The NACIR Project: New Applications for CPV'S: A fast way to improve reliability and Technology progress

The main goal of this proposal is to join together the owners of the most advanced CPV technology, with respect to the state of the art, in order to research from its leading position new applications for CPV systems. In addition to opening up new markets, it will unveil possible sources of failure in new environments outside Europe, in order to assure component reliability. The proposed project will also try to improve the current technology of the industrial partners (ISOFOTON and CONCENTRIX) by accelerating the learning curve that CPV must follow in order to reach the competitive market, and lowering the cost under the current flat panel PV significantly within 3-4 years. The use of CPV systems in remote areas, together with harsher radiation, ambient and infrastructure conditions will help to increase the rate of progress of this technology. In addition, the ISFOC s contribution, which brings together seven power plants from seven CPV technologies up to 3 MWpeak, will allow creating the most complete database of components and systems performance to be generated as well as the effects of radiation and meteorology on systems operations. Finally, regarding the new applications for CPV subject, the project will use a CPV system sized 25 kWp in a stand-alone station in Egypt (NWRC) for the first time for water pumping and irrigation purposes. In a similar way ISOFOTON will connect up to 25 kWp CPV to the Moroccan ONE utility grid. From the research content point of view of this project, which is directly addressed by the scope of the call, the cooperative research between UPM, FhG-ISE and the two companies will be favoured by the fact that all are progressing in similar directions: developing two-stage optics CPV systems. In addition to these technology improvements the UPM is very interested in developing a new concept of module, recently patented, which will fulfil all required characteristics of a good CPV with less components and reducing cost.

New tool to assess the force production in the swallow

8 men artistic gymnasts were evaluated with a new test protocol in order to assess isometric strength in an specific hold position on still rings. The proposed test protocol measures the force applied the gymnast on the rings from an initial lying prone position on a force platform while he is trying to achieve the Swallow (or Hirondelle) position. The vertical force (FZ) from the forcetime curve registered (100 Hz) was used and it showed a descent from the initial body weight level caused by the gymnast force on the rings and, later, a maximal isometric force period. Fundamental and derivate variables to extract from the evolution of Fz were defined. Results showed significant statistical differences between gymnasts that could perform the Swallow (P) from those that could not (NP) (pmenor que0.05). Performer gymnasts were characterized by a higher percentage of body weight descent and higher strength in relation to body mass (pmenor que0.05). The practical application of this tool could be to provide coaches with information about how close the gymnast is to perform the Swallow.

New method for analytical photovoltaic parameters identification: meeting manufacturer’s datasheet for different ambient conditions

At present, photovoltaic energy is one of the most important renewable energy sources. The demand for solar panels has been continuously growing, both in the industrial electric sector and in the private sector. In both cases the analysis of the solar panel efficiency is extremely important in order to maximize the energy production. In order to have a more efficient photovoltaic system, the most accurate understanding of this system is required. However, in most of the cases the only information available in this matter is reduced, the experimental testing of the photovoltaic device being out of consideration, normally for budget reasons. Several methods, normally based on an equivalent circuit model, have been developed to extract the I-V curve of a photovoltaic device from the small amount of data provided by the manufacturer. The aim of this paper is to present a fast, easy, and accurate analytical method, developed to calculate the equivalent circuit parameters of a solar panel from the only data that manufacturers usually provide. The calculated circuit accurately reproduces the solar panel behavior, that is, the I-V curve. This fact being extremely important for practical reasons such as selecting the best solar panel in the market for a particular purpose, or maximize the energy extraction with MPPT (Maximum Peak Power Tracking) methods.

Health monitoring of a new hysteretic damper subjected to earthquakes on a shaking table

This paper presents the experimental results obtained by applying frequency-domain structural health monitoring techniques to assess the damage suffered on a special type of damper called Web Plastifying Damper (WPD). The WPD is a hysteretic type energy dissipator recently developed for the passive control of structures subjected to earthquakes. It consists of several I-section steel segments connected in parallel. The energy is dissipated through plastic deformations of the web of the I-sections, which constitute the dissipative parts of the damper. WPDs were subjected to successive histories of dynamically-imposed cyclic deformations of increasing magnitude with the shaking table of the University of Granada. To assess the damage to the web of the I-section steel segments after each history of loading, a new damage index called Area Index of Damage (AID) was obtained from simple vibration tests. The vibration signals were acquired by means of piezoelectric sensors attached on the I-sections, and non-parametric statistical methods were applied to calculate AID in terms of changes in frequency response functions. The damage index AID was correlated with another energy-based damage index-ID- which past research has proven to accurately characterize the level of mechanical damage. The ID is rooted in the decomposition of the load-displacement curve experienced by the damper into the so-called skeleton and Bauschinger parts. ID predicts the level of damage and the proximity to failure of the damper accurately, but it requires costly instrumentation. The experiments reported in this paper demonstrate a good correlation between AID and ID in a realistic seismic loading scenario consisting of dynamically applied arbitrary cyclic loads. Based on this correlation, it is possible to estimate ID indirectly from the AID, which calls for much simpler and less expensive instrumentation.