Control Methods for Energy-Efficient Pneumatic Servos Employing Asymmetric Cylinders

Volume 2 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaimin Yang ◽  
Junsheng Pu ◽  
C. B. Wong ◽  
Philip Moore
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Pneumatic Cylinder ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Pneumatic Actuation ◽  
Improved Stability ◽  
Point Positioning ◽  
Point To Point

Pneumatic drives or actuators are most widely used in industry, in comparison to their hydraulic and electrical counterparts. However, they are low in energy efficiency and have typically been used in performing simple actuation tasks. This paper investigates the use of pneumatic actuation for point-to-point positioning applications in the context of employing asymmetric cylinders. The focus of this research is to study appropriate control methods, aiming for improved energy efficiency in the use of pneumatic servo positioning system. Relevant mathematical models and stability analysis will be presented in this paper, with results from simulation and experimental verification. In particular, a hydraulic circuit (rapid motion circuit) is adopted in the case for pneumatic actuation. For point-to-point positioning application, in the forward moving phase, the inlet and outlet chambers will be connected via by-pass valve allowing exhausted compress air to be reused. In comparison with the conventional way in controlling the motion of an asymmetric pneumatic cylinder, a portion of the compressed can be re-used leading to an enhancement in energy-efficiency. The results show that some 15% saving in energy use can be acquired with improved stability while the settling time of the positioning system is maintained. Relevant design and applications issues will be outlined and discussed in this paper as well.

scholarly journals ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, LESS STRAIGHT FORWARD THEN PRESUMED

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Hens
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Energy Conserving ◽  
New Construction

Since the 1990s, the successive EU directives and related national or regional legislations require new construction and retrofits to be as much as possible energy-efficient. Several measures that should stepwise minimize the primary energy use for heating and cooling have become mandated as requirement. However, in reality, related predicted savings are not seen in practice. Two effects are responsible for that. The first one refers to dweller habits, which are more energy-conserving than the calculation tools presume. In fact, while in non-energy-efficient ones, habits on average result in up to a 50% lower end energy use for heating than predicted. That percentage drops to zero or it even turns negative in extremely energy-efficient residences. The second effect refers to problems with low-voltage distribution grids not designed to transport the peaks in electricity whensunny in summer. Through that, a part of converters has to be uncoupled now and then, which means less renewable electricity. This is illustrated by examples that in theory should be net-zero buildings due to the measures applied and the presence of enough photovoltaic cells (PV) on each roof. We can conclude that mandating extreme energy efficiency far beyond the present total optimum value for residential buildings looks questionable as a policy. However, despite that, governments and administrations still seem to require even more extreme measurements regarding energy efficiency.

Kinetostatic Performance Analysis of a Redundantly Driven Parallel Kinematic Manipulator

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lorenz ◽  
Burkhard Corves ◽  
Martin Riedel
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Mathematical Optimization ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Drive Power ◽  
Maximum Torque ◽  
Torque Distribution ◽  
Mechanical Handling ◽  
Parallel Kinematic

In general the mechanical handling of objects in space is performed by manipulators, whose number of actuators is consistent with the number of required degrees of freedom. In addition, manipulators can be equipped with redundant drives, providing the manipulator with more actuators than the mobility actually requires. Thus, an active distribution of drive torques is enabled. Accordingly, this research intends to analyze the effects of torque distribution in over-actuated manipulators relating to load-optimized and energy-efficient handling. By developing torque distribution strategies the maximum torque levels can be reduced and the required drive power thus be decreased. This results in an increased drive utilization, which improves the energy-efficiency of the handling system. On this basis, an innovative handling concept is analyzed, which represents an over-determined system given the number of actuators. Hence, it is shown that the drive utilization of manipulators can be significantly improved by means of actuation redundancy. For this purpose different mathematical optimization approaches are analyzed, which solve the over-actuated system with defined optimization targets. Here, the optimal torque distribution is found using an algorithm, which minimizes the maximum torque for each object position. The results demonstrate the efficiency of active torque distribution in terms of over-actuated manipulators. For a further approach it is planned to develop control methods including optimized torque distribution strategies in order to improve the performance and the energy efficiency of the entire manipulator.

scholarly journals Energy-Efficient Coding with Discrete Stochastic Events

2002 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1323-1346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Schreiber ◽  
Christian K. Machens ◽  
Andreas. V. M. Herz ◽  
Simon B. Laughlin
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Bimodal Distribution ◽  
Fixed Cost ◽  
Signaling Cost ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Stochastic Events

We investigate the energy efficiency of signaling mechanisms that transfer information by means of discrete stochastic events, such as the opening or closing of an ion channel. Using a simple model for the generation of graded electrical signals by sodium and potassium channels, we find optimum numbers of channels that maximize energy efficiency. The optima depend on several factors: the relative magnitudes of the signaling cost (current flow through channels), the fixed cost of maintaining the system, the reliability of the input, additional sources of noise, and the relative costs of upstream and downstream mechanisms. We also analyze how the statistics of input signals influence energy efficiency. We find that energy-efficient signal ensembles favor a bimodal distribution of channel activations and contain only a very small fraction of large inputs when energy is scarce. We conclude that when energy use is a significant constraint, trade-offs between information transfer and energy can strongly influence the number of signaling molecules and synapses used by neurons and the manner in which these mechanisms represent information.

