Scientific Results

This catalogue is obtained by conducting a systematic literature review of scientific studies and reviews related to monitoring, forecasting, and simulating the inland water cycle. The analysis maps scientific expertise across research groups and classifies findings by the type of inland water studied, application focus, and geographical scope. A gap analysis will identify missing research areas and assess their relevance to policymaking.

ID ▲ Type Year Authors Title Venue/Journal DOI Research type Water System Technical Focus Abstract Link with Projects Link with Tools Related policies ID
publications-5281 Conference paper 2022 Ye L.; Tian J.; Yang L.; Zhou B. Study on Key Technology for Comprehensive Dynamic Judgment System of Flood Control 2022 8th International Conference on Hydraulic and Civil Engineering: Deep Space Intelligent Development and Utilization Forum, ICHCE 2022 10.1109/ICHCE57331.2022.10042558 This paper explored an overall model of the dynamic judgment of flood control through the design research of a comprehensive dynamic judgment system of flood control, abstracted key rules in the plan, realized the development of digital tools, and developed a basic database of the data in the plan based on a map. We studied and set up the mechanism of taking the calculation results of the hydrodynamic model as input and linking flood control-related factors based on a map; established digital tools for emergency refuge, which could generate suggestions on the emergency refuge and disposal with one click based on the danger prediction mode in the auxiliary decision-making function for emergency rescue; connected the processes from rehearsal to the application of an emergency plan through the digitalization of rules in the plan by reorganizing modules with different operation modes and taking the base data and map as a link, and realized a useful dynamic judgment system and the semi-automation of the whole business processes ranging from judgment to rescue, which can be used for reference in the construction of other digital twin riverbasins. Β© 2022 IEEE.
publications-5282 Article 2022 Dalla Vedova M.D.L.; Berri P.C. A new simplified fluid dynamic model for digital twins of electrohydraulic servovalves Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology 10.1108/AEAT-12-2020-0321 Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a new simplified numerical model, based on a very compact semi-empirical formulation, able to simulate the fluid dynamics behaviors of an electrohydraulic servovalve taking into account several effects due to valve geometry (e.g. flow leakage between spool and sleeve) and operating conditions (e.g. variable supply pressure or water hammer). Design/methodology/approach: The proposed model simulates the valve performance through a simplified representation, deriving from the linearized approach based on pressure and flow gains, but able to evaluate the mutual interaction between boundary conditions, pressure saturation and leak assessment. Its performance was evaluated comparing with other fluid dynamics numerical models (a detailed physics-based high-fidelity one and other simplified models available in the literature). Findings: Although still showing some limitations attributable to its simplified formulation, the proposed model overcomes several deficiencies typical of the most common fluid dynamic models available in the literature, describing the water hammer and the nonlinear dependence of the delivery differential pressure with the spool displacement. Originality/value: Although still based on a simplified formulation with reduced computational costs, the proposed model introduces a new nonlinear approach that, approximating with suitable precision the pressure-flow fluid dynamic characteristic of a servovalve, overcomes the shortcomings typical of such models. Β© 2021, Matteo Davide Lorenzo Dalla Vedova and Pier Carlo Berri.
