DYNAMIC VISUALIZATIONS: Developing a Framework for Crowd-Based Simulations

Since its conception in the 1960s, digital computation has experienced both exponential growth in power and reduction in cost. This has allowed the production of relatively cheap electronics, which are now integrated ubiquitously in daily life. With so much computational data and an ever-increasing accessibility to intelligent objects, the potential for integrating such technologies within architectural systems becomes increasingly viable. Today, dynamic architecture is already emerging across the world; it is inevitable that one day computation will be fully integrated within the infrastructures of our cities. However, as these new forms of dynamic architecture becomes increasingly commonplace, the standard static medium of architectural visualization is no longer satisfactory for representing and visualizing these dynamic spaces, let alone the human interactions within them. Occupancy within a space is already inherently dynamic and becomes even more so with the introduction of these new forms of architecture. This in turn challenges our conventional means of visualizing spaces both in design and communication. To fully represent dynamic architecture, the visualization must be dynamic as well. As such, current single image rendering methods within most existing architectural design pipelines becomes inadequate in portraying both the architectural dynamics of the space, as well as the interaction and influences these dynamics will have with the occupants. This thesis aims to mitigate these shortcomings in architectural visualization by investigating the creation of a crowd simulation tool to facilitate a foundation for a visualization framework that can be continuously built upon based on project needs, which answers the question of how one can utilize current technologies to not only better represent responsive architecture but also to optimize existing visualization methodologies. By using an interdisciplinary approach that brings together architecture, computer science, and game design, it becomes possible to establish a more powerful, flexible, and efficient workflow in creating architectural visualizations. Part One will establish a foundation to this thesis by looking at the state of the current world, its buildings in the sense of dynamic, and the current state of visualization technologies that are being utilized both within architectural design as well as outside of it. Part Two will investigate complex systems and simulation models, as well as investigating ways of integrating them with human behaviors to establish a methodology for creating a working crowd simulation system. Part Three will take the methodology developed within Part Two and integrate it within modern game engines, with the intent of creating an architectural visualization pipeline that can utilize the game engine for both crowd analytics as well as visualization. Part Four will look at some of the various spatial typologies that can be visualized with this tool. Finally, Part Five will speculate on various future directions to improve this tool beyond the current scope of this thesis

Synthesis and modification of porous boron nitride materials for application in carbon dioxide capture

Global warming, which is often confused with “climate change”, can cause longlasting, irreversible, catastrophic and far-reaching effects on the earth and the lives of the future generations. There is a unanimous agreement that global warming is mainly due to human activities and above all, burning fossil fuels for industrial applications and emission of CO2 as one of the major contributors of global warming. To mitigate the amount of CO2 emission and to offset its effect, the governments around the world have united to take necessary actions in an effective and efficient way by a variety of policy changes and adoption of technologies such as carbon capture and storage. For instance, the UK government has set out measures to tackle climate change with a plan for the UK to be a pioneering economy in the world towards a zero-emission economy by 2050. Among the technologies used for carbon capture, those derived from solid sorbents for CO2 capture attract growing interest in industrial applications. The popularity of using these technologies is attributed to their lower energy penalty, high selectivity, recyclability and ease of manufacturing. Developments of new materials with low cost is fundamental, even though numerous solid sorbents have been examined for CO2 capture to date. Porous boron nitride (BN) has been recognised as a promising alternative to be used in carbon adsorption process due to its unique advantages including its bond polarity, tuneability and high thermal and chemical stabilities. So far, a systematic understanding of how its distinctive properties (pore structure and chemistry) contributes to capture carbon dioxide is still lacking. To develop a favourable porous BN, further work is required to establish the viability of these materials as cost-effective adsorbents. This research presents synthesis and modification strategies of porous BN and a characterisation of the material for carbon capture application. Various synthesis conditions have been developed to obtain high surface area (>700 m2/g) pristine BN material via template free method. The study pursued two distinct strategies to modify pristine porous BN, aiming to enhance its CO2 adsorption performance. Firstly, a focus on controlling the pure BN porosity has been implemented by tuning with a polymeric surfactant as non-metal modification approach. The capacity of pure CO2 on nonmetal modified porous BN has been enhanced by about 34.5% compared to pristine BN in ambient conditions. The study highlights the significant role of porosity/pore size of BN for CO2 adsorption. Secondly, a novel approach has been implemented for modifying pore structure and surface chemistry of pristine BN by introduction of Ni (II) into BN framework. The pure CO2 capture experiment has been assessed, considering three different temperatures and the results confirmed that the basic sites on porous BN contribute to its ability to adsorb more CO2 relative to pure BN. The method has been validated as a feasible route to improve porous BN performance in CO2 adsorption process even at realistic flue gas temperatures (above 298 K). Finally, the stability and reusability of pristine BN samples with various porosity and chemistry have been examined over the eight adsorption-desorption cycles. Overall, this dissertation demonstrated that porous BN materials possess a combination of desirable properties with flexibility for functionalisation and lower regeneration energy. Thus, it can be considered as an effective adsorbent for future large-scale carbon capture technologies

