Kernel arquitecture for CAD/CAM in shipbuilding enviroments

The capabilities of complex software products such as CAD/CAM systems are strongly supported by basic information technologies related with data management, visualization, communication, geometry modeling and others related with the development process. These basic information technologies are involved in a continuous evolution process, but over recent years this evolution has been dramatic. The main reason for this has been that new hardware capabilities (including graphic cards) are available at very low cost, but also a contributing factor has been the evolution of the prices of basic software. To take advantage of these new features, the existing CAD/CAM systems must undergo a complete and drastic redesign. This process is complicated but strategic for the future evolution of a system. There are several examples in the market of how a bad decision has lead to a cul-de-sac (both technically and commercially). This paper describes what the authors consider are the basic architectural components of a kernel for a CAD/CAM system oriented to shipbuilding. The proposed solution is a combination of in-house developed frameworks together with commercial products that are accepted as standard components. The proportion of in-house frameworks within this combination of products is a key factor, especially when considering CAD/CAM systems oriented to shipbuilding. General-purpose CAD/CAM systems are mainly oriented to the mechanical CAD market. For this reason several basic products exist devoted to geometry modelling in this context. But these basic products are not well suited to deal with the very specific geometry modelling requirements of a CAD/CAM system oriented to shipbuilding. The complexity of the ship model, the different model requirements through its short and changing life cycle and the many different disciplines involved in the process are reasons for this inadequacy. Apart from these basic frameworks, specific shipbuilding frameworks are also required. This second layer is built over the basic technology components mentioned above. This paper describes in detail the technological frameworks which have been used to develop the latest FORAN version.Postprint (published version

Identification of novel Cu, Ag, and Au ternary oxides from global structural prediction

We use ab initio global structural prediction, and specifically the minima hopping method, to explore the periodic table in search of novel oxide phases. In total, we study 183 different compositions of the form MXO2, where M=(Cu, Ag, Au) and X is an element of the periodic table. This set includes the well-known Cu delafossite compounds that are, up to now, the best p-type transparent conductive oxides known to mankind. Our calculations discover 81 stable compositions, out of which only 36 are included in available databases. Some of these new phases are potentially good candidates for transparent electrodes. These results demonstrate, on one hand, how incomplete is still our knowledge of the phase-space of stable ternary materials. On the other hand, we show that structural prediction combined with high-throughput approaches is a powerful tool to extend that knowledge, paving the way for the experimental discovery of new materials on a large scale

Governance for sustainability: learning from VSM practice

Purpose – While there is some agreement on the usefulness of systems and complexity approaches to tackle the sustainability challenges facing the organisations and governments in the twenty-first century, less is clear regarding the way such approaches can inspire new ways of governance for sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to progress ongoing research using the Viable System Model (VSM) as a meta-language to facilitate long-term sustainability in business, communities and societies, using the “Methodology to support self-transformation”, by focusing on ways of learning about governance for sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – It summarises core self-governance challenges for long-term sustainability, and the organisational capabilities required to face them, at the “Framework for Assessing Sustainable Governance”. This tool is then used to analyse capabilities for governance for sustainability at three real situations where the mentioned Methodology inspired bottom up processes of self-organisation. It analyses the transformations decided from each organisation, in terms of capabilities for sustainable governance, using the suggested Framework. Findings – Core technical lessons learned from using the framework are discussed, include the usefulness of using a unified language and tool when studying governance for sustainability in differing types and scales of case study organisations. Research limitations/implications – As with other exploratory research, it reckons the convenience for further development and testing of the proposed tools to improve their reliability and robustness. Practical implications – A final conclusion suggests that the suggested tools offer a useful heuristic path to learn about governance for sustainability, from a VSM perspective; the learning from each organisational self-transformation regarding governance for sustainability is insightful for policy and strategy design and evaluation; in particular the possibility of comparing situations from different scales and types of organisations. Originality/value – There is very little coherence in the governance literature and the field of governance for sustainability is an emerging field. This piece of exploratory research is valuable as it presents an effective tool to learn about governance for sustainability, based in the “Methodology for Self-Transformation”; and offers reflexions on applications of the methodology and the tool, that contribute to clarify the meaning of governance for sustainability in practice, in organisations from different scales and types

Energy efficiency parametric design tool in the framework of holistic ship design optimization

Recent International Maritime Organization (IMO) decisions with respect to measures to reduce the emissions from maritime greenhouse gases (GHGs) suggest that the collaboration of all major stakeholders of shipbuilding and ship operations is required to address this complex techno-economical and highly political problem efficiently. This calls eventually for the development of proper design, operational knowledge, and assessment tools for the energy-efficient design and operation of ships, as suggested by the Second IMO GHG Study (2009). This type of coordination of the efforts of many maritime stakeholders, with often conflicting professional interests but ultimately commonly aiming at optimal ship design and operation solutions, has been addressed within a methodology developed in the EU-funded Logistics-Based (LOGBASED) Design Project (2004–2007). Based on the knowledge base developed within this project, a new parametric design software tool (PDT) has been developed by the National Technical University of Athens, Ship Design Laboratory (NTUA-SDL), for implementing an energy efficiency design and management procedure. The PDT is an integral part of an earlier developed holistic ship design optimization approach by NTUA-SDL that addresses the multi-objective ship design optimization problem. It provides Pareto-optimum solutions and a complete mapping of the design space in a comprehensive way for the final assessment and decision by all the involved stakeholders. The application of the tool to the design of a large oil tanker and alternatively to container ships is elaborated in the presented paper

Untangling the Conceptual Isssues Raised in Reydon and Scholz’s Critique of Organizational Ecology and Darwinian Populations

Reydon and Scholz raise doubts about the Darwinian status of organizational ecology by arguing that Darwinian principles are not applicable to organizational populations. Although their critique of organizational ecology’s typological essentialism is correct, they go on to reject the Darwinian status of organizational populations. This paper claims that the distinction between replicators and interactors, raised in modern philosophy of biology but not discussed by Reydon and Scholz, points the way forward for organizational ecologists. It is possible to conceptualise evolving Darwinian populations providing the inheritance mechanism is appropriately specified. By this approach, adaptation and selection are no longer dichotomised, and the evolutionary significance of knowledge transmission is highlightedPeer reviewe