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A facile approach to fabricate load-bearing porous polymer scaffolds for bone tissue engineering
PublicationBiodegradable porous scaffolds with oriented interconnected pores and high mechanical are load-bearing biomaterials for bone tissue engineering. Herein, we report a simple, non-toxic, and cost-effective method to fabricate high-strength porous biodegradable scaffolds, composed of a polymer matrix of polycaprolactone (PCL) and water-soluble poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) as a sacrificial material by integrating annealing treatment,...
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Expedited Optimization of Passive Microwave Devices Using Gradient Search and Principal Directions
PublicationOver the recent years, utilization of numerical optimization techniques has become ubiquitous in the design of high-frequency systems, including microwave passive components. The primary reason is that the circuits become increasingly complex to meet ever growing performance demands concerning their electrical performance, additional functionalities, as well as miniaturization. Nonetheless, as reliable evaluation of microwave device...
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Tolerance Optimization of Antenna Structures by Means of Response Feature Surrogates
PublicationFabrication tolerances and other types of uncertainties, e.g., the lack of precise knowledge of material parameters, have detrimental effects on electrical and field performance of antenna systems. In the case of input characteristics these are particularly noticeable for narrow- and multi-band antennas where deviations of geometry parameters from their nominal values lead to frequency shifts of the operating frequency bands. Improving...
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Low Frequency Conducted Emissions of Grid Connected Static Converters
PublicationPulse-width modulated rectifiers are nowadays commonly used for AC to DC power conversion. PWM rectification technology is very effective and allows for bidirectional power flow with the possibility of power factor improvement and low-order harmonic emission limitation. Unfortunately, employed PWM boost topology results with generation of input current harmonic distortions in a frequency range tightly correlated to modulation frequency....
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Psychosocial risks associated with the profession of train driver
PublicationExcellent competencies as well as a good physical and mental health are required in train drivers’ profession. Despite the changes in the structure of employment the train drivers above 46 years and job tenure longer than 30 years are the largest group. The generation gap is becoming more pronounced, and its fulfilment will not be easy. It is related not only to training of new personnel but also promotion of healthy work environment...
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Estimating inequality aversion from subjective assessments of the just noticeable differences in welfare
PublicationResearch background: In Economics, the concept of inequality aversion corresponds with the concept of risk aversion in the literature on making decision under uncertainty. The risk aversion is estimated on the basis of subjective reactions of people to various lottery prospects. In Economics, however, an efficient method of estimating inequality aversion has not been developed yet. Purpose of the article: The main aim of this paper...
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Improving the Performance of a Graphite Foil/Polyaniline Electrode Material by a Thin PEDOT:PSS Layer for Application in Flexible, High Power Supercapacitors
PublicationIn this study, we present a novel strategy for enhancing polyaniline stability and thus obtaining an electrode material with practical application in supercapacitors. A promising (graphite foil/polyaniline/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) GF/PANI/PEDOT:PSS) electrode material was characterized and used in the construction of a symmetric supercapacitor that provides an outstanding high power density. For this...
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Optimization of thermal backfill configurations for desired high-voltage power cables ampacity
PublicationThe ampacity of high-voltage power cables depends, among others, on their core cross-sectional area as well as thermal resistivity of the thermal backfill surrounding the cables. The cross-sectional area of the power cables’ core is selected according to the expected power to be transferred via the cable system. Usually, the higher the power transfer required, the higher the cross-sectional area of the core. However, the cost of...
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IRREGULARITIES IN UNIVERSITY PROCESSES CONCERNING THE LEAN MANAGEMENT TYPOLOGY. THE PILOT STUDY RESULTS
PublicationPurpose: Identify the attitudes regarding key irregularities in university activities of universities referring to muda, mura, and muri from the perspective of two groups of stakeholders - academic teachers and administration/service personnel. Study design/methodology/approach: A pilot quantitative study using a questionnaire containing 48 statements regarding six categories of irregularities assessed according to the 5-point...
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Recent advances in hydrogen production from biomass waste with a focus on pyrolysis and gasification
PublicationThis paper presents the results research on the optimal fuel compositions and the control parameters of the spark ignition engine fueled with syngas-biogas-hydrogen for the purpose of setting up a flexible electronic control unit for the engine working in a solar-biomass hybrid renewable energy system. In syngas-biogas-hydrogen mixture, the optimal content of hydrogen and biogas is 20% and 30%, respectively. Exceeding these thresholds,...
