Engineering Commons^™

Feed‐In Tariff Design For Domestic Scale Grid‐Connected Pv Systems Using High Resolution Household Electricity Demand Data, Lacour Ayompe, Aidan Duffy

Articles

The advent of large samples of smart metering data allows policymakers to design Feed‐in Tariffs which are more targeted and efficient. This paper presents a methodology which uses these data to design FITs for domestic scale gridconnected PV systems in Ireland. A sample of 2,551 household electricity demand data collected at ½‐hourly intervals, electricity output from a 2.82 kWp PV system over the same time interval as well as PV system costs and electricity tariffs were used to determine the required FIT to make it worthwhile for the households to invest in the PV system. The methodology shows that it …

Small Wind Turbines In Turbulent (Urban) Environments: A Consideration Of Normal And Weibull Distributions For Power Prediction, Keith Sunderland, Thomas Woolmington, Jonathan Blackledge, Michael Conlon

Articles

The urban terrain and the associated morphological complexities therein, present significant challenges for the deployment of small wind turbines. In particular, a considerable amount of uncertainty is attributable to the lack of understanding concerning how turbulence within urban environments affects turbine productivity. Current wind turbine power output measurements (particularly for small/micro wind turbines) are based on an average wind speed over an observation period; with limited accountability of the variability of wind speed within the observation time frame. This paper however, presents two models that can instead accurately consider such wind speed variation and how it affects the turbine, based …

Sequential Structural And Fluid Dynamics Analysis Of Balloon-Expandable Coronary Stents., David Martin

Doctoral

As in-stent restenosis following coronary stent deployment has been strongly linked with stent-induced arterial injury and altered vessel hemodynamics, the sequential numerical analysis of the mechanical and hemodynamic impact of stent deployment within a coronary artery is likely to provide an excellent indication of coronary stent performance. Despite this observation, very few numerical studies have considered both the mechanical and hemodynamic impact of stent deployment. In light of this observation, the aim of this research is to develop a robust numerical methodology for investigating the performance of balloon-expandable coronary stents in terms of their mechanical and hemodynamic impact within a …

Footwear Antennas For Body Area Telemetry, Domenico Gaetano, Patrick Mcevoy, Max Ammann, Jacinta Browne, Louise Keating, Frances Horgan

Articles

Antennas designed to link footwear sensors within body centric networks are introduced with two small UWB antennas, one directional and another quasi-omnidirectional. The radiating characteristics are evaluated for three positions on a sample sports shoe using a detailed simulation model and measurements with a homogenous foot phantom. Antenna performance is assessed for resilience to close proximity loading by the footwear materials and the phantom foot.

Non-Negative Matrix Factorization Based Algorithms To Cluster Frequency Basis Functions For Monaural Sound Source Separation., Rajesh Jaiswal

Doctoral

Monophonic sound source separation (SSS) refers to a process that separates out audio signals produced from the individual sound sources in a given acoustic mixture, when the mixture signal is recorded using one microphone or is directly recorded onto one reproduction channel. Many audio applications such as pitch modification and automatic music transcription would benefit from the availability of segregated sound sources from the mixture of audio signals for further processing. Recently, Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) has found application in monaural audio source separation due to its ability to factorize audio spectrograms into additive part-based basis functions, where the parts …

Dual Band Lte Planar Inverted-F Antenna For M2m Applications, Abraham Loutridis, Matthias John, Max Ammann

Articles

A Planar Inverted-F Antenna for M2M applications is presented. The antenna is located on a rectangular ground plane and operates across both LTE frequency bands (690-960 MHz) and (1710-2690 MHz). The low cost antenna has omni-directional characteristics. The efficiency is better than 86% in both bands and the gain is more than 1.38 dBi across the whole frequency range. A parametric study of key geometrical parameters is reported.

A Model For Transforming Engineering Education Through Group Learning, Shannon Chance, Gavin Duffy, Brian Bowe, Mike Murphy, Tony Duggan

Conference papers

Electrical engineering educators at Technological University Dublin (DIT) have successfully implemented pedagogical change. They now use group-based, student-centered and inquiry-driven approaches to teach emerging engineers. The objective of this was to foster students’ personal as well as professional skills (i.e., teamwork, communication, self-directed learning, etc.). This paper explores how such change was achieved and provides graphic models that draw from prior phenomenological studies and incorporates aspects of Rogers’ (1962) product adoption curve and Lowe’s (2012) interpretations of it.

