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Architectural education shares much in common with engineering, including the use of a culminating capstone experience in the final year. The form of this experience varies, with the research-based thesis and final-year project being most common. This paper explores the literature on traditions of enquiry and the meaning of research in various fields and the evolution of the 'thesis' and 'final year project' approaches over time. It then briefly summarises empirical research conducted on a case study institution struggling to bridge gaps in understandings of these distinct forms of learning and teaching. Throughout, the paper presents a comprehensive set of diagrams to explain various paradigms and positions on research and design education. These diagrams depict processes used in architecture, engineering, and natural sciences to conduct research and generate designs. A new model is proffered to help unify competing conceptions of the final year project and thesis, for the case study institution and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of Engineering graduates to function as successful professionals depends not only on technical disciplinary knowledge but also on a wide range of professional competencies. Students’ often react differently to educators attempts to develop professional competencies compared to technical competencies. Understanding the nature of these reactions is important if we are to design the most effective educational approaches to the development of professional competencies. In this paper we report on an exploratory factor analysis that used data from a detailed survey of students (N = 339) to identify underlying factors that provide insights to understand the variations in student reactions. A set of five factors were identified from this analysis: capability; learning experience; learning outcomes; employment experience; environment. Two of these factors (learning experience and environment) also exhibited significant differences in the impact between professional and technical competencies. A number of implications for educational design were explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to describe the idea and approach to innovate the curricula and syllabuses at the Faculty of Technical Sciences at University "Mother Tereza" towards taking its part of responsibility to contribute to the UN goals of Sustainable Development. In last improvement of the curricula od different studying programs, the Faculty of Technical Sciences introduced a course "Sustainable development in technology" as basic tool to make sure the students, further engineers, become familiar with one of the most important awareness of humanity regarding periods to come, all shaped in UN Sustainable Development strategy. Due to the fact that Sustainable Development is a mixture of environmental, economic and social aspects of contemporary life, and all of them have deep connections with the technology, no gap between purely technical, economic and social views are allowed any more. Therefore, in front of teaching staff at the Faculty of Technical Sciences is a very important and complex duty to make students aware of the core meaning of Sustainable Development, its relation to their further profession and bring knowledge and skills how to deal with all new challenges. This task, opposite to some basic courses in engineering is much more complex in terms of multidisciplinary and put some new challenges in front of the teaching staff. This comes from the fact that nowadays, and in the future, the role of the engineer has been widened and become more complex, and more interdisciplinary adding more environmental, economic and social aspects. It is important that including of sustainable development knowledge, competences and skills, in engineer portfolio should not be taken as a burden, but chance to contribute to everyone's future. The Faculty of Technical Sciences already takes the first steps in this direction and first experiences are described here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common charge against utopianism is that any attempt to create blueprints for a better future disregards a basic fact: humans' proclivity for failure. In response, defenders of social dreaming have argued that failure can become generative, once we abandon the perfectionism that ostensibly inheres in utopian visions. Building on this revaluation, the paper applies a crucial lesson from engineering and design studies—that often artificial failure modes are required to enhance the safety of tools and machines. To flesh out this point, I turn to utopian fiction and discuss Kim Stanley Robinson's Science in the Capital-trilogy, which rejects techno-optimism about our climate-changed world, yet hails the transformative potential of an anti-capitalist scientific community. Ultimately, the paper claims that, if we cannot have success in addressing the climate emergency without committing serious mistakes, then one (but clearly not the only) path forward is to imaginatively prefigure the faultlines along which ecomodernist dreams for a "good Anthropocene" might rupture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-industrial cities often find themselves at a crossroads as to whether to find a new identity or embrace their industrial past. In late 2017, after the closure of major manufacturing plants in the region, the Australian city of Geelong was designated a UNESCO City of Design and embraced a "Clever and Creative" strategy which acknowledged Geelong's industrial and design past in responding to contemporary technological, demographic, and economic challenges. However, questions remain as to which versions of the past are valued by the local community and how these stories can be shared. To better understand the social value of design and manufacturing heritage in Geelong as well as to get initial feedback on how to interpret this type of heritage through novel immersive extended reality (XR) experiences, the researchers took a community-led approach. This paper