Renewable energy technology is growing fast especially photovoltaic (PV) system to move the conventional electricity generation and distribution towards smart grid. However, similar to monthly electricity bill, the PV energy producers can only monitor their energy PV generation once a month. Any malfuntion in PV system components may reduce the performance of the system without notice. Thus, developing a real-time monitoring system of PV production is very crucial for early detection. In addition, electricity consumption is also important to be monitored more frequently to increase energy savings awareness among consumers. Hardware based Internet-of-Thing (IoT) monitoring and control system is widely used. However, the implementation of the actual smart grid system is high in cost. Thus, simulation and modelling of the system is important to see the capability of the actual system before being employed. Since the smart grid and its components are usually modeled using MATLAB/Simulink, the communication between MATLAB/Simulink, IoT platform such as ThingSpeak and mobile application is crucial to be explored to gain a better understanding of the features of the smart grid. To achieve the objectives, there are five main steps which are simulation of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system to generate data to be monitored and controlled using HOMER software, then, development of monitoring on ThingSpeak and mobile application using MIT App Inventor 2. Next, the control system is developed on mobile application and the communication on how data are transferred between all the softwares are set up. The results show that all the seletected parameters can be monitored in real-time successfully. The developed mobile application can be used to control the MATLAB/Simulink in two modes. During automatic mode, ThingSpeak controls the MATLAB/Simulink by giving a zero signal (OFF) if load demand is less than the power generated by PV and a one signal (ON) if the load demand is greater than PV power. During manual mode, consumer can send ON or OFF signal to MATLAB/Simulink via the mobile application unconditionally. It is hoped that the proposed system will bring many benefits in modeling a complete smart grid system in MATLAB/Simulink.
Carbon dioxide geo-sequestration (CGS) into sediments in the form of (gas) hydrates is one proposed method for reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and, thus reducing global warming and climate change. However, there is a serious lack of understanding of how such CO2 hydrate forms and exists in sediments. We thus imaged CO2 hydrate distribution in sandstone, and investigated the hydrate morphology and cluster characteristics via x-ray micro-computed tomography in 3D in-situ. A substantial amount of gas hydrate (∼17% saturation) was observed, and the stochastically distributed hydrate clusters followed power-law relations with respect to their size distributions and surface area-volume relationships. The layer-
... Show MoreThis study investigated the shear performance of concrete beams with GFRP stirrups vs. traditional steel stirrups. Longitudinal glass fiber‐reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars were used to doubly reinforce the tested beams at both the top and bottom of their cross sections. To accomplish this, several stirrup spacings were provided. Eight beam specimens, measuring 300 × 250 × 2400 mm, were used in an experimental program to test under a two‐point concentrated load with an equal span‐to‐depth ratio until failure. Four beams in Group I have standard mild steel stirrups of 8 mm diameter, while four beams in Group II have GFRP stirrups with the same adopted diameter. The difference betwe
A novel demountable shear connector for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The connector uses high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the top flange of the steel beam with the aid of a special locking nut configuration that prevents bolts from slipping within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes the typical construction tolerance issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly. Therefore, it can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow including the following: (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (
... Show MoreAbstract: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the widespread chronic liver diseases; it is ranging from simple fat buildup in the liver (steatosis) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) presence of inflammation and hepatocyte injury. &nb
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