Biomechanism and Bioenergy Research
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Summer and Autumn 2022

The aim of this paper was to analyze technical analysis of agrivoltaic system in Kerman using PVsyst. A 2 MW photovoltaic system was developed for the grid-connected system. Meteonorm 7 software was used to get the meteorological data for the city of Kerman. PV loss resulting from variations of irradiance intensity and temperature and the inverter losses due to the operation were determined. The energy that can be generated throughout the year was calculated for each month considering the PV-array collection loss and system loss, i.e., inverter loss. The corresponding performance ratio was also determined for the energy output per month. Incident irradiation distribution, system output power distribution, array voltage distribution, and array temperature distribution were reported. Finally, parameter optimization tool was used to study the effect of tilt and azimuth. The tilt angle and the azimuth angle were 30o and 0o, respectively. The amount of annual energy injected into the grid was found to be 3766.321 MWh. The maximum energy injected into the grid was in August with 359.713 MWh, and the lowest energy was is in February with 264.412 MWh. As a result, an average annual performance ratio of 80.80% was achieved.

The information of the impact cutting behavior of plants stalk, play an important role in the design and fabrication of plants cutting equipment. It is difficult to investigate a theoretical method to define cutting properties of plants stalks because the cutting process is complex. Thus, it is necessary to set up an experimental approach to determine cutting parameters for a single stalk. To measure the shear force, shear energy and shear strength of plant stalk, a special impact cutting tester was fabricated. The apparatus included four strain gages and a digital indicator to show the real-time cutting force and requirement cutting energy of plant stalk. To test the apparatus, a series of laboratory tests were conducted to measure the shear force, shear consumption energy and shear strength of stem internodes of two plants stalk like boxwood or box with a scientific name of Buxus (Buxus Sp) and privet with a scientific name of Ligustrum Ovalifolium (Oleaceae Sp) under impact cutting at four loading rates (1, 2, 3 and 4 m/s) and three internodes of stalk (fifth, tenth and fifteenth). At boxwood cutting analysis: the minimum and maximum values of shear consumption energy were obtained as 3.19 J at fifth internode and loading rate: 4 m/s and 19.6 J at fifteenth internode and loading rate: 1 m/s, respectively. The minimum and maximum values of shear strength were obtained as 0.06 MPa at fifth internode and loading rate: 4 m/s and 1.55 MPa at fifteenth internode and loading rate: 1 m/s, respectively. At privet cutting analysis: the minimum and maximum values of shear consumption energy were obtained as 3.95 J at fifth internode and loading rate: 4 m/s and 28.56 J at fifteenth internode and loading rate: 1 m/s, respectively. The minimum and maximum values of shear strength were obtained as 0.2 MPa at fifth internode and loading rate: 4 m/s and 2.50 MPa at fifteenth internode and loading rate: 1 m/s, respectively.

Since Iran is considered a windy country due to its proximity to the sea and the presence of the Alborz and Zagros plateaus. It is necessary to implement mechanisms to increase the production capacity of low-bladed wind turbines. The aim of this study was to determination the optimum parameters of the turbine including: angle of the blade, surface of the conical ratio of the blade and surface of the location of the maximum arc of the chord length. A 3-blade wind turbine was designed and built in a laboratory scale. The thickness of each blade was 20% of the chord length and a thickness of camber was 6% of the chord length. The results showed that the difference between the powers obtained from the experiment at different wind speeds, angles, the location of the maximum arc and the conical ratio of the blade has a significant difference. Results of Duncan's test presented that 15 degrees angle with the average power of 0.8612 W from five levels of blade attack angle, 100% level with the average power of 1.17 W from three levels of the conical ratio of the blade, 30% level with the average power of 0.8139 W from three levels of maximum arc location and 12 m/s with the average power of 1.078 W from three levels of wind speed have the highest productive power. In addition, the interaction of variables (blade attack angle, taper ratio, maximum arc location and speed) is significant and in the model with 15 degrees attack, 100% cone ratio, 30% maximum arc location and 12 m/s wind speed was an optimal model for producing more power.