publications-5283 Article 2022 Tryfonov O.; Shypul O.; Plankovskyy S.; Garin V. CONSTRUCTIONS OF THE EXPERIMENTALESTIMATION MODEL FOR RELEASING COMBUSTION PRODUCTS AT THERMAL PULSE PROCESSING Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies 10.15587/1729-4061.2022.267798 The object of this study are ways to ensure the speed and repeatability of the valve for the release of combustion products from the thermal-pulse unit, which are the most important parameters that enable the precision of the finishing treatment with detonating gas mixtures. The study is aimed at analyzing the process of releasing combustion products in the valve of the proposed design; identification of factors that affect the speed of its opening; establishing the nature of the change in gas dynamic parameters in the combustion chamber. Experimental studies were carried out on a specialized bench simulating the operation of a valve with pressure measurement in gas cavities and controlling the movement of a movable glass of the valve with an incremental encoder. Information on the position of the movable cup is obtained in real time with a decisive ability of 3 microns. The experimental study showed that an increase in the response rate of the valve of the design under consideration to the values required for precision thermal pulse treatment (0.01 s) is possible subject to the use of compressed air. To study the flow processes of high-temperature gases during the operation of the controlled outlet valve, partially immersed in water, a numerical model has been built. A feature of the model is to take into account the real values of the friction force acting on the moving part of the valve, due to the introduction of resistance force acting on the movable glass. The magnitude of this force under the specified initial conditions is assigned from the condition of ensuring the coincidence between the estimated opening time of the valve and its average value obtained from fullscale experiments. For the range of design conditions, based on the lower limit of the working pressure of the combustion products, the water level is determined in the chamber of the thermal pulse equipment, on which the valve must be partially immersed for safe operation Β© 2022, Authors. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons CC BY license
publications-5284 Article 2022 Mohammadshahi S.S.; Boulaire F.A.; Love J.; Gorji S.A.; Mackinnon I.D.R. A flexible analytical model for operational investigation of solar hydrogen plants International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.10.072 Hydrogen will become a dominant energy carrier in the future and the efficiency and lifetime cost of its production through water electrolysis is a major research focus. Alongside efforts to offer optimum solutions through plant design and sizing, it is also necessary to develop a flexible virtualised replica of renewable hydrogen plants, that not only models compatibility with the β€_x009c_plug-and-playβ€_x009d_ nature of many facilities, but that also identifies key elements for optimisation of system operation. This study presents a model for a renewable hydrogen production plant based on real-time historical and present-day datasets of PV connected to a virtualised grid-connected AC microgrid comprising different technologies of batteries, electrolysers, and fuel cells. Mathematical models for each technology were developed from chemical and physical metrics of the plant. The virtualised replica is the first step toward the implementation of a digital twin of the system, and accurate validation of the system behaviour when updated with real-time data. As a case study, a solar hydrogen pilot plant consisting of a 60 kW Solar PV, a 40 kW PEM electrolyser, a 15 kW LIB battery and a 5 kW PEM fuel cell were simulated and analysed. Two effective operational factors on the plant's performance are defined: (i) electrolyser power settings to determine appropriate hydrogen production over twilight periods and/or overnight and (ii) a user-defined minimum threshold for battery state of charge to prevent charge depletion overnight if the electrolyser load is higher than its capacity. The objective of this modelling is to maximise hydrogen yield while both loss of power supply probability (LPSP) and microgrid excess power are minimised. This analysis determined: (i) a hydrogen yield of 38–39% from solar DC energy to hydrogen energy produced, (ii) an LPSP <2.6 Γ— 10−4 and (iii) < 2% renewable energy lost to the grid as excess electricity for the case study. Β© 2021 The Author(s)
publications-5285 Conference paper 2022 Kucukcoban S.; Kluk D.J.; Pestana R.G.; da Silva M.A.; da Costa D.M.G.; Machado R.C.; Xavier C.V.; Sampaio Santiago M.V. A Digital Twin for Computing Dynamic Watch Circles on a Dynamically Positioned MODU Proceedings of the Annual Offshore Technology Conference 10.4043/31709-MS A digital twin representing the drilling system of a dynamically positioned (DP) mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) has been developed and deployed in offshore Brazil. The primary output of the digital twin is a set of dynamic watch circles which are generated based off the predicted drift-off behavior of the MODU under real-time environmental conditions. The watch circles, together with vessel and weather status information, are displayed to the crew on board and updated on an hourly basis. This paper describes the development of the software platform on which the digital twin is built, together with the underlying drilling system model and solution parameters, which uniquely include the effect of the marine riser restoring force. Integration with external data streams is presented, including vessel position and heading, riser tension, and environmental data (wind, wave, and current). The system outputs, including the local user interface on the vessel and the output data stream to the operator’s real-time data center via the WITSML protocol, are also described. The digital twin with dynamic watch circle output has been successfully utilized on a campaign of shallow-water wells for plug-and-abandonment (P&A) operations in concert with BOP tethering and subsea realtime monitoring systems. Together, these systems ensured safe operations and wellhead protection in a challenging environment for dynamically positioned MODUs. Additionally, the operator was able to gather correlated data streams monitoring the weather conditions, vessel status, dynamic watch circle estimation, subsea drilling system status, and tether loads. The digital twin and dynamic watch circle system enables drilling and completion operations to be performed under conditions judged to be untenable when evaluated via traditional operability analysis methods involving statistically predicted environmental conditions. © 2022, Offshore Technology Conference. All rights reserved.