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Modeling and optimization of chemical-treated torrefaction of wheat straw to improve energy density by response surface methodology
PublicationToday, torrefaction is important technique for extending the potential of biomass for improvement of energy density. The independent variables investigated for torrefaction study were temperature, retention time, acid concentration, and particle size. The experiment was designed by central composite design (CCD) method using design expert (version 11). The three dependent variables were higher heating value (HHV), energy enhancement...
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A Method for the Evaluation of Urban Freight Transport Models as a Tool for Improving the Delivery of Sustainable Urban Transport Policy
PublicationThe article presents a method which helps local authorities to evaluate urban freight transport models. Given the complex requirements for input data and the inability to supply them for most cities, a proper quantitative evaluation of model functionality may be quite difficult for local authorities. Freight transport models designed to support sustainable urban freight transport objectives are a particular example. To overcome...
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Effect of aeration of antibiotic-loaded bone cement on its properties and bactericidal effectiveness
PublicationBACKGROUND: Antibiotic-loaded bone cements are now widely used in medicine. They are able to locally deliver antibiotic particles and they allow treat or protect against infection. It is assumed that the bactericidal effectiveness of bioactive bone cements depend on the parameters of its production. Hence, the aim of this study was to check the effect of aeration of bone cement before mixing the components on its properties as...
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Reliable data-driven modeling of high-frequency structures by means of nested kriging with enhanced design of experiments
PublicationData-driven (or approximation) surrogate models have been gaining popularity in many areas of engineering and science, including high-frequency electronics. They are attractive as a way of alleviating the difficulties pertinent to high computational cost of evaluating full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulation models of microwave, antenna, and integrated photonic components and devices. Carrying out design tasks that involve massive...
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Deep Eutectic Solvents: Properties and Applications in CO2 Separation
PublicationNowadays, many researchers are focused on finding a solution to the problem of global warming. Carbon dioxide is considered to be responsible for the “greenhouse” effect. The largest global emission of industrial CO2 comes from fossil fuel combustion, which makes power plants the perfect point source targets for immediate CO2 emission reductions. A state-of-the-art method for capturing carbon dioxide is chemical absorption using...
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WARUNKI REZONANSOWE W WĘŹLE Z KOMPENSATOREM SVC
PublicationInstalowanie kompensatorów statycznych w sieciach rozdzielczych i przesyłowych służy poprawie profili napięciowych. Kompensatory jako źródła mocy biernej zwiększają stabilność napięciową systemu. Pozwalają także na szybszą odbudowę systemu w przypadku awarii napięciowej. W artykule zaprezentowano wpływ struktury i wysterowania układu SVC na zmianę impedancji w układzie zasilania. Ma to bezpośredni wpływ na częstotliwości, przy...
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Wykorzystanie systemu komputerowego ALEP-PL w planowaniu rozwoju lokalnych systemów energetycznych
PublicationZaprezentowano autorski system komputerowy ALEP-PL, który wspomaga proces planowania rozwoju lokalnych systemów energetycznych. Narzędzie zostało przygotowane z uwzględnieniem metodyki planowania zaawansowanego. System składa się z serwisu internetowego, bazy danych i modułów logiki biznesowej. Serwis internetowy został stworzony w technologii ASP.NET z użyciem środowiska Visual Studio 2010 i serwera baz danych MS SQL Server 2008...
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Innowacja urbanistyczna w kontekście kształtowania środowiska mieszkaniowego
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Rzeczywistość rozszerzona – potencjał w kształceniu (przyszłych) pomorskich inżynierów
PublicationEdukacja młodzieży w zakresie nauk eksperymentalnych – takich jak chemia i fizyka – stanowi obecnie w obliczu ograniczeń zaplecza dydaktycznego w szkołach ogromne wyzwanie. Placówki edukacyjne nie posiadają często odpowiednich laboratoriów, lecz dysponują pracowniami komputerowymi. W ramach Projektu EDUAR, współfinansowanego przez NCBiR, przeprowadzono badania w 20 szkołach – po 10 z obszarów wiejskich i miejskich, podczas których...
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Green Therapy w projektowaniu ośrodków medycznych Green Therapy in complex design of health centres
PublicationKoncepcja przestrzenna ogrodu terapeutycznego podporządkowana jest generalnej idei otwierania się projektantów na poszukiwanie nowych możliwości poprawy samopoczucia odbiorcy - poprzez zapewnienie użytkownikom poczucia bezpieczeństwa, komfortu i odprężenia, harmonii. Dotyczy to nie tylko grupy osób chorych, które dręczone są przez niepokoje i napięcia wywołane przez niepełnosprawność czy chorobę, ale także pacjentów w różnym wieku...