Fossil fuels are the most commonly used fuels in the world, causing various types of environmental pollution due to the increase in energy consumption; the demand for renewable energy such as biofuels has increased. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and pollution of a four-cylinder gasoline engine with biofuels of ethanol, propanol butanol and pentanol at three different speeds of 1000, 1500 and 2000 rpm.  The results of the tests showed that adding alcoholic fuels to gasoline increases engine power. Improves engine torque. Brake specific fuel consumption of the engine with proposed fuels increases compared to pure gasoline, but this trend decreases with increasing the speed from 1000 to 2000 rpm. In terms of pollutant emissions, the amount of NOX pollutant increased with increasing engine speed in fuel combinations, but this pollutant had a lower amount compared to pure gasoline fuel. The emission of HC pollutant decreases by increasing the percentage of pentanol in fuel compounds. In addition, the amount of CO pollutant decreases greatly with the increase of engine speed from 1000 to 1500rpm and the engine speed increases from 1500 to 2000rpm. In addition, with the increase in the volume percentage of pentanol in the fuel compounds, the amount of CO increased.

The increase in global energy demand in the face of the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and on the other hand the harmful environmental effects and global warming caused by the consumption of fossil fuels is one of the problems ahead. Therefore, renewable energy sources such as biogas should be developed. In this study, an automatic control system was developed to control the material's temperature and pressure inside a continuous plug flow digester with an approximate volume of 3600 liters. After installing the control system, in four separate periods, the production of biogas and methane for four different types of substrate including a combination of cow manure and water (slurry) with a ratio of 1: 1(treatment 1), cow manure slurry and 8% used frying oil (treatment 2), co-digestion of manure slurry 10% used frying oil (treatment 3), co-digestion of manure slurry and 12% used frying oil (treatment 4). At each feeding and discharging, a step used the substrate and the outgoing material to determine the pH level, total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), ammonia, and organic loading (COD). Also, the amount of gas generated at each digester discharge was recorded from a gas flow meter. Data were analyzed in SAS statistical software. The significant difference of each parameter was evaluated with LSD mean comparison. The results showed that the oil increase had a great influence on the production of biogas and increase the methane content. In addition, the mean comparison of LSD showed a significant difference between the average volumes of biogas produced for four different types of substrate.

In this study, a pilot solar thin-layer dryer was designed and constructed. This dryer was equipped with an air-to-air cross-flow plate heat exchanger. An aluminum plate with a different design was used instead of holes in its surface. The collector, the airflow hitting the absorbent plate and passing through the surface of the pipes embedded on the absorbent plate received thermal energy and transferred it to the dryer chamber. Using the randomize complete design, influence of thickness of product in three levels of 3, 5 and 8 mm, three levels of air velocity of 0.5, 1 and 1.5 m/s and 2 modes with and without the use of heat exchanger on drying time of onion slices was studied. The crop thickness and airflow velocity had a significant effect on reducing the drying time of onion slices and the effect of crop thickness was greater than airflow velocity. However, the heat exchanger did not have a significant effect on drying time and collector efficiency.

Due to the increasing population growth today, the need for new technologies for better food processing is felt more and more. New thermal and non-thermal technologies based on physical techniques for food preservation have the ability to meet consumer demands and deliver processed foods with high quality and long shelf life, without additives. Among these heating and food processing methods are Pushed Electric Fields (PDE), High Voltage Electric Fields (HVED), Moderate Electric Fields (MEF), Ohmic Heating (OH), Pulsed Ohmic Heating (POH). Meanwhile, one of the great alternative methods for heating is ohmic heating. The ohmic heating process is an alternative method that uses electrodes to convert electrical energy into heat. Electrical conductivity of heating materials is one of the factors that determine the effectiveness of ohmic heating system. Ohmic heat can be produced effectively and efficiently from materials with electrical conductivity between 0.01 and 10 S/m. Currently, there is a wide use of ohmic heating potential in the food industry. Ohmic heating is most widely used in the food industry, including the inactivation of pathogens, enzymes, and the removal of some inappropriate compounds in food.

In this study the effect of air temperature, paddy final moisture and variety on degree of whiteness and breakage percentage in fluidized bed dryer were investigated. Three rice varieties (Tarom-domsiah, Hashemi, and Shiroodi); air temperature in four levels (40, 45, 50 and 55°C) and final moisture in three levels (8-10, 10-12, and 12-14%) were considered. Tests were conducted within the factorial design. The results indicated that the degree of whiteness of Shiroodi variety is more than other varieties in different temperatures. Only the degree of whiteness of Tarom-domsiah is increased with increasing the moisture. The average degree of whiteness in moisture 8-10 percent was less than other moistures. Hashemi variety in each temperature indicated the least rice breakage percentage. Breakage percentage of Tarom-domsiah and Shiroodi varieties had no significant difference in any moisture levels. While Breakage percentage of Hashemi variety in 12-14% moisture had a significant difference in its breakage percentage in the moisture of 8-10% and 10-12% and it showed more breakage percentage value.

