Advances in neutronics and radiological protection of HiPER 4a

The HiPER project, phase 4a, is evolving. In this study we present the progress made in the field of neutronics and radiological protection for an integrated design of the facility. In the current model, we take into account the optical systems inside the target bay, as well as the remote handling requirements and related infrastructure, together with different shields. The last reference irradiation scenario, consisting of 20 MJ of neutron yields, 5 yields per burst, one burst every week and 30 years of expected lifetime is considered for this study. We have performed a characterization of the dose rates behavior in the facility, both during operation and between bursts. The dose rates are computed for workers, regarding to maintenance and handling, and also for optical systems, regarding to damage. Furthermore, we have performed a waste management assessment of all the components inside the target bay. Results indicate that remote maintenance is mandatory in some areas. The small beam penetrations in the shields are responsible for some high doses in some specific locations. With regards to optics, the residual doses are as high as prompt doses. It is found that the whole target bay may be fully managed as a waste in 30 years by recycling and/or clearance, with no need for burial.

Aprendizaje integrado en arquitectura con modelos virtuales : implementación de metodología BIM en la docencia universitaria

Los procesos de diseño y construcción en Arquitectura han mostrado un desarrollo de optimización históricamente muy deficiente cuando se compara con las restantes actividades típicamente industriales. La aspiración constante a una industrialización efectiva, tanto en aras de alcanzar mayores cotas de calidad así como de ahorro de recursos, recibe hoy una oportunidad inmejorable desde el ámbito informático: el Building Information Modelling o BIM. Lo que en un inicio puede parecer meramente un determinado tipo de programa informático, en realidad supone un concepto de “proceso” que subvierte muchas rutinas hoy habituales en el desarrollo de proyectos y construcciones arquitectónicas. La inclusión y desarrollo de datos ligados al proyecto, desde su inicio hasta el fin de su ciclo de vida, conlleva la oportunidad de crear una realidad virtual dinámica y actualizable, que por añadidura posibilita su ensayo y optimización en todos sus aspectos: antes y durante su ejecución, así como vida útil. A ello se suma la oportunidad de transmitir eficientemente los datos completos de proyecto, sin apenas pérdidas o reelaboración, a la cadena de fabricación, lo que facilita el paso a una industrialización verdaderamente significativa en edificación. Ante una llamada mundial a la optimización de recursos y el interés indudable de aumentar beneficios económicos por medio de la reducción del factor de incertidumbre de los procesos, BIM supone un opción de mejora indudable, y así ha sido reconocido a través de la inminente implantación obligatoria por parte de los gobiernos (p. ej. Gran Bretaña en 2016 y España en 2018). La modificación de procesos y roles profesionales que conlleva la incorporación de BIM resulta muy significativa y marcará el ejercicio profesional de los futuros graduados en las disciplinas de Arquitectura, Ingeniería y Construcción (AEC por sus siglas en inglés). La universidad debe responder ágilmente a estas nuevas necesidades incorporando esta metodología en la enseñanza reglada y aportando una visión sinérgica que permita extraer los beneficios formativos subyacentes en el propio marco BIM. En este sentido BIM, al aglutinar el conjunto de datos sobre un único modelo virtual, ofrece un potencial singularmente interesante. La realidad tridimensional del modelo, desarrollada y actualizada continuamente, ofrece al estudiante una gestión radicalmente distinta de la representación gráfica, en la que las vistas parciales de secciones y plantas, tan complejas de asimilar en los inicios de la formación universitaria, resultan en una mera petición a posteriori, para ser extraída según necesidad del modelo virtual. El diseño se realiza siempre sobre el propio modelo único, independientemente de la vista de trabajo elegida en cada momento, permaneciendo los datos y sus relaciones constructivas siempre actualizados y plenamente coherentes. Esta descripción condensada de características de BIM preconfiguran gran parte de las beneficios formativos que ofrecen los procesos BIM, en especial, en referencia al desarrollo del diseño integrado y la gestión de la información (incluyendo TIC). Destacan a su vez las facilidades en comprensión visual de elementos arquitectónicos, sistemas técnicos, sus relaciones intrínsecas así como procesos constructivos. A ello se une el desarrollo experimental que la plataforma BIM ofrece a través de sus software colaborativos: la simulación del comportamiento estructural, energético, económico, entre otros muchos, del modelo virtual en base a los datos inherentes del proyecto. En la presente tesis se describe un estudio de conjunto para explicitar tanto las cualidades como posibles reservas en el uso de procesos BIM, en el marco de una disciplina concreta: la docencia de la Arquitectura. Para ello se ha realizado una revisión bibliográfica general sobre BIM y específica sobre docencia en Arquitectura, así como analizado las experiencias de distintos grupos de interés en el marco concreto de la enseñanza de la en Arquitectura en la Universidad Europea de Madrid. El análisis de beneficios o reservas respecto al uso de BIM se ha enfocado a través de la encuesta a estudiantes y la entrevista a profesionales AEC relacionados o no con BIM. Las conclusiones del estudio permiten sintetizar una implantación de metodología BIM que para mayor claridad y facilidad de comunicación y manejo, se ha volcado en un Marco de Implantación eminentemente gráfico. En él se orienta sobre las acciones docentes para el desarrollo de competencias concretas, valiéndose de la flexibilidad conceptual de los Planes de Estudio en el contexto del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (Declaración de Bolonia) para incorporar con naturalidad la nueva herramienta docente al servicio de los objetivos formativo legalmente establecidos. El enfoque global del Marco de Implementación propuesto facilita la planificación de acciones formativas con perspectiva de conjunto: combinar los formatos puntuales o vehiculares BIM, establecer sinergias transversales y armonizar recursos, de modo que la metodología pueda beneficiar tanto la asimilación de conocimientos y habilidades establecidas para el título, como el propio flujo de aprendizaje o learn flow BIM. Del mismo modo reserva, incluso visualmente, aquellas áreas de conocimiento en las que, al menos en la planificación actual, la inclusión de procesos BIM no se considera ventajosa respecto a otras metodologías, o incluso inadecuadas para los objetivos docentes establecidos. Y es esta última categorización la que caracteriza el conjunto de conclusiones de esta investigación, centrada en: 1. la incuestionable necesidad de formar en conceptos y procesos BIM desde etapas muy iniciales de la formación universitaria en Arquitectura, 2. los beneficios formativos adicionales que aporta BIM en el desarrollo de competencias muy diversas contempladas en el currículum académico y 3. la especificidad del rol profesional del arquitecto que exigirá una implantación cuidadosa y ponderada de BIM que respete las metodologías de desarrollo creativo tradicionalmente efectivas, y aporte valor en una reorientación simbiótica con el diseño paramétrico y fabricación digital que permita un diseño finalmente generativo. ABSTRACT The traditional architectural design and construction procedures have proven to be deficient where process optimization is concerned, particularly when compared to other common industrial activities. The ever‐growing strife to achieve effective industrialization, both in favor of reaching greater quality levels as well as sustainable management of resources, has a better chance today than ever through a mean out of the realm of information technology, the Building Information Modelling o BIM. What may initially seem to be merely another computer program, in reality turns out to be a “process” concept that subverts many of today’s routines in architectural design and construction. Including and working with project data from the very beginning to the end of its full life cycle allows for creating a dynamic and updatable virtual reality, enabling data testing and optimizing throughout: before and during execution, all the way to the end of its lifespan. In addition, there is an opportunity to transmit complete project data efficiently, with hardly any loss or redeveloping of the manufacture chain required, which facilitates attaining a truly significant industrialization within the construction industry. In the presence of a world‐wide call for optimizing resources, along with an undeniable interest in increasing economic benefits through reducing uncertainty factors in its processes, BIM undoubtedly offers a chance for improvement as acknowledged by its imminent and mandatory implementation on the part of governments (for example United Kingdom in 2016 and Spain in 2018). The changes involved in professional roles and procedures upon incorporating BIM are highly significant and will set the course for future graduates of Architecture, Engineering and Construction disciplines (AEC) within their professions. Higher Education must respond to such needs with swiftness by incorporating this methodology into their educational standards and providing a synergetic vision that focuses on the underlying educational benefits inherent in the BIM framework. In this respect, BIM, in gathering data set under one single virtual model, offers a uniquely interesting potential. The three‐dimensional reality of the model, under continuous development and updating, provides students with a radically different graphic environment, in which partial views of elevation, section or plan that tend characteristically to be difficult to assimilate at the beginning of their studies, become mere post hoc requests to be ordered when needed directly out the virtual model. The design is always carried out on the sole model itself, independently of the working view chosen at any particular moment, with all data and data relations within construction permanently updated and fully coherent. This condensed description of the features of BIM begin to shape an important part of the educational benefits posed by BIM processes, particularly in reference to integrated design development and information management (including ITC). At the same time, it highlights the ease with which visual understanding is achieved regarding architectural elements, technology systems, their intrinsic relationships, and construction processes. In addition to this, there is the experimental development the BIM platform grants through its collaborative software: simulation of structural, energetic, and economic behavior, among others, of the virtual model according to the data inherent to the project. This doctoral dissertation presents a broad study including a wide array of research methods and issues in order to specify both the virtues and possible reservations in the use of BIM processes within the framework of a specific discipline: teaching Architecture. To do so, a literature review on BIM has been carried out, specifically concerning teaching in the discipline of Architecture, as well as an analysis of the experience of different groups of interest delimited to Universidad Europea de Madrid. The analysis of the benefits and/or limitations of using BIM has been approached through student surveys and interviews with professionals from the AEC sector, associated or not, with BIM. Various diverse educational experiences are described and academic management for experimental implementation has been analyzed. The conclusions of this study offer a synthesis for a Framework of Implementation of BIM methodology, which in order to reach greater clarity, communication ease and user‐friendliness, have been posed in an eminently graphic manner. The proposed framework proffers guidance on teaching methods conducive to the development of specific skills, taking advantage of the conceptual flexibility of the European Higher Education Area guidelines based on competencies, which naturally facilitate for the incorporation of this new teaching tool to achieve the educational objectives established by law. The global approach of the Implementation Framework put forth in this study facilitates the planning of educational actions within a common perspective: combining exceptional or vehicular BIM formats, establishing cross‐disciplinary synergies, and sharing resources, so as to purport a methodology that contributes to the assimilation of knowledge and pre‐defined competencies within the degree program, and to the flow of learning itself. At the same time, it reserves, even visually, those areas of knowledge in which the use of BIM processes is not considered necessarily an advantage over other methodologies, or even inadequate for the learning outcomes established, at least where current planning is concerned. It is this last category which characterizes the research conclusions as a whole, centering on: 1. The unquestionable need for teaching BIM concepts and processes in Architecture very early on, in the initial stages of higher education; 2. The additional educational benefits that BIM offers in a varied array of competency development within the academic curriculum; and 3. The specific nature of the professional role of the Architect, which demands a careful and balanced implementation of BIM that respects the traditional teaching methodologies that have proven effective and creative, and adds value by a symbiotic reorientation merged with parametric design and digital manufacturing so to enable for a finally generative design.

