Development of a Super Slim Façade System for InHolland Polytechnic, Delft

The initial conceptual ‘wild idea’ for the INHolland project by architect Rijk Rietveld,New York, was elaborated through different design brainstorms towards a radicalinnovative system for ultra-slim glass façades. In this façade system insulated glasspanels of a depth of maximum 50 mm are integrated with internal pre-stressedstructural composite cables, stabilising the façade against wind forces. Dead weightto be taken over by vertical deadweight rods in between the vertical silicone seamsbetween the panels. The insulated glass panels are sealed by composite spacer frames.Many different solitary tests were done with the sealing and the carbon fibrecomponents, with adhesion of silicone sealant on the carbon fibre frames and on theperforation of the carbon fibre used through the frames. In the actual engineeringphase structural analysis was performed and tests on several levels were executed.The composite frames were substituted by conventional metal frames. Due to therefusal by the glass panel manufacturer to supply a guarantee on inadequate numberof tests with inadequate quality, the integrated system had to be changed into a duosystemwith internal pre-stressed cables and integrated dead weight suspension rods.The façade had to keep in pace with the progress on site

Algebraic characteristic classes for idempotent matrices

This paper contains the algebraic analog for idempotent matrices of the Chern-Weil theory of characteristic classes. This is used to show, algebraically, that the canonical line bundle on the complex projective space is not stably trivial. Also a theorem is proved saying that for any smooth manifold there is a canonical epimorphism from the even dimensional algebraic de Rham cohomology of its algebra of smooth functions onto the standard even dimensional de Rham cohomology of the manifold

Redundancy tests on glass fins

Since 2010, Octatube has adopted glass fins as structural components in at least 20 different projects, both in facades and roofs (the van Gogh Museum, the Tottenham Experience, Canal House Amsterdam are some relevant examples). Glass is widely known as a fragile material and it usually breaks in a brittle fashion, whereas a metal like steel typically fails plastically. The post-breakage behavior of glass beams is not easy to predict, therefore Octatube performed a range of tests on different glass fins varying the test setup. All tests were performed in house, at Octatube’s factory/test area in Delft, the Netherlands. In this paper two case studies are discussed. For the brand-new Spartherm Headquarters in Melle (Germany) laminated glass fins are adopted to support large insulated glazing units. Due to the round shape of the building the glass fins spanning for a maximum of 5,3 meters, are also curved on one side. The glass fins were tested both in un-cracked and cracked conditions to assess the overall safety of the design. For the refurbishment of the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, a new glass roof, over the old Sculpture Courtyard, was designed by Heneghan Peng Architects. With glass beams up to 8,3 m, and 3x10mm fully tempered PVB laminated panes were adopted. In cooperation with T/E/S/S engineering, the second support system was designed for post breakage behavior. In case of total failure of a glass fin, the safety was is ensured by catenary action in combination with a stiff frame of glass beam. This was tested in a true size, 6,0 meter, mock up. The residual capacity in the glass beam is ensured provided that the global structural system and detailing are carefully designed

Automatisering van de berekening van de kosten voor benodigde energie bij teelt in de kas

Beschrijving van de gehanteerde formules en rekenvolgorde van een methode die in een computerprogramma is vertaald. Ter illustratie wordt een berekening van een teelt van lelie cv. Enchantment met assimilatiebelichting, waarvoor elektriciteit wordt geleverd door een total-energy-installatie, volledig uitgewerkt weergegeve

Connecting Local to Global: A Case Study of Public Engagement

Public engagement is recognised as having an increasingly important role in the changing landscape of higher education in the United Kingdom (UK), and is promoted as a ‘pathway to impact’ by many higher education funding bodies. However, there is limited evidence to support the outreach and impact gained by higher education institutes that undertake international public engagement activities. Similarly, little is known about higher education staff and student’s experiences of participating in such public engagement activities. This study focusses on a Global Festival of Learning (GFoL) in delivering public engagement on an international stage through an integrated approach involving the fusion of education, research, and professional practice, and the perceived impact on staff and students. This paper proposes an adaptive model for public engagement founded on five strategic public engagement areas that can be transferred to other higher education institutes with an interest in developing their international outreach and impact

A review of air pollution impact on subjective well-being: Survey versus visual psychophysics

Air pollution is a worldwide environmental and health issue, especially in major developing countries. A recent World Health Organization report shows about 3 million deaths in the world in 2012 are due to ambient air pollution and China and India are the countries with the most severe challenge. Air pollution influences people's thought and experience of their lives directly by visual perceptions. This reduces people's subjective well-being (SWB) to a significant degree. Empirical researchers have made efforts to examine how self-reported well-being varies with air quality typically by survey method - matching SWB data with monitored air pollution data. Their findings show NO2, particles, lead, SO2 and O3 have significant negative impact on SWB. However, it is very hard to match air pollution characteristics from monitor stations with each respondent's state of SWB at the moment a survey is conducted. Also it is very hard to find the detailed trend impact from only air pollution factor on SWB. This review illustrates the features and limitations of previous survey studies on quantifying the effects of air pollution on subjective well-being. This review further displays the progress of psychophysics and its application in landscape and air quality research. We propose using psychophysics application to quantify air pollution impact on SWB