MERIE group of the RMEI : The Mediteranean Green Energy NetWork

Abstract:
The EU is committed to implement the principles of the waste hierarchy, which implies the prevention of waste, its reuse and recycling where it is not prevented, and its energy recovery as suboptimal option.
Agriculture generates co-products, by-products and waste streams that are currently not properly taken care of both in environmental and economic term.
There are many types of non-food sources that can now be used to produce fuels, chemicals, and power. The technological development on energy production from biomass focuses for higher efficiently of processing complex feed stocks.
Beyond reduction and recycling of agricultural waste, co-products and byproducts, there may be opportunities for new processes enabling innovative uses of these materials also outside the agricultural sector.
Industrial symbiosis, whereby different actors derive mutual benefit from sharing utilities and waste materials, requires large scale systemic innovation with the aim of turning waste from one industry into useful feedstock for another one.
For Mediterranean Countries, facilities utilizing indigenous renewable sources and designed to supply local communities and decentralized energy users are in the forefront of energy and environmental policies. The approach of biomass energy utilization very close or at the place of origin minimizing transportation and logistics cost provides a means of boosting sustainable development in rural areas.
Biography
Anastasia Zabaniotou is Prof. at the Chemical Engineering Dept. of the Faculty of Engineering of University of Thessaloniki, Greece and member of the Board of the centre for sustainable development of the Aristotle University. She holds a Ph.D. from Ecole Centrale de Paris and has been working for 4 years in the European Commission in DG research as an expert. She is still working with the EC on project evaluation and monitoring. For the 15 last years she is the leader of the Biomass and Waste Group of AUTH, which carries out fundamental and applied research in cooperation with several public and private organizations in the field of renewable energy production, with emphasis in biomass and waste valorisation by using innovative technologies of fast and slow pyrolysis, high temperature fixed and fluidized bed gasification and in topics of green chemistry and biorefinery. Group’s mission is to stimulate and promote know how and innovative solutions that meet the specific technological needs of the Greek and European bio-energy and waste management companies in the context of bio-economy, circular economy and industrial symbiosis. She has been involved in more than 30 national and international research projects. She is author and co-author of more than 85 papers in international journals and more than 100 conference presentations

Abstract:
The structural reinforcement of masonry structures belonging to cultural heritage deserves sustainable and effective techniques to be more and more developed.
The peculiar features of pultruded FRP profiles (PFRP) for construction, such as the low material density, durability and ease of erection makes them particularly suitable for the reinforcement of traditional masonry structures, with particular reference to historical constructions in seismic sites.
The capability of PFRP construction profiles for structural reinforcement of historic buildings is not yet sufficiently explored, although it would allow for non-invasive and reversible interventions for improving the structural performance with a very small mass addition.
The paper presents preliminary investigations - in progress at the IUAV University of Venice - concerning a hypothesis of reinforcement of a traditional masonry building through the installation of a pultruded FRP frame adjacent to the masonry structure and connected to it with mechanical fasteners. The scope of the ongoing research is to explore the possibilities of application of such a reinforcement technique to different types of assets (concerning structural type, materials, aggregation and importance), and to quantify its advantages via opportune parameters.