Merging Creative Design And Cad Learning Activities In A Product Design Programme, Pearl O'Rourke, Colm O'Kane, Leslie Smith, Michael Ring

Conference Papers

Traditional learning and teaching methods for creativity differ from those used in a scientific context. Although the creative process can benefit from a certain level of prescription and structural constraint - with time allocated to research, problem definition, conceptualisation and idea development - flexibility and fluidity are necessary for creative innovation. In contrast, the more linear and rigid pedagogies associated with science and engineering education facilitate efficient learning of subjects such as those based on software packages, manufacturing and materials theory or mechanics. This paper describes the development of a project which aims to establish constructive links between the learning …

Issues In Organisation And Management Of Multidisciplinary Group Design Projects, Ken Keating, Claire Brougham, Graham Gavin, Ger Reilly

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Eu-Optimus – A Case Study Of A Holistic Systems-Approach Pedagogy In Technology Education, Ciara Ahern, Mark Mcgrath

Conference papers

Engineers and product designers are concerned with the design, development, implementation and operation of a wide range of systems. If a system is to perform optimally, all of the component parts must communicate and cooperate effectively. Technologists must therefore have an appreciation for both, the functionality of a single component of that system and the interoperability, or impact of that component within the context of the system. Scientific first principles underpin all aspects of technical education. The application of scientific knowledge at component level impacts at system level. Practical or laboratory-based activity has long been used as a complimentary pedagogy …

Judging Emotion From Low-Pass Filtered Naturalistic Emotional Speech, John Snel, Charlie Cullen

Conference papers

In speech, low frequency regions play a significant role in paralinguistic communication such as the conveyance of emotion or mood. The extent to which lower frequencies signify or contribute to affective speech is still an area for investigation. To investigate paralinguistic cues, and remove interference from linguistic cues, researchers can low-pass filter the speech signal on the assumption that certain acoustic cues characterizing affect are still discernible. Low-pass filtering is a practical technique to investigate paralinguistic phenomena, and is used here to investigate the inference of naturalistic emotional speech. This paper investigates how listeners perceive the level of Activation, and …

Grid-Tie Arrangements For Micro-Generation Under En50438; An Irish Evaluation, Liam Murphy

Conference papers

This paper explores the significance of EN50438 as the standard governing the grid-connection of micro-generation to the distribution network. In the context of micro-generation, EN50438 therefore governs the inverter requirement associated with the majority of micro-generation. Another consideration presented in this research is findings and analysis related to the manufacturers stated efficiency of a grid-tied inverter connected to a Photovoltaic (PV) array in Dublin City Centre, Ireland.

Small-Scale Wind Turbines: An Appraisal, Tony Kealy

Conference Papers

This research seeks to evaluate the economic benefits to be gained by installing a small-scale wind turbine for a customer with a three-phase electrical supply requirement. The evidence for the claims made in this paper is obtained by using actual data obtained from the installed equipment over a three year period. The objective is to accurately appraise the financial investment using real data. There appears to be limited studies conducted into this type of research, possibly because the renewable energy sector is in the infancy stage in the host country, Ireland. There are some wind energy installations with financial appraisal …

Do Middle Managers Contribute To Their Organisation's Strategy?, Tony Kealy

Conference Papers

This paper presents an empirical study on the contribution made by middle managers to the development of strategy in an organisation. The data was collected using semi-structured interviews with four managers in randomly-chosen companies. Two of the participant managers held senior management positions while the other two held middle manager positions. The data was analysed using a qualitative approach. Previous studies in this field were found to be wide and varied. An early study by Mintzberg (1978) found that strategy mainly forms from emergent influences at middle and lower levels of the organisation, as well as from deliberate influences emanating …

Assessing The Benefits Of Compressed Air Energy Storage On The 2020 Irish Power System, Brendan Cleary, Aidan Duffy, Alan O'Connor, Michael Conlon, Vasilis Fthenakis

Conference Papers

Power systems have evolved as countries implement energy policies focusing on energy efficiency and increased share of renewable energy sources (RES). At the forefront is non-dispatchable generation such as wind and solar. Traditionally power systems were designed for fully dispatchable generating plant. However, these powers systems are under additional pressure due to the variable operational characteristics of RES. Consequently, capital investments in grid reinforcement, interconnection, additional gas generators and smart grid initiatives have been proposed and implemented. Moreover, an increased interest in energy storage technologies has evolved due to their various economic and operational benefits to power systems. Current compressed …

Solar Photovoltaic Water Pumping For Multiple Use Systems (Mus) In Nepal, Fintan Mcloughlin, Aidan Duffy, Michael Conlon

Conference Papers

This paper investigates the performance of five solar photovoltaic (PV) Multiple Use Systems (MUS) used for water pumping. The solar MUS’s provide water for drinking, cleaning and micro-irrigation for some of the poorest communities in Nepal. In the absence of data logging, the performance of each system is investigated based on a series of rules of thumb to determine the predicted, expected and estimated demand and supply of water to small rural communities. The systems are compared based on their technical and economic performance and how this relates to local environmental, physical and socioeconomic characteristics at each location.

