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Article
Publication date: 29 July 2014

Chongli Di, Xiaohua Yang, Xuejun Zhang, Jun He and Ying Mei

The purpose of this paper is to simulate and analyze accurately the multi-scale characteristics, variation periods and trends of the annual streamflow series in the Haihe River…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to simulate and analyze accurately the multi-scale characteristics, variation periods and trends of the annual streamflow series in the Haihe River Basin (HRB) using the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT).

Design/methodology/approach

The Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) approach is adopted to decompose the original signal into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) in multi-scales. The Hilbert spectrum is applied to each IMF component and the localized time-frequency-energy distribution. The monotonic residues obtained by EMD can be treated as the trend of the original sequence.

Findings

The authors apply HHT to 14 hydrological stations in the HRB. The annual streamflow series are decomposed into four IMFs and a residual component, which exhibits the multi-scale characteristics. After the Hilbert transform, the instantaneous frequency, center frequency and mean period of the IMFs are obtained. Common multi-scale periods of the 14 series exist, e.g. 3.3a, 4∼7a, 8∼10a, 11-14a, 24∼25a and 43∼45a. The residues indicate that the annual streamflow series has exhibited a decreasing trend over the past 50 years.

Research limitations/implications

The HHT method is still in its early stages of application in hydrology and needs to be further tested.

Practical implications

It is helpful for the study of the complex features of streamflow.

Social implications

This paper will contribute to the sustainable utilization of water resources.

Originality/value

This study represents the first use of the HHT method to analyze the multi-scale characteristics of the streamflow series in the HRB. This paper provides an important theoretical support for water resources management.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 24 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 August 2022

Awel Haji Ibrahim, Dagnachew Daniel Molla and Tarun Kumar Lohani

The purpose of this study is to address a highly heterogeneous rift margin environment and exhibit considerable spatiotemporal hydro-climatic variations. In spite of limited…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to address a highly heterogeneous rift margin environment and exhibit considerable spatiotemporal hydro-climatic variations. In spite of limited, random and inaccurate data retrieved from rainfall gauging stations, the recent advancement of satellite rainfall estimate (SRE) has provided promising alternatives over such remote areas. The aim of this research is to take advantage of the technologies through performance evaluation of the SREs against ground-based-gauge rainfall data sets by incorporating its applicability in calibrating hydrological models.

Design/methodology/approach

Selected multi satellite-based rainfall estimates were primarily compared statistically with rain gauge observations using a point-to-pixel approach at different time scales (daily and seasonal). The continuous and categorical indices are used to evaluate the performance of SRE. The simple scaling time-variant bias correction method was further applied to remove the systematic error in satellite rainfall estimates before being used as input for a semi-distributed hydrologic engineering center's hydraulic modeling system (HEC-HMS). Runoff calibration and validation were conducted for consecutive periods ranging from 1999–2010 to 2011–2015, respectively.

Findings

The spatial patterns retrieved from climate hazards group infrared precipitation with stations (CHIRPS), multi-source weighted-ensemble precipitation (MSWEP) and tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM) rainfall estimates are more or less comparably underestimate the ground-based gauge observation at daily and seasonal scales. In comparison to the others, MSWEP has the best probability of detection followed by TRMM at all observation stations whereas CHIRPS performs the least in the study area. Accordingly, the relative calibration performance of the hydrological model (HEC-HMS) using ground-based gauge observation (Nash and Sutcliffe efficiency criteria [NSE] = 0.71; R2 = 0.72) is better as compared to MSWEP (NSE = 0.69; R2 = 0.7), TRMM (NSE = 0.67, R2 = 0.68) and CHIRPS (NSE = 0.58 and R2 = 0.62).

Practical implications

Calibration of hydrological model using the satellite rainfall estimate products have promising results. The results also suggest that products can be a potential alternative source of data sparse complex rift margin having heterogeneous characteristics for various water resource related applications in the study area.

Originality/value

This research is an original work that focuses on all three satellite rainfall estimates forced simulations displaying substantially improved performance after bias correction and recalibration.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 August 2011

Julia Hall and Conor Murphy

This paper aims to develop a framework to assist the identification of robust adaptation options that account for uncertainty in future climate change impacts for the water sector.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a framework to assist the identification of robust adaptation options that account for uncertainty in future climate change impacts for the water sector.

