Plenary Lecture

Understanding Electric Railway Systems as Industrial Ecosystems, an Example of Education for Industrial Ecology

Associate Professor Cornelia Aida Bulucea
Electrical Machines and Environmental Engineering Department
Faculty of Electromechanical and Environmental Engineering
University of Craiova
ROMANIA
E-mail: abulucea@gmail.com

Abstract: The credibility as a science of Industrial Ecology and the novelty value of the socio-technical-ecological world trying to find analogies between industrial systems and natural ecosystems represent the main attempt of this educational study. Industrial Ecology considers the technical systems created by humans and the ecological systems of Nature as parts of the same system, the industrial ecosystem, that can exists on a multitude of temporal and spatial scales. Within the framework of sustainability, Industrial Ecology implies a new picture of energy and matter conversion systems, and aims in designing the technical systems more like ecosystems. The laws of the Universe should be used in assessing the viability of the human technical applications according to the ecosystems models. This study presents an electric railway transportation system surrounded by two physical environments: a technical one and an ecological one. The two environments are interconnected via sustainability and exergy, due to its multidisciplinary traits, is the unique metric. Drawing up a description of the electric railway system as an industrial ecosystem, with its limits and components, defining the systems operation regimes and assessing the equilibrium points of the system within the two reference frames represent the compulsory steps of the industrial ecosystem metabolism analysis. If we really want the humans world as a vital part of the living nature, then we must accept and understand the credibility of Industrial Ecology in science, education and development of the society.

Brief Biography of the Speaker:
Cornelia Aida Bulucea is currently an Associate Professor in Electrotechnics, Electrical Machines and Environment Electrical Equipments in the Faculty of Electromechanical and Environmental Engineering, University of Craiova, Romania. She is graduate from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering Craiova and she received the Ph.D degree from Bucharest Polytechnic Institute. In Publishing House she is author of four books in electrical engineering area. Research work is focused on improved solutions for electrical networks on basis of new electric equipments and environmental impact of energy and electric transportation systems. She has extensive experience in both experimental and theoretical research work, certified by over 50 journal and conference research papers and 13 research projects from industry. She has held in the Association for Environment Protection OLTENIA and she is a regular invited keynote lecture for environmental engineering symposia organized by Chamber of Commerce and Industry OLTENIA. Due to WSEAS recognition as huge scientific Forum she participated in five WSEAS International Conferences, presenting papers and chairing sessions. She was Plenary Lecturer in the WSEAS International Conference on POWER SYSTEMS, held by the University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain, September 23-25, 2008. She is very proud of her 10 papers published in the WSEAS Conferences Books and 3 papers published in WSEAS TRANSACTIONS ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT, and in WSEAS TRANSACTIONS ON ADVANCES IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION.