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  • Articles  (135)
  • MDPI Publishing
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  • Articles  (135)
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  • 1
    Publication Date: 2017-11-02
    Description: Sensors, Vol. 17, Pages 2513: High-Accuracy Readout Electronics for Piezoresistive Tactile Sensors Sensors doi: 10.3390/s17112513 Authors: José A. Hidalgo-López Óscar Oballe-Peinado Julián Castellanos-Ramos José A. Sánchez-Durán Raquel Fernández-Ramos Fernando Vidal-Verdú The typical layout in a piezoresistive tactile sensor arranges individual sensors to form an array with M rows and N columns. While this layout reduces the wiring involved, it does not allow the values of the sensor resistors to be measured individually due to the appearance of crosstalk caused by the nonidealities of the array reading circuits. In this paper, two reading methods that minimize errors resulting from this phenomenon are assessed by designing an electronic system for array reading, and the results are compared to those obtained using the traditional method, obviating the nonidealities of the reading circuit. The different models were compared by testing the system with an array of discrete resistors. The system was later connected to a tactile sensor with 8 × 7 taxels.
    Electronic ISSN: 1424-8220
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology , Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
    Published by MDPI Publishing
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2015-11-26
    Description: Parabolic trough solar power plants use a thermal fluid to transfer thermal energy from solar radiation to a water-steam Rankine cycle in order to drive a turbine that, coupled to an electrical generator, produces electricity. These plants have a heat transfer fluid (HTF) system with the necessary elements to transform solar radiation into heat and to transfer that thermal energy to the water-steam exchangers. In order to get the best possible performance in the Rankine cycle and, hence, in the thermal plant, it is necessary that the thermal fluid reach its maximum temperature when leaving the solar field (SF). Also, it is mandatory that the thermal fluid does not exceed the maximum operating temperature of the HTF, above which it degrades. It must be noted that the optimal temperature of the thermal fluid is difficult to obtain, since solar radiation can change abruptly from one moment to another. The aim of this document is to provide a model of an HTF system that can be used to optimize the control of the temperature of the fluid without interfering with the normal operation of the plant. The results obtained with this model will be contrasted with those obtained in a real plant.
    Electronic ISSN: 1996-1073
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2015-03-31
    Description: We report the use of commercially available glass microcapillaries as micromechanical resonators for real-time monitoring of the mass density of a liquid that flows through the capillary. The vibration of a suspended region of the microcapillary is optically detected by measuring the forward scattering of a laser beam. The resonance frequency of the liquid filled microcapillary is measured for liquid binary mixtures of ethanol in water, glycerol in water and Triton in ethanol. The method achieves a detection limit in an air environment of 50 µg/mL that is only five times higher than that obtained with state-of-the-art suspended microchannel resonators encapsulated in vacuum. The method opens the door to novel advances for miniaturized total analysis systems based on microcapillaries with the add-on of mechanical transduction for sensing the rheological properties of the analyzed fluids without the need for vacuum encapsulation of the resonators.
    Electronic ISSN: 1424-8220
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology , Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2016-03-30
    Description: Stand-alone power systems based on renewable energy sources are used to replace generators based on fossil fuels. Those renewable power systems also require Energy Storage Devices (ESD) interfaced by a charger/discharger power converter, which consist of a bidirectional DC/DC converter, and a DC bus. This paper proposes a single sliding-mode controller (SMC) for the charger/discharger DC/DC converter to provide a stable DC bus voltage in any operation condition: charging or discharging the ESD, or even without any power exchange between the ESD and the DC bus. Due to the non-linear nature of the power converter, the SMC parameters are adapted on-line to ensure global stability in any operation condition. Such stability of the adaptive SMC is mathematically demonstrated using analytical expressions for the transversality, reachability and equivalent control conditions. Moreover, a design procedure for the adaptive SMC parameters is provided in order to ensure the dynamic response required for the correct operation of the load. Finally, simulations and experimental tests validate the proposed controller and design procedure.
    Electronic ISSN: 1996-1073
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2016-08-11
    Description: Power transformers are crucial in an electric power system. Failures in transformers can affect the quality and cause interruptions in the power supply. Partial discharges are a phenomenon that can cause failures in the transformers if not properly monitored. Typically, the monitoring requires high-cost corrective maintenance or even interruptions of the power system. Therefore, the development of online non-invasive monitoring systems to detect partial discharges in power transformers has great relevance since it can reduce significant maintenance costs. Although commercial acoustic emission sensors have been used to monitor partial discharges in power transformers, they still represent a significant cost. In order to overcome this drawback, this paper presents a study of the feasibility of low-cost piezoelectric sensors to identify partial discharges in mineral insulating oil of power transformers. The analysis of the feasibility of the proposed low-cost sensor is performed by its comparison with a commercial acoustic emission sensor commonly used to detect partial discharges. The comparison between the responses in the time and frequency domain of both sensors was carried out and the experimental results indicate that the proposed piezoelectric sensors have great potential in the detection of acoustic waves generated by partial discharges in insulation oil, contributing for the popularization of this noninvasive technique.
