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Search results for: IMPROVEMENT POTENTIAL
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A System for Heart Sounds Classification
PublicationThe future of quick and efficient disease diagnosis lays in the development of reliable non-invasive methods. As for the cardiac diseases – one of the major causes of death around the globe – a concept of an electronic stethoscope equipped with an automatic heart tone identification system appears to be the best solution. Thanks to the advancement in technology, the quality of phonocardiography signals is no longer an issue. However,...
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Hardware realization of shadow detection algorithm in FPGA
PublicationW referacie opisano problem detekcji cieni w sekwencjach wideo. Na podstawie metod znanych z literatury opracowano algorytm detekcji cieni, działający w czasie rzeczywistym i przeznaczony do realizacji sprzętowej w układzie FPGA. Algorytmy zostały przetestowane i porównane w środowisku MATLAB. Za pomocą języka VHDL zrealizowano system detekcji cieni wykorzystujący opracowany algorytm i zaimplementowano go w układzie Virtex-4. Został...
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Expedited Globalized Antenna Optimization by Principal Components and Variable-Fidelity EM Simulations: Application to Microstrip Antenna Design
PublicationParameter optimization, also referred to as design closure, is imperative in the development of modern antennas. Theoretical considerations along with rough dimension adjustment through supervised parameter sweeping can only yield initial designs that need to be further tuned to boost the antenna performance. The major challenges include handling of multi-dimensional parameter spaces while accounting for several objectives and...
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Enhanced interfacial and mechanical performance of styrene-butadiene rubber/silica composites compatibilized by soybean oil derived silanized plasticization
PublicationSilanized plasticizer (SP) was chemically derived and synthesized from soybean oil (SBO) co-vulcanized with bis-(3-(triethoxysilyl)-propyl) tetrasulfide (TESPT) by using the sulfur-accelerated curing system. SP extended styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR)/silica composites have been studied for their improved filler dispersion through coupling interaction at the SBR/silica interface. The effect of SP on cross-link density, thermal,...
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The Analysis of Working Parameters Decrease in Photovoltaic Modules as a Result of Dust Deposition
PublicationThe aspect of dust accumulation on the surface of photovoltaic (PV) modules should be thoroughly understood in order to minimize possible obstacles affecting energy generation. Several elements affect the amount of pollutant gathered on the surface of a solar device, mainly its localization, which is irreversibly linked to factors such as annual rainfall, occasional snow coverage, or, in a dry climate, increased blow of dust during...
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Static Shunt PE Voltage-Quality Controllers
PublicationThis chapter focuses on power electronics (PE)-based solutions used in distribution networks for reduction of supply-voltage-quality deterioration, from long interruptions to the harmonics. Various PE devices and their combinations are addressed for particular or a range of voltage disturbances. A particular solution is applied taking into account demands for voltage quality and network configuration. In general, there are three...
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Experimental study of the impact of notches and holes made in the front edge of adherends on the properties of static and fatigue strength of adhesive joints
PublicationThe paper presents the results of experimental studies aimed at determining the effect of holes and notches at the front edge of adherends on the strength of adhesive joints. Single-lap joints made of S235JR steel sheets joined with Araldite 2014-2 epoxy adhesive were tested. Comparative tests of static strength in the shear test as well as high-cycle fatigue strength tests were carried out. Joints with three holes with a diameter...
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A comparative study on the decolorization of Tartrazine, Ponceau 4R, and Coomassie Brilliant Blue using persulfate and hydrogen peroxide based Advanced Oxidation Processes combined with Hydrodynamic Cavitation
PublicationDecolorization of Ponceau 4R, Tartrazine, and Coomassie Brilliant Blue (CBB) was studied using hybrid processes of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) with potassium persulfate (KPS) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The different properties of these dyes such as hydrophobicity, molecular structures, and molecular weights provided this opportunity to investigate the effects of these factors by comparing the decolorization values of the dyes....
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Study on some of the strength properties of soft clay stabilized with plastic waste strips
PublicationIt is well known that if plastic wastes are not well managed, it has a negative impact on the environment as well as on human health. In this study, recycling plastic waste in form of strips for stabilizing weak subgrade soil is proposed. For this purpose, a weak clay soil sample was mixed with 0.2%, 0.3%, and 0.4% of plastic strips by weight of soil, and the experimental results were compared to the control soil sample with 0%...
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Antibiotic-sterol interactions provide insight into the selectivity of natural aromatic analogues of amphotericin B and their photoisomers
PublicationAromatic heptaene macrolides (AHMs) belong to the group of polyene macrolide antifungal antibiotics. Members of this group were the first to be used in the treatment of systemic fungal infections. Amphotericin B (AmB), a non-aromatic representative of heptaene macrolides, is of significant clinical importance in the treatment of internal mycoses. It includes the all-trans heptaene chromophore, whereas the native AHMs contain two...
