Search results for "Design"
showing 10 items of 5885 documents
Benefits of Refurbishment
2013
Energy and environmental performances of buildings strictly depend on many factors related to the choice of construction materials, HVAC plants and equipment, design, installation and use. By definition, a building interacts closely with its environment. The interactions between building and climate, plants and users have to be taken into account. This aspect is evident in new buildings design process, but it is even more important in the design phase of an existing building renovation, during which actions of energy saving are developed. This chapter summarises the results of the energy and environmental assessment of a set of retrofit actions implemented in the framework of the EU Project…
Elia Ovazza, Professor of TMM in Palermo Around the End of the 19th Century
2015
In this paper, the figure of Elia Ovazza, professor of TMM in Palermo around the end of the 19th century, is presented, along with his valuable legacy in regard to his activities in teaching, research, design and technology transfer. Short biographical notes outline his foremost life events and an illustrated survey explains his contributions.
Specifying Patterns for Mobile Application Domain Using General Architectural Components
2005
Software companies adopt patterns as a means to improve architecture and design practices. During recent years, the application of patterns has extended from general software applications to specific problem domains. In a new domain, suitable patterns fitting to the essential design problems in the new context need to be identified. In this paper, we introduce a general architectural model of mobile applications, which can be used to identify and organise essential patterns in mobile-application design process. This model is employed to construct a high-level architecture of a particular application. For each component of the architecture, the model may suggest candidate patterns that can b…
Bending-Shear interaction domains for externally prestressed concrete girders
2013
In prestressed concrete structures, the evaluation of the safety level is generally carried out by separating the bending moment strength and the shear force capacity. Actually interaction between bending moment (M) and shear force (V) can have significant consequences on evaluations in service life, especially when the ultimate limit state (ULS) is considered. In this paper, the M-V interaction is addressed for prestressed concrete girders, in the cases of both bonded and unbonded prestressing tendons. It can be demonstrated, by drawing the interaction domains (M-V), that a significant reduction of the safety level has to be considered when shear force is evaluated together with bending mo…
Increasing the Capacity of Existing Bridges by Using Unbonded Prestressing Technology: A Case Study
2014
External posttensioning or unbonded prestressing was found to be a powerful tool for retrofitting and for increasing the life extension of existing structures. Since the 1950s, this technique of reinforcement was applied with success to bridge structures in many countries, and was found to provide an efficient and economic solution for a wide range of bridge types and conditions. Unbonded prestressing is defined as a system in which the post-tensioning tendons or bars are located outside the concrete cross-section and the prestressing forces are transmitted to the girder through the end anchorages, deviators, or saddles. In response to the demand for a faster and more efficient transportati…
H∞ fuzzy control of DC-DC converters with input constraint
2012
Published version of an article in the journal: Mathematical Problems in Engineering. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/973082 Open access This paper proposes a method for designing H∞ fuzzy control of DC-DC converters under actuator saturation. Because linear control design methods do not take into account the nonlinearity of the system, a T-S fuzzy model and a controller design approach is used. The designed control not only handles the external disturbance but also the saturation of duty cycle. The input constraint is first transformed into a symmetric saturation which is represented by a polytopic model. Stabilization conditions for the H∞ state feedba…
Modular, customisable, accomodation-friendly antenna system for satellite avionics: Development, prototyping and validation
2014
In the frame of ESA program AO/1- 6737/11/NL/MH, an innovative X-band antenna system for satellite avionics has been studied, demonstrated and validated at Proof of Concept Model level. The innovative contribution of such an antenna system relies on modularity, customizability and accommodation friendliness. The antenna concept is based on a Plug and Play architecture, where the basic module is a 2.7 cm-cube with a mass of 53 gr, which can be clustered in array configuration. A catalogue of predefined and ready-to-use clusters could be developed with the possibility of adapting the antenna systems to various platform types by tuning just a few control parameters. Different levels of customi…
Integrating Advanced Visual Information with Ball Projection Technology Constrains Dynamic Interceptive Actions
2014
The role of advanced visual information in ball catching was investigated by integrating video images of action and ball projection technology in four different conditions: Integrated video and ball projection (VBP), Video-Only (VO), Ball Projection-Only (BPO) and Misleading Ball projection (MBP). Hand kinematics and gaze behaviour data were collected from participants who attempted to catch balls one handed in all conditions. During VBP, catching performance was more successful, tracking of the ball occurred earlier and lasted longer, with maximum grip aperture emerging earlier with a slower maximum velocity than in BPO. During VO, movement emerged later than VBP, with larger maximum and m…
The Human Modes of Being in Investigating User Experience
2008
An important challenge for interaction designers is to understand factors that shape user experience, and novel approaches are being developed to establish user experience as a specific field of research. Previous attempts to provide a comprehensive theory of user experience have focused on analyzing sensations and emotions as well as perceptions and behaviors. A holistic view of human experience is still lacking. I argue that a holistic view of the human being is needed to provide the appropriate theoretical foundations for user experience analyses in diverse contexts. In this chapter I introduce a theoretical framework for understanding human experience, and discuss how such a holistic vi…
Gabor filters in industrial inspection: a review. Application to semiconductor industry
2005
This paper focuses on reviewing some recent works of the use of Gabor filters dealing with industrial applications. After a brief recall of Gabor filter basis, the two usual uses of Gabor filters are recalled: filter bank approach and filter design approach. The third part presents recent published works domain by domain. A fourth part exposes our own work with Gabor Filters for defect detection on semiconductor. A short conclusion summarizes the paper.