Performance prediction of buildings with responsive building elements challenges and solutions

Modelling and simulation can play an important role for design support and product development of responsive building elements (RBEs). There is, however, limited guidance on how to model such adaptable construction elements in an appropriate way. This paper investigates two different strategies for representing the dynamic aspects of RBEs using whole-building performance simulation tools. Simulations are performed for two case studies: (i) a coating with variable emissivity/absorptivity properties, (ii) a storage wall with switchable insulation. The results show that a simplified simulation strategy is not always capable of accurately capturing the relevant physical phenomena in RBEs. Especially when thermal storage effects are involved, the adaptation needs to take place during simulation run-time, to prevent significant errors in the results

Performance prediction of buildings with responsive building elements challenges and solutions

Modelling and simulation can play an important role for design support and product development of responsive building elements (RBEs). There is, however, limited guidance on how to model such adaptable construction elements in an appropriate way. This paper investigates two different strategies for representing the dynamic aspects of RBEs using whole-building performance simulation tools. Simulations are performed for two case studies: (i) a coating with variable emissivity/absorptivity properties, (ii) a storage wall with switchable insulation. The results show that a simplified simulation strategy is not always capable of accurately capturing the relevant physical phenomena in RBEs. Especially when thermal storage effects are involved, the adaptation needs to take place during simulation run-time, to prevent significant errors in the results

Performance prediction of advanced building controls in the design phase using ESP-r, BCVTB and Matlab

In this paper, we present a new simulation-based approach with capabilities for analysing the impact of advanced control strategies on building performance during the building design phase. This environment consists of ESP-r as building simulation tool, Matlab as software for advanced building controllers and BCVTB as middleware for data exchange per time step between the two programs. After describing the implementation details, we illustrate usability of the design support environment in a case study. This application example demonstrates model predictive control of a building with a thermally activated floor and solar shading. Furthermore, we show the use of explicit state initialization in ESP-r and a method to include uncertain weather predictions in the controller

Assessing the performance potential of climate adaptive greenhouse shells

Agriculture is responsible for 7.2% of the final energy consumption in the Netherlands; most energy is used for heating and lighting in the greenhouse sector. Currently, the greenhouse sector faces major challenges in reducing its energy demand while increasing crop quality and quantity. One route to improve the performance of industrial greenhouses could be based on using climate adaptive shells. These shells are capable of changing their thermal and optical properties on an hourly, daily, or seasonal basis to optimize performance. The climate adaptive shell concept shows considerable potential for performance improvement in the building sector. However, its potential for the greenhouse sector is yet unknown. This paper quantifies this potential by predicting the energy savings and the increase in net profit using a new framework based on numerical simulation and optimization techniques. The simulation results show that climate adaptive greenhouse shells increase net profit between 7% and 20 % for tomato producing Dutch greenhouses. Monthly and hourly adaptation resulted in considerable primary energy savings of 23% and 37%, respectively. It is expected that the predicted net profit increase and energy savings will drive the attention of the greenhouse industry towards the development of climate adaptive greenhouse shells

Investigating the potential of a novel low-energy house concept with hybrid adaptable thermal storage

In conventional buildings thermal mass is a permanent building characteristic depending on the building design. However, none of the permanent thermal mass concepts are optimal in all operational conditions. We propose a concept that combines the benefits of buildings with low and high thermal mass by applying hybrid adaptable thermal storage (HATS) systems and materials to a lightweight building. The HATS concept increases building performance and the robustness to changing user behavior, seasonal variations and future climate changes. Building performance simulation is used to investigate the potential of the novel concept for reducing heating energy demand and increasing thermal comfort. Simulation results of a case study in the Netherlands show that the optimal quantity of the thermal mass is sensitive to the change of seasons. This implies that the building performance will benefit from implementing HATS. Furthermore, the potential of HATS is quantified using a simplified HATS model. Calculations show heating energy demand reductions of up to 35% and increased thermal comfort compared to conventional thermal mass concepts

Synthesis and biodistribution of immunoconjugates of a human IgM and polymeric drug carriers

The synthesis and purification of radiolabelled immunoconjugates, composed of a human IgM monoclonal antibody directed against an intracellular tumour-associated antigen and either poly (alpha-L-glutamic acid) (PGA) or poly[N5-(2-hydroxyethyl)-L-glutamine] (PHEG) is described. Coupling of polymers to the antibody was performed through disulfide bond formation involving a single thiol group at the C-terminus of the polymer chain and 2-pyridyldisulfide groups introduced onto the antibody. The antibody was iodinated with 131I before conjugation. The polymers contained tyrosinamide in a low degree of substitution and were radiolabelled with 125I. 125I-labelled PGA and PHEG were found to be stable for at least 3 days in murine and human plasma. The biodistribution in mice of the doubly labelled immunoconjugates was studied and was compared with the pharmacokinetics of the individual components.\ud \ud PHEG showed a relatively slow blood clearance, the half-life being approximately 10 h with low uptake in liver, kidneys and spleen. PGA was rapidly cleared from the circulation and was significantly taken up in liver, kidneys and spleen. The biodistribution of both immunoconjugates was indistinguishable from that of the IgM proper, with plasma half-lives of approximately 6 h, indicating that the pharmacokinetic properties of the immunoconjugates are largely determined by the antibody part

Generating real context data to test user dependent systems - application to multi-agent systems

First Online 26 June 2019This paper, deals with the usually need of data to simulate behavior and efficiency of proposed solutions in several fields, and also knowing that personal data always bring privacy and security issues. This work wants to promote a balanced solution between the need of personal information and the user’s privacy expectations. We propose a solution to overcome these issues, and don’t compromise the balance between security and personal comfort based on generating real context data of users, that allow to test user dependent systems.This work has been supported by FCT Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2019

Cardiac foetal reprogramming:a tool to exploit novel treatment targets for the failing heart

As the heart matures during embryogenesis from its foetal stages, several structural and functional modifications take place to form the adult heart. This process of maturation is in large part due to an increased volume and work load of the heart to maintain proper circulation throughout the growing body. In recent years, it has been observed that these changes are reversed to some extent as a result of cardiac disease. The process by which this occurs has been characterized as cardiac foetal reprogramming and is defined as the suppression of adult and re-activation of a foetal genes profile in the diseased myocardium. The reasons as to why this process occurs in the diseased myocardium are unknown; however, it has been suggested to be an adaptive process to counteract deleterious events taking place during cardiac remodelling. Although still in its infancy, several studies have demonstrated that targeting foetal reprogramming in heart failure can lead to substantial improvement in cardiac functionality. This is highlighted by a recent study which found that by modulating the expression of 5-oxoprolinase (OPLAH, a novel cardiac foetal gene), cardiac function can be significantly improved in mice exposed to cardiac injury. Additionally, the utilization of angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI) has demonstrated clear benefits, providing important clinical proof that drugs that increase natriuretic peptide levels (part of the foetal gene programme) indeed improve heart failure outcomes. In this review, we will highlight the most important aspects of cardiac foetal reprogramming and will discuss whether this process is a cause or consequence of heart failure. Based on this, we will also explain how a deeper understanding of this process may result in the development of novel therapeutic strategies in heart failure