Search Results (19,674)

The implementation of collaborative robots (cobots) in Industry 5.0 requires a synergistic connection between technical safety and integrated management systems (IMSs). This article introduces three newly defined interaction concepts that map technological evolution: HCDI, an approximation for Industry 4.0; HCD_XI, designed for anthropocentric Industry 5.0; and aICD_XI, which anticipates the emerging cognitive era of artificial intelligence. The principal contribution is an original four-phase engineering algorithm for cobot implementation linked to thirteen ISO standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 45001, ISO 14001, ISO/IEC 27001, and ISO/IEC 42001. The algorithm applies the multicriteria SCATI method for process prioritization and the probabilistic reliability performance index (RPI) based on conditional probabilities as an operational reliability acceptance gate, distinct from ISO/TS 15066 functional safety requirements. IMS synergies are visualized by the Synergy HOUSE architectural model. The methodology was validated in an optical quality-inspection cell consisting of MiR100 + UR5e + Robotiq + Smart Vision ADMIN 4.0. Evaluated via Monte Carlo simulation, the pre-operational index reached RPI = 0.9801. Deployment of the node demonstrated a 60.0% increase in productivity, a 64.5% decrease in the defect rate, a statistically significant 32.0% reduction in cognitive workload, and a 50.0% reduction in total energy consumption (ISO 50001), enabled by the transition to lights-out operation. At the same time, the energy paradox of edge cooling for AI was described. The results confirm the robustness of the algorithm for systematic and sustainable enterprise transformation. Full article

Traditional skywell dwellings embody climate-responsive passive design but may remain hot and humid under low-wind summer conditions, requiring passive-ventilation retrofits while preserving their spatial organization. Skywell performance and component-level solar chimneys are comparatively well studied, but their direct integration in traditional multi-room dwellings remains at an early stage. This study develops a climate-adaptive retrofit design approach that integrates a solar chimney with the existing skywell of a traditional rammed-earth dwelling in Songyang, China. Field monitoring showed that mean relative humidity exceeded 90% at all five indoor locations. An EnergyPlus Airflow Network model was calibrated against hourly temperatures from four rooms, yielding RMSE values of 0.33–0.91 °C, with 84.8% of predictions within ±1 °C. The calibrated model was used to compare the baseline and retrofit configurations during a selected 72 h hot period and across the full summer, while the 2000-configuration parametric study retained the 72 h window. During the selected period, the retrofit lowered the simulated operative temperature in all 432 paired hourly comparisons, with a mean reduction of 1.73 °C. Across the full summer, it produced lower operative temperature in 94.7% of 13,248 paired hourly comparisons, with a comparable mean reduction of 1.67 °C, and increased the percentage of hours within the adaptive comfort band from 33.9% to 52.0%. The first-floor hall showed the largest cooling benefit, whereas the second-floor rooms were more responsive to changes in vertical chimney geometry. Overall chimney height and outlet opening height jointly accounted for 85.19–95.09% of random forest feature importance. The collector glazing parameters were more influential in the skywell–chimney zone. These findings support a design hierarchy that prioritizes airflow continuity and vertical exhaust geometry before collector glazing, providing a quantitative basis for solar chimney retrofits that preserve spatial organization of traditional skywell dwellings. Full article

Conventional dew-point evaporative cooling (DPEC) systems are constrained by two critical bottlenecks: insufficient humidification efficiency and pronounced performance degradation under high-humidity conditions. To address these limitations, this study proposes and experimentally characterizes a novel ultrasonic spray-humidified DPEC system integrated with a 3D-printed PA (polyamide)-supported LiCl-PAAS (lithium chloride–sodium polyacrylate) composite sorbent coating. In this system, a 3D-printed porous sorbent module with a high specific surface area is embedded in the drying chamber to dehumidify the working air. Under the standard operating condition of 36 °C and 50% RH (relative humidity), the improved system achieves a product air dry-bulb temperature of 21.5 °C–4.1 °C lower than that of the counterpart without a sorbent coating—alongside an 84% improvement in (electrical coefficient of performance, accounting only for fan and ultrasonic humidifier power, excluding regeneration heat). Under the high-humidity condition of 90% RH, the cooling performance degradation rate is reduced from 91.97% for the conventional system to 63.81% for the proposed design. This work validates the synergistic enhancement effect of precooling-assisted dehumidification coupled with centralized humidification in a small-scale proof-of-principle prototype, and provides preliminary experimental evidence for future exploration of DPEC technology in high-temperature and high-humidity climate zones; scale-up and long-term field validation remain to be conducted. Full article

