Due to coarse spatial resolution, the application of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data in local groundwater resource management has been limited. To overcome this issue, a downscaling approach is presented to improve the spatial resolution of GRACE‐derived groundwater storage anomalies using evapotranspiration (ET) data. The statistical downscaling method is only applied in areas where there is a strong relationship between GRACE‐derived groundwater storage (GWS) and ET, and the relationship can be established under different spatial resolutions. In this study, GWS anomalies are downscaled from 110 km to 2 km in the North China Plain, capturing subgrid heterogeneity in groundwater storage changes. The downscaled results are further validated using data from 111 observation wells from 2003 to 2014 in the Beijing Plain. The results show that the in situ groundwater levels agree with the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) downscaled results for the Beijing Plain in both interannual and monthly scales, with the correlation coefficient of 0.94 and 0.80, respectively. The correlation coefficients vary from 0.63 to 0.78, in 10 of the 13 Beijing Plain administrative regions. The regional downscaling approach employed in this study may be readily integrated into local water resources planning activities.
Secure operation of the power system is challenged by the high level of uncertainty and fluctuation introduced by renewable energy sources. More flexibility is needed to cope with the uncertainty and improve the utilization of renewable energy. A prominent solution to provide flexibility, and simultaneously increase the efficiency of the system, is the integration of different energy sectors. This paper proposes a two-stage stochastic scheduling scheme of an integrated multi-energy system, which considers the wind power uncertainty and the synergy of different energy sectors to achieve the optimal economic operation of the whole system with minimum curtailment of wind power. In the first stage, energy and reserve scheduling of generating units is performed, while accommodation of wind power production is realized through reserves in the second stage. In the proposed scheme, the electric power system, natural gas system, and district heating system are coordinated to achieve more flexibility, both in the day-ahead and real-time stage. The stochasticity of the wind power uncertainty is represented by realistic scenarios with corresponding probabilities, which are obtained from a scenario generation algorithm based on historical observations taking into account the temporal correlation of wind power. The simulation results on a smallscale test system show that both, the economic efficiency and wind power utilization, have been improved with more flexibility and more reliable scenario set. It is shown, that the total system cost is reduced and reserves are optimized.
Zein fibers were successfully prepared by a wet‐spinning technique from a zein suspension formulated with 15% zein, 60% water, 22% 0.4N sodium hydroxide, and 3% urea by weight. Tenacities were measured with an Instron machine, and flexibility was determined by noting the smallest diameter rod around which a fiber could be looped without breaking. After spinning, the tenacity of the zein fibers was improved by modification with several agents: acetic anhydride for acetylation, glutaraldehyde, and dialcohols for cross‐linking and physical stretching. The tenacity and flexibility of the fibers were measured at 11, 65, and 100% rh. Untreated fibers had tenacities of 3.41, 2.65, and 0.17 g/tex at 11, 65, and 100% rh, respectively. A combination of chemical treatments (20% glutaraldehyde and 95% acetic anhydride) and 115% stretching increased tenacities to 6.89. 6.56, and 1.17 g/tex at 11, 65, and 100% rh, respectively. Control zein fibers had flexibilities of 5 and 2.5 mm at 11 and 65% rh, respectively, whereas the treated fibers had flexibilities of 1.5 mm at both humidities. Extrusion of zein fibers was not successful. Zein‐soy protein mixture could be extruded, but properties of wet‐spun fibers of zein‐soy blends were not much improved over those of soy protein alone. The tenacity of blended soy protein‐zein fibers was greater than that of soy protein fibers at 11% rh.
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