Maximising Value Of Electrical Networks For Wave Energy Converter Arrays, Fergus Sharkey, Elva Bannon, Michael Conlon, Kevin Gaughan

Articles

Currently there are the beginnings of a commercial wave energy industry and the ultimate ambition will be to deploy Wave Energy Converters (WECs) in arrays, or wave farms, in a similar fashion to offshore wind. These arrays will require electrical networks to collect and export the generated electrical power to shore and onto the electrical grid. For large scale wind farms the inter-array and export electrical networks can represent more than 20% of the project’s capital expenditure. Submarine power cables account for a large proportion of this cost. The same is expected to be the same for WEC arrays.

This …

Urban Deployment Of Small Wind Turbines: Power, Performance And Turbulence, Keith Sunderland, Thomas Woolmington, Michael Conlon, Jonathan Blackledge

Conference papers

The urban terrain and the associated topographical complexities therein, present significant challenges to the deployment of small wind turbines. In particular, a considerable amount of uncertainty is attributable to the lack of understanding concerning how turbulence within urban environments affects turbine productivity. This paper considers how the industry standard metric, turbulence intensity (TI), in conjunction with the power characteristic of a 2.5kW wind turbine, can be employed to estimate turbine power performance. The research presented here considers the potential productivity of a wind turbine installation at two sites in (urban and suburban) Dublin, Ireland where the prevalent turbulence at both …

Advancing The Facilities Management Process In Ireland Through The Implementation Of Building Information Modelling Within The Public Sector, Barry Mcauley, Alan V. Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

It is widely accepted that it costs up to five times more to operate and maintain a building than to construct it. Despite this statistic the Irish construction sector has done little to move towards cutting edge technologies that will help in addressing this impact on life cycle cost. This is due partly to the fact that the Irish construction sector continues to operate in a depressed state. Despite this harsh reality Ireland must find a way to create a public sector that has a more energy efficient and enhanced physical environment in which to operate without sacrificing user thermal …

Design And Development Of A Low Cost Platform To Facilitate Post-Stroke Rehabilitation Of The Elbow/Shoulder Region, Stephen Curran

Masters

For post-stroke rehabilitation of the upper limbs, increased amounts of therapy are directly related to improved rehabilitation outcomes. As such, a low cost therapy platform is proposed suitable for facilitating active therapy and administering activeassist therapy to the shoulder/elbow region of the upper limbs of individuals post-stroke in a local clinic or domestic setting. Enabling a person to undergo intensive rehabilitation therapy outside of a rehabilitation hospital setting permits the amount of therapy administered to be maximised. While studies have shown that technological approaches to post-stroke rehabilitation do not produce better outcomes than equal amounts of traditional therapy in a …

Impacts On The Electrical System Economics From Critical Design Factors Of Wave Energy Converters And Arrays, Fergus Sharkey, Michael Conlon, Kevin Gaughan

Conference papers

It is expected that ultimately, like offshore wind farms, electrical systems will make up to a quarter of the overall Capex of wave farms. This is a significant element of cost and consideration must be taken in the design of both individual wave energy converters (WECs) and arrays of WECs to ensure that these costs can be minimised. In a worst case scenario design decisions could increase the cost of the electrical system by several orders and ultimately make the technology uncompetitive.

This paper outlines the impacts on the cost of the electrical system arising from design factors of WECs …

The Domestic And Export Market For Large Scale Wave Energy In Ireland And The Economics Of Export Transmission, Fergus Sharkey, Kevin Honer, Michael Conlon, Kevin Gaughan, Emma Robinson

Conference papers

Ireland is on track to meet its 2020 renewable energy targets with over 2 GW of onshore wind installed in the all island market as of 2013, and a multiple of this capacity in various stages of planning and development. It is currently unclear how much of this potential capacity will ultimately be installed but it has become clear that the wind industry in Ireland will change focus to export opportunities post 2020. This presents some interesting challenges for wave energy in Ireland.