SEPARATION OF HEAVY METALS FROM WATER USING FIBROIN AS ADSORBENT

Discharge of untreated industrial effluents containing heavy metals is hazardous to the environment as they are highly toxic, accumulates in the food chain and persistent in nature. Because of these adverse effects, their removal from wastewater is a substantial step in the protection of the environment and human health. Biosorption is found to be an eco-friendly, economical and lucrative separation technique in the removal of metal ions from effluent. This study explores the seperation potential of a new sorbent, fibroin (constituent of natural silk spun by Bombyx mori) for the removal of lead, chromium, copper and cobalt ions from effluent water. The biosorbent was prepared by the separation of cocoon into its constituents, fibroin and sericin. The removal of sericin from fibroin, called silk degumming, was carried out by water extraction method. Effect of temperature (55-95oC) on the kinetics and quantity of sericin removed was studied. The separation kinetics was approximated by the intraparticle diffusion model and the pseudo-second-order equation. Biosorption characteristics of fibroin for the removal of lead, chromium, copper, and cobalt ions from aqueous solution were investigated through a batch study. The effect of initial solution concentration, contact time and temperature on the sorption process was investigated. The adsorption equilibrium was described by the Langmuir isotherm. The thermodynamic parameters, the change in enthalpy (∆H) and change in entropy (∆S), were calculated by using Van’t Hoff plot. An accurate mathematical expression was used to calculate Gibbs free energy (∆G), for the adsorption of all metals on fibroin. For the kinetic data analysis, pseudo-second-order equation was modified based on the fact that the term qe in the kinetic equation should be the equilibrium uptake corresponding to the instantaneous metal concentration in the solution. In order to evaluate the rate constant k2, sorption kinetic data was fitted to the modified pseudo-second-order equation. The calculated values of rate constant k2, for the adsorption of all metals on fibroin, were used to the modified pseudo-second-order model to predict the kinetic data. A good comparison was observed between the experimental data and model calculations. The kinetic data was also fitted to the intraparticle diffusion model which showed a multi linear trend. The metal ions were desorbed from fibroin up to ten cycles of adsorption and desorption by using 0.05M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The removal of metal ions from fibroin was found to be rapid since complete desorption occurred within 15min. The uptake capacity of fibroin and adsorption/desorption kinetics remained almost the same even after ten cycles. The rate constants for both adsorption and desorption were also calculated by fitting the kinetic data to the modified pseudo-second-order model. The dynamic adsorption was studied in a flow-through column packed with fibroin for the removal of all metals. Experiments were performed in order to study the effect of influent concentration (12-75ppm), influent flow rate (0.15-0.24ml/min) and regeneration of fibroin bed (upto 4 cycles). Whereas the bed height, column diameter and amount of adsorbent packed were kept constant during this study. Fibroin bed saturated with metal ions was regenerated effectively by using 0.5M EDTA solution. After four consecutive cycles of adsorption and desorption, no change in the uptake capacity was observed. The bed depth service time model, the Thomas model and the Yoon-Nelson model were used to analyze the breakthrough data. The calculated values of Yoon-Nelson constants were used to predict the breakthrough curves. A good comparison was observed between experimental data and the Yoon-Nelson model calculations. An investigation was conducted to check if the adsorption of metal ions was carried out either by the surface of the fibroin or they were adsorbed deep inside its polymer network, and bulk was used. For this study, silk fibroin was transformed into thin films of three different thicknesses having same surface area. Batch experiments were conducted to study the thickness effect of fibroin films for the adsorption of metal ions. A constant amount of metal uptake for all three fibroin films showed that the adsorption was not a surface phenomenon, but the bulk body of the fibroin was used for this separation. Kinetic data was fitted to the modified pseudo-second-order model. The kinetic rate constant k2 was not significantly affected by the film thickness which abrogated the possibility of simple diffusion mechanism for metal sorption into fibroin. Fibroin films loaded with metal ions were desorbed once dipped in deionized water. The desorption kinetics was again described by the modified pseudo-kinetic-model. The calculated values of desorption rate constant kd were used to predict the kinetics of film desorption. A good comparison was observed between the modified pseudo-second-order model calculations and experimental desorption data of fibroin films.4 month

