AM Envelope:

This dissertation shows the potential of Additive Manufacturing (AM) for the development of building envelopes: AM will change the way of designing facades, how we engineer and produce them. To achieve today’s demands from those future envelopes, we have to find new solutions. New technologies offer one possible way to do so. They open new approaches in designing, producing and processing building construction and facades. Finding the one capable of having big impact is difficult – Additive Manufacturing is one possible answer. The term ‘AM Envelope’ (Additive Manufacturing Envelope) describes the transfer of this technology to the building envelope. Additive Fabrication is a building block that aids in developing the building envelope from a mere space enclosure to a dynamic building envelope. First beginnings of AM facade construction show up when dealing with relevant aspects like material consumption, mounting or part’s performance. From those starting points several parts of an existing post-and-beam façade system were optimized, aiming toward the implementation of AM into the production chain. Enhancements on all different levels of production were achieved: storing, producing, mounting and performance. AM offers the opportunity to manufacture facades ‘just in time’. It is no longer necessary to store or produce large numbers of parts in advance. Initial investment for tooling can be avoided, as design improvements can be realized within the dataset of the AM part. AM is based on ‘tool-less’ production, all parts can be further developed with every new generation. Producing tool-less also allows for new shapes and functional parts in small batch sizes – down to batch size one. The parts performance can be re-interpreted based on the demands within the system, not based on the limitations of conventional manufacturing. AM offers new ways of materializing the physical part around its function. It leads toward customized and enhanced performance. Advancements can for example be achieved in the semi-finished goods: more effective glueing of window frames can be supported by Snap-On fittings. Solving the most critical part of a free-form structure and allowing for a smart combination with the approved standards has a great potential, as well. Next to those product oriented approaches toward future envelopes, this thesis provides the basic knowledge about AM technologies and AM materials. The basic principle of AM opens a fascinating new world of engineering, no matter what applications can be found: to ‘design for function’ rather to ‘design for production’ turns our way of engineering of the last century upside down. A collection of AM applications therefore offers the outlook to our (built) future in combination with the acquired knowledge. AM will never replace established production processes but rather complement them where this seems practical. AM is not the proverbial Swiss-army knife that can resolve all of today’s façade issues! But it is a tool that might be able to close another link in the ‘file-to-factory chain’. AM allows us a better, more precise and safer realization of today’s predominantly free designs that are based on the algorithms of the available software. With such extraordinary building projects, the digital production of neuralgic system components will become reality in the near future – today, an AM Envelope is close at hand. Still, ‘printing’ entire buildings lies in the far future; for a long time human skill and craftsmanship will be needed on the construction site combined with high-tech tools to translate the designers’ visions into reality. AM Envelope is one possible result of this

AM Envelope

This dissertation shows the potential of Additive Manufacturing (AM) for the development of building envelopes: AM will change the way of designing facades, how we engineer and produce them. To achieve today’s demands from those future envelopes, we have to find new solutions. New technologies offer one possible way to do so. They open new approaches in designing, producing and processing building construction and facades. Finding the one capable of having big impact is difficult – Additive Manufacturing is one possible answer. The term ‘AM Envelope’ (Additive Manufacturing Envelope) describes the transfer of this technology to the building envelope. Additive Fabrication is a building block that aids in developing the building envelope from a mere space enclosure to a dynamic building envelope. First beginnings of AM facade construction show up when dealing with relevant aspects like material consumption, mounting or part’s performance. From those starting points several parts of an existing post-and-beam façade system were optimized, aiming toward the implementation of AM into the production chain. Enhancements on all different levels of production were achieved: storing, producing, mounting and performance. AM offers the opportunity to manufacture facades ‘just in time’. It is no longer necessary to store or produce large numbers of parts in advance. Initial investment for tooling can be avoided, as design improvements can be realized within the dataset of the AM part. AM is based on ‘tool-less’ production, all parts can be further developed with every new generation. Producing tool-less also allows for new shapes and functional parts in small batch sizes – down to batch size one. The parts performance can be re-interpreted based on the demands within the system, not based on the limitations of conventional manufacturing. AM offers new ways of materializing the physical part around its function. It leads toward customized and enhanced performance. Advancements can for example be achieved in the semi-finished goods: more effective glueing of window frames can be supported by Snap-On fittings. Solving the most critical part of a free-form structure and allowing for a smart combination with the approved standards has a great potential, as well. Next to those product oriented approaches toward future envelopes, this thesis provides the basic knowledge about AM technologies and AM materials. The basic principle of AM opens a fascinating new world of engineering, no matter what applications can be found: to ‘design for function’ rather to ‘design for production’ turns our way of engineering of the last century upside down. A collection of AM applications therefore offers the outlook to our (built) future in combination with the acquired knowledge. AM will never replace established production processes but rather complement them where this seems practical. AM is not the proverbial Swiss-army knife that can resolve all of today’s façade issues! But it is a tool that might be able to close another link in the ‘file-to-factory chain’. AM allows us a better, more precise and safer realization of today’s predominantly free designs that are based on the algorithms of the available software. With such extraordinary building projects, the digital production of neuralgic system components will become reality in the near future – today, an AM Envelope is close at hand. Still, ‘printing’ entire buildings lies in the far future; for a long time human skill and craftsmanship will be needed on the construction site combined with high-tech tools to translate the designers’ visions into reality. AM Envelope is one possible result of this

