Robust decision making for future train maintenance: Illustrating the abilities of decision making under deep uncertainty within the train maintenance context

This research has illustrated the abilities of incorporating robust decision making within train maintenance. Both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance processes of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) have been examined, after which exploratory modeling and analysis enabled developing valuable insights for decision makers. Scenario analysis through...

Cross diffusion in single-step enzymatic reactions

In several experiments, enzymes have shown an in increase in diffusivity in the presence of their substrate. The enhancement in diffusivity ranged from as low as 28% for urease to 80% in the case of alkaline phosphatase. There are two main competing theories. One asserts that catalytically driven boosts propel the enzyme forward in ‘leaps’,...

Interventions to support the formation of Dutch thermal energy communities

Computational Models That Matter During a Global Pandemic Outbreak: A Call to Action

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a dramatic loss of lives worldwide, challenging the sustainability of our health care systems, threatening economic meltdown, and putting pressure on the mental health of individuals (due to social distancing and lock-down measures). The pandemic is also posing severe challenges to the scientific community, with...

National Renewable Policies in an International Electricity Market: A Socio-Technical Study

The current regulatory framework under which the support schemes for Renewable energy sources specifically for electricity (RES-E) operate, is provided for by the Directive 2009/28/EC. It sets a 20% target for energy consumption, while relying on legally binding, national targets until 2020. The goal to promote RES-E, in the European context,...

The interaction between an industry revitalised through Industrial Symbiosis and its local workforce: A socially aware exploratory agent-based model of the sugar industry in Norte Fluminense, Brazil

This thesis researches the interaction between the revitalisation of an industry through industrial symbiosis and its local workforce, via a case study on the sugar industry in Norte Fluminense, Brazil. Agent-based modelling is used to gain insights in the case study with regards to the workers’ perception of their own status, power, their...

A recent overview of the integration of System Dynamics and Agent-based Modelling and Simulation

Modelling and simulation aim to reproduce the structure and imitate the behavior of real-life systems. For complex dynamic systems, System Dynamics (SD) and Agent-based (AB) modelling are two widely used modelling paradigms that prior to the early 2010’s have traditionally been viewed as mutually exclusive alternatives. This literature review...

Agent-based Modeling Automated: Data-driven Generation of Innovation Diffusion Models

Simulation modeling is useful to gain insights into driving mechanisms of diffusion of innovations. This study aims to introduce automation to make identification of such mechanisms with agent-based simulation modeling less costly in time and labor. We present a novel automation procedure in which the generation of diffusion models is automated....

Exploring biogas stakeholder interaction in the Netherlands: An Agent Based Modeling approach to explore location specific biogas system performance under different scenarios

Biogas networks can reduce CO2 emissions by replacing natural gas consumption with biogas consumption. This means that biogas production can contribute to the Dutch targets to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% and increase renewable energy production to 16% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. It is unclear how the biogas infrastructure system will...

An Exploratory Model to Investigate the Dynamics of the World Energy System: A Biophysical Economics Perspective

Energy is inherent part of our current life. No one can imagine living without it. It has changed the lifestyle of people and it will continue to do so in future. About 80% of current global total primary energy supply belongs to non-renewable resources. It is also expected that non-renewable resources dominate in total primary energy supply in...

On the development of Agent-Based Models for infrastructure evolution

Infrastructure systems for energy, water, transport, information etc. are large scale socio-technical systems that are critical for achieving a sustainable world. They were not created at the current global scale at once, but have slowly evolved from simple local systems, through many social and technical decisions. If we are to understand them...

On the Impact of CO2 Emission-Trading on Power Generation Emissions

Under the Kyoto Protocol, governments agreed on and accepted CO2 reduction targets in order to counter climate change. In Europe one of the main policy instruments to meet the agreed reduction targets is CO2 emission-trading (CET), which was implemented as of January 2005. In this system, companies active in specific sectors must be in the...