Application of Infrared Thermography in an Adequate Reusability Analysis of Photovoltaic Modules Affected by Hail

Infrared thermography, in the analysis of photovoltaic (PV) power plants, is a mature technical discipline. In the event of a hailstorm that leaves the PV system without the support of the power grid (and a significant portion of the generation potential), thermography is the easiest way to determine the condition of the modules and revive the existing system with the available resources. This paper presents research conducted on a 30 kW part of a 420 kW PV power plant, and demonstrates the procedure for inspecting visually correct modules that have suffered from a major natural disaster. The severity of the disaster is shown by the fact that only 14% of the PV modules at the test site remained intact. Following the recommendations of the standard IEC TS 62446-3, a thermographic analysis was performed. The thermographic analysis was preceded by an analysis of the I-V curve, which was presented in detail using two characteristic modules as examples. I-V curve measurements are necessary to relate the measured values of the radiation and the measured contact temperature of the module to the thermal patterns. The analysis concluded that soiled modules must be cleaned, regardless of the degree of soiling. The test results clearly indicated defective module elements that would result in a safety violation if reused. The research shows that the validity criterion defined on the basis of the analysis of the reference module can be supplemented, but can also be replaced by a statistical analysis of several modules. The comparison between the thermographic analysis and the visual inspection clearly confirmed thermography as a complementary method for testing PV-s.

Deep tillage reduces the dependence of tobacco on AMF and promotes the growth of tabacco(Nicotiana tabacum L.) in dryland

The traditional shallow tillage method makes the soil quality declining, and affects the efficiency of agricultural production. Taking the conventional rotary tillage(12 cm) as the control, Yunyan 87 as the test variety, and the soil type of the test site is paddy soil, we studied the effects of deep tillage(Subsoiling 30 cm) on soil nutrients, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and tobacco（Nicotiana tabacum L.）growth. The results showed that deep tillage increased the contents of organic carbon, available phosphorus(AP) and available potassium(AK) in 20 ~ 40 cm soil layer. The community of AMF was changed by deep tillage. Glomus, the dominant genus in both group, increased significantly in the soil after deep tillage. The colonization rate of AMF was lower than that of conventional rotary tillage. Deep tillage was beneficial to the growth of tobacco in the middle and late stages. Root growth and nutrient content of tobacco increased. Deep tillage significantly improved the output value of tobacco. It can be seen that deep tillage is conducive to improving soil fertility, promoting the vigorous growth of root, reducing the dependence of tobacco on AMF, and promoting the high quality and yield of tobacco in drylands of Hunan.

Estimation of cancer incidence in the male population of the Altai Krai affected by the Semipalatinsk nuclear test

The purpose of the study was to analyze the cancer incidence in the males born from 1932 to 1949 and living in rural settlements of the municipal districts of the altai Krai affected by the traces from semipalatinsk first nuclear test on august 29, 1949. Material and methods. an epidemiological retrospective cohort study was based on the analysis of anonymized data on newly diagnosed and morphologically verified cases of cancer in a male cohort for the period from 2007 to 2016. the study included a cohort fixed by the date of the first nuclear test with a total of 6383 males. in total, 633 cases were identified in the cohort with newly diagnosed and morphologically verified cancer. at the beginning of the study, all males were alive and had no previous diagnosis of cancer. For a comparative analysis of the cancer incidence, the main (exposed) cohort comprised 2 291 men, and the control cohort included 4 092 men, who lived in rural settlements of municipal districts of the region and were not tracked during the first nuclear test conducted at the semipalatinsk test site. the person-time incidence rate (ptR), standard error (mptR) and confidence intervals (95 % ci) were calculated. the incidence and the relative risk of developing cancer were assessed. statistical analysis was carried out using microsoft office 2016. Results. the number of person-years in the main cohort was 1 6731 person-years, and in the control was 30 747. The incidence rate of person-time (ptR) in the main cohort was 2 032.22 × 105 person-years, with mptR equal to 110.21 and confidence intervals (95 % ci) – (1 811.80–2 252.64). in the control cohort, the corresponding values were: ptR – 952.94 × 105 person-years with mptR – 55,67 and 95 % ci (841.60–1 064.28). the most common cancer localizations in men of the main cohort were: digestive organs (c15-c26), respiratory and chest organs (c30-c39), skin (c43-c44), male genitals (c60-c63). in the control group, the most common localizations were respiratory and chest organs (c30-c39), digestive organs (c15-c26), male genital organs (c60-c63) and skin (c43-c44). Conclusion. an increased relative risk of developing malignant neoplasms in men born and living in the altai territory during the first nuclear test conducted at the semipalatinsk test site was revealed (RR=2.133; 95 % ci 1.824–2.493) with standard error of relative risk (s) equal to 0.0797. there were differences in cancer localization between the main and the control cohorts.

