Nicola Bianco

University of Naples Federico II | UNINA · Department of Industrial Engineering

The automotive production sector plays a significant role in the energy consumption of all the industrial sphere, which currently represents approximately 38% of the total global energy use. Especially in production sites with several manufacturing lines working in parallel, the occurrence of failures and anomalies or sudden changes in the producti...

In this paper, strategies to model thermo-electrochemical mechanisms occurring in Li-ion batteries are introduced. Two models are presented. The first consists in a numerical model suitable for finite-element method (FEM) simulations. The numerical model was validated by comparing simulation results with experimental data. The second model concerns...

Choosing the right phase change material (PCM) for a thermal energy storage (TES) application is a crucial step in guaranteeing the effectiveness of the system. Among a variety of PCMs available, the choice for a given application is established by several key factors, e.g., latent heat, stability, and melting point. However, phenomena such as subc...

The Renovation Wave for Europe highlighted the role of the public building stock for which Directive 2012/27/EU has set an annual renewal rate of 3%, which should rise to reach the goal of decarbonization by 2050. In this paper, the energy retrofit of an educational building—at the academic level—in Southern Italy was investigated. The aim was to e...

Ever-increasing heat fluxes of electronic components ask for higher performance of devices responsible for their cooling. Against that background, PCM-based heat sinks – because of their compactness, and effectiveness – are well-established solutions for thermal management issues. Even though solutions for the thermal enhancement of PCM devices hav...

Thanks to their high effective thermal conductivity, specific surface area, and tortuosity, open-cell foams are well-known for their capability to enhance heat transfer in applications such as heat exchangers and volumetric solar air receivers. In the very recent years, innovative manufacturing techniques, including 3D designing and printing, have...

This study concerns the numerical simulation and the experimental implementation of a low-scale Phase Change Material-based (PCM-based) condenser, to be included in a PCM-based portable cooling systems. In this category of cooling systems, the PCM can be integrated either in the condenser or in the evaporator. In the present study, the PCM is integ...

The decarbonization of the energy industry is essential to achieve a future net-zero energy system. To maximize the capacity of citizens to contribute to the clean energy transition, sustainable energy technologies are mandatory. Accordingly, the development of nearly-zero energy districts and communities is up-to-date, and, about it, the net-zero...

Heart arrhythmia is caused by abnormal electrical conduction through the myocardium, which in some cases, can be treated with heat. One of the challenges is to reduce temperature peaks—by still guaranteeing an efficient treatment where desired—to avoid any healthy tissue damage or any electrical issues within the device employed. A solution might b...

This work experimentally and numerically investigates the thermal performance of a vertical shell-and-tube heat exchanger, filled with a biological phase change material (PCM), linked to a water-chiller system for cold thermal energy storage. The system provides the cooling service to a 150 m2 single-family house. An experimental apparatus has been...

The necessary path towards sustainable development makes increasingly crucial the role of energy storage systems because the most affordable renewable energy sources (RES) are typically intermittent In this perspective compressed air energy storage (CAES) is one of the main alternatives to batteries and pumped hydro energy storage. This study shows...

Cardiovascular diseases are known to be the leading cause of death globally. They include different diseases such as coronary arterial diseases, strokes, and so on. The entire class of disease is related to the atherosclerotic plaque growth that in turn is linked to low-density lipoprotein (LDL) deposition within the arterial walls. Due to the smal...

Directive EU 844/2018, in the matter of energy performance of buildings and future goals of energy efficiency for the EU Member Countries, extends the standard of nearly zero-energy building goals to the existing building stock, with the mandatory aim of almost complete decarbonization of the whole sector within 2050, and thus a strong reduction of...

The open volumetric receiver, one of the most important components of a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant, is made up by a ceramic foam on which the concentrated solar radiation impinges. Ceramic foams are employed in volumetric solar receivers because of their high specific surfaces and their operating temperatures higher than those of metal fo...

Buildings account for an important share of global energy consumption and CO2 emissions, so increasing energy efficiency in buildings is essential to ensure an energy transition and sustainable development. In this study, we evaluate the energy benefits obtained through the application of a double-skin façade (passive façade). Subsequently, this is...

This paper presents a semi-empirical model for mass and heat transfer applied to de-watering and cooling of fresh leafy vegetables. This process aims at optimizing vegetables’ moisture content and temperature through the interaction with conditioned airflows to ensure proper storage and preservation. It is implemented in different modules – i.e., a...

The building sector is – directly or indirectly – the first pillar for application of technologies aimed at reducing energy wastes. To achieve sustainable growth goals, worldwide, the building stock needs to be re-developed from the energy viewpoint. This study focuses the attention on the building envelope, since it is the primary subsystem throug...

Finned heat sinks equipped with phase change materials to store and release large amounts of thermal energy and metal foams to increase overall thermal conductivity are a promising solution for heat transfer surfaces thermal management. These devices need to be properly designed in order to achieve an optimal trade-off between fundamental objective...

