Phase II report : preliminary investigation of small-scale hydropower potential at five sites in Illinois /

"Project no. 80.190."

Small-scale hydropower development in Illinois : an implementation manual /

"Project no. 80.190."

Waterpower '79 : the first International Conference on Small-Scale Hydropower : conference proceedings.

Item 337

Business opportunities in power sector of Ukraine : focus small-scale hydro and wind power sectors

In the last few years, the Ukrainian investment market has constantly shown strong performance and significant growth. This is primarily due to the investment attractiveness of Ukraine. From the perspective of investments in energy sector, Ukraine can be described as a country providing significant number of opportunities to multiply invested funds. But there are numbers of risks which hamper large investments. The work objective was to discover opportunities in small-scale hydropower and wind power sectors of Ukraine and more importantly to prove economic expediency of such investments. Thesis covers major of issues, concerning entering the Ukrainian power market as a foreign investor. It provides basic information about the structure of power market, the state of renewables sector in Ukraine, development of power sector in the regions, functioning of Wholesale Electricity Market, formation of electricity prices, possibilities for implementing joint Implementation mechanism, while the most attention, nevertheless, is concentrated on the opportunities in small-scale hydro and wind power sectors. Theoretical part of the study disclosed that Crimea peninsula has perfect wind conditions and could be a prospective area for wind project development. Investment analysis revealed that project profits will be excellent if green tariff for renewable energy is adopted. By the moment uncertainties about green law adoption bring additional risk to the projects and complicate any investment decision.

EVALUATING VIBRATIONS ON A SMALL-SCALE MODEL OF A TIMBER FOOTBRIDGE

In Brazil, the study of pedestrian-induced vibration on footbridges has been undertaken since the early 1990s, for concrete and steel footbridges. However, there are no recorded studies of this kind for timber footbridges. Brazilian code ABNT NBR 7190 (1997) gives design requirements only for static loads in the case of timber footbridges, without considering the serviceability limit state from pedestrian-induced vibrations. The aim of this work is to perform a theoretical dynamic, numerical and experimental analysis on simply-supported timber footbridges, by using a small-scale model developed from a 24 m span and 2 m width timber footbridge, with two main timber beams. Span and width were scaled down (1:4) to 6 m e 0.5 in, respectively. Among the conclusions reached herein, it is emphasized that the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is suitable for calculating the vertical and lateral first natural frequencies in simply-supported timber footbridges; however, special attention should be given to the evaluation of lateral bending stiffness, as it leads to conservative values.

Extraction and purification of total RNA from banana tissues (small scale)

Introduction. This protocol aims at preparing total RNA for gene expression analysis by Northern blots, RT-PCR and real-time quantitative PCR; cDNA isolation by RTPCR; and cDNA library construction. The principle, key advantages, starting plant material, time required for obtaining total RNA and expected results are presented. Materials and methods. This part describes the required materials and the 27 steps necessary for preparing RNA from peel and pulp fruit tissue: preparation of plant tissue powder, preparation of the complete RNA extraction buffer and isolation of RNA from ground banana fruit tissue. Results. Extraction of total RNA by the method described makes it possible to achieve electrophoresis under denatured conditions and in vitro reverse transcription. An example for Northern blot analysis is illustrated.

Estimating Investment Risk in Small-Scale Plantation Rainforest Cabinet Timbers and Eucalypts

‘This book is a landmark opening and first attempt at such a process for defining farm forestry, as well as making a contribution to small-scale forestry.’

A technique to assess small-scale heterogeneity of chemical properties in soil aggregates

A new method is presented which allows the separation of the soil aggregate exterior from the aggregate core. The method employs a combination of aggregate freezing with rapid separation of aggregate exteriors using ultrasonic energy. The factors influencing the thickness of the removed aggregate surface layer include water content of the aggregate prior to freezing, temperature difference between that of the frozen aggregate and that of the liquid it is submerged in during sonification, sonification time and energy, and the type of the immersion liquid. The success of the method and the thickness of the removed aggregate surface were examined using barium ( Ba2+) as a tracer. Barium ( as BaCl2) is rapidly absorbed by soil and is present at only very low levels in natural soils. Surface layers of 0.2 - 0.4 cm thickness were successfully removed from aggregates of 1 - 4 cm diameter. Two examples are given from soils in northern NSW to demonstrate the occurrence of small- scale heterogeneity in soil chemical properties. Compared with the surface fraction, a 4 - 7% higher calcium concentration was found in the core fraction of a clay loam soil ( Dermosol). Conversely, on a cracking clay soil ( Vertosol), atrazine concentration was around 15 times greater in the aggregate surface fractions compared with core fractions. Compared with the traditional estimation of soil chemical properties on homogenised bulk soil samples, it is suggested that separate analysis of aggregate surface and core fractions could provide useful additional information on the relationships between soil properties and environmental responses.

Strategies of the small-scale fisheries on the Central Amazon floodplain

A multivariate approach was applied to data of small-scale fisheries developed in Central Amazon, using information about catch composition, environment, fishing gear and season of the hydrological cycle. The correspondence analysis demonstrated to be a good tool for the analysis related multispecies fisheries. The analysis identified patterns of use of fisheries resources by the riverine communities, showing the correlation between the environmental factors and the fishing strategy for the capture of target fish species, indicating the high level of empiric knowledge about the environment and fisheries.

In-line rheo-optical characterization during small-scale polymer processing and compounding

As increasingly more sophisticated materials and products are being developed and times-to-market need to be minimized, it is important to make available fast response characterization tools using small amounts of sample, capable of conveying data on the relationships between rheological response, process-induced material structure and product characteristics. For this purpose, a single / twin-screw mini-extrusion system of modular construction, with well-controlled outputs in the range 30-300 g/h, was coupled to a in- house developed rheo-optical slit die able to measure shear viscosity and normal-stress differences, as well as performing rheo-optical experiments, namely small angle light scattering (SALS) and polarized optical microscopy (POM). In addition, the mini-extruder is equipped with ports that allow sample collection, and the extrudate can be further processed into products to be tested later. Here, we present the concept and experimental set-up [1, 2]. As a typical application, we report on the characterization of the processing of a polymer blend and of the properties of extruded sheets. The morphological evolution of a PS/PMMA industrial blend along the extruder, the flow-induced structures developed and the corresponding rheological characteristics are presented, together with the mechanical and structural characteristics of produced sheets. The application of this experimental tool to other material systems will also be discussed.