reports on the results of the initial online community surveys (N = 55–137) and in-person stakeholder interviews (N = 5) with carefully selected representatives of the local government, education, heritage, tourism, and engineering sectors. The study's outcome demonstrates the importance of design and manufacturing heritage for the local community's identity. Moreover, this type of heritage provides a source of inspiration, learning opportunities for future creative problem-solvers, and economic opportunities through tourism. By engaging with the social value of design and manufacturing heritage, this paper argues that more effective and targeted storytelling, game-like applications, and other digital immersive experiences such as extended reality (XR) can be used to better engage with audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How safe are our structures? – Conceptual paper of the DGGT Working Group 2.15 "Reliability‐Based Methods in Geotechnical Engineering" The future Eurocode 7 will explicitly allow the use of reliability‐based methods in geotechnical planning and design. In Germany, there is hardly any experience in the practical application of such methods so far and thus the reservations towards these methods are plenty. The new DGGT Working Group (WG) 2.15 "Reliability‐Based Methods in Geotechnical Engineering" has set itself the goal of providing a practical access to those methods by means of practice‐oriented instructions and recommendations as well as accompanying training and further education courses. The aim is to clarify the possibilities and limitations and, above all, to exploit their potential. This article presents the general principles as well as the future fields of work of the WG 2.15. Starting with the introduction of relevant technical terms, the implementation of reliability‐based methods within the current codes of practice and regulations is shown. Using the life cycle of a geotechnical structure, the uncertainties in geotechnical designs and assessments are described. Subsequently it is outlined, in which situations and to what extend reliability‐based methods can aid engineers, clients and inspectors in verification and decision‐making processes. In the future, WG 2.15 will develop recommendations on individual topics and publish them successively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design methods in rock engineering are well established for the conditions commonly encountered in civil and mining engineering. Empirical approaches are applicable, as well as the use of available rock mass failure criteria, and unknowns can be dealt with by applying an increased Factor of Safety. However, in the deeper, more competent rock mass conditions being encountered in mining and tunnelling, the design approaches may be inappropriate and prediction of rock mass and rock material behaviours is required. This is much more difficult than design and a key aspect is the identification of the mechanisms of rock and rock mass failure. The mechanisms involved in the development of failure are fundamental for the prediction of behaviour. Failure may initiate by one mechanism, propagate by another one or more, and may finally be due to yet another. This paper deals with the issues of design and prediction in rock engineering. Since extensile fracturing is commonly the mechanism by which failure initiates, this mechanism is a focus in the paper. Examples of fracture and failure development in hard rock are presented to illustrate the issues involved in prediction of rock engineering behaviour. Highlights: Analytical and empirical methods can be used in two ways in rock engineering application, namely for design and prediction. The difference between these two categories is discussed. It is shown that many complexities in rock behaviour that may be ignored in design could have a large influence on predicted outcomes. The importance of incorporating the correct mechanisms in prediction problems are shown with reference to examples of extensional failure mechanism in brittle under high stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to expand our knowledge on interdisciplinary design education by focusing on team development, which has remained a less explored aspect of interdisciplinary collaboration so far. An interdisciplinary design studio course, Collaborative Design, for food engineering and industrial design students in higher education provides the research context. The empirical basis of the paper comes from interviews with students on their experiences of interdisciplinary collaboration in the course, and the educator's observation notes. Drawing on these data, this article critically reflects on how and to what extent the teaching materials, methods and strategies incorporated into the course design guided and supported students' transition through the four stages of becoming a performing interdisciplinary team. The article concludes with four suggestions for design educators. First, encountering new ways of thinking, talking and doing that make sense for both disciplines engages students in interdisciplinary collaboration. Second, humour and positive social relations play an important role in team success in all stages of team development. Third, using the first weeks of the course to reveal the disciplinary differences and potential issues that would lead to conflicts through class discussions and warm-up activities facilitates a smooth transition from forming to norming. Fourth, adequate representation of each discipline should be ensured both in the design problem and solution, and among the tutors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transverse sliding of the 985 m long steel Lennetal bridge The Lennetal bridge is one of the major viaducts on the A45. Due to the increased traffic volume and the structural condition of the existing bridge, it was necessary to build a new bridge. In order to restrict traffic as little as possible during the construction period, the new superstructure was built for one direction of traffic in a lateral position and then moved to its