Control of a one-legged robot with energy savings

This paper presents a new strategy to control an one-legged robot aiming to reduce the energy expended by the system. To validate this algorithm, a classic method as benchmark was used. This method has been extensively validated by simulations and experimental prototypes in the literature. For simplicity reasons, the work is restricted to the two dimensional case due to simplicity reasons. This new method is compared to the classic one with respect to performance and energy expended by the system. The model consists on a springy leg, a simple body, and an actuated hinge-type hip. The new control strategy is composed of three parts, considering the hopping height, the forward speed, and the body orientation separately. The method exploits the system passive dynamics, defined as non-forced response of the system. In this case, the model is modified adding a spring to the hip. The method defines a desired leg trajectory close to the passive hip swing movement. Simulation results for both methods are analyzed and compared.

Homogeneous assay technologies in drug screening: Quenching Resonance Energy Transfer (QRET) technique

Information gained from the human genome project and improvements in compound synthesizing have increased the number of both therapeutic targets and potential lead compounds. This has evolved a need for better screening techniques to have a capacity to screen number of compound libraries against increasing amount of targets. Radioactivity based assays have been traditionally used in drug screening but the fluorescence based assays have become more popular in high throughput screening (HTS) as they avoid safety and waste problems confronted with radioactivity. In comparison to conventional fluorescence more sensitive detection is obtained with time-resolved luminescence which has increased the popularity of time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) based assays. To simplify the current TR-FRET based assay concept the luminometric homogeneous single-label utilizing assay technique, Quenching Resonance Energy Transfer (QRET), was developed. The technique utilizes soluble quencher to quench non-specifically the signal of unbound fraction of lanthanide labeled ligand. One labeling procedure and fewer manipulation steps in the assay concept are saving resources. The QRET technique is suitable for both biochemical and cell-based assays as indicated in four studies:1) ligand screening study of β2 -adrenergic receptor (cell-based), 2) activation study of Gs-/Gi-protein coupled receptors by measuring intracellular concentration of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cell-based), 3) activation study of G-protein coupled receptors by observing the binding of guanosine-5’-triphosphate (cell membranes), and 4) activation study of small GTP binding protein Ras (biochemical). Signal-to-background ratios were between 2.4 to 10 and coefficient of variation varied from 0.5 to 17% indicating their suitability to HTS use.

Wastewater Treatment and Deinking Sludge Utilization Possibilities for Energy and Material Recovery in the Leningrad Region

Operation of pulp and paper mills generates waste including wastewater treatment sludge and deinking sludge. Both sludge types are generated in large amounts and are mainly disposed of in landfills in the Leningrad Region resulting in environmental degradation. The thesis was aimed at seeking new sustainable ways of sludge utilization. Two paper mills operating in the Leningrad Region and landfilling their sludge were identified: “SCA Hygiene Products Russia” and “Knauf”. The former generates 150 t/day of deinking sludge, the latter – 145 t/day of secondary sludge. Chemical analyses of deinking sludge were performed to assess applicability of sludge in construction materials production processes. Higher heating value on dry basis of both sludge types was determined to evaluate energy potential of sludge generated in the Leningrad Region. Total energy output from sludge incineration was calculated. Deinking sludge could be utilized in the production process of “LSR-Cement” or “Slantsy Cement Plant Cesla” factories, and “Pobeda” and “Nikolsky” brick mills without exceeding current sludge management costs.

Commercialization of Modern Renewable Energy

The threat of global warming and its consequences are widely recognized, and the question of how to proceed with the long transition towards fossil fuel -neutral economies concerns many nations and people. At the same time the world’s primary energy use is predicted to increase significantly during the next decades as a result of global population and welfare increase. Improved energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy sources in the world’s energy mix play important roles in the future energy production and consumption. The objective of this thesis is to study how novel renewable energy technologies, such as distributed small-scale bio-fueled combined heat and power production and wind power technologies could be commercialized efficiently. A wide array of attributes may contribute to the diffusion of new products. In general, the bioenergy and wind power technologies are in emerging phases, and the diffusion stage varies from country to country. The effects of firms’ technology choices, collaboration and alliances are studied in this thesis. Furthermore, the roles of national energy infrastructure and energy support schemes in the commercialization of new renewable energy products are explored. The empirical data is based on energy expert interviews, financial and patent data, and literature reviews of different case studies. The thesis comprises two parts. The first part provides an overview of the study, and the second part includes six research publications. The results reveal that small-scale bio-fueled combined heat and power production and wind power technologies are still in emerging phases in their life cycles, and energy support schemes are crucial in the market diffusion. The study contributes to earlier findings in the literature and industry by confirming that adequate energy policies and energy infrastructure are fundamental in the commercialization of novel renewable energy technologies. Firm-specific issues, including business relationships and new business models, and market-related issues will have a more significant role in the market penetration in the future, when the technologies mature and become competitive without political support schemes.

