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BACKGROUND: The Kingdom of Jordan belongs to the ten water scarcest countries in the world, and climate change is likely to increase the frequency of future droughts. Jordan is considered among the 10 most water impoverished countries in the world, with per capita water availability estimated at 170 m per annum, compared to an average of 1,000 m per annum in other countries. Jordan Government has taken the strategic decision to develop a conveyor system including a 325 km pipe to pump 100 million cubic meters per year of potable water from Disi-Mudawwara close to the Saudi Border in the south, to the Greater Amman area in the north. The construction of the water pipeline has started end of 2009 and shall be finished in 2013. Later on, the pipeline could serve as a major part of a national water carrier in order to convey desalinated water from the Red Sea to the economically most important central region of the country. The conveyor project will not only significantly increase water supplies to the capital, but also provide for the re-allocation of current supplies to other governorates, and for the conservation of aquifers. In the context of the Disi project that is co-funded by EIB two Environmental and Social Management Plans have been prepared: one for the private project partners and one for the Jordan Government. The latter includes the Governments obligation to re-balance water allocations to irrigation and to gradually restore the protected wetlands of Azraq (Ramsar site) east of Amman that has been depleted due to over-abstraction by re-directing discharge of highland aquifers after the Disi pipeline becomes operational. The Water Strategy recognizes that groundwater extraction for irrigation is beyond acceptable limits. Since the source is finite and priority should be given to human consumption it proposes to tackle the demand for irrigation through tariff adjustments, improved irrigation technology and disincentive to water intensive crops. The Disi aquifer is currently used for irrigation by farms producing all kinds of fruits and vegetables on a large scale and exporting most of their products to the Saudi and European markets and it is almost a third of Jordan's total consumption. The licenses for that commercial irrigation were finished by 2011/12. Whilst the licenses will be not renewed the difficulty will be the enforcement and satellite based information become an important supporting tool for monitoring. OUTLOOK: The ESA funded project Water management had the objective to support the South-North conveyor project and the activities of EIB together with the MWI in Jordan to ensure the supply of water for the increasing demand. EO Information provides a baseline for land cover and elevation and support the monitoring of further stages. usw.
While urban Indonesia is almost completely electrified, two-thirds of the rural population still lack access to electricity. In many cases, the mountainous rural areas are difficult to access and sparsely populated implying high investment costs for infrastructure extension. Against this background the German International Cooperation (GIZ) supports the implementation of micro hydro plants (MHP) in rural communities to supply the population with decentralized electricity. During its first project phase between 2006 and 2009, GIZ has supported the construction of 96 MHPs on two of the five main islands of Indonesia, Sulawesi and Sumatra. These activities have been funded as part of the Dutch-German Energy Partnership Energising Development (EnDev), an output-oriented programme that aims at providing modern energy to 6.1 million people in 21 countries. In a second project phase starting in 2010 (EnDev II), more than 200 micro-hydro schemes are planned to be supported. RWI has been assigned to assess the socio-economic impacts of electrification through MHP on household level through both a cross-sectional and a difference in differences approach. For this purpose, 800 households were interviewed in a first survey wave in September and November 2010. Half of them are located in 20 EnDev II villages that only got connected to an MHP after data collection. The remainder of the sample has already been using electricity at that time from a working micro hydro scheme supported within EnDev I. The second survey wave is scheduled for autumn 2012. The cross-sectional arm of the study allowed for gauging the impacts of the connection to an MHP already after the first wave at the end of 2010. For the electrified, hence, treated EnDev I households, comparable EnDev II households have been used as controls. Having follow-up data at hand at the end of 2012, difference in differences estimators can be applied to more rigorously assess the impacts of the connection to an MHP. In this approach, the EnDev I households already connected in 2010 and still connected in 2012 will serve as a reference group for the EnDev II households who got treated between the 2010 and 2012 survey. This prevents that changes induced by external influences (e.g. general economic development) are falsely ascribed to the treatment. For the reference group of EnDev II households it was found in 2010 that an important share already used 'pre-electrification' sources like generators or very simple traditional waterwheels - so called kincirs. The impact assessment will therefore not only illustrate the change from traditional energy sources like kerosene to electricity but also deliver impact findings on using a modern electricity source in comparison to pre-electrification sources that tend to be either costly and dirty (generators), or unstable and weak (kincir).