scholarly journals A survey on software methods to improve the energy efficiency of parallel computing

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 517-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Jin ◽  
Bronis R de Supinski ◽  
David Abramson ◽  
Heidi Poxon ◽  
Luiz DeRose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Parallel Computing ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Power Saving ◽  
Computing Methods ◽  
Power Budget ◽  
Load Imbalance ◽  
Mixed Precision

Energy consumption is one of the top challenges for achieving the next generation of supercomputing. Codesign of hardware and software is critical for improving energy efficiency (EE) for future large-scale systems. Many architectural power-saving techniques have been developed, and most hardware components are approaching physical limits. Accordingly, parallel computing software, including both applications and systems, should exploit power-saving hardware innovations and manage efficient energy use. In addition, new power-aware parallel computing methods are essential to decrease energy usage further. This article surveys software-based methods that aim to improve EE for parallel computing. It reviews the methods that exploit the characteristics of parallel scientific applications, including load imbalance and mixed precision of floating-point (FP) calculations, to improve EE. In addition, this article summarizes widely used methods to improve power usage at different granularities, such as the whole system and per application. In particular, it describes the most important techniques to measure and to achieve energy-efficient usage of various parallel computing facilities, including processors, memories, and networks. Overall, this article reviews the state-of-the-art of energy-efficient methods for parallel computing to motivate researchers to achieve optimal parallel computing under a power budget constraint.

Evaluation of Cooling, Heating, and Power (CHP) Systems Based on Building Energy-Rating

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Fumo ◽  
P. J. Mago ◽  
L. M. Chamra
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Energy Star ◽  
Star Rating ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings

Cooling, Heating and Power (CHP) systems are a form of distributed generation that uses internal combustion prime-power engines to generate electricity while recovering heat for other uses. CHP is a promising technology for increasing energy efficiency through the use of distributed electric and thermal energy recovery-delivery systems at or near end-user sites. Although this technology seems to be economically feasible, the evaluation and comparison of CHP systems cannot be restricted to economical considerations only. Standard economic analysis, such as life cycle economic analysis, does not take in consideration all the benefits that can be obtained from this technology. For this reason, several aspects to perform a non-conventional evaluation of CHP systems have to be considered. Among the aspects to be included in a non-conventional evaluation are: power reliability, power quality, environmental quality, energy-efficient buildings, fuel source flexibility, brand and marketing benefits, protection from electric rate hikes, and benefits from promoting energy management practices. Some benefits of these non-economical evaluations can be transferred into an economic evaluation but others give intangible potential to the technology. This paper focus on a non-conventional evaluation based on energy-efficient buildings, which is associated to energy conservation and improvement of the building energy performance rating for government energy programs like Energy Star and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Results show that the use of CHP systems could improve the Energy Star Rating in more than 50 points. The Energy Star Rating is significant on the LEED Rating as a building can score up to 10 points of the 23 available in the Energy & Atmosphere category on energy efficiency alone. As much as 8 points can be obtained in this category due to the Energy Star rating increment from the use of CHP systems. Clearly the use of CHP systems will help building owners to reach the benefits from these energy programs while improving the overall energy use and energy cost.

scholarly journals Toward efficient energy consumption in middle income housing buildings in Egypt

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-189
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Rizk Hegazy
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Analysis ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Efficient Energy ◽  
Hot Weather ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Current research pays special attention to the application of approaches that promote sustainable design in a built environment and ensure energy efficiency. In this context, the form of housing buildings is an important parameter that has a meaningful impact on the use of energy in housing buildings. Hence, this research attempts to study the impact of the form of housing buildings on energy efficiency taking into account the mid-hot weather conditions in one of the middle-income housing buildings in new communities in Egypt. To achieve the research aim, a comparative analysis is carried out using parametric numerical analysis—DesignBuilder energy analysis—to compare the various hypothetical proposals for different building configurations. The study determines that the efficiency of energy use in buildings depends to a large extent on their forms that will help urban designers and planners to propose the best energy performance in the form of housing buildings in the stage of conceptual design suitable for other environmental, social and economic urban planning issues. These results should be incorporated into the building codes adopted in Egypt’s new cities in order to reach more energy-efficient housing buildings in Egypt.

