Development of a model for energy efficiency management of a ship at different stages of its lifecycle

The problem of increasing energy efficiency in commercial shipping has been in the focus of attention of many specialists over the past few decades. The adopted and entered into force resolutions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) require ship-owners to develop and implement energy efficiency management plans. Considerable and increased attention is now being paid to the solution of this problem. However, it has not yet been possible to achieve real practical results – commercial shipping already accounts for more than 3 % of greenhouse gas emissions, and this value is growing from year to year. The reason for this effect is the practically absence of a systematic scientifically grounded approach to the issue. Management of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere is mainly in the operational phase of the ship, although the foundations are laid during the design, construction, modernization and refurbishment phases. This study is aimed at developing a comprehensive model for managing the energy efficiency of a ship throughout the entire life cycle. It is proposed to use the cost of a full cycle and the coefficient of energy efficiency as target functions of the model. A method for solving the problem of two-criterion optimization is proposed. The use of this model will be able to significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions

New Ramesside Copy of the Teaching of Amenemhat

A newly excavated ostracon from Abydos bearing the concluding chapter of “The Instruction (a.k.a. Teaching) of King Amenemhat” opens up an interesting enquiry. An ostracon found in the immediate vicinity of a New Kingdom royal memorial temple and carrying an excerpt from a major literary text is an important find, as it develops our insight into New Kingdom educational practices and intellectual quests. The range of ostraca types and text genres appearing in the area of the temple of Ramesses II points to a fully functional temple organization with a building phase and an operational phase, with supplies and literate personnel on site, potentially in different administrative roles. Studies in educational and intellectual pursuits, in turn, are key to expanding our comprehension of the functions—and enjoyment—of Egyptian culture.

Small Satellite Operational Phase Thermal Analysis and Design: A Comparative Study

This paper is about the modeling and design of the passive thermal control system for the European Student Earth Orbiter (ESEO) satellite. A detailed thermal model was created in Thermal Desktop software. The model was running for the operative phase which includes cycles of 28 orbits. During these 28 orbits, there are several modes (10 modes). Each mode has a specific duration, attitude (Sun-nadir), and certain internal heat dissipation. The design of the passive thermal control system was based on controlling the conductive and radiative heat exchange between the internal components and the mounting panels, between panels themselves, and controlling external radiation exchange to achieve the desired components temperature ranges. The temperature results from simulations were presented to show the expected component temperatures and to demonstrate that the passive thermal control system met the requirements of the temperature limits. The final passive thermal control design shows that the satellite components temperatures were always maintained within their required limits during the operational phase

Performing Energy-Efficient Pick-and-Place Motions for High-Speed Robots by using Variable Stiffness Springs

Typically, for pick-and-place robots operating at high speeds, an enormous amount of energy is lost during the robot braking phase. This is due to the fact that, during such operational phase, most of the energy is dissipated as heat on the braking resistances of the motor drivers. In order to increase the energy-efficiency during the high-speed pick-and-place cycles, this paper investigates the use of variable stiffness springs (VSS) in parallel configuration with the motors. These springs store the energy during the braking phase, instead of dissipating it. The energy is then released to actuate the robot in a next displacement phase. This design approach is combined with a motion generator which seeks to optimize trajectories for input torques reduction (and thus of energy consumption), through solving a boundary value problem (BVP) based on the robot dynamics. Experimental results of the suggested approach on a five-bar mechanism show the drastic reduction of input torques, and therefore of energetic losses.

Magnetic configuration scans during divertor operation of Wendelstein 7-X

Wendelstein 7-X (Greifswald, Germany) is an advanced stellarator, which uses the modular coil concept to realize a magnetic configuration optimized for fusion-relevant plasma properties. The magnet system of the machine allows a variation of the rotational transform (iota) at the boundary. In the latest Wendelstein 7-X operational phase a dedicated configuration scan has been performed varying the rotational transform between magnetic configurations with iota=5/4 and iota=5/5 at the boundary. This paper presents an overview of the experiments and of the main results with respect to confinement and stability. The main observation is an increase of the plasma energy in several intermediate configurations of the scan when the 5/5-islands are close to the plasma boundary but still inside the last-closed-flux-surface. In addition, these configurations showed marked MHD-activity with a crashing behavior related to the 5/5-islands. The corresponding mode amplitude was correlated with the size of the internal 5/5 islands.

Erosion of tungsten marker layers in W7-X

In order to get first insight into net tungsten erosion in W7-X, tungsten (W) marker layers were exposed during the operational phase OP 1.2b at one position of the Test Divertor Unit (TDU), at 21 different positions of the inner heat shield, and at two scraper elements. The maximum tungsten erosion rate at the TDU strike line was 0.13 nm/s averaged over the whole campaign. The erosion was inhomogeneous on a microscopic scale, with higher erosion on ridges of the rough surface inclined towards the plasma and deposition of hydrocarbon layers in the recessed areas of the rough surface. The W erosion at the inner heat shield was below the detection limit of 3 – 6x1012 W-atoms/cm2s, and all inner heat shield tiles were covered with a thin B/C/O layer with thickness in the range 2x1017 – 1018 B + C atoms/cm2 (about 20 – 100 nm B + C). W-erosion of the marker layers on the scraper elements was also below the detection limit.

