This edited volume establishes a forum for international experts to explore cutting-edge questions associated with the land use and biomass production. Topics include 'do we have enough land, either primary or marginal, to accommodate future production of biomass?', 'how are farming decisions made in response to biomass incentives?', 'is the current bio-mass production socially, economically and environmentally sustainable?', and 'what are the main constraints currently limiting biofuel deployment?' The expansion of biomass production is often at the cost of reduced land availability for food production and losses of areas with ecological functions such as forests and wetlands. This process often involves complex interplay of physical dynamics and human systems that are driven by numerous geographic and socio-economic factors at different scales. Thus, the state-of-the-art research on the land use issues surrounding the biomass production and its environmental impacts is important for informed land management decision making. This book will be of great use to researchers in land use management and biomass-based renewable energy, as well as practitioners.

This book covers the analysis, modelling, planning, and design of airport landside access modes and their systems. It elaborates on the issues and related problems of airport landside accessibility in an innovative, comprehensive and systematic way. In addition to the general concept of accessibility, the book addresses the analysis and modelling of infrastructure-related, technological, operational, economic, social and environmental performance of road- and rail-based transport systems, as well as the core principles of their planning and design. The book provides guidelines on the modelling, planning, and design of airport landside access modes and their systems, which will contribute to the overall sustainable development of airports. Its main features are: presents a multidimensional examination of performance for specific airport landside access modes and their systems; pursues a qualitative and quantitative approach to developing performance indicators for estimating the sustainability of airport landside access modes and their systems; includes illustrative cases of airport landside accessibility, and numerical examples as exercises for assessing performance using the systems' indicators. As such, the book offers a valuable source of information for all practitioners involved in analysing, planning and designing more environmentally friendly airport access modes and systems, and who want to learn how to overcome the issues and problems surrounding landside accessibility. It will also benefit students studying the analysis and modelling of transportation systems, and researchers seeking to promote improved sustainability at airports.

This book promotes the use of mathematical optimization and operations research methods in rail transportation. The editors assembled thirteen contributions from leading scholars to present a unified voice, standardize terminology, and assess the state-of-the-art. There are three main clusters of articles, corresponding to the classical stages of the planning process: strategic, tactical, and operational. These three clusters are further subdivided into five parts which correspond to the main phases of the railway network planning process: network assessment, capacity planning, timetabling, resource planning, and operational planning. Individual chapters cover: Simulation Capacity Assessment Network Design Train Routing Robust Timetabling Event Scheduling Track Allocation Blocking Shunting Rolling Stock Crew Scheduling Dispatching Delay Propagation

Control Systems: Classical, Modern, and AI-Based Approaches provides a broad and comprehensive study of the principles, mathematics, and applications for those studying basic control in mechanical, electrical, aerospace, and other engineering disciplines. The text builds a strong mathematical foundation of control theory of linear, nonlinear, optimal, model predictive, robust, digital, and adaptive control systems, and it addresses applications in several emerging areas, such as aircraft, electro-mechanical, and some nonengineering systems: DC motor control, steel beam thickness control, drum boiler, motional control system, chemical reactor, head-disk assembly, pitch control of an aircraft, yaw-damper control, helicopter control, and tidal power control. Decentralized control, game-theoretic control, and control of hybrid systems are discussed. Also, control systems based on artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, and genetic algorithms, termed as AI-based systems are studied and analyzed with applications such as auto-landing aircraft, industrial process control, active suspension system, fuzzy gain scheduling, PID control, and adaptive neuro control. Numerical coverage with MATLAB (R) is integrated, and numerous examples and exercises are included for each chapter. Associated MATLAB (R) code will be made available.

In view of the increased consumption of energy due to the proliferation of electronic devices, this book addresses the trends, similarities, differences and advances in fuel cells of both chemical and biological composition. Fundamentals of microbial fuel cells are described, accompanied by details surrounding their uses and limitations. Chapters on electricigens, microbial group investigations and performance, Rumen Fluid microbes and state-of-the-art advances in microbial fuel cell technology are discussed. The book elaborates upon analytical techniques used for biofilm characterization. It also includes chapters on MFC models that include plant-based MFCs, Algal/Fungi MFCs, MDCs and MFCs using animal waste. A critical review on the performance of MFC technology in field trials is offered in an exclusively dedicated section. By addressing one of the most promising sources for clean and renewable energy, this book fills a pressing need to understand a possible solution for meeting the energy demands in our highly advanced technical world.

