Development and performance testing of solar cookers

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.Z.M. Kimambo
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Performance Testing ◽  
Comparative Performance ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Mental Testing

The most common type of energy used is firewood. In some Sub Saharan countries, up to 90% of total energy use is from firewood. The consumption of wood fuel is in some countries as high as twice the sustainable yield, something that has led to environ-mental degradation due to deforestation and scarci-ty of firewood. The use of fossil fuels such as kerosene and LPG for cooking is expensive. Solar energy is a non-consumptive and non-polluting fuel. It can help alleviate the problem of insecurity of cooking energy, which is the major domestic energy requirement. Several attempts have been made to introduce solar cookers in different coun-tries and have achieved variable successes. There are still critical issues yet to be resolved in order to make that technology acceptable for wider dissemi-nation. They include getting the most appropriate types of solar cookers for specific locations, opti-mum size/capacity, types of materials to be used, optimal design and affordable cost. In an attempt to resolve these issues, a comprehensive study involv-ing theoretical review, development work, experi-mental testing and evaluation of solar cookers was conducted for several years on six different types of solar cookers. The cookers are the ‘SunStove’ box cooker, wooden box cooker, panel cooker, reflector cooker with unpolished aluminium reflectors, reflec-tor cooker with polished aluminium reflectors and reflector cooker with glass mirror reflectors. This paper presents the results of the study. Results obtained indicate that many of the cookers could be used to cook food for households in areas with medium and high insolation, with appropriate selec-tion of the type and specification of the cookers. The specification should be based on the measured inso-lation data of the location indication of the direct and diffuse components. As a guiding tool, reflector cookers offer best comparative performance in areas with longest durations of clear sky (greatest direct beam), panel and collector cookers under moderate cloudy conditions and box cookers under very cloudy conditions.

Perceived Fairness of Drug Screening and Performance Testing as Methods for Detecting Performance Impairment

1993 ◽  
Vol 37 (17) ◽  
pp. 1161-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette M. Racicot ◽  
Michele Cash ◽  
Michael J. Kalsher
Keyword(s):  
Drug Testing ◽  
Performance Testing ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Perceived Fairness ◽  
Organizational Settings ◽  
Invasion Of Privacy ◽  
Performance Impairment ◽  
Study Results ◽  
And Performance

Drug abuse is prevalent and impacts all aspects of society, including the workplace. Testing for impairment due to alcohol or other drug use has become commonplace in organizational settings. Despite potential problems with accuracy, the most commonly used method of screening is urinalysis. As drug testing becomes more common, concern over employees' rights to privacy and fairness of drug testing has also increased. Performance testing has been proposed as a solution to the problems associated with urinalysis, for jobs where eye-hand coordination is critical to job performance. Performance testing is based on the compensatory tracking task and involves correcting for the unpredictable movement of a visual stimulus on a computer screen. Although research suggests that urinalysis testing is perceived as fair in some situations (e.g., where need is high such as in safety-sensitive jobs), no research has been conducted which examines the perceived fairness of performance testing. The purpose of the current research was to examine the effects of type of testing (urinalysis versus performance testing) and need for testing (high versus low accident history) on perceived fairness and invasion of privacy. In addition, the effects of fairness and invasiveness on the willingness to apply for a job in the company and acceptance of the screening policy was examined. One-hundred adults participated in the study. Results indicated that urinalysis screening was perceived as more fair than performance testing. No effects of need (accident rate) were obtained for either fairness or invasion of privacy. Multiple regression analysis indicated that both fairness perceptions and invasion of privacy predicted willingness to apply for a job and acceptance of the policy. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Warm Mix Asphalt For Australian Airports

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg White
Keyword(s):  
Performance Testing ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
Warm Mix Asphalt ◽  
Comparative Performance ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Limited Experience ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Foamed Bitumen ◽  
The Military

Abstract Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) is a viable alternate to Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) for airport surfacing in Australia. Limited experience with this technology at Australian airports has prevented its acceptance by airport owners and their designers. WMA does have a significant track record in Europe and the USA, where it has been demonstrated to provide significant environmental, safety, quality and construction flexibility benefits. Differences in available binders and the Australian tendency for thinner asphalt layers and less capable materials makes direct extrapolation of experience from Europe and the USA inappropriate. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the comparative performance of WMA (by foamed bitumen technology) to HMA as an airport surface layer. Comparison between HMA and WMA has been made during a number of projects at Australian airports since 2012. A formal trial was performed at a military airfield as part of a broader project in 2013. A combination of production verification, quality assurance and mix performance tests were used to make comparisons. Subject to ongoing monitoring and performance testing of the military airfield WMA trial section, WMA is now verified as a viable alternate surfacing material for Australian airport runways.

scholarly journals Design and Performance Analysis of a Lightweight Flexible nZEB

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 5986
Author(s):  
Graziano Salvalai ◽  
Marta Maria Sesana ◽  
Diletta Brutti ◽  
Marco Imperadori
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Steel Structure ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Emergency Shelter ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
And Performance

Starting from an experimental activity, the paper describes research analysis that has been conducted on a real case construction with the aim to design its adaptation as a nearly zero energy building in three possible alternative scenarios: (i) a lab for students’ activities in the Lecco University Campus of Politecnico di Milano; (ii) an Alpine shelter for the implementation of a sustainable mountain tourism in Zermatt; (iii) an emergency shelter for poor communities in Burkina Faso. The use of an easily disassembled and lightweight steel structure coupled with dry-layered technologies allows a tailor-made envelope design, ensuring high thermal comfort, very low energy use, and limited construction times. The three case studies have been designed starting from the same architectural/structural concept. A detailed analysis, by means of finite element method and dynamic building thermal simulations, has been performed to predict the overall performances of each case study. The results show: (i) high replicability of the concept; (ii) high customization of the envelope technologies; (iii) high energy efficiency; and (iv) high thermal comfort of the architecture. The useful energy requirement in all the three analyzed scenarios is minimized and equal to 14.13, 23.88, and 41.83 kWh/m2 year, respectively, for the students’ lab, the Alpine shelter and the emergency shelter. According to this study the energy needs can be covered by renewable energy produced on site, making the architectural concept an interesting modular lightweight solution for a nearly zero energy building with high potential for replicability.

Digitalization system of ancient architecture decoration art based on neural network and image features

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Wu Xin ◽  
Qiu Daping
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Performance Testing ◽  
Image Features ◽  
Three Dimensional Model ◽  
Performance Effect ◽  
Data Process ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Construction Mode

The inheritance and innovation of ancient architecture decoration art is an important way for the development of the construction industry. The data process of traditional ancient architecture decoration art is relatively backward, which leads to the obvious distortion of the digitalization of ancient architecture decoration art. In order to improve the digital effect of ancient architecture decoration art, based on neural network, this paper combines the image features to construct a neural network-based ancient architecture decoration art data system model, and graphically expresses the static construction mode and dynamic construction process of the architecture group. Based on this, three-dimensional model reconstruction and scene simulation experiments of architecture groups are realized. In order to verify the performance effect of the system proposed in this paper, it is verified through simulation and performance testing, and data visualization is performed through statistical methods. The result of the study shows that the digitalization effect of the ancient architecture decoration art proposed in this paper is good.

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