Defrosting of Air-Source Heat Pumps: Effect of Real Temperature Data on Seasonal Energy Performance for Different Locations in Italy

In this paper, dynamic simulations of the seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) of Air-Source Heat Pumps will be presented by considering three different heat pump systems coupled with the same building located in three different Italian municipalities: S. Benedetto del Tronto (42°58′ North, 13°53′ East), Milan (45°28′ North, 9°10′ East), and Livigno (46°28′ North, 10°8′ East). Dynamic simulations were conducted by employing the software package TRNSYS and by considering real weather data (i.e., outdoor air temperature and humidity as well as solar radiation) referring to the three abovementioned cities for a period of 8 years (2013–2020) and collected from on-site weather stations. Attention has been paid to the modeling of the heat pump defrost cycles in order to evaluate their influence on the unit’s seasonal performance. Results show that, when referring to different years, the thermal energy demand displays huge variations (in some cases it can even double its value), while the effective SCOP is characterized by scarce variability. Sensible variations in SCOP values are achieved for Livigno.

Newton’s Law of Cooling with Generalized Conformable Derivatives

In this communication, using a generalized conformable differential operator, a simulation of the well-known Newton’s law of cooling is made. In particular, we use the conformable t1−α, e(1−α)t and non-conformable t−α kernels. The analytical solution for each kernel is given in terms of the conformable order derivative 0<α≤1. Then, the method for inverse problem solving, using Bayesian estimation with real temperature data to calculate the parameters of interest, is applied. It is shown that these conformable approaches have an advantage with respect to ordinary derivatives.

Smoke-charged vortices in the stratosphere generated by wildfires and their behaviour in both hemispheres: comparing Australia 2020 to Canada 2017

The two most intense wildfires of the last decade that took place in Canada in 2017 and Australia in 2019–2020 were followed by large injections of smoke into the stratosphere due to pyro-convection. After the Australian event, Khaykin et al. (2020) and Kablick et al. (2020) discovered that part of this smoke self-organized as anticyclonic confined vortices that rose in the mid-latitude stratosphere up to 35 km. Based on Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) observations and the ERA5 reanalysis, this new study analyses the Canadian case and finds, similarly, that a large plume had penetrated the stratosphere by 12–13 August 2017 and then became trapped within a mesoscale anticyclonic structure that travelled across the Atlantic. It then broke into three offspring that could be followed until mid-October, performing three round-the-world journeys and rising up to 23 km. We analyse the dynamical structure of the vortices produced by these two wildfires and demonstrate how the assimilation of the real temperature and ozone data from instruments measuring the signature of the vortices explains the appearance and maintenance of the vortices in the constructed dynamical fields. We propose that these vortices can be seen as bubbles of small, almost vanishing, potential vorticity and smoke carried vertically across the stratification from the troposphere inside the middle stratosphere by their internal heating, against the descending flux of the Brewer–Dobson circulation.

Parametric Fuzzy Implications Produced via Fuzzy Negations with a Case Study in Environmental Variables

In this paper, we present a new Fuzzy Implication Generator via Fuzzy Negations which was generated via conical sections, in combination with the well-known Fuzzy Conjunction. The new Fuzzy Implication Generator takes its final forms after being configured by the fuzzy strong negations and combined with the most well-known fuzzy conjunctions TM, TP, TLK, TD, and TnM. The final implications that emerge, given that they are configured with the appropriate code, select the best value of the parameter and the best combination of the fuzzy conjunctions. This choice is made after comparing them with the Empiristic implication, which was created with the help of real temperature and humidity data from the Hellenic Meteorological Service. The use of the Empiristic implication is based on real data, and it also reduces the volume of the data without canceling them. Finally, the MATLAB code, which was used in the programming part of the paper, uses the new Fuzzy Implication Generator and approaches the Empiristic implication satisfactorily which is our final goal.

Fibre Optic FBG Sensors for Monitoring of the Temperature of the Building Envelope

Standard sensors for the measurement and monitoring of temperature in civil structures are liable to mechanical damage and electromagnetic interference. A system of purpose-designed fibre optic FBG sensors offers a more suitable and reliable solution—the sensors can be directly integrated with the load-bearing structure during construction, it is possible to create a network of fibre optic sensors to ensure not only temperature measurements but also measurements of strain and of the moisture content in the building envelope. The paper describes the results of temperature measurements of a building 2-layer wall using optical fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensors and of a three-layer wall using equivalent classical temperature sensors. The testing results can be transmitted remotely. In the first stage, the sensors were tested in a climatic test chamber to determine their characteristics. The paper describes test results of temperature measurements carried out in the winter season for two multilayer external walls of a building in relation to the environmental conditions recorded at that time, i.e., outdoor temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. Cases are considered with the biggest difference in the level of the relative humidity of air recorded in the observation period. It is found that there is greater convergence between the theoretical and the real temperature distribution in the wall for high levels (~84%) of the outdoor air relative humidity, whereas at the humidity level of ~49%, the difference between theoretical and real temperature histories is substantial and totals up to 20%. A correction factor is proposed for the theoretical temperature distribution.

Phenology studies need to account for tissue temperature, not air

&lt;p&gt;Plant phenology is mainly driven by temperature in extratropical ecosystems. Contrasting responses of foliar phenology to climatic warming, however, have been reported in recent decades, raising important questions about the role of other environmental constraints, especially light. A striking and common aspect to past phenological studies is that all analyses have been solely based on air temperature. In fact, temperatures differ substantially between plant tissues and the air, because plants absorb and radiate energy. Using a simple model of bud energy balance, we explore how using bud instead of air temperature could change our interpretation of the phenological response to warming and explain several observed responses of phenology to temperature and light. Not accounting for the real temperature of plant tissues represents a real gap in phenology studies. Field observations of plant tissues temperature as well as experiments are needed for accurately assessing the response of vegetation to climate change.&lt;/p&gt;

OPTION OF HEAT PIPES FOR COOLING OF MOLDS DURING INJECTION MOLDING PLASTICS

In the article analyzed possibility using of heat pipes and two–phase thermal siphons in production plastic injection molding and die casting of zinc alloys. The advantages of heat pipes make it possible to use them to remove heat from hard–to–reach place of casting molds. Results of the comparative analyses of the work of various heat pipes are presented. The experimental researches were in the real temperature range of work carried out. The article gives recommendations on the option of capillary–porous structures and working fluids of heat pipes. The arterial heat pipe design proposed. The optimal geometric characteristics of mesh porous structure of this heat pipe are determined.

Fully Automated Lab-On-A-Disc Platform for Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Using Micro-Carbon-Activated Cell Lysis

Fast and fully automated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) amplification methods are of interest in the research on lab-on-a-disc (LOD) platforms because of their full compatibility with the spin-column mechanism using centrifugal force. However, the standard procedures followed in DNA amplification require accurate noncontact temperature control as well as cell lysis at a low temperature to prevent damage to the LOD platform. This requirement makes it challenging to achieve full automation of DNA amplification on an LOD. In this paper, a fully automated LOD capable of performing cell lysis and amplification on a single compact disc of DNA samples is proposed. The proposed system uses micro-carbon to heat DNA samples without damaging the LOD as well as a noncontact heating system and an infrared camera sensor to remotely measure the real temperature of the amplification chamber. Compared with conventional DNA amplification systems, the proposed system has the advantage of full automation of the LOD platform. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed system offers a stable heating method for DNA amplification and cell lysis.