Investigation on Improvement Potential of ORC System Off-design Performance by Expander Speed Regulation Based on Theoretical and Experimental Exergy-energy Analyses

This paper deals with several different aspects of the concept of benchmarking in order to give the audience a basic understanding of what benchmarking is, how it is done, and what it can give in terms of improvement results. The main issues covered are definitions of benchmarking and explanations of the different types of benchmarking that exist and what implications these have, both in terms of improvement potential, difficulties, and suitability. Furthermore, ethical and legal aspects linked to benchmarking and the benchmarking wheel, a benchmarking process model explaining the phases and steps of the benchmarking study. A relatively large portion of the paper will be devoted to explaining how to carry out a benchmarking study and various pitfalls that might be encountered. The remainder of the paper will discuss the improvement results that companies that have used benchmarking actually have achieved. These range from phenomenal successes to downright failures, and the paper will explore conclusions derived from research on the topic.

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Investigating On-Road Lane Maintenance and Speed Regulation in Post-Stroke Driving: A Pilot Case–Control Study

Geriatrics ◽

10.3390/geriatrics6010016 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 16

Author(s):

Heng Zhou ◽

Qian (Chayn) Sun ◽

Alison Blane ◽

Brett Hughes ◽

Torbjörn Falkmer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Speed Control ◽

Executive Dysfunction ◽

Case Control ◽

Older Drivers ◽

Control Performance ◽

Post Stroke ◽

Speed Regulation ◽

Stroke Population ◽

Lane Keeping

Stroke can adversely affect the coordination and judgement of drivers due to executive dysfunction, which is relatively common in the post-stroke population but often undetected. Quantitatively examining vehicle control performance in post-stroke driving becomes essential to inspect whether and where post-stroke older drivers are risky. To date, it is unclear as to which indicators, such as lane keeping or speed control, can differentiate the driving performance of post-stroke older drivers from that of normal (neurotypical) older drivers. By employing a case–control design using advanced vehicle movement tracking and analysis technology, this pilot study aimed to compare the variations in driving trajectory, lane keeping and speed control between the two groups of older drivers using spatial and statistical techniques. The results showed that the mean standard deviation of lane deviation (SDLD) in post-stroke participants was higher than that of normal participants in complex driving tasks (U-turn and left turn) but almost the same in simple driving tasks (straight line sections). No statistically significant differences were found in the speed control performance. The findings indicate that, although older drivers can still drive as they need to after a stroke, the decline in cognitive abilities still imposes a higher cognitive workload and more effort for post-stroke older drivers. Future studies can investigate post-stroke adults’ driving behaviour at more challenging driving scenarios or design driving intervention programs to improve their executive function in driving.

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