DTB 061 Violetta Simpson

In this interview, Violetta Simpson is interviewed by Ryan Morini in the McCall Library on the University of South Alabama campus. The interview focuses on Ms. Simpson’s experiences growing up and living in the Down the Bay community of Mobile, Alabama, and some of the details of her family history that relate to it. She also offers her thoughts on the ways that urban renewal played out for people Down the Bay, as well as the impacts that it and the construction of I-10 had on the community and its future. She further discusses the role of the Mobile Housing Board, and the I-10 bridge expansion that was in progress at the time of the interview. Ms. Simpson recalls people and businesses that she grew up with Down the Bay, describes community dynamics and mores, and relates some of the community service and organizing work of her mother, Clara J. Simpson

LANL Plutonium Assessment

At the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), low level nuclear waste (LLW) is processed for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. This waste is processed in a glovebox and then placed into a 55 gallon drum and sent to a nondestructive assay (NDA) laboratory to determine if the waste within the drum\u27s reactivity is below 100nCi/g stipulated by the regulation held by the Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA). In several cases every year, the reactivity of the drum is exceeded, thus requiring a costly and dangerous procedural deviation to divide the contents of the drum to reach an acceptable level of radioactivity. To avoid this problem, an in-line waste assay system must be developed to measure specifically plutonium-240 but also must give a possibility of measuring other types of radioactive materials such as Uranium-235. This product must have the ability to be applied to gloveboxes globally. This will require that the device has the capability of assaying a fully loaded 55-gallon drum that is inserted into the glovebox through a penetration in the floor of the glovebox before movement to the NDA laboratory. This assay must be completed within an hour, while maintaining an ergonomically efficient design. To satisfy these requirements, the goal was to take a neutron counting system available on the market and develop a mechanized collar to hold these devices while it assays the drum\u27s waste underneath the glovebox. The neutron counter that will be applied to the design is Canberra Industries\u27 model JCC-71,72, and 73 [2] accompanied with the JR-14 shift register [3] and neutron counting software [4]. The main aspect of the design will be the development of a mechanized collar operating underneath the glovebox around the floor penetration to safely assay the waste in 2-3 sections on the drum. This will require the collar to have a vertical drive mechanism, a controls component and the construction of a holding rack for the counting slabs. The design will accompany the 6 He-3 slabs fashioned around the drum with one of the holding positions having the ability to accompany a passive or active slab depending on the application desired. The design will include a minimal amount of areas with hard to clean spaces. This design will accomplish all of the specifications explained above and hope to make the operations at nuclear processing facilities more efficient

Exploring the Opportunities of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Concept Ship Design

Designing vessels is a complex process requiring the consideration of numerous aspects to develop a successful design. Ship and submarine design often requires the designer to approximate, make assumptions, consider scenarios and imagine how the vessel may be used in operation. Having the ability to consult for feedback or request additional information may be a welcome aid. The onset of Generative AI (GENAI) presents a new opportunity to integrate this resource into the workflows of the concept ship design process. Augmenting the design process could have a positive impact on the outcome of the design, further improving various qualities such as performance, sustainability, equality, diversity and inclusion. Aspects associated with weight groups, payload catalogues, technical analysis and layout set out will be explored to investigate whether GENAI could add value to the design process. A case study will be used to facilitate this investigation, taking note of GENAI’s content throughout the process

Building and implementing knowledge: research and innovation inspired by the evolution of modern stadia.

This paper summarises how the evolution and advancement in sports stadia design within Arup, over the last 10 years, has been used as a catalyst for applied research programmes. The North West Structures Group has collaborated with several universities (UK and US based) to advance technical knowledge and understanding, and to ensure on-going innovation. Five doctoral research programmes have been produced focussing on critical issues such as crowd induced vibration, robustness of cable supported structures subjected to high velocity fragment impact, structural and geometrical optimisation and, design management. This paper will highlight some of the results obtained from each of these research programmes and how they have and can be filtered back into design. The primary aim of this paper is to demonstrate how opportunities can be seized when working on design projects to collaborate with universities and provide a platform for project based innovation in the construction industry