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Laboratory fatigue assessment of large geocomposite-reinforced double-layered asphalt concrete beams
PublicationGeosynthetic reinforcement of asphalt layers has been used for several decades. Evaluation of the influence of these materials on pavement fatigue life is still ongoing, especially for new types of geocomposites. This paper presents the evaluation of fatigue performance of large asphalt concrete beams reinforced with a new type of composite in which square or hexagonal polypropylene stiff monolithic paving grid with integral junctions...
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Aerodynamic Shape Optimization for Delaying Dynamic Stall of Airfoils by Regression Kriging
PublicationThe phenomenon of dynamic stall produce adverse aerodynamic loading which can adversely affect the structural strength and life of aerodynamic systems. Aerodynamic shape optimization (ASO) provides an effective approach for delaying and mitigating dynamic stall characteristics without the addition of auxiliary system. ASO, however, requires multiple evaluations time-consuming computational fluid dynamics models. Metamodel-based...
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Thermal and Mechanical Behavior of Elastomers Incorporated with Thermoregulating Microcapsules
PublicationPolyurethane (PU) is one of the principal polymers in the global plastic market thanks to its versatility and continuous improvement. In this work, PU elastomeric materials having thermoregulating properties through the incorporation of microcapsules (mSD-(LDPE·EVA-RT27)) from low-density polyethylene and vinyl acetate containing paraffin®RT27 as PCM were produced. Elastomers were synthesized while varying the molar ratio [NCO]/[OH]...
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Simple empirical formula to estimate the main geomechanical parameters of preplaced aggregate concrete and conventional concrete
PublicationPreplaced aggregate concrete (PAC) or two-stage concrete is a specific type of concrete successfully employed in many projects including underwater concrete structures, massive concrete structures, structures made of reinforced concrete, and improvement of concrete structures. PAC is significantly different than the conventional concrete. In this type of concrete, aggregates are initially poured into the mold, the voids between...
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Laboratory fatigue assessment of large geocomposite-reinforced double-layered asphalt concrete beams
PublicationGeosynthetic reinforcement of asphalt layers has been used for several decades. Evaluation of the influence of these materials on pavement fatigue life is still ongoing, especially for new types of geocomposites. This paper presents the evaluation of fatigue performance of large asphalt concrete beams reinforced with a new type of composite in which square or hexagonal polypropylene stiff monolithic paving grid with integral junctions...
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Efficient Surrogate Modeling and Design Optimization of Compact Integrated On-Chip Inductors Based on Multi-Fidelity EM Simulation Models
PublicationHigh-performance and small-size on-chip inductors play a critical role in contemporary radio-frequency integrated circuits. This work presents a reliable surrogate modeling technique combining low-fidelity EM simulation models, response surface approximations based on kriging interpolation, and space mapping technology. The reported method is useful for the development of broadband and highly accurate data-driven models of integrated...
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Evaluation of Partial Nitritation/Anammox (PN/A) Process Performance and Microorganisms Community Composition under Different C/N Ratio
PublicationA one-stage partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process with intermittent aeration is possible under sidestream conditions, but implementation in a mainstream is a challenge due to increased Carbon/Nitrogen (C/N) ratios in domestic wastewater. This study investigated the effect of C/N ratios on process efficiency and the effect of narrowing non-aeration time on process improvement at high chemical oxygen demand (COD) load. An increase...
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Optimal selection of input features and an acompanying neural network structure for the classification purposes - skin lesions case study
PublicationMalignant melanomas are the most deadly type of skin cancers however detected early enough give a high chances for successful treatment. The last years saw the dynamic growth of interest of automatic computer-aided skin cancer diagnosis. Every month brings new research results on new approaches to this problem, new methods of preprocessing, new classifiers, new ideas to follow etc. In particular, the rapid development of dermatoscopy,...
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Investigation of tracking systems properties in CAVE-type virtual reality systems
PublicationIn recent years, many scientific and industrial centers in the world developed a virtual reality systems or laboratories. One of the most advanced solutions are Immersive 3D Visualization Lab (I3DVL), a CAVE-type (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) laboratory. It contains two CAVE-type installations: six-screen installation arranged in a form of a cube, and four-screen installation, a simplified version of the previous one. The...
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Performance evaluation of unified memory and dynamic parallelism for selected parallel CUDA applications
PublicationThe aim of this paper is to evaluate performance of new CUDA mechanisms—unified memory and dynamic parallelism for real parallel applications compared to standard CUDA API versions. In order to gain insight into performance of these mechanisms, we decided to implement three applications with control and data flow typical of SPMD, geometric SPMD and divide-and-conquer schemes, which were then used for tests and experiments. Specifically,...
