Towards the wide implementation of standards IEC 61968/70 (CIM) and IEC 61850 in the distribution system (CIGRÉ C6-105_2010)

Currently, power systems (PS) already accommodate a substantial penetration of distributed generation (DG) and operate in competitive environments. In the future, as the result of the liberalisation and political regulations, PS will have to deal with large-scale integration of DG and other distributed energy resources (DER), such as storage and provide market agents to ensure a flexible and secure operation. This cannot be done with the traditional PS operational tools used today like the quite restricted information systems Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) [1]. The trend to use the local generation in the active operation of the power system requires new solutions for data management system. The relevant standards have been developed separately in the last few years so there is a need to unify them in order to receive a common and interoperable solution. For the distribution operation the CIM models described in the IEC 61968/70 are especially relevant. In Europe dispersed and renewable energy resources (D&RER) are mostly operated without remote control mechanisms and feed the maximal amount of available power into the grid. To improve the network operation performance the idea of virtual power plants (VPP) will become a reality. In the future power generation of D&RER will be scheduled with a high accuracy. In order to realize VPP decentralized energy management, communication facilities are needed that have standardized interfaces and protocols. IEC 61850 is suitable to serve as a general standard for all communication tasks in power systems [2]. The paper deals with international activities and experiences in the implementation of a new data management and communication concept in the distribution system. The difficulties in the coordination of the inconsistent developed in parallel communication and data management standards - are first addressed in the paper. The upcoming unification work taking into account the growing role of D&RER in the PS is shown. It is possible to overcome the lag in current practical experiences using new tools for creating and maintenance the CIM data and simulation of the IEC 61850 protocol – the prototype of which is presented in the paper –. The origin and the accuracy of the data requirements depend on the data use (e.g. operation or planning) so some remarks concerning the definition of the digital interface incorporated in the merging unit idea from the power utility point of view are presented in the paper too. To summarize some required future work has been identified.

Master's in autonomous systems: an overview of the robotics curriculum and outcomes at ISEP, Portugal

Robotics research in Portugal is increasing every year, but few students embrace it as one of their first choices for study. Until recently, job offers for engineers were plentiful, and those looking for a degree in science and technology would avoid areas considered to be demanding, like robotics. At the undergraduate level, robotics programs are still competing for a place in the classical engineering graduate curricula. Innovative and dynamic Master’s programs may offer the solution to this gap. The Master’s degree in autonomous systems at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal, was designed to provide a solid training in robotics and has been showing interesting results, mainly due to differences in course structure and the context in which students are welcomed to study and work

A survey of e-learning content aggregation standards

As e-learning gradually evolved many specialized and disparate systems appeared to fulfil the needs of teachers and students, such as repositories of learning objects, authoring tools, intelligent tutors and automatic evaluators. This heterogeneity raises interoperability issues giving the standardization of content an important role in e-learning. This article presents a survey on current e-learning content aggregation standards focusing on their internal organization and packaging. This study is part of an effort to choose the most suitable specifications and standards for an e-learning framework called Ensemble defined as a conceptual tool to organize a network of e-learning systems and services for domains with complex evaluation.

Master's in Autonomous Systems: An Overview of the Robotics Curriculum and Outcomes at ISEP, Portugal

Robotics research in Portugal is increasing every year, but few students embrace it as one of their first choices for study. Until recently, job offers for engineers were plentiful, and those looking for a degree in science and technology would avoid areas considered to be demanding, like robotics. At the undergraduate level, robotics programs are still competing for a place in the classical engineering graduate curricula. Innovative and dynamic Master's programs may offer the solution to this gap. The Master's degree in autonomous systems at the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Porto, Portugal, was designed to provide a solid training in robotics and has been showing interesting results, mainly due to differences in course structure and the context in which students are welcomed to study and work.