    Electronic ISSN: 1424-8220
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology , Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2015-10-13
    Description: Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings are periodically challenged by biotic and abiotic stresses. The ability of endophytes to colonize the interior of plants could confer benefits to host plants that may play an important role in plant adaptation to environmental changes. In this greenhouse study, nursery-grown Douglas-fir seedlings were inoculated with diazotrophic endophytes previously isolated from poplar and willow trees and grown for fifteen months in nutrient-poor conditions. Inoculated seedlings had significant increases in biomass (48%), root length (13%) and shoot height (16%) compared to the control seedlings. Characterization of these endophytes for symbiotic traits in addition to nitrogen fixation revealed that they can also solubilize phosphate and produce siderophores. Colonization was observed through fluorescent microscopy in seedlings inoculated with gfp- and mkate-tagged strains. Inoculation with beneficial endophytes could prove to be valuable for increasing the production of planting stocks in forest nurseries.
    Electronic ISSN: 1999-4907
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2015-10-16
    Description: This paper presents a novel method to compensate for hysteresis nonlinearities observed in the response of a tactile sensor. The External Loop Adaptation Method (ELAM) performs a piecewise linear mapping of the experimentally measured external curves of the hysteresis loop to obtain all possible internal cycles. The optimal division of the input interval where the curve is approximated is provided by the error minimization algorithm. This process is carried out off line and provides parameters to compute the split point in real time. A different linear transformation is then performed at the left and right of this point and a more precise fitting is achieved. The models obtained with the ELAM method are compared with those obtained from three other approaches. The results show that the ELAM method achieves a more accurate fitting. Moreover, the involved mathematical operations are simpler and therefore easier to implement in devices such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGAs) for real time applications. Furthermore, the method needs to identify fewer parameters and requires no previous selection process of operators or functions. Finally, the method can be applied to other sensors or actuators with complex hysteresis loop shapes.
    Electronic ISSN: 1424-8220
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology , Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2015-10-22
    Description: In recent years, due to the rise in petroleum prices and greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy has been recommended as a power source for different types of facilities. For the period 2010 to 2020 the European Commission has established three key objectives related to climatic change and energy sustainability, such as reductions of CO2 emissions, increases in the use of renewable energy, and improvements in energy efficiency. A key industry is olive oil production in olive mills, where there is a great opportunity to reduce electricity consumption, increase additional profits related to the reduction of technologies that are harmful to the environment, and to cut back maintenance costs. For this reason, a feasibility study of grid-connected photovoltaics (PV) systems has been carried out for different types of olive mills in Andalusia (southern Spain). This region is highly energy dependent, but has an abundance of “green” resources to be exploited. The results of this study contemplate a reduction in spending on electrical power of between 2% and 37%, and an increase in the use of renewable energy of between 2% and 26%. These results are according to the self-consumption or net metering policy and the production capacity of olive oil.
    Electronic ISSN: 1996-1073
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Published by MDPI Publishing
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2015-12-17
    Description: Direct sensor–digital device interfaces measure time dependent variables of simple circuits to implement analog-to-digital conversion. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are devices whose hardware can be reconfigured to work in parallel. They usually do not have analog-to-digital converters, but have many general purpose I/O pins. Therefore, direct sensor-FPGA connection is a good choice in complex systems with many sensors because several capture modules can be implemented to perform parallel analog data acquisition. The possibility to work in parallel and with high frequency clock signals improves the bandwidth compared to sequential devices such as conventional microcontrollers. The price to pay is usually the resolution of measurements. This paper proposes capture modules implemented in an FPGA which are able to perform smart acquisition that filter noise and achieve high precision. A calibration technique is also proposed to improve accuracy. Resolutions of 12 effective number of bits are obtained for the reading of resistors in the range of an example piezoresistive tactile sensor.
    Electronic ISSN: 1424-8220
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology , Electrical Engineering, Measurement and Control Technology
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2015-12-23
    Description: A recent approach to mitigate the adverse effects of photovoltaic (PV) arrays operating under mismatching conditions is the dynamic electrical reconfiguration of the PV panels. This paper introduces a procedure to determine the best configuration of a PV array connected in a series-parallel structure without using complex mathematical models. Such a procedure uses the experimental current vs. voltage curves of the PV panels, which are composed of multiple PV modules, to construct the power vs. voltage curves of all of the possible configurations to identify the optimal one. The main advantage of this method is the low computational effort required to reconstruct the power vs. voltage curves of the array. This characteristic enables one to implement the proposed solution using inexpensive embedded devices, which are widely adopted in industrial applications. The proposed method, and its embedded implementation, were tested using a hardware-in-the-loop simulation of the PV system. Finally, the real-time operation and benefits of the proposed solution are illustrated using a practical example based on commercial devices.
    Electronic ISSN: 1996-1073
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
    Published by MDPI Publishing
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