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Explicit Size-Reduction-Oriented Design of a Compact Microstrip Rat-Race Coupler Using Surrogate-Based Optimization Methods
PublicationIn this paper, an explicit size reduction of a compact rat-race coupler implemented in a microstrip technology is considered. The coupler circuit features a simple topology with a densely arranged layout that exploits a combination of high- and low-impedance transmission line sections. All relevant dimensions of the structure are simultaneously optimized in order to explicitly reduce the coupler size while maintaining equal power...
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Framework for Structural Health Monitoring of Steel Bridges by Computer Vision
PublicationThe monitoring of a structural condition of steel bridges is an important issue. Good condition of infrastructure facilities ensures the safety and economic well-being of society. At the same time, due to the continuous development, rising wealth of the society and socio-economic integration of countries, the number of infrastructural objects is growing. Therefore, there is a need to introduce an easy-to-use and relatively low-cost...
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Parametric optimization of sandwich composite footbridge with U-shaped cross-section
PublicationParametric optimization of sandwich composite footbridge was presented in the paper. Composite footbridge has 14,5 m long and has U-shaped cross-section with inner dimensions 2,6 × 1,3 m. The sandwich structure in made from GFRP laminate as a faces and PET foam as a core. The aim of analysis was to minimize the mass of the new footbridge that can lead to minimize the cost of structure. After optimization was conducted, the new...
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Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Two-Stage Concrete and Conventional Concrete Using Nondestructive Tests
PublicationDifferent types of concrete mixtures are used as building materials. The manufacturing process of two-stage concrete (TSC) differs from that of conventional concrete. This study investigated conventional mechanical properties derive empirical relations for estimation of the mechanical parameters of TSC and conventional concrete mixtures. TSC was used to prepare 216 specimens and conventional concrete was used to prepare 108 specimens...
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In-Situ Processing of Biocomposites via Reactive Extrusion
PublicationLaw regulations, economic and environmental factors are the main causes for the rapidly growing interests in biocomposites’ research, conducted currently in a number of academic and industrial scientific centers. However, weak polymer matrix/filler interactions, common in biocomposites, result in unsatisfactory mechanical properties, which limit their practical applications. From many attempts performed to solve this problem, in-situ...
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Cancer-selective, single agent chemoradiosensitising gold nanoparticles
PublicationTwo nanometre gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), bearing sugar moieties and/or thiol-polyethylene glycol-amine (PEG-amine), were synthesised and evaluated for their in vitro toxicity and ability to radiosensitise cells with 220 kV and 6 MV X-rays, using four cell lines representing normal and cancerous skin and breast tissues. Acute 3 h exposure of cells to AuNPs, bearing PEG-amine only or a 50:50 ratio of alpha-galactose derivative and...
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Mathematical models of process quality on the example of the bakery industry
PublicationThis article presents a new approach to quantitative dimensionless assessment of the efficiency and competitiveness of production processes. New concepts of process quality and relative product quality have been introduced. Process quality was expressed in vector and scalar. The process quality vector ono was expressed by the product of reliability by the vector from the sum of three components taking into account the composition...
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Progress in development of molecularly imprinted polymers as sorbents for sample preparation
PublicationSample preparation has been one of the most often investigated steps in analytical procedures.These investigations are focused on problems such as isolation of analytes from the sample matrix, matrix implification, analyte enrichment to the level above the detection limit of the instrumentation used, and the removal of interfering species to improve the final determination. Techniques based on solid (adsorption) and pseudo liquid...
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Optimal Placement of Phasor Measurement Unit in Power System using Meta-Heuristic Algorithms
PublicationThe phasor measurement units (PMUs) play an important and vital role in power system monitoring and controlling, since they provide the power system phasors stamped with a common real time reference through a global positioning system (GPS). Indeed, from economical point of view it is not possible to set PMUs in all system buses due to the high cost and the requirement of more complex communication...
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Fast service restoration under shared protection at lightpath level in survivable WDM mesh grooming networks
PublicationW artykule zaproponowano nowe podejście do optymalizacji rozdziału zasobów w przeżywalnych sieciach optycznych z agregacją strumieni ruchu. Zaproponowana metoda bazuje na wierzchołkowym kolorowaniu grafu konfliktów. Jest pierwszym podejściem, dedykowanym sieciom optycznym z agregację strumieni ruchu z pełną zdolnością do konwersji długości fal, która nie powoduje wydłużenia ściezek zabezpieczjących, a więc zapewnia szybkie odtwarzanie...