Additive Manufacturing for Future Facades

The basic principle of ‘3D Printing’ is the layer wise production of real parts from virtual data – be it with laser, with power glue, electron beam or UV light processing (Hopkinson, Hague, & Dickens, 2006). The professional application of ‘3D Printing’ is ‘Additive Manufacturing’ (AM) and this opens a fascinating new world of engineering. It offers a selection of reliable building construction materials – done in concrete, aluminium, steel, high performance plastics or glass. (Woodcock, 2011) No matter what applications can be found: to ‘design for function’ rather to ‘design for production’ turns our way of engineering of the last century upside down. As a result, AM opens the outlook to applications in our (built) future in combination with the available technologies of today. (Strauß, 2013) The tool-less production with AM allows for new shapes and functional parts in small batch sizes – down to batch size one. The parts performance can be re-interpreted based on the demands within the system, not based on the limitations of conventional manufacturing. AM offers new ways of materializing the physical part around its function. Advancements can for example be achieved in the semi-finished goods: fittings with less, but higher integrated parts could offer a better performance with lower material consumption. Solving the most critical part of a free-form structure and allowing for a smart combination with the approved standards has a great potential, as well. It leads toward customized and enhanced performance. This paper discusses the possible changes and influences, those emerging technologies have on the development of building envelopes.  To achieve today’s demands of future envelopes, we have to find new solutions - Additive Manufacturing is one possible way to do so

Structure of Reovirus σ1 in Complex with Its Receptor Junctional Adhesion Molecule-A

Viral attachment to specific host receptors is the first step in viral infection and serves an essential function in the selection of target cells. Mammalian reoviruses are highly useful experimental models for studies of viral pathogenesis and show promise as vectors for oncolytics and vaccines. Reoviruses engage cells by binding to carbohydrates and the immunoglobulin superfamily member, junctional adhesion molecule-A (JAM-A). JAM-A exists at the cell surface as a homodimer formed by extensive contacts between its N-terminal immunoglobulin-like domains. We report the crystal structure of reovirus attachment protein σ1 in complex with a soluble form of JAM-A. The σ1 protein disrupts the JAM-A dimer, engaging a single JAM-A molecule via virtually the same interface that is used for JAM-A homodimerization. Thus, reovirus takes advantage of the adhesive nature of an immunoglobulin-superfamily receptor by usurping the ligand-binding site of this molecule to attach to the cell surface. The dissociation constant (KD) of the interaction between σ1 and JAM-A is 1,000-fold lower than that of the homophilic interaction between JAM-A molecules, indicating that JAM-A strongly prefers σ1 as a ligand. Analysis of reovirus mutants engineered by plasmid-based reverse genetics revealed residues in σ1 required for binding to JAM-A and infectivity of cultured cells. These studies define biophysical mechanisms of reovirus cell attachment and provide a platform for manipulating reovirus tropism to enhance vector targeting

Identification of quantitative trait loci controlling cortical motor evoked potentials in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: correlation with incidence, onset and severity of disease

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a polygenic chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the nervous system, commonly used as an animal model of multiple sclerosis. Previous studies have identified multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling different aspects of disease pathogenesis. However, direct genetic control of cortical motor evoked potentials (cMEPs) as a straightforward measure of extent of demyelination or synaptic block has not been investigated earlier. Here, we examined the genetic control of different traits of EAE in a F2 intercross population generated from the EAE susceptible SJL/J (SJL) and the EAE resistant C57BL/10.S (B10.S) mouse strains involving 400 animals. The genotypes of 150 microsatellite markers were determined in each animal and correlated to phenotypic data of onset and severity of disease, cell infiltration and cMEPs. Nine QTLs were identified. Three sex-linked QTLs mapped to chromosomes 2, 10 and 18 linked to disease severity in females, whereas QTLs on chromosomes 1, 8 and 15 linked to the latency of the cMEPs. QTLs affecting T-lymphocyte, B-lymphocyte and microglia infiltration mapped on chromosomes 8 and 15. The cMEP-associated QTLs correlated with incidence, onset or severity of disease, e.g. QTL on chromosome 8, 32-48 cM (EAE 31) (LOD 6.9, P<0.001), associated to cMEP latencies in non-immunized mice and correlated with disease onset and EAE 32 on chromosome 15 linked to cMEP latencies 15 days post-immunization and correlated with disease severity. Additionally, applying tissue microarray technology, we identified QTLs associated to microglia and lymphocytes infiltration on chromosomes 8 and 15, which are different from the QTLs controlling cMEP latencies. There were no alterations in the morphological appearance of the myelin sheaths. Our findings suggest a possible role of myelin composition and/or synaptic transmission in susceptibility to EA

Performance of a fast fiber based UV/Vis multiwavelength detector for the analytical ultracentrifuge

The optical setup and the performance of a prototype UV/Vis multiwavelength analytical ultracentrifuge (MWL-AUC) is described and compared to the commercially available Optima XL-A from Beckman Coulter. Slight modifications have been made to the optical path of the MWL-AUC. With respect to wavelength accuracy and radial resolution, the new MWL-AUC is found to be comparable to the existing XL-A. Absorbance accuracy is dependent on the light intensity available at the detection wavelength as well as the intrinsic noise of the data. Measurements from single flashes of light are more noisy for the MWL-AUC, potentially due to the absence of flash-to-flash normalization in the current design. However, the possibility of both wavelength and scan averaging can compensate for this and still give much faster scan rates than the XL-A. Some further improvements of the existing design are suggested based on these findings