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The market for smart greenhouses has been valued at USD 1.77 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to 3.39 billion by 2030. In order to make this more efficient, with the help of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, it is desired to eliminate the problem of traditional agriculture, which has poor monitoring and accuracy control of the parameters of a culture. Climate control decisions in a greenhouse are made based on parameter monitoring systems, which can be remotely controlled. Instead of this adjustment of the measured parameters, it would be preferable from the point of view of energy consumption that they should be calculated at optimal values from the design phase of the greenhouse. For this reason, it would be better to perform an energy simulation of the greenhouse first. For the study carried out in this work, a small greenhouse (mini-greenhouse) was built. It was equipped with an IoT sensor system, which measured indoor climate parameters and could send data to the cloud for future recording and processing. A simplified mathematical model of the heat balance was established, and the measured internal parameters of the mini-greenhouse were compared with those obtained from the simulation. After validating the mathematical model of the mini-greenhouse, this paper aimed to find the optimal position for placing a normal-sized greenhouse. For this, several possible locations and orientations of the greenhouse were compared by running the mathematical model, with which the most unfavorable positions could be eliminated. Then, some considerably cheaper “mini-greenhouses” were made and placed in the locations with the desired orientations. Using sensor systems and technologies similar to those presented in this work, the parameters from all mini-greenhouses can be monitored in real time. This real-time monitoring allows for the simultaneous analysis of all greenhouses, without the disadvantages of data collection directly in the field, with all data being recorded in the cloud and other IoT-specific advantages being made use of. In the end, we can choose the optimal solution for the location of a real-size greenhouse.

Heart rate (HR) is a fundamental physiological parameter that reflects cardiovascular health and fitness levels. Accurate HR monitoring is essential for diagnosing medical conditions, guiding physical training, and monitoring stress and recovery. With the increased development of wearable devices, the new direction of research appeared in the field of personalized comfort based on the physiological response and closing the HVAC control loop based on the occupant's involuntary reaction. This article reviews current HR monitoring technologies, evaluates their precision, and examines the effects of technology used, subject's skin tone and sensor position to obtained the most accurate HR measurement. Lower reading performance are observed with the increase of skin tone on vol Luscan scale for PPG sensor. Based on the results, ECG is the best sensor that can be used in the field compared with PPG sensor, but there are improvements that can increase the PPG sensor performance by using twisted wristband mode or by increasing the LED intensity with reduced battery life as a drawback.

Increasing demand for energy due to comfort requirements in the built environment coupled with development of road networks and amplifying heat island effect call for a comprehensive approach that can answer both issues. The lifespan of an asphalt layer is affected by surface temperature. In this paper, we aim to study the feasibility of heat recovery and its effects in terms of energy harvesting efficiency and asphalt surface temperature by creating a numerical model and validating the model based on onsite measurements at laboratory scale. The experimental setup was developed at Technical University of Civil Engineering in Bucharest, and measurements were monitored during the summer. The heat recovery system used for this study was made of copper pipes, and material cost and layout optimization need to be addressed in future studies. The numerical model was validated using measured data. During this study, we obtained favorable results in terms of heat recovery, reducing surface temperature and selection of system materials. Further research is required for heat recovery system and pump automation (based on the surface temperature), in order to optimize energy consumption and improve overall efficiency.

Thermal comfort evaluation for vehicle occupants is very complicated due to the transient nature and non-uniformity of the vehicle interior. The thermal sensation of an automotive occupant is affected by the surrounding environment. More than this, the actual standard is proposing three evaluation indexes and was developed for steady state and controlled conditions and some of the indexes are not adapted for this complex environment. In this article the three standardized indexes values are compared in term of thermal comfort, in a vehicle passenger in summer season. The results are showing that the mean values of PMV/PPD model calculated in a single point with Comfort Sense equipment are far from the TSV mean values which was collected in questionnaires, while the teq index which was calculated with an advanced thermal manikin are closer to the TSV comfort votes. This may be explained by the fact that the TSV and teq consider the sensation for each body part at the local level. For a correct evaluation of the thermal comfort in non-uniform and transient environments like in the vehicles, is not enough to measure in a single point and the results to be considered in all the ambiance. The main conclusion is that the PMV/PPD indexes are not very well adapted to the vehicle environment.