A CMY palette of ceramic pigments was synthesized using both microwave-assisted firing (800 W, 30 min) and conventional electric firing (1000 °C for 3 h). For the allochromatic vanadium-zircon system (including the non-mineralized green and halide-mineralized blue compositions), as well as the chromium-doped scheelite yellow pigment, microwave firing does not outperform conventional calcination. Although comparable reactions occur during synthesis, microwave firing produces powders with lower colour performance. Nevertheless, these differences become visually negligible after incorporation into glazes. This behaviour can be attributed to the low dopant concentration and the localized, selective heating characteristic of microwave irradiation. In the vanadium-zircon system, the microwave-mineralized sample exhibits features similar to those of the non-mineralized compositions, including lower reactivity, smaller crystallite size, and enhanced blue colour development when applied in glazes. In contrast, for the idiochromatic Zn(Al_1.3Fe_0.5Cr_0.2)O₄ spinel red-brown pigment, microwave firing yields superior colour performance compared with conventional electric firing, producing higher chroma and greater colour intensity. In idiochromatic pigments, the relatively high proportion of chromophore components promotes more homogeneous microwave absorption and heating throughout the precursor mixture. The enhanced colour properties achieved through microwave synthesis may indicate the presence of a beneficial non-thermal microwave effect, leading to improved chromatic performance. Full article

Non-uniform heat flux in high-power electronic devices can induce local hotspots. To address hotspot thermal management, a hybrid microchannel heat sink featuring micro pin-fins with secondary channels (MPSCs) is proposed. Straight microchannels are used in the low-heat-flux region, while staggered pin-fins are arranged in the central hotspot region. Five models are considered: solid pin-fins without secondary channels (M1) and pin-fins with one-, three-, four-, and six-directional secondary channels (M2–M5). Over Re = 200–800, the thermal resistance of M3 is reduced by up to 43.3% compared with the SPMS, and the maximum PEC reaches 1.178. MPSC structures achieve better cooling at lower pumping power. At similar pumping power, the thermal resistance of M3 is 36.8% lower than the minimum value attainable by the SPMS. However, the marginal reduction in thermal resistance gradually weakens as the pumping power increases. The effects of hotspot heat flux and relative pin-fin height are investigated. MPSCs can withstand higher heat loads. Under a hotspot heat flux of 800 W/cm², the maximum temperature of M3 remains below the safety threshold. Relative pin-fin height has a coupled effect on the thermal–hydraulic performance. At Re = 800, the PEC of M3 at RPH = 0.9 is about 2.8% higher than that at RPH = 1.0, and a PEC fitting equation is developed. The results show that the hybrid micro pin-fin heat sink with secondary channels disrupts the thermal boundary layer through internal flow diversion and local disturbance, thereby balancing hotspot suppression and pressure drop control. This design provides a reference for hotspot thermal management and thermal–hydraulic optimization of microchannel heat sinks. Full article

The evaluation of the effectiveness and sustainability of decarbonization measures, especially but not only through electrification, is not trivial. Combustion technologies improve by small amounts year to year and as the emission factors of fuels can be considered constant across European countries; however, the emission factors of electricity generation are not uniform among countries and do not share a common trend in their evolution over time. These two aspects, the different evolution trends of electricity emission factors and the non-uniformity of these factors among countries, can lead to unexpected results: under/overestimation of carbon savings and sustainability in the long-term forecast in the massive technologic transition in both the civil and industrial sectors. This paper, using trend observations and the Myopic model, highlights possible biases in the long-term projection of CO₂ emissions savings in the industrial sector. This study focuses on a comprehensive investigation of the integration of a high-temperature heat pump into a combined cooling, heating, and power plant. A detailed assessment of the system’s energy performance is conducted through steady-state simulations under both fixed boundary conditions and annual operational scenarios, addressing building heating, cooling, and electrical requirements across varying electricity emission factors for different European countries and evolution trends until 2050, with the results compared with conventional energy production systems. Full article

