Design and assessment of a large commercial Photovoltaic System in Barbados

One of the main aims of this thesis is to design an optimized commercial Photovoltaic (PV) system in Barbados from several variables such as racking type, module type and inverter type based on practicality, technical performance as well as financial returns to the client. Detailed simulations are done in PVSYST and financial models are used to compare different systems and their viability. Once the preeminent system is determined from a financial and performance perspective a detailed design is done using PVSYST and AutoCAD to design the most optimal PV system for the customer. In doing so, suitable engineering drawings are generated which are detailed enough for construction of the system. Detailed cost with quotes from relevant manufacturers, suppliers and estimators become instrumental in determining Balance of System Costs in addition to total project cost. The final simulated system is suggested with a PV capacity of 425kW and an inverter output of 300kW resulting in an array oversizing of 1.42. The PV system has a weighted Performance Ratio of 77 %, a specific yield of 1467 kWh/kWp and a projected annual production of 624 MWh/yr. This system is estimated to offset approximately 28 % of Carlton’s electrical load annually. Over the course of 20 years the PV system is projected to produce electricity at a cost of $0.201USD/kWh which is significantly lower than the $0.35 USD/kWh paid to the utility at the time of writing this thesis. Due to the high cost of electricity on the island, an attractive Feed-In-Tariff is not necessary to warrant the installation of a commercial System which over a lifetime which produces electricity at less than 60% of the cost to the user purchasing electricity from the utility. A simple payback period of 5.4 years, a return on investment of 17 % without incentives, in addition to an estimated diversion of 6840 barrels of oil or 2168 tonnes of CO2 further provides compelling justification for the installation of a commercial Photovoltaic System not only on Carlton A-1 Supermarket, but also island wide as well as regionally where most electricity supplies are from imported fossil fuels.

Finite element analysis of the influence of geometry and design of zirconia crowns on stress distribution

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of the geometry and design of prosthetic crown preparations on stress distribution in compression tests, using finite element analysis (FEA). Materials and Methods: Six combinations of 3D drawings of all-ceramic crowns (yttria-stabilized zirconia framework and porcelain veneer) were evaluated: F, flat preparation and simplified crown; FC, flat preparation and crown with contact point; FCM, flat preparation and modified crown; A, anatomical preparation and simplified anatomical crown framework; AC, anatomical preparation and crown with contact point; and ACM, anatomical preparation and modified crown. Bonded contact types at all interfaces with the mesh were assigned, and the material properties used were according to the literature. A 200 N vertical load was applied at the center of each model. The maximum principal stresses were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. Results: The highest values of tensile stress were observed at the interface between the ceramics in the region under the load application for the simplified models (F and A). Reductions in stress values were observed for the model with the anatomical preparation and modified infrastructure (ACM). The stress distribution in the flat models was similar to that of their respective anatomical models. Conclusions: The modified design of the zirconia coping reduces the stress concentration at the interface with the veneer ceramic, and the simplified preparation can exert a stress distribution similar to that of the anatomical preparation at and near the load point, when load is applied to the center of the crown.

Design Participativo para a Sustentabilidade: desenvolvimento de painéis modulares para fechamentos, utilizando bambu associado com terra e resíduos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A representação gráfica na Revista Projeto & Design.

Esta pesquisa inicia-se pelo estudo das diferentes maneiras de representação de um projeto arquitetônico: desenhos analógicos e digitais, desenhos naturais e técnicos, desenhos auxiliados por computador, maquetes físicas e modelos digitais. Teve como objetivo analisar a representação gráfica utilizada nas publicações de obras arquitetônicas em mídias impressas especializadas, tendo sido selecionada a Revista Projeto & Design como estudo de caso. Com este estudo foi possível, por meio de bibliometria gráfica, verificar as contribuições das representações na compreensão e leitura dos projetos arquitetônicos, elencando-se e exemplificando-se as tipologias de imagens utilizadas nas últimas décadas, bem como relacionar os resultados com o momento histórico em que foram projetadas ou publicadas.

Are drawings dead? …and performance over aesthetics?

When the act of 'drawing' became what can only be called formalised, (whose growth can be said to have blossomed during the Renaissance), there developed a separation between the drawing and its procurement. Recently, David Ross Scheer, in his book ‘The Death of Drawing, Architecture in the Age of Simulation’ wrote: ‘…whereas architectural drawings exist to represent construction, architectural simulations exist to anticipate building performance.’ Meanwhile, Paolo Belardi, in his work ‘Why Architects Still Draw’ likens a drawing to an acorn, where he says: ‘It is the paradox of the acorn: a project emerges from a drawing – even from a sketch, rough and inchoate - just as an oak tree emerges from an acorn.’ He tells us that Giorgio Vasari would work late at night ‘seeking to solve the problems of perspective’ and he makes a passionate plea that this reflective process allows the concept to evolve, grow and/or develop. However, without belittling Belardi, the virtual model now needs this self-same treatment where it is nurtured, coaxed and encouraged to be the inchoate blueprint of the resultant oak tree. The model now too can embrace the creative process going through the first phase of preparation, where it focuses on the problem. The manipulation of the available material can then be incubated so that it is reasoned and generates feedback. This paper serves to align this shift in perception, methodologies and assess whether the 2D paper abstraction still has a purpose and role in today’s digital world!

Drawings, Military construction: Army and Air Force.

At head of title: Engineering and design.

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1991-1994

[Early Conceptual Sketches], untitled. Ink sketches on reverse of "La Valencia Hotel" memo pad paper, 3 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1991-1994

[Early Conceptual Sketches], untitled. Ink sketches on steno pad paper, initialed, 6x9 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1991-1994

[Conceptual Sketch], untitled. Blue ink sketch on tracing paper, initialed, 12x24 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1991-1994

[Conceptual Sketch of Fountain], untitled. Ink sketch on tracing paper with blue marker coloring, 7 1/2 x 12 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1991-1994

[Conceptual Sketch of Fountain], untitled. Ink sketch on tracing paper with blue marker coloring, 10x12 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1991-1994

Competition Drawing of Design Concept. Ink drawing on tracing paper, initialed, 11x17 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1991-1994

Competition Drawing of Grand Atrium Hall. Ink drawing on tracing paper, initialed, 11x17 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1991-1994

Competition Drawing of Grand Atrium Hall, Permanent Collection Gallery and Changing Exhibition Gallery. Ink drawing on tracing paper, initialed, 11x17 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, 1991-1994

Competition Drawing of [Floor Plan], untitled. Ink drawing on tracing paper, initialed, 11x17 inches [from photographic copy by Lance Burgharrdt]