An investigation of transitional management problems for the NSTS

Analysis and recommendations were provided to the National Space Transportation System (NSTS) on managing the transition from a research and development (R/D) structure to an operational structure. Summaries of published literature on the theory and applications of transition, or change management, and the results of interviews with additional industry personnel whose organizations either have gone through or are now going through change are contained. The issues of flight rates and the flight decision are addressed. The use of a computer simulation model to analyze the effect of varying different parameters on the flight rate was also discussed. The issue of NASA's changing demographics was examined and why this may be a cause for concern. The impact of the whole shuttle system structure on the Challenger accident was presented along with the highlights of the Rogers Commission Report. The proposed reorganization of the NSTS management structure is discussed and how this transition from R/D to operations can be performed

Vibration performance of in situ cross-laminated timber (CLT) floors in medium-rise buildings

Det finnes begrenset med informasjon angående vibrasjonsegenskapene til CLT-gulvsystemer installert i konstruksjoner. Ingeniører som ønsker å anvende CLT sin utmerkede styrke til masse forhold støter ofte på et bruksgrensetilstand problem. På grunn av et relativt lavt forhold mellom masse og stivhet blir systemet lett satt i bevegelse og vibrasjoner blir et problem. Helt siden introduksjonen av CLT har det blitt arbeidet med å utforme retningslinjer som skiller mellom akseptabelt og ikke-akseptabelt design. De fleste av disse retningslinjene tar ikke hensyn til betydningen av ikke-bærende konstruksjoner. Denne avhandlingen anvender OMA for å belyse hvordan in-situ gulv blir påvirket av omkringliggende elementer. Et omfattende studie har blitt utført på syv ulike gulv ved Ås videregående skole i løpet av prosjektperioden. Totalt ble tretten forskjellige tester utført for å samle inn feltdata.Innhentede data ble analysert for å bestemme gulvenes vibrasjonsegenskaper og for grundig å dokumentere effekten av in-situ elementer. Overføring av bevegelse på tvers av ikke-bærende skillevegger er gitt spesiell oppmerksomhet for å forklare oppdaget modusformer. Fordelingen av bevegelse er dokumenter gjennom VDV og arms konturkart. En analytisk del er inkludert for å vurdere hvor nøyaktig oppdatert Eurokode 5 kan forutsi fundamental egenfrekvens og kvadratisk gjennomsnitt for akselerasjon. Den aksepterte antagelsen om at ikke-bærende skillevegger kan ignoreres i design fasen utfordres. Gjennom detaljerte in-situ eksperimenter er det demonstrert at de har innflytelse på modale egenskaper. Spesielt er modusformen til den fundamentale egenfrekvensen påvirket av omkringliggende skillevegger. Integrasjon av CLT-gulvsystemer i konstruksjoner øker raskt kompleksiteten, noe som redusere antall identifiserbare modusformer. Fordeling av bevegelse på gulvet er vist til å følge lav frekvens modusformer via VDV og arms. Konsekvensen av dette er at skillevegger spiller en viktig rolle i å bestemme kritiske aksjelerasjonspunkter. Den reviderte EC5 systematisk undervurder av gulvenes grunnfrekvenser, mens den overestimerer gulvenes akselerasjons egenskaper. En slik unøyaktigheten reduseres byggekodens egenskap til å skille mellom akseptabelt og ikke-akseptable design.There is limited information regarding the vibration characteristics of CLT floor systems within superstructures. As designers utilise the excellent strength-to-mass ratio of CLT, they are often faced with a serviceability problem. Due to the relatively low mass-to-stiffness ratio, the system is prone to oscillation, and vibration becomes a major issue. In recent years, there have been a lot of efforts to establish guidelines for distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable design. However, many of these guidelines do not consider the importance of non-bearing structures. This thesis utilises OMA to highlight how in-situ floors are affected by surrounding elements. A comprehensive study was conducted on seven floors within Ås High School during the thesis project. In total thirteen distinct tests were carried out to gather field data, which was then analysed to determine modal characteristics. By determining modal characteristics, the effects of in-situ elements are thoroughly documented. Transfer of motion across non-bearing partitions is given special attention to explain detected mode shapes. The distribution of motion is documented through VDV and arms contour maps. An analytical component has been incorporated to assess the accuracy of the updatedEurocode 5 in calculating the fundamental natural frequency and root-mean-square acceleration. The standing assumption that non-bearing partition walls can be ignored during design is challenged. Through detailed in-situ experiments, it becomes clear that they play an essential role in determining the modal characteristics of the floors. It has been found that partition walls have a significant impact on all modal characteristics. The configuration of surrounding partition walls especially impacts the fundamental mode shape. As the CLT floor system is integrated into the superstructure, its complexity rapidly increases, decreasing the number of identifiable modes. Distribution of motion across floors documented with VDV and arms is shown to follow low-frequency mode shapes. The consequence is that partition walls play an important role in determining critical acceleration spots. The revised EC5 underestimates the fundamental frequencies performance of the floors while overestimating its arms performance. This inaccuracy reduces its effectiveness in discriminating between acceptable and unacceptable design