Design/methodology/approach

The water evaluation and planning (WEAP) tool, is to identify future water resource vulnerability in the Glore sub‐catchment within the Moy catchment in the West of Ireland. Where water stress is evident, a detailed hydrological modelling approach is developed to enable an assessment of the robustness to uncertainty of future adaptation decisions. WEAP is coupled with a rainfall runoff model (hydrological simulation model), and forced using climate scenarios, statistically downscaled from three global climate models to account for the key sources of uncertainty. While hydrological models are widely applied, they are subject to uncertainties derived from model structure and the parameterisation of the catchment. Here, random sampling of key parameters is employed to incorporate uncertainty from the hydrological modelling process. Behavioural parameter sets are used to generate multiple future streamflow series to determine where the bounds within future hydrological regimes may lie and the ranges within which future adaptation policy pathways need to function.

Findings

This framework allows the identification of adaptation options that are robust to uncertainty in future simulations.

Research limitations/implications

Future research will focus on the development of more site‐specific adaptation options including soft and hard adaptation strategies. This approach will be applied to multiple water resource regions within Ireland.

Originality/value

A robust adaptation assessment decreases the risk of expensive and/or mal‐adaptations in a critical sector for society, the economy and the aquatic environment.

Details

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-8692

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 April 2007

Silvio J. Simoes and Ana P. Barros

This paper seeks to address the issue of persistent and widespread drought conditions during 2000 and 2001, which were the apparent cause of the decline of water levels in the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to address the issue of persistent and widespread drought conditions during 2000 and 2001, which were the apparent cause of the decline of water levels in the reservoirs of Brazilian hydroelectric power plants.

Design/methodology/approach

This issue is addressed here through a case study of the hydroclimatology of the Paraíba river basin, in Southeast Brazil, home to four large multi‐purpose operational reservoirs.

Findings

The data analysis shows that neither changes in the frequency nor magnitude of extreme hydrological events (droughts and floods) nor in annual rainfall amounts can be detected from the existing climate record. The explanation is consistent with the fact that the terrestrial water and energy cycles are tightly, and non‐linearly, coupled through evapotranspiration.

Research limitations/implications

Therefore small change in the seasonality of rainfall can have a significant impact on the basin's overall hydrologic regime, and thus on the availability of water resources.

Originality/value

Often, adaptation and resilience to climate variability are discussed in the context of catastrophic events such as floods and droughts. This study suggests that a different type of impacts, those associated with subtle, yet persistent changes of seasonality in the terrestrial water cycle, cannot be ignored in studies of long‐term sustainability of water resources.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 18 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 August 2019

Jieren Guan, Xiaowei Zhang, Yehua Jiang and Yongnian Yan

This study aims to obtain the mechanistic insights for the fabrication of pure copper thin wall components by selective infrared (IR) laser melting (SLM) and correlated with…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to obtain the mechanistic insights for the fabrication of pure copper thin wall components by selective infrared (IR) laser melting (SLM) and correlated with microstructure development, microhardness, surface morphology and phase analysis. Experimental processes for single track and selection of substrate materials have been studied using a combination of different laser powers and scanning speeds.

Design/methodology/approach

SLM of pure copper was performed on a YONGNIAN Laser YLMS-120 SLM machine using an Nd: YAG fiber laser operating at 1,060 nm in the NIR region. Single-track experiments and processing parameters are investigated through different combinations of laser power and scanning speed. The microstructure of the fabricated pure copper samples by SLM technique was analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope equipped with energy disperse spectrometer, optical microscope (OM) and micro-hardness tester.

Findings

Steel-based substrates were found suitable for pure copper manufacturing due to sufficient heat accumulation. The width of a single track was determined by liner energy density, showing discontinuities and irregular morphologies at low laser powers and high scanning speeds. As a result of instability of the molten pool induced by Marangoni convection, cracks and cavities were observed to appear along grain boundaries in the microstructure. The top surface morphology of SLM-processed component showed a streamflow structure and irregular shapes. However, the powder particles attached to side surface, which manifest copper powders, are even more sensitive to melt pool of contour track. The crystal phase characteristics of copper components indicated increasing crystallite size of a-Cu, and the decreasing intensity of diffraction peak was attributed to the presence of defects during SLM. The maximum relative density and microhardness were 82 per cent and 61.48 HV0.2, respectively. The minimum thickness of a pure copper thin wall component was 0.2 mm.

