1,930 research outputs found
Towards Divine Economics: Some Testable Propositions
No full textThroughout the human history, the religion has remained a fundamental feature of social construct and human behaviour. Religious orientation plays important role in shaping human perceptions about economic and non-economic activities. With few exceptions, religion has remained an un-explored area in economics. For most economists, narrative and metaphor have no place in a rational choice theory, which is a wrong belief. In fact, any approach that considers behavioural laws satisfying the criteria of objectivity, reproducibility, and refutability is scientific and falls in purview of rational choice framework. A few studies, however, do exist on economics of religion under rational choice concerning to households, groups, and entire “religious markets”. [Becker (1976); Iannaccone (1988, 1990, 1992, 1993); Mack and Leigland (1992)]. Rosenberg (1985) presents discussion of the limitations of neoclassical economic theory due to its reliance on exogenous differences in taste and preference. It is argued that these limitations cannot be circumvented by findings and theories in other disciplines (e.g., psychology), because any measurement of preferences must begin with neoclassical assumptions about rationality. The alternative to tasteendogeniety advanced by [Becker (1976)] is found to only circumvent the usual difficulties if “stable preferences” notion is interpreted as needs. Further advancement is not taking place because of the important heterogeneous variables, which have yet received little attention from economists. Such variables may be found in attitudes and values acquired by consumers in variety of social and religious environments.
Heat-integrated CO2-based Carnot batteries for power and heat in renewable energy markets
No full textLa tesi esplora una soluzione di stoccaggio energetico su larga scala che immagazzina energia elettrica tramite un approccio power-to-heat-to-power. Con il passaggio globale dai combustibili fossili alle energie rinnovabili per motivi ambientali e di sicurezza energetica, emergono tre sfide principali. Prima di tutto, le fonti di energia rinnovabile sono intermittenti e imprevedibili. Un sistema di stoccaggio è essenziale per tamponare e allineare la domanda di energia con l'offerta. In secondo luogo, la produzione di calore a livello industriale, che storicamente si è basata sulla combustione di combustibili fossili, deve essere ripensata utilizzando energia rinnovabile. Infine, le infrastrutture esistenti progettate per la generazione di energia tramite combustibili fossili devono essere adattate per funzionare con fonti di energia rinnovabili. Queste sfide possono essere affrontate simultaneamente dai sistemi power-to-heat-to-power, o “batterie di calore”, comunemente chiamate batterie di Carnot. Con capacità di stoccaggio nell'ordine dei gigawattora (GWh), le batterie di Carnot possono appianare il disallineamento tra produzione e domanda di energia rinnovabile, fornendo flessibilità su larga scala alla rete e al contempo utilizzando cicli termodinamici basati su macchine rotanti. Immagazzinando energia sotto forma di calore, possono anche fornire calore a domanda per industrie ad alta intensità energetica, aprendo così opportunità per tali stoccaggi di operare in un approccio di accoppiamento settoriale. Inoltre, poiché questa tecnologia impiega cicli termodinamici e attrezzature simili a quelle utilizzate nei sistemi basati sui combustibili fossili, ha il potenziale di riutilizzare in modo efficiente le infrastrutture esistenti basate sui combustibili fossili, fornendo anche i servizi di rete attualmente offerti da questo tipo di impianti.
