Symmetry in Structural Health Monitoring

In this Special Issue on symmetry, we mainly discuss the application of symmetry in various structural health monitoring. For example, considering the health monitoring of a known structure, by obtaining the static or dynamic response of the structure, using different signal processing methods, including some advanced filtering methods, to remove the influence of environmental noise, and extract structural feature parameters to determine the safety of the structure. These damage diagnosis methods can also be effectively applied to various types of infrastructure and mechanical equipment. For this reason, the vibration control of various structures and the knowledge of random structure dynamics should be considered, which will promote the rapid development of the structural health monitoring. Among them, signal extraction and evaluation methods are also worthy of study. The improvement of signal acquisition instruments and acquisition methods improves the accuracy of data. A good evaluation method will help to correctly understand the performance with different types of infrastructure and mechanical equipment

Using Sensor-Based Demand Controlled Ventilation to Realize Energy Savings in Laboratories

The building sector in the United States accounted for 41% of domestic and 7% of global energy consumption in 2010, with heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) activities consuming approximately 41.4% of the total facility energy consumption. Within the HVAC system, the parasitic energy accounts for one-third of the total energy consumed while heating and cooling accounts for the balance. The fan energy is approximately 85% of the total parasitic energy in the HVAC system. In a laboratory, energy related to ventilation can account for nearly half of the electrical energy demand. A carbon dioxide (CO2)-based demand controlled ventilation (DCV) strategy can reduce the ventilation requirement by monitoring the indoor air quality (IAQ) of a space and modulating the ventilation based on the real-time occupancy. This research presents a tool for laboratory managers to quickly determine if employing a DCV system is potentially life-cycle cost effective. The tool presented is not to be used as sole justification for implementing a DCV system; instead, laboratory managers using this tool will be able to quickly determine if further investigation into DCV installation is warranted. The results show that a DCV system is life-cycle cost effective for many different HVAC system total pressure and square footage combinations

Intelligent Approaches For Modeling And Optimizing Hvac Systems

Advanced energy management control systems (EMCS), or building automation systems (BAS), offer an excellent means of reducing energy consumption in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems while maintaining and improving indoor environmental conditions. This can be achieved through the use of computational intelligence and optimization. This research will evaluate model-based optimization processes (OP) for HVAC systems utilizing MATLAB, genetic algorithms and self-learning or self-tuning models (STM), which minimizes the error between measured and predicted performance data. The OP can be integrated into the EMCS to perform several intelligent functions achieving optimal system performance. The development of several self-learning HVAC models and optimizing the process (minimizing energy use) will be tested using data collected from the HVAC system servicing the Academic building on the campus of NC A&T State University. Intelligent approaches for modeling and optimizing HVAC systems are developed and validated in this research. The optimization process (OP) including the STMs with genetic algorithms (GA) enables the ideal operation of the building’s HVAC systems when running in parallel with a building automation system (BAS). Using this proposed optimization process (OP), the optimal variable set points (OVSP), such as supply air temperature (Ts), supply duct static pressure (Ps), chilled water supply temperature (Tw), minimum outdoor ventilation, reheat (or zone supply air temperature, Tz), and chilled water differential pressure set-point (Dpw) are optimized with respect to energy use of the HVAC’s cooling side including the chiller, pump, and fan. HVAC system component models were developed and validated against both simulated and monitored real data of an existing VAV system. The optimized set point variables minimize energy use and maintain thermal comfort incorporating ASHRAE’s new ventilation standard 62.1-2013. The proposed optimization process is validated on an existing VAV system for three summer months (May, June, August). This proposed research deals primarily with: on-line, self-tuning, optimization process (OLSTOP); HVAC design principles; and control strategies within a building automation system (BAS) controller. The HVAC controller will achieve the lowest energy consumption of the cooling side while maintaining occupant comfort by performing and prioritizing the appropriate actions. Recent technological advances in computing power, sensors, and databases will influence the cost savings and scalability of the system. Improved energy efficiencies of existing Variable Air Volume (VAV) HVAC systems can be achieved by optimizing the control sequence leading to advanced BAS programming. The program’s algorithms analyze multiple variables (humidity, pressure, temperature, CO2, etc.) simultaneously at key locations throughout the HVAC system (pumps, cooling coil, chiller, fan, etc.) to reach the function’s objective, which is the lowest energy consumption while maintaining occupancy comfort