One of the most popular and oldest ways to preserve fruits and vegetables out of season is drying. The mass and heat transfer mechanisms during the drying of food products are complex. In this study, orange slices were dried by the natural convection with a vacuum dryer and the heat and mass transfer process of slices during drying were simulated and predicted by the finite element method using Comsol Multiphysics software. The simulation was done for temperatures of 45, 65, and 85 °C and pressure of 60 kPa. The results showed that the predicted model simulated moisture transfer (R2 between 0.92 and 0.97) and heat transfer (R2 between 0.97 and 0.99) with appropriate accuracy. The simulation showed that after the surface moisture drying, the moisture gradient was from the center to the surface, while the temperature gradient was from the surface to the center.

In the current energy and environmental conditions, it is necessary to implement systems based on renewable energy sources in order to reduce energy consumption worldwide. Solar collectors have been studied for years, and many researchers have focused their attention on increasing their efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Solar collectors are implemented for heating domestic water, heating or industrial processes. A promising system that is not yet widely known is air heating by solar collectors, which can be an efficient way to use solar energy with lower investment costs, a system that can preheat the fresh air needed for heating, drying. In this research, the air was established between the absorbent space and its glass cover at speeds of 2, 4, and 6 m/s using a fan, and the effect of incoming air speed and weather conditions such as solar radiation intensity, wind speed, and ambient temperature on the outlet air temperature from the collector and the absorber rod temperature were checked. Based on the obtained results, the temperature of the air coming out of the collector and the temperature of the absorber decreases with the increase in the speed of the incoming air. The greatest impact of weather conditions on the temperature of the absorber rod is related to the intensity of the sun's radiation. The numerical analysis results were obtained with an error of 5% compared to the experimental results.

Chicory (cichorium intybus) is a perennial herbaceous plant of Asteraceae family, and resistant to cold climate and frost. Chicory root containing 70-94% inulin, based on dry weight is considered as a major source of inulin for industrial production. Inulin is a fructologosaccharide and is a substitute for fat and sugar that is not digestible, but in the colon, it is used by bifidobacteria. Some of these bacteria are used as a periosteum and are very useful for human health. Drying is one of the most important post-harvesting processes of medicinal plants, which plays a major role in the quantity and quality of its active ingredients. To prevent fresh chicory root from deterioration, it should be dried for long-term storage. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of drying in low pressure on the quality and time of extraction of inulin from Chicory root. For this purpose, the chicory roots were first dried at 80 °C under two different oven pressure of 35000 and 75000 Pa for one hour, then the inulin was extracted using diffusion process in hot water for 70 and 150 min. For qualitative evaluation, extracted inulin was analyzed through High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with refractive index (RI) detector. Based on results from HPLC analysis, the dried sample at 750 mbar and extraction time of 150 min had the highest amount of inulin, while the dried sample at 750 mbar and the extraction time of 70 min had the lowest amount of inulin.

Currently, the main source of energy used all over the world are fossil fuels. Due to their non-renewable nature as well as the environmental problems caused by their use, the need for an alternative energy source is felt. Biodiesel is a biodegradable, non-toxic and environmentally friendly substance. This substance is produced from vegetable oils and animal fats in different ways. Using the Transesterification method to produce biodiesel has advantages such as low cost, high reaction speed and better quality than other methods. In this research, the effect of factors such as temperature, stirring speed, methanol-to-oil ratio, and catalyst weight percentage on biodiesel production was investigated with the help of experimental design using Minitab software version 19. The quality of the produced product was compared with international standards by measuring some of its characteristics. The esterification reaction was carried out by methanol in the presence of sodium hydroxide catalyst. Based on the “Placket Burman” design (PBD), the influencing factors including the ratio of methanol to oil and the weight percentage of the catalyst were identified. Considering that the temperature and stirring speed do not have much effect on the process, there is no need to adjust the process temperature to reduce the production cost, and the mixing speed can be used with less energy consumption.

Considering the increasing population of the world and the lack of human food sources, it is very important to pay more attention to fodder plants that can indirectly supply human food. By using choppers, a large amount of fodder can be transported and prepared for anaerobic fermentation of fodder.  In this research, a control mechanism has been proposed to change the angle of the knives on the cutting drum with a tangent plane on the circumference of the drum in order to change the distance between the knives and the fixed knife and change the length of the pieces. The mechanism was analyzed in SAM software, and then the three-dimensional model of different blade angle states was designed and analyzed in CATIA V5 R21 software. According to the obtained data, although the Von Mises stresses occur at the minimum angle of 22 degrees and the maximum Von Mises stress occurs at an angle of 16.5 degrees, there is no significant difference in the amount of stresses. Therefore, this mechanism can be recommended for all the mentioned situations (angles). For 1600rpm rotational speed and 6083 N/m line force density the occurred Von Mises stress in 22 degree angle is lower than zero degree angle.