This book addresses electrocatalysis based on chalcogenides, particularly in the nanoscale domain. Special attention is paid to the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The book provides an introduction to materials synthesis; the basic principles of electrocatalysis; related precious metal versus non-precious metal catalytic center chalcogenides as well as supports; and the role of such supports in stabilizing the catalytic centers. In short: pursuing a bottom-up approach, it covers the properties of this class of electrocatalysts and examines their applications in low-temperature fuel systems such as microfluidic fuel cells for portable devices. Accordingly, it is ideally suited for all professionals and researchers interested in electrochemistry, renewable energy and electrocatalysis, and non-precious metal centers for chemical energy conversion.

This book reports on the 12th International Workshop on Railway Noise held on 12-16 September 2016 at Terrigal, Australia. It gathers peer-reviewed papers describing the latest developments in rail noise and vibration, as well as state-of-the-art reviews by distinguished experts in the field. The papers cover a broad range of rail noise topics including wheel squeal, policy, regulation and perception, wheel and rail noise, predictions, measurements and monitoring, interior noise, rail roughness, corrugation and grinding, high speed rail and aerodynamic noise, and structure-borne noise, ground-borne vibration and resilient track forms. It offers an essential reference-guide to both scientists and engineers in their daily efforts to identify, understand and solve a number of problems related to railway noise and vibration, and to achieve their ultimate goal of reducing the environmental impact of railway systems.

This research book provides state-of-the-art advances in several areas of energy generation from, and environmental impact of, fuels and biofuels. It also presents novel developments in the areas of biofuels and products from various feedstock materials along with thermal management, emission control and environmental issues. Availability of clean and sustainable energy is of paramount importance in all applications of energy, power, mobility and propulsion. This book is written by internationally renowned experts from around the globe. They provide the latest innovations in cleaner energy utilization for a wide range of devices. The energy and environment sustainability requires a multipronged approach involving development and utilization of new and renewable fuels, design of fuel-flexible combustion systems and novel and environmentally friendly technologies for improved fuel use. This book serves as a good reference for practicing engineers, educators and research professionals.

This is the fifth volume of a sub series on Road Vehicle Automation published within the Lecture Notes in Mobility. Like in previous editions, scholars, engineers and analysts from all around the world have contributed chapters covering human factors, ethical, legal, energy and technology aspects related to automated vehicles, as well as transportation infrastructure and public planning. The book is based on the Automated Vehicles Symposium which was hosted by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) in San Francisco, California (USA) in July 2017.

This thesis investigates the key characteristics of magnetless doubly salient machines, evaluates their design philosophies, and proposes new topologies for various applications. It discusses the background of and previous research on magnetless machines, while also outlining upcoming trends and potential future developments. The thesis begins by presenting various torque-improving structures - namely the multi-tooth structure, the double-rotor (DR) structure, the axial-field (AF) structure, and the flux-reversal (FR) structure - for magnetless machines. It subsequently addresses the idea of merging the design philosophies of two different machines to form new dual-mode machines. Thanks to a reconfigured winding arrangement and controllable DC-field excitation, the proposed machines can further extend their operating range to meet the extreme demands of applications in electric vehicles and wind power generation. Lastly, the thesis employs the finite element method (FEM) to thoroughly analyze the proposed machines' key performance parameters and develops experimental setups to verify the proposed concepts.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of power-split device (PSD) design. It discusses vehicle energy consumption characteristics, hybrid vehicle power request solutions, typical configurations, operating principle and simulation technology of PSD hybrid system, a multi-factor integrated parametric design method and a dynamic coordinated control method for PSD hybrid system. It also describes the finite element analysis, thermal analysis and optimization of the PSD based on a surrogate model, explains the theory behind the design and the simulation, and provides concrete examples. It is a valuable resource for researchers and the engineers to gain a better understanding of the PSD design process.

