Software development for the optimization of the influence of wind flows within energy applications and sustainable town planning

Tesi en modalitat de cotutela: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya i Università degli Studi Gabriele d'AnnuzioThis thesis aims to propose and validate an innovative, fully open-source framework capable of performing multiscale analysis for the assessment of local wind flows within the urban fabric. Each part of the framework is fully editable and license-free. A crucial aspect of the adopted methodology concerns the coupling between the mesoscale-microscale analysis in order to increase the accuracy of the final results. In detail, the procedure is based on the interaction between the mesoscale values and the microscale values obtained considering different wind directions. The core of the work is the design and development of an open-source application that allows to generate 3D numerical models for microscale analysis in an automatic way and providing only some basic information. The main benefit of such a procedure is the drastic reduction of the time required for the creation of numerical models and the facilitation, in general, of microscale simulations. The process of geodata retrieval and the subsequent 3D modeling phase, in fact, are completely automated. The results obtained with the above application are compared with those obtained with a commercial software, widely used in the sector, in order to test its potential and accuracy. Finally, the airflows estimated through the application of the whole proposed framework are used as input for dynamic energy simulations to identify the energy consumption, divided into heating and cooling, of a real building located in an urban context. The framework has been tested assuming a domain located in the city of Pescara (central Italy). However, it is important to emphasize that its application to different urban contexts does not present any constraint related, for example, to the geographical location of the area of interest and that it is, therefore, possible to replicate the analysis in any part of the world.La presente tesis tiene como objetivo proponer y validar un marco de trabajo innovador y totalmente de código abierto (open-source) capaz de realizar análisis multiescala para evaluar los flujos de vientos locales dentro del tejido urbano. Cada etapa del marco es totalmente editable y libre de licencia. Uno de los aspectos cruciales de la metodología adoptada es el acoplamiento entre las simulaciones mesoescala-microescala, las cuales permiten aumentar la precisión de los resultados finales obtenidos. Concretamente, el procedimiento se basa en la interacción entre los valores mesoescala y microescala obtenidos considerando diferentes direcciones del viento. El núcleo de la tesis es el diseño y desarrollo de una aplicación open-source capaz de generar automáticamente modelos 3D para el análisis microescala, proporcionando únicamente ciertos datos básicos. El principal beneficio de este procedimiento es la drástica reducción del tiempo requerido para la creación de modelos numéricos y la facilidad, en general, de las simulaciones microescala. El proceso de recuperación de datos de carácter geográficos (geodata) y la posterior fase de modelado 3D están, de hecho, completamente automatizados. Los resultados obtenidos con la aplicación desarrollada son comparados con los generados a través de un software comercial, el cual es usado ampliamente en el sector, con el objetivo de validar y probar el potencial y precisión de la aplicación. Finalmente, los flujos de aire calculados a través de la aplicación del marco de trabajo propuesto son usados como datos de entrada para la realización de simulaciones energéticas dinámicas, las cuales permiten identificar el consumo de energía, dividido este en los requisitos de calefacción y refrigeración, de un edificio real ubicado dentro de un contexto urbano. El marco de trabajo y la metodología adoptada han sido testeados asumiendo un dominio local en la ciudad de Pescara, ubicada en el centro de Italia. No obstante, es importante destacar que su aplicación a diferentes contextos urbanos no presenta ninguna restricción, como por ejemplo la ubicación geográfica de interés, siendo por tanto posible replicar el análisis en cualquier parte del mundo independientemente de la ubicación del caso de estudio.La presente tesi intende proporre e validare un framework innovativo, completamente open-source, in grado di eseguire analisi multiscala per la valutazione dei flussi del vento locale all'interno del tessuto urbano. Ogni fase del framework è interamente editabile e a licenza grauita. Aspetto cruciale della metodologia adottata riguarda l’accoppiamento tra le analisi mesoscala-microscala al fine di incrementare l’accuratezza dei risultati finali. Nel dettaglio, la procedura si basa sul far dialogare i valori stimati dalla mesoscala con quelli della microscala ottenuti considerando diverse direzioni del vento in ingresso. Il nucleo principale del lavoro è la progettazione e lo sviluppo di un’applicazione in ambiente open-source che permetta di generare modelli numerici 3D per le analisi microscala in maniera automatica e fornendo solo alcune informazioni basiche. Beneficio principale di una procedura così individuata è la drastica riduzione dei tempi necessari per la realizzazione di modelli numerici e l’agevolazione, in generale, delle simulazioni microscala. Il processo di reperimento dei geodati e la successiva fase di modellazione 3D, infatti, sono completamente automatizzate. I risultati ottenuti con la suddetta applicazione sono confrontati con quelli ottenuti con un software commerciale, largamente utilizzato nel settore, al fine di testarne le potenzialità e l’accuratezza. Infine, i flussi di aria stimati mediante l’applicazione dell’intero framework proposto, sono impiegati come input per le simulazioni energetiche dinamiche per identificare il consumo energetico, suddiviso in riscaldamento e raffrescamento, di un edificio reale localizzato in un contesto urbano. Il framework è stato testato assumendo un dominio situato nella città di Pescara (centro Italia). Tuttavia, è importante sottolineare che, la sua applicazione a diversi contesti urbani non presenta alcun vincolo legato, ad esempio, alla posizione geografica dell’area di interesse e che è quindi possibile replicare le analisi in qualsiasi parte del mondo.Postprint (published version

