved by the adoption of Incomplete Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which computes holistic assignment costs as the result of the combination of multiple and possibly conflicting metrics of cost. Then, we use the holistic costs as the basis for a task assignment phase that is based on the Hungarian algorithm. The proposed strategy has been implemented as a module in the Decision Support System, namely Critical Infrastructure Protection Risk Analysis and Forecast (CIPCast), whose outputs are represented on a web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. The effectiveness of the proposed multi-criteria strategy has been validated via a real case study on the Rome City electrical distribution network
Design and Implementation of an Accessible 3D Bioprinter: Benchmarking the Performance of a Home-Made Bioprinter against a Professional Bioprinter
Get PDFThe tremendous application potential of 3D bioprinting in the biomedical field is witnessed by the ever-increasing interest in this technology over the past few years. In particular, the possibility of obtaining 3D cellular models that mimic tissues with precision and reproducibility represents a definitive advance for in vitro studies dealing with the biological mechanisms of cell growth, death and proliferation and is at the basis of the responses of healthy and pathological tissues to drugs and therapies. However, the impact of 3D bioprinting on research is limited by the high costs of professional 3D bioprinters, which represent an obstacle to the widespread access and usability of this technology. In this work, we present a 3D bioprinter that was developed in-house by modifying a low-cost commercial 3D printer by replacing the default extruder used to print plastic filaments with a custom-made syringe extruder that is suitable for printing bioinks. The modifications made to the 3D printer include adjusting the size of the extruder to accommodate a 1 mL syringe and reducing the extruder’s size above the printer. To validate the performance of the home-made bioprinter, some main printing characteristics, the cell vitality and the possibility of bioprinting CAD-designed constructs were benchmarked against a renowned professional 3D bioprinter by RegenHu. According to our findings, our in-house 3D bioprinter was mostly successful in printing a complex glioblastoma tumor model with good performances, and it managed to maintain a cell viability that was comparable to that achieved by a professional bioprinter. This suggests that an accessible open-source 3D bioprinter could be a viable option for research and development (R&D) laboratories interested in pre-commercial 3D bioprinting advancements