An integrated framework for office information systems design and management

Information Technologies are complex and this is true even in the smallest piece of equipment. But this kind of complexity is nothing comparejwith the one that arises when this technology interact with society. Office Automation has been traditionally considered as a technical field but there is no way to find solutions from a technical point of view when the problems are primarily social in their origin. Technology management has to change its focus from a pure technical perspective to a sociotechnical point of view. To facilitate this change, we propose a model that allows a better understanding between the managerial and the technical world, offering a coherent, complete and integrated perspective of both. The base for this model is an unfolding of the complexity found in information Technologies and a matching of these complexities with several levels considered within the Office, Office Automation and Human Factors dimensions. Each one of these domains is studied trough a set of distinctions that create a new and powerful understanding of its reality. Using this model we build up a map of Office Automation to be use^not only by managers but also by technicians because the primaty advantage of such a framework is that it allows a comprehensive evaluation of technology without requhing extensive technical knowledge. Thus, the model can be seen as principle for design and diagnosis of Office Automation and as a common reference for managers and specialist avoiding the severe limitations arising from the language used by the last

An integrated approach to conceptual design of arch bridges with curved deck

El concepto de funicularidad se puede extender a estructuras lineales espaciales como, por ejemplo, los puentes arco con tablero curvo. Estas estructuras, especialmente pasarelas peatonales, son consecuencia de la necesidad de encajar trazados exigentes y de dar respuesta a nuevas demandas arquitectónicas. En las estructuras curvas el diseño conceptual juega un papel absolutamente esencial. Siempre ha sido así, pero en el caso presente, cabe resaltar que una errónea elección de la geometría conlleva una serie de problemas que se irán acumulando a lo largo del proceso de proyecto, de la construcción y de la vida de la estructura. En este trabajo se presenta SOFIA (Shaping Optimal Form with an Interactive Approach), una herramienta capaz de, conocida la geometría del tablero, de buscar automáticamente la forma del arco antifunicular correspondiente. El planteamiento seguido es conceptualmente el mismo que el utilizado en la búsqueda de formas óptimas en estructuras en dos dimensiones: el arco antifunicular es el que representa, para unas cargas dadas, el lugar geométrico de los puntos con momento flector nulo. La herramienta ha sido desarrollada en un entorno integrado, interactivo y paramético. Su implementación está ilustrada y unos ejemplos de análisis paramétricos están desarrollados. La posición transversal relativa entre tablero y arco ha sido investigada para obtener la configuración del puente estructuralmente más eficiente. Las pasarelas curvas se han convertido en un problema de ingeniería más común de lo habitual en el contexto de los desarrollos urbanos cuando el cliente está buscando un fuerte componente estético: un diseño conceptual adecuado permite obtener una estructura eficiente y elegante. Spatial arch bridges represent an innovative answer to demands on functionality, structural optimization and aesthetics for curved decks, popular in urban contexts. This thesis presents SOFIA (Shaping Optimal Form with an Interactive Approach), a methodology for conceptual designing of antifunicular spatial arch bridges with curved deck in a parametric, interactive and integrated environment. The approach and its implementation are in-depth described and detailed examples of parametric analyses are illustrated. The optimal deck-arch relative transversal position has been investigated for obtaining the most cost-effective bridge. Curved footbridges have become a more common engineering problem in the context of urban developments when the client is looking for a strong aesthetics component: an appropriate conceptual design allows to obtain an efficient and elegant structure.

