The development of a CFD based simulator for water mist suppression systems: the development of the fire submodel

The FIRE Detection and Suppression Simulation (FIREDASS) project was concerned with the development of water misting systems as a possible replacement for halon based fire suppression systems currently used in aircraft cargo holds and ship engine rooms. As part of this program of work, a computational model was developed to assist engineers optimize the design of water mist suppression systems. The model is based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and comprised of the following components: fire model; mist model; two-phase radiation model; suppression model; detector/activation model. In this paper the FIREDASS software package is described and the theory behind the fire and radiation sub-models is detailed. The fire model uses prescribed release rates for heat and gaseous combustion products to represent the fire load. Typical release rates have been determined through experimentation. The radiation model is a six-flux model coupled to the gas (and mist) phase. As part of the FIREDASS project, a detailed series of fire experiments were conducted in order to validate the fire model. Model predictions are compared with data from these experiments and good agreement is found.

The development of parallel implementation for a CFD based fire field model utilising conventional office based PCs

Parallel processing techniques have been used in the past to provide high performance computing resources for activities such as fire-field modelling. This has traditionally been achieved using specialized hardware and software, the expense of which would be difficult to justify for many fire engineering practices. In this article we demonstrate how typical office-based PCs attached to a Local Area Network has the potential to offer the benefits of parallel processing with minimal costs associated with the purchase of additional hardware or software. It was found that good speedups could be achieved on homogeneous networks of PCs, for example a problem composed of ~100,000 cells would run 9.3 times faster on a network of 12 800MHz PCs than on a single 800MHz PC. It was also found that a network of eight 3.2GHz Pentium 4 PCs would run 7.04 times faster than a single 3.2GHz Pentium computer. A dynamic load balancing scheme was also devised to allow the effective use of the software on heterogeneous PC networks. This scheme also ensured that the impact between the parallel processing task and other computer users on the network was minimized.

Reflective practice: the enduring influence of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory

Since 1984 David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) has been a leading influence in the development of learner-centred pedagogy in management and business. It forms the basis of Kolb’s own Learning Styles’ Inventory and those of other authors including Honey and Mumford (2000). It also provides powerful underpinning for the emphasis, nay insistence, on reflection as a way of learning and the use of reflective practice in the preparation of students for business and management and other professions. In this paper, we confirm that Kolb’s ELT is still the most commonly cited source used in relation to reflective practice. Kolb himself continues to propound its relevance to teaching and learning in general. However, we also review some of the criticisms that ELT has attracted over the years and advance new criticisms that challenge its relevance to higher education and its validity as a model for formal, intentional learning.

The eLIDA CAMEL nomadic model of collaborative partnership for a community of practice in design for learning

A nomadic collaborative partnership model for a community of practice (CoP) in Design for Learning (D4L) can facilitate successful innovation and continuing appraisals of effective professional practice, stimulated by a 'critical friend' assigned to the project. This paper reports on e-learning case studies collected by the JISC-funded UK eLIDA CAMEL Design for Learning Project. The project implemented and evaluated learning design (LD) tools in higher and further education within the JISC Design for Learning pedagogic programme (2006-07). Project partners trialled professional user evaluations of innovative e-learning tools with learning design function, collecting D4L case studies and LD sequences in post-16/HE contexts using LAMS and Moodle. The project brought together learning activity sequences within a collaborative e-learning community of practice based on the CAMEL (Collaborative Approaches to the Management of e-Learning) model, contributing to international D4L developments. This paper provides an overview of project outputs in e-learning innovations, including evaluations from teachers and students. The paper explores intentionality in the development of a CoP in design for learning, reporting on trials of LD and social software that bridged tensions between formalised intra-institutional e-learning relationships and inter-institutional professional project team dynamic D4L practitioner interactions. Following a brief report of D4L case studies and feedback, the catalytic role of the 'critical friend' is highlighted and recommended as a key ingredient in the successful development of a nomadic model of communities of practice for managing professional e-learning projects. eLIDA CAMEL Partners included the Association of Learning Technology (ALT), JISC infoNet, three universities and five FE/Sixth Form Colleges. Results reported to JISC demonstrated D4L e-learning innovations by practitioners, illuminated by the role of the 'critical friend'. The project also benefited from formal case study evaluations and the leading work of ALT and JISC infoNet in the development of the CAMEL model.