final position by means of a transverse sliding. With a length of almost 1000 m, the Lennetal bridge is – in relation to the bridge length – the largest transverse sliding that has been realised in Germany so far. This paper deals with the special features of the planning and execution of the transverse sliding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the load behind an existing revetment increases, it is often required to reinforce the existing structure to ensure that its stability meets the new usage requirements. The mainstream stability analysis concept requires that the lowest slip arcs stability coefficient should be higher than a specific value, and neglects factors such as the status-quo stability of an existing revetment and the differences of slip arcs at different positions, which may easily lead to over -design. Based on a practical engineering case, the paper classifies and discusses slip arcs at different locations of an existing revetment and determines the stability criteria respectively, to ensure that the judgment of stability is reasonable and reliable, and there in forcing design is economical, reasonable and highly targeted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of metal material curved surface die is a common problem in engineering. From the perspective of intelligent manufacturing, this paper analyzes the mechanism and design key points of metal material curved surface die, establishes the mathematical model of die design by using the matrix equation method, and puts forward a general engineering mathematical calculation method of segmented die design. Based on the look-up table calculation, this scheme can simplify the calculation method and reduce the calculation error, which is suitable for general engineering die processing calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electro-mechanical transmission is the best choice for the transmission system of military, engineering and other heavy special vehicles. The scheme design is fundamental and key to realize the original innovation of the electro-mechanical transmission. Therefore, a novel design method of a planetary-gear scheme is proposed for electro-mechanical transmission. According to the distribution of mechanical points and the speed continuous condition of mode switching, the mode combination law of a dual-mode electro-mechanical transmission is obtained, i.e., the input split mode based on the scheme of three-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) and the compound split mode based on the scheme of 2-DOF. Moreover, a design method for an electro-mechanical transmission scheme is proposed based on the mode combination law. Two single-mode schemes are combined to form a dual-mode scheme, and then mode jointing, control logic, isomorphism and other screening conditions are in turn used to screen schemes; therefore, two optimized schemes are obtained ultimately. Lastly, by analyzing the characteristics of speed, torque and the power split of the optimized schemes, the accuracy of the proposed design method in this paper is verified. The proposed design method can provide new ideas of designing multi-mode and multi-output electro-mechanical transmission schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domain-diverse research, that research which involves more than one domain of knowledge, has driven significant advances in science and technology. Recent interest has been shown in the United States for identifying and generalizing techniques for promoting success with such work. In this paper, an exemplar history of domain-diverse research is presented. Next, several forms of domain-diverse research are identified. A spotlight is cast on a particular type, known as "convergence". Convergence is a problem-solving approach that focuses on integrating the life sciences and medicine on the one hand, with the physical sciences and engineering on the other. Next, the design process is proposed as an organizing framework for domain-diverse teamwork. Finally, the need for research and training in the forming and running of such project groups is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The professional formation of new graduates and their ability to perform well at the start of their career depends on the development of both technical skills and professional competencies. Whilst the latter aspects have become increasingly considered within engineering programs, they are often learnt within an academic context rather than a practice context. This is in contrast with research that argues that professional expertise should be learnt within the context in which it will be applied. This paper reports on an analysis of engineering student reflections on professional engagement activities over the duration of their university study. A text-based thematic analysis examines the link between different types of activities and professional competencies (using Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies), and the level of sophistication in the language using Blooms taxonomy. The thematic analysis provides strong evidence that different activity types result in students being more likely to reflect upon specific competencies. The deeper Bloom analysis showed that generally the activity types that have reflections skewed towards higher Bloom levels are those that involve project activities. We conclude that those activities that require student-driven exploration are the most likely to engage students in thinking about the nature of real-world engineering practice.