1,314 research outputs found
Growth laws and self-similar growth regimes of coarsening two-dimensional foams: Transition from dry to wet limits
We study the topology and geometry of two dimensional coarsening foams with
arbitrary liquid fraction. To interpolate between the dry limit described by
von Neumann's law, and the wet limit described by Marqusee equation, the
relevant bubble characteristics are the Plateau border radius and a new
variable, the effective number of sides. We propose an equation for the
individual bubble growth rate as the weighted sum of the growth through
bubble-bubble interfaces and through bubble-Plateau borders interfaces. The
resulting prediction is successfully tested, without adjustable parameter,
using extensive bidimensional Potts model simulations. Simulations also show
that a selfsimilar growth regime is observed at any liquid fraction and
determine how the average size growth exponent, side number distribution and
relative size distribution interpolate between the extreme limits. Applications
include concentrated emulsions, grains in polycrystals and other domains with
coarsening driven by curvature
PROSTHESIS, TECHNOLOGY AND TRAUMA IN THE MACHINIST FETISHES OF OMA'S VILLA AT BORDEAUX
The paper will look at the historical notion of prosthesis through an analysis of Rem Koolhaas’s
1998 House at Floirac where technology becomes the literal and spiritual generator of the space
mediating, through architecture, the uneasy collision between the body and the machine.
Organised around a centralised passenger lift for the wheelchair bound owner of the house, and
enveloped by the associated family spaces, the house is a highly calibrated architectural object
which supplements the body and its internal desires, while at the same time being dependent
upon it for its programmatic completion. In the House at Floirac technology is problematised as
competing internal and external programmes which a spatial conversation between the sky and
ground. The paper will explore the themes embedded in the spatial programme of the House at
Floirac by connecting it with the broader theoretical speculations of OMA and a cultural history
of prosthetics. Read as an extension of Koolhaas’s gendered observations of the architecture of
Manhattan, and eroticised speculations in “Strategy of the Void”, the House at Floirac is
evidence of a much deeper strand in OMA’s work through which technology and the body are
entwined
USING ALGORITHMS TO ANALYSE THE VISUAL PROPERTIES OF A BUILDING’S STYLE
Residential development within heritage conservation areas is regulated by Development
Control Plans (DCP) that provide guidelines about the shape and form that new houses,
alterations and additions should take (DIPNR 2004). By understanding that the visual amenity of
streets within a city plays an important role in creating a sense of place and community for its
citizens (Lynch 1960) they attempt to sustain, through regulation, an urban pattern that has
become valued by the community. The visual character of a building within a streetscape is
often associated with the style of its construction - a set of visual characteristics that a group of
buildings might share. These characteristics include the relationship of the parts of the building
to each other, and to the building as a whole, the use of ornament and visible textures, and the
scale of elements within the composition.
Using algorithms developed within robotic research that enable a computer to interpret a visual
environment (similar to those used in medicine and facial recognition for instance), this paper
outlines how algorithms can be used to study the visual properties of the built environment. One
of the methodological qualities of computer visualisation that makes it so useful for a
comparative visual analysis of buildings is that the representational and symbolic meanings of a
buildings style play no part. The organisation of the elements can be analysed without having to
interpret their possible meaning at the beginning of the process.
This paper builds on an established interdisciplinary approach, utilising architectural knowledge
and computer visualisation to evaluate the visual character of detached housing within a
heritage conservation area. The visual environment is analysed using computer software
developed to locate the visual boundaries within a view of a streetscape both as an elevation
and aerial view
MEASURING ARCHITECTURE: QUESTIONING THE APPLICATION OF NON-LINEAR MATHEMATICS IN THE ANALYSIS OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS
In the late 1970s the mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot argued that natural systems frequently
possess characteristic geometric or visual complexity over multiple scales of observation. This
proposition suggests that systems which have evolved over time may exhibit certain local visual
qualities that also possess deep structural resonance. In mathematics this observation lead to
the formulation of fractal geometry and was central to the rise of the sciences of non-linearity
and complexity.
During the 1990s a number of researchers developed this concept in relation to architectural
design and urban planning and more recently architectural scholars have suggested that such
approaches might be used in the analysis of historic buildings. At the heart of this approach, in
both its theoretical and computational forms, is a set of processes initially developed by Carl
Bovill for analyzing buildings. However, the assumptions implicit in Bovill’s method (itself an
extrapolation of an approach proposed by Mandelbrot) have never been adequately questioned.
The present paper returns to the origins of Bovill’s analytical method to reconsider his original
investigation of key works of 20th century architecture and the way in which Bovill frames images
for analysis. The aim of this analysis is to question several assumptions present in Bovill’s
method about the way in which computer technology is used to understand the visual qualities
of historic buildings
Non-equilibrium Anisotropic Phases, Nucleation and Critical Behavior in a Driven Lennard-Jones Fluid
We describe short-time kinetic and steady-state properties of the
non--equilibrium phases, namely, solid, liquid and gas anisotropic phases in a
driven Lennard-Jones fluid. This is a computationally-convenient
two-dimensional model which exhibits a net current and striped structures at
low temperature, thus resembling many situations in nature. We here focus on
both critical behavior and details of the nucleation process. In spite of the
anisotropy of the late--time spinodal decomposition process, earlier nucleation
seems to proceed by Smoluchowski coagulation and Ostwald ripening, which are
known to account for nucleation in equilibrium, isotropic lattice systems and
actual fluids. On the other hand, a detailed analysis of the system critical
behavior rises some intriguing questions on the role of symmetries; this
concerns the computer and field-theoretical modeling of non-equilibrium fluids.Comment: 7 pages, 9 ps figures, to appear in PR
A Mean-Field Theory for Coarsening Faceted Surfaces
A mean-field theory is developed for the scale-invariant length distributions
observed during the coarsening of one-dimensional faceted surfaces. This theory
closely follows the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner theory of Ostwald ripening in
two-phase systems [1-3], but the mechanism of coarsening in faceted surfaces
requires the addition of convolution terms recalling the work of Smoluchowski
[4] and Schumann [5] on coalescence. The model is solved by the exponential
distribution, but agreement with experiment is limited by the assumption that
neighboring facet lengths are uncorrelated. However, the method concisely
describes the essential processes operating in the scaling state, illuminates a
clear path for future refinement, and offers a framework for the investigation
of faceted surfaces evolving under arbitrary dynamics.