The aim of this study is to determine how the air flow from a unidirectional air flow (UAF) system and a local ventilation system will interact with each other. The study analyzes the air circulation near the operating table at different air flow velocities from both systems. The air flow velocities correspond to the usual range of velocities recommended by norms and guidelines. The research was approached by numerical and experimental studies. The thermal plume of the occupants (patient and surgeon) were measured by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and thermography (IR). The results of the measurements were compared with the results from the numerical case. A mesh independence study was carried out for the numerical case. The study showed that velocities ≥0.2 m/s from the UAF, depending on the height of the room, can overcome the thermal plume generated by a human subject with a moderate activity (100÷120W). The velocities from the local ventilation system need to be higher with at least one step, in accordance with the distance from the ventilation system to the operating wound, in order to avoid disturbances generated from the UAF system.

The current concept of Crew Quarters (CQ) aboard the ISS has several issues as recorded by NASA and ESA, the most important ones pertaining to the noise levels and the accumulation of CO2. Currently, 13% and 6%, respectively, of the total mass and volume of a CQ are allocated to acoustic reductions. Interplanetary missions, unlike the low orbit ISS, would likely not allow this level of mass and volume penalty. This paper presents numerical models of the airflow inside the enclosure which were developed as a preliminary approach of our team to aid in the proposal of two different air distribution strategies for the CQ existing on the ISS. The CFD models feature a simplified and detailed version of al thermal manikin which simulates the posture of the human body during sleep and recreational activities. These preliminary simulations were run for a zero-gravity scenario and are concerned mainly with the airflow parameters and temperature buildup inside the CQ.

This paper presents a comparison between a displacement ventilation method and a mixed flow ventilation method using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. The paper analyses different aspects of the two systems, like the draft effect in certain areas, the air temperatureand velocity distribution in the occupied zone. The results highlighted that the displacement ventilation system presents an advantage for the current scenario, due to the increased buoyancy driven flows caused by the interior heat sources. For the displacement ventilation case the draft effect was less prone to appear in the occupied zone but the high heat emissions from the interior sources have increased the temperature gradient in the occupied zone. Both systems have been studied in similar conditions, concentrating only on the flow patterns for each case.

Quality of life on the International Space Station (ISS) has become more and more important, since the time spent by astronauts outside the terrestrial atmosphere has increased in the last years. The actual concept for the Crew Quarters (CQ) have demonstrated the possibility of a personal space for sleep and free time activities in which the noise levels are lower, but not enough, compared to the noisy ISS isle way. However, there are several issues that needs to be improved to increase the performance of CQ. Our project QUEST is intended to propose a new concept of CQ in which we will correct these issues, like the noise levels will be lower, more space for astronaut, increased thermal comfort, reduce the CQ total weight, higher efficiency for the air distribution, personalized ventilation system in CQ for the crew members in order to remove CO2 from the breathing zone. This paper presents a CFD study in which we are comparing the actual and a proposed ventilation solution for introducing the air in CQ. A preliminary numerical model of the present configuration of the air distribution system of the Crew Quarters on board of the ISS, shows the need for an improved air distribution inside these enclosures. Lower velocity values at the inlet diffuser, distributed over a larger surface, as well as diffusers with improved induction would appear to be a better choice. This was confirmed through the development of a new model including linear diffusers with a larger discharge surface. In this new configuration, the regions of possible draught are dramatically reduced. The overall distributions of the velocity magnitudes displaying more uniform, lower values, in the same time with more uniform temperatures. All these observations allow us to consider a better mixing of the air inside the enclosure.

This paper presents a study for two thermal plumes generated by two humanoid thermal manikins, one standing and one lying down. The research was approached from a numerical and experimental perspective. The numerical model represents an operating room (OR) with two surgeons, a patient and a unidirectional air flow (UAF) diffuser. The experimental study was made in a climatic chamber, having a similar air distribution system, using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and infrared thermography (IR) measurements. The purpose of the study was to characterize the thermal plumes of the two manikins by numerical and experimental studies. The results obtained from these different approaches were compared with each other and with the ones from the literature in order to validate our numerical models.

The medical units represent a challenge for the building services engineers who are often put in difficulty to ensure the indoor optimal conditions. The destination variety of the indoor environment in such buildings and the different internal thermal loads lead to discomfort zones, for all involved users. The requirements imposed by standards lead often to dissatisfaction for the users: while some of the medical staff asks for low temperatures, others feel discomfort and often the patients have thermoregulatory problems due to this non-homogeneity of thermal conditions found. Medical and non-medical team participated in this study, regarding the indoor quality from different work-zones of this hospital. The results have shown high differences from one zone to another and more of that, high differences between the categories of personnel. Uncomfortable thermal sensations, lack of fresh air and important level of polluted air, noise or lack of space are just some of the problems met in hospital environment.