Buildings are responsible for around 40% of energy consumption and CO2-eq emissions at the European Union (EU) level, thus, it is widely recognized that the pathway towards sustainability should pass through an important renovation of the building stock. This study proposes a novel approach for planning the energy retrofit of neighborhoods of build...

Environmental problems have offered new challenges to the energy production sector, starting from the need of increasing the efficiency of thermodynamic systems to preserve fuel consumption. Accordingly, multi-energy generation systems are among the most efficient generation systems, and Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs) represent key componen...

Buildings account for around one third of World energy consumption and polluting emissions, thus their energy retrofit is crucial aiming at reducing the human impact on the environment. In this context, worldwide, public grant policies and stringent requirements have been adopted to promote energy efficiency in the building sector. This study propo...

The accurate simulation of energy performance is fundamental to design low energy buildings – newly-built or after refurbishment – and thus to promote sustainability. However, this is an involved task requiring high complexity in modeling and simulation. Most accurate building energy simulation tools are not user-friendly for building professionals...

This study offers deep insights into the link between climatic stress and building heating performance. Two representative Italian residential buildings – existing and newly-built, respectively – are investigated by predicting heating demand for 63 locations, covering all typical national climates. Two simulation software are used – i.e., TERMUS® a...

The thermal performance of several engineering devices, such as heat exchangers, volumetric solar receivers and thermal energy storage systems, is improved by open-cell metal or ceramic foams. Among them functionally-graded foams, through which morphological characteristics are variable, look promising. Heat transfer and pressure drop in a function...

Buildings account for about 36% of CO 2 emissions and 40% of energy consumption at EU level. Thus, a deep renovation of the building stock is fundamental to achieve the sustainability targets established worldwide. Accordingly, the study proposes an integrated approach for energy modeling and retrofit planning of districts/ neighborhoods of buildin...

Phase Change Materials (PCM) are promising materials for thermal energy storage systems. Since they present a relatively low thermal conductivity, they are often embedded in an open cell a metallic foam to enhance the overall thermal conductivity. In this paper, both experimental and numerical results on PCMs coupled with aluminum foams under diffe...

In several research fields, e.g., the miniaturization of electronic components, new solutions for heat management are required and metal foam heat sinks can be a worthy solution. These latter provide the crucial challenge of heat transfer augmentation by limiting pressure drops, which presents a typical multi-objective optimization problem. In this...

In recent times, the inter-building effect has been deeply investigated because it can highly affect building energy performance. Thus, reliable energy simulations of a single building can require to model the effects of surrounding buildings. This can imply complex models, and consequently high computational burden. The study aims at investigating...

In this work, the results of a numerical code based on the porous media Local Thermal Non-Equilibrium (LTNE) and the apparent heat capacity methods, are compared with experiments aiming at a preliminary validation. The test cell consists in a 50 mm aluminum foam cube filled with a paraffin wax, heated and cooled on the same face. The heat flux is m...

Open-cell foams are promising to enhance heat transfer in many applications, such as electronics cooling. Though heat transfer coefficients are low, natural convection in open-cell foams is used in low-end applications, as consumer electronics or switching devices. In this paper air natural convection in a vertical channel equipped with an open-cel...

Open-cell metal foams are promising materials for heat transfer augmentation, due to their tortuosity and high specific surface area. The volume-averaging technique under the assumption of local thermal non-equilibrium between the solid and fluid phases is often used to model devices equipped with open-cell foams; it requires an accurate knowledge...

The necessity to predict building energy performance assumes a predominant role today. Present regulations in energy matter introduce pressing objectives for the energy requalification of buildings. Within spring 2020, EU Member States must adopt the European Directive 2018/844, which focuses the attention on present buildings. It establishes new o...

An existing industrial building ubicated in South Italy is investigated by applying a tailored approach to optimize energy retrofit. The baseline provides high energy consumption, which needs to be tackled to promote the transition towards more sustainable buildings. Accordingly, after a detailed energy audit, the building is modeled and simulated...

In this study, the analytical model of the heat transfer through a two-layers wall is developed. The main novelty consists into considering also the extraflux versus both the celestial vault and the ground, which are usually assessed by adopting simplified methodologies suggested by standards. The validation of the model is performed by means of th...

A comprehensive multi-objective optimization framework is proposed to address the energy retrofit of typical villas on Mediterranean coastlines. Primary energy consumption and global cost are minimized using a Pareto approach. Two different construction technologies (i.e., a lightweight house in reinforced concrete and a massive tuff-made villa), i...

This study performs the energy analysis of a real industrial building, located near Naples (South Italy). The used approach includes three phases: development of the energy model, model calibration based on monitored data and optimization of photovoltaic (PV) integration. Monitored data provide the monthly overall electricity demands of the facilit...

Thermal energy storage systems have increasingly attracted researchers and engineers in the last decades, not only because they permit to overcome the mismatch between thermal energy supply and demand in solar thermal systems, but also because they have the potential to improve the power grid reliability and flexibility, as they allow, for example,...

The present work concerns the energy retrofit of a public educational building at the University of Molise, located in Termoli, South Italy. The study provides a comparison of the results obtained by different dynamic simulations of passive strategies to improve thermal comfort and energy behavior of the building during the summer regime. Firstly,...