publications-5286 Conference paper 2022 Lisnic V.; Ferrada F.; Correia P. Proposal of an IoT Architecture for Greenhouse Monitoring Proceedings - 2022 International Young Engineers Forum in Electrical and Computer Engineering, YEF-ECE 2022 10.1109/YEF-ECE55092.2022.9850210 Agriculture is an industry that is essential for the food supply for the world population. Although this industry is so important, there are many challenges associated with it, such as the pollution/waste present in the agricultural practices and the aging of the farmers. The application of technological solutions can provide a way to solve these challenges, by retrieving data from the physical environment, based on which future decisions can be taken, using actuators. The goal of this work is to present an architecture through which the different layers can communicate with each other's, and then based on this architecture develop a system that can help monitor the agricultural fields. The project is applied in a controlled environment (a greenhouse), and the objective is to verify both the waste of water within the cultures, and if there are benefits in changing the plastics used on top of the soil in terms of production, from the traditional one (black), to a plastic that is white and thicker. Β© 2022 IEEE.
publications-5287 Conference paper 2022 Lian J.; Zhao L.; Li Z.; Xie R. Application of artificial intelligence technologies in intelligent diagnosis of crude oil pipelines Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering 10.1117/12.2639551 With the continuous development of diagnosis, prediction and systems management technologies for complex pipeline systems and driven by the context of Industry 4.0, digital twin technology has become a research hotspot in the field of smart manufacturing and intelligent operation and maintenance of pipeline systems. Digital twin can be defined as an adaptive model of complex physical systems. The prospect of digital twin and its impact on society is brought closer to reality with recent advances in multiphysics simulation, artificial intelligence, big data cybernetics, data processing and management tools. With a case study on Sino-Myanmar pipelines, the author uses artificial intelligence models on the basis of digital twin technology to predict the pipeline transmission demand to make sure the smooth operation of pipelines with large topographic fluctuations and geological complexity. The objective is to achieve intelligent operation such as real-time autonomous optimization of pipeline operation and control of safety warning, thus realizing data analysis and intelligent diagnosis, as well as providing a reference for the application of demand prediction of complex pipeline networks and system health management in digital twin technology. Β© 2022 SPIE
publications-5288 Conference paper 2022 Tilcher D.K.; Bölter C.; Mühlefeldt M.; Thamsen P.U. HOW TO TEST THE OPERATION AND MONITORING OF CRITICAL WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN A LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Fluids Engineering Division (Publication) FEDSM 10.1115/FEDSM2022-84601 Increasing urbanization and the effects of climate change pose new challenges to our wastewater systems. One way to meet these challenges is to develop new control approaches. However, testing these approaches in real infrastructure is not easy: since wastewater systems are critical infrastructure, trouble-free operation is essential and renders the testing of new approaches as high-risk propositions. Against this background, the idea of building a pumping station arose, allowing for operations in a laboratory environment and the testing of various control methods. At the same time, a digital twin was developed for the pumping station, creating a virtual image that is as close to reality as possible. The virtual image enables new control methods to be tested and their potential to be investigated in a time-efficient manner without the need for costly conversion measures. Finally, coupling virtual and real pumping stations opens the possibility to test prediction-based control systems that simulate operating modes, based on a forecast and applicable quasi-simultaneously at the real pumping station. The research results obtained in this way can be used as a basis for implementing new control methods in real infrastructure and as a demonstrator for potential interested parties (e.g. sewage network operators). © 2022 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). All rights reserved.