La tesi quindi enfatizza il ruolo delle batterie di Carnot nei sistemi di energia rinnovabile, discutendo lo stoccaggio su larga scala con la capacità di fornire calore per i sistemi industriali e il potenziale di integrazione del calore di scarto (Capitolo 1). La batteria di Carnot, la soluzione power-to-heat-to-power e il calore sono descritti in dettaglio con tutta la loro terminologia (Capitolo 2). Un'analisi comparativa delle batterie di Carnot rispetto ad altre tecnologie di stoccaggio su larga scala viene presentata, confrontando le loro performance rispetto ad altre soluzioni, privilegiando soprattutto le soluzioni power-to-heat-to-power basate su turbomacchine commerciali (Capitolo 3). La candidatura del CO2 supercritico come fluido di lavoro per questa tecnologia è esplorata in dettaglio (Capitolo 4). L'integrazione termica delle batterie di Carnot e i suoi potenziali benefici—come abilitare l'elettrificazione del calore di scarto industriale e migliorare l'efficienza di ritorno del sistema—vengono discussi e presentati come risorse chiave per rendere questa tipologia di stoccaggio più economicamente e tecnologicamente vantaggiosa (Capitolo 5). Vengono introdotti anche vari layout per l'utilizzo dell'integrazione termica in diverse applicazioni (Capitolo 6). Inoltre, la tesi esamina la gestione della distribuzione di elettricità e calore dalle batterie di Carnot termicamente integrate, con un focus sulla minimizzazione del costo livellato di elettricità e calore (Capitolo 7). Oltre alla minimizzazione dei costi, l'impatto della distribuzione di elettricità sulla riduzione delle emissioni di carbonio viene analizzato in modo approfondito per diversi mercati energetici dell'UE (Capitolo 8). Infine, la tesi copre la progettazione e le considerazioni fuori progetto per un impianto di prova di una batteria di Carnot termicamente integrata, che verrà implementato presso i locali del UNIGE nell'ambito del progetto HORIZON EUROPE, sCO2OPTES (Capitoli 9 e 10). In generale, la tesi presenta una panoramica complessiva della tecnologia delle batterie di Carnot basate su CO2 supercritico e integrate termicamente per un mercato energetico rinnovabile, evidenziandone i vantaggi e le sfide dei diversi aspetti della tecnologia.The thesis explores a large-scale energy storage solution that stores electric energy via a power-to-heat-to-power approach, As the world transitions away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources for environmental and energy security reasons, three major challenges emerge. First, renewable energy sources are intermittent and unpredictable. A storage system is essential to buffer and match energy demand with supply. Second, the production of industrial-level heat, which has historically relied on burning fossil fuels, needs to be reimagined using renewable energy. Third, existing infrastructure designed for power generation through fossil fuels must be adapted to work with renewable energy sources. These challenges can be addressed simultaneously by power-to-heat-to-power systems or “Heat batteries," commonly referred to as Carnot batteries. With storage capacities in the gigawatt-hour (GWh) range, Carnot batteries can smooth out the mismatch between renewable energy production and demand, providing large-scale grid flexibility also being these storage solutions based on rotating machines power cycles. By storing energy as heat, they can directly supply on-demand heat for energy-intensive industries too, thus opening the opportunities for such storages to work in a sector coupling approach . Furthermore, since this technology employs thermodynamic cycles and equipment similar to those used in fossil fuel based systems, it has the potential to repurpose existing fossil fuel infrastructure efficiently as well as to provide grid services currently provided by this type of plants.
This thesis therefore emphasis on the role of Carnot batteries in renewable energy systems, discussing large scale storage with ability to supply heat to industrial systems and potential for waste heat integration (Chapter 1). Carnot battery, the power to heat to power and heat solution has been described with all its nomenclature in detail (Chapter 2). A comparative analysis of Carnot batteries against other large-scale energy storage technologies is presented, benchmarking their performance against alternative solutions, mostly privileging power-to-heat-to-power solutions based on off-the-shelf turbomachinery (Chapter 3). The candidature of supercritical CO2 as a working fluid for this technology is explored in detail as well (Chapter 4). Thermal integration of Carnot batteries and its potential benefits—such as enabling the electrification of industrial waste heat and improving the round-trip efficiency of the system—are discussed and presented as key assets to make this type of storage more techno-economically viable (Chapter 5). Various layouts for utilizing thermal integration across different applications are also introduced (Chapter 6). Additionally, the thesis elaborates on the dispatch of electricity and heat by thermally integrated Carnot batteries, with a focus on minimizing the levelized cost of electricity and heat (Chapter 7). Beyond cost minimization, the impact of electricity dispatch on reducing carbon emissions is thoroughly analyzed for various EU energy markets (Chapter 8). Finally, the thesis covers the design and off-design considerations for a test rig of a thermally integrated Carnot battery, for which the experimental test rig will be deployed at the UNIGE premises as part of the HORIZON EUROPE project, sCO2OPTES(Chapter 9 and 10). Overall, the thesis presents the wholistic picture of sCO2 based heat integrated Carnot battery technology for a renewable energy market, pointing out the advantages and highlighting the challenges of different prospects of the technology
Collision avoidance for multi-vehicle cooperative missions
No full textThis thesis focuses on collision avoidance for multi-vehicle coordinated missions. Building upon an existing cooperative control framework, we propose collision-avoidance methods that rely on practicably available obstacle information and allow safe operation without compromising on the mission objectives.
Several applications of multi-vehicle coordinated missions require the vehicles to satisfy relative temporal constraints, such as maintaining formation throughout the mission or reaching their respective destinations at the same time. With such applications in focus, two different methodologies for collision avoidance are explored. We first consider a speed-adjustment based approach that can be used to avoid moving obstacles. Using obstacle information which may be available in real world applications such as air traffic management and highway driving, the proposed algorithm allows collision avoidance without requiring any vehicle to deviate from its path or lose coordination with other vehicles.
