scholarly journals Where do professionals find sustainability and innovation value? Empirical tests of three sustainable design methods

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Faludi ◽  
Felix Yiu ◽  
Alice Agogino
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
Green Design ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
System Mapping ◽  
Complementary Value

Abstract Recommendations of sustainable design methods are usually based on theory, not empirical industry tests. Furthermore, since professionals often mix components of different design methods, recommending whole methods may not be relevant. It may be better to recommend component activities or mindsets. To provide empirical grounding for recommendations, this study performed 23 workshops on three sustainable design methods involving over 172 professionals from 27 companies, including consultancies and manufacturers in three industries (consumer electronics, furniture and clothing). The design methods tested were The Natural Step, Whole System Mapping and Biomimicry. Participants were surveyed about what components in each design method drove perceived innovation, sustainability or other value, and why. The most valued components only partially supported theoretical predictions. Thus, recommendations should be more empirically based. Results also found unique and complementary value in components of each method, which suggests recommending mixed methods for sustainable design. This may help design professionals find more value in green design practices, and thus integrate sustainability more into their practice.

Do Student Trials Predict What Professionals Value in Sustainable Design Practices?

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Faludi ◽  
Felix Yiu ◽  
Ola Srour ◽  
Rami Kamareddine ◽  
Omar Ali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Value Innovation ◽  
Design Practices ◽  
Real Change ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
System Mapping

When teaching sustainable design in industry or academia, we should teach design methods, activities, and mindsets that are most effective at driving real change in a industry. However, most studies of design practices are performed on students, not on professionals. How strongly do student perceptions of value predict those of industry teams designing real products? This study provided workshops on three sustainable design methods (The Natural Step, Whole System Mapping, and Biomimicry) for 172 professionals and 204 students, applying the methods to their actual products being developed. It surveyed both populations about which activities or mindsets within each design method provided sustainability value, innovation value, and overall value. Quantitatively, student results did not strongly predict professional opinions; professionals chose clearer favorites and valued more things. However, qualitatively, student results did predict the reasons why professionals would value the design activities and mindsets. Therefore, care should be taken to choose appropriate participants for the questions being asked in sustainable design research.

scholarly journals Preliminary Results Testing What Different Design Solutions Arise from Different Sustainable Design Methods

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3351-3360
Author(s):  
Jeremy Faludi ◽  
Omar Ali ◽  
Ola Srour ◽  
Selim Mecanna ◽  
Rami Kamareddine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Product Innovation ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Material Choice ◽  
Design Solutions ◽  
Natural Step ◽  
System Mapping ◽  
Design Ideas

AbstractDo different sustainable design methods generate different sustainable design ideas? Do they also drive different product innovation ideas? This project empirically tested three design methods: The Natural Step, Whole System Mapping, and Biomimicry. Testing involved qualitatively categorizing 1,115 design ideas from 23 workshops for over 30 companies, including consultancies and manufacturers in consumer electronics, furniture, and apparel. The categorized ideas were then counted to determine if the different design methods caused different kinds of ideas. They did. For example, The Natural Step drove more ideas on green material choice, circular end of life, and social impacts, while Biomimicry drove more durability ideas and Whole System Mapping drove more cost reduction ideas, among other differences. Overall, The Natural Step generated the highest percentage of sustainability ideas, Biomimicry generated the most innovation ideas, and Whole System Mapping generated a balance of both. These preliminary results should help designers and engineers choose design methods suited to the types of design solutions they desire.

Green Design Methods Based on Product Configuration

2014 ◽  
Vol 543-547 ◽  
pp. 320-322
Author(s):  
Zhi Yong Dai ◽  
Ming Hai Yuan ◽  
Shuo Cheng ◽  
Ai Min Ji
Keyword(s):  
Mass Customization ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Green Manufacturing ◽  
New Product ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Green Design ◽  
Product Configuration ◽  
Configuration Design ◽  
Green Product

According to the overseas and domestic researches on green design and mass customization, this paper does research on green product configuration design method based on the three configuration algorithms, and proposes a new product configuration method aiming at realizing the goal of green design under mass customization (MC). By studying on green design method based on product configuration, strong support is provided for enterprises with green manufacturing both in theory and method.