Originality/value

This paper demonstrated the forming mechanism and explored feasibility of pure copper thin wall parts by SLM technology in the NIR region. The surface morphology, microstructure and crystal structure were preliminary studied with laser processing parameters.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 25 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2019

Kok Yew Soon, Kein Huat Chua, Yun Seng Lim and Li Wang

This paper aims to propose a comprehensive methodology for setting up rural electrifications for indigenous villages with minimum budgets and the lowest possible cost of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a comprehensive methodology for setting up rural electrifications for indigenous villages with minimum budgets and the lowest possible cost of electricity (COE). The electricity accessibility of rural area in Malaysia is not fully covered and the cost of extending the grid to these areas can be high as RM 2.7m per km. Lack of vigorous policies and economic attraction of the rural areas are also the main barriers to rural electrification. Electricity is an essential element of economic activities and the lack of electricity exacerbates poverty and contributes to its perpetuation. Therefore, a hybrid standalone power system can be an alternative solution for the rural electrification. A hybrid standalone power system is studied to investigate the potential of the implementation and the budget required.

Design/methodology/approach

A site survey has been carried out in a village in Peninsular Malaysia, namely, Kampung Ulu Lawin Selatan. A standalone hybrid system is modeled in HOMER Pro software and the data collected from the selected site are used to obtain the system configuration with the lowest COE. The load following and cycle charging energy dispatch methods are compared to identify the optimal system configuration that yields the lowest COE. The diesel generator-only system is chosen as a benchmark for comparisons.

Findings

The results show that the hybrid system constituted from the diesel generator, photovoltaic (PV), micro-hydro and energy storage using the load following energy dispatch method yields the lowest COE of RM 0.519 per kWh. The COE of the hybrid system is 378 per cent lower than that of the diesel generator-only system. The lead-acid energy storage system (ESS) is able to reduce 40 per cent of COE as compared to the system without ESS.

Originality/value

The results indicate that the COE of the diesel-micro hydro-PV-ESS system with load following dispatch strategy is RM 0.519 per kWh, and this value is 35 per cent higher than the average electricity price in Malaysia. However, it is important to note that the costs of extending the grid to the rural area are not taken into account. If this cost is considered into the electricity price, then the standalone hybrid power system proposed by this study is still a competitive alternative for rural electrification.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 January 2022

Adedayo Ayodeji Odebode, Timothy Tunde Oladokun, Oyeronke Toyin Ogunbayo and Joseph Bamidele Oyedele

The upward rise of the prolonged payback period and the inability of the project to generate estimated income that has been linked with the irregular rent payments has been a…

Abstract

Purpose

The upward rise of the prolonged payback period and the inability of the project to generate estimated income that has been linked with the irregular rent payments has been a major problem confronting real estate investment. Given the fact that real estate investment is a risky investment venture with a highly uncertain future stream of income, this paper examines the effectiveness of rent recovery strategies in the emerging Nigeria residential real estate practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed an exploratory research design. The study identified the five recovery strategies adopted by the estate surveying and valuation firms in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria. The study adopts a purposive sampling method to select 52 registered estate firms in the study area and a questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale was used to elicit information. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings

The result showed that the rent recovery strategies adopted by the respondents include email approach, rent reminder notice, adequate maintenance, eviction notice and dialogue approach. The perceived top-rated strategies that could influence estimated income were dialogue and rent reminder notice. Also, the findings showed the factors that influence the choice of strategy are property type, company policy and the proportion of rent to the tenant's income.

Practical implications

The study has an implication for real estate investors and property practitioners regarding the willingness of the investors to invest in real estate investment.

Originality/value

This paper is relevant given the fact that the rental property market is prone to risk that could impede the regular streamflow of income. This serves as a need for examination of the effectiveness of adopted rent recovery strategies as it relates to real estate property management practice and investment viability.

Article
Publication date: 30 August 2011

Ya Ding, Michael J. Hayes and Melissa Widhalm

The purpose of this paper is to provide useful information for members of the weather community and policy makers, to help them understand the full scope of drought economic…

5615

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide useful information for members of the weather community and policy makers, to help them understand the full scope of drought economic impacts and assessment methodologies, and to help determine the feasibility of future drought mitigation programs.

