Full Proceedings, 2018

Full conference proceedings for the 2018 International Building Physics Association Conference hosted at Syracuse University

NASA Propulsion Engineering Research Center, volume 2

On 8-9 Sep. 1993, the Propulsion Engineering Research Center (PERC) at The Pennsylvania State University held its Fifth Annual Symposium. PERC was initiated in 1988 by a grant from the NASA Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology as a part of the University Space Engineering Research Center (USERC) program; the purpose of the USERC program is to replenish and enhance the capabilities of our Nation's engineering community to meet its future space technology needs. The Centers are designed to advance the state-of-the-art in key space-related engineering disciplines and to promote and support engineering education for the next generation of engineers for the national space program and related commercial space endeavors. Research on the following areas was initiated: liquid, solid, and hybrid chemical propulsion, nuclear propulsion, electrical propulsion, and advanced propulsion concepts

Predictive pre-cooling control for low lift radiant cooling using building thermal mass

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2010.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-159).Low lift cooling systems (LLCS) hold the potential for significant energy savings relative to conventional cooling systems. An LLCS is a cooling system which leverages existing HVAC technologies to provide low energy cooling by operating a chiller at low pressure ratios more of the time. An LLCS combines variable capacity chillers, hydronic distribution, radiant cooling, thermal energy storage and predictive control to achieve lower condensing temperatures, higher evaporating temperatures, and reductions in instantaneous cooling loads by spreading the daily cooling load over time. The LLCS studied in this research is composed of a variable speed chiller and a concrete-core radiant floor, which acts as thermal energy storage. The operation of the chiller is optimized to minimize daily energy consumption while meeting thermal comfort requirements. This is achieved through predictive pre-cooling of the thermally massive concrete floor. The predictive pre-cooling control optimization uses measured data from a test chamber, forecasts of controlled climate conditions and internal loads, empirical models of chiller performance, and data-driven models of the temperature response of the zone being controlled. These data and models are used to determine a near-optimal operational strategy for the chiller over a 24-hour horizon. At each hour, this optimization is updated with measured data from the previous hour and new forecasts for the next 24 hours. The novel contributions of this research include the following: experimental validation of the sensible cooling energy savings of the LLCS relative to a high efficiency split system air conditioner - savings measured in a full size test chamber were 25 percent for a typical summer week in Atlanta subject to standard efficiency internal loads; development of a methodology for incorporating real building thermal mass, chiller performance models, and room temperature response models into a predictive pre-cooling control optimization for LLCS; and detailed experimental data on the performance of a rolling-piston compressor chiller to support this and future research.by Nicholas Thomas Gayeski.Ph.D

An algorithmic approach to system architecting using shape grammar-cellular automata

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 404-417).This thesis expands upon the understanding of the fundamentals of system architecting in order to more effectively apply this process to engineering systems. The universal concern about the system architecting process is that the needs and wants of the stakeholders are not being fully satisfied, primarily because too few design alternatives are created and ambiguity exists in the information required. At the same time, it is noted that nature offers a superb example of system architecting and therefore should be considered as a guide for the engineering of systems. Key features of nature's architecting processes include self-generation, diversity, emergence, least action (balance of kinetic and potential energy), system-of-systems organization, and selection for stability. Currently, no human-friendly method appears to exist that addresses the problems in the field of system architecture while at the same time emulating nature's processes. By adapting nature's self-generative approach, a systematic means is offered to more rigorously conduct system architecting and better satisfy stakeholders. After reviewing generative design methods, an algorithmic methodology is developed to generate a space of architectural solutions satisfying a given specification, local constraints, and physical laws. This approach combines a visually oriented human design interface (shape grammar) that provides an intuitive design language with a machine (cellular automata) to execute the system architecture's production set (algorithm). The manual output of the flexible shape grammar, the set of design rules, is transcribed into cellular automata neighborhoods as a sequenced production set that may include other simple programs (such as combinatoric instructions).(cont.) The resulting catalog of system architectures can be unmanageably large, so selection criteria (e.g., stability, matching interfaces, least action) are defined by the architect to narrow the solution space for stakeholder review. The shape grammar-cellular automata algorithmic approach was demonstrated across several domains of study. This methodology improves on the design's clarification and the number of design alternatives produced, which should result in greater stakeholder satisfaction. Of additional significance, this approach has shown value both in the study of the system architecting process, leading to the proposal of normative principles for system architecture, and in the modeling of systems for better understanding.by Thomas H. Speller, Jr.Ph.D

Adventures in Research - A History of Ames Research Center, 1940-1965

Historical survey of aeronautical research and development at Ames Research Center from 1936 to 196