6,175 research outputs found
Exploring the Interplay between CAD and FreeFem++ as an Energy Decision-Making Tool for Architectural Design
The energy modelling software tools commonly used for architectural purposes do not allow
a straightforward real-time implementation within the architectural design programs. In addition,
the surrounding exterior spaces of the building, including the inner courtyards, hardly present
a specific treatment distinguishing these spaces from the general external temperature in the thermal
simulations. This is a clear disadvantage when it comes to streamlining the design process in relation
to the whole-building energy optimization. In this context, the present study aims to demonstrate
the advantages of the FreeFem++ open source program for performing simulations in architectural
environments. These simulations include microclimate tests that describe the interactions between
a building architecture and its local exterior. The great potential of this mathematical tool can be
realized through its complete system integration within CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software
such as SketchUp or AutoCAD. In order to establish the suitability of FreeFem++ for the performance
of simulations, the most widely employed energy simulation tools able to consider a proposed
architectural geometry in a specific environment are compared. On the basis of this analysis,
it can be concluded that FreeFem++ is the only program displaying the best features for the
thermal performance simulation of these specific outdoor spaces, excluding the currently unavailable
easy interaction with architectural drawing programs. The main contribution of this research is,
in fact, the enhancement of FreeFem++ usability by proposing a simple intuitive method for the
creation of building geometries and their respective meshing (pre-processing). FreeFem++ is also
considered a tool for data analysis (post-processing) able to help engineers and architects with
building energy-efficiency-related tasks
SOA-Driven Business-Software Alignment
The alignment of business processes and their supporting application software is a major concern during the initial software design phases. This paper proposes a design approach addressing this problem of business-software alignment. The approach takes an initial business model as a basis in deriving refined models that target a service-oriented software implementation. The approach explicitly identifies a software modeling level at which software modules are represented as services in a technology-platformindependent way. This model-driven service-oriented approach has the following properties: (i) there is a forced alignment (consistency) between business processes and supporting applications; (ii) changes in the business environment can be traced to the application and vice versa, via model relationships; (iii) the software modules modeled as services have a high degree of autonomy; (iv) migration to new technology platforms can be supported through the platform independent software model
Microservices: Granularity vs. Performance
Microservice Architectures (MA) have the potential to increase the agility of
software development. In an era where businesses require software applications
to evolve to support software emerging requirements, particularly for Internet
of Things (IoT) applications, we examine the issue of microservice granularity
and explore its effect upon application latency. Two approaches to microservice
deployment are simulated; the first with microservices in a single container,
and the second with microservices partitioned across separate containers. We
observed a neglibible increase in service latency for the multiple container
deployment over a single container.Comment: 6 pages, conferenc
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