Nach den Kläranlagen tragen maschinentechnische Aggregate in den Sonderbauwerken der Abwasserableitung mit 10 - 15 Prozent einen erheblichen Anteil am Gesamtenergiebedarf der Abwasserentsorgung bei. Ob und durch welche Maßnahmen Einsparungspotenziale realisierbar sind, wurde im Rahmen des Vorhabens untersucht. Hier wurden - der Energiebedarf von Sonderbauwerke ermittelt, - mittels Variantenbetrachtung ein energieeffizienter Planungsansatz für Abwasserpumpwerke entworfen, - weitergehende Maßnahmen für einen energieeffizienten Betrieb von Sonderbauwerken in der Kanalisation aufgezeigt, - die Betriebssicherheit energetisch optimierter Pumpwerke mittels Sensitivitätsbetrachtungen überprüft und - die Vorgehensweise für eine energieoptimierte Planung in einem Pflichtenheft für Betriebs- und Energieeffizienzanalysen von Sonderbauwerken in der Siedlungsentwässerung zusammengefasst. Bei der Auswertung der Betriebsdaten zu den Energieverbräuchen von rd. 200 Pumpwerken ergaben sich Datendefizite. Bei nur einem Drittel der Pumpwerke standen Daten für eine Energieanalyse zur Verfügung. Der Energiebedarf der analysierten Pumpwerke betrug 4-15 Wattstunden je Kubikmeter und Meter Förderhohe (Wh/(m3 x m)). In Ausnahmefällen lagen die Energiebedarfswerte darüber. Im Vergleich benötigen effizient arbeitende Pumpwerken zwischen 4-6 Wh/(m3 x m). Bei der Energieoptimierung von Abwassersystemen gibt es im Wesentlichen vier bewährte Strategien, um den Energiebedarf zu reduzieren: - Senkung des Bedarfes an Transportenergie. - Einsatz effizienter Systeme. - Richtige Konzeption und Dimensionierung der Förderanlagen. - Lastabhängiger Betrieb mit Spitzenlastmanagement. Wie eine energetisch optimierte Planung sowie ein energetisch optimierter Betrieb zu gestalten ist, wurde mittels Variantenbetrachtung am Beispiel des Pumpwerks Gelsenkirchen-Polsum gezeigt. Für die Darstellung der Einsparungspotentiale sind die Bau und Betriebskosten in Relation zu den Energiekosten zu stellen. Werden die Energiekosten auf die gesamten Neu- oder Umbaukosten bezogen, nehmen die Energiekosten eine untergeordnete Rolle ein. Betrachtet man ausschließlich die elektrotechnischen Einbauten eines Pumpwerkes als Investitionskosten, lassen sich über den verminderten Energiebezug hohe Einsparungspotentiale aufzeigen. Eine intensive Energieanalyse von Pumpwerken und die daraus resultierenden Maßnahmen können eine Reduzierung des Energiebedarfes von rd. 20 Prozent erzielen. Dabei ist jede Anlage mit ihren spezifischen Randbedingungen zu betrachten. Die Sanierungsansätze können durch die Simulation des Pumpwerksbetriebes in einem Berechnungsmodell bewertet werden. Hierzu sind belastbare Betriebsdaten Voraussetzung. Die Durchführung eines Energiechecks ist ein erster Schritt hin zu einem energieeffizienten Betrieb von Abwasserpumpwerken.
DE-LIGHT Transport is a multi-national initiative supported by the European Commission's Framework 6 programme that is investigating the design and manufacturing of lightweight sandwich structures in the marine, rail and freight container industries. Sandwich materials, consisting of two thin facings separated by a low density core, can be used to produce structures that are both light and stiff. They also offer opportunities for parts reduction through design integration, improved surface finish and lower assembly and outfitting costs. DE-LIGHT Transport aims to further promote the use of sandwich materials by developing key technologies that will support the practical realisation of robust sandwich designs. Specifically, this will include: - A multi-material sandwich design tool. Previous work has often focussed on a particular type of sandwich construction (e.g. laser-welded steel or composite). This has tended to yield niche results with limited applicability. DE-LIGHT Transport will implement a more generic design approach that will allow the evaluation and optimisation of a wide range of material and structural mixes according to the requirements of a given application. - Strategies for joining, assembly and outfitting ? the bringing together and integration of separate sandwich panels and/or sub-components to produce finished structures. In particular, modular approaches for the off-line production of sandwich assemblies to exploit economies of scale will be developed. Testing and validation procedures ? to provide accurate and reliable methods of determining fitness for purpose. The above technologies will be demonstrated within the project through the design and manufacturing of six prototype structures. These will include deck and deckhouse structures for ships, a rail vehicle cab, and a freight container. Risk-based design principals will be applied throughout to ensure that the new designs comply with existing regulatory frameworks. It is anticipated that DE-LIGHT Transport will provide designers of vehicles and vessels with practical approaches to the implementation of sandwich solutions as an alternative to traditional stiffened-plate designs. In this way, the benefits of sandwich construction will be unlocked for a wider range of applications.