Training needs assessment: identification of competence fields for the dismantling of nuclear power plants

The dismantling of nuclear facilities is a continuous process of change encompassing the complete site. Thereby, the focus changes from a stable and standardized operational phase to a situation characterized by constant changes in the facility as well as in the facility organization. Thus, employees and managers are confronted with a markedly changed working environment: processes and methods must be continuously re-evaluated and adapted, qualification requirements change or shift and new interfaces emerge. Furthermore, compared to the operational phase, the regulatory depth is reduced, decisions must be made faster and more flexible and the mode of operation changes from hierarchically organized routine standard operational procedures to an efficiency-orientated project-based mode of operation with limited resources at the same time. To make dismantling efficient and safe, this change should be actively managed by a change project in terms of the human technology organization approach (MTO approach, Strohm and Ulich, 1999). Against this background, our BMBF-funded collaboration project (“Die Kompetenzen von Führungskräften und MitarbeiterInnen für den Rückbau stärken – Rückbaukompetenzen”; funding number 15S9426A) aims to identify the dismantling-related requirement changes and the associated competence shifts as well as to develop and support the changed roles of managers and employees by scientifically based training (Goldstein and Ford, 2002; IAEA, 1998). Thereby, seminar-based training (knowledge-based and demonstration-based, e.g., Sitzmann and Weinhardt, 2019) will be complemented by exercise-based and experience-based training (Cannon-Bowers and Bowers, 2010) with multimodal mixed reality applications, which allow experience-based learning with the help of virtual reality-based representations (via data glasses, tablet or PC) and can be adapted to the individual usage and learning style preferences of the trainees. The training will be developed and implemented in cooperation with our project partner GfS (Gesellschaft für Simulatorschulung mbH). After project completion, the GfS will provide the training to nuclear power plant operators and, if necessary, develop them so that a sustainable contribution to the preservation of the specialized knowledge in the nuclear energy sector is achieved. To identify the needs for dismantling-relevant training objectives and competencies in the first step, a document analysis (safety alerts and monthly reports from our project partner PreussenElektra GmbH and over 500 reportable incidents from 28 nuclear power plants from 2012–2020), as well as 10 expert interviews, were conducted. The document analysis was used to investigate the incidents for (1) differences between operational phase and decommission, (2) differences in events between in-house and contractor personnel and to identify the incidents with the highest frequencies. The objective of the expert interviews was the qualitative context analysis as well as the identification of dismantling-relevant competence fields. The analysis allowed us to identify nine dismantling-related competence fields for employees and managers and a further three specifically for managers. These 12 competence fields will be discussed and defined in more detail in further interviews with approximately 20 managers and 30 employees. Based on these findings, training objectives will be formulated and training content designed. The presentation outlines the analysis described above as well as the identified fields of competence and sketches the further procedure of the collaborative project.

A Study of Maintenance-Related Education in Swedish Engineering Programs

Engineers of today require a holistic understanding of the lifecycle of products and processes, from conceptualization to operations. Maintenance and reliability are areas receiving increased attention due to the contribution to sustainable industry practices. The related literature describes ways to strengthen the education with respect to curricula and teaching, but studies on the extent and content of maintenance-related education in engineering programs are lacking. The purpose of this study is to describe the maintenance-related education content in Swedish engineering programs. The main objects of study are the curricula and courses of engineering programs in Sweden. In total, 123 Bachelor of Engineering and 119 Master of Engineering programs were studied, as well as 36 maintenance-related courses. It was found that 12% of the engineering programs include one or more maintenance-related course, either mandatory or elective. On the Master of Engineering level, only 4% of the programs include mandatory maintenance-related courses. The corresponding number for Bachelor of Engineering programs is 15%. The courses are typically of 6–7.5 credits, but as low as under one credit worth of maintenance-related content is seen, as well as two specialized programs offering up to 60 credits. Of the 36 courses, 20 have a distinct maintenance focus, 2 are degree thesis courses, and 2 are within reliability engineering, while the rest have a focus in other areas. The lack of maintenance-related education makes future engineers less prepared to make good decisions and judgments that might affect the operational phase of the product or system.

Legacy Field Upgrades - Production Control System Lessons Learnt

This paper describes examples of functionality and equipment limitations encountered during the subsea field operational phase, and practical solutions to eliminate the limitations. It addresses changes and upgrades required to hydraulic, chemical and electric infrastructure. Modifications and upgrades, such as retrofit sensors, retrofit electric actuators, bypass connections and digital soutions are described. How a holistic obsolescence strategy can modernize the subsea functionality and let different generation systems coexist is further described.

DESIGN FOR RESILIENT HUMAN-SYSTEM INTERACTION IN AUTONOMY: THE CASE OF A SHORE CONTROL CENTRE FOR UNMANNED SHIPS

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we interact with vehicles. We examine the case of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), which are emerging as a safer and more effective solution for maritime transportation. Despite the focus on autonomy, humans are predicted to have a central role in MASS operations from a Shore Control Centre (SCC). Here, operators will provide back-up control in the event of system failure. There are signification design challenges with such a system. The most critical is human-system interaction in autonomy (H-SIA). We consider humans as the source of resilience in the system for adapting to unexpected events and managing safety. We ask, can Human-Centred Design (HCD) be used to create resilient interactions between MASS and SCC? Work has been done in resilience engineering for complex systems but has not been extended to H-SIA in transportation. “Resilient interaction design” is relevant as we progress from design to operational phase. We adopted the ISO 9421-210 guideline to structure our HCD approach. The result is an SCC designed for 1 Autonomy Operator (AO). The contribution is a demonstration of how resilient interaction design may lead to safer and more effective H-SIA in transportation.