Modelling and simulation have now become standard methods that serve to cut the economic costs of R&D for novel advanced systems. This paper introduces the study of modelling and simulation of the infrared thermography process to detect defects in the hydroelectric penstock. A 3-D penstock model was built in ANSYS version 19.2.0. Flat bottom holes of different sizes and depths were created on the inner surface of the model as an optimal scenario to represent the subsurface defect in the penstock. The FEM was applied to mimic the heat transfer in the proposed model. The model’s outer surface was excited at multiple excitation frequencies by a sinusoidal heat flux, and the thermal response of the model was presented in the form of thermal images to show the temperature contrast due to the presence of defects. The harmonic approximation method was applied to calculate the phase angle, and its relationship with respect to defect depth and defect size was also studied. The results confirmed that the FEM model has led to a better understanding of lock-in infrared thermography and can be used to detect subsurface defects in the hydroelectric penstock.

Considering the application of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the separator thickness plays a significant role in determining the weight, volume, and costs of the PEMFC. In addition, thermal management, i.e., temperature distribution is also important for the PEMFC system to obtain higher performance. However, there were few reports investigating the relation between the temperature profile and the power generation characteristics e.g., the current density distribution of PEMFC operated at higher temperatures (HT-PEMFC). This paper aims to study the impact of separator thickness on the temperature profile and the current density profile of HT-PEMFC. The impact of separator thickness on the gases i.e., H₂, O₂ profile of HT-PEMFC numerically was also studied using CFD software COMSOL Multiphysics in the paper. In the study, the operating temperature and the relative humidity (RH) of the supply gas were varied with the separator thickness of 2.0 mm, 1.5 mm, and 1.0 mm, respectively. The study revealed that the optimum thickness was 2.0 mm to realize higher power generation of HT-PEMFC. The heat capacity of the separator thickness of 2.0 mm was the biggest among the separators investigated in this study, resulting in the dry-up of PEM and catalyst layer was lower compared to the thinner separator thickness. It also clarified the effects of separator thickness of profile gases, e.g., O₂, H₂O, and current density profile became larger under the higher temperature and the lower RH conditions.

Project risk management in the mining industry is necessary to identify, analyze and reduce uncertainty. The engineering features of mining enterprises, by their nature, require improved risk management tools. This article proves the relevance of creating a simulation model of the production process to reduce uncertainty when making investment decisions. The purpose of the study is to develop an algorithm for deciding on the economic feasibility of creating a simulation experiment. At the same time, the features and patterns of the cases for which the simulation experiment was carried out were studied. Criteria for feasibility assessment of the model introduction based on a qualitative parameters became the central idea for algorithm. The relevance of the formulated algorithm was verified by creating a simulation model of a potassium salt deposit with subsequent optimization of the production process parameters. According to the results of the experiment, the damage from the occurrence of a risk situations was estimated as a decrease in conveyor productivity by 32.6%. The proposed methods made it possible to minimize this risk of stops in the conveyor network and assess the lack of income due to the risk occurrences.

Given the rising threat of terror attacks and the increasing frequency of natural disasters attributed to climate change, enhancing evacuation capacities in various spaces has become crucial for saving lives and accelerating recovery processes. This study investigates the influence of altruistic behavior on evacuation efficiency by developing a social force model that categorizes individuals into three demographic groups: youth, middle-aged, and seniors. Simulation experiments based on the model were conducted to evaluate the impact of altruistic behavior on evacuation efficiency under different conditions, such as evacuation capacity, reliability, and recovery time. The simulation results show that a higher probability of falling leads to longer evacuation times. While an increase in the probability of altruistic behavior improves evacuation efficiency, excessive altruistic behavior causes evacuation times to vary in a zigzag pattern. When the help range exceeds 0.7m, evacuation efficiency fluctuates without a clear trend of improvement.