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Recovery and re-use of photovoltaic solar cells from crystalline silicon
PublicationCrystalline silicon-type PV modules consist, in order of mass, of glass, an aluminium frame, an EVA coating, solar cells, a terminal box, back film and tapping screws. From the economic point of view, pure silicon, recoverable from spent cells, is the most important material owing to its cost and shortage. For crystalline, silicon-based PV cells, the following chemical treatments were performed: removal of the metal coating, followed...
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Constrained aerodynamic shape optimization using neural networks and sequential sampling
PublicationAerodynamic shape optimization (ASO) involves computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based search for an optimal aerodynamic shape such as airfoils and wings. Gradient-based optimization (GBO) with adjoints can be used efficiently to solve ASO problems with many design variables, but problems with many constraints can still be challenging. The recently created efficient global optimization algorithm with neural network (NN)-based prediction...
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Speed sensorless induction motor drive with predictive current controller
PublicationToday, speed sensorless modes of operation are becoming standard solutions in the area of electric drives. This paper presents a speed sensorless control system of an induction motor with a predictive current controller. A closed-loop estimation system with robustness against motor parameter variation is used for the control approach. The proposed algorithm has been implemented using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and a...
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Novel stationary phases based on asphaltenes for gas chromatography
PublicationWe present the results of investigations on the possibility of the application of the asphaltene fraction isolated from the oxidized residue from vacuum distillation of crude oil as a stationary phase for gas chromatography. The results of the investigation revealed that the asphaltene stationary phases can find use for the separation of a wide range of volatile organic compounds. The experimental values of Rohrschneider/McReynolds...
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Efficient Multi-Fidelity Design Optimization of Microwave Filters Using Adjoint Sensitivity
PublicationA simple and robust algorithm for computationally efficient design optimiza-tion of microwave filters is presented. Our approach exploits a trust-region (TR)-based algorithm that utilizes linear approximation of the filter response obtained using adjoint sensitivity. The algorithm is sequentially executed on a family of electromagnetic (EM)-simulated models of different fidelities, starting from a coarse-discretization one, and...
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Comparison of selected algorithms for scheduling workflow applications with dynamically changing service availability
PublicationThis paper compares the quality and execution times of several algorithms for scheduling service based workflow applications with changeable service availability and parameters. A workflow is defined as an acyclic directed graph with nodes corresponding to tasks and edges to dependencies between tasks. For each task, one out of several available services needs to be chosen and scheduled to minimize the workflow execution time and...
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Extraction with environmentally friendly solvents
PublicationThe ever-increasing demand for determining compounds at low concentration levels in complex matrices requires a preliminary step of analytes isolation/enrichment in order to employ a detection technique characterized by high sensitivity at low LOQ. Sample preparation is considered as crucial part of analytical procedures. Previously the parameter of “greenness” is as important as selectivity in order to avoid using harmful organic...
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Towards improved energy efficiency of future smart ships by application of advanced CFD simulations – case study
PublicationThe international trade plays crucial role in today’s globally developed world’s economy. Many people are unaware of the unimaginable volume of cargo being transported every year by oceans and seas. For most of the time invisible from land the shipping industry preserves its strong position of the most cost-efficient and environmental friendly mean of transport. However during last years the shipping industry is under great pressure...
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Modification of thermal and rheological characteristics of bitumen by waste PET/GTR blends
PublicationWaste poly(ethylene terephthalate) (wPET)/ground tire rubber (GTR) blends with variable compositions were applied as low-cost modifiers into bitumen and their performance has been evaluated via morphological, thermal and rheological analyses. Depending on the weight ratio of wPET/GTR, dispersion of single/composite domains of waste polymers in the bitumen has promoted the interaction between bitumen and blend components. Fourier...
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Supervised model predictive control of wastewater treatment plant
PublicationAn optimizing control of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), allowing for cost savings over long time period and fulfilling effluent discharge limits at the same time, requires application of advanced control techniques. Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a very suitable control technology for a synthesis of such a truly multivariable controller that can handle constraints and accommodate model-based knowledge combined with hard...