Objective: Increasing awareness by the public opinion about environmental issues, energy and material conservation at all stages of product life (from raw materials to disposal/recycling) is putting the industry in general and the transport industry in particular under increased pressure to reduce CO2 emissions and save energy. Environmental protection and safety will be increasingly influenced by legislation. The European transport industry is estimated to generate 22 percent of the carbon dioxide emission. As the car population is expected to grow 40 percent by the year 2010 new tough targets for reducing emissions by 30 percent in 2010 are being set by the EU, against the state of the art technologies of 1995. It is generally agreed by the industry that reductions of this size will require a change in current technologies. Multi-material technology (sandwich and/or hybrid materials) is becoming increasingly important in new vehicle design. Public service vehicles (buses and coaches) are regarded as primary targets for application of sandwich construction and multi-materials. Public service vehicles (PSV) play a major role in the transportation industry of both industrialized and developing countries. The proposed project will be focused on the development of a novel technology to manufacture bus/coach bodies using sandwich multi-material panels. The main overall objectives of the project are: - Solving the problem of reducing weight and production costs of land transport vehicles through the development of a technology of modular bus/coach construction, using 'all composite' multi-material sandwich panels instead of steel/aluminium space frame lined with sheets of different materials. - Devise design methodologies that reduce production lead time through reduction of number of components, functional integration, and allowance for dismantling, easy repair and recycling. Primce Contractor: INEGI - Instituto de Engenharia Mecanica e Gestao Industrial, Leca do Balio, Portugal.
Kurzbeschreibung: Um die Bauzeit neuer, unterirdisch geführter Verkehrswege zu verkürzen und in einigen Fällen eine wirtschaftlich vertretbare Realisierung überhaupt zu ermöglichen, wird oft der Einsatz einer Tunnelbohrmaschine (TBM) angestrebt. Druckhaftes Gebirge kann, wenn in häufigen Intervallen oder entlang eines langen Streckenabschnittes angetroffen wird, die Wirtschaftlichkeit oder gar die Machbarkeit eines TBM-Vortriebes in Frage stellen. Ausgehend von grundlagenorientierten Forschungsergebnissen, die in den letzten Jahren an der ETH Zürich erhalten wurden, sollen beim vorliegenden Forschungsprojekt Entscheidungsgrundlagen erarbeitet und Hilfsmittel für die Projektierung bereitgestellt werden. Bei der Beurteilung der Machbarkeit eines maschinellen Vortriebes in einem konkreten Fall stützt sich der Projektingenieur auf Erfahrungen, Plausibilitätsüberlegungen und tunnelstatische Berechnungen. Die Arbeitspakete des Forschungsvorhabens tragen Rechnung diesen Grundlagen der Entscheidungsfindung. In einer ersten Phase werden die Erfahrungen aus ausgeführten Projekten, die im Schrifttum dokumentiert sind, aufgearbeitet und nach einheitlichen Gesichtspunkten dargestellt. Anschließend werden für die verschiedenen TBM-Typen die geotechnischen und verfahrenstechnischen Zusammenhänge verstanden, die spezifischen Gefährdungen und tunnelseitigen Lösungsansätze dargestellt, die relevanten Einflussfaktoren gegliedert und die zahlreichen Wechselwirkungen strukturiert und qualitativ analysiert. In einer dritten Phase, ausgehend von den bereits geleisteten Forschungsarbeiten der ETH Zürich, werden ausgewählte Fragestellungen vertieft studiert. Projektziele: Projektziele: Erarbeitung von Entscheidungsgrundlagen und Bereitstellung von Hilfsmitteln für die Projektierung von TBM-Vortrieben in druckhaftem Gebirge: - Aufarbeitung und einheitliche Darstellung von Erfahrungen aus ausgeführten Projekten, die im Schrifttum dokumentiert sind; - Verstehen der geotechnischen und verfahrenstechnischen Zusammenhänge, Darstellung der spezifischen Gefährdungen und der tunnelseitigen Lösungsansätze Gliederung der relevanten Einflussfaktoren und Strukturierung der zahlreichen Wechselwirkungen; - Herstellung von Nomogrammen, welche die einfache Ermittlung der für das Vermeiden eines Verklemmens des Schildes erforderlichen Vorschubkraft bzw. die Beurteilung der Gefahr 'Schildblockierung' ermöglichen und somit eine zweckmäßiges Hilfsmittel für die Projektierungsarbeit in der Praxis darstellen; - Gewinn von Erkenntnissen über die Vor- und Nachteile der verschiedenen Maschinentypen und Ausbaukonzepte je nach Tunneldurchmesser.