This book is devoted to the systematic description of the role of microgeometry of modern piezo-active composites in the formation of their piezoelectric sensitivity. In five chapters, the authors analyse kinds of piezoelectric sensitivity for piezo-active composites with specific connectivity patterns and links between the microgeometric feature and piezoelectric response. The role of components and microgeometric factors is discussed in the context of the piezoelectric properties and their anisotropy in the composites. Interrelations between different types of the piezoelectric coefficients are highlighted. This book fills a gap in piezoelectric materials science and provides readers with data on the piezoelectric performance of novel composite materials that are suitable for sensor, transducer, hydroacoustic, energy-harvesting, and other applications.

This book will guide Photovoltaics researchers in a new way of thinking about harvesting light energy from all wavelengths of the solar spectrum. It closes the gap between general solar cells books and photovoltaics journal articles, by focusing on the latest developments in our understanding of solid-state device physics. The material presented is experimental and based on II-VI thin-film materials, mainly CdTe-based solar cells. The authors describe the use of new device design, based on multilayer graded bandgap configuration, using CdTe-based solar cells. The authors also explain how the photo-generated currents can be enhanced using multi-step charge carrier production. The possibility of fabricating these devices using low-cost and scalable electroplating is demonstrated. The value of electroplating for large area electronic devices such as PV solar panels, display devices and nano-technology devices are also demonstrated. By enabling new understanding of the engineering of electroplated semiconductor materials and providing an overview of the semiconductor physics and technology, this practical book is ideal to guide researchers, engineers, and manufacturers on future solar cell device designs and fabrications. Discusses in detail the processes of growths, treatments, solar cell device fabrication and solid state physics, improving readers' understanding of fundamental solid state physics; Enables future improvements in CdTe-based device efficiency; Explains the significance of defects in deposited semiconductor materials and interfaces that affect the material properties and resulting device performance.

This book is aimed at all those who are interested to understand the current research going on in nanomaterial science from the perspectives of biomedical, sensorial and energy applications including all aspects of physical chemist, chemical engineers and material scientist. Nanoscience and nanotechnology are at the forefront of modern research. The fast growing economy in this area requires experts with outstanding knowledge of nanoscience in combination with the skills to apply this knowledge in new products. A multidisciplinary scientific education is crucial to provide industry and research institutes with top quality experts who have a generic background in the different sub disciplines such as electronics, physics, chemistry, material science, biotechnology. The book covers recent advancement in nanoscience and nanotechnology particularly highlights the utilization of different types of nanomaterials in biomedical field, sensor and in the energy application. On the other hand, it leads the reader to the most significant recent developments in research. It provides a broad and in-depth coverage of the nanoscale materials and its depth significant applications.

The 13th volume of ToPNoC contains revised and extended versions of a selection of the best workshop papers presented at the 38th International Conference on Application and Theory of Petri Nets and Concurrency, Petri Nets 2017, and the 17th International Conference on Application of Concurrency to System Design, ACSD 2017. The 9 papers cover a diverse range of topics including model checking and system verification, refinement, and synthesis; foundational work on specific classes of Petri nets; and innovative applications of Petri nets and other models of concurrency. Application areas covered in this volume are: fault-tolerance, service composition, databases, communication protocols, business processes, and distributed systems. Thus, this volume gives a good overview of ongoing research on concurrent systems and Petri nets.

This book provides an interdisciplinary account of how technological advances - mainly in the domains of energy and transportation - contribute to the transformation towards a more sustainable economic system. Drawing on methods from engineering, the management sciences and economics, which it combines in the framework of a systems sciences approach, the book presents qualitative and quantitative studies on government regulation, resources management and firms' strategy. Topics covered include the state-market dilemma of government CO2 emission targets, implications of the electrification of the economy, incentives and coercion in government transport policies, and innovations in the electric vehicle industry.

This book systematically reviews the history of lead-free piezoelectric materials, including the latest research. It also addresses a number of important issues, such as new types of materials prepared in a multitude of sizes, structural and physical properties, and potential applications for high-performance devices. Further, it examines in detail the state of the art in lead-free piezoelectric materials, focusing on the pathways to modify different structures and achieve enhanced physical properties and new functional behavior. Lastly, it discusses the prospects for potential future developments in lead-free piezoelectric materials across disciplines and for multifunctional applications. Given its breadth of coverage, the book offers a comprehensive resource for graduate students, academic researchers, development scientists, materials producers, device designers and applications engineers who are working on or are interested in advanced lead-free piezoelectric materials.