Trace Elements in Ambient Air at Porto Metropolitan Area—Checking for Compliance with New European Union (Eu) Air Quality Standards

Because of the scientific evidence showing that arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni) are human genotoxic carcinogens, the European Union (EU) recently set target values for metal concentration in ambient air (As: 6 ng/m3, Cd: 5 ng/m3, Ni: 20 ng/m3). The aim of our study was to determine the concentration levels of these trace elements in Porto Metropolitan Area (PMA) in order to assess whether compliance was occurring with these new EU air quality standards. Fine (PM2.5) and inhalable (PM10) air particles were collected from October 2011 to July 2012 at two different (urban and suburban) locations in PMA. Samples were analyzed for trace elements content by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The study focused on determination of differences in trace elements concentration between the two sites, and between PM2.5 and PM10, in order to gather information regarding emission sources. Except for chromium (Cr), the concentration of all trace elements was higher at the urban site. However, results for As, Cd, Ni, and lead (Pb) were well below the EU limit/target values (As: 1.49 ± 0.71 ng/m3; Cd: 1.67 ± 0.92 ng/m3; Ni: 3.43 ± 3.23 ng/m3; Pb: 17.1 ± 10.1 ng/m3) in the worst-case scenario. Arsenic, Cd, Ni, Pb, antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn) were predominantly associated to PM2.5, indicating that anthropogenic sources such as industry and road traffic are the main source of these elements. High enrichment factors (EF > 100) were obtained for As, Cd, Pb, Sb, Se, and Zn, further confirming their anthropogenic origin.

Guia de Implementação BIM em organizações e projetos

A adoção da metodologia BIM (Building Information Modeling) é vista como um processo transformador que engloba as empresas e os seus projetos e, em última instância, toda a Indústria da Construção Civil. Devido ao facto de que o BIM é um complexo sistema cuja implementação tem impactos sociais, técnicos e metodológicos, este tema há já alguns anos que tem sido alvo de pesquisas com o objetivo primordial de difundir as práticas associadas ao BIM nas empresas, nos seus projetos, e na indústria. Um pouco por todo mundo, várias iniciativas de entidades públicas e privadas, governamentais e não-governamentais, têm produzido guias, normas, manuais e outros documentos que funcionam como um motor propulsor da implementação BIM. O presente trabalho contém a proposta de um Guia de Implementação da Metodologia BIM, desenvolvido no contexto do um estágio curricular levado a cabo na empresa Building Information Modeling & Management Solutions (BIMMS) e que resultou do estudo e adaptação de alguns dos mais conceituados guias, normas e manuais BIM existentes e em vigor noutros países. Este documento de caráter técnico e prático foi concebido para servir o propósito de auxiliar gabinetes de Engenharia, Arquitetura, e empresas de Construção na integração do BIM na sua atividade e foi elaborado com o intuito de poder ser divulgado e utilizado como referência a nível nacional.

A Metrologia na Indústria Aeronáutica

O presente relatório é um dos elementos que contribuirão para a concretização da avaliação individual da Unidade Curricular de Dissertação/Projeto/Estágio Profissional, inserida no plano de estudos do Mestrado em Engenharia de Instrumentação e Metrologia e traduz o trabalho realizado na empresa Caetano Aeronautic. O estágio, com a duração de sete meses, permitiu a concretização de finalidades e objetivos que deram suporte ao desenvolvimento das aprendizagens e mobilização dos saberes científicos relativos a domínios e conteúdos curriculares, nomeadamente inseridos nas áreas da Metrologia e Qualidade. A Metrologia é circunscrita como a ciência da medição. A medição é uma operação de extrema relevância em diversas atividades, porque é através da Metrologia que se garante um elevado nível de qualidade pretendido para a conceção, fabricação e utilização de serviços ou produtos. Face à indústria aeronáutica envolver um elevado conjunto de processos, de normas e documentação, foi necessário inicialmente um envolvimento integrado com o Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade da Caetano Aeronautic e com as operações inerentes, nomeadamente de melhoria contínua. Foram desenvolvidas, dentro do possível, propostas de melhoria no processo de inspeção dos componentes aeronáuticos. Dentro das mesmas destacam-se a alteração dos registos de medição, o estudo e posterior proposta de aquisição de ferramentas adicionais para equipamentos de medição. O fluxo de medição tornou-se mais fluído através da concretização da proposta de alteração do layout do laboratório. De salientar o trabalho desenvolvido na área da Engenharia da Qualidade, nomeadamente no tratamento de não conformidades, o que contribuiu para que o processo se encontre atualmente bastante simplificado na empresa.