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Structural and Transportation Properties of Strontium Titanate Composites with Ion Conductive Oxides
PublicationThis paper has been written based on the author’s doctoral dissertation “Structural and transportation properties of strontium and titanate composites with ion conductive oxides”, prepared under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Hab. Eng. Bogusław Kusz at the Department of Solid State Physics of Gdańsk University of Technology. It reports the idea of the thesis and conclusions from the study. Niobium doped strontium titanate (Sr(Ti,Nb)O3)...
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Accuracy of a low-cost autonomous hexacopter platforms navigation module for a photogrammetric and environmental measurements
PublicationA photogrammetry and environmental measurements from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are a low-cost alternative for a traditional aerial photogrammetry. A commercial off-the-shelf products (COTS) offers a variety of cheap components that a suitable to be used on board a UAV. In this paper a low-cost navigation module based on Ublox NEO-M8N GPS and Pixhawk flight controller have been described, as a main extrinsic parameters source...
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Parametric study of fluid flow and heat transfer over louvered fins of air heat pump evaporator
PublicationTwo-dimensional numerical investigations of the fluid flow and heat transfer have been carried out for the laminar flow of the louvered fin-plate heat exchanger, designed to work as an air-source heat pump evap- orator. The transferred heat and the pressure drop predicted by simulation have been compared with the corresponding experimental data taken from the literature. Two dimensional analyses of the louvered fins with varying...
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The protocol for using elastic wall model in modeling blood flow within human artery
PublicationMedical diagnostic tools will play a major role in the future for an effective patient treatment and reduction their mortality, related to the cardiovascular system diseases (CVDs). There is an urgent need for developing diagnostic procedure to be robust, reliable, accurate and efficient, in the framework of a paradigm shift. Application of numerical techniques is seen as a perspective tool for such purpose. Nevertheless, existing...
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Metodyka badań rozwojowych nowego typu silników i pomp satelitowych
PublicationResearch and development of new type satellite motors and satellite pumps SM with small geometrical displacement, from 5 to 73 cm3/rev, has been conducted in cooperation with Stosowanie Maszyn company from Katowice (manufacturer of motors and pump SM). The improvement of construction of those machines, especially construction of axial compensation and construction of fluid distribution channels have been the main problem of research...
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THREE-DIMENSIONAL numerical investigation of MHD nanofluid convective heat transfer inside a CUBIC porous container with corrugated bottom wall
PublicationSimultaneous use of porous media and nanofluid as a heat transfer improvement method has recently captivated a great deal of attention. The heat transfer and entropy production of the Cu-water nanofluid inside a cubic container with a heated bottom wavy wall and an elliptic inner cylinder were numerically analyzed in this study. The container is partitioned into two sections: the left side is filled with permeable media and...
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IDENTIFICATION AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FACTORS INFLUENCING ROAD SAFETY IN US REGIONS AND IN POLISH VOIVODESHIPS
PublicationAnalyses of road safety at national level have been run for many years and large number of publications concerning them appeared so far. How interdisciplinary the issue is, has been shown by literature studies done by the author of the paper. It appears that economists, mathematicians, doctors as well as engineers have studied the issue. It is not an easy one, as results of many analyses lead to conflicting conclusions and...
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Effect of kenaf fibre modification on morphology and mechanical properties of thermoplastic polyurethane materials
PublicationThe presented study examined the morphology and mechanical properties of biocomposites obtained from kenaf natural fibre and thermoplastic polyurethane. Kenaf was modified using various methods, namely: acetylation, blocked isocyanate, maleic anhydride and permanganate treatment. Those methods and ways of carrying out of surface modifications were not studied before on kenaf/thermoplastic polyurethane composites. Different fibre...
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Efficient production of Staphylococcus simulans lysostaphin in a benchtop bioreactor by recombinant Escherichia coli.
PublicationLysostaphin is an enzyme with bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus and other staphylococcal species. In spite of many advantages and promising results of preliminary research, the enzyme is still not widely used in medicine, veterinary or as a food preservative. One of the most important factors limiting application of the enzyme in clinical or technological practice is the high costs of its production. In the present...
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Professional activity and women entrepreneurship in Poland – Europe 2020 Strategy perspective
PublicationThe level of economic activity of women in Poland is the lowest among Baltic Sea Region countries. The analysis of Europe 2020 targets, shows that at least 3 of the 5 main objectives relate, more or less, to women (e.g. participation in labor market). The objective concerning social inclusion assumes the increase in the employment rate of men and women (aged 20-64) in Poland up to 71%. To achieve this goal, support programs to...