Purpose Recently, the porous media theory has been successively proposed for many bioengineering applications. The purpose of this paper is to analyze if the porous media theory can be applied to model radiofrequency (RF) cardiac ablation. Design/methodology/approach Blood flow, catheter and tissue are modeled. The latter is further divided into a...

Many strategies are under investigation to reduce the environmental impact of the building stock. Among them, the implementation of optimal operation strategies of the HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) systems plays a fundamental role because it can produce substantial energy-economic savings and increment of thermal comfort. In this...

The high efficiency of concentrated solar power (CSP) in energy conversion makes it a very attractive device for using solar energy as a substitute of nonrenewable energy sources. The open volumetric receiver plays an important role in the performance of a CSP. The optimized design of solar receiver implies the thorough knowledge of the heat transf...

Most of the retrofit processes applied to existing buildings are frequently targeted at reducing energy consumption over the building lifetime, neglecting possible interactions with other sources of uncertainty. On the contrary, recent Italian earthquakes highlighted the need to couple energy aspects with structural retrofit design to avoid tragic...

The Climate Change scenario projected by the IPCC for the year 2050 predicts noticeable increases in temperature. In severe summer climates, such as the Mediterranean area, this would have very negative effects on thermal comfort in the existing housing stock, given the current high percentage of dwellings which are obsolete in energy terms and hou...

The comprehensive optimization of building energy design is fundamental to promote sustainability but it is an arduous issue that involves a huge domain of variables and objectives. The proposed investigation addresses this issue through a novel comprehensive framework – Harlequin – that performs a multi-phase and multi-objective design optimizatio...

Their relatively high thermal conductivity makes metal open-cell foams promising heat transfer enhancers for lightweight applications. Conduction occurs through both solid and fluid phases, depending on the material and the microstructure. The effective conductivity of a foam is predicted by means of analytical and numerical methods, based on both...

Latent thermal energy storage systems using phase change materials (PCMs) represent an effective way of storing thermal energy because of high-energy storage density and the isothermal nature of the storage process. In the current study, the charging and discharging characteristics of a lab-scale latent heat storage (LHTES) prototype for cooling ap...

A significant part of the housing stock in southern Europe is obsolete and in need of extensive retrofitting to improve its energy performance and thermal comfort. However, before adequate retrofit measures can be proposed for this housing stock, the characterization of current building performance is fundamental. Although the simulation tools freq...

Highly porous cellular media such as plastic, ceramic and metal foams present specific characteristics that make them interesting for a number of applications related to thermal engineering. In many of these applications, thermal radiation heat transfer can have a significant, ranging from a 20–30% effect for plastic foam insulation to becoming the...

It is well known that the manufacturing process of open-cell foams slightly elongates their struts in one direction, thus making them anisotropic; in turn, anisotropy affects foam characteristics. Furthermore, actual foams can be characterized with reference to a Representative Volume Element (RVE), defined as the cubic sub-volume having the same c...

The paper proposes a multi-objective optimization approach to address the energy design of the building envelope. A genetic algorithm (GA) is implemented by means of the coupling between MATLAB ® and EnergyPlus to minimize primary energy consumption (PEC), energy-related global cost (GC) and discomfort hours (DH). The design variables concern the s...

This paper aims to underline the variability of constructions in Mediterranean regions, where different climates, architectural techniques and kinds of building uses determine different optimal energy refurbishments of residential buildings placed on the coastline. More in detail, by considering two different construction technologies (i.e., a ligh...

Boundary layer effects for Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) concentration problems in a multi-layer artery model are analyzed in this work. Both a straight artery and aorta-iliac bifurcation are analyzed. Mass, momentum and species governing equations are based on the porous media theory and solved with the commercial finite-element based code COMSOL...

Thermal energy storage systems can be determinant for an effective use of solar energy, as they allow to decouple the thermal energy production by the solar source from thermal loads, and thus allowing solar energy to be exploited also during nighttime and cloudy periods. The current study deals with the modelling and simulation of a cooling therma...

Hospitals are complex structures that require the highest energy intensity of the building sector. Thus, in both cases of new construction and retrofit, their proper energy design and management are a critical issue, because these must consider all levers of energy performance, from the building envelope to the operation and efficiency of energy sy...

This chapter investigates strategies for approaching the energy refurbishment of historic buildings, by proposing, beyond a general methodology aimed at guaranteeing feasibility of the design, its application to two cases studies in the context of South Italy, in a typical Mediterranean climate according to the Köppen classification.According to th...

The reliable assessment of building energy performance requires significant computational times. The chapter handles this issue by proposing an original methodology that employs artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict the energy behavior of all buildings of an established category. The ANNs are generated in MATLAB by using EnergyPlus simulatio...

The public hand has a demonstrative role in matter of energy efficiency of owned or occupied buildings. Here, the energy audit of a high-rise university building is proposed. The methodology adopts the Cost-Optimal approach, as imposed by the European guidelines (EU Directive 2010/31/EU), based on feasibility studies performed with transient energy...