A star-nose-like tactile-olfactory bionic sensing array for robust object recognition in non-visual environments

Object recognition is among the basic survival skills of human beings and other animals. To date, artificial intelligence (AI) assisted high-performance object recognition is primarily visual-based, empowered by the rapid development of sensing and computational capabilities. Here, we report a tactile-olfactory sensing array, which was inspired by the natural sense-fusion system of star-nose mole, and can permit real-time acquisition of the local topography, stiffness, and odor of a variety of objects without visual input. The tactile-olfactory information is processed by a bioinspired olfactory-tactile associated machine-learning algorithm, essentially mimicking the biological fusion procedures in the neural system of the star-nose mole. Aiming to achieve human identification during rescue missions in challenging environments such as dark or buried scenarios, our tactile-olfactory intelligent sensing system could classify 11 typical objects with an accuracy of 96.9% in a simulated rescue scenario at a fire department test site. The tactile-olfactory bionic sensing system required no visual input and showed superior tolerance to environmental interference, highlighting its great potential for robust object recognition in difficult environments where other methods fall short.

Environmental measures to reduce air pollution on the territory of a specialized facility

A detailed narrowly focused survey was carried out on one of the three zones of the technological infrastructure of a specialized facility - a hangar for aircraft (LA). A general list of pollutants (SV) released into the atmosphere at the 2nd site - the hangar of a special facility was established. Generators – installations and constructs of polluting components on a specific area of stationary and mobile type, which operate at a special facility, are fixed in the selected sectors. In accordance with the nature of the released components and the nature of the emission source (stationary or mobile type), the 2nd site is divided into 4 sectors. The measurement by sectors was implemented and the concentration of emissions was calculated according to the recommended regulatory acts of the Russian Federation. Indications of the concentration of a number of substances above the regulated MPC for 2 sectors of the 2nd site for the energy and test site of the special facility have been established. In connection with the recorded results, techniques and procedures of organizational and technical regulations that contribute to minimizing the accumulation of pollutants (gases) of functioning aircraft engines are analyzed and recommended. A method of attenuation of near-Earth smoke at an interval of up to two meters from the surface where aircraft engines operate is proposed based on the analysis of environmental measures at specialized facilities. The method is based on a variation in the orientation of the outflow of gas flows from functioning aircraft engines during launch, taxiing, takeoff, landing, and passage of an aircraft (VS) along the airfield track.

Hiding in Plain Sight: Uncovering Nuclear Histories

Nuclear histories are global yet worryingly incomplete. Linking a plutonium refinery in Washington, a uranium mine in Saskatchewan, a tsunami at Fukushima, a nuclear bomb test site in Rajasthan, a reactor ‘accident’ at Chernobyl, a shipping accident in the English Channel, and a president-to-prime-minister confrontation over the US-Canada frontier, these quasi-autobiographical essays prove the importance of public archives, personal files with fragments, oral histories, and private recollections. This is the social history, business history, environmental history, labour history, scientific and technological history, and indigenous history of the twentieth century. Hiding in Plain Sight offers everyone an entry to the irregularities of our ‘disorderly nuclear world’, and offers other researchers crucial insights to what richness lies within.

Unlocking ultra-high-density seismic for CCUS applications by combining nimble nodes and agile source technologies

In the quest for denser, nimbler, and lower-cost seismic surveys, the industry is seeing a revolution in the miniaturization of seismic equipment, with autonomous nodes approaching the size of a geophone and sources becoming portable by crews on foot. This has created a paradigm shift in the way seismic is acquired in difficult terrains, making zero-environmental-footprint surveys a reality while reducing cost and health, safety, and environmental risk. The simplification of survey operation and the new entry price of seismic surveys unlocked by these technologies are already benefiting industries beyond oil and gas exploration. High trace density seismic has become accessible to industries playing a key role in the net-zero era, such as geothermal and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), to which a good understanding of the subsurface geology is crucial to their success. We describe these benefits as observed during an ultra-high-density seismic survey acquired in June 2020 through a partnership between STRYDE, Explor, and Carbon Management Canada over the Containment and Monitoring Institute site. The smallest and lightest source and receiver equipment in the industry were used to achieve a trace density of 257 million traces/km2 over this test site dedicated to CCUS studies. We discuss the operational efficiency of the seismic acquisition, innovative techniques for data transfer and surveying, and preliminary results of the seismic data processing with a focus on the near-surface model and fast-track time migration.