Next, trajectory replanning approach for obstacle avoidance is considered. Applicable to both static and moving obstacles, this method may require the vehicle to steer away from its originally intended path. The deviations in position, velocity and acceleration caused by the avoidance maneuver, however, are small and respect bounds that can be computed offline. These bounds can be used during the mission-planning phase to guarantee satisfaction of vehicle dynamic constraints and inter-vehicle safety distance even during collision avoidance maneuver. Through novel use of Bézier curves and surfaces for representing uncertain trajectories, these algorithms make use of partial information on obstacle trajectory and are computationally efficient.Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2017-09-29 without embargo termsThe student, Syed Mehdi, accepted the attached license on 2017-07-13 at 10:33.The student, Syed Mehdi, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2017-07-13 at 10:43.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2017-07-14 at 08:39.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #11443 on 2017-09-29 at 11:30:02Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-29T17:56:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3
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Previous issue date: 2017-07-1
Tawaran Sains modern menurut Mehdi Golshani: Studi analisis
No full textSains di dalam Islam memiliki dimensi yang universal, empirik dan metafisik yang berbeda dengan ilmu yang lahir dari pandangan hidup Barat yang hanya terbatas pada area empirik. Konsep ilmu dalam Islam menjadi bagian integral dari worldview atau pandangan hidup Islam, sehingga dirinya mempunyai ciri khas tersendiri yang menjadikannya berbeda dengan konsep-konsep dalam peradaban lain. Ilmu menurut pandangan hidup Islam tidak hanya melingkupi substansi pengetahuan, namun juga menjadi elemen penting dalam peradaban. Berkenaan dengan urgennya kedudukan ilmu, beberapa tokoh seperti Mehdi Golshani ataupun Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas memberikan beberapa ciri dari klasifikasi ilmu untuk mendudukkan mana yang lebih memiliki prioritas, Mehdi berpendapat sains Islam adalah sains didasarkan padanilai-nilai Islam, berupa pandangan dunia dalam bentuk metafisika atau asumsi filosofis Islami, prinsip epistemologis serta etika Islam dalam berbagai dimensi sain
Ferro-fluid based portable fingertip haptic display and its preliminary experimental evaluation
No full textNumerous studies have been conducted to develop a tactile device for providing convincing tactile feedback. However, most of the devices are limited in portability, and restricted to delivering either texture information with vibration cues or contact orientation with force feedback. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no wearable tactile display, which can display texture information together with contact orientation. In this paper, we propose a ferro-fluid based tactile display, which is lightweight and wearable and can replicate convincing contact orientation together with texture information. New design principle of introducing ferro-fluid and minimizing moving actuator components and replacing them with permanent magnet, allows the device to be compact and increases its portability. This also enables it to provide both contact orientation and texture cues. Preliminary experimental evaluation for force profile on fingernail and fingertip has been carried out. In addition, experiments for curvature discrimination and cuing simultaneous orientation and vibrational information by using an experimental prototype have also been conducted
Large scale energy storage systems based on carbon dioxide thermal cycles: A critical review
No full textEnergy transition requires a high penetration of reliable and flexible renewable energy. To do so, low-cost, efficient, high capacity and environmentally friendly storage technologies to manage the mismatch between energy production and demand are required. Carnot Batteries are considered as promising energy storage solutions tackling these requirements and storing electrical energy as thermal energy and releasing it whenever necessary while operating on reversible thermodynamic cycles. In Carnot Batteries, power is managed through rotating machines, such as compressors and turbines, and energy is stored as heat in thermal energy storages. In recent years, thermal cycles exploiting Carbon Dioxide (CO2) as operating fluid, in sub-critical, trans-critical and supercritical conditions, are gaining major interest, thanks to their versatility and high performance, especially
for large scale applications. This paper provides an in-depth review on the state of the art of global R&D activities on the use of carbon dioxide for large scale Carnot Battery application, while providing preliminary market and technology maturity breakdown. Different studies on CO2-Carnot Batteries at industrial and academic levels are discussed in detail while highlighting the novelty and improvement methods. Detailed information on battery parameters of charging, discharging and storage have been listed and critically analysed, finally concluding with SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threats) and TRL (Technology Readiness Level) analyses for future developments
