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A standard simulation testbed for the evaluation of control algorithms & strategies related to variable air volume HVAC systems

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1995.Includes bibliographical references.The parameters for a dynamic, computer simulation model were developed. The parameters characterize the physical and geometric properties of a building shell, the internal and external building loads, the buildings secondary systems, and the plant or primary energy source. The purpose of the model is to provide a standard testbed for the evaluation of control algorithms and strategies related to variable air volume HVAC systems. This work was conducted in collaboration with, and under subcontract to Loughborough University of Technology, Loughborough England. The prototype building is a four level commercial, multi-use building and activities in the building include classroom / educational space professorial and student offices, and office / administrative. The building contains three air-handling units; one unit and the volume it serves provides the basis for the testbed. The model volume is divided into thirty four zones, each with its own single duct, pressure independent V A V terminal box with hot water reheat. A perimeter heating system, composed of hot water convectors, radiators and baseboard heaters, augments the room comfort control system. Local loop control in the mechanical room and for all but one of the zones is micro-processor based pneumatic actuated. One prototype direct digital control terminal box system was in use for a classroom zone. DDC control systems and motor driven actuators were substituted in the testbed for the pneumatic equipment. Zoning in the volume was redistributed into six zones; the supply and return duct system was redesigned to accommodate the simplified zone configuration. A survey was conducted to determine the availability of sub-one-hour solar and collateral weather data. Historically, data in this frequency has been collected, but, not reported. A relatively new program called the Automated Surface Observing System (AS OS) and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will eventually provide weather data at varying intervals down to one minute, depending on the type of information required. Daily and monthly summaries are available, however, resolution is reduced and averaged to one hour intervals. The SOLMET program, under the auspices of DOE, provides archived solar data at one hour intervals on CD Rom. Data is collected from twenty-six stations distributed around the United States. Collateral weather data is also provided with the solar data and for simulation purposes the SOLMET data provides the best resource.by Mark DeSimone.M.S

Wiedererkennung ungefilterter und Fourier-gefilterter Schwarzweißmuster duch Honigbienen (Apis mellifera L.)

Honigbienen (Apis mellifera L.) sind in der Lage mit ihren Komplexaugen visuelle Muster wahrzunehmen und die Musterinformation im Zentralen Nervensystem zu speichern und für Ähnlichkeitsbewertungen wieder abzurufen. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt klare Evidenz gegen eine ausschließliche Bewertung von Schwarzweißmustern mit Hilfe von Template-Matching-Mechanismen. Mit systematisch abgewandelten Dressurparadigmen trainierte Bienen bewerteten Muster unabhängig von der erfolgten Dressur stets bevorzugt gemäß eher grober Mustereigenschaften, wie zum Beispiel die Parameter "schwarzer Musterzentralbereich" und "Musterzerstreutheit". Veränderte man in einem weiteren Versuchansatz die Musterinformation der Schwarzweißmuster zudem gezielt durch geeignete Fourier-Filterung, zeigte sich, dass Bienen zur Musterdiskriminierung bereits die Frequenzinformation von 2 - 8 Schwingungen/Bildbreite genügte. Diese Unschärfe der bewerteten Bildinformation ließ sich nicht ausschließlich aus den optischen Eigenschaften des visuellen Apparates der Bienen ableiten. Videodokumentationen und Einzelbildanalyse des Flugverhaltens der Bienen vor den Mustern ergaben zudem keinerlei Hinweise für eine Nutzung des Flugverhaltens als Bewertungsgrundlage zur Musterdiskriminierung. Die erhaltenen Ergebnisse zur Musterdiskriminierung wurden vor dem Hintergrund eines ökonomischen Entscheidungsmodells für menschliches Verhalten, den Frugalheuristiken, diskutiert und Hinweise auf eine ökonomische Bewertungsstrategie der Bienen entsprechend einer Take-The-Best-Heuristik gefunden.Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) are able to perceive visual patterns through their compound eyes and store the visual information in the central nervous system for subsequent use in pattern discrimination tasks. This thesis provides clear evidence against the assumption that pattern discrimination relies exclusively on template matching mechanisms. Bees discriminated pairs of patterns preferential using extracted pattern parameters. Within this thesis the preferred parameters of the bees following the training paradigms were coarse parameters such as "black centre" and "pattern disruption". In experiments with Fourier filtered patterns the frequency information of the patterns were additionally reduced. The results showed that bees could discriminate patterns using only 2 - 8 cycles/pattern-width of the frequency information. The fuzziness of the exploited visual information could not be assigned to restrictions of the visual system of bees. Additional documentation and single picture analysis of the videotaped flight behaviour in front of the patterns provided no evidence for bees using their flight behaviour in order to enhance the pattern discrimination ability. Application of economic human decision models (frugal heuristics) to the behavioural results showed clues that bees'' decisions could be explained with the help of the Take-The-Best-heuristic