Map-Based Localization for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Navigation

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) require precise pose estimation when navigating in indoor and GNSS-denied / GNSS-degraded outdoor environments. The possibility of crashing in these environments is high, as spaces are confined, with many moving obstacles. There are many solutions for localization in GNSS-denied environments, and many different technologies are used. Common solutions involve setting up or using existing infrastructure, such as beacons, Wi-Fi, or surveyed targets. These solutions were avoided because the cost should be proportional to the number of users, not the coverage area. Heavy and expensive sensors, for example a high-end IMU, were also avoided. Given these requirements, a camera-based localization solution was selected for the sensor pose estimation. Several camera-based localization approaches were investigated. Map-based localization methods were shown to be the most efficient because they close loops using a pre-existing map, thus the amount of data and the amount of time spent collecting data are reduced as there is no need to re-observe the same areas multiple times. This dissertation proposes a solution to address the task of fully localizing a monocular camera onboard a UAV with respect to a known environment (i.e., it is assumed that a 3D model of the environment is available) for the purpose of navigation for UAVs in structured environments. Incremental map-based localization involves tracking a map through an image sequence. When the map is a 3D model, this task is referred to as model-based tracking. A by-product of the tracker is the relative 3D pose (position and orientation) between the camera and the object being tracked. State-of-the-art solutions advocate that tracking geometry is more robust than tracking image texture because edges are more invariant to changes in object appearance and lighting. However, model-based trackers have been limited to tracking small simple objects in small environments. An assessment was performed in tracking larger, more complex building models, in larger environments. A state-of-the art model-based tracker called ViSP (Visual Servoing Platform) was applied in tracking outdoor and indoor buildings using a UAVs low-cost camera. The assessment revealed weaknesses at large scales. Specifically, ViSP failed when tracking was lost, and needed to be manually re-initialized. Failure occurred when there was a lack of model features in the cameras field of view, and because of rapid camera motion. Experiments revealed that ViSP achieved positional accuracies similar to single point positioning solutions obtained from single-frequency (L1) GPS observations standard deviations around 10 metres. These errors were considered to be large, considering the geometric accuracy of the 3D model used in the experiments was 10 to 40 cm. The first contribution of this dissertation proposes to increase the performance of the localization system by combining ViSP with map-building incremental localization, also referred to as simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). Experimental results in both indoor and outdoor environments show sub-metre positional accuracies were achieved, while reducing the number of tracking losses throughout the image sequence. It is shown that by integrating model-based tracking with SLAM, not only does SLAM improve model tracking performance, but the model-based tracker alleviates the computational expense of SLAMs loop closing procedure to improve runtime performance. Experiments also revealed that ViSP was unable to handle occlusions when a complete 3D building model was used, resulting in large errors in its pose estimates. The second contribution of this dissertation is a novel map-based incremental localization algorithm that improves tracking performance, and increases pose estimation accuracies from ViSP. The novelty of this algorithm is the implementation of an efficient matching process that identifies corresponding linear features from the UAVs RGB image data and a large, complex, and untextured 3D model. The proposed model-based tracker improved positional accuracies from 10 m (obtained with ViSP) to 46 cm in outdoor environments, and improved from an unattainable result using VISP to 2 cm positional accuracies in large indoor environments. The main disadvantage of any incremental algorithm is that it requires the camera pose of the first frame. Initialization is often a manual process. The third contribution of this dissertation is a map-based absolute localization algorithm that automatically estimates the camera pose when no prior pose information is available. The method benefits from vertical line matching to accomplish a registration procedure of the reference model views with a set of initial input images via geometric hashing. Results demonstrate that sub-metre positional accuracies were achieved and a proposed enhancement of conventional geometric hashing produced more correct matches - 75% of the correct matches were identified, compared to 11%. Further the number of incorrect matches was reduced by 80%