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The semiotic nature of design and engineering communications has often evaded direct interrogation; specifically the representation of requirements using multiple semiotic modes. This paper explores the semiotic character of requirement representation in the construction project design and engineering process by mobilising a social semiotic analytic framework to reveal how project artefacts (e.g. drawings; digital imagery; physical objects) are multimodal resources that critically affect stakeholder engagement and interpretation. The focused empirical study from a hospital construction project reveals the motivations and effects of multimodal and semiotic communicative choices of different parties (e.g. client; architect; engineer; design consultant) engaged on the same project; the representation (or not) of requirements via various semiotic modes being a social and political process. The contribution of the paper is in revealing the semiotic character of requirement representation and the relevance of semiotic-informed enquiry for an industry continuing to develop new technologies (e.g. virtual reality; BIM – building information modelling) for design and construction work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the design scheme and construction method of sealing water by compaction grouting at the seepage position of temporary cofferdam of dry dock in Dalian Bay subsea tunnel, which achieves good water stop effect and meets the operation requirements during the dry dock construction period. The data and experience accumulated in construction can provide reference for similar engineering conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tertiary programmes in a discipline such as engineering must balance the competing needs of two key stakeholders: the university that designs and delivers the programme, and the professional body that accredits it. Programme and curriculum design in universities is traditionally bottom-up in nature, with courses designed by individual academics, and assembled into cognate programmes. Graduate qualities and accreditation criteria are mapped retrospectively onto the structure. Designing programmes from the top down, driven byuniversity and the accreditation body needs, is a desirable goal. However, without proper support tools, balancing competing needs across multiple courses and year levels is a complex task. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was created for this precise purpose. Treating the design of a tertiary programme the same as the design of a system suggests that QFD, and the implementation tool known as the House of Quality (HoQ), should be ideally suited to this purpose. The aim of this paper is to show how QFD and the HoQ can be applied to the design of an engineering programme, creating a specification that accurately reflects the voices of stakeholders, and serves as a benchmark for validating that these needs have been met in the implemented design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interpretation and reuse of previous design solutions, or precedents, is central to design. This paper describes qualitative research conducted over three years at two institutions, aimed at investigating the role of design knowledge re-use in project-based mechanical design courses. Research data were collected through participant observation, student interviews, anonymous questionnaires, and website analytics. The paper identifies challenges that must be addressed in order to support novice engineers in rehearsing the types of knowledge required to successfully reason about and engage with design precedents. Two categories of design precedents are identified: concept precedents and detail precedents. Providing students with access to the latter is identified as a particular challenge, as is providing students with access to engineering communities of practice. Approaches to addressing these challenges are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Function‐integrative lightweight engineering represents an essential element in modern design methods. Currently, there is a great need for the incorporation of sensors, actuators and electronics in novel, demand‐oriented components. In contrast to a subsequent, mostly adhesive bonding, structural integration offers numerous advantages, for example in terms of space requirements and robustness. This paper demonstrates the potential of integrated sensors for various industrial sectors based on selected examples from mechanical engineering, aviation, mobility, sports, and medical technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novice design students struggle to engage with early stage design visualization tools such as sketching and prototyping. Instead students have a preference for designing with digital tools such as CAD modelling, motivated by inhibitions around sketching skill, which in turn leads to fixation and sunk cost effects. These behaviors present a barrier to engaging in typical practices of expert designers, namely idea fluency described as generating a wide range of ideas quickly and avoiding favoring one single idea. Noting the recent success of LEGO Serious Play in engaging non-designers in design activities in business and innovation contexts, we explore whether using LEGO as a visualization tool can trigger a behavior change in student designers towards idea fluency. This paper presents a study comparing student attitudes and design behavior when designing with LEGO, in comparison to sketching and cardboard modelling. Findings illustrate how LEGO's comparative low fidelity leads to students to be more willing to change and modify initial ideas, reduces inhibitions related to visual quality, and reinterpret and iterate designs. Based on these findings we illustrate how designing with LEGO can mitigate issues of inhibition, fixation, and sunk cost design behaviors concluding that LEGO can trigger behavior change toward idea fluency. As such we see compelling evidence to integrate LEGO as an educational design activity for novice designers used early in the design process to illustrate and trigger idea fluency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Publishing histograms with $\epsilon$ -differential privacy has been studied extensively in the literature. Existing schemes aim at maximizing the utility of the published data, while previous experimental evaluations analyze the privacy/utility trade-off. In this paper, we provide the first experimental evaluation of differentially private methods that goes beyond utility, emphasizing also on another