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Multiobjective Aerodynamic Optimization by Variable-Fidelity Models and Response Surface Surrogates
PublicationA computationally efficient procedure for multiobjective design optimization with variable-fidelity models and response surface surrogates is presented. The proposed approach uses the multiobjective evolutionary algorithm that works with a fast surrogate model, obtained with kriging interpolation of the low-fidelity model data enhanced by space-mapping correction exploiting a few high-fidelity training points. The initial Pareto...
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Three levels of fail-safe mode in MPI I/O NVRAM distributed cache
PublicationThe paper presents architecture and design of three versions for fail-safe data storage in a distributed cache using NVRAM in cluster nodes. In the first one, cache consistency is assured through additional buffering write requests. The second one is based on additional write log managers running on different nodes. The third one benefits from synchronization with a Parallel File System (PFS) for saving data into a new file which...
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Pose-Invariant Face Detection by Replacing Deep Neurons with Capsules for Thermal Imagery in Telemedicine
PublicationAbstract— The aim of this work was to examine the potential of thermal imaging as a cost-effective tool for convenient, non- intrusive remote monitoring of elderly people in different possible head orientations, without imposing specific behavior on users, e.g. looking toward the camera. Illumination and pose invariant head tracking is important for many medical applications as it can provide information, e.g. about vital signs, sensory...
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Inverse modeling for fast design optimization of small-size rat-race couplers incorporating compact cells
PublicationIn the paper, a framework for computationally-efficient design optimization of compact rat-race couplers (RRCs) is discussed. A class of hybrid RRCs with variable operating conditions is investigated, whose size reduction is obtained by replacing ordinary transmission lines with compact microstrip resonant cells (CMRCs). Our approach employs a bottom-up design strategy leading to the development of compact RRCs through rapid design...
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Performance‐driven modeling of compact couplers in restricted domains
PublicationFast surrogate models can play an important role in reducing the cost of EM-driven design closure of miniaturized microwave components. Unfortunately, construction of such models is challenging due to curse of dimensionality and wide range of geometry parameters that need to be included in order to make it practically useful. In this letter, a novel approach to design-oriented modeling of compact couplers is presented. Our method...
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Evaluation of the Commercial Electrochemical Gas Sensors for the Monitoring of CO in Ambient Air
PublicationAir pollution is a growing concern of civilized world, which has a significant impact on human health and the environment. Recent studies highlight that the exposure to polluted air can increase the incidence of diseases and deteriorate the quality of life. Hence, it is necessary to develop tools for real-time air quality monitoring. For air pollution monitoring a wide range of stationary gas and particulate analysers can be used....
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Design-Oriented Constrained Modeling of Antenna Structures
PublicationFast surrogate models are crucially important to reduce the cost of design process of antenna structures. Due to curse of dimensionality, standard (data-driven) modeling methods exhibit serious limitations concerning the number of independent geometry parameters that can be handled but also (and even more importantly) their parameter ranges. In this work, a design-oriented modeling framework is proposed in which the surrogate is...
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Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Materials as Substrates for Fermentation Processes
PublicationLignocellulosic biomass is an abundant and renewable resource that potentially contains large amounts of energy. It is an interesting alternative for fossil fuels, allowing the production of biofuels and other organic compounds. In this paper, a review devoted to the processing of lignocellulosic materials as substrates for fermentation processes is presented. The review focuses on physical, chemical, physicochemical, enzymatic,...
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Gelatin-Modified Polyurethanes for Soft Tissue Scaffold
PublicationRecently, in the field of biomaterials, which are being designed for soft tissue scaffolding, is growing the interest of their modification with natural polymers. Synthetic polymers are often hard, not easy to process and they do not possess fine biodegradable profile. From the other hand natural polymers are biocompatible, but weak when used alone. The combination of natural and synthetic polymers gives the suitable properties...
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A family of new generation miniaturized impedance analyzers for technical object diagnostics
PublicationThe paper presents the family of three analyzers allowing to measure impedance in range of 10 ohm<|Zx|<10 Gohm in a wide frequency range from 10 mHz up to 100 kHz. The most important features of the analyzers family are: miniaturization, low power consumption, low production cost, telemetric controlling and the use of impedance measurement method based on digital signal processing DSP. The miniaturization and other above mentioned...
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Low-coherence method of hematocrit measurement
PublicationDuring the last thirty years low-coherence measurement methods have gained popularity because of their unique advantages. Low-coherence interferometry, low-coherence reflectometry and low-coherence optical tomography offer resolution and dynamic range of measurement at the range of classical optical techniques. Moreover, they enable measurements of the absolute value of the optical path differences, which is still an unsolved problem...