Advancements in the design and validation of an air pollution integrated assessment model for Spain

This paper describes the design and application of the Atmospheric Evaluation and Research Integrated model for Spain (AERIS). Currently, AERIS can provide concentration profiles of NO2, O3, SO2, NH3, PM, as a response to emission variations of relevant sectors in Spain. Results are calculated using transfer matrices based on an air quality modelling system (AQMS) composed by the WRF (meteorology), SMOKE (emissions) and CMAQ (atmospheric-chemical processes) models. The AERIS outputs were statistically tested against the conventional AQMS and observations, revealing a good agreement in both cases. At the moment, integrated assessment in AERIS focuses only on the link between emissions and concentrations. The quantification of deposition, impacts (health, ecosystems) and costs will be introduced in the future. In conclusion, the main asset of AERIS is its accuracy in predicting air quality outcomes for different scenarios through a simple yet robust modelling framework, avoiding complex programming and long computing times.

Integrated learning of computer applications for production engineering

A high productivity rate in Engineering is related to an efficient management of the flow of the large quantities of information and associated decision making activities that are consubstantial to the Engineering processes both in design and production contexts. Dealing with such problems from an integrated point of view and mimicking real scenarios is not given much attention in Engineering degrees. In the context of Engineering Education, there are a number of courses designed for developing specific competencies, as required by the academic curricula, but not that many in which integration competencies are the main target. In this paper, a course devoted to that aim is discussed. The course is taught in a Marine Engineering degree but the philosophy could be used in any Engineering field. All the lessons are given in a computer room in which every student can use each all the treated software applications. The first part of the course is dedicated to Project Management: the students acquire skills in defining, using Ms-PROJECT, the work breakdown structure (WBS), and the organization breakdown structure (OBS) in Engineering projects, through a series of examples of increasing complexity, ending up with the case of vessel construction. The second part of the course is dedicated to the use of a database manager, Ms-ACCESS, for managing production related information. A series of increasing complexity examples is treated ending up with the management of the pipe database of a real vessel. This database consists of a few thousand of pipes, for which a production timing frame is defined, which connects this part of the course with the first one. Finally, the third part of the course is devoted to the work with FORAN, an Engineering Production package of widespread use in the shipbuilding industry. With this package, the frames and plates where all the outfitting will be carried out are defined through cooperative work by the studens, working simultaneously in the same 3D model. In the paper, specific details about the learning process are given. Surveys have been posed to the students in order to get feed-back from their experience as well as to assess their satisfaction with the learning process. Results from these surveys are discussed in the paper

Balancing groundwater conservation and rural livelihoods under water and climate uncertainties: An integrated hydro-economic modeling framework

In arid countries worldwide, social conflicts between irrigation-based human development and the conservation of aquatic ecosystems are widespread and attract many public debates. This research focuses on the analysis of water and agricultural policies aimed at conserving groundwater resources and maintaining rurallivelihoods in a basin in Spain's central arid region. Intensive groundwater mining for irrigation has caused overexploitation of the basin's large aquifer, the degradation of reputed wetlands and has given rise to notable social conflicts over the years. With the aim of tackling the multifaceted socio-ecological interactions of complex water systems, the methodology used in this study consists in a novel integration into a common platform of an economic optimization model and a hydrology model WEAP (Water Evaluation And Planning system). This robust tool is used to analyze the spatial and temporal effects of different water and agricultural policies under different climate scenarios. It permits the prediction of different climate and policy outcomes across farm types (water stress impacts and adaptation), at basin's level (aquifer recovery), and along the policies’ implementation horizon (short and long run). Results show that the region's current quota-based water policies may contribute to reduce water consumption in the farms but will not be able to recover the aquifer and will inflict income losses to the rural communities. This situation would worsen in case of drought. Economies of scale and technology are evidenced as larger farms with cropping diversification and those equipped with modern irrigation will better adapt to water stress conditions. However, the long-term sustainability of the aquifer and the maintenance of rurallivelihoods will be attained only if additional policy measures are put in place such as the control of illegal abstractions and the establishing of a water bank. Within the policy domain, the research contributes to the new sustainable development strategy of the EU by concluding that, in water-scarce regions, effective integration of water and agricultural policies is essential for achieving the water protection objectives of the EU policies. Therefore, the design and enforcement of well-balanced region-specific polices is a major task faced by policy makers for achieving successful water management that will ensure nature protection and human development at tolerable social costs. From a methodological perspective, this research initiative contributes to better address hydrological questions as well as economic and social issues in complex water and human systems. Its integrated vision provides a valuable illustration to inform water policy and management decisions within contexts of water-related conflicts worldwide.

An overview of ciao and its design philosophy

We provide an overall description of the Ciao multiparadigm programming system emphasizing some of the novel aspects and motivations behind its design and implementation. An important aspect of Ciao is that, in addition to supporting logic programming (and, in particular, Prolog), it provides the programmer with a large number of useful features from different programming paradigms and styles and that the use of each of these features (including those of Prolog) can be turned on and off at will for each program module. Thus, a given module may be using, e.g., higher order functions and constraints, while another module may be using assignment, predicates, Prolog meta-programming, and concurrency. Furthermore, the language is designed to be extensible in a simple and modular way. Another important aspect of Ciao is its programming environment, which provides a powerful preprocessor (with an associated assertion language) capable of statically finding non-trivial bugs, verifying that programs comply with specifications, and performing many types of optimizations (including automatic parallelization). Such optimizations produce code that is highly competitive with other dynamic languages or, with the (experimental) optimizing compiler, even that of static languages, all while retaining the flexibility and interactive development of a dynamic language. This compilation architecture supports modularity and separate compilation throughout. The environment also includes a powerful autodocumenter and a unit testing framework, both closely integrated with the assertion system. The paper provides an informal overview of the language and program development environment. It aims at illustrating the design philosophy rather than at being exhaustive, which would be impossible in a single journal paper, pointing instead to previous Ciao literature.

On-Chip Thermal Monitoring: Design, Placement and Interconnection of Temperature Sensors

La temperatura es una preocupación que juega un papel protagonista en el diseño de circuitos integrados modernos. El importante aumento de las densidades de potencia que conllevan las últimas generaciones tecnológicas ha producido la aparición de gradientes térmicos y puntos calientes durante el funcionamiento normal de los chips. La temperatura tiene un impacto negativo en varios parámetros del circuito integrado como el retardo de las puertas, los gastos de disipación de calor, la fiabilidad, el consumo de energía, etc. Con el fin de luchar contra estos efectos nocivos, la técnicas de gestión dinámica de la temperatura (DTM) adaptan el comportamiento del chip en función en la información que proporciona un sistema de monitorización que mide en tiempo de ejecución la información térmica de la superficie del dado. El campo de la monitorización de la temperatura en el chip ha llamado la atención de la comunidad científica en los últimos años y es el objeto de estudio de esta tesis. Esta tesis aborda la temática de control de la temperatura en el chip desde diferentes perspectivas y niveles, ofreciendo soluciones a algunos de los temas más importantes. Los niveles físico y circuital se cubren con el diseño y la caracterización de dos nuevos sensores de temperatura especialmente diseñados para los propósitos de las técnicas DTM. El primer sensor está basado en un mecanismo que obtiene un pulso de anchura variable dependiente de la relación de las corrientes de fuga con la temperatura. De manera resumida, se carga un nodo del circuito y posteriormente se deja flotando de tal manera que se descarga a través de las corrientes de fugas de un transistor; el tiempo de descarga del nodo es la anchura del pulso. Dado que la anchura del pulso muestra una dependencia exponencial con la temperatura, la conversión a una palabra digital se realiza por medio de un contador logarítmico que realiza tanto la conversión tiempo a digital como la linealización de la salida. La estructura resultante de esta combinación de elementos se implementa en una tecnología de 0,35 _m. El sensor ocupa un área muy reducida, 10.250 nm2, y consume muy poca energía, 1.05-65.5nW a 5 muestras/s, estas cifras superaron todos los trabajos previos en el momento en que se publicó por primera vez y en el momento de la publicación de esta tesis, superan a todas las implementaciones anteriores fabricadas en el mismo nodo tecnológico. En cuanto a la precisión, el sensor ofrece una buena linealidad, incluso sin calibrar; se obtiene un error 3_ de 1,97oC, adecuado para tratar con las aplicaciones de DTM. Como se ha explicado, el sensor es completamente compatible con los procesos de fabricación CMOS, este hecho, junto con sus valores reducidos de área y consumo, lo hacen especialmente adecuado para la integración en un sistema de monitorización de DTM con un conjunto de monitores empotrados distribuidos a través del chip. Las crecientes incertidumbres de proceso asociadas a los últimos nodos tecnológicos comprometen las características de linealidad de nuestra primera propuesta de sensor. Con el objetivo de superar estos problemas, proponemos una nueva técnica para obtener la temperatura. La nueva técnica también está basada en las dependencias térmicas de las corrientes de fuga que se utilizan para descargar un nodo flotante. La novedad es que ahora la medida viene dada por el cociente de dos medidas diferentes, en una de las cuales se altera una característica del transistor de descarga |la tensión de puerta. Este cociente resulta ser muy robusto frente a variaciones de proceso y, además, la linealidad obtenida cumple ampliamente los requisitos impuestos por las políticas DTM |error 3_ de 1,17oC considerando variaciones del proceso y calibrando en dos puntos. La implementación de la parte sensora de esta nueva técnica implica varias consideraciones de diseño, tales como la generación de una referencia de tensión independiente de variaciones de proceso, que se analizan en profundidad en la tesis. Para la conversión tiempo-a-digital, se emplea la misma estructura de digitalización que en el primer sensor. Para la implementación física de la parte de digitalización, se ha construido una biblioteca de células estándar completamente nueva orientada a la reducción de área y consumo. El sensor resultante de la unión de todos los bloques se caracteriza por una energía por muestra ultra baja (48-640 pJ) y un área diminuta de 0,0016 mm2, esta cifra mejora todos los trabajos previos. Para probar esta afirmación, se realiza una comparación exhaustiva con más de 40 propuestas de sensores en la literatura científica. Subiendo el nivel de abstracción al sistema, la tercera contribución se centra en el modelado de un sistema de monitorización que consiste de un conjunto de sensores distribuidos por la superficie del chip. Todos los trabajos anteriores de la literatura tienen como objetivo maximizar la precisión del sistema con el mínimo número de monitores. Como novedad, en nuestra propuesta se introducen nuevos parámetros de calidad aparte del número de sensores, también se considera el consumo de energía, la frecuencia de muestreo, los costes de interconexión y la posibilidad de elegir diferentes tipos de monitores. El modelo se introduce en un algoritmo de recocido simulado que recibe la información térmica de un sistema, sus propiedades físicas, limitaciones de área, potencia e interconexión y una colección de tipos de monitor; el algoritmo proporciona el tipo seleccionado de monitor, el número de monitores, su posición y la velocidad de muestreo _optima. Para probar la validez del algoritmo, se presentan varios casos de estudio para el procesador Alpha 21364 considerando distintas restricciones. En comparación con otros trabajos previos en la literatura, el modelo que aquí se presenta es el más completo. Finalmente, la última contribución se dirige al nivel de red, partiendo de un conjunto de monitores de temperatura de posiciones conocidas, nos concentramos en resolver el problema de la conexión de los sensores de una forma eficiente en área y consumo. Nuestra primera propuesta en este campo es la introducción de un nuevo nivel en la jerarquía de interconexión, el nivel de trillado (o threshing en inglés), entre los monitores y los buses tradicionales de periféricos. En este nuevo nivel se aplica selectividad de datos para reducir la cantidad de información que se envía al controlador central. La idea detrás de este nuevo nivel es que en este tipo de redes la mayoría de los datos es inútil, porque desde el punto de vista del controlador sólo una pequeña cantidad de datos |normalmente sólo los valores extremos| es de interés. Para cubrir el nuevo nivel, proponemos una red de monitorización mono-conexión que se basa en un esquema de señalización en el dominio de tiempo. Este esquema reduce significativamente tanto la actividad de conmutación sobre la conexión como el consumo de energía de la red. Otra ventaja de este esquema es que los datos de los monitores llegan directamente ordenados al controlador. Si este tipo de señalización se aplica a sensores que realizan conversión tiempo-a-digital, se puede obtener compartición de recursos de digitalización tanto en tiempo como en espacio, lo que supone un importante ahorro de área y consumo. Finalmente, se presentan dos prototipos de sistemas de monitorización completos que de manera significativa superan la características de trabajos anteriores en términos de área y, especialmente, consumo de energía. Abstract Temperature is a first class design concern in modern integrated circuits. The important increase in power densities associated to recent technology evolutions has lead to the apparition of thermal gradients and hot spots during run time operation. Temperature impacts several circuit parameters such as speed, cooling budgets, reliability, power consumption, etc. In order to fight against these negative effects, dynamic thermal management (DTM) techniques adapt the behavior of the chip relying on the information of a monitoring system that provides run-time thermal information of the die surface. The field of on-chip temperature monitoring has drawn the attention of the scientific community in the recent years and is the object of study of this thesis. This thesis approaches the matter of on-chip temperature monitoring from different perspectives and levels, providing solutions to some of the most important issues. The physical and circuital levels are covered with the design and characterization of two novel temperature sensors specially tailored for DTM purposes. The first sensor is based upon a mechanism that obtains a pulse with a varying width based on the variations of the leakage currents on the temperature. In a nutshell, a circuit node is charged and subsequently left floating so that it discharges away through the subthreshold currents of a transistor; the time the node takes to discharge is the width of the pulse. Since the width of the pulse displays an exponential dependence on the temperature, the conversion into a digital word is realized by means of a logarithmic counter that performs both the timeto- digital conversion and the linearization of the output. The structure resulting from this combination of elements is implemented in a 0.35_m technology and is characterized by very reduced area, 10250 nm2, and power consumption, 1.05-65.5 nW at 5 samples/s, these figures outperformed all previous works by the time it was first published and still, by the time of the publication of this thesis, they outnumber all previous implementations in the same technology node. Concerning the accuracy, the sensor exhibits good linearity, even without calibration it displays a 3_ error of 1.97oC, appropriate to deal with DTM applications. As explained, the sensor is completely compatible with standard CMOS processes, this fact, along with its tiny area and power overhead, makes it specially suitable for the integration in a DTM monitoring system with a collection of on-chip monitors distributed across the chip. The exacerbated process fluctuations carried along with recent technology nodes jeop-ardize the linearity characteristics of the first sensor. In order to overcome these problems, a new temperature inferring technique is proposed. In this case, we also rely on the thermal dependencies of leakage currents that are used to discharge a floating node, but now, the result comes from the ratio of two different measures, in one of which we alter a characteristic of the discharging transistor |the gate voltage. This ratio proves to be very robust against process variations and displays a more than suficient linearity on the temperature |1.17oC 3_ error considering process variations and performing two-point calibration. The implementation of the sensing part based on this new technique implies several issues, such as the generation of process variations independent voltage reference, that are analyzed in depth in the thesis. In order to perform the time-to-digital conversion, we employ the same digitization structure the former sensor used. A completely new standard cell library targeting low area and power overhead is built from scratch to implement the digitization part. Putting all the pieces together, we achieve a complete sensor system that is characterized by ultra low energy per conversion of 48-640pJ and area of 0.0016mm2, this figure outperforms all previous works. To prove this statement, we perform a thorough comparison with over 40 works from the scientific literature. Moving up to the system level, the third contribution is centered on the modeling of a monitoring system consisting of set of thermal sensors distributed across the chip. All previous works from the literature target maximizing the accuracy of the system with the minimum number of monitors. In contrast, we introduce new metrics of quality apart form just the number of sensors; we consider the power consumption, the sampling frequency, the possibility to consider different types of monitors and the interconnection costs. The model is introduced in a simulated annealing algorithm that receives the thermal information of a system, its physical properties, area, power and interconnection constraints and a collection of monitor types; the algorithm yields the selected type of monitor, the number of monitors, their position and the optimum sampling rate. We test the algorithm with the Alpha 21364 processor under several constraint configurations to prove its validity. When compared to other previous works in the literature, the modeling presented here is the most complete. Finally, the last contribution targets the networking level, given an allocated set of temperature monitors, we focused on solving the problem of connecting them in an efficient way from the area and power perspectives. Our first proposal in this area is the introduction of a new interconnection hierarchy level, the threshing level, in between the monitors and the traditional peripheral buses that applies data selectivity to reduce the amount of information that is sent to the central controller. The idea behind this new level is that in this kind of networks most data are useless because from the controller viewpoint just a small amount of data |normally extreme values| is of interest. To cover the new interconnection level, we propose a single-wire monitoring network based on a time-domain signaling scheme that significantly reduces both the switching activity over the wire and the power consumption of the network. This scheme codes the information in the time domain and allows a straightforward obtention of an ordered list of values from the maximum to the minimum. If the scheme is applied to monitors that employ TDC, digitization resource sharing is achieved, producing an important saving in area and power consumption. Two prototypes of complete monitoring systems are presented, they significantly overcome previous works in terms of area and, specially, power consumption.

