Ramesh Kumar Maskey

Solid Waste and Water Quality Management Models for Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal Implementation of a Participatory Modeling Framework

Abstract The problem of supporting decision- and policy-makers in managing issues related to solid waste and water quality was addressed within the context of a participatory modeling framework in the Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone in Nepal. We present the main findings of management-oriented research projects conducted within this framework, thus providing an overview of the current situation in the park regarding solid waste and water quality issues. We found that most of the solid waste generated in the park is composed of organic matter, paper, and minor reused waste that is mainly reused for cattle feeding and manure, while disposal of other nondegradable categories of collected waste (glass, metal, and plastic) is not properly managed. Particularly, burning or disposal in open dumps poses a great hazard to environmental, human, and animal health, as most dump sites situated close to water courses are prone to regular flooding during the rainy season, thereby directly contaminating river water. Pollutants and microbiological contamination in water bodies were found and anthropogenic activities and hazardous practices such as solid waste dump sites, open defecation, and poor conditions of existing septic tanks are suggested as possibly affecting water quality. Collection of these data on solid waste and water quality and compilation of management information on the targeted social-ecological system allowed us to develop consensus-building models to be used as management supporting tools. By implementing such models, we were able to simulate scenarios identifying and evaluating possible management solutions and interventions in the park. This work reveals insights into general dynamics that can support the quest for solutions to waste and water quality management problems in other protected areas and mountain landscapes where traditional livelihood and land use patterns are changing under the influence of a growing population, changing consumption patterns, and international tourism.

Analysis of parallel operation of seigs with voltage based controller in mini-grid

This paper presents the analysis of simulation-results of a Mini-Grid system consisting of two SEIGs 0.46 MVA and 0.23 MVA and voltage based generator controllers in SIMPOW®. The typical test-cases include simulation of SEIG, with lead-lag controller and PI controller in Mini-Grid system, when subjected to ramping load (both active and reactive). The results show that the characteristics of the conductance controller have very little influence in operation of such system. Whereas, ramping of active and reactive power of the load, more than the rated capacity of the resistive shunt, has significant effect on the stability of the system. The simulations also show that the voltage dependency of the load has a significant influence on the dynamic stability of the system.

The Global Warming Potential of Building Materials: An Application of Life Cycle Analysis in Nepal

This paper analyzes the global-warming potential of materials used to construct the walls of 3 building types—traditional, semimodern, and modern—in Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone in Nepal, using the life-cycle assessment approach. Traditional buildings use local materials, mainly wood and stone, while semimodern and modern buildings use different amounts of commercial materials, such as cement and glass wool. A comparison of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the 3 building types, using as the functional unit 1 m2 of wall, found that traditional buildings release about one-fourth of the greenhouse gas emissions released by semimodern buildings and less than one-fifth of the emissions of modern buildings. However, the use of thermal insulation in the modern building walls helps to reduce the energy consumption for space heating and consequently to reduce the global warming potential. In 25 years, the total global warming potential of a traditional building will be 20% higher than that of a modern building. If local materials, such as wood, are used in building construction, the emissions from production and transportation could be dramatically reduced.

Improved electronic load controller and synchronizer unit for mini gird connection

The electronic load controller (ELC) has been used in the mini and micro hydro systems for balancing the power between main load and ballast load. Previously developed ELC use analog control circuits and thyristor which cut the output voltage waveform in two halves. One half is for main load and other half is for ballast load. Thus, the output voltage waveform is distorted and there is high total harmonics distortion (THD). For the interconnection of the mini and micro hydro plants to the mini gird, the total harmonics distortion created by the electronic load controllers must be reduce. This paper presents detail design of improved electronic load controller for the mini and the micro hydro systems. This improved electronic load controller is microcontroller based controller which switches binary ballast load maintaining the voltage. It reduces the total harmonics distortion meeting the grid standard. Both the detail design and experimental waveform are presented. Further, the detail design of new synchronizer unit for synchronization of the mini and micro hydro systems to the gird is also presented.

Experimental Study of Partially Masonry Infilled Reinforced Concrete Frame under Lateral Loading

The partially infilled frames are considered vulnerable in terms of captive column effect for the events of earthquakes. Many reinforced concrete buildings have been affected due to captive column effects. Experimental study has been done to verify the captive column effect and its failure modes for partially infilled frames and the results have been compared with the ones obtained for a bare frame subjected to lateral loading. The results of experimental study have also been compared with some analytical results and the verification of equivalent strut width proposed by one of the authors has been done. From the experimental point of view, it is understandable that due to lateral loading to partially infilled frames, the damage pattern is diagonal and the failure of column occurs at the column-wall joint at the upper side of the wall. It is also seen that for fifty percent partially infilled frames, the stiffness of bare frame is enhanced slightly, however, the failure in the column during lateral loading indicates that the columns are subjected to high shear due to the presence of partial infill.

Performance study of Micro-hydropower system in Nepal

This study focuses on the performance study of the Micro-Hydropower Plant (MHP), upto 100 kW, system in terms of the overall efficiency, that is, water- to- wire efficiency. MHP has been playing a significant role for electrification of the remote rural areas of the Nepal. Generally, 50 % overall efficiency is adopted while designing the MHP without consideration of the sizes of the plants due to the lack of testing facilities of such domestically made turbine before installation. The field test was conducted, in each individual powerhouse, using additional dump load (ADL) method. In this method, the consumer load and Electronic Load Controller (ELC) were disconnected and terminals of the ADL were connected to generator. During the testing ADL was switched on 1 kW interval and the discharge was controlled through the gate valve by maintaining frequency of 50 Hz. The corresponding discharge was recorded along with net head, current and voltage. Then the flow versus overall efficiency of the plant gives the maximum water to wire efficiency of the plant at a given discharge.