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Koncepcja logistycznego usprawnienia magazynu cross-dockowego przedsiębiorstwa X
PublicationCelem artykułu jest przedstawienie koncepcji logistycznego usprawnienia magazynu cross- -dockowego przedsiębiorstwa X. W oparciu o informacje dotyczące stanu faktycznego maga- zynu zostały przeprowadzone badania procesów magazynowych. Po przeprowadzeniu identyfikacji problemów zostały zaproponowane usprawnienia wybranego procesu magazynowego, które polegały na propozycji zmiany sposobu zagospodarowania magazynu. Do tego...
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New Applications of Multimodal Human-Computer Interfaces
PublicationMultimodal computer interfaces and examples of their applications to education software and for the disabled people are presented. The proposed interfaces include the interactive electronic whiteboard based on video image analysis, application for controlling computers with gestures and the audio interface for speech stretching for hearing impaired and stuttering people. Application of the eye-gaze tracking system to awareness...
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Functional safety and reliability analysis methodoloogy for hazardous industrial plants
PublicationThis monograph is devoted to current problems and methods of the functional safety and reliability analyses of the programmable control and protection systems for industrial hazardous plants. The results of these analyses are useful in the process of safety management in life cycle, for effective reducing relevant risks at the design stage, and then controlling these risks during the operation of given installation. The methodology...
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UN DECADE OF ACTION FOR ROAD SAFETY IN THE NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY STRATEGY UNTIL 2020 – POLISH APPROACH
PublicationPoland continues to have the highest number of road deaths per one million population in the European Union, according to a 2012 European Commission report – in 2011 the rate in Poland was 109 fatalities compared to the EU average of 61 killed. Adopted by the government in 2005 Poland’s National Road Safety Programme GAMBIT 2005 was the response to the EU’s 3rd Road Safety Action Programme. Despite extensive road safety efforts,...
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Exploring the preferences of Polish EFL teachers towards the accents of English
PublicationThis language attitudes study investigates the preferences of EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers from Poland towards the accents of English they speak and teach. Despite the substantial amount of research on EFL learners, little has been done to investigate the impact of preferences of Polish teachers for different variations of English language on their...
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Photocatalytically Active TiO2/Ag2O Nanotube Arrays Interlaced with Silver Nanoparticles Obtained from the One-Step Anodic Oxidation of Ti–Ag Alloys
PublicationThe development of a photocatalyst with remarkable activity to degrade pollutants in aqueous and gas phase requires visible lightresponsive stable materials, easily organized in the form of a thin layer (to exclude the highly expensive separation step). In this work, we present a one-step strategy for synthesizing material in the form of a self-organized TiO2/Ag2O nanotube (NT) array interlaced with silver nanoparticles (as in a...
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Networkig activities of general judiciary - from theory to practice
PublicationOver the last three decades, networks - as a field of research - have acquired a significant place among management sciences. Unfortunately, in the judiciary they have become a subject of more careful analyses only recently, which resulted in a large discrepancy of knowledge - both in theory and in its practical adaptation for the needs of the courts. In order to fill this cognitive gap, an attempt was made to identify levels of...
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Enhanced capacitance of composite TiO2 nanotube / boron-doped diamond electrodes studied by impedance spectroscopy
PublicationWe report on the novel composite nanostructures based on boron-doped diamond thin film grown on top of TiO2 nanotubes. The nanostructures made of BDD-modified titania nanotubes showed an increase in activity and performance when used as electrodes in electrochemical environments. The BDD thin films (~200-500 nm) were deposited using microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (MW PA CVD) onto anodically fabricated TiO2...
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Constrained multi-objective optimization of compact microwave circuits by design triangulation and pareto front interpolation
PublicationDevelopment of microwave components is an inherently multi-objective task. This is especially pertinent to the design closure stage, i.e., final adjustment of geometry and/or material parameters carried out to improve the electrical performance of the system. The design goals are often conflicting so that the improvement of one normally leads to a degradation of others. Compact microwave passives constitute a representative case:...
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Assessment of the Effectiveness of a Short-term Hearing Aid Use in Patients with Different Degrees of Hearing Loss
PublicationThe study presents evaluating the effectiveness of the hearing aid fitting process in the short-term use (7 days). The evaluation method consists of a survey based on the APHAB (Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit) questionnaire. Additional criteria such as a degree of hearing loss, number of hours and days of hearing aid use as well as the user’s experience were also taken into consideration. The outcomes of the benefit...
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Rapid multi-objective optimization of antennas using nested kriging surrogates and single-fidelity EM simulation models
PublicationEver increasing performance requirements make the design of contemporary antenna systems a complex and multi-stage process. One of the challenges, pertinent to the emerging application areas but also some of the recent trends (miniaturization, demands for multi-functionality, etc.), is the necessity of handling several performance figures such as impedance matching, gain, or axial ratio, often over multiple frequency bands. The...
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Tree rings as an indicator of atmospheric pollutant deposition to subalpine spruce forests in the Sudetes (Southern Poland)
PublicationIn spite of their moderate altitude (1000–1600m a.s.l.), the Western SudetyMountains belong to areas with the most efficient fog precipitation in Europe. Intense industrial activity in the area of windward western foothills caused an exceptional intensification of atmospheric pollutant deposition via precipitation and fog to take place since the 1950s. In the second half of the 1970s a massive spruce forest dieback began affecting...
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How can the work environment be redesigned to enhance the well-being of individuals with autism?
PublicationPurpose – This article examines the opportunities to create optimal conditions for individuals with autism, to work successfully within the contemporary workplace and improve their well-being. These opportunities arise from digital technology (DT) development, enabling the work environment to be remodeled by providing new possibilities and ways of working. The author discusses both technology-based as well as non-technological accommodations...
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Low-Cost and Highly-Accurate Behavioral Modeling of Antenna Structures by Means of Knowledge-Based Domain-Constrained Deep Learning Surrogates
PublicationThe awareness and practical benefits of behavioral modeling methods have been steadily growing in the antenna engineering community over the last decade or so. Undoubtedly, the most important advantage thereof is a possibility of a dramatic reduction of computational expenses associated with computer-aided design procedures, especially those relying on full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulations. In particular, the employment of...
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Structure and Stability Characterization of Natural Lake Pigments Made from Plant Extracts and Their Potential Application in Polymer Composites for Packaging Materials
PublicationNatural dyes were extracted from various plant sources and converted into lake pigments based on aluminum and tin. Three different plants (weld, Persian berries, and Brazilwood) were chosen as representative sources of natural dyes. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry (QqQ MS) were used to identify dyestuffs in the raw extracts. The natural dyes and lake pigments were further characterized...
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Low-Cost Yield-Driven Design of Antenna Structures Using Response-Variability Essential Directions and Parameter Space Reduction
PublicationQuantifying the effects of fabrication tolerances and uncertainties of other types is fundamental to improve antenna design immunity to limited accuracy of manufacturing procedures and technological spread of material parameters. This is of paramount importance especially for antenna design in the industrial context. Degradation of electrical and field properties due to geometry parameter deviations often manifests itself as, e.g.,...
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Novel composite of Zn/Ti-layered double hydroxide coupled with MXene for the efficient photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals
PublicationIn the present study, a hybrid photocatalyst of Zn/Ti layered double hydroxide (LDH) coupled with MXene – Ti3C2 was synthesized for the first time and applied in photocatalytic degradation of acetaminophen and ibuprofen, two commonly present in the natural environment and prone to accumulate in the aquatic ecosystem pharmaceuticals. The effect of MXene content (0.5 wt%, 2.5 wt%, and 5 wt%) on the photocatalytic activity of LDH/MXene...
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Tool Wear Monitoring Using Improved Dragonfly Optimization Algorithm and Deep Belief Network
PublicationIn recent decades, tool wear monitoring has played a crucial role in the improvement of industrial production quality and efficiency. In the machining process, it is important to predict both tool cost and life, and to reduce the equipment downtime. The conventional methods need enormous quantities of human resources and expert skills to achieve precise tool wear information. To automatically identify the tool wear types, deep...
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CaO-based high temperature CO2 sorbents – Literature review
PublicationThe use of CaO-based adsorbents has a high potential to capture CO2 from various systems due to its high reactivity with CO2, high capacity, and low cost of naturally derived CaO. The application of CaO-based sorbents to remove carbon dioxide is based on a reversible reaction between CaO and CO2. However, multiple carbonation/calcination cycles lead to a rapid reduction in the sorption capacity of natural CaO, and therefore efforts...
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Global Design Optimization of Microwave Circuits Using Response Feature Inverse Surrogates
PublicationModern microwave design has become heavily reliant on full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulation tools, which are necessary for accurate evaluation of microwave components. Consequently, it is also indispensable for their development, especially the adjustment of geometry parameters, oriented towards performance improvement. However, EM-driven optimization procedures incur considerable computational expenses, which may become impractical...