Advances in the Simultaneous Multiple Surface optical design method for imaging and non-imaging applications

Classical imaging optics has been developed over centuries in many areas, such as its paraxial imaging theory and practical design methods like multi-parametric optimization techniques. Although these imaging optical design methods can provide elegant solutions to many traditional optical problems, there are more and more new design problems, like solar concentrator, illumination system, ultra-compact camera, etc., that require maximum energy transfer efficiency, or ultra-compact optical structure. These problems do not have simple solutions from classical imaging design methods, because not only paraxial rays, but also non-paraxial rays should be well considered in the design process. Non-imaging optics is a newly developed optical discipline, which does not aim to form images, but to maximize energy transfer efficiency. One important concept developed from non-imaging optics is the “edge-ray principle”, which states that the energy flow contained in a bundle of rays will be transferred to the target, if all its edge rays are transferred to the target. Based on that concept, many CPC solar concentrators have been developed with efficiency close to the thermodynamic limit. When more than one bundle of edge-rays needs to be considered in the design, one way to obtain solutions is to use SMS method. SMS stands for Simultaneous Multiple Surface, which means several optical surfaces are constructed simultaneously. The SMS method was developed as a design method in Non-imaging optics during the 90s. The method can be considered as an extension to the Cartesian Oval calculation. In the traditional Cartesian Oval calculation, one optical surface is built to transform an input wave-front to an out-put wave-front. The SMS method however, is dedicated to solve more than 1 wave-fronts transformation problem. In the beginning, only 2 input wave-fronts and 2 output wave-fronts transformation problem was considered in the SMS design process for rotational optical systems or free-form optical systems. Usually “SMS 2D” method stands for the SMS procedure developed for rotational optical system, and “SMS 3D” method for the procedure for free-form optical system. Although the SMS method was originally employed in non-imaging optical system designs, it has been found during this thesis that with the improved capability to design more surfaces and control more input and output wave-fronts, the SMS method can also be applied to imaging system designs and possesses great advantage over traditional design methods. In this thesis, one of the main goals to achieve is to further develop the existing SMS-2D method to design with more surfaces and improve the stability of the SMS-2D and SMS-3D algorithms, so that further optimization process can be combined with SMS algorithms. The benefits of SMS plus optimization strategy over traditional optimization strategy will be explained in details for both rotational and free-form imaging optical system designs. Another main goal is to develop novel design concepts and methods suitable for challenging non-imaging applications, e.g. solar concentrator and solar tracker. This thesis comprises 9 chapters and can be grouped into two parts: the first part (chapter 2-5) contains research works in the imaging field, and the second part (chapter 6-8) contains works in the non-imaging field. In the first chapter, an introduction to basic imaging and non-imaging design concepts and theories is given. Chapter 2 presents a basic SMS-2D imaging design procedure using meridian rays. In this chapter, we will set the imaging design problem from the SMS point of view, and try to solve the problem numerically. The stability of this SMS-2D design procedure will also be discussed. The design concepts and procedures developed in this chapter lay the path for further improvement. Chapter 3 presents two improved SMS 3 surfaces’ design procedures using meridian rays (SMS-3M) and skew rays (SMS-1M2S) respectively. The major improvement has been made to the central segments selections, so that the whole SMS procedures become more stable compared to procedures described in Chapter 2. Since these two algorithms represent two types of phase space sampling, their image forming capabilities are compared in a simple objective design. Chapter 4 deals with an ultra-compact SWIR camera design with the SMS-3M method. The difficulties in this wide band camera design is how to maintain high image quality meanwhile reduce the overall system length. This interesting camera design provides a playground for the classical design method and SMS design methods. We will show designs and optical performance from both classical design method and the SMS design method. Tolerance study is also given as the end of the chapter. Chapter 5 develops a two-stage SMS-3D based optimization strategy for a 2 freeform mirrors imaging system. In the first optimization phase, the SMS-3D method is integrated into the optimization process to construct the two mirrors in an accurate way, drastically reducing the unknown parameters to only few system configuration parameters. In the second optimization phase, previous optimized mirrors are parameterized into Qbfs type polynomials and set up in code V. Code V optimization results demonstrates the effectiveness of this design strategy in this 2-mirror system design. Chapter 6 shows an etendue-squeezing condenser optics, which were prepared for the 2010 IODC illumination contest. This interesting design employs many non-imaging techniques such as the SMS method, etendue-squeezing tessellation, and groove surface design. This device has theoretical efficiency limit as high as 91.9%. Chapter 7 presents a freeform mirror-type solar concentrator with uniform irradiance on the solar cell. Traditional parabolic mirror concentrator has many drawbacks like hot-pot irradiance on the center of the cell, insufficient use of active cell area due to its rotational irradiance pattern and small acceptance angle. In order to conquer these limitations, a novel irradiance homogenization concept is developed, which lead to a free-form mirror design. Simulation results show that the free-form mirror reflector has rectangular irradiance pattern, uniform irradiance distribution and large acceptance angle, which confirm the viability of the design concept. Chapter 8 presents a novel beam-steering array optics design strategy. The goal of the design is to track large angle parallel rays by only moving optical arrays laterally, and convert it to small angle parallel output rays. The design concept is developed as an extended SMS method. Potential applications of this beam-steering device are: skylights to provide steerable natural illumination, building integrated CPV systems, and steerable LED illumination. Conclusion and future lines of work are given in Chapter 9. Resumen La óptica de formación de imagen clásica se ha ido desarrollando durante siglos, dando lugar tanto a la teoría de óptica paraxial y los métodos de diseño prácticos como a técnicas de optimización multiparamétricas. Aunque estos métodos