Third Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Space Applications, part 1

The application of artificial intelligence to spacecraft and aerospace systems is discussed. Expert systems, robotics, space station automation, fault diagnostics, parallel processing, knowledge representation, scheduling, man-machine interfaces and neural nets are among the topics discussed

Innovative Materials and Methods for the Removal of Pollutants from the Environment

The progress of society has led to an improvement of the quality of life of a significant number of people. On the other hand, anthropogenic pollution dramatically increased, with serious consequences for the environment and human health. Controlling and remedying environmental pollution is one of the main challenges of our century. Fundamental and applicative research are called to collaborate, involving scientists in the development of realistic and effective systems for the prevention and the removal of pollutants from the environment. Spreading knowledge is among the missions of researchers and this is the aim of this book, offering an updated view on innovative materials and methods for pollutant treatment. It is composed of 18 articles, among them 5 reviews and 13 original articles, dedicated to new adsorbent materials (inorganic, organic, and hybrid materials) for the capture of pollutant species and for their catalytic conversion into non-toxic substances, and to bioremediation approaches to treat contaminated media. Water, air, and soil pollution was investigated, both at the lab and large scale, with special relevance for wastewater treatments for the removal of heavy metals and organic pollutants. We are grateful to “Molecules” for the opportunity to edit the Special Issue on “Innovative Materials and Methods for the Removal of Pollutants from the Environment”. We created, for this book, an original cover image, dedicated to the efforts of chemistry to defend the beauty of environment, represented by flowers, against every prejudice that considers chemistry an enemy of life

SLA Establishment Decisions: Minimizing the Risk of SLA Violations

This thesis presents an approach for service providers to select an SLA portfolio that minimizes the SLA violation risk. It considers constraints on expected profit and available resources. The problem is addressed by applying decision theory and risk measures, especially by adapting the concept of portfolio selection by Harry Markowitz and the semi-variance. In order to capture a decision maker\u27s attitude towards risk, utility theory and the concept of risk aversion are used