[1] I. Lifshitz, V. Slezov, Soviet Physics JETP 38 (1959) 331-339.
[2] I. Lifshitz, V. Slyozov, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 19 (1961) 35-50.
[3] C. Wagner, Elektrochemie 65 (1961) 581-591.
[4] M. von Smoluchowski, Physikalische Zeitschrift 17 (1916) 557-571.
[5] T. Schumann, J. Roy. Met. Soc. 66 (1940) 195-207
Nonlinear evolution of surface morphology in InAs/AlAs superlattices via surface diffusion
Continuum simulations of self-organized lateral compositional modulation
growth in InAs/AlAs short-period superlattices on InP substrate are presented.
Results of the simulations correspond quantitatively to the results of
synchrotron x-ray diffraction experiments. The time evolution of the
compositional modulation during epitaxial growth can be explained only
including a nonlinear dependence of the elastic energy of the growing epitaxial
layer on its thickness. From the fit of the experimental data to the growth
simulations we have determined the parameters of this nonlinear dependence. It
was found that the modulation amplitude don't depend on the values of the
surface diffusion constants of particular elements.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published in Phys. Rev. Lett.
http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v96/e13610
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Utilizing Surface Area to Volume ratios and Thermal Tolerance of Various Bee Species to Predict their Performance under Rising Global Temperatures
The purpose of this research project is to investigate how rising temperatures, for instance climate change, can affect bees of various body sizes given their essential role in the global food supply through pollination of agricultural crops. To achieve this I utilized 3D imaging and 3D modeling techniques to calculate surface area-to-volume (SA/V) ratios of the bees that otherwise cannot be obtained using conventional methods. SA/V ratios were calculated for 4 different families (Halictidae, Colletidae, Apidae, and Megachilidae) in the order Hymenoptera and were analyzed alongside the bee’s Critical Thermal Maximum (CT Max) data, the maximum heat a bee can withstand before losing mobility, to gain insight on the bee's ability to survive in extreme hot temperatures. It is evident from the data that larger bees, characterized by smaller SA/V ratios, presented a higher CT Max suggesting their greater chance of survival in higher temperatures than smaller bees due to less heat exchange relative to their body size. This data implies that with earth’s rising global temperatures larger bees will likely perform better than smaller bees.This poster was presented at the UCSB Center for Science and Engineering Partnerships (CSEP) summer colloquium in 2023
Elastic buckling and optimization of asymmetric i-cross sections of cold-formed thin-walled beams
Subject of the paper includes two open asymmetric I-cross sections of cold-formed thin-walled beams. The both beams are simply supported and are subjects to pure bending. Every I-section is separately described by dimensionless parameters. Geometric properties with warping functions and inertia moments are determined. The strength, global and local stability conditions are defined for both beams. Mathematical solution of elastic local buckling problem for the flange of I-thin-walled beam is experimentally verified. Optimal open cross section shapes of both beams are determined. The optimization criterion is formulated on the basis of a dimensionless objective function. Optimal open cross sections of both beams are compared with a classical I-section beam.У роботі розглядаються холодноформовані тонкостінні двотаврові балки з відкритими асиметричними поперечними перерізами двох типів. Балки вільно оперті та перебувають в умовах чистого згинання. Переріз кожної з балок описують безрозмірними параметрами, що враховують їх геометрію, моменти інерції та деформацію. Визначені умови міцності, локальної та глобальної стійкості для обох типів балок. Проведено експериментальну перевірку отриманого розв’язку задачі про локальну втрату стійкості полиці двотавра. На основі сформульованого критерію оптимізації, з використанням безрозмірної цільової функції, визначено оптимальні форми поперечних перерізів для обох балок. Отримані оптимальні параметри поперечних перерізів порівняно з класичним двотавровим перерізом.В работе рассматриваются холодноформированные тонкостенные двухтавровые балки открытых асимметричных сечений двух типов. Принимается, что балки свободно опертые и находятся в условиях чистого изгиба. Сечения балок описывают безразмерными параметрами, которые учитывают их геометрию, моменты инерции и деформацию. Исследуются параметры прочности, условия локальной и глобальной устойчивости балок. Проведена экспериментальная проверка полученного математического решения задачи о локальной потере устойчивости полки двухтавра. На основании сформулированного критерия оптимизации, с использованием безразмерной функции цели, определены оптимальные формы поперечных сечений балок. Проведено сравнение полученных оптимальных параметров поперечных сечений с классическим двухтавровым сечением
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