Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a handheld device that can extract water from the air using only the power of sunlight, even in arid conditions: https://t.co/JgXH1psevJpic.twitter.com/1A3CSrgWzX
Civilization has historically flourished around rivers and major waterways. Mesopotamia, the so-called cradle of civilization, was situated between the major rivers Tigris and Euphrates; the ancient society of the Egyptians depended entirely upon the Nile. Rome was also founded on the banks of the Italian river Tiber. Large metropolises like Rotterdam, London, Montreal, Paris, New York City, Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Tokyo, Chicago, and Hong Kong owe their success in part to their easy accessibility via water and the resultant expansion of trade. Islands with safe water ports, like Singapore, have flourished for the same reason. In places such as North Africa and the Middle East, where water is more scarce, access to clean drinking water was and is a major factor in human development.*
With this perspective, and our own “home waters” situated in the Great Lakes, we are attentive to water management standardization activity administered by International Organization Standardization Technical Committee 224 (ISO TC/224). The scope of the committee is multidimensional; as described in the business plan linked below:
Water-related management standards define a very active space; arguably, as fast-moving a space as electrotechnology. The ISO TC/224 is a fairly well accomplished committee with at least 16 consensus products emerging from a 34 nations led by Association Française de Normalisation (@AFNOR) as the global Secretariat and 34 participating nations. The American Water Works Association is ANSI’s US Technical Advisory Group administrator to the ISO.
We do not advocate the user interest in this standard at the moment but encourage educational institutions with resident expertise — either on the business side or academic side of US educational institutions — to participate in it. You are encouraged to communicate directly with Paul Olson at AWWA, 6666 W. Quincy Avenue, Denver, CO 80235, Phone: (303) 347-6178, Email: [email protected].
The work products of TC 224 (and ISO 147 and ISO TC 282) are also on the standing agendas of our Water, Global and Bucolia colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting, open to everyone.
Abstract: Electromagnetic (EM) sources are abundant in the routine of a hospital. Such sources can be for personal use, be part of the set of electromedical equipment or the building structure. This article presents the verification of electromagnetic interference between field sources and hospital devices, since electromagnetic interference is a factor that puts the correct functioning of these equipments at risk. As a consequence, patient’s lives are also put at risk. Since in many cases, the vitality of the patient depends exclusively on medical devices, electromagnetic fields were measured inside and outside the intensive care units (ICUs) of the University Hospital Alcides Carneiro (UHAC) with all hospital devices working normally. The electromagnetic field values obtained at the hospital were compared with the values imposed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
Occupancy classification is “first principal concept”; the essential factor in architectural design because it helps determine the appropriate use of a building and the associated requirements for fire protection and life safety. Occupancy classification refers to the categorization of buildings or portions of buildings based on their intended use and the activities that will occur within them. The International Building Code provides a set of standards for occupancy classifications that are used by architects and building officials to ensure that buildings are designed and constructed to meet the necessary safety requirements. These standards help ensure that the building’s design and construction comply with fire and life safety codes and regulations.
A building that is classified as a business occupancy — as many classrooms and offices are in education communities — will have different requirements for fire protection and life safety compared to a building that is classified as a residential occupancy. Business occupancies may require fire suppression systems, while residential occupancies may require smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Additionally, occupancy classification affects the number of occupants allowed within a building, the type and size of exits required, the need for fire-resistant construction materials, and the placement and quantity of fire extinguishers and other fire protection equipment.*
* The European Union (EU) does not have an equivalent to the International Code Council (ICC) occupancy classification system. Instead, the EU has its own set of regulations and standards for building safety and design, which vary by country.
The main regulatory framework for building safety in the EU is the Construction Products Regulation (CPR), which sets out requirements for construction products and materials that are placed on the market within the EU. The CPR is supported by national building codes and standards, which are developed and enforced by each member state.
In addition to the CPR, the EU has several directives and regulations related to building safety, such as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the Fire Safety of Buildings Directive (FSBD). These directives and regulations set out requirements for energy efficiency, fire safety, and other aspects of building design and construction.
Overall, while the EU does not have an occupancy classification system equivalent to the ICC, it has its own set of regulations and standards that aim to ensure building safety and design across its member states.
Abstract: A smart way to solve the common problem of conventional door-locking system is proposed using conventional lock key methodology and it can be cloned and used by anyone. The proposed system is to make a secure door lock security system with two factor authentications. The user has to use Radio Frequency Identification tag. The tag’s data will be saved in a database. When the tag is read by the Radio Frequency Identification reader, the user has to input a pass code. After the pass code is entered, the user will receive a One-time password on his mobile device to unlock the door. The biggest advantage of proposed system is that the introduction of two factor authentication to gain the access to the door, which makes it more secure.
Water standards make up a large catalog and it will take most of 2023 to untangle the titles, the topics, proposals, rebuttals and resolutions. When you read our claim that since 1993 we have created a new academic discipline we would present the best practice literature of the world’s water standards as just one example.
The Water 100 session takes an aerial view of relevant standards developers, their catalogs and revision schedules.
The Water 200 session we examine the literature for best practice inside buildings; premise water supply for food preparation, sanitation and energy systems.
The Water 300 session reviews standards covering athletic facilities such as swimming pools, therapeutic tubs, ice rinks and the like.
The Water 400 session will run through best practice catalogs of water management outside buildings, including interaction with regional water management systems.
The Water 500 session is a study of case histories, disasters, legal action related to non-conformance. Innovation.
Water safety and sustainability standards have been on the Standards Michigan agenda since the early 2000’s. Some of the concepts we have tracked over the years; and contributed data, comments and proposals to technical committees, are listed below:
Send [email protected] an email to request a more detailed advance agenda. To join the conversation use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
“…To combat the challenges that plumbing designers face, the NIST report recommends that researchers address a plethora of questions, including how water is used in different types of buildings, how water flow and plumbing design affect water quality, what factors influence chemical reactions and bacterial growth in pipes, and how fast water quality declines in plumbing systems…”
Abstract: With the rapid deployment of smart technologies and the growing complexity in our modern society, there is a huge demand for coordination in day-to-day operation of the critical infrastructure networks. The coordination between water and electricity networks particularly stands out and is urgently demanding as (i) water system is one of the most energy-intensive critical infrastructure, and (ii) water unavailability, if experienced, swiftly translates into a health, safety, and national security concern. This paper proposes a comprehensive day-ahead optimization framework for joint operation of the interdependent power and water systems. Different from the conventional paradigms where the power and water systems are independently and individually operated by their respective operators, the proposed optimization framework integrates the Optimal Power Flow (OPF) models in power grids with innovative models of the water distribution systems. The nonlinear hydraulic operating constraints in the proposed optimization models are linearized, resulting into a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model formulation. The proposed framework is applied to three 15-node water distribution systems, operated within the IEEE 9-bus test system. The simulation results demonstrate a significant cost saving that will be achieved when the proposed approach is applied for joint operation of power and water networks.
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T