Accurate prediction of the mechanical performance of polymer components fabricated by fused deposition modelling (FDM) remains challenging owing to the complex nonlinear relationships between process parameters and material properties, limiting reliable process planning and broader industrial adoption of polymer additive manufacturing. This study develops and experimentally validates a heterogeneous multi-output stacked ensemble learning framework for the simultaneous prediction of tensile strength, flexural strength, compressive strength, Rockwell hardness, and Charpy impact strength of acrylonitrile styrene acrylate (ASA), a high-performance engineering thermoplastic with excellent weatherability and ultraviolet resistance that remains comparatively underexplored in data-driven FDM research. A Definitive Screening Design (DSD) was employed to investigate eight critical process parameters: extrusion temperature (ET), bed temperature (BT), infill density (ID), layer height (LH), print speed (PS), raster angle (RA), build orientation (BO), and cooling fan speed (CFS). Multiple supervised learning algorithms were systematically benchmarked, and the highest-performing complementary models were integrated into a heterogeneous stacked ensemble for simultaneous multi-output prediction. The proposed framework achieved an overall R² of 0.9943 with an overall RMSE of 0.9758, while the individual prediction models attained R² values ranging from 0.9898 to 0.9967. Beyond improving predictive accuracy, the proposed AI-assisted framework provides a data-driven basis for mechanical-property prediction and establishes a surrogate modelling framework that may subsequently be coupled with dedicated optimization or decision-making methods. Full article

Cabin temperature prediction is a key technique for improving occupant thermal comfort and reducing energy consumption of thermal management systems. Most existing cabin temperature prediction models do not integrate external meteorological information, resulting in poor adaptability to complex and variable environmental conditions. To address this issue, this paper proposes a multi-source data fusion prediction framework combined with regional meteorological information to achieve accurate cabin temperature prediction under real-world operating scenarios. Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) reveal key feature contributions and interaction mechanisms for dynamic cabin temperature prediction and improve the interpretability of the data-driven model. The precise prediction results quantify the changing patterns of cabin temperature rise and passive cooling. Based on these findings, adaptive strategies for low-temperature preheating and shutting down parking air conditioners early are designed to balance energy efficiency and occupant thermal comfort. Experimental results show that under snowy conditions, compared with the baseline model, the proposed framework reduces mean absolute errors (MAEs) by 13.05%, while the MAE decreases by 22.8% under sunny conditions. The introduction of meteorological data reduces the MAE of the XGBoost and GRU models by 14.9% and 23.28%, respectively. SHAP analysis further uncovered the feature interaction rules governing cabin temperature evolution. In addition, the proposed air-conditioning optimization strategy achieves significant energy savings without compromising occupant thermal comfort. Specifically, the steady-state energy consumption during sunny-morning preheating is reduced by 21.5%, and the pre-shutoff optimization yields energy-saving benefits ranging from 4.9% to 25.5% under typical winter conditions. This study provides theoretical support and serves as an engineering reference for the optimal design of intelligent vehicle thermal management systems. Full article

Sperm cryopreservation is crucial for artificial propagation and the long-term preservation of valuable germplasm resources. This study aimed to establish an effective ultra-low temperature sperm cryopreservation protocol for Hefang bream (HFB), a novel hybrid bream variety developed through distant hybridization between blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) and topmouth culter (Culter alburnus) followed by two rounds of backcrossing. Different combinations of extenders and cryoprotectants were evaluated based on post-thaw sperm motility and motion parameters to identify the optimal cryoprotective formulation for HFB sperm, with untreated fresh sperm as the control. Fresh sperm exhibited a total motility (MOT) of 98.87 ± 1.40%, curvilinear velocity (VCL) of 118.87 ± 5.38 μm/s, straight-line velocity (VSL) of 86.18 ± 5.67 μm/s, and average path velocity (VAP) of 107.48 ± 4.23 μm/s. The optimal formulation consisted of D15 extender (composed of 8 g/L NaCl, 0.5 g/L KCl and 15 g/L glucose) supplemented with 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Using a fresh sperm-to-cryoprotective medium ratio of 1:5 and a stepwise cooling procedure, post-thaw MOT, VCL, VSL, and VAP were 43.77 ± 13.85%, 37.54 ± 3.06 μm/s, 29.82 ± 1.98 μm/s, and 31.99 ± 2.14 μm/s, respectively. Further analyses revealed that the plasma membrane integrity (PMI), DNA integrity (DI) and mitochondrial activity (MA) of cryopreserved sperm were 43.40 ± 2.01%, 57.10 ± 4.79%, and 42.00 ± 1.65%, respectively, all of which were significantly lower than those of fresh sperm (p < 0.05). Ultrastructural analyses using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated that cryopreserved spermatozoa exhibited structural abnormalities, including plasma membrane disruption, flagellar fragmentation, and mitochondrial damage. Artificial insemination experiments showed that the fertilization and hatching rates of the cryopreserved sperm group were 55.10 ± 3.30% and 81.50 ± 3.29%, respectively, indicating that the established protocol could effectively support artificial reproduction in HFB. Furthermore, proteomic analysis was performed to investigate cryopreservation-induced molecular damage, identifying 7 cryopreservation-associated leakage proteins that were mainly enriched in pathways related to energy metabolism, cytoskeletal organization, and oxidative stress response. This study establishes an effective sperm cryopreservation protocol for HFB and provides insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying cryopreservation-induced sperm damage, offering a valuable reference for the development of sperm cryopreservation technologies in other economically important fish species. Full article