Biography:
Born in 1978, Dr Francesca Sciarretta began her academic career at the IUAV University of Venice in 2005, just after her graduation in Architecture in October 2004 at the same Institution. She was teaching assistant and then teaching associate to Prof. Salvatore Russo from 2006 to 2012, and gave lectures during Structural Civil Engineering courses and Structural Design modules of Design Studio courses. She got the Ph. D. in Structural Engineering cum laude in 2010 at the Doctoral School of the University of Trento; her Ph. D. thesis, titled ‘Theoretical-experimental analysis of the mechanical behavior of brick-mortar masonry subjected to high temperatures’, was the first theoretical-experimental research ever done in Italy about the residual mechanical behavior of brickwork and its components after exposure to high temperatures. In 2012, after a national competition, she was appointed Assistant Professor at the IUAV University of Venice, being called to develop a three-years research programme titled ‘Mechanical behavior of historic masonry structures under severe actions’.
As a researcher, she has been working with the research team led by Prof. Russo since the beginning of her career; she is interested in experimental research on structures and construction materials (mechanical characterization of masonry materials, mechanical effects of high temperature exposure at the material’s and structural scale, testing on materials and structures with destructive, non-destructive and micro-destructive techniques for diagnosis of structures’ present state and physical modeling of structures, dynamic testing), theoretical and numeric analysis (conventional analytical approaches to structural strength, including limit analysis of arches, use of FEM structural analysis with STRAND7 and DIANA software for thermal flow-stress problems in structural members, natural frequency analysis, dynamic and seismic spectrum analysis for earthquake design, linear and non-linear static and dynamic behavior of historic masonry structures via micro- and macro-modeling approaches), and monitoring and control of monumental buildings (static and dynamic monitoring procedures, structural dynamic characterization of historic structures and integrated monitoring of complex structures).
As a teacher, her lectures deal with general topics of Structural Civil Engineering as well as about peculiar issues of masonry structures (i.e. design of masonry members subjected to compression, in- and out-of-plane shear forces; masonry morphology and methods of analysis; preservation state diagnosis techniques; introduction to limit analysis of masonry arches and bridges; case studies).
Dr Sciarretta occasionally does referee activity for the International Journal of Architectural Heritage (Taylor and Francis). In 2014, she started collaborating with RMEI (Réseau Méditerranéen des Écoles D’Ingenieurs) in projects dealing with Sustainability. Since September 2012, she is also the Secretary of the National Committee ICAR09 – Structural Civil engineering; since June 2012, she is a member of the IUAV University Academic Senate, as elected representative of Assistant Professors. From 2007 to 2012, she was Scientific Secretary and member of the Research Unit “CdSM - Controllo delle Strutture Monumentali” (CdSM - Assessment of Historic buildings and Monuments); with this research group, she was involved in experimental research on site, theoretical and numerical elaboration of collected experimental data and co-authorship of publications and scientific reports after third-party institutional agreements with the City of Venice, concerning the structural assessment of world-famous monuments like the Rialto Bridge and Palazzo Ducale. In 2009, she took part in the task force “IUAV per l’Abruzzo” (“IUAV University for Abruzzo”), a team of about 20 teachers, researchers and PhDs to carry on immediate surveys and damage assessment to quickly set up safety measures after the severe earthquake that had hit the Region of Abruzzo.

University of Catania;
Sistemi Elettrici per l'Energia D.I.E.E.I. - Università di Catania viale Andrea Doria, 6 95125 Catania, Italy

KeyNote Title: Monitoring and Diagnostics for photovoltaic and hybrid solar PVT Power Plants

Abstract:

There are a growing number of failures of wind turbines so much so that much many governmental funding bodies are wondering whether it is worth investing in such a technology. Some typical faults are blades failure due to high winds, lightening and hail, wear and tear (material fatigue issue) over time and generator failure. The maintenance cost is high especially when the turbines are located offshore.
In this context there is a need devise simple and efficient incipient faults detection mechanism so as to prevent a failure form occurring. In this talk, we are going to propose a new method of fault detection based on the available measurements. For this we, introduce the concept of output observers; that essentially provide a set of redundant measurements on which the fault diagnosis can be performed. We will show that these observers can only be design using an input-output representation of the system rather than using a state-space approach. The case of linear systems will be studied first and then an extension of the design to the nonlinear case will be made. A case study consisting of a typical WEC will be considered.

Biography
Krishna Busawon is a Professor in Control Systems Engineering is currently the head of Nonlinear Control research group in the Faculty of Engineering and Environment. His research interest lies mainly in the area of mathematical modelling, nonlinear control and observer design, fault detection and isolation with application to various engineering disciplines such as mechanical, power and biotechnological systems. His recent research interests are in compressive sensing, chaos communications and hybrid systems. He obtained his first degree in Mathematics and Fundamental Sciences from University of St-Etienne in 1989. He then went to University of Lyon where he obtained his BEng and MSc Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1990 and 1991 respectively. He went on to continue his post-graduate studies in the same university and consequently he obtained his MPhil and PhD degree in Control Systems Engineering in 1992 and 1996 respectively. After his PhD he was appointed as a Research Fellow at Simon Fraser University in 1997. He then joined the University of Nuevo León in Mexico where he worked as a Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (FIME). In the year 2000, he joined Northumbria University where he was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Computing, Engineering and Sciences. Later in 2006, he became a Reader in Control Systems Engineering and a Professor since February 2013 at the same university. He is currently the principal investigator of 5 PhD students.