Comparative market price and emission driven electricity dispatch analysis for sCO2 cycle based thermally integrated pumped thermal energy storage system
No full textLarge-scale energy storage is essential for integrating increasing shares of renewable energy into power grids. Pumped Thermal Energy Storage (PTES), particularly Thermally Integrated PTES (TI-PTES), offers advantages such as long lifespan, fast response, and flexibility, along with external heat source integration. Traditionally, PTES dispatch studies focus on maximizing profitability, which often leads to energy storage from CO2-emitting sources rather than purely from renewables. This study investigates the optimal dispatch strategy for a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) thermal cycle-based TI-PTES across various European markets using a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model. The primary objective is to evaluate the economics of TI-PTES optimized for CO2 emission minimization and compare it with conventional profit-maximizing dispatch strategies based on electricity market prices.For selected EU energy markets, key indicators such as payback period, net present value (NPV), levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), and displaced CO2 emissions are analyzed for price-based vs. CO2 emission-based dispatch to assess the financial viability and environmental impact of TI-PTES. Study shows annual round-trip efficiency of 105 % for Finland and 101 % for Germany, as compared to the 112 % of the electric RTE set for the model. The payback periods for only Germany comes out to be achievable during the span of the plant life of 25 years under the current market price scenarios. However, with increased volatility from 20 to 100 %, the payback period for the same market can decrease 20–60 % of the current value. Similarly, the study further proposes a novel hybrid dispatch strategy that incorporates both economic profitability and emission minimization by assigning appropriate weights to each objective. The optimal weighting varies for each energy market to achieve the most effective results. The hybrid dispatch approach positions TI-PTES as both an economically and environmentally viable solution for energy storage and grid integration
Mediapipe based Preprocessed VGGFace2 Dataset
No full textVGGFace2 Dataset and Face Mesh PreprocessingIntroductionThe VGGFace2 dataset is a large-scale face recognition dataset containing over 3.31 million images of 9,131 identities, with an average of 362 images per identity. The dataset is designed to include extensive variations in pose, age, illumination, ethnicity, and profession, making it one of the most diverse and challenging face recognition datasets available. For more details, please refer to the original publication:VGGFace2: A dataset for recognizing faces across pose and age - DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.1710.08092
Preprocessing Using MediaPipe 3D Face MeshOn this dataset, we applied the MediaPipe-based 3D face mesh algorithm to accurately detect faces while removing all background elements, including hair. Our preprocessing strictly retained facial landmarks, ensuring that only the essential facial features were preserved. This approach significantly enhanced the accuracy and generalization of our model, as the model was trained exclusively on landmark-based facial data.
Training and PerformanceThe preprocessed data was utilized to train Xception model, which resulted in remarkably accurate outcomes due to the strictly landmark-based facial representation. The model demonstrated robust performance including explainable-AI, proving that eliminating unnecessary background elements contributed positively to its efficiency and reliability.
CitationIf you use this dataset or the preprocessed version in your work, please cite both of the following:
VGGFace2 Dataset:
@article{Cao2018VGGFace2, title={VGGFace2: A dataset for recognizing faces across pose and age}, author={Cao, Qiong and Shen, Li and Xie, Weidi and Parkhi, Omkar M and Zisserman, Andrew}, journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:1710.08092}, year={2018}}
DOI: [10.48550/arXiv.1710.08092](https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1710.08092) Preprocessed Dataset using MediaPipe:@dataset{Shah2025_MediaPipe_FaceMesh, title={MediaPipe-based 3D Face Mesh Preprocessed VGGFace2 Dataset}, author={Shah, Syed Taimoor Hussain and Shah, Syed Adil Hussain and Zamir, Ammara and Qayyum, Kainat and Shah, Syed Baqir Hussain and Fatima, Syeda Maryam and Deriu, Marco Agostino}, year={2025}, doi={10.5281/zenodo.15078557}} DOI: [10.5281/zenodo.15078557](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15078557)
ContactFor any questions or further details, please feel free to contact us.Syed Taimoor Hussain ShahPolitoBIOMed Lab, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, ItalyEmail: [email protected]: 0000-0002-6010-677
Hydraulic simulations to evaluate and predict design and operation of the Chashma Right Bank Canal
No full textIrrigation systems / Irrigation canals / Flow control / Velocity / Canal regulation techniques / Hydraulics / Simulation models / Design / Operations / Crop-based irrigation / Distributary canals / Water delivery / Policy / Protective irrigation / Water allocation / Water requirements / Sedimentation / Water distribution / Equity / Water conveyance / Pakistan / Chashma Right Bank Canal
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