Abstract

In the light of recent developments regarding electric vehicle market share, we assess the carbon footprint and water footprint of electric vehicles and provide a comparative analysis of energy use from the grid to charge electric vehicle batteries in the Czech Republic. The analysis builds on the electricity generation forecast for the Czech Republic for 2015&ndash 2050. The impact of different sources of electricity supply on carbon and water footprints were analyzed based on electricity generation by source for the period. Within the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the carbon footprint was calculated using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) method, while the water footprint was determined by the Water Scarcity method. The computational LCA model was provided by the SimaPro v. 8.5 package with the Ecoinvent v. 3 database. The functional unit of study was running an electric vehicle over 100 km. The system boundary covered an electric vehicle life cycle from cradle to grave. For the analysis, we chose a vehicle powered by a lithium-ion battery with assumed consumption 19.9 kWh/100 km. The results show that electricity generated to charge electric vehicle batteries is the main determinant of carbon and water footprints related to electric vehicles in the Czech Republic. Another important factor is passenger car production. Nuclear power is the main determinant of the water footprint for the current and future electric vehicle charging, while, currently, lignite and hard coal are the main determinants of carbon footprint. Document type: Article

Abstract

Erosive rainfall varies pronouncedly in time and space. Severe events are often restricted to a few square kilometers. Radar rain data with high spatiotemporal resolution enable this pattern of erosivity to be portrayed with high detail. We used radar data with a spatial resolution of 1 km"span class="inline-formula"""sup"2"/sup""/span" over 452 503 km"span class="inline-formula"""sup"2"/sup""/span" to derive a new erosivity map for Germany and to analyze the seasonal distribution of erosivity. The expected long-term regional pattern was extracted from the scattered pattern of events by several steps of smoothing. This included averaging erosivity from 2001 to 2017 and smoothing in time and space. The pattern of the resulting map was predominantly shaped by orography. It generally agrees well with the erosivity map currently used in Germany (Sauerborn map), which is based on regressions using rain gauge data (mainly from the 1960s to 1980s). In some regions the patterns of both maps deviate because the regressions of the Sauerborn map were weak. Most importantly, the new map shows that erosivity is about 66 % larger than in the Sauerborn map. This increase in erosivity was confirmed by long-term data from rain gauge stations that were used for the Sauerborn map and which are still in operation. The change was thus not caused by using a different methodology but by climate change since the 1970s. Furthermore, the seasonal distribution of erosivity shows a slight shift towards the winter period when soil cover by plants is usually poor. This shift in addition to the increase in erosivity may have caused an increase in erosion for many crops. For example, predicted soil erosion for winter wheat is now about 4 times larger than in the 1970s. These highly resolved topical erosivity data will thus have definite consequences for agricultural advisory services, landscape planning and even political decisions. Document type: Article

Abstract

The use of Poisson cluster processes to model rainfall time series at a range of scales now has a history of more than 30 years. Among them, the randomised (also called modified) Bartlett–Lewis model (RBL1) is particularly popular, while a refinement of this model was proposed recently "span class="cit" id="xref_paren.1""(RBL2; "a href="#bib1.bibx10""Kaczmarska et al."/a", "a href="#bib1.bibx10""2014"/a")"/span". Fitting such models essentially relies upon minimising the difference between theoretical statistics of the rainfall signal and their observed estimates. The first statistics are obtained using closed form analytical expressions for statistics of the orders 1 to 3 of the rainfall depths, as well as useful approximations of the wet–dry structure properties. The second are standard estimates of these statistics for each month of the data. This paper discusses two issues that are important for the optimal model fitting of RBL1 and RBL2. The first issue is that, when revisiting the derivation of the analytical expressions for the rainfall depth moments, it appears that the space of possible parameters is wider than has been assumed in past papers. The second issue is that care must be exerted in the way monthly statistics are estimated from the data. The impact of these two issues upon both models, in particular upon the estimation of extreme rainfall depths at hourly and sub-hourly timescales, is examined using 69 years of 5 min and 105 years of 10 min rainfall data from Bochum (Germany) and Uccle (Belgium), respectively. Document type: Article

Abstract

Earthquake loss estimation systems in the US, for example HAZUS (Hazard in US), have been established based on sufficient damage records for the purpose of prevention and efficient response to earthquake hazards; however, in Korea, insufficient data sets of earthquakes and damage records are currently available. In this study, the earthquake damages to pipelines in Korea using the pipeline repair rate (RR) recommended in HAZUS was reevaluated with the degree of confidence when RR is used without modification for the damage estimation of pipelines in Korea. The numerical analyses using a commercial finite element model, ABAQUS, were carried out to compare stresses and strains mobilized in both brittle and ductile pipelines constructed by the design criteria and construction specifications of both Korea and the US. These pipelines were embedded in dense sand overlying three different in situ soils (clay, sand, and gravel) subjected to earthquake excitations with peak ground accelerations (PGAs) of 0.2 to 1.2 g and 1994 Northridge and 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake loadings. The numerical results show that differences in the stress and strain rates are less than 10%. This implies that RR in HAZUS can be used for earthquake damage estimation of pipelines with a 90% confidence level in Korea. Document type: Article