There is some early activity in the installation of wave farms off the west coast of Ireland …

Making An Impact On Vertebral Compression Fractures, Philip Purcell, Stephen Tiernan, Fiona Mcevoy, Magdalena Tyndyk, Seamus Morris

Other Resources

Spinal fractures constitute one of the most prevalent injuries to the human skeletal system with approximately 1.4 million fractures per annum worldwide. Treatments for these injuries have evolved from simple bed rest through to the intricacy of modern minimally invasive surgery. Balloon kyphoplasty is one such treatment that uses a balloon to decompress collapsed vertebra, followed by injection of bone cement to stabilise the fracture. Recent research has correlated a ‘halo’ feature on kyphoplasty patient x-rays with a 78% re-collapse rate. The present work documents a new method of mechanical analysis to evaluate balloon kyphoplasty and explores alterations to current …

Analysis Of The Thermal Performance Of A Solar Water Heating System With Flat Plate Collectors In A Temperate Climate, Lacour Ayompe, Aidan Duffy

Articles

The thermal performance of a solar water heating system with 4 m² flat plate collectors in Dublin, Ireland is presented in this paper. The experimental setup consisted of a commercially available forced circulation domestic scale system fitted with an automated sub‐system that controlled hot water draw‐offs and the operation of an auxiliary immersion heater. The system was tested over a year and the maximum recorded collector outlet fluid temperature was 70.4 ^oC while the maximum water temperature at the bottom of the hot water tank was 59.9 ^oC. The annual average daily energy collected was 19.6 MJ/d, …

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Force Sensing Surgical Scissor Blades Using Fibre Bragg Grating Sensors, Dean Callaghan

Doctoral

This thesis considers the development and analysis of unique sensorised surgical scissor blades for application in minimally invasive robotic surgery (MIRS). The lack of haptic (force and tactile) feedback to the user is currently an unresolved issue with modern MIRS systems. This thesis presents details on smart sensing scissor blades which enable the measurement of instrument-tissue interaction forces for the purpose of force reflection and tissue property identification. A review of current literature established that there exists a need for small compact, biocompatible, sterilisable and robust sensors which meet the demands of current MIRS instruments. Therefore, the sensorised blades exploit …

Dual Circularly-Polarized Patch Antenna Using Even And Odd Feed-Line Modes, Adam Narbudowicz, Xiulong Bao, Max Ammann

Articles

This paper proposes a new patch antenna with dual circularly polarized capability at 2.575 GHz. The design exploits the even and odd modes in a coplanar waveguide transmission line and enables simultaneous right- and left-handed circular polarization, with two individual excitation ports. A patch antenna is fed by multimode transmission line and the advantages and disadvantages are discussed. A prototyped antenna realized up to 20 dB isolation between ports with S21 < -10dB bandwidth of 87 MHz. Realized gains for the two modes of operation are 5.77 and 7.23 dBic. The proposed structure is compact and easy to manufacture.

Single-Mode Tunable Laser Emission In The Single-Exciton Regime From Colloidal Nanocrystals, Christos Grivas, Chunyong Li, Peristera Andreakou, Pengfei Wang, Ming Ding, Gilberto Brambilla, Liberato Manna, Pavlos Lagoudakis

Articles

Whispering-gallery-mode resonators have been extensively used in conjunction with different materials for the development of a variety of photonic devices. Among the latter, hybrid structures, consisting of dielectric microspheres and colloidal core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals as gain media, have attracted interest for the development of microlasers and studies of cavity quantum electrodynamic effects. Here we demonstrate single-exciton, single-mode, spectrally tuned lasing from ensembles of optical antenna-designed, colloidal core/shell CdSe/CdS quantum rods deposited on silica microspheres. We obtain singleexciton emission by capitalizing on the band structure of the specific core/shell architecture that strongly localizes holes in the core, and the two-dimensional quantum …

The Role Of Third Party Logistics Providers (3pls) In The Adoption Of Green Supply Chain Initiatives, Edward Sweeney, Pietro Evangelista, Maria Huge-Brodin, Karin Isaksson

Practitioner Journals

The increasing importance of environmental sustainability has sharpened the focus on the need for innovative approaches to the purchasing of transport and logistics services. This article points out some of the challenges that purchasers of transport and logistics services, as well as their suppliers in the third party logistics (3PL) industry, are facing. These include the need for closer collaboration between 3PLs and their customers, as well as developing systems for the robust assessment of the environmental sustainability of services. The article is based on several years’ research experience inIreland,ItalyandSweden.

Aspen Plus Simulation Of Biomass Gasification In A Steam Blown Dual Fluidised Bed, Wayne Doherty, Anthony Reynolds, David Kennedy

Book/Book Chapters

The efficient utilisation of biomass resources is of utmost importance. Biomass gasification offers much higher efficiencies than combustion. Gasification is a process in which a fuel is converted to a combustible gas (syngas). A dual fluidised bed gasifier known as the fast internally circulating fluidised bed (FICFB) was selected. It has been demonstrated at industrial scale and data is readily available for model validation. An Aspen Plus model was developed to simulate the FICFB gasifier. The model is based on Gibbs free energy minimisation and the restricted equilibrium method was used to calibrate it. The model has been validated and …