Highly Accurate Pose Estimation as a Reference for Autonomous Vehicles in Near-Range Scenarios

To validate the accuracy and reliability of onboard sensors for object detection and localization for driver assistance, as well as autonomous driving applications under realistic conditions (indoors and outdoors), a novel tracking system is presented. This tracking system is developed to determine the position and orientation of a slow-moving vehicle during test maneuvers within a reference environment (e.g., car during parking maneuvers), independent of the onboard sensors. One requirement is a 6 degree of freedom (DoF) pose with position uncertainty below 5 mm (3σ), orientation uncertainty below 0.3° (3σ), at a frequency higher than 20 Hz, and with a latency smaller than 500 ms. To compare the results from the reference system with the vehicle’s onboard system, synchronization via a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) and system interoperability to a robot operating system (ROS) are achieved. The developed system combines motion capture cameras mounted in a 360° panorama view setup on the vehicle, measuring retroreflective markers distributed over the test site with known coordinates, while robotic total stations measure a prism on the vehicle. A point cloud of the test site serves as a digital twin of the environment, in which the movement of the vehicle is visualized. The results have shown that the fused measurements of these sensors complement each other, so that the accuracy requirements for the 6 DoF pose can be met while allowing a flexible installation in different environments.

Parameterized Modeling and Calibration for Orbital Error in TanDEM-X Bistatic SAR Interferometry over Complex Terrain Areas

The TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurements (TanDEM-X) bistatic system provides high-resolution and high-quality interferometric data for global topographic measurement. Since the twin TanDEM-X satellites fly in a close helix formation, they can acquire approximately simultaneous synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, so that temporal decorrelation and atmospheric delay can be ignored. Consequently, the orbital error becomes the most significant error limiting high-resolution SAR interferometry (InSAR) applications, such as the high-precision digital elevation model (DEM) reconstruction, subway and highway deformation monitoring, landslide monitoring and sub-canopy topography inversion. For rugged mountainous areas, in particular, it is difficult to estimate and correct the orbital phase error in TanDEM-X bistatic InSAR. Based on the rigorous InSAR geometric relationship, the orbital phase error can be attributed to the baseline errors (BEs) after fixing the positions of the master SAR sensor and the targets on the ground surface. For the constraint of the targets at a study scene, the freely released TanDEM-X DEM can be used, due to its consistency with the TanDEM-X bistatic InSAR-measured height. As a result, a parameterized model for the orbital phase error estimation is proposed in this paper. In high-resolution and high-precision TanDEM-X bistatic InSAR processing, due to the limited precision of the navigation systems and the uneven baseline changes caused by the helix formation, the BEs are time-varying in most cases. The parameterized model is thus built and estimated along each range line. To validate the proposed method, two mountainous test sites located in China (i.e., Fuping in Shanxi province and Hetang in Hunan province) were selected. The obtained results show that the orbital phase errors of the bistatic interferograms over the two test sites are well estimated. Compared with the widely applied polynomial model, the residual phase corrected by the proposed method contains little undesirable topography-dependent phase error, and avoids unexpected height errors ranging about from −6 m to 3 m for the Fuping test site and from −10 m to 8 m for the Hetang test site. Furthermore, some fine details, such as ridges and valleys, can be clearly identified after the correction. In addition, the two components of the orbital phase error, i.e., the residual flat-earth phase error and the topographic phase error caused by orbital error, are separated and quantified based on the parameterized expression. These demonstrate that the proposed method can be used to accurately estimate and mitigate the orbital phase error in TanDEM-X bistatic InSAR data, which increases the feasibility of reconstructing high-resolution and high-precision DEM. The rigorous geometric constraint, the refinement of the initial baseline parameters, and the assessment for height errors based on the estimated BEs are investigated in the discussion section of this paper.

CHINGIZ EARTHQUAKE on January 20, 2015, KR=12.2, mb=5.6, I_0^P=5–6 NEAR the SEMIPALATINSK POLYGON (Eastern Kazakhstan)

The work presents the results of data analysis of the earthquake on January 20, 2015, mb=5.6 occurred at the low-active region of Eastern Kazakhstan near the border of the former Semipalatinsk Test Site. The work briefly describes the seismicity of the Semipalatinsk Test Site related to aseismic regions according to the acting map of general seismic zoning. The earthquake was recorded by permanent seismic stations of the Institute of Geophysical Research of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and by two strong-motion accelerometers. The earthquake was felt at distances up to 300 km from the epicentre, its maximum intensity was noted at Medeu settlement where the shaking intensity was 56 by the MSK-64 scale. The earthquake focal mechanism is shown, the parameters of seismic effects and response spectra are calculated.