Design/methodology/approach

To accomplish the objective, the paper reviews the literature of drought economic impact studies in both agricultural and non‐agricultural sectors, summarizes the methods and data employed, compares the various results, and investigates the problems and limitations of previous studies.

Findings

The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges and directions of future improvement on drought economic impact assessment.

Originality/value

This paper gives a comprehensive review of drought economic impacts and the associated quantitative assessment methodologies, which provides valuable information to rational decisions supporting drought mitigation policies and programs.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 December 2020

Maryam Shabani, Naser Shams Gharneh and Seyed Taghi Akhavan Niaki

Tackling the challenges of water scarcity requires comprehensive management according to financial, environmental and social issues. This paper aims to develop a planning approach…

Abstract

Purpose

Tackling the challenges of water scarcity requires comprehensive management according to financial, environmental and social issues. This paper aims to develop a planning approach for systematic decision-making and pay attention to uncertainties in water demand management and supply investment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents a multiobjective optimization model to manage water resources based on the balance of supply and demand. The objectives of the model include economic, social and environmental (sustainable development) factors. The model achieves an optimal urban water portfolio by using a scenario tree.

Findings

The mathematical goal programming (GP) in a multiobjective optimization model is applied and solved by the branch and bound method. The results indicate the selected supply augmentation and demand management options in each stage for 20 years according to the dry, normal and wetness year scenarios.

Practical implications

This model is based on a real-world case and has been implemented in the city of Karaj. It can be applied for water management of other cities concerning sustainable development as well.

Originality/value

This paper innovates by considering the sustainable development criteria that are defined using three objective functions, including economic, social and environmental factors. The balance of supply and demand concerning uncertainty has not been investigated in any urban water portfolios. The standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) is incorporated to generate different scenarios. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this approach is used for the first time.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 32 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 November 2011

Waleed Alsabhan and Steve Love

The purpose of this paper is to examine the practicality of an application called the mobile geographic information system (GIS). The authors' purpose was to focus specifically on…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the practicality of an application called the mobile geographic information system (GIS). The authors' purpose was to focus specifically on the mobile GIS application in a prototype, mobile‐based model that is utilized for detecting flood warnings and issuing forecasts. At the end of this research project, a usability study was carried out in a test‐lab environment.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, research is presented regarding the architecture of a structure that has been built on practicality. Readers will learn about a system that is applicable within a vast array of turning‐point situations where rainfall data are communicated to the system in real time.

Findings

It has been revealed that traditional GIS and remote sensing software packages are not as cost‐effective as GIS services that are mobile. Mobile GIS systems have the capability to combine GIS, global positioning system, and remote sensing abilities for retrieving geospatial data sets at costs that are not as pricey as the traditional systems. As time moves on, the need for reliable real‐time data sets is increasing. Additionally, flood management examination provides a valid debate for the combining of mobile GISs within the realm of hydrology. Empirical evidence insinuates and illustrates reliability of GIS and the enhancement in the utilization and creation of devices that are offer mobile capabilities. The usability study revealed that the slope, aspect, watershed, and flow direction functions were not easy to comprehend. It was also discovered during the usability study that the word arrangement, radio button arrangement, and dropdown list caused confusion amongst users. The issue that was deemed as most severe, that was discovered during the usability study, was the blurred comprehension that users experienced regarding the digital elevation model.

Research limitations/implications

Before the wisest solution can be pinpointed, all of the associated constraints of mobile GIS mapping application need to be identified; however, enough constraints have already been identified to bring to a close that a basic mobile GIS mapping application could created and triumphantly used. There are many platforms to choose from in regards to providing a solution to a feasible incorporation of the mobile GISs into the playing field. It should be decided which browser‐based strategy would serve as the highest of benefit based on characteristics that are important to consumers, such as affordability, ease‐of‐use, user‐friendly coding, and acceptability by users.

Originality/value

This research is highly indicative that mobile GIS would be of great benefit for future studies within the realm of disaster monitoring management. The research presented in this paper can be deemed as original due to the fact that it is a study about the utilization of mobile technologically‐advanced gadgets that provide data analysis for flooding in real time. Moreover, these highly technologically‐advanced devices are cost‐effective compared to those in the past.

Details

Journal of Systems and Information Technology, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1328-7265

Keywords

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