Radu Godina is currently an Assistant Professor at the NOVA School of Science and Technology, FCT NOVA, NOVA UNIVERSITY LISBON. He received the Ph.D. degree from University of Beira Interior (UBI), Covilhã, Portugal. Radu Godina is an Integrated Research Member of the Research and Development Unit in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (UNIDEMI), which is part of Associated Laboratory of Intelligent Systems (LASI), located in Guimarães, Portugal. He has authored or co-authored more than 165 indexed international journals, book chapters and conference proceedings papers in such topics as industrial symbiosis, sustainability, lean manufacturing, electric vehicles, circular economy, life cycle assessment and quality control. He has published with 22 international universities and 10 distinct enterprises and/or corporations. He is a full member of the EurOMA (European Operations Management Association) and full member of the IEOM Society International Association (Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Society - IEOM). He recently is developing research in the project Microstructural Engineering and Integrated Non-Destructive Testing - Smart-WAAM obtained through European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) RawMaterials, and in this task the goal is to detail rigorously and perform the life cycle analysis, life cycle cost and social life cycle analysis of the additive manufacturing process, namely Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). Radu Godina is currently the coordinator at UNIDEMI of the project M4ML - Mobility for Maritime Logistics: M4ML, which is part of the Blue Growth Program that is funded by the EEA Grants Portugal and the Portuguese State.
The aim of this work is to evaluate the environmental impact of different solutions for building ... more The aim of this work is to evaluate the environmental impact of different solutions for building facade retrofitting. Based on Sustainable Construction, this study is carried out by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology based on ISO 14044:2006 standard requirements. A "cradle-to-grave" life cycle analysis is developed for each solution, comprising the extraction of raw materials to the disposal phase, and then a comparative analysis was performed by considering the same functional unit: 1 m 2 of building facade for a 40-year time horizon. Four retrofit solutions are assessed: two External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS), differing only in the insulation material, expanded polystyrene (EPS), and insulation corkboard (ICB); and two ventilated facade systems with different types of timber cladding, thermally modified timber, and painted timber. The data included in the inventory phase is mostly taken from technical documentation and from the Ecoinvent database, complemented with scientific literature and estimations when necessary. The LCA was performed using the SimaPro software applying both EPD (2018) and ReCiPe 2016 Endpoint (H) methods. Results of this study show that, phase-wise, the production and maintenance of the components materials have higher contribution in terms of environmental impact. On the other hand, by comparing the various solutions, the ventilated facade retrofit solution with heat treated timber cladding is the one that shows the highest environmental impact in almost every single category, whereas the cladding solution with painted timber finish is the one that shows the best environmental performance.
Organisations seek to adopt strategies to increase their productivity and quality in highly compe... more Organisations seek to adopt strategies to increase their productivity and quality in highly competitive markets. For this purpose, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is often used. It is frequently combined with other scientific areas such as Ergonomics. Integrating LSS and Ergonomics may improve productivity while preserving workers' health and safety. This study presents a systematic literature review to clarify the impacts of integrating LSS and Ergonomics on organisations. Also, it seeks to assess the main limitations while answering the defined research questions. The research was conducted in Scopus and Web of Science. From the 74 results, 16 articles were included based on the eligibility criteria. The results show that few scientific studies report the application of both areas. As for integrating LSS and Ergonomics, no pattern is observed in the methods and tools to be applied, highlighting that the most common were the DMAIC cycle and the Value Stream Mapping tool. Nevertheless, this review evidences many positive effects of this integration, both for organisations and workers. In general, the topic of this review has the potential to be further studied through conceptual studies and case studies in organisations from different sectors to provide broader conclusions and show the relevance of this theme.
The ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems, as renewable energy-based power plants, have ... more The ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems, as renewable energy-based power plants, have the potential to play a significant role in meeting future electricity demands due to the vast expanse of the world's oceans. These systems employ the temperature difference between surface ocean waters and deep ocean waters to drive a thermodynamic cycle and produce electricity. The temperature of deep ocean waters, approximately 1000 m below the surface, is approximately 4 °C, while surface ocean temperatures typically range between 20 and 30 °C. The generated power of OTEC systems is dependent on these temperature differences and may vary with changes in surface ocean temperatures. In this study, the main focus is to find the impact of temperature variation on the failure rates of OTEC system components and the generated power output of these plants. The findings indicate that as the demand for the power system increases, its reliability decreases. In order to improve the reliabil...