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Tolerance-Aware Optimization of Microwave Circuits by Means of Principal Directions and Domain-Restricted Metamodels
PublicationPractical microwave design is most often carried out in the nominal sense. Yet, in some cases, performance degradation due to uncertainties may lead to the system failing to meet the prescribed specifications. Reliable uncertainty quantification (UQ) is therefore important yet intricate from numerical standpoint, especially when the circuit at hand is to be evaluated using electromagnetic (EM) simulation tools. Tolerance-aware...
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Fatigue strength determination of ship structural joints. Part I - Analytical methods for determining fatigue strength of ship tructures
PublicationSpectacular accidents at sea which have happened for a few last years show that hull structures of contemporary sea-going ships are not perfect and must be systematically improved. Fatigue strength is one of the groups of strength problems which affect design of contemporary ship's structures and greatly contribute in their improvement process. In this paper several approaches to estimation of fatigue life of hull structural...
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Approximation algorithms for job scheduling with block-type conflict graphs
PublicationThe problem of scheduling jobs on parallel machines (identical, uniform, or unrelated), under incompatibility relation modeled as a block graph, under the makespan optimality criterion, is considered in this paper. No two jobs that are in the relation (equivalently in the same block) may be scheduled on the same machine in this model. The presented model stems from a well-established line of research combining scheduling theory...
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Advancing sustainable hybrid bitumen systems: A compatibilization solution by functionalized polyolefins for enhanced crumb rubber content in bitumen
PublicationPolymer waste pollution has a profound effect on the environment and, consequently, on the lifestyle of hu- mankind. The massive production and disposal of cross-linked polymers clearly exemplify the challenges of recycling. Increasing efforts are being undertaken to introduce recycled polymers, especially crumb rubber (CR), into asphalt formulations. Due to the rather poor processability and phase separation associated with CR- modified...
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PVA-Based Films with Strontium Titanate Nanoparticles Dedicated to Wound Dressing Application
PublicationBioactive materials may be applied in tissue regeneration, and an example of such materials are wound dressings, which are used to accelerate skin healing, especially after trauma. Here, we proposed a novel dressing enriched by a bioactive component. The aim of our study was to prepare and characterize poly(vinyl alcohol) films modified with strontium titanate nanoparticles. The physicochemical properties of films were studied,...
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Human Resource Management Digitalisation in Multidisciplinary Ship Design Companies
PublicationThe digitalisation in the ship design sector is currently applied to the design process itself and is well defined, partially standardised and practically implemented by both independent design companies and the design departments of shipyards. The situation is similar in other sectors of engineering. However, the requirements for the digitalisation of other processes in design and engineering companies have not previously been...
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Investigations of the Working Process in a Dual-Fuel Low-Emission Combustion Chamber for an FPSO Gas Turbine Engine
PublicationThis investigation is devoted to an analysis of the working process in a dual-fuel low-emission combustion chamber for a floating vessel’s gas turbine. The low-emission gas turbine combustion chamber with partial pre-mixing of fuel and air inside the outer and inner radial-axial swirlers was chosen as the object of research. When modelling processes in a dual-flow low-emission gas turbine combustion chamber, a generalized method...
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Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from glycerol-water mixture under visible light over zinc indium sulfide (ZnIn2S4) nanosheets grown on bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) microplates
PublicationZnIn2S4 (ZIS) is one of the widely studied photocatalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution applications due to its prominent visible light response and strong reduction ability. However, its photocatalytic glycerol reforming performance for hydrogen evolution has never been reported. Herein, the visible light driven BiOCl@ZnIn2S4 (BiOCl@ZIS) composite was synthesized by growth of ZIS nanosheets on a template-like hydrothermally...
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Expedited Metaheuristic-Based Antenna Optimization Using EM Model Resolution Management
PublicationDesign of modern antenna systems heavily relies on numerical opti-mization methods. Their primary purpose is performance improvement by tun-ing of geometry and material parameters of the antenna under study. For relia-bility, the process has to be conducted using full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulation models, which are associated with sizable computational expendi-tures. The problem is aggravated in the case of global optimization,...
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Optimization of the Hardware Layer for IoT Systems using a Trust Region Method with Adaptive Forward Finite Differences
PublicationTrust-region (TR) algorithms represent a popular class of local optimization methods. Owing to straightforward setup and low computational cost, TR routines based on linear models determined using forward finite differences (FD) are often utilized for performance tuning of microwave and antenna components incorporated within the Internet of Things systems. Despite usefulness for design of complex structures, performance of TR methods...