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) technology with high solar reflectance and high infrared emissivity has been increasingly applied in green buildings. However, current PDRC designs are either high-cost or require additional multi-step fabrication processes, and both factors hinder their broader industrial application. Here, we present a low-cost, easy-to-process, scalable and uncomplicated porous epoxy-based radiative cooling coating via a simple Pickering high-internal-phase-emulsion (HIPE) approach. The obtained porous epoxy-based coating has micro- and submicropores. These hierarchical porous microstructures enable a synergistic interaction between the filler and the porous microstructure, thus enhancing the radiative cooling performance. As a result, the obtained porous epoxy-base polymer with alumina as fillers (PEP-A) coating presents a high solar reflectance of 95.6% in the wavelength range of 0.3–2.5 μm and a high infrared emissivity of 96.3% in the wavelength range of 8–14 μm, as well as a maximum subambient cooling temperature of 3.4 ℃ and an average cooling power of 105.6 W·m⁻² under solar shortwave radiation of 123.01–134.67 W·m⁻². Furthermore, the PEP-A coating can be easily applied via roll-coating, blade-coating, or brush-coating, and self-cures on diverse substrates like aluminum sheets, steel plates, polypropylene sheets, bricks, and wall surfaces without any additional template-extraction process. In particular, the cost of the raw materials for the PEP-A coating is 0.2–1.3% of that of previously reported radiative cooling coatings (e.g., Poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) and polydimethylsiloxane). The extraction-free nature, easy processability, self-curing ability, and low cost of the PEP-A coating make it very promising for large-scale PDRC production and applications. Full article

To address the issues of low mechanical rock-breaking efficiency and severe tool wear in hard rock, this study investigates the mechanical deterioration and abrasivity response of granite subjected to rapid flame-jet heating followed by liquid nitrogen cooling, with rock pre-treatment in thermal-assisted rock breaking as the background. Fine-grained granite specimens were heated by flame jet to temperatures ranging between 200 and 600 °C and then subjected to natural cooling or sudden liquid nitrogen cooling. Physical parameter measurements, uniaxial compression tests, Brazilian splitting tests, and CERCHAR abrasivity tests were conducted using national standards to investigate the evolution of thermal damage and the effect of cooling path. The results show that the damage degree of granite continuously increases with increasing heating temperature, and the damage induced by liquid nitrogen cooling is greater than that induced by natural cooling. Visible cracks begin to appear on the specimen surface after 300 °C, while crack propagation and structural deterioration become more pronounced at 500–600 °C. Among the measured physical parameters, P-wave velocity is the most sensitive to damage, with a maximum attenuation rate of 60.6%. The deterioration of the physical structure further reduces the load-bearing capacity and deformation performance of granite. After liquid nitrogen cooling at 600 °C, the uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength, and elastic modulus decrease to 92.6 MPa, 1.42 MPa, and 17.4 GPa, respectively, corresponding to reductions of 56.0%, 87.7%, and 69.3% compared with the untreated specimens. The tensile strength is the most sensitive mechanical parameter to liquid nitrogen cooling. The CERCHAR abrasivity index decreases from 3.81 to 2.12. Liquid nitrogen cooling advances the transition of granite abrasivity from high to medium from 400–500 °C to 300–400 °C. The integrated analysis indicates that the non-uniform temperature field generated by rapid flame-jet heating and the differences in thermal deformation among minerals promote the initiation of initial cracks. The additional shrinkage stress induced by liquid nitrogen cooling further drives crack propagation and coalescence, eventually leading to the coupled reduction in the strength, stiffness, and abrasivity of granite. The results provide laboratory-scale evidence for evaluating granite pre-treatment under rapid flame-jet heating and liquid nitrogen cooling and offer a reference for thermal-assisted mechanical rock breaking and standardized abrasivity reduction. However, the relationship between CAI and actual tool wear still requires further verification. Full article