de diseño óptico para formación de imagen puede aportar soluciones elegantes a muchos problemas convencionales, siguen apareciendo nuevos problemas de diseño óptico, concentradores solares, sistemas de iluminación, cámaras ultracompactas, etc. que requieren máxima transferencia de energía o dimensiones ultracompactas. Este tipo de problemas no se pueden resolver fácilmente con métodos clásicos de diseño porque durante el proceso de diseño no solamente se deben considerar los rayos paraxiales sino también los rayos no paraxiales. La óptica anidólica o no formadora de imagen es una disciplina que ha evolucionado en gran medida recientemente. Su objetivo no es formar imagen, es maximazar la eficiencia de transferencia de energía. Un concepto importante de la óptica anidólica son los “rayos marginales”, que se pueden utilizar para el diseño de sistemas ya que si todos los rayos marginales llegan a nuestra área del receptor, todos los rayos interiores también llegarán al receptor. Haciendo uso de este principio, se han diseñado muchos concentradores solares que funcionan cerca del límite teórico que marca la termodinámica. Cuando consideramos más de un haz de rayos marginales en nuestro diseño, una posible solución es usar el método SMS (Simultaneous Multiple Surface), el cuál diseña simultáneamente varias superficies ópticas. El SMS nació como un método de diseño para óptica anidólica durante los años 90. El método puede ser considerado como una extensión del cálculo del óvalo cartesiano. En el método del óvalo cartesiano convencional, se calcula una superficie para transformar un frente de onda entrante a otro frente de onda saliente. El método SMS permite transformar varios frentes de onda de entrada en frentes de onda de salida. Inicialmente, sólo era posible transformar dos frentes de onda con dos superficies con simetría de rotación y sin simetría de rotación, pero esta limitación ha sido superada recientemente. Nos referimos a “SMS 2D” como el método orientado a construir superficies con simetría de rotación y llamamos “SMS 3D” al método para construir superficies sin simetría de rotación o free-form. Aunque el método originalmente fue aplicado en el diseño de sistemas anidólicos, se ha observado que gracias a su capacidad para diseñar más superficies y controlar más frentes de onda de entrada y de salida, el SMS también es posible aplicarlo a sistemas de formación de imagen proporcionando una gran ventaja sobre los métodos de diseño tradicionales. Uno de los principales objetivos de la presente tesis es extender el método SMS-2D para permitir el diseño de sistemas con mayor número de superficies y mejorar la estabilidad de los algoritmos del SMS-2D y SMS-3D, haciendo posible combinar la optimización con los algoritmos. Los beneficios de combinar SMS y optimización comparado con el proceso de optimización tradicional se explican en detalle para sistemas con simetría de rotación y sin simetría de rotación. Otro objetivo importante de la tesis es el desarrollo de nuevos conceptos de diseño y nuevos métodos en el área de la concentración solar fotovoltaica. La tesis está estructurada en 9 capítulos que están agrupados en dos partes: la primera de ellas (capítulos 2-5) se centra en la óptica formadora de imagen mientras que en la segunda parte (capítulos 6-8) se presenta el trabajo del área de la óptica anidólica. El primer capítulo consta de una breve introducción de los conceptos básicos de la óptica anidólica y la óptica en formación de imagen. El capítulo 2 describe un proceso de diseño SMS-2D sencillo basado en los rayos meridianos. En este capítulo se presenta el problema de diseñar un sistema formador de imagen desde el punto de vista del SMS y se intenta obtener una solución de manera numérica. La estabilidad de este proceso se analiza con detalle. Los conceptos de diseño y los algoritmos desarrollados en este capítulo sientan la base sobre la cual se realizarán mejoras. El capítulo 3 presenta dos procedimientos para el diseño de un sistema con 3 superficies SMS, el primero basado en rayos meridianos (SMS-3M) y el segundo basado en rayos oblicuos (SMS-1M2S). La mejora más destacable recae en la selección de los segmentos centrales, que hacen más estable todo el proceso de diseño comparado con el presentado en el capítulo 2. Estos dos algoritmos representan dos tipos de muestreo del espacio de fases, su capacidad para formar imagen se compara diseñando un objetivo simple con cada uno de ellos. En el capítulo 4 se presenta un diseño ultra-compacto de una cámara SWIR diseñada usando el método SMS-3M. La dificultad del diseño de esta cámara de espectro ancho radica en mantener una alta calidad de imagen y al mismo tiempo reducir drásticamente sus dimensiones. Esta cámara es muy interesante para comparar el método de diseño clásico y el método de SMS. En este capítulo se presentan ambos diseños y se analizan sus características ópticas. En el capítulo 5 se describe la estrategia de optimización basada en el método SMS-3D. El método SMS-3D calcula las superficies ópticas de manera precisa, dejando sólo unos pocos parámetros libres para decidir la configuración del sistema. Modificando el valor de estos parámetros se genera cada vez mediante SMS-3D un sistema completo diferente. La optimización se lleva a cabo variando los mencionados parámetros y analizando el sistema generado. Los resultados muestran que esta estrategia de diseño es muy eficaz y eficiente para un sistema formado por dos espejos. En el capítulo 6 se describe un sistema de compresión de la Etendue, que fue presentado en el concurso de iluminación del IODC en 2010. Este interesante diseño hace uso de técnicas propias de la óptica anidólica, como el método SMS, el teselado de las lentes y el diseño mediante grooves. Este dispositivo tiene un límite teórica en la eficiencia del 91.9%. El capítulo 7 presenta un concentrador solar basado en un espejo free-form con irradiancia uniforme sobre la célula. Los concentradores parabólicos tienen numerosas desventajas como los puntos calientes en la zona central de la célula, uso no eficiente del área de la célula al ser ésta cuadrada y además tienen ángulos de aceptancia de reducido. Para poder superar estas limitaciones se propone un novedoso concepto de homogeneización de la irrandancia que se materializa en un diseño con espejo free-form. El análisis mediante simulación demuestra que la irradiancia es homogénea en una región rectangular y con mayor ángulo de aceptancia, lo que confirma la viabilidad del concepto de diseño. En el capítulo 8 se presenta un novedoso concepto para el diseño de sistemas afocales dinámicos. El objetivo del diseño es realizar un sistema cuyo haz de rayos de entrada pueda llegar con ángulos entre ±45º mientras que el haz de rayos a la salida sea siempre perpendicular al sistema, variando únicamente la posición de los elementos ópticos lateralmente. Las aplicaciones potenciales de este dispositivo son varias: tragaluces que proporcionan iluminación natural, sistemas de concentración fotovoltaica integrados en los edificios o iluminación direccionable con LEDs. Finalmente, el último capítulo contiene las conclusiones y las líneas de investigación futura.