publications-5289 Article 2022 Moteki D.; Murai T.; Hoshino T.; Yasuda H.; Muramatsu S.; Hayasaka K. Capture method for digital twin of formation processes of sand bars Physics of Fluids 10.1063/5.0085574 Hydraulic quantities governing the generation of bedforms (formed spontaneously on the bottoms of rivers) have been investigated through geomorphological methods, laboratory experiments, stability analyses, numerical analyses, and other research methods. Recently, numerical analysis has been conducted using fine spatial grids to accurately describe morphodynamics. However, numerical analysis cannot always describe the real phenomena, because it is based on assumptions. One effective way to verify physical assumptions is to compare numerical analysis with actual measurements of equivalent resolution. Measurement data with high resolution enable the construction of a duplicate of the measurement target on a computer called a "digital twin."To construct a digital twin of the process of bedforms generation and development, geometries of the water surface and the bed surface must be simultaneously measured. We developed and verified a measurement method for the construction of a digital twin during the generation and development of bedforms. The measurement system uses two cameras and a line laser to simultaneously measure the water surface and bed surface. Accurate refraction correction at the water surface is possible by acquiring the shape of the water surface, allowing the bottom shape to be determined by geometric processing. The method provides sub-millimeter-accurate measurements of the water surface and bottom with a spatial resolution of 0.95 cm longitudinally and 0.038 cm transversely in a 12 m Γ— 0.45 m flume and takes only 1 min per measurement. This method can provide measurement results that contribute to the understanding of the generation and development of bedforms. Β© 2022 Author(s).
publications-5290 Book chapter 2022 Maongera B.; Leidig K.; Laufer R.; Martinez P.; Armitage A.B.; Danielsson P.; Eickhoff J. Development and Simulation of a South African Satellite Camera on a Satellite Testbench for Capacity Building in Space Operations, Training and Research Springer Aerospace Technology 10.1007/978-3-030-94628-9_10 More and more countries are operating their own national satellites. In recent years, states like Peru, Angola, Bangladesh and Qatar have launched their very first satellite missions. Many of these states aim for multiple socio-economic benefits: the mission tasks typically cover disaster management, agricultural monitoring, water management, fisheries and national security. With their own ground stations and a mission control system, the corresponding national institution can fully control such satellites after launch. A problem that emerging space nations often face is that of knowledge transfer to their respective local industry and academia, especially in the area of onboard computers, onboard software and operations. In 2016, the University of Stuttgart and the University of Cape Town (UCT) decided to strengthen and deepen the cooperation in research and education in the field of space sciences and technologies between both institutions. This partnership, supported by additional industrial sponsors Cobham Gaisler, Sweden and Terma B.V Netherlands, and Airbus, provided UCT with a fully representative satellite simulation, a digital twin of the β€_x009c_Flying Laptopβ€_x009d_ mission. This comprises the simulator, the flight software and a real mission control systemβ€”namely the Satellite Control and Operation System CCS5. The CCS5 runs together with the spacecraft simulation software on a single high-performance workstation. The third application is the flight software development environment. Multiple monitors allow users to simultaneously display the different parts of the simulation as it is running: The Airbus simulator SimTG (Simulator Third Generation) itself, the hardware emulator for the onboard software called TSIM, and a visualization of the satellite in orbit. This equipment enables now satellite software development and operator training at UCT. For UCT, this is a significant step in academic excellence, research and development (R&D) and innovation and capacity building in the field of space sciences and technology. Students who gained experience at Stuttgart University and further insights from Airbus Defense and Space in Fridrichafen will perform the training in Cape Town. This ensures that the personnel in Cape Town will be fully trained in the system’s operation. In addition, phone support from experienced Airbus engineers is available. At the time of writing this abstract, the system is being established. The team at UCT will simulate a flight scenario which covers vegetation monitoring using optical payload instruments and a detailed explanation on how to model a satellite and its subsystems and the effects of the simulator on local capacity growth. This will be an impactful demonstration of South African academic competence in mission operations and spacecraft modelling. Β© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.