An integrated fuel and ash characterization of Pinus Pinaster Aiton. (maritime pine) and Eucalypt... more An integrated fuel and ash characterization of Pinus Pinaster Aiton. (maritime pine) and Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (blue gum eucalyptus) species is presented in this study. Physical, thermal and chemical analysis, including density, moisture content, calorific value, proximate and ultimate analysis, were carried out. The fuel energy density (Ear) and the fuelwood value index were calculated ranking the fuelwood quality. Furthermore, ash elemental metals determination was carried out. The study showed ash content in the ranged 0.40-2.88% for E. globulus and 0.22-1.92% for Pinus Pinaster tree components. The carbon content of biomass tree components ranged from 43.4 to 53.1% for E. globulus and 46.5 to 49.3% for Pinus Pinaster. The nitrogen content ranged from 0.13 to 1.18%, the sulphur content from 0.056 to 0.148% and hydrogen around 6–7 % for the two species. The average Higher Heating Value (HHV) was inferior to bark stem of eucalyptus and pine (18.48 and 19.57 MJ kg-1, respectively) and superior to eucalyptus and pine leaves (23.48 and 21.61 MJ kg-1, respectively). The effective heating value per unit volume, the Energy Density (Ear), of 1.56 to 8.5 GJ m-3 to E. globulus and 2.06 to 8.9 GJ m-3 to Pinus Pinaster biomass tree components confirm the good fuel potential. The Fuelwood Value Index (FVI) ranked the pine wood stem (4658) and top (2861.8), followed by the eucalyptus wood stem (2727.4) and top (1857.2) as better quality and the biomass of eucalyptus leaves (374.4) and pine needles (394.2) as inferior quality. Analysis of chemical composition of the ashes revealed elemental contents below the national and most European legislation guidelines for ash application as fertilizer.
Genuine concerns regarding air pollution, climate change, and dependence on unstable and expensiv... more Genuine concerns regarding air pollution, climate change, and dependence on unstable and expensive supplies of fossil fuels have lead policy makers and researchers to search for alternatives to conventional petroleum-fueled combustion power plants with the purpose to reduce greenhouse gas emission. This leads to an urgent need to substitute them with alternate generating capacity or reduce the consumption during peak periods, or both. One of the options for power generation is the use of renewable energy resources, which can inject power to the grid deprived of greenhouse gas emissions. But, from the load point of view, the renewable energy resources capacity is not sufficient to supply all the required power. These points to the necessity of innovative methods, able to diminish energy consumption in different sectors, but also with the aim of reducing the domestic customer's total energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions and energy demand, especially during on-peak, while always considering the end user preferences. Hence, this paper analyses model predictive control (MPC) application in domestic appliances with the purpose of energy optimization. In this context, the research theme is focused on the relation between MPC weighting adjustment and the minimization of energy consumption. Three domestic loads are used for MPC tuning evaluation: water heater (WH), room temperature control by conditioner (AC) and refrigerator (RF).
Smart home vision aims for the integration of key electrical appliances and services, communicati... more Smart home vision aims for the integration of key electrical appliances and services, communications and information technologies into one intelligent network to be controlled, monitored and managed by the building user. A wireless infrastructure as a smart home communication backbone is the logical choice for a so high level of integration. This paper updates on wireless communication technologies state-of-the-art for short range applications, and discusses their suitability according to major functional areas or services that may benefit from smart home implementation.
Biomass torrefaction is attracting a great attention in the last years. This process can be defin... more Biomass torrefaction is attracting a great attention in the last years. This process can be defined as a thermochemical conversion technology, that occurs in an oxygen free atmosphere, at a temperature average of 300°C, and producing materials with low O/C and H/C ratios. The process of torrefaction can improve the properties of the biomass for energy applications. Biomass chemical changes are translated on the improvement of its energetic properties, such as higher calorific power, higher hydrophobicity or improved grindability. The objective of such a research is to evaluate the impact of torrefaction, subjected the standard settings of 265°C, in a nitrogen atmosphere and during one hour and 45 minutes of heating period, on a series of 16 woody biomasses originating from poplar short rotation coppice (SRC) and different Portuguese roundwood species. In the end, the results that were achieved from the conducted experimental study showed that the medium mass loss was superior to 40% for all samples used for that purpose.
