Probabilistic approach for longitudinal ventilation system design in fire situations

The main objective of ventilation systems in tunnels is to reach the highest possible safety level both in service and fire situation; being the fire one, the most relevant when designing the system. When designing a longitudinal ventilation system, the methodology to evaluate the capacity of the system is similar both in service and fire situation, with the exception of the chimney effect and the phenomena of thermal transfer which is responsible or the changes in the density of the air. When facing the dimensioning task for longitudinal ventilated tunnels, although similar methodologies are used in different countries, specific hypothesis (aerodynamic, thermal properties, traffic) even if discussed in the literature or current practice, are not usually detailed in the regulations or recommendations. The aim of this paper is to propose a probabilistic approach to the problem which would allow the designer, and the tunnel owner, to understand the uncertainty and sensibility adopted in the results and, eventually, identify possible ways of optimizing the ventilation solution to be adopted.

Towards an Active Design. An Approach on the Body Interaction with the Built Environment.

El impacto de la tecnología en el ambiente construido y en las actividades en él desarrolladas, es una de las causas de la progresiva sedentarización de la especie humana. Desde un enfoque que analiza la interacción del cuerpo con la arquitectura, a través de distintas referencias en escalas diversas, esta investigación intenta establecer la relación entre la evolución del ambiente pasivo y la sedentarización, proponiendo frente a un espacio mecanizado y digitalizado que disminuye la actividad física humana, la búsqueda de nuevos tipos de espacios arquitectónicos que promuevan el movimiento repercutiendo en el bienestar y la salud. Esta tesis estudia por tanto el impacto de la tecnología en el espacio, intentando aproximarse a estrategias que disminuyan el efecto pasivo y estimulen la actividad motora. Estas propuestas abarcan tanto la ciudad, como la edificación y el propio espacio doméstico afectando a los sistemas de circulación, a la configuración espacial y sobre todo a la incorporación de ”espacios activos”, en donde se contempla la posibilidad de un uso alternativo de la tecnología como un elemento positivo.

Design of Reinforcement in Concrete Shells: a unified Approach

The problem of design/verification of reinforcement in concrete shells is reviewed. Methods of analysis are classified, and the elastic-plastic approach is described in detail in the general case of shells subjected to both bending and membrane action. The procedure is then reduced to membrane shells (applicable also to concrete walls) and to pure bending, as in the case of plates. The procedure, which is based on previous research,generally requires the use of a desk-top computer.

A system of systems engineering approach to design new smarter and energy efficient products

The concept of smartness of energy efficient products and systems from a business perspective has been investigated by several authors. The problem of understanding, designing, engineering and governing these technologies requires new concepts. The emergence of these modern technologies causes a myriad of interconnected systems, which are working together to satisfy the necessities of modern life. The problem of understanding, designing, engineering, and governing these technologies requires new concepts. Development of System of System Engineering (SoSE) is an attempt by the systems engineering and science community to fulfill this requirement.

Library of libraries: approach to synthetic combinatorial library design and screening of "pharmacophore" motifs.

Construction of synthetic combinatorial libraries is described that allows for the generation of a library of motifs rather than a library of compounds. Peptide libraries based on this strategy were synthesized and screened with model targets streptavidin and anti-beta-endorphin antibody. The screens resulted in observation of expected motifs providing evidence of the effectiveness of the suggested approach.

Modified PNA design and synthesis: a novel approach using Molecular Dynamics and Metadynamics

Gli acidi peptido nucleici sono potenti strumenti utilizzati in ambito biotecnologico per colpire DNA o RNA. PNA contenenti basi o backbone modificati sono attualmente studiati per migliorarne le proprietà in ambito biologico. Bersagliare i micro RNA (anti-miR) è particolarmente interessante nell’ottica di future applicazioni terapeutiche, ma strumenti computazionali che aiutino nel design di nuovi PNA anti-miR non sono stati ancora completamente sviluppati. Le proprietà conformazionali del singolo filamento di PNA (non modificato o recante modificazioni in γ) e dei duplex PNA:RNA e i processi di re-annealing e melting sono stati studiati tramite Dinamica Molecolare e Metadinamica. L’approccio computazionale consolidato, assieme a un programma modificato per la generazione delle strutture dei duplex contenenti PNA, è stato utilizzato per il virtual screening di PNA contenenti basi modificate. Sono state inoltre sintetizzate le unità per l’ottenimento del composto più promettente e una funzione idrolitica da legare al monomero finale.

A novel hybrid simulation-optimization approach for the optimal design of multicomponent distillation columns

Póster presentado en Escape 22, European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering, University College London, UK, 17-20 June 2012.

A hybrid simulation-optimization approach for the design of internally heat-integrated distillation columns

Paper submitted to AIChE 2012 Annual Meeting: Energy Efficiency by Process Intensification, Pittsburgh, PA, October 28-November 2, 2012.

Hybrid simulation-optimization based approach for the optimal design of single-product biotechnological processes

In this work, we present a systematic method for the optimal development of bioprocesses that relies on the combined use of simulation packages and optimization tools. One of the main advantages of our method is that it allows for the simultaneous optimization of all the individual components of a bioprocess, including the main upstream and downstream units. The design task is mathematically formulated as a mixed-integer dynamic optimization (MIDO) problem, which is solved by a decomposition method that iterates between primal and master sub-problems. The primal dynamic optimization problem optimizes the operating conditions, bioreactor kinetics and equipment sizes, whereas the master levels entails the solution of a tailored mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model that decides on the values of the integer variables (i.e., number of equipments in parallel and topological decisions). The dynamic optimization primal sub-problems are solved via a sequential approach that integrates the process simulator SuperPro Designer® with an external NLP solver implemented in Matlab®. The capabilities of the proposed methodology are illustrated through its application to a typical fermentation process and to the production of the amino acid L-lysine.

Truck lane needs methodology: a heuristic approach to solve a five option discrete network design problem. Interim report.

Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, Transportation Planning Division, Austin

A systematic approach to the design of structures for arithmetic /

"NSF-MCS-80-00058"--Cover.

Development of an analytical approach to highway barrier design and evaluation.

"The Bureau of Physical Research has prepared this report primarily from two reports submitted by Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory... 'Summary report of highway barrier analysis and test program' July 1961, and 'Analysis and prediction of the performance of highway barrier' October 1962."

CANDE : a modern approach for the structural design and analysis of buried culverts /

Mode of access: Internet.

Participatory approach for the identification of dairy industry needs in the design of research, development and extension actions: Australian and Brazilian case studies

In both Australia and Brazil there are rapid changes occurring in the macroenvironment of the dairy industry. These changes are sometimes not noticed in the microenvironment of the farm, due to the labour-intensive nature of family farms, and the traditionally weak links between production and marketing. Trends in the external environment need to be discussed in a cooperative framework, to plan integrated actions for the dairy community as a whole and to demand actions from research, development and extension (R, D & E). This paper reviews the evolution of R, D & E in terms of paradigms and approaches, the present strategies used to identify dairy industry needs in Australia and Brazil, and presents a participatory strategy to design R, D & E actions for both countries. The strategy incorporates an integration of the opinions of key industry actors ( defined as members of the dairy and associated communities), especially farm suppliers ( input market), farmers, R, D & E people, milk processors and credit providers. The strategy also uses case studies with farm stays, purposive sampling, snowball interviewing techniques, semi-structured interviews, content analysis, focus group meetings, and feedback analysis, to refine the priorities for R, D & E actions in the region.