Sustainable Schools: Making Energy Efficiency a Lifestyle Priority

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Purnell ◽  
Mark Sinclair ◽  
Anna Gralton
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Positive Energy ◽  
School Students ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Residential Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Audits

AbstractPromoting efficient energy use in schools that consequently reduces greenhouse gas emissions is the purpose of a residential Energy Efficiency in Schools (EEIS) program reported on in this paper. Research on this program aligns with one of the “key overarching sustainability issues”, set out in the Learning for Sustainability: NSW Environmental Education Plan 2002-2005: “Sustaining energy use, cutting greenhouse gases”. The EEIS program was sponsored by Queensland EPA, Ergon Energy and Education Queensland. Participants learnt about innovation, leadership, coal mining, greenhouse issues, the “greenhouse challenge”, conducting energy audits, alternative energy and promoting energy efficient practices in school and the community.Three EEIS models in Queensland that supported change in energy usage behaviours of participants (school students, parents and staff) is examined. In each of the models, interviews were conducted and questionnaires were completed with participants. In Model 1 it was found that, overall; the EEIS program did develop positive energy efficient behaviours in those who participated. In relation to whole school effects, mixed results were obtained. In Model 1 a rural school initially reduced energy consumption by fifty percent and in Model 2 significant changes in energy efficient behaviours in the school communities occurred. In Model 3 one school followed through an action plan and similar positive effects were observed. The development of an action plan that is implemented in the school, the selection of suitable participants, and post-program visits to schools by relevant staff were among the factors that contributed to the overall success. Each model was found to have achieved their aims to varying degrees but had outcomes that are likely to have both lifetime and possibly intergenerational effects.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of China’s Labeling and Incentive Programs for Household Energy Conservation and Policy Implications

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1923
Author(s):  
Zhuangai Li ◽  
Xia Cao
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Durable Goods ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Air Conditioners ◽  
Incentive Programs ◽  
Consumption Decisions

With incomplete information about the potential benefits and costs of energy-using durables, households may be unwilling to invest in products that are more energy-efficient but also more expensive in purchase decisions. To deal with this problem, labeling policy has been developed to guide customers’ energy consumption decisions by providing understandable information to evaluate the energy efficiency of products. Over the last 20 years, China has implemented a series of mandatory and voluntary energy labeling and incentive policies to reduce energy use and improve the energy efficiency of durable goods in dwellings. This study has employed empirical survey data from the Chinese General Social Survey to study the implementation effectiveness of these policies and explore demographic factors behind consumer investments in energy-saving durables by using the logistic regression model. Statistical results show that energy efficiency labeling, incentive programs, education levels, and regional differences of customers appear to be strong predictors for investing in energy-efficient air conditioners and washing machines. House size is a decisive factor in driving consumers to choose energy-saving air conditioners. In light of the above results, the study suggests improved policy for motivating consumers to purchase energy-efficient appliances in dwellings.

scholarly journals Influence of Mechanical and Intelligent Robotic Weed Control Methods on Energy Efficiency and Environment in Organic Sugar Beet Production

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 449
Author(s):  
Indrė Bručienė ◽  
Domantas Aleliūnas ◽  
Egidijus Šarauskis ◽  
Kęstutis Romaneckas
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Sugar Beet ◽  
Weed Control ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Average Energy ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Energy Productivity ◽  
Environmental Requirements

Rapidly warming climate, tightening environmental requirements, an aging society, rising wages, and demand for organic products are forcing farming to be more efficient and sustainable. The main aim of this study was to perform an analytical analysis and to determine the energy use and GHG emissions of organic sugar beet production using different weed control methods. Seven different methods of non-chemical weed control were compared. Mechanical inter-row loosening, inter-row cutting and mulching with weeds, weed smothering with catch crops, and thermal inter-row steaming were performed in field experiments at the Experimental Station of Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania, 2015–2017). The other three, namely, automated mechanical inter-row loosening with cameras for row-tracking, inter-row loosening with a diesel-powered robot, and inter-row loosening with an electric robot were calculated analytically. The results showed that the average total energy use of organic sugar beet production was 27,844 MJ ha−1, of which manure costs accounted for 48–53% and diesel fuel for 29–35%. An average energy efficiency ratio was 7.18, while energy productivity was 1.83 kg MJ ha−1. Analysis of GHG emissions showed that the total average GHG emissions to the environment from organic sugar beet production amounted to 4552 kg CO2eq ha−1, and the average GHG emissions ratio was 4.47. The most sustainable organic sugar beet production was achieved by using mechanical inter-row loosening with a diesel-powered robot for weed control.

Design Optimization of Energy Efficient Office Buildings in Tunisia

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pyeongchan Ihm ◽  
Moncef Krarti
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Optimization Approach ◽  
Heating And Cooling

Optimal and cost-effective energy efficiency design and operation options are evaluated for office buildings in Tunisia. In the analysis, several design and operation features are considered including orientation, window location and size, high performance glazing types, wall and roof insulation levels, energy efficient lighting systems, daylighting controls, temperature settings, and energy efficient heating and cooling systems. First, the results of the optimization results from a sequential search technique are compared against those obtained by a more time consuming brute-force optimization approach. Then, the optimal design features for a prototypical office building are determined for selected locations in Tunisia. The optimization results indicate that utilizing daylighting controls, energy efficient lighting fixtures, and low-e double glazing, and roof insulation are required energy efficiency measures to design high energy performance office buildings throughout climatic zones in Tunisia. In particular, it is found that implementing these measures can cost-effectively reduce the annual energy use by 50% compared to the current design practices of office buildings in Tunisia.

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