The utilization of protein-rich agricultural by-products offers a sustainable strategy for developing plant-based meat analogs. This study investigated the effects of cold-pressed hemp seed cake (HSC) incorporation at levels of 0–20% on the pasting, thermal–rheological, textural, and structural properties of high-moisture meat analogs produced by extrusion. Increasing HSC incorporation significantly reduced peak viscosity, indicating altered starch–protein–fiber interactions within the blends. During temperature-sweep measurements, all formulations exhibited elastic-dominant behavior, with the storage modulus remaining higher than the loss modulus throughout heating and cooling. Although the initial viscoelastic moduli decreased with increasing HSC content, the final moduli after cooling were comparable to those of the control. Incorporation of 15% and 20% HSC significantly decreased hardness from 44.02 to 38.88 N and chewiness from 1730.20 to 1517.31 g, whereas springiness, cohesiveness, and the hardness degradation ratio remained largely unchanged. Fibrous structures were maintained in all formulations, while cutting strength tended to increase and the texturization degree numerically increased from 1.04 to 1.15 at 20% HSC. These findings demonstrate that HSC can replace up to 20% of the conventional protein–starch blend while maintaining thermal viscoelasticity and anisotropic fibrous structure, although producing a moderately softer high-moisture meat analog. Full article

The European Union has set an ambitious goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and 90% reduction by 2040, through its Green Deal policy. A promising solution to this challenge lies in the adoption of Fifth-Generation District Heating Networks (5GDHNs) that operate at low temperatures, collecting and distributing heat from diverse sources (energy geostructures, asphalt pavement solar thermal collectors, industrial waste heat and waste heat from buildings’ cooling plants). The system’s design allows for heat storage underground, primarily during summer months, with distribution occurring via pipelines during winter. As part of the REHEAT project, a study has been conducted focusing on a simulation model developed using TRNSYS software. This model incorporates solar thermal collectors installed beneath the parking area asphalt pavements as a thermal energy source, coupled with a borehole thermal energy storage system. The setup is designed to meet the heating and cooling demands of a multiplex cinema situated in Northern Italy. The study presents the optimization of the system, reporting the monthly and annual data on energy balances and system efficiency. The findings demonstrate significant energy savings when compared to traditional heating and cooling systems (50.6% non-renewable primary energy reduction) and even greater CO₂ emission reduction (63.2%). Also, the economic analysis reveals positive results both from the point of view of operating costs and taking into account investment costs, highlighting the potential of 5GDHN as a sustainable solution for urban energy needs for a real case as the main novelty of this study. Full article

The article deals with finding a steady heat source that can replace a periodical non-steady heat source representing the repeated cooling of pressed glass products in a system consisting of a mould, glass piece, plunger and plunger cavity during the glass forming process. The stationary heat source is designed to supply the same amount of energy during the cooling period as would be extracted from the glass piece if its surface temperature was reduced linearly to the desired value. Full article

Residential electricity demand is a crucial component of electricity consumption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), necessitating an understanding of its key drivers to support effective energy planning and demand-side management. The data set for this study comprises monthly data from the KSA’s electricity distribution regions (Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern) for the period 2009–2024. It models electricity consumption per subscriber, unlike previous studies that present aggregate electricity consumption, providing a more accurate representation of householders’ electricity consumption patterns. The associations of climatological temperature, electricity bills, and household income are estimated using a pooled regression model applying regional dummy variables and separate regressions by region. The results show a strong association between the climatological temperature profile and residential electricity demand, reflecting pronounced seasonal cooling patterns across the four regions. Residential electricity demand shows a relatively weak association with realized billing exposure, whereas income exhibits a negative association with electricity consumption per subscriber. Robustness analysis controlling for the secular time trend and using annual first differences indicate that this negative association persists, although its magnitude is sensitive to model specification. Significant regional differences were also identified, particularly in the Central and Eastern regions, demonstrating that a single national approach to assessment would not adequately represent residential electricity demand across KSA. These findings provide valuable evidence for region-specific electricity pricing, demand-side management, and long-term energy planning. Full article