1,720,988 research outputs found
Tackling Efficiency Challenges and Exploring Greenhouse-Integrated Organic Photovoltaics
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Energy performance of PVC-Coated polyester fabric as novel material for the building envelope: Model validation and a refurbishment case study
No full textTensile materials are concurrently becoming more and more utilized in contemporary architecture design, despite a lack of experimental testing and numerical model development to assess their actual effect on the building behavior, even more, if considered integrated in a second-skin system. In this research, the PVC-coated polyester fabric has been selected and tested as tensile second-skin material by using two outdoor comparative test cells to evaluate its performance and to calibrate and validate a numerical model in TRNSYS 18. Then, the validated numerical model has been used in a case study as a second layer in a flexible façade system. In particular, a simulation refurbishment of a typical three-story office building, located in southern Italy, has been investigated with the aim to evaluate its potential benefits from an energy point of view. The results showed that the refurbishment by means of a second-skin system always allows for an energy saving, up to a maximum of 6.1%; also, by exploiting the semi-transparency and the flexibility offered by this material to implement a continuous whole-façade design on the south wall, thus covering with the second-skin both the walls and the openings, the solar gains across the year can be modulated, by minimizing the gains during the summer and maximizing them during the winter, consequently leading to a reduction of the cooling and heating energy demands, for an overall heating energy demand reduction of about 9.8%
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Impact of seasonal thermal energy storage design on the dynamic performance of a solar heating system serving a small-scale Italian district composed of residential and school buildings
No full textA centralized solar hybrid heating system serving a small-scale district composed of 6 typical Italian residential buildings and 3 schools located in Naples (southern Italy) has been modelled, simulated and analysed by means of the dynamic software TRNSYS over a 5-year period. The plant is based on the operation of solar thermal collectors connected to a seasonal double U-pipe vertical Borehole Thermal Energy Storage (BTES) in order to address the seasonal misalignment between solar energy supply and thermal energy demand for heating purposes. In this paper a parametric analysis has been performed in order to investigate the performance of the district heating network upon varying the characteristics of the BTES in terms of: (i) thermal conductivity of soil, (ii) thermal conductivity of grout, (iii) U-pipe spacing, (iv) heat carrier fluid, (v) number of Borehole Heat Exchangers (BHEs), as well as (vi) type of BHEs connection (series, parallel or mixed). The primary energy consumption, the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions and the operating costs of the proposed district heating plant have been evaluated based on the simulation results upon varying the plant configurations and then compared with those associated to a conventional Italian decentralized heating system assumed as reference with the main aims of (i) assessing the potential reduction of primary energy consumption, global CO2 equivalent emissions and operating costs, (ii) exploring the influence of BTES characteristics on the overall system performance as well as (iii) establishing some simple rules for the initial design of BTES
Energy performances assessment of extruded and 3d printed polymers integrated into building envelopes for a south Italian case study
Full text linkPlastic materials are increasingly becoming used in the building envelope, despite a lack of investigation on their effects. In this work, an extruded Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene panel has been tested as a second-skin layer in a ventilated facade system using a full-scale facility. The experimental results show that it is possible to achieve performances very similar to conventional materials. A numerical model has then been developed and used to investigate the performances of plastic and composite polymer panels as second-skin layers. The experimental data has been used to verify the behavior of the numerical model, from a thermal point of view, showing good reliability, with a root mean square error lower than 0.40◦C. This model has then been applied in different refurbishment cases upon varying: The polymer and the manufacturing technology (extruded or 3D-printed panels). Eight refurbishment case studies have been carried out on a typical office building located in Napoli (Italy), by means of a dynamic simulation software. The simulation results show that the proposed actions allow the reduction of the thermal and cooling energy demand (up to 6.9% and 3.1%, respectively), as well as the non-renewable primary energy consumption (up to 2.6%), in comparison to the reference case study
Low-cost smart solutions for daylight and electric lighting integration in historical buildings
Full text linkResearch have shown that the correct integration of daylight and electric lighting reduces the energy use in buildings, while improving visual comfort. Smart shading systems, especially those electrically controlled, play an important role to control solar radiation. Similarly, smart and dimmable/tunable lighting can help to adjust the artificial light to the real users' needs. This paper presents preliminary results of an ongoing living lab study investigating how artificial lighting systems can be integrated with shading systems, placing human comfort at the heart of the study and yet saving energy. A manually controlled, commercial and low-cost smart system integrating two motorized shading devices and six dimmable LED luminaires with a different selection of CCT were installed in a private office in a historical building. Indoor and outdoor lighting conditions and energy consumption associated to the lighting system are constantly monitored to assess how the people use shading and lighting upon varying the boundary conditions.. Preliminary results highlight that users prefer to maximise daylight on the work plane as well as they generally use both shading and electric lighting systems in response to boundary conditions that cause serious discomfort
Thermal model validation of an electric-driven smart window through experimental data and evaluation of the impact on a case study
No full textThis study discusses a full-scale Electric-Driven smart window from both an experimental and numerical point of
view. The first part of this paper reports the experimental performances of the investigated smart window, using
a full-scale outdoor test-room. The tests are carried out during the summer under real sky conditions varying the
state of the Electric-Driven window (clear and milky). In the second part, a numerical model is developed and
validated using the data acquired during the in-situ experiments. Finally, the developed simulation model is used
to assess the performances of the Electric-Driven window varying the switching control strategies (from clear to
milky and vice versa) in a refurbishment case study of a building office façade located in the south of Italy. In
particular, the reduction of the indoor air temperature (up to 2.1 °C), the reduction of cooling energy demand (up
to about 41.0%), the primary energy saving (up to about 4.0%) and the reduction of carbon dioxide equivalent
emissions (up to about 2.2%) are evaluated. The analysis is performed comparing the simulation results associated
to a case with the Electric-Driven window with those where a typical double glass low-e window is used
Flexible and Lightweight Solutions for Energy Improvement in Construction: A Literature Review
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