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Integrated Photocatalytic Advanced Oxidation System (TiO2/UV/O3/H2O2) for Degradation of Volatile Organic Compounds
PublicationSeveral advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) including photocatalytic processes were studied for effective treatment of complex model wastewater containing a wide variety of VOCs. The studies revealed synergistic effects of TiO2 based processes for improved degradation of the VOCs. A peroxone combined with TiO2/UV system (TiO2/UV/O3/H2O2) with a ratio between the oxygen source from the oxidant to chemical oxygen demand (COD) of...
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Multi-Fidelity Local Surrogate Model for Computationally Efficient Microwave Component Design Optimization
PublicationIn order to minimize the number of evaluations of high-fidelity (“fine”) model in the optimization process, to increase the optimization speed, and to improve optimal solution accuracy, a robust and computational-efficient multi-fidelity local surrogate-model optimization method is proposed. Based on the principle of response surface approximation, the proposed method exploits the multi-fidelity coarse models and polynomial interpolation...
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Rapid redesign of multiband antennas with respect to operating conditions and material parameters of substrate
PublicationThis work addresses geometry parameter scaling of multi-band antennas for Internet of Things applications. The presented approach is comprehensive and permits re-design of the structure with respect to both the operating frequencies and material parameters of the dielectric substrate. A two-step procedure is developed with the initial design obtained from an inverse surrogate model constructed using a set of appropriately prepared...
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Quantifying Contextuality
PublicationContextuality is central to both the foundations of quantum theory and to the novel information processing tasks. Despite some recent proposals, it still faces a fundamental problem: how to quantify its presence? In this work, we provide a universal framework for quantifying contextuality. We conduct two complementary approaches: (i) the bottom-up approach, where we introduce a communication game, which grasps the phenomenon of...
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Arterial cannula shape optimization by means of the rotational firefly algorithm
PublicationThe article presents global optimization results of arterial cannula shapes by means of the newly modified firefly algorithm. The search for the optimal arterial cannula shape is necessary in order to minimize losses and prepare the flow that leaves the circulatory support system of a ventricle (i.e. blood pump) before it reaches the heart. A modification of the standard firefly algorithm, the so-called rotational firefly algorithm,...
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Expedited Gradient-Based Design Closure of Antennas Using Variable-Resolution Simulations and Sparse Sensitivity Updates
PublicationNumerical optimization has been playing an increasingly important role in the design of contemporary antenna systems. Due to the shortage of design-ready theoretical models, optimization is mainly based on electromagnetic (EM) analysis, which tends to be costly. Numerous techniques have evolved to abate this cost, including surrogate-assisted frameworks for global optimization, or sparse sensitivity updates for speeding up local...
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Development of Safirinium dyes for new applications: fluorescent staining of bacteria, human kidney cells, and the horny layer of the epidermis
PublicationLow-molecular synthetic fluorophores are convenient tools in bioimaging applications. Several derivatives of Safirinium dyes as well as their reactive N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) esters bearing diverse substituents were synthesized and evaluated experimentally in terms of their lipophilicity by means of reverse-phase and immobilized artificial membrane high-performance liquid chromatography. Subsequently, the selected compounds...
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Advances in analysis, quantification and modelling of N2O emission in SBRs under various DO set points
PublicationNitrous oxide (N2O), considered a major greenhouse gas (GHG) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), is produced during both nitrification and denitrification processes; hence, it needs to be controlled by internal and external strategies. Various factors, such as DO, temperature, and pH, could be incorporated into the mitigation of emissions in WWTPs. In this research, potential operational strategies were investigated in order...
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Numerical analysis of CO2-water separation in a horizontal double T-junction
PublicationCarbon dioxide is considered one of the main factors leading to global warming. Considering the significant impacts of CO2 on climate change, various technologies have been developed in recent decades to control carbon emission, such as for example CO2 capture and storage. The developed cycle of a negative CO2 emission power plant includes some devices, out of which, separator plays an indispensable role. To this end, T-junction...