Price spike forecasting in a competitive day-ahead energy market

Electricity price forecasting has become an important area of research in the aftermath of the worldwide deregulation of the power industry that launched competitive electricity markets now embracing all market participants including generation and retail companies, transmission network providers, and market managers. Based on the needs of the market, a variety of approaches forecasting day-ahead electricity prices have been proposed over the last decades. However, most of the existing approaches are reasonably effective for normal range prices but disregard price spike events, which are caused by a number of complex factors and occur during periods of market stress. In the early research, price spikes were truncated before application of the forecasting model to reduce the influence of such observations on the estimation of the model parameters; otherwise, a very large forecast error would be generated on price spike occasions. Electricity price spikes, however, are significant for energy market participants to stay competitive in a market. Accurate price spike forecasting is important for generation companies to strategically bid into the market and to optimally manage their assets; for retailer companies, since they cannot pass the spikes onto final customers, and finally, for market managers to provide better management and planning for the energy market. This doctoral thesis aims at deriving a methodology able to accurately predict not only the day-ahead electricity prices within the normal range but also the price spikes. The Finnish day-ahead energy market of Nord Pool Spot is selected as the case market, and its structure is studied in detail. It is almost universally agreed in the forecasting literature that no single method is best in every situation. Since the real-world problems are often complex in nature, no single model is able to capture different patterns equally well. Therefore, a hybrid methodology that enhances the modeling capabilities appears to be a possibly productive strategy for practical use when electricity prices are predicted. The price forecasting methodology is proposed through a hybrid model applied to the price forecasting in the Finnish day-ahead energy market. The iterative search procedure employed within the methodology is developed to tune the model parameters and select the optimal input set of the explanatory variables. The numerical studies show that the proposed methodology has more accurate behavior than all other examined methods most recently applied to case studies of energy markets in different countries. The obtained results can be considered as providing extensive and useful information for participants of the day-ahead energy market, who have limited and uncertain information for price prediction to set up an optimal short-term operation portfolio. Although the focus of this work is primarily on the Finnish price area of Nord Pool Spot, given the result of this work, it is very likely that the same methodology will give good results when forecasting the prices on energy markets of other countries.

Applying Nordic Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solutions in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia

RENSOL (Regional Energy Solutions) project deals with the use of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions in Kaliningrad Oblast to tackle climate change. Overall objective of the RENSOL work package 1 is to build awareness and knowledge on solutions for energy efficient buildings and street lightning applications. The project report describes available solutions to improve housing energy efficiency.

Performance Determinants of Renewable Energy Companies

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the Performance Determinants (PD) of Renewable Energy (RE) companies. It analyzes the background of the RE industry while reflecting simultaneous developments in the fossil based industries. I divided the determinants into two groups: market level and firm level and established hypotheses based on the existing literature. Data from public companies was gathered to construct a Panel Data structure. This is then tested by using a Linear Regression with Fixed Effects model. The model specification was efficient at reflecting the analyzed phenomena. My results showed that both market level and firm level determinants are significant in the RE Industry but the firm level determinants had higher explanatory power (R2). The determinants' relationships were found to follow those from the manufacturing industry more than the utilities' industry. Out of the market level determinants Consumer Price Index (CPI), Interest Rates and Oil prices were significant. Out of the firm level determinants Debt to Assets, Net Investments, Cash flows from operations, Sales and Earnings Before Interests and Taxes (EBIT) were significant. I concluded that this information is valuable for key industry players as they can achieve their objectives faster by elaborating better strategies using these results.

Evaluation of methods for estimating energy performance of biogas production

This study focused on identifying various system boundaries and evaluating methods of estimating energy performance of biogas production. First, the output-input ratio method used for evaluating energy performance from the system boundaries was reviewed. Secondly, ways to assess the efficiency of biogas use and parasitic energy demand were investigated. Thirdly, an approach for comparing biogas production to other energy production methods was evaluated. Data from an existing biogas plant, located in Finland, was used for the evaluation of the methods. The results indicate that calculating and comparing the output-input ratios (Rpr1, Rpr2, Rut, Rpl and Rsy) can be used in evaluating the performance of biogas production system. In addition, the parasitic energy demand calculations (w) and the efficiency of utilizing produced biogas (η) provide detailed information on energy performance of the biogas plant. Furthermore, Rf and energy output in relation to total solid mass of feedstock (FO/TS) are useful in comparing biogas production with other energy recovery technologies. As a conclusion it is essential for the comparability of biogas plants that their energy performance would be calculated in a more consistent manner in the future.