Closed cavity façade, an innovative energy saving façade

In its simplest form, a Closed Cavity Façade (CCF) consists of a double or triple glazing unit (DGU or TGU) on the inner layer and single glazing on the outer one, forming a sealed non-ventilated cavity with an automated shading device in between. Given its dynamic behaviour, this technology can dynamically control the flow of solar energy...

Dynamic characterization of adobe in compression: the influence of fibre fraction in soil mixtures

Adobe is one of the most ancient forms of masonry. Adobe bricks are sundried mixtures of clay, silt, sand and natural fibres locally available joined together using mud mortar. Adobe structures are largely spread in areas of the world prone to earthquakes or involved in military conflicts. Unfortunately, almost no literature concerns the dynamic...

The Impact of Task Runtime Estimate Accuracy on Scheduling Workloads of Workflows

Workflow schedulers often rely on task runtime estimates when making scheduling decisions, and they usually target the scheduling of a single workflow or batches of workflows. In contrast, in this paper, we evaluate the impact of the absence or limited accuracy of task runtime estimates on slowdown when scheduling complete workloads of workflows...

A Dynamic Zoom ADC with 109-dB DR for Audio Applications

This paper presents the first dynamic zoom ADC. Intended for audio applications, it achieves 109-dB DR, 106-dB signal-to-noise ratio, and 103-dB SNDR in a 20-kHz bandwidth, while dissipating only 1.12 mW. This translates into the state-of-the-art energy efficiency as expressed by a Schreier FoM of 181.5 dB. It also achieves the state-of-the...

Development of a New Downscale Setup for Wheel-Rail Contact Experiments under Impact Loading Conditions

A new downscale test rig is developed for investigating the contact between the wheel and rail under impact-like loading conditions. This paper presents the development process of the setup, including review and synthesis of the potential experimental techniques, followed by scalability, mechanical and operational analysis of the new setup. The...

Slender Spring Systems, for a close-to-body dynamic arm support for people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

The goal of this dissertation is to develop a wearable, passive, dynamic arm support that provides users with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) with support to perform activities of daily living. The arm support needs to be inconspicuous and not stigmatizing, to encourage the users to participate in social activities. Ideally, the device fits...

Application of fibre reinforced plastic sandwich structures for automotive crashworthiness applications

In this work the application of fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) sandwich<br/>structures, with particular focus on aramid fibre tufted sandwiches is being studied for<br/>automotive crashworthiness applications using impact testing and numerical simulation.

Improvement of the in-plane crushing response of CFRP sandwich panels by through-thickness reinforcements

Fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) composite materials can provide superior specific energy absorption performance over conventional metallic structures if crush stability can be maintained during the impact event. The core in sandwich structures helps to stabilise the crush front by preventing global buckling, but delamination remains a barrier to...

Piezoelectric Composite Actuators: Modelling of the Static and Dynamic Behaviour

Smart actuators, made of smart materials, are becoming more attractive in many applications because smart materials are not subjected to wear and does not require lubrication during services. Piezoelectric materials are a group of the many attractive smart materials that are being investigated for many applications today. Piezoelectric materials...

The Dynamic Monte Carlo Method for Transient Analysis of Nuclear Reactors

In this thesis a new method for the analysis of power transients in a nuclear reactor is developed, which is more accurate than the present state-of-the-art methods. Transient analysis is important tool when designing nuclear reactors, since they predict the behaviour of a reactor during changing conditions, such as a control-rod movement,...

Interval Analysis: Contributions to static and dynamic optimization

The field of global optimization has been an active one for many years. By far the most applied methods are gradient and evolutionary based algorithms. The most appearing drawback of those types of methods is that one cannot guarantee that the global solution is found within finite time. Moreover, if the global solution is found (by chance), the...

Analysis of track and soil behaviour at transition zones: Case study near Gouda Goverwelle

The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the world. Structural, partly preventative, maintenance of the rail infrastructure is essential to ensure that such a busy network remains safe and free of faults. A substantial amount of position maintenance is currently necessary for the upkeep of the Dutch rail network and, in comparison with...

Wheel-rail interaction at short-wave irregularities

Short-wave irregularities in the wheel-rail interface are at the basis of track and vehicle damage and deterioration. On the short term, they result into high dynamic train-track interaction forces and a high energy input into the system that must be dissipated in the different system components or "levels", leading on its turn to progressive...

Stimulus response methodology for quantitative model development of central carbon metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract not available

Influence of loading rate on pile capacity in unsaturated sand

When in-situ tests are performed to determine the ultimate capacity of a pile after the installation, quite a lot of types of tests are available. The following tests are generally used, in order from most used method to least used method: the static testing method, dynamic testing methods, pseudostatic and statnamic testing methods. During a...

An investigation into the applicability of the relative velocity formulation in jack-up dynamic response