These proceedings collect selected papers from the 7th International Conference on Green Intelligent Transportation System and Safety held in Nanjing on July 1-4, 2016. The selected works, which include state-of-the-art studies, are intended to promote the development of green mobility and intelligent transportation technology to achieve interconnectivity, resource sharing, flexibility and higher efficiency. They offer valuable insights for researchers and engineers in the fields of Transportation Technology and Traffic Engineering, Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, Industrial and System Engineering, and Electrical Engineering.

This book is the fourth volume of the sub series of the Lecture Notes in Mobility dedicated to Road Vehicle Automation. lts chapters have been written by researchers, engineers and analysts from all around the globe. Topics covered include public sector activities, human factors and challenges, ethical, legal, energy and technology perspectives, vehicle systems development, as well as transportation infrastructure and planning. The book is based on the Automated Vehicles Symposium which took place in San Francisco, California (USA) in July 2016.

This book details aluminum alloys with special focus on the aluminum silicon (Al-Si) systems - that are the most abundant alloys second only to steel. The authors include a description of the manufacturing principles, thermodynamics, and other main characteristics of Al-Si alloys. Principles of processing, testing, and in particular applications in the Automotive, Aeronautical and Aerospace fields are addressed.

This book provides a thorough overview of cutting-edge research on electronics applications relevant to industry, the environment, and society at large. It covers a broad spectrum of application domains, from automotive to space and from health to security, while devoting special attention to the use of embedded devices and sensors for imaging, communication and control. The book is based on the 2016 ApplePies Conference, held in Rome, Italy in September 2016, which brought together researchers and stakeholders to consider the most significant current trends in the field of applied electronics and to debate visions for the future. Areas addressed by the conference included information communication technology; biotechnology and biomedical imaging; space; secure, clean and efficient energy; the environment; and smart, green and integrated transport. As electronics technology continues to develop apace, constantly meeting previously unthinkable targets, further attention needs to be directed toward the electronics applications and the development of systems that facilitate human activities. This book, written by industrial and academic professionals, represents a valuable contribution in this endeavor.

This book introduces readers to essential technology assessment and forecasting tools, demonstrating their use on the basis of multiple cases. As organizations in the high-tech industry need to be able to assess emerging technologies, the book presents cases in which formal decision-making models are developed, providing a framework for decision-making in the context of technology acquisition and development. Applications of different technology forecasting tools are also discussed for a range of technologies and sectors, providing a guide to keep R&D organizations abreast of technological trends that affect their business. As such, the book offers a valuable the theoretical and practical reference guide for R&D managers responsible for emerging and future technologies.

This book written by a world-renowned expert with more than forty years of active gas turbine R&D experience comprehensively treats the design of gas turbine components and their integration into a complete system. Unlike many currently available gas turbine handbooks that provide the reader with an overview without in-depth treatment of the subject, the current book is concentrated on a detailed aero-thermodynamics, design and off-deign performance aspects of individual components as well as the system integration and its dynamic operation.This new book provides practicing gas turbine designers and young engineers working in the industry with design material that the manufacturers would keep proprietary. The book is also intended to provide instructors of turbomachinery courses around the world with a powerful tool to assign gas turbine components as project and individual modules that are integrated into a complete system. Quoting many statements by the gas turbine industry professionals, the young engineers graduated from the turbomachinery courses offered by the author, had the competency of engineers equivalent to three to four years of industrial experience.

Shock & Vibration, Aircraft/Aerospace and Energy Harvesting, Volume 9: Proceedings of the 35th IMAC, A Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics, 2017, the ninth volume of ten from the Conference brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on fundamental and applied aspects of Shock & Vibration, Aircraft/Aerospace and Energy Harvesting including papers on: Shock & Vibration Testing Aircraft/Aerospace Applications Optical Techniques: Digital Image Correlation Vibration Suppression & Control Damage Detection Energy Harvesting

This thesis describes the working design principles of triboelectric mechanism-based devices. It presents an extensive study undertaken to explain the effect of surface topographies on the performance of triboelectric nanogenerators. It demonstrates the application of triboelectric mechanisms in the area of physical sensing such as force sensing and pressure sensing. It also discusses the major fabrication methods/techniques that can be used to realize these devices. It is a valuable reference resource for graduate students, researchers and scientists interested in exploring the potential of triboelectric mechanisms for energy harvesting and other applications.