Potato Storage Ventilation Duct Simulation on a PC

Within large turboalternators, the excessive local temperatures and spatially distributed temperature differences can accelerate the deterioration of electrical insulation as well as lead to deformation of components, which may cause major machine malfunctions. In order to homogenise the stator axial temperature distribution whilst reducing the maximum stator temperature, this paper presents a novel non-uniform radial ventilation ducts design methodology. To reduce the huge computational costs resulting from the large-scale model, the stator is decomposed into several single ventilation duct subsystems (SVDSs) along the axial direction, with each SVDS connected in series with the medium of the air gap flow rate. The calculation of electromagnetic and thermal performances within SVDS are completed by finite element method (FEM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), respectively. To improve the optimization efficiency, the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) model is employed to approximate the finite element analysis, while the novel isometric sampling method (ISM) is designed to trade off the cost and accuracy of the process. It is found that the proposed methodology can provide optimal design schemes of SVDS with uniform axial temperature distribution, and the needed computation cost is markedly reduced. Finally, results based on a 15 MW turboalternator show that the peak temperature can be reduced by 7.3 ∘C (6.4%). The proposed methodology can be applied for the design and optimisation of electromagnetic-thermal coupling of other electrical machines with long axial dimensions.

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Sprouting control for potato storage

Nature Food ◽

10.1038/s43016-021-00293-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yufang Guo

Keyword(s):

Potato Storage

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Reducing the Cooling Energy Consumption of Telecom Sites by Liquid Cooling

Proceedings ◽

10.3390/wef-06908 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 19

Author(s):

Jari Huttunen ◽

Olli Salmela ◽

Topi Volkov ◽

Eva Pongrácz

Keyword(s):

Energy Savings ◽

Reduction Potential ◽

Dissipated Energy ◽

Air Cooling ◽

Liquid Cooling ◽

Mobile Data ◽

Commercial Use ◽

The Future ◽

Base Transceiver Station ◽

Ventilation Duct

The use of mobile data has increased and will continue to increase in the future, because more data is moving to wireless networks such as 5G. Cooling energy need is also expected to increase in indoor telecom rooms, and can be as high as the equipment’s own power consumption. The world’s first liquid Base Transceiver Station (BTS) was adopted into commercial use in 2018, in Helsinki, Finland. Conventional air-cooled BTS hardware was converted into liquid-cooled BTS equipment. Heat from the BTS was pumped out of the site room, and thus ventilation or air conditioning was not needed for the heat load from the BTS. Heat stored in the liquid was released into the ventilation duct of the building, still providing annual cooling energy savings of 70%, when compared to air cooling. In the future, 80% of the total dissipated energy, 13450 kWh/a in total, can potentially be used for heating purposes. In terms of CO2 emissions, adapting liquid cooling showed an 80% reduction potential when compared to air cooling.

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Potential for the Postharvest Biological Control of Phthorimaea operculella (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) by Blattisocius tarsalis (Mesostigmata, Blattisociidae)

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020288 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 288

Author(s):

Jorge Gavara ◽

Ana Piedra-Buena ◽

Estrella Hernandez-Suarez ◽

Manuel Gamez ◽

Tomas Cabello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Temperatures ◽

Storage Conditions ◽

Control Agent ◽

Phthorimaea Operculella ◽

Effect Of Temperature ◽

Potato Storage ◽

Release Rates ◽

Blattisocius Tarsalis ◽

Predatory Capacity ◽

Pest Density

Phthorimaea operculella is one of the most important pests causing damage to stored potatoes. In this work, the effect of temperature (at 10, 20 and 30 °C) on the predation of pest eggs by Blattisocius tarsalis was studied in the laboratory. In addition, the effect of three predatory release rates on two pest densities was studied under microcosm conditions. The results showed that B. tarsalis maintains its predatory capacity at low temperatures (10 °C), obtaining an efficiency of 49.66 ± 5.06% compared to the control. In turn, at 20 °C, a maximum efficacy of 78.17 ± 4.77% was achieved, very similar to that presented at 30 °C (75.57 ± 4.34%). Under microcosm conditions and at low pest density (10 eggs/container), the mortality due to the mite was 96.97 ± 3.03%, 81.82 ± 8.84%, and 84.85 ± 8.30%, respectively, for the three predatory release rates (5, 10 or 20 mites/container). At the high infestation level, the pest control ranged from 61.54 ± 9.21% to 92.31 ± 2.74%, depending on the predatory release rate. The results obtained show that B. tarsalis could be a relevant control agent against P. operculella under non-refrigerated potato storage conditions, as well as in the first stages of their storage under refrigerated conditions.

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