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DIGITAL HYDRAULICS CIRCUIT BASED ON PWM FUNCTION FOR CONTROLLING HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR POSITION
PublicationHydraulic systems are used in many different industries, such as multi-source hydrostatic drive systems. In traditional hydraulic systems, a proportional servo valve is used to control the position of hydraulic actuators. The low energy efficiency and high cost of these control valves are two major problems with these systems. Digital hydraulics is one of the most unique ideas on how to solve these problems. Researchers like digital...
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Preparation and Properties of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Composites Filled with Powdered Buckwheat Husks
PublicationBio-based fillers for the polymer composites are still interesting from the scientific and industrial point of view, due to their low cost and renewable nature. In this work partially green composites were obtained by the mixing of thermoplastic poly(ester-urethane) with the unmodified and modified (by acetylation) grinded buckwheat husks. Obtained biocomposites were characterized in the terms of their chemical structure (FTIR),...
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Pressure-induced flow processing behind the superior mechanical properties and heat-resistance performance of poly(butylene succinate)
PublicationWe propose a pressure-induced flow (PIF) processing method for the simultaneous enhancement of strength, toughness, and heat resistance of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). The pressure and temperature were systematically adjusted to optimize the tensile strength of PBS. Under the optimized processing conditions, the structured PBS was characterized by relatively high strength of 89.5 MPa, toughness of 21.4 kJ·m−2 ,...
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Super tough interpenetrating polymeric network of styrene butadiene rubber‐poly (methyl methacrylate) incorporated with general purpose carbon black ( N660 )
PublicationA classic set of polymeric interpenetrating polymeric network (IPN) microcomposites has been fabricated using an elastomer—styrene butadiene rubber [SBR], a thermoplastic poly(methyl methacrylate)-PMMA and with carbon black (CB)-N660 as a filler and reinforcing agent. This synthesized IPN composite can be promisingly employed as a toughened plastic and vibrational damper in a wide service range with excellent thermal stability,...
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Gelatin and gelatin/starch-based films modified with sorbitol for wound healing
PublicationGelatin-based films modified with sorbitol were produced from gelatin solution or gelatin/starch blends using a simple and low-cost solvent casting method, and subsequently, their physicochemical, mechanical, and biocompatibility properties were characterized. This work focused on developing and optimizing a biopolymeric blend to improve the pure biopolymers’ properties for potential biomedical applications such as wound dressing....
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Magnetic superhydrophobic melamine sponges for crude oil removal from water
PublicationThis paper proposes the preparation of a new sorbent material based on melamine sponges (MS) with superhydrophobic, superoleophilic, and magnetic properties. This study involved impregnating the surface of commercially available MS with eco-friendly deep eutectic solvents (DES) and Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The DES selection was based on the screening of 105 eutectic mixtures using COSMO-RS modeling. Other parameters affecting the efficiency...
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Beeswax And Palmitic Acid Utilization With Heat Pipes For Electronics Cooling
PublicationThis paper presents an experimental study of heat pipes supported by phase change materials (PCMs) coated at their adiabatic sections in application for electronics cooling. The PCMs investigated in this research were palmitic acid and beeswax, the latter being considered as a more cost-effective alternative. The study focused on three powers: 20W, 25W, and 30W. The experimental results revealed that the incorporation of palmitic...
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Cascaded Buck Hybrid Interlink Converter for Multiple-Input / Multiple-Output Operation
PublicationThe provision of isolated- and non-isolated DC output voltages by Power electronics power-conditioning devices in the recent ‘green-energy-revolution’ era is on course. In this paper, a structure for multi-input multi-output(MIMO) DC–DC buck converter is proposed to generate output voltages of varying levels with fewer component-count. The DC output voltage of each of the constituting buck converters can be used independently or...
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Ensuring sustainable development of urban public transport: A case study of the trolleybus system in Gdynia and Sopot (Poland)
PublicationElectromobility is a vital tool in reducing the environmental impact of transportation. A technologically mature means of public transport is the trolleybus. Based on a case study of the Polish cities of Gdynia and Sopot, this paper explores the factors that influence the development of the trolleybus system. Recent developments of in-motion charging (IMC) technology are analysed what provides a new analytical framework for the...
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Determinants of SME location in a suburban area: Evidence from the Gdańsk–Gdynia–Sopot metropolitan area.
PublicationGiven the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the European economy, it is essential to have adequate information about the various factors that determine their choice of location. However, the size of a company is often an aspect not covered in theoretical studies and empirical research on industrial locations and urban planning. This article examines the place of residence...