In recent years, due to environmental issues, the installation of distributed production sources such as solar sources in electrical energy production systems has been expanding. It is very important to know the state of health of installed photovoltaic panels and their depreciation rate to maximize the amount of output energy of these panels.  In this research, some common types of panel defects were investigated experimentally by thermal imager. The parameters affecting the thermal images were investigated by taking images of two similar panels, one a sound panel and a damaged panel and the performance parameters of the panels were measured by a solar analyzer. Based on the results obtained by using thermal images and image processing in MATLAB software, it was identified the defect location of the panel in a short time. According to the investigations, the histogram diagram of the healthy panel corresponds to the normal distribution, while the histogram diagram of the defective panel does not correspond to the normal distribution diagram and has an elongation to the left. Checking the voltage and power parameters of the panels shows that in the defective panels, the voltage has dropped by 1.2 V and the power has dropped by 26.8 W.

Rhubarb is a mountain plant that contains many antioxidants and various vitamins, including A, B1, B2 and C, and is an extremely healthy product and a rich source of antioxidants and dietary fibers. Today, it is important to dry medicinal plants and agricultural products in order to achieve better product quality, so that minimal physical, chemical and biological changes made in the product. In this research, the drying kinetics of rhubarb medicinal plant with an infrared dryer conducted at three temperature levels of 50, 60, and 70 ℃ in the skin and without skin for 2 and 5 cm pieces of the product. By increasing the drying temperature and reducing the length of the parts and removing the skin of the samples, the drying speed and mass transfer increased and the drying time decreased. The values of activation energy ranged from 32.18 to 45.09 kJ/mol and the values of moisture diffusion coefficient ranged from 2.45 x 10-9 to 5.97 x 10-10 square meters per second. The overall color change of the product at all three temperatures was insignificant and the color of the rhubarb product changed little during the drying process. Using the intensity of low infrared radiations kept the color characteristics of rhubarb samples .Due to the low cost and high speed of drying, infrared dryer recommended as an economic method with high productivity for drying rhubarb medicinal plant.

In many research institutes, it is necessary to thresh the product in clusters. For this purpose, a laboratory threshing unit is used. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of some factors including to common barley varieties in Ardabil province (Aras and Sahra), cluster amount (10 and 15 g), blade speed (450, 600 and 750 rpm), threshing time (10, 20 and 30 s) and the blade clearance from the bottom of the cylinder (2.5 and 3.5 mm). An inverter was used to change the speed of the thresh blade. A four-factor randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used to analyze the data. The results of analysis of variance showed that the effects of independent factors as well as the interactions of independent factors including cluster amount, blade clearance, blade speed and threshing time on threshing losses and damaged grains percent (except for the main interactions of blade speed in experiment with Sahra variety) was significant. The lowest and highest mean of damaged grain percent belonged to Aras and Sahra varieties, respectively. In general, threshing losses of Aras variety were higher than Sahra variety, but the damaged grains percent of Aras variety was lower. According to the results of the interactions of four factors,  two factors the device evaluation, the best working conditions (minimum threshing loss and lowest damaged grains percent) in exchange for tests with cluster amount of 15 g, blade clearance of 3.5 mm, blade speed 600 rpm and the threshing time was 30 s.

Pressing is a common method to extract oil from oilseeds. In this method, no additives are added to the oil. The oil obtained using this method has impurities that make the color cloudy and reduce its shelf life. So, it is necessary to separate these impurities to increase the quality. In order to separate impurities from oil, a set including: pump, filter, flow control valve, pressure control valve and tank was designed and built. In this research, sesame oil was purified using a linen filter, and the compressibility of the cake and the effect of temperature and pressure on the efficiency of the filter were investigated. The compressibility coefficient for the cake in the linen filter was equal to 0.13, which shows that the porosity of the cake is relatively low. Variance analysis of linen filter efficiency data showed that temperature and pressure have no significant effect on the separation efficiency of this filter and the average separation efficiency of this filter was 76%, also temperature and pressure in the selected ranges did not affect the filter separation efficiency.