Structural Integrity and Failure

Structural integrity and failure assessment have been considered by many fields of engineers as it is a multi-disciplinary concept. The assessment procedure vitally ensures that structural elements will remain functional throughout their service lives. Structural failure refers to the loss of structural integrity by means of loss at the component- or system-level elements. The main concern of integrity assessment is that a structural failure may be avoided at the service level by designing the structure to withstand its designated loads. Hence, for satisfactory structural performance, structural safety, failure, and interaction between them should be considered throughout the design and analysis stages. This book is a collection of chapters that provide the researcher with a comprehensive perspective on structural integrity and its sub-disciplines

A system for modelling deformable procedural shapes.

This thesis presents a new procedural paradigm for modelling. The method combines the benefit of compact object descriptions found in procedural modelling along with the advantage of the ability to interact in real-time as is found with interactive modelling techniques. The three main components to this paradigm are geometry generators (the creation of basic object shapes), selectors (the specification of a selection volume), and modifiers (the object transformation functions). The user interacts in real-time with the object, and has complete control over the object formation process. Interaction is stored within appropriate nodes in a creation-history list which can be replayed or partially replayed at any time during the creation process. The parameters associated with each interaction are stored within the node, and are available for editing at any time during the creation process. The concepts presented here remove the problems that most modelling software have, in that the arbitrary editing of object parameters is destructive, in the sense that changing the parameter of one node may cause the object to behave unpredictably. This takes place in real-time, rather than off-line. In some cases real-time interaction is made possible by trading visual quality vs. speed of rendering. This results in the object being rendered at a lower quality, and therefore decisions on whether the object parameters need adjustment may be predicated upon a poor representation of the object. The work presented herein attempts to bridge the divide between the two approaches by providing the user with a powerful and descriptive procedural modelling language that is entirely generated through real-time interaction with the geometric object via an intuitive user interface. The main contributions of this work are that it allows: Procedural objects are specified interactively. Modelling takes place independently of representation (meaning the user does not base their modelling on the (mesh) representation, but rather on the shape they see). Changes to the object are coherent and non-destructive

8th. International congress on archaeology computer graphica. Cultural heritage and innovation

El lema del Congreso es: 'Documentación 3D avanzada, modelado y reconstrucción de objetos patrimoniales, monumentos y sitios.Invitamos a investigadores, profesores, arqueólogos, arquitectos, ingenieros, historiadores de arte... que se ocupan del patrimonio cultural desde la arqueología, la informática gráfica y la geomática, a compartir conocimientos y experiencias en el campo de la Arqueología Virtual. La participación de investigadores y empresas de prestigio será muy apreciada. Se ha preparado un atractivo e interesante programa para participantes y visitantes.Lerma García, JL. (2016). 8th. International congress on archaeology computer graphica. Cultural heritage and innovation. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/73708EDITORIA

Nuclear Fusion Programme: Annual Report of the Association Karlsruhe Institute of Technology/EURATOM ; January 2013 - December 2013 (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7671)