Integrated robust airline schedule development

In air transportation, airline profitability is influenced by the airline's ability to build flight schedules. In order to generate operational schedules, airlines engage in a complex decision-making process, referred to as airline schedule planning. Up to now, the generation of flight schedules has been separated and optimized sequentially. The schedule design has been traditionally decomposed into two sequential steps. The frequency planning and the timetable development. The purpose of the second problem of schedule development, fleet assignment, is to assign available aircraft types to flight legs such that seating capacity on an assigned aircraft matches closely with flight demand and such that costs are minimized. Our work integrates these planning phases into one single model in order to produce more economical solutions and create fewer incompatibilities between the decisions. We propose an integrated robust approach for the schedule development step. We design the timetable ensuring that enough time is available to perform passengers’ flight connections, making the system robust avoiding misconnected passengers. An application of the model for a simplified IBERIA network is shown.

Novel lateral moving tracking optics with the SMS design method

Lateral moving optics along straight path has already been studied in the past. However, their relative small angular range can be a limitation to potential applications. In this work, a new design concept of SMS moving optics is developed, in which the movement is no longer lateral but follows a curved trajectory, which is calculated in the design process. We have chosen an afocal system, which aim to direct the parallel rays of large incident angles to parallel output rays, and we have obtained that the RMS of the divergence angle of the output rays remains below 1 degree within a input angular range of ±45 output. Potential applications of this beam-steering device are: skylights to provide steerable natural illumination, building integrated CPV systems, and steerable LED illumination.

Control of integrated unit operations

As a thermal separation method, distillation is one of the most important technologies in the chemical industry. Given its importance, it is no surprise that increasing efforts have been made in reducing its energy inefficiencies. A great deal of research is focused in the design and optimization of the Divided-Wall Column. Its applications are still reduced due to distrust of its controllability. Previous references studied the decentralized control of DWC but still few papers deal about Model Predictive Control. In this work we present a decentralized control of both a DWC column along with its equivalent MPC schema.

Integration of Correlation Processes in Design Systems.

The integration of correlation processes in design systems has as a target measurements in 3D directly and according to the users criteria in order to generate the required database for the development of the project. In the phase of photogrammetric works, internal and external orientation parameters are calculated and stereo models are created from standard images. The aforementioned are integrated in the system where the measurement of the selected items is done by applying developed correlation algorithms. The processing period has the tools to carry out the calculations in an easy and automatic way, as well as image measurement techniques to acquire the most correct information. The proposed software development is done on Visual Studio platforms for PC, applying the most apt codes and symbols according to the terms of reference required for the design. The results of generating the data base in an interactive way with the geometric study of the structures, facilitates and improves the quality of the works in the projects.