important aspect, namely efficiency. Towards this end, we first observe that all existing schemes are comprised of a small set of common blocks. We then optimize and choose the best implementation for each block, determine the combinations of blocks that capture the entire literature, and propose novel block combinations. We qualitatively assess the quality of the schemes based on the skyline of efficiency and utility, i.e., based on whether a method is dominated on both aspects or not. Using exhaustive experiments on four real datasets with different characteristics, we conclude that there are always trade-offs in terms of utility and efficiency. We demonstrate that the schemes derived from our novel block combinations provide the best trade-offs for time critical applications. Our work can serve as a guide to help practitioners engineer a differentially private histogram scheme depending on their application requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to argue about the involvement of additive technologies (ATs) in the prototyping issues of designing. More precisely, it reviews the literature contributions focused on the different perspectives of prototyping activities for design purposes, searching for both available knowledge and research needs concerning the correct exploitation of ATs.Design/methodology/approach A two-step literature review has been performed. In the first step, general information has been retrieved about prototyping issues related to design. In the second step, the literature searches were focused on retrieving more detailed information about ATs, concerning each of the main issues identified in the previous step. Extracted information has been analyzed and discussed for understanding the actual coverage of the arguments and for identifying possible research needs.Findings Four generally valid prototyping issues have been identified in the first step of the literature review. For each of them, available information and current lacks have been identified and discussed about the involvement of AT, allowing to extract six different research hints for future works.Originality/value This is the first literature review concerning AT-focused contributions that cover the complex and inter-disciplinary issues characterizing prototyping activities in design contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to examine and contextualise the role of Blanche Thornycroft within her family business of John I. Thornycroft in the first half of the twentieth century. The role of Blanche in assisting her father and, after his death, the Thornycroft Company in collecting experimental data informed the design of many vessels. Her role in testing Coastal Motor Boats is explored using the archival material discovered during the ARHC funded project 'Business, government and the workplace: John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, and the Great War'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maximum heat load capacity of a DEMO First Wall (FW) of reasonable cost may impact the decision of the implementation of limiters in DEMO. An estimate of the engineering limit of the FW heat load capacity is an essential input for this decision. This paper describes the work performed to optimize the FW of the Water Cooled Lithium-Lead (WCLL) blanket concept for DEMO fusion reactor in order to increase its maximum heat load capacity. The optimization is based on the use of water at typical Pressurised Water Reactors conditions as coolant. The present WCLL FW with a waved plasma-faced surface and with circular channels was studied and the heat load limit has been predicted with FEM analysis equal to 1.0 MW m −2 with respect to the Eurofer temperature limit. An optimization study was then carried out for a flat FW design considering thermal and mechanical constraints assuming inlet and outlet temperatures equal to 285 °C/325 °C respectively and based on geometric design parameters such as channel pitch, diameter of pipes and thicknesses. It became clear through the optimization that the advantages of a waved FW are diminished. Given the manufacturing issues of that concept, the waved FW was therefore not pursued further. Even if the optimization study shows that the maximum heat load could in principle be as high as 2.53 MW m −2 , it is reduced to 1.57 MW m −2 when additional constraints are introduced in order not to affect corrosion, manufacturability and Tritium Breeding Ratio in normal condition such as a coolant velocity ≤8 m/s, pipe diameter ≥5 mm and a total FW thickness ≤22 mm. However it is important to note that the FW channels currently fulfill additional functions and are therefore not optimized “at all cost” regarding heat load capacity and the paper points out some recommendations against missing assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to higher education (HE) has been a persistent concern for governments, practitioners and researchers. Access to HE has been widely studied from scientific perspectives that have focussed on the factors that contribute to the problem; however, authors have highlighted the need for systemic and design perspectives on education systems. The need to connect research with policy remains one of the most challenging issues for education researchers. In view of this gap, this paper argues that engineering thinking and methods represent an opportunity for the design of HE access policies because engineering rationality (distinct from scientific rationalities) matches the concerns and goals of any policymaking attempt. Engineers design artefacts to meet particular goals. These artefacts are artificial systems, tangible or intangible, such as hammers, bridges or whole organizations, which are designed in particular contexts to meet precise goals. Policies for access to HE are good examples of artefacts that seek to fulfil specific needs under concrete constraints inherent to a country or region. More specifically, HE systems are social systems; in other words, they are created and recreated by the interactions and decisions of diverse actors. Hence, to