An Update on Improved Flange Design Methods

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren Brown
Keyword(s):  
Design Method ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Project Development ◽  
Design Improvement ◽  
Panel Session ◽  
Improved Methods ◽  
Made In

This paper details further progress made in the PVRC project “Development of Improved Flange Design Method for the ASME VIII, Div.2 Rewrite Project” presented during the panel session on flange design at the 2006 PVP conference in Vancouver. The major areas of flange design improvement indicated by that project are examined and the suggested solutions for implementing the improved methods into the Code are discussed. Further analysis on aspects such as gasket creep and the use of leakage-based design has been conducted. Shortcomings in the proposed ASME flange design method (ASME BFJ) and current CEN flange design methods (EN-1591) are highlighted and methods for resolution of these issues are suggested.

Impact of Secondary Flow on the Accuracy of Simplified Design Methods for Steam Turbine Stages

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Schumann ◽  
Ulrich Harbecke ◽  
Daniel Sahnen ◽  
Thomas Polklas ◽  
Peter Jeschke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Steam Turbine ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Computing Time ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Preliminary Design ◽  
Line Design ◽  
Radial Equilibrium

The subject of the presented paper is the validation of a design method for HP and IP steam turbine stages. Common design processes have been operating with simplified design methods in order to quickly obtain feasible stage designs. Therefore, inaccuracies due to assumptions in the underlying methods have to be accepted. The focus of this work is to quantify the inaccuracy of a simplified design method compared to 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. Short computing time is very convenient in preliminary design; therefore, common design methods work with a large degree of simplification. The origin of the presented analysis is a mean line design process, dealing with repeating stage conditions. Two features of the preliminary design are the stage efficiency, based on loss correlations, and the mechanical strength, obtained by using the beam theory. Due to these simplifications, only a few input parameters are necessary to define the primal stage geometry and hence, the optimal design can easily be found. In addition, by using an implemented law to take the radial equilibrium into account, the appropriate twist of the blading can be defined. However, in comparison to the real radial distribution of flow angles, this method implies inaccuracies, especially in regions of secondary flow. In these regions, twisted blades, developed by using the simplified radial equilibrium, will be exposed to a three-dimensional flow, which is not considered in the design process. The analyzed design cases show that discrepancies at the hub and shroud section do exist, but have minor effects. Even the shroud section, with its thinner leading-edge, is not vulnerable to these unanticipated flow angles.

Design of Cooling Towers by the Effectiveness-NTU Method

1989 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 837-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Jaber ◽  
R. L. Webb
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Cooling Tower ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Parallel Flow ◽  
Basic Method ◽  
Cooling Towers ◽  
Flow Configuration ◽  
Heat Exchanger Design

This paper develops the effectiveness-NTU design method for cooling towers. The definitions for effectiveness and NTU are totally consistent with the fundamental definitions used in heat exchanger design. Sample calculations are presented for counter and crossflow cooling towers. Using the proper definitions, a person competent in heat exchanger design can easily use the same basic method to design a cooling tower of counter, cross, or parallel flow configuration. The problems associated with the curvature of the saturated air enthalpy line are also treated. A “one-increment” design ignores the effect of this curvature. Increased precision can be obtained by dividing the cooling range into two or more increments. The standard effectiveness-NTU method is then used for each of the increments. Calculations are presented to define the error associated with different numbers of increments. This defines the number of increments required to attain a desired degree of precision. The authors also summarize the LMED method introduced by Berman, and show that this is totally consistent with the effectiveness-NTU method. Hence, using proper and consistent terms, heat exchanger designers are shown how to use either the standard LMED or effectiveness-NTU design methods to design cooling towers.