Optimización de la composición del hueco de fachada en materia de eficiencia energética. Propuesta de indicador como herramienta para el análisis integral del elemento acristalado = Energy performance optimization of window systems. Proposal of an indicator as a tool for an integrated analysis of glazing

La hipótesis de esta tesis es: "La optimización de la ventana considerando simultáneamente aspectos energéticos y aspectos relativos a la calidad ambiental interior (confort higrotérmico, lumínico y acústico) es compatible, siempre que se conozcan y consideren las sinergias existentes entre ellos desde las primeras fases de diseño". En la actualidad se desconocen las implicaciones de muchas de las decisiones tomadas en torno a la ventana; para que su eficiencia en relación a todos los aspectos mencionados pueda hacerse efectiva es necesaria una herramienta que aporte más información de la actualmente disponible en el proceso de diseño, permitiendo así la optimización integral, en función de las circunstancias específicas de cada proyecto. En la fase inicial de esta investigación se realiza un primer acercamiento al tema, a través del estado del arte de la ventana; analizando la normativa existente, los componentes, las prestaciones, los elementos experimentales y la investigación. Se observa que, en ocasiones, altos requisitos de eficiencia energética pueden suponer una disminución de las prestaciones del sistema en relación con la calidad ambiental interior, por lo que surge el interés por integrar al análisis energético aspectos relativos a la calidad ambiental interior, como son las prestaciones lumínicas y acústicas y la renovación de aire. En este punto se detecta la necesidad de realizar un estudio integral que incorpore los distintos aspectos y evaluar las sinergias que se dan entre las distintas prestaciones que cumple la ventana. Además, del análisis de las soluciones innovadoras y experimentales se observa la dificultad de determinar en qué medida dichas soluciones son eficientes, ya que son soluciones complejas, no caracterizadas y que no están incorporadas en las metodologías de cálculo o en las bases de datos de los programas de simulación. Por lo tanto, se plantea una segunda necesidad, generar una metodología experimental para llevar a cabo la caracterización y el análisis de la eficiencia de sistemas innovadores. Para abordar esta doble necesidad se plantea la optimización mediante una evaluación del elemento acristalado que integre la eficiencia energética y la calidad ambiental interior, combinando la investigación teórica y la investigación experimental. En el ámbito teórico, se realizan simulaciones, cálculos y recopilación de información de distintas tipologías de hueco, en relación con cada prestación de forma independiente (acústica, iluminación, ventilación). A pesar de haber partido con un enfoque integrador, resulta difícil esa integración detectándose una carencia de herramientas disponible. En el ámbito experimental se desarrolla una metodología para la evaluación del rendimiento y de aspectos ambientales de aplicación a elementos innovadores de difícil valoración mediante la metodología teórica. Esta evaluación consiste en el análisis comparativo experimental entre el elemento innovador y un elemento estándar; para llevar a cabo este análisis se han diseñado dos espacios iguales, que denominamos módulos de experimentación, en los que se han incorporado los dos sistemas; estos espacios se han monitorizado, obteniéndose datos de consumo, temperatura, iluminancia y humedad relativa. Se ha realizado una medición durante un periodo de nueve meses y se han analizado y comparado los resultados, obteniendo así el comportamiento real del sistema. Tras el análisis teórico y el experimental, y como consecuencia de esa necesidad de integrar el conocimiento existente se propone una herramienta de evaluación integral del elemento acristalado. El desarrollo de esta herramienta se realiza en base al procedimiento de diagnóstico de calidad ambiental interior (CAI) de acuerdo con la norma UNE 171330 “Calidad ambiental en interiores”, incorporando el factor de eficiencia energética. De la primera parte del proceso, la parte teórica y el estado del arte, se obtendrán los parámetros que son determinantes y los valores de referencia de dichos parámetros. En base a los parámetros relevantes obtenidos se da forma a la herramienta, que consiste en un indicador de producto para ventanas que integra todos los factores analizados y que se desarrolla según la Norma UNE 21929 “Sostenibilidad en construcción de edificios. Indicadores de sostenibilidad”. ABSTRACT The hypothesis of this thesis is: "The optimization of windows considering energy and indoor environmental quality issues simultaneously (hydrothermal comfort, lighting comfort, and acoustic comfort) is compatible, provided that the synergies between these issues are known and considered from the early stages of design ". The implications of many of the decisions made on this item are currently unclear. So that savings can be made, an effective tool is needed to provide more information during the design process than the currently available, thus enabling optimization of the system according to the specific circumstances of each project. The initial phase deals with the study from an energy efficiency point of view, performing a qualitative and quantitative analysis of commercial, innovative and experimental windows. It is observed that sometimes, high-energy efficiency requirements may mean a reduction in the system's performance in relation to user comfort and health, that's why there is an interest in performing an integrated analysis of indoor environment aspects and energy efficiency. At this point a need for a comprehensive study incorporating the different aspects is detected, to evaluate the synergies that exist between the various benefits that meet the window. Moreover, from the analysis of experimental and innovative windows, a difficulty in establishing to what extent these solutions are efficient is observed; therefore, there is a need to generate a methodology for performing the analysis of the efficiency of the systems. Therefore, a second need arises, to generate an experimental methodology to perform characterization and analysis of the efficiency of innovative systems. To address this dual need, the optimization of windows by an integrated evaluation arises, considering energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality, combining theoretical and experimental research. In the theoretical field, simulations and calculations are performed; also information about the different aspects of indoor environment (acoustics, lighting, ventilation) is gathered independently. Despite having started with an integrative approach, this integration is difficult detecting lack available tools. In the experimental field, a methodology for evaluating energy efficiency and indoor environment quality is developed, to be implemented in innovative elements which are difficult to evaluate using a theoretical methodology This evaluation is an experimental comparative analysis between an innovative element and a standard element. To carry out this analysis, two equal spaces, called experimental cells, have been designed. These cells have been monitored, obtaining consumption, temperature, luminance and relative humidity data. Measurement has been performed during nine months and results have been analyzed and compared, obtaining results of actual system behavior. To advance this optimization, windows have been studied from the point of view of energy performance and performance in relation to user comfort and health: thermal comfort, acoustic comfort, lighting comfort and air quality; proposing the development of a methodology for an integrated analysis including energy efficiency and indoor environment quality. After theoretical and experimental analysis and as a result of the need to integrate existing knowledge, a comprehensive evaluation procedure for windows is proposed. This evaluation procedure is developed according to the UNE 171330 "Indoor Environmental Quality", also incorporating energy efficiency and cost as factors to evaluate. From the first part of the research process, outstanding parameters are chosen and reference values of these parameters are set. Finally, based on the parameters obtained, an indicator is proposed as windows product indicator. The indicator integrates all factors analyzed and is developed according to ISO 21929-1:2011"Sustainability in building construction. Sustainability indicators. Part 1: Framework for the development of indicators and a core set of indicators for buildings".