This paper analyses the impact of the high penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) charging loads ... more This paper analyses the impact of the high penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) charging loads on the thermal ageing of distribution transformers of an isolated electric grid in a Portuguese Island. In this paper, a transformer thermal model is used to estimate the hot-spot temperature (θh) given the load ratio. Real data are used for the main inputs of the model, i.e. residential load, transformer parameters, time-of-use rates and electric vehicle parameters. Conclusions are duly drawn.
The aim of this work is to evaluate the environmental impact of different solutions for building ... more The aim of this work is to evaluate the environmental impact of different solutions for building facade retrofitting. Based on Sustainable Construction, this study is carried out by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology based on ISO 14044:2006 standard requirements. A "cradle-to-grave" life cycle analysis is developed for each solution, comprising the extraction of raw materials to the disposal phase, and then a comparative analysis was performed by considering the same functional unit: 1 m 2 of building facade for a 40-year time horizon. Four retrofit solutions are assessed: two External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS), differing only in the insulation material, expanded polystyrene (EPS), and insulation corkboard (ICB); and two ventilated facade systems with different types of timber cladding, thermally modified timber, and painted timber. The data included in the inventory phase is mostly taken from technical documentation and from the Ecoinvent database, complemented with scientific literature and estimations when necessary. The LCA was performed using the SimaPro software applying both EPD (2018) and ReCiPe 2016 Endpoint (H) methods. Results of this study show that, phase-wise, the production and maintenance of the components materials have higher contribution in terms of environmental impact. On the other hand, by comparing the various solutions, the ventilated facade retrofit solution with heat treated timber cladding is the one that shows the highest environmental impact in almost every single category, whereas the cladding solution with painted timber finish is the one that shows the best environmental performance.
Organisations seek to adopt strategies to increase their productivity and quality in highly compe... more Organisations seek to adopt strategies to increase their productivity and quality in highly competitive markets. For this purpose, Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is often used. It is frequently combined with other scientific areas such as Ergonomics. Integrating LSS and Ergonomics may improve productivity while preserving workers' health and safety. This study presents a systematic literature review to clarify the impacts of integrating LSS and Ergonomics on organisations. Also, it seeks to assess the main limitations while answering the defined research questions. The research was conducted in Scopus and Web of Science. From the 74 results, 16 articles were included based on the eligibility criteria. The results show that few scientific studies report the application of both areas. As for integrating LSS and Ergonomics, no pattern is observed in the methods and tools to be applied, highlighting that the most common were the DMAIC cycle and the Value Stream Mapping tool. Nevertheless, this review evidences many positive effects of this integration, both for organisations and workers. In general, the topic of this review has the potential to be further studied through conceptual studies and case studies in organisations from different sectors to provide broader conclusions and show the relevance of this theme.
The ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems, as renewable energy-based power plants, have ... more The ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) systems, as renewable energy-based power plants, have the potential to play a significant role in meeting future electricity demands due to the vast expanse of the world's oceans. These systems employ the temperature difference between surface ocean waters and deep ocean waters to drive a thermodynamic cycle and produce electricity. The temperature of deep ocean waters, approximately 1000 m below the surface, is approximately 4 °C, while surface ocean temperatures typically range between 20 and 30 °C. The generated power of OTEC systems is dependent on these temperature differences and may vary with changes in surface ocean temperatures. In this study, the main focus is to find the impact of temperature variation on the failure rates of OTEC system components and the generated power output of these plants. The findings indicate that as the demand for the power system increases, its reliability decreases. In order to improve the reliabil...