Validating Perceived Sustainable Design Features Using a Novel Collage Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-46
Author(s):  
Nasreddine El Dehaibi ◽  
Ting Liao ◽  
Erin F. MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Natural Language Processing ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Sustainable Products ◽  
Low Correlation ◽  
Social Environmental

Abstract Designers are challenged to create sustainable products that resonate with customers, often focusing on engineered sustainability while neglecting perceived sustainability. We previously proposed a method for extracting perceived sustainable features from online reviews using annotations and natural language processing, testing our method with French press coffee carafes. We identified that perceived sustainability may not always align with engineered sustainability. We now investigate how designers can validate perceived features extracted from online reviews using a relatively new design method of collage placement where participants drag and drop products on a collage and select features from a drop-down menu. We created collage activities for participants to evaluate French press products on the three aspects of sustainability: social, environmental, and economic, and on how much they like the products. During the activity participants placed products along the two axes of the collage, sustainability and likeability, and labeled products with descriptive features. We found that participants more often selected our previously extracted features when placing products higher on the sustainability axis, validating that the perceived sustainable features resonate with users. We also measured a low correlation between the two-axes of the collage activity, indicating that perceived sustainability and likeability can be measured separately. In addition, we found that product perceptions across sustainability aspects may differ between demographics. Based on these results, we confirm that the collage is an effective tool for validating sustainability perceptions and that features perceived as sustainable from online reviews resonate with customers when thinking of various sustainability aspects.

Nonlinear Design Model for Multi-Threshold Accelerometer Utilizing Magnetic Induced Multistable Mechanisms

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhao ◽  
Yu Huang ◽  
Pengbo Liu ◽  
Qifei Fang ◽  
Renjing Gao
Keyword(s):  
Inertial Sensors ◽  
Coupling Effect ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Consumer Electronics ◽  
Design Model ◽  
Acceleration Pulse ◽  
Locking Mechanism ◽  
Nonlinear Design ◽  
Controlling Elements

Different from traditional accelerometer, multi-threshold acceleration switch can be triggered to different working states by external accelerations without complex auxiliary circuits and controlling elements, which has great application potentials in aerospace, vehicle safety and consumer electronics. In this paper, a novel multi-threshold acceleration switch with anti-overloading function is designed and fabricated by incorporating both magnetic multi-stable structures and compliant cantilever contacts, which also can be used to distinguish specific acceleration pulse. To enhance the contact reliability, the magnetic compliant locking mechanism is introduced to prevent bouncing back phenomenon under overload acceleration. Considering the air-damping and multi-magnetic fields coupling effect, the dynamic design model is proposed for analyzing the nonlinear switch response. Then, threshold accelerations can be determined as ac1 = 3.78g, ac2 = 10.2g and ac3 = 6.95g in one direction while threshold accelerations in opposite direction are ac4 = 4.9g, ac5 = 8.47g and ac6 = 5.6g. The switch shows excellent threshold acceleration detection capability, and the inertial switch keeps open while the external acceleration is 0.2g less than the predefined threshold value. The experimental results show that the threshold acceleration with specific pulse width can be accurately identified, and the switch can bear strong overload acceleration comparing to traditional switches. Consequently, the proposed design method provides a new way for intelligent mechanical inertial sensors.

Using “Why and How” to Tap Into Novice Designers’ Method Selection Mindset

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Poreh ◽  
Euiyoung Kim ◽  
Varna Vasudevan ◽  
Alice Agogino
Keyword(s):  
Design Method ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
University Of California ◽  
Teaching Material ◽  
Human Centered Design ◽  
Method Selection ◽  
Knowledge Platform ◽  
Selection Methodology ◽  
The University

Despite the growing utilization of human-centered design, both in academia and industry, there is lack of pedagogical materials that support context-based design method selection. When used properly, design methods are linked to successful outcomes in the design process, but with hundreds of design methods to select from, knowing when and how to use a particular method is challenging. Selecting the appropriate design method requires a deep understanding of the project context. Cultivating a selection methodology that is more contextually aware, equips students with the tools to apply the most appropriate methods to their future academic and industry projects. Using theDesignExchange knowledge platform as a teaching material, we discuss a summer design course at the University of California at Berkeley that encourages students to choose design methods rather than the instructors giving a set list. The findings illustrate that when given the task to select a method, students exhibit contextually-aware method selection mindsets.

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