Politecnio die Bari - Catalogo di prodotti della Ricerca
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Harnessing the Concept of Infinity in Power Systems Analysis: From Abstraction to Practicality
Get PDFIn the field of power systems, the concept of infinity plays a crucial theoretical role, enabling the depiction of extreme limits as quantities approach very large values. This theoretical model simplifies complex issues and encourages innovative problem-solving strategies for engineers. This article delves into the diverse role of infinity as a theoretical construct within power systems, illustrating how this abstraction aligns with the practical application of engineering principles. The discussion covers topics, such as ground potential and infinite bus as reference points, the importance of infinity in power line analysis, the practical effects of short-circuits and open-circuits in power systems, and the continuity of state variables. By connecting theoretical and practical aspects, this article enhances the understanding of how infinity is utilized as a tool in electrical engineering, highlighting its importance in simplifying complex problems and advancing the design and analysis of power systems
Advances in food metabolomics: Validating NMR-based non-targeted methods and fostering collaborative NMR applications
No full textFood metabolomics has emerged as a powerful tool for characterizing complex food systems, offering a nontargeted highly discriminative approach for detecting authenticity, assessing quality, and ensuring safety
across an array of food matrices. By capturing the complete spectral signature of a sample and reducing it to
manageable variables, this technique provides an extensive metabolite snapshot that encompasses everything
from minor compounds to major constituents.
A key advantage lies in the reproducibility and robustness of NMR spectroscopy, allowing the comparison of
spectra even across different instruments and laboratories. Such comparability fosters collaborative efforts and
facilitates the establishment of large, community-built datasets, which are critical for advancing reliable classification models and enabling wide-scale deployment of non-targeted protocols. Rigor in each step, ranging from
selecting representative authentic samples to optimizing acquisition parameters, data processing, and classification algorithms, proves essential for achieving consistent, high-quality metabolomics data.
As validation and standardization practices become more widely accepted, NMR-based non-targeted approaches will accelerate innovations in food product monitoring and labeling, reduce analytical uncertainties,
and address emerging challenges in food fraud detection. Ultimately, by combining best-in-class protocols,
collaborative networks, and open-access data repositories, non-targeted NMR metabolomics has the potential to
revolutionize traceability and foster global consumer confidence in the authenticity and quality of the food
supply chain
Enhancing Maintenance Operations in Industry 5.0: A Conceptual User Interface Design for Task Assignment
No full textThe Fifth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 5.0, fosters an innovative, resilient, competitive, and society-centered industry. This era emphasizes enhanced human-machine interactions, enabling individuals to manifest their creativity through personalized products and services. As smart factories evolve, the demand for flexibility and adaptability necessitates increased cognitive efforts, particularly in maintenance tasks critical to the flexibility of production systems. Despite the potential of emerging technologies like Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence to aid operators, the complexity of tasks combined with the novelty of such technologies can overwhelm workers, thereby impacting workplace well-being. To tackle these challenges, the DESDEMONA project, funded by the European Union through PRIN as part of NextGenerationEU, is developing a Decision Support System (DSS). This system aims to provide real-time suggestions for assigning the most suitable operators for maintenance tasks characterized by high cognitive demands. The DSS considers three primary factors: the operator’s profile (including skills and age), their emotional state, and the availability of smart devices. This manuscript details the project’s initial results, presenting a simplified mathematical model capable of ranking the optimal list of operators. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the DSS, it is compared, through a simulation approach, with a simulated maintenance supervisor. This comparison highlights the system’s ability to identify, from the k-permutations of N operators, the number of optimal tuples that best fit the operational needs
A new look at the extragalactic very high energy sky: Searching for TeV-emitting candidates among the X-ray-bright, non-Fermi-detected blazar population
No full textWe present the results of a multiwavelength study of blazars selected from the fifth ROMABZCAT catalog. We selected from this sample a subsample of 2435 objects that have at least one counterpart in one of the three main archival X-ray catalogs, namely the fourth release of the XMM-Newton Survey Science Catalogue, the second release of the Chandra Source Catalog, and the second Swift X-ray Point Source catalog of detections by Swift-XRT, or in the recently released eROSITA-DE Data Release 1 catalog. We first searched for different multiwavelength trends between sources with a γ-ray counterpart in the Fermi-LAT 14-year Source Catalog (4FGL–DR4) and sources lacking one. We find that the non-4FGL sources are on average fainter both in the X-rays and in the radio with respect to the 4FGL-detected ones, but that the two samples have similar X-ray-to-radio flux ratios and synchrotron peak frequencies. We then focused on the 1007 non-γ-ray detected population to determine whether or not there is a sample of X-ray sources that could be TeV emitters. We find that a large number of sources – mostly BL Lacs or BL Lacs with host-galaxy contribution to the spectral energy distribution – have a large synchrotron peak frequency and a large X-ray-to-radio flux ratio, two properties that characterize the vast majority of known TeV emitters. With respect to these known TeV emitters, our targets have X-ray fluxes that are about one order of magnitude fainter. We then computed the 0.2–12 keV and 20 GeV–300 TeV fluxes for the known 5BZCAT TeV emitters, and find a direct correlation between X-ray and TeV fluxes in the BL Lacs population. We used this trend to estimate the VHE flux of our targets, and find a promising sample of sources for follow-up observations with current or future, more sensitive Cherenkov telescopes; first and foremost the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory
Advanced modeling techniques and methodologies for reliable and secure blockchain platforms design
Get PDFThis dissertation explores the transformative potential of Blockchain technology with a primary focus on its application in agri-food traceability and contributions to Software Engineering Education and Training (SEET). Conducted over three years at the Polytechnic University of Bari, this research investigates Blockchain’s capabilities to enhance transparency, security, and efficiency across various domains, with an emphasis on bridging the gap between producers and consumers within supply chains.