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is working in the framework of the European Fusion Programme on key technologies in the areas of superconducting magnets, microwave heating systems (Electron-Cyclotron-Resonance-Heating, ECRH), the deuterium-tritium fuel cycle, He-cooled breeding blankets, a He-cooled divertor and structural materials, as well as refractory metals for high heat flux applications including a major participation in the preparation of the international IFMIF project

Fluorescence-based nanofluidic biosensor platform for real-time measurement of protein binding kinetics

L'analyse cinétique d'interactions de protéines offre une multitude d'informations sur les fonctions physiologiques de ces molécules au sein de l'activité cellulaire, et peut donc contribuer à l'amélioration des diagnostics médicaux ainsi qu'à la découverte de nouveaux traitements thérapeutiques. La résonance plasmonique de surface (SPR) est la technique de biodétection optique de référence pour les études cinétiques d'interaction de molécules biologiques. Si la SPR offre une détection en temps réel et sans marquage, elle nécessite en revanche des équipements coûteux et sophistiqués ainsi que du personnel qualifié, limitant ainsi son utilisation au sein de laboratoires de recherche académiques. Dans ces travaux de thèse, nous avons développé une plateforme de biodétection basée sur l'utilisation de nanofentes biofonctionnalisées combinées avec une détection par microscopie à fluorescence. Ce système permet l'observation en temps réel d'interactions protéines-protéines et la détermination des constantes cinétiques associées, avec des temps de réponse optimisés et une excellente efficacité de capture. La fonctionnalité du système a été démontrée par l'étude des cinétiques d'interaction de deux couples modèles de différentes affinités : le couple streptavidine/biotine et le couple IgG de souris/anti-IgG de souris. Une très bonne cohérence entre les constantes cinétiques extraites, celles obtenues par des expériences similaires réalisées en SPR et les valeurs rapportées dans la littérature montre que notre approche pourrait être facilement applicable pour l'étude cinétique d'interactions de protéines avec une sensibilité allant jusqu'au pM, sur une large gamme de constantes de dissociation. De plus, nous avons intégré un générateur de gradient de concentrations microfluidique en amont de nos nanofentes, permettant ainsi des mesures simultanées de cinétiques d'interactions à différentes concentrations d'analyte en une seule expérience. Ce système intégré offre de nombreux avantages, tels qu'une réduction de la consommation des réactifs et des temps d'analyse par rapport aux approches séquentielles classiques. Cette technologie innovante pourrait ainsi être un outil précieux non seulement pour les domaines du biomédical et de la médecine personnalisée mais aussi pour la recherche fondamentale en chimie et biologie.Kinetic monitoring of protein-protein interactions offers fundamental insights of their cellular functions and is a vital key for the improvement of diagnostic tests as well as the discovery of novel therapeutic drugs. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is an established biosensor technology routinely used for kinetic studies of biomolecular interactions. While SPR offers the benefits of real-time and label-free detection, it requires expensive and sophisticated optical apparatus and highly trained personnel, thus limiting the accessibility of standard laboratories. In this PhD project, we have developed an alternative and cost-effective biosensor platform exploiting biofunctionalized nanofluidic slits, or nanoslits, combined with a bench-top fluorescence microscope. Our approach enables the visualization of protein interactions in real-time with the possibility to determine associated kinetic parameters along with optimized response times and enhanced binding efficiency. We have demonstrated the effectiveness of our devices through kinetic studies of two representative protein-receptor pairs with different binding affinities: streptavidin-biotin and mouse IgG/anti-mouse IgG interactions. Good agreement of extracted kinetic parameters between our device, SPR measurements and literature values indicated that this approach could be readily applicable to study kinetics of protein interactions with sensitivity down to 1 pM on a large scale of dissociation constants. In addition, we have incorporated a microfluidic gradient generator to our validated nanoslit device, which has allowed one-shot parallel kinetic measurements to be realized in a single-experiment. This integrated system provides advantages of diminished material consumption and analysis time over the conventional kinetic assays. We believe that this innovative technology will drive future advancements not only in the discipline of biomedical and personalized medicine, but also in basic chemical/biological research