Políticas de Copyright de Publicações Científicas em Repositórios Institucionais: O Caso do INESC TEC

A progressiva transformação das práticas científicas, impulsionada pelo desenvolvimento das novas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), têm possibilitado aumentar o acesso à informação, caminhando gradualmente para uma abertura do ciclo de pesquisa. Isto permitirá resolver a longo prazo uma adversidade que se tem colocado aos investigadores, que passa pela existência de barreiras que limitam as condições de acesso, sejam estas geográficas ou financeiras. Apesar da produção científica ser dominada, maioritariamente, por grandes editoras comerciais, estando sujeita às regras por estas impostas, o Movimento do Acesso Aberto cuja primeira declaração pública, a Declaração de Budapeste (BOAI), é de 2002, vem propor alterações significativas que beneficiam os autores e os leitores. Este Movimento vem a ganhar importância em Portugal desde 2003, com a constituição do primeiro repositório institucional a nível nacional. Os repositórios institucionais surgiram como uma ferramenta de divulgação da produção científica de uma instituição, com o intuito de permitir abrir aos resultados da investigação, quer antes da publicação e do próprio processo de arbitragem (preprint), quer depois (postprint), e, consequentemente, aumentar a visibilidade do trabalho desenvolvido por um investigador e a respetiva instituição. O estudo apresentado, que passou por uma análise das políticas de copyright das publicações científicas mais relevantes do INESC TEC, permitiu não só perceber que as editoras adotam cada vez mais políticas que possibilitam o auto-arquivo das publicações em repositórios institucionais, como também que existe todo um trabalho de sensibilização a percorrer, não só para os investigadores, como para a instituição e toda a sociedade. A produção de um conjunto de recomendações, que passam pela implementação de uma política institucional que incentive o auto-arquivo das publicações desenvolvidas no âmbito institucional no repositório, serve como mote para uma maior valorização da produção científica do INESC TEC.The progressive transformation of scientific practices, driven by the development of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), which made it possible to increase access to information, gradually moving towards an opening of the research cycle. This opening makes it possible to resolve, in the long term, the adversity that has been placed on researchers, which involves the existence of barriers that limit access conditions, whether geographical or financial. Although large commercial publishers predominantly dominate scientific production and subject it to the rules imposed by them, the Open Access movement whose first public declaration, the Budapest Declaration (BOAI), was in 2002, proposes significant changes that benefit the authors and the readers. This Movement has gained importance in Portugal since 2003, with the constitution of the first institutional repository at the national level. Institutional repositories have emerged as a tool for disseminating the scientific production of an institution to open the results of the research, both before publication and the preprint process and postprint, increase the visibility of work done by an investigator and his or her institution. The present study, which underwent an analysis of the copyright policies of INESC TEC most relevant scientific publications, allowed not only to realize that publishers are increasingly adopting policies that make it possible to self-archive publications in institutional repositories, all the work of raising awareness, not only for researchers but also for the institution and the whole society. The production of a set of recommendations, which go through the implementation of an institutional policy that encourages the self-archiving of the publications developed in the institutional scope in the repository, serves as a motto for a greater appreciation of the scientific production of INESC TEC

Full Proceedings, 2018

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

Toward guiding simulation experiments

To face the variety of simulation experiment methods, tools are needed that allow their seamless integration, guide the user through the steps of an experiment, and support him in selecting the most suitable method for the task at hand. This work presents techniques for facing such challenges. To guide users through the experiment process, six typical tasks have been identified for structuring the experiment workflow. The M&S framework JAMES II and its plug-in system is exploited to integrate various methods. Finally, an approach for automatic selection and use of such methods is realized

An architectural framework for self-configuration and self-improvement at runtime

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Recent Advances in Indoor Localization Systems and Technologies

Despite the enormous technical progress seen in the past few years, the maturity of indoor localization technologies has not yet reached the level of GNSS solutions. The 23 selected papers in this book present the recent advances and new developments in indoor localization systems and technologies, propose novel or improved methods with increased performance, provide insight into various aspects of quality control, and also introduce some unorthodox positioning methods