An integrated fuel and ash characterization of Pinus Pinaster Aiton. (maritime pine) and Eucalypt... more An integrated fuel and ash characterization of Pinus Pinaster Aiton. (maritime pine) and Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (blue gum eucalyptus) species is presented in this study. Physical, thermal and chemical analysis, including density, moisture content, calorific value, proximate and ultimate analysis, were carried out. The fuel energy density (Ear) and the fuelwood value index were calculated ranking the fuelwood quality. Furthermore, ash elemental metals determination was carried out. The study showed ash content in the ranged 0.40-2.88% for E. globulus and 0.22-1.92% for Pinus Pinaster tree components. The carbon content of biomass tree components ranged from 43.4 to 53.1% for E. globulus and 46.5 to 49.3% for Pinus Pinaster. The nitrogen content ranged from 0.13 to 1.18%, the sulphur content from 0.056 to 0.148% and hydrogen around 6–7 % for the two species. The average Higher Heating Value (HHV) was inferior to bark stem of eucalyptus and pine (18.48 and 19.57 MJ kg-1, respectively) and superior to eucalyptus and pine leaves (23.48 and 21.61 MJ kg-1, respectively). The effective heating value per unit volume, the Energy Density (Ear), of 1.56 to 8.5 GJ m-3 to E. globulus and 2.06 to 8.9 GJ m-3 to Pinus Pinaster biomass tree components confirm the good fuel potential. The Fuelwood Value Index (FVI) ranked the pine wood stem (4658) and top (2861.8), followed by the eucalyptus wood stem (2727.4) and top (1857.2) as better quality and the biomass of eucalyptus leaves (374.4) and pine needles (394.2) as inferior quality. Analysis of chemical composition of the ashes revealed elemental contents below the national and most European legislation guidelines for ash application as fertilizer.
Genuine concerns regarding air pollution, climate change, and dependence on unstable and expensiv... more Genuine concerns regarding air pollution, climate change, and dependence on unstable and expensive supplies of fossil fuels have lead policy makers and researchers to search for alternatives to conventional petroleum-fueled combustion power plants with the purpose to reduce greenhouse gas emission. This leads to an urgent need to substitute them with alternate generating capacity or reduce the consumption during peak periods, or both. One of the options for power generation is the use of renewable energy resources, which can inject power to the grid deprived of greenhouse gas emissions. But, from the load point of view, the renewable energy resources capacity is not sufficient to supply all the required power. These points to the necessity of innovative methods, able to diminish energy consumption in different sectors, but also with the aim of reducing the domestic customer's total energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions and energy demand, especially during on-peak, while always considering the end user preferences. Hence, this paper analyses model predictive control (MPC) application in domestic appliances with the purpose of energy optimization. In this context, the research theme is focused on the relation between MPC weighting adjustment and the minimization of energy consumption. Three domestic loads are used for MPC tuning evaluation: water heater (WH), room temperature control by conditioner (AC) and refrigerator (RF).
Smart home vision aims for the integration of key electrical appliances and services, communicati... more Smart home vision aims for the integration of key electrical appliances and services, communications and information technologies into one intelligent network to be controlled, monitored and managed by the building user. A wireless infrastructure as a smart home communication backbone is the logical choice for a so high level of integration. This paper updates on wireless communication technologies state-of-the-art for short range applications, and discusses their suitability according to major functional areas or services that may benefit from smart home implementation.
Biomass torrefaction is attracting a great attention in the last years. This process can be defin... more Biomass torrefaction is attracting a great attention in the last years. This process can be defined as a thermochemical conversion technology, that occurs in an oxygen free atmosphere, at a temperature average of 300°C, and producing materials with low O/C and H/C ratios. The process of torrefaction can improve the properties of the biomass for energy applications. Biomass chemical changes are translated on the improvement of its energetic properties, such as higher calorific power, higher hydrophobicity or improved grindability. The objective of such a research is to evaluate the impact of torrefaction, subjected the standard settings of 265°C, in a nitrogen atmosphere and during one hour and 45 minutes of heating period, on a series of 16 woody biomasses originating from poplar short rotation coppice (SRC) and different Portuguese roundwood species. In the end, the results that were achieved from the conducted experimental study showed that the medium mass loss was superior to 40% for all samples used for that purpose.
This paper analyses the impact of the high penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) charging loads ... more This paper analyses the impact of the high penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) charging loads on the thermal ageing of distribution transformers of an isolated electric grid in a Portuguese Island. In this paper, a transformer thermal model is used to estimate the hot-spot temperature (θh) given the load ratio. Real data are used for the main inputs of the model, i.e. residential load, transformer parameters, time-of-use rates and electric vehicle parameters. Conclusions are duly drawn.
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