The work is structured around two main research approaches: a comprehensive analysis of Blockchain technology and the practical development of traceability platforms. The Systematic Literature Review (SLR) conducted as part of this research identifies the primary challenges for Blockchain application in agri-food traceability, including security, architectural design, and the integration of supporting technologies. These insights form the foundation for the proposed traceability models, which reinforce trust between consumers and producers.
In addressing Blockchain’s technical challenges, the research delves into quantum-safe cryptography, exploring encryption methods capable of withstanding future quantum computing threats. Additional focus areas include hybrid Blockchain architectures combining public and private models and integrating NoSQL databases to support scalable, flexible platforms. Complementary technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Large Language Models (LLMs) are explored for their potential to extend Blockchain’s usability across various fields, including digital tourism.
In the context of SEET, this dissertation examines methods to enhance training. The integration of gamification and the role of LLMs in peer assessment are analyzed as innovative approaches to improve educational outcomes. This focus on workforce training addresses one of the major open challenges identified in the SLR and underscores the importance of a well-prepared workforce to drive future Blockchain innovation.
Finally, this dissertation outlines several key areas for future research, including decision-support tools for novice Blockchain developers, the automated generation of smart contracts through LLMs, and the integration of Blockchain in the Internet of Drones (IoD). These avenues represent the potential for expanding Blockchain’s application scope, enhancing its accessibility, and further reinforcing its role as a transformative technology across industries
Combined search in dwarf spheroidal galaxies for branon dark matter annihilation signatures with the MAGIC telescopes
No full textOrganic waste biorefinery: implementation of combined treatments to enhance anaerobic digestion
Get PDFLa crescente domanda di energia, l’aumento delle emissioni di gas serra e il progressivo esaurimento delle riserve di combustibili fossili richiedono soluzioni per mitigare il cambiamento climatico utilizzando fonti di energia rinnovabili. In questo contesto, i rifiuti organici stanno emergendo come una fonte rinnovabile alternativa, fondamentale per soddisfare il fabbisogno energetico attuale e futuro della popolazione.
I rifiuti organici come i fanghi di depurazione, gli effluenti di allevamento, i residui dell’industria agroalimentare e la frazione organica dei rifiuti solidi urbani (FORSU), sono stati storicamente considerati un flusso di rifiuti problematico. Tuttavia, questa percezione sta cambiando poiché tali materiali offrono opportunità significative per il recupero delle risorse. Sfruttando tecnologie di trattamento avanzate, i rifiuti organici possono essere utilizzati per generare energia rinnovabile e produrre sottoprodotti che reintegrano nutrienti essenziali nei suoli, riducendo al contempo lo smaltimento in discarica.
La trasformazione degli impianti tradizionali di trattamento dei rifiuti basati sulla digestione anaerobica in bioraffinerie, rappresenta un’opportunità cruciale nel quadro di un’economia circolare.
Questo studio evidenzia il grande potenziale dell’utilizzo di tecnologie combinate per ottimizzare il processo di digestione anaerobica e sottolinea l’utilità dei processi congiunti che coinvolgono più matrici organiche per incrementare la valorizzazione dei materiali.