change, redesign or improve such types of systems involves engineering their very interactions that are the outcomes of institutional and human actions. In particular, engineering design requires operational principles. Thus, we propose agency as a fundamental design concept for the improvement of HE systems, which opens new possibilities for a distinct type of policy-making that takes excellent advantage of what engineering can offer, while at the same time expanding on traditional expectations for engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing practices for a circular economy transforms the way companies do business, notably in the manufacturing industry. However, a circular economy requires a transformation of both production and consumption systems; the standard approach for creation, fabrication, and commerce of products is challenged. Authors repeatedly call for the development of new proficiencies to attend to system transformations, but these so far have not been described for design and engineering. Given that the design of a product directly influences the way a value chain will be managed, building circular, globally sustainable value chains inevitably signifies a fundamental change in the practice of design. Comprehensive analyses were conducted on case studies from a variety of multinational enterprises that are transforming their product strategies for climate change. Changes in design processes were identified, revealing a growing necessity for industry to employ new proficiencies that support closure of material loops. This paper contributes to existing literature by depicting successful practices being implemented in industry. A variety of new capabilities are key to design for a sustainable future; these range from deeper knowledge of material composition to rich understanding of social behaviour. Resulting from this research, learning goals are proposed to serve as guidance for manufacturing companies seeking to tackle climate change. Conclusions aim to encourage researchers and academics to respond to emerging needs by re-thinking education in design and engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Highlighting the status, inherent barriers, and challenges of multi-material 4D printing. • A strategic research roadmap based on the opportunities and challenges in engineering and interdisciplinary design. • Proposal of a design for 4D printing framework. The combination of scientific advances in additive manufacturing (AM) and smart materials (SMs) has enabled the development of a new interdisciplinary research area: 4D printing. This technology offers – via stimuli-responsive materials – promising transformation capabilities to objects whether at the functional, shape, or property levels. By considering such capabilities, researchers from multiple disciplines have investigated a large spectrum of stimuli-SMs associations with proofs-of-concept built from either commercial or custom 3D printers. Despite the abundant initiatives, 4D printing requires additional developments to meet robust system applications for the industry. The paper aims to highlight the status, inherent barriers, and challenges of 4D printing to be addressed from a product-systems design perspective. It firstly reminds the fundamentals of SMs, processes, stimulus, and AM to which a synthesis of significant research works related to 4D printing highlighting the current status as well as scientific, technical, and organizational limitations is provided. Beyond this comprehensive study, the paper emphasizes opportunities and challenges from multiple perspectives and draws a research roadmap for engineering design and cross-disciplinary design. The outcome of the work tends to structure research efforts for the next decade towards the development of smart products that meet use for humans and the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the exponential growth in computing power, numerical modelling techniques method have gained an increasing amount of interest for engineering and design applications. Nowadays, the deterministic finite element (FE) method, an efficient tool to accurately solve the Partial Differential Equations (PDE) that govern most real-world problems, has become an indispensable tool for an engineer in various design stages. A more recent trend herein is to use the ever increasing computing power incorporate uncertainty and variability, which is omnipresent is all real-live applications, into these FE models. Several advanced techniques for incorporating either variability between nominally identical parts or spatial variability within one part into the FE models, have been introduced in this context. For the representation of spatial variability on the parameters of an FE model in a possibilistic context, the theory of Interval Fields (IF) was proven to show promising results. Following this approach, variability in the input FE model is introduced as the superposition of base vectors, depicting the spatial 'patterns', which are scaled by interval factors, which represent the actual variability. Application of this concept, however, requires identification of the governing parameters of these interval fields, i. e. the base vectors and interval scalars. Recent work of the authors therefore was focussed on finding a solution to the inverse problem, where the spatial uncertainty on the output side of the model is known from measurement data, but the spatial variability on the input parameters is unknown. Based on an a priori knowledge on the constituting base vectors of the interval field, the simulated output of the IFFEM computation is compared to measured data, and the input parameters are iteratively adjusted in order to minimize the discrepancy between the variability in simulation and measurement data. This discrepancy is defined based on geometric properties of the convex sets of both measurement and simulation data. However, the robustness of this methodology with respect to the size of the measurement data set that is used for the identification, as yet remains unclear. This paper therefore is focussed on the investigation of this robustness, by performing the identification on different measurement sets, depicting the same variability in the dynamic response of a simple FE model, which contain a decreasing amount of measurement replica. It was found that accurate identification remains feasible, even under a limited amount of measurement replica, which is highly relevant in the context of a non-probabilistic representation of variability in the FE model parameters. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the quickest developing rate among all kinds of renewable energy generation belongs to wind power industry. Hence, proposing an optimization framework to achieve the best design of wind power conversion system, especially wind electrical generator is required more than ever. Recently, flux switching permanent magnet (FSPM) generators that are well known for rigid structure, high torque density and lower weight have attracted high attention where these features bring more ability respect to permanent magnet synchronous (PMS) generator. In this paper a thorough analysis is carried out to find an optimal design of FSPM generator by interrogating the possibility to employ different structures for small scale wind conversion systems. To achieve this purpose, a precise challenge is laid down in investigation of various design characteristics. Hence, a multiobjective function depending on mass, cost, volume and electromagnetic performance of the generator is taken into account. In the sequel, considering multi attribute decision making (MADM) techniques, a framework based on an improved analytical hierarchy process (AHP) composed by a hybrid scheme formed by artificial neural network (ANN) and classical AHP is proposed to achieve trade-off design of the FSPM. A numerical study has been implemented on different test cases to assess the performance of the proposed framework. The obtained results prove the goodness of the proposed technique and suggest interesting solutions for the considered applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study on the optimal design of vehicle structure for improving the small-overlap rating, based on a computer-based crash simulation model. Two reinforced component models such as longitudinal reinforcement and rocker panel reinforcement were developed for the small-overlap frontal impact simulation following the real test conditions. The crash simulation results were used to evaluate the overall vehicle structure through a comparison of intrusion measurements with the rating guidelines of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The response surface method (RSM) was conducted to optimal vehicle structures in order to improve the small-overlap rating. The RSM function proposed the optimal values of the variables as the new design. The crash analysis results showed that the serious damage to the vehicle structure occurred when the minivan model collided with barrier model at 25% overlap. In this study, the grade of the overall structure was upgraded from 'poor' to 'acceptable' in the case of Flat 150 (the Flat barrier with a 150 mm radius and 25% overlap). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on an analysis of a three-stage design with varying phase angles, this paper proposes a method for improving pump performance in multistage Roots pumps by employing designs that achieve the greatest economy in outlet discharge enhancement. The flow characteristics of multistage Roots pumps with serial and parallel connections are investigated by considering various phase angles in each stage using a two-lobed rotor as an example. The benefits of these varying phase angle designs for both serial and parallel connection pumps are evaluated by comparing their flow characteristic with those of same phase angle designs in 24 different cases. An additional comparative analysis of four-stage serial and parallel connections clearly indicates that multistage Roots pumps with a parallel connection and varied phase angle design is a better choice for vacuum system use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an improved design methodology for shield tunnels. Here, a new framework for three-dimensional analysis of shield tunnel "performance" (defined herein as the structural safety and serviceability of each tunnel ring) is developed, which considers the effect of the longitudinal variation of input parameters on the tunnel performance. Within this framework, random fields are used to simulate the longitudinal variation of input parameters, and the three-dimensional problem of shield tunnel performance is solved through a two-stage solution involving a one-dimensional model (for tunnel longitudinal behavior) and a two-dimensional model (for performance of segment rings). Furthermore, the robust design concept is integrated into the design of shield tunnels to guard against the longitudinal variation of tunnel performance caused by the longitudinal variation of input parameters. In the context of robust design, a new measure is developed for determining the robustness of the tunnel performance against the longitudinal variation of noise factors. A multi-objective optimization is then performed to optimize the design with respect to the design robustness and the cost efficiency, while satisfying the safety and serviceability requirements. Through an illustrative example, the effectiveness and significance of the improved shield tunnel design methodology is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dignity is a key value within healthcare. Technology is also recognized as being a fundamental part of healthcare delivery, but also a potential cause of dehumanization of the patient. Therefore, understanding how medical devices can be designed to help deliver dignity is important. This paper explores the role of empathy tools as a way of engendering empathy in engineers and designers to enable them to design for dignity. A framework is proposed that makes the link between empathy tools and outcomes of feelings of dignity. It represents a broad systems view