Abstract

RESUMO: O sistema de transporte coletivo da cidade de Curitiba, no Paraná, é reconhecido pelas suas soluções inovadoras e modelo para o Brasil. Neste trabalho foi analisada a influência do combustível (diesel e biodiesel) e das condições da frota de veículos do transporte coletivo de Curitiba nas emissões de NOx, e essa é uma iniciativa pioneira. Foram selecionados 188 veículos (9,7% do total) com motores de 7 a 12 L, denominados B7R, B10M, B12M e B215RH, e foram realizadas medições de NO e NO2 na saída dos escapamentos. Com relação ao tipo de combustível, as emissões de NO e NO2 para o biodiesel (B100) foram, respectivamente, 37 e 26% superiores aos valores observados com o combustível diesel (S10). Comparando motores B12M com até 3 e 10 anos de operação, as emissões médias de NOx foram próximas de 40% maior. Assim, foi possível observar que os veículos a biodiesel tiveram maior emissão de NOx quando comparados com veículos a diesel, em condições similares de operação e tempo de uso do motor. Entretanto, embora o uso de biodiesel traga vantagens ambientais, como energia renovável, novas tecnologias e dispositivos devem ser desenvolvidos para controlar emissões de NO e NO2 em motores que utilizam esse tipo de combustível. Para trabalhos futuros, os autores recomendam testes em dinamômetro, para simular emissões de NOx em motores a diesel e biodiesel em diferentes condições de carga e regime de rotação do motor. ABSTRACT: The public transportation system in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, is recognized by its innovative solutions; and is a model for Brazil. In this work, the influence of fuel (diesel and biodiesel) and the conditions of the public transport vehicle fleet of Curitiba in NOx emissions was assessed, and this is a pioneered initiative. A total of 188 vehicles (9.7% of the total) with engines of 7 and 12 L were selected, named B7R, B10M, B12M and B215RH, and measurements of NO and NO2 were performed in the exhaust output. In relation to the type of fuel, the emissions of NO and NO2 for biodiesel (B100) were, respectively, 37 and 26% superior to the values observed with the fuel diesel (S10). Comparing the engines B12M with up to 3 and 10 years of operation, the average emissions of NOx were close to 40% higher. Thus, it was possible to observe that the biodiesel vehicles had higher NOx emissions when compared with diesel vehicles in similar conditions of operation and engine wear time. Therefore, although the use of biodiesel brings environmental advantages, as renewable fuel, new technologies and devices must be developed to control emissions of NO and NO2 in engines that use this type of fuel. For future works the authors recommend tests on dynamometer to simulate NOx emission in diesel and biodiesel engine in different conditions of charge and engine speed. Document type: Article

Abstract

The goal of the study presented in this article is to provide a general overview of the various aspects related to electric vehicles (EVs), along with all associated emerging challenges and perspectives. In this context, the basic types of EVs and the corresponding charging technologies are analyzed. Since EVs are expected to be a key component of future smart electrical grids (SEG), connection to the grid issues, along with advanced charging techniques (i.e., wireless power transfer), are analyzed as well. To this end, the main features, the requirements of vehicle to grid (V2G) communications, as well as future developments and scenarios of electrification, are also presented and analyzed. Moreover, integration issues with currently deployed fifth generation (5G) mobile wireless networks are also outlined, in order to ensure optimum transmission and reception quality in V2G communications and improved user experience. This integration is also expanded in autonomous vehicles (AVs) technology (self-driving objects), since optimized information processing from various diverse sources is required in order to ensure advanced traffic management aspects. Document type: Article

Abstract

Abstract. Due to their widespread and continuous expansion, transportation networks are considerably exposed to natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, landslides or hurricanes. The vulnerability of specific segments and structures among bridges, tunnels, pumps or storage tanks can translate not only into direct losses but also into significant indirect losses at the systemic level. Cascading effects such as post-event traffic congestion, building debris or tsunamis can contribute to an even greater level of risk. To support the effort of modeling the natural hazards' implications at the full transportation network scale, we developed a new applicable framework, relying on (i) GIS to define, analyze and represent transportation networks; (ii) methods for determining the probability of network segments to fail due to natural-hazard effects; (iii) Monte Carlo simulation for multiple scenario generation; (iv) methods to analyze the implications of connectivity loss on emergency intervention times and transit disruption; and (v) correlations with other vulnerability and risk indicators. Currently, the framework is integrated into ArcGIS Desktop as a toolbox entitled “Network-risk”, which makes use of the ModelBuilder functions and is free to download and modify. Network-risk is an attempt to bring together interdisciplinary research with the goal of creating an automated solution to deliver insights on how a transportation network can be affected by natural hazards, directly and indirectly, assisting in risk evaluation and mitigation planning. In this article we present and test Network-risk at the full urban scale for the road network of Bucharest. This city is one of Europe's most exposed capitals to earthquakes, with high seismic-hazard values and a vulnerable building stock but also significant traffic congestion problems not yet accounted for in risk analyses and risk reduction strategies. Document type: Article

Abstract

"jats:p" One of the crucial reasons of the system changes of waste management in our legal system in Poland was a need to implement solutions and mechanisms that are applied in the European Union. At the European Union law level, a Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives constitutes a basic legal document described in this part of the article. The essential idea of the quoted directive is creating legal measures, promotion of eliminating waste production and treating it as a source instead. Achievement of these assumptions requires providing segregation at source and recycling of the main waste streams above all. It is necessary to encourage this action and support the reuse of products and waste utilization. Indicated international legal instruments are of primary importance for internal rules, which shall be constructed in a way that enables the achievement of goals determined by the EU law. Legal-organizational internal systems associated with the management of waste have undergone substantial changes from 2010. National legal provisions will be presented in the second part of the article. Document type: Article