A tal fine, sono state testate due sospensioni di FORSU pretrattate, destinate a due impianti di digestione anaerobica (uno wet e uno semi-dry), mediante delle prove di biometanazione in combinazione con diversi additivi. Le co-digestioni di queste FORSU sono state esaminate con quattro tipologie di rifiuti organici provenienti da trattamenti di fanghi di depurazione, quali: fanghi disidratati provenienti da impianti di trattamento delle acque reflue urbane; biochar derivato dalla pirolisi dei fanghi; hydrochar e liquido HTC provenienti dalla carbonizzazione idrotermale dei fanghi.
In particolare, i fanghi disidratati e il liquido HTC, essendo caratterizzati da un elevato contenuto d’acqua, sono stati testati con un rapporto di 1.0:2.3 rispetto alla FORSU; invece biochar e hydrochar, essendo solidi carboniosi, sono stati trattati come additivi solidi, inserendoli in co-digestione con la FORSU in concentrazione di 13 g/LFORSU.
Le prove di digestione anaerobica in batch sono state condotte per valutare la co-digestione con i quattro additivi sia per la FORSU proveniente dall’impianto wet (Scenario A) sia per quella proveniente dall’impianto semi-dry (Scenario B). La mono-digestione di ognuna delle due matrici rappresenta il punto di partenza e viene utilizzata come confronto per i rispettivi quattro scenari di co-digestione, in modo tale da determinare le variazioni di efficienza del processo in termini di volume di metano prodotto.
Questi test avevano l’obiettivo di determinare il potenziale biochimico di metanizzazione (BMP) di nuove miscele di substrati per valutare l’efficacia di diversi scenari impiantistici industriali che, in un’ottica di bioraffineria, combinano soluzioni tecnologiche integrate per migliorare l’efficienza del processo, ottenere rese di metano più elevate nonchè ricavare dal digestato dei prodotti, dall’alto valore aggiunto, adatti per applicazioni agricole e industriali.
I risultati hanno rivelato che l’additivo che ha determinato il maggior incremento della produzione di metano in co-digestione con la FORSU è stato il liquido HTC. L’hydrochar e il biochar, entrambi aggiunti in concentrazione di 13 g/LFORSU, hanno dimostrato un effetto sinergico tra loro comparabile, producendo una quantità di metano maggiore rispetto a quanto generato dalla mono-digestione delle singole matrici.
Al contrario, per i fanghi disidratati, il rapporto di co-digestione utilizzato di 1.0:2.3 (additivo:FORSU) non ha mostrato un vantaggio significativo in termini di produzione di metano, con una variazione inferiore al 10%, insufficiente per confermare un effetto sinergico di questi materiali.
Per gli scenari analizzati sono stati ipotizzati dei layout impiantistici innovativi che consentano l’uso combinato di substrati differenti e tecnologie complementari collegate tra loro. L’obiettivo è creare un hub centralizzato per il trattamento dei rifiuti organici, dove i residui di un processo possano essere riutilizzati per migliorare l’efficienza di un altro.
Affrontando sfide strategiche come l’ottimizzazione della gestione dei rifiuti organici e identificando soluzioni scalabili, questo lavoro contribuisce allo sviluppo di strategie innovative per il trattamento dei rifiuti. I risultati sottolineano il ruolo cruciale delle bioraffinerie nella trasformazione dei rifiuti organici in prodotti ad alto valore aggiunto, allineando obiettivi ambientali ed economici. Trasformare gli impianti di trattamento dei rifiuti in bioraffinerie capaci di trattare rifiuti provenienti da settori diversi rappresenta un’opportunità che, nel quadro di un’economia circolare, non bisogna lasciarsi sfuggire.The growing energy demand, rising greenhouse gas emissions, and dwindling fossil fuel reserves call for solutions to mitigate climate change using renewable energy sources. In this scenario, bio-waste is emerging as an alternative renewable source that is fundamental to meet the population′s current and future energy needs.
Organic waste, such as sewage sludge, livestock manure, residues from the agri-food industry, and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW), has historically been regarded as a challenging waste stream, but now the perception is changing as these materials present significant opportunities for resource recovery. By leveraging advanced treatment technologies, organic waste can be utilized to generate renewable energy, and produce by-products that replenish essential nutrients in soils also resulting in minimize landfilling.
Transforming traditional waste treatment facilities based on anaerobic digestion (AD) into biorefineries represents a crucial opportunity in the framework of a circular economy.
This study highlights the potential of using combined technologies to optimize AD process and underlines how useful the joint processes of multiple organic matrices can be to increase material valorization.
For the scope, two different pre-treated OFMSW suspensions collected from two anaerobic digestion plants, wet and semi-dry, were tested through biomethanation tests in combination with several additives. Co-digestions of OFMSW were tested with 4 organic waste from sewage sludge treatments, such as: dewatered sludge coming out of the sewage treatment plant; biochar from sludge pyrolysis; hydrochar and liquid HTC from the hydrothermal carbonization of sludge.