Projektziel war die experimentelle Untersuchung der Vertikalstruktur der konvektiven Grenzschicht im Grossraum Wien mittels Radiosonde, Fesselballon, Sodar, Schwebeballonen und Motorseglern. Der umfangreiche Datensatz wurde zur Bestimmung von Mischungshoehen, der Untersuchung der Struktur von Thermikblasen sowie zur Validierung von Trajektorienberechnungen verwendet. Die gemessenen Mischungshoehen wurden mit Modellergebnissen (OML, Daenemark) verglichen. Unterschiede, die sich bei der Verwendung verschiedener Methoden ergeben (Radiosonden - Sodar - Modell), konnten erklaert werden, eine allgemeingueltige Messmethode bzw. ein entsprechender Modellansatz fehlt noch (auch international). Die Vertikalgeschwindigkeit wurde waehrend der Messkampagne mit dem Sodar und den Schwebeballonen erfasst. Beide Instrumentarien messen im Mittel mehr aufwaerts als abwaerts gerichtete Vertikalgeschwindigkeiten. Weiters wurde die Struktur von Thermikblasen anhand der Messdaten untersucht und eine Methode gefunden, mit der die Genauigkeit von Trajektorien erhoeht werden konnte.
Flowering time is strongly regulated by the circadian clock, which drives photoperiodic flowering. We recently explored natural allelic diversity of the clock in the dicot Arabidopsis and found a 'memory' of the proceeding environment. Furthermore, we showed that clock variation has a large role in directing flowering time under field conditions. Cloning of one circadian quantitative trait locus revealed variation at the flowering-time gene EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3). Here we will further explore allelic variation in clock genes to define key loci that direct photoperiodic flowering. Firstly, we will complete the construction of new Arabidopsis recombinant inbred populations derived from accessions originating from extremely differing latitudes, and map the genomes of these lines at kilobase resolution. These populations will be scored for variation in the clock and flowering time; dynamic correlations will be constructed. Together, components underling clock-gene variation that directs seasonal flowering will be identified. Secondly, we will examine the molecular genetics of circadian control of flowering in the monocot barley using existing and newly generated variation at barley ELF3. This gene is the likely direct regulator of the seasonality locus Ppd-H1. This second program should reveal dicot/monocot clock conservations and identify allelic variation at the circadian-clock gene ELF3 that could be directly used in barley breeding programs.
Mankind is approaching a crisis in energy generation and utilization. Traditional fossil fuel reserves are diminishing and legislative issues regarding CO2 emission will make use of existing lower grade reserves unattractive. New technologies have to be developed to satisfy the ever-increasing energy demand and to maximize efficient energy usage. The materials chemist, through the design of new materials with novel properties and by controlling interfacial interactions between materials, will play a crucial role in these endeavours and in enabling the paradigm shift that is required. This project is centred around two core and inter-related issues (i) energy generation from photovoltaics using sunlight and (ii) efficient lighting devices based on light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Both of these topics are areas of intense activity world-wide. Within Europe the PIs research group is one of the leaders in the field. However, as research efforts in these areas are proving successful and proof-ofprinciple systems are being established and optimized, a new factor needs to be addressed. State of the art photovoltaic devices based upon the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) most frequently utilize inorganic dyes comprising ruthenium complexes of oligopyridine ligands. The projected next generation mass market OLEDs and prototype LECs are based upon iridium complexes containing cyclometallated pyridine ligands. A traditional criticism of these approaches related to the costs of the raw materials although this is in reality low compared to the costs of other components. However, the price reflects in part the availability of these metals and in this respect devices based upon ruthenium (1 ppb by atom in Earth crust) or iridium (0.05 ppb by atom in Earth crust) are unsustainable. This project is concerned with the development of complexes based upon abundant and sustainable first row transition metals to replace second and third row transition metals in these devices. Initial efforts will centre upon complexes of copper(I) and zinc(II) which have well-established photochemistry and photophysics making them suitable for such applications. The PI has already established proof-of-principle for the replacement of ruthenium by copper in DSCs and is a world leader in this technology. The work on the two projects will involve (i) materials synthesis and characterization (ii) computational modelling (iii) device construction and testing and (iv) property optimization.
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