that provides a structure for reviewing the evidence for the efficacy of empathy tools and also how dignity can be systematically understood for particular medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose. Defining features of the building construction vest, as part of the National Iranian costume improvement in the method of constructing the armhole, to create a mathematical model of the surface and the construction of scans. Methodology. We used modern methods of investigation of initial data geometric curve-fitting surfaces of order 2, with the condition to minimize the initial data. Findings. The studies identified design features contemporary women armholes of his waistcoat, taking into account the structural arrangement of the national costume northwestern regions of Iran. The optimal methods of construction design armholes products using modern computer technology, which enables accounting model design changes at the design stage. Originality. In this paper, we propose a new method for constructing a spatial line armholes, based on its profile projection as a line of mutual intersection of profile-projecting cylinder, which is a guide profile projection armholes with a cylindrical surface in general position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss the transformation of a sheet of material into a wide range of desired shapes and patterns by introducing a set of simple cuts in a multilevel hierarchy with different motifs. Each choice of hierarchical cut motif and cut level allows the material to expand into a unique structure with a unique set of properties. We can reverse-engineer the desired expanded geometries to find the requisite cut pattern to produce it without changing the physical properties of the initial material. The concept was experimentally realized and applied to create an electrode that expands to >800% the original area with only very minor stretching of the underlying material. The generality of our approach greatly expands the design space for materials so that they can be tuned for diverse applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the design of a prototype system developed for a rover intended for the removal and transport of rocks on lunar soil is reported. The part of the rover dedicated to some of the main tasks, i.e. the lifting of objects and moving on rugged terrain, while controlling of the balance of the vehicle, is considered. These tasks are accomplished through the mechanical components assembled in a column connected to wheels. The study has been conducted with the aim of obtaining a simple and lightweight structure satisfying the requirements necessary to operate on the lunar soil. After a description of the architecture of the rover, the layout of the components of the column is detailed. A compliant, spiral-spring wheel is proposed to complete the mobility system. The primary components of the column are then structurally assessed by means of FEM numerical simulations. A numerical model of the wheel has also been implemented, in order to define in detail the wheel geometry and performance. The proposed layout could be promising for lunar applications since it has a configuration suitable for the specific characteristics of the environment it has to operate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The study assesses the risks to critical telecommunication infrastructure from the Bora wind. • The Bora wind is a north-northeastern storm wind occurring, among others, locally in western and southern parts of Croatia. • The risks are estimated with a fully developed performance-based wind engineering methodology. • The resulting risks are dependent on local wind conditions and vary from low to medium. Wind phenomena present significant societal risks in many regions of the world due to, among others, economic losses resulting from damages to the built environment, discomfort to people, and disturbances in marine, air, and road traffic. These risks have motivated the development of performance-based design methodologies to support the decision makers in making rational and optimal measures to mitigate those risks. This paper investigates the application of the Performance-Based Wind Engineering (PBWE) methodology to the risk assessment to the critical telecommunication infrastructure subjected to wind hazard. Motivated by failures of telecommunication infrastructure due to wind load, the focus of the study is on the implementation of the PBWE methodology to estimate the expected annual losses to typical lattice frame steel telecommunication towers subjected to the Bora wind along the Croatian coastline. The statistical description of the wind hazards is based on long-term meteorological measurements available at several locations to capture the local variations characteristic for the Bora wind. The uncertainties in the wind hazard and the structural parameters were propagated to the structural response (e.g., displacements, internal forces) through a set of Monte Carlo analyses. The analyses provided a basis to estimate the probabilities of exceeding the serviceability and ultimate limit states. The resulting probabilities were used as an input to the loss function that evaluates risks from the wind hazard. The risk estimates provide valuable information to the stakeholders and decision makers that enable improved strategies for managing risks from wind hazard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the subject of practice-based research, its application in the creative arts and its role in generating new forms of knowledge in the context of the PhD. Our aim is to provide more clarity about the nature of practice-based research, the approach we advocate and how it contributes to new knowledge that can be shared and scrutinized in a form that is both accessible and rich in its representation of the full scope of creative arts research. We draw on examples spanning over 35 years of experience in supervising interdisciplinary PhD research programs in the arts, design and digital media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]