Specifically, dewatered sludge and HTC liquid as they are characterized by high water content, were tested in a ratio of 1.0:2.3 to OFMSW; while biochar and hydrochar being carbonaceous solids were treated as solid additives by loading them in a concentration of 13 g/L to the amount of OFMSW.
Anaerobic digestion batch tests were conducted to evaluate co-digestion with four additives for both OFMSW from the wet plant (Scenario A) and the semi-dry plant (Scenario B). Mono-digestion of each OFMSW represents the baseline and was compared with its four co-digestion scenarios to assess variations in process efficiency based on methane production volume.
These tests were aimed at determining the BMP (Biochemical Methane Potential) of new substrates mixtures to evaluate the effectiveness of different industrial plant scenarios that, from the perspective of biorefinery, put multiple integrated technological solutions in series to improve process efficiency and achieve higher methane yields as well as digestate-derived products suitable for agricultural and industrial applications.
The results revealed that the additive yielding the highest increase in methane production during co-digestion with OFMSW is the HTC liquid. Meanwhile, hydrochar and biochar, both added at a concentration of 13 g/LOFMSW, demonstrated a comparable synergistic effect, resulting in higher methane production during co-digestion than through the mono-digestion of each material.
In contrast, for dewatered sludge, the co-digestion ratio of 1.0:2.3 (additive:OFMSW) did not show a significant advantage in terms of methane production; it was below 10%, which is insufficient to confirm a synergistic effect from these materials.
For the investigated scenarios, some innovative layouts were proposed to enable the combined use of different substrates and different technologies arranged in series. The aim is to create a centralized hub for organic waste treatment, where residues from one process can be repurposed to enhance the efficiency of another.
By addressing key challenges, such as the optimization of organic waste management and identifying scalable solutions, this work contributes to the advancement of innovative waste treatment strategies. The findings emphasize that biorefineries play a central role in converting organic waste into high-value outputs, aligning environmental and economic objectives.
Transforming waste treatment facilities into biorefineries capable of processing waste from multiple sectors is an opportunity that, within the framework of a circular economy, should not be missed
Electric Vehicle Routing Optimization for Postal Delivery and Waste Collection in Smart Cities
No full textA Matheuristics for the Configuration of Automated Vertical Lift Modules Warehouses
Get PDFThe design of the layout of Vertical Lift Module (VLM) warehouses is a non-trivial process that involves selecting dimensions, internal configuration, and allocation of each tray to avoid space loss while satisfying logistic constraints. Our contribution in this context is a two-phase matheuristics --an algorithm that combines exact mathematical methods and heuristics-- to simplify the design of VLMs layout. The proposed matheuristics relies on three Mixed-Integer Linear Programming models, addressing the internal configuration of trays and the allocation of trays into columns based on industrial logistic constraints.
This approach requires as input parameters the items features, predetermined tray types with different dimensions, matheuristic settings, and a priority rule for tray allocation. The algorithm outputs to the logistics operator types and quantities of trays needed, internal partitioning, item positions in each tray, and tray positions in each column.
Extensive testing demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach under realistic scenarios. Additionally, we introduce a comprehensive set of priority rules for allocating trays into columns, providing a comparison to assist logistics operators in selecting the most suitable for specific scenarios
A tracer-aided 2D numerical framework to define fluvial and pluvial hazard mapping
No full textFlood hazard is a dynamic nonstationary phenomenon, which can be categorized based on the origin of the inundation. Inland flood hazard arises primarily from pluvial and fluvial inundations, typically modeled separately with respect to the pertaining spatial domains of the assessment, namely the urban areas and the riverine floodplains. When modeling is based on the catchment-scale hydrological-hydrodynamic approach, the inundations such as those resulting from pluvial and fluvial processes are usually not discerned, even though disparities in normative flood risk management exist in different countries. This paper establishes a tracer-aided criterion to discretize between pluvial and fluvial flooding at a catchment scale, relying on the advection process of a conservative tracer. Applied to a small urban catchment for multiple probabilistic rainfall scenarios, our physically based methodology shows that the incorporation of a transport equation within a shallow water model can be used to define the inundation sources. We highlight the advantages of the proposed approach compared to commonly employed modeling techniques for mapping fluvial inundations, while emphasizing the significance of mapping and regulating pluvial hazards in urban areas. The study shows the potential role of an abstraction of the tracers' transport toward identifying the hazard sources in a catchment-scale 2D numerical framework