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Multi-layered tissue head phantoms for noninvasive optical diagnostics
PublicationExtensive research in the area of optical sensing for medical diagnostics requires development of tissue phantoms with optical properties similar to those of living human tissues. Development and improvement of in vivo optical measurement systems requires the use of stable tissue phantoms with known characteristics, which are mainly used for calibration of such systems and testing their performance over time. Optical and mechanical...
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Sensorless Control of Induction Motor Based on Super-Twisting Sliding Mode Observer With Speed Convergence Improvement
PublicationThe super twisting sliding-mode observer (ST-SMO) has been proposed to achieve an effective method for alleviating low-order harmonics of measured quantities, issues related to DC drift, and suppression of chattering due to low-frequency sampling. The conventional ST-SMO, on the other hand, suffers from control delay in the convergence trajectory due to the system disturbance, resulting in decreased anti-disturbance capability...
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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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Psychological capital and happiness at work: The mediating role of employee thriving in multinational corporations
PublicationWorking in multicultural work environments of multinational corporations (MNCs) creates challenges whose expected impact on happiness is equivocal. In the following paper, we examine the relationship between psychological capital and happiness at work in the specific MNCs’ context. We assume that thriving (eudemonic well-being) at work fosters individuals’ development and enhances their happiness composed of both the affective...
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Determination of long-chain aldehydes using a novel quartz crystal microbalance sensor based on a biomimetic peptide
PublicationThere is an increasingly popular trend aimed at improvement of fundamental metrological parameters of sensors via implementation of materials mimicking biological olfactory systems. This study presents investigation on usefulness of the peptide mimicking HarmOBP7 region as a receptor element of the piezoelectric sensor for selective analysis of long-chain aldehydes. Identification of odorant binding proteins creates new possibilities...
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An Analysis of Neural Word Representations for Wikipedia Articles Classification
PublicationOne of the current popular methods of generating word representations is an approach based on the analysis of large document collections with neural networks. It creates so-called word-embeddings that attempt to learn relationships between words and encode this information in the form of a low-dimensional vector. The goal of this paper is to examine the differences between the most popular embedding models and the typical bag-of-words...
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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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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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Optimum number of actuators to minimize the cross-sectional area of prestressable cable and truss structures
PublicationThis paper describes a new computational method for determining the optimum number of actuators to design the optimal and economic cross-sectional area of pin-jointed assemblies based on the conventional force method. The most active members are selected to be prestressed to redistribute stress in the whole structure, resulting in regulating the internal force of bars that face high stress. Reducing stress in critical members allows...
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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 with the use of a questionnaire containing 48 statements regarding six categories of irregularities assessed according to the...
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Effects of full displacement pile installation on the stress and deformation state of surrounding soil: review
PublicationSeveral field and model tests have been conducted to investigate the impact of pile installation on bearing capacity. However, little is known about how piles behave during installation, how they interact with the surrounding soil, and how this affects sandy soil properties. This review paper investigates the effect of pile driving on surrounding sandy soil as it compacts sandy soil near to the pile. For this purpose, various related...
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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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Rapid Multi-Criterial Antenna Optimization by Means of Pareto Front Triangulation and Interpolative Design Predictors
PublicationModern antenna systems are designed to meet stringent performance requirements pertinent to both their electrical and field properties. The objectives typically stay in conflict with each other. As the simultaneous improvement of all performance parameters is rarely possible, compromise solutions have to be sought. The most comprehensive information about available design trade-offs can be obtained through multi-objective optimization...
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Dynamic Route Discovery Using Modified Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm in Wireless Ad-Hoc Visible Light Communication Network
PublicationIn recent times, visible light communication is an emerging technology that supports high speed data communication for wireless communication systems. However, the performance of the visible light communication system is impaired by inter symbol interference, the time dispersive nature of the channel, and nonlinear features of the light emitting diode that significantly reduces the bit error rate performance. To address these problems,...
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Rapid Variable-Resolution Parameter Tuning of Antenna Structures Using Frequency-Based Regularization and Sparse Sensitivity Updates
PublicationGeometry parameter tuning is an inherent part of antenna design process. While most often performed in a local sense, it still entails considerable computational expenses when carried out at the level of full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulation models. Moreover, the optimization outcome may be impaired if good initial design is not available. This paper proposes a novel approach to fast and improved-reliability gradient-based...
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Flexible syngas-biogas-hydrogen fueling spark-ignition engine behaviors with optimized fuel compositions and control parameters
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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Developing the Urban Blue-Green Infrastructure as a Tool for Urban Air Quality Management
PublicationUrban structure is an important factor that shapes the process of urban ventilation and pollution dispersion. With proper planning of the urban spatial layout, city breathability can be effectively regulated, contributing to urban air quality improvement. This paper investigates the development and current management of urban systems of green and open spaces in four Polish cities: Gda ´nsk, Warsaw, Pozna ´n and Wrocław, with a...
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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....