Conceptual Design of a Modular Floating Multi-Purpose Island

The design of a modular floating multi-purpose island inherently involves interaction within a group with a large range of backgrounds such as engineering, architecture, sociology, climate modeling, and more. A heuristic design approach was adopted for future island developers to make a first conceptual design. Four major design considerations were distinguished to discretize the design space: module size, module shape, module principle, and module connection and mooring. For each consideration a set of evaluation criteria were defined. This article describes the heuristic conceptual design procedure that was applied to the design of a modular floating island for offshore energy, offshore accommodation, aquafarming, and offshore transport and logistics. Two reference installation scenarios with a different respective focus of functionality, located in the North Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea, were created as a basis for the design. The first step of the design procedure consisted of a participatory process involving stakeholders and experts to rate design options for each category of design considerations based on the evaluation criteria and with regard to the installation scenario. As a result, all design configurations could be associated with an overall rating. In a second step, the most favorable designs identified during the participatory design procedure were investigated numerically to assess force distribution throughout the island when exposed to wave and current loads. The numerical results indicate that contrary to initial estimates during Phase 1, wave forces on an island consisting of quadrangular modules do not significantly exceed those experienced by triangular base shapes. As quadrangular modules can be shown to provide a higher Ground-Space-Index, this gives them a distinct advantage. As a result of the design process for this application, a barge-like, square structure with a base size of 45 m was chosen as the base module.

Introduction

For the May 1967 issue of Analog, the influential science fiction magazine that began under the name Astounding Stories of Super-Science in 1930, editor (and sometimes author) John W. Campbell, Jr. composed an editorial titled ‘The Safest Form of Transportation.’ Campbell wrote the editorial, he tells us, in the days immediately following the Apollo 1 disaster, an incident that occurred on January 27, 1967, in which a cabin fire broke out in a space module as it sat on the ground during a launch rehearsal test. Three NASA astronauts were trapped inside the module and killed by the fire. Campbell, concerned that this disaster might halt subsequent development of human space flight programs, opens his editorial by brazenly declaring: ‘As of January 30th, 1967 travel by spaceship retains its unblemished record as the safest known form of travel; in hundreds of millions of miles of travel, not one person has been killed or injured.’...

Tests of a mockup of a transformable module for space and planetary stations

During the period of 2012 through 2015, RSC Energia, on its own initiative, within the framework of investment project Development of a Prototype Transformable Habitable Space Module, conducted an independent effort to design transformable modules, as well as to construct and perform ground developmental testing of a scale model of a transformable module. The test program was intended to verify and confirm the chosen design and layout solutions with respect to functioning, pressure integrity, strength of the product, as well as to acquire data about amplitude frequency response of the transformable shell. The paper presents descriptions of the tests that have been conducted, their objectives and achieved results, it describes experimental facilities and procedures for the tests. It draws conclusions based on the results produced by the effort, and outlines ways and options for further developmental testing on the mockup of the transformable module. Key words: transformable module, multilayer transformable pressurized shell, experimental development, testing.

RESEARCH ON THE MAKER TEACHER MOBILE TRAINING PLATFORM BASED ON BIG DATA ANALYSIS

In the era of "Internet +" and Big Data, it is of great practical significance on how to build a training platform that accurately matches the professional development of maker teachers, and to carry out personalized mobile training for maker teachers under the Big Data analysis technology. The construction of the maker teacher mobile training platform, based on the big data analysis technology, is designed to explore the personalized needs of maker teachers in professional development. It introduces a new concept of MOOC and community space design to build the maker mobile training platform framework structure, which contains three layers: application layer, service layer, and data layer. It designs five functional modules: diagnostic demand analysis module, personalized service customization module, online maker course module, seminar space module, and evaluation feedback module. The case analysis of the platform and its application effect shows that the maker teacher mobile training platform based on big data analysis has obvious effects on professional development for teachers and can provide reference for future research on related topics.

A digital companion for ecological momentary assessment and prevention of suicide: A case series on the use of the emma app

Background: Many suicide risk factors have been identified, but traditional clinical methods do not allow the accurate prediction of suicide behaviors. To face this challenge, we developed emma, an app for Ecological Momentary Assessment/Intervention (EMA/EMI) and prediction of suicide risk in high risk patients.Objective: We wanted to test the feasibility of implementing this mHealth-based suicide risk assessment and prevention tool and its impact in subjects at high risk of suicide in real world conditions.Methods: The EMMA Study is an ongoing longitudinal interventional multicenter trial in which patients at high-risk for suicide (n=100) use emma for 6 months. During this period, they complete four EMA types (daily, weekly, monthly, spontaneous) and may use EMI modules. Participants undergo clinical assessment at month 0, 1, 3 and 6 after inclusion.Results: Among the 43 patients already recruited in the EMMA Study, 14 participants had completed the follow-up. Their data were analyzed to evaluate emma implementation and impact on suicide risk management. EMA completion rates were extremely heterogeneous among the 14 participants with a sharp decrease over time. The completion rates of the weekly EMA (25% to 87.5%) were higher than for the daily EMA (0% to 53.3%). Most patients (n=10/14) answered the EMA questionnaires spontaneously. Similarly, the Safety Plan Modules use was very heterogeneous (2 to 75 times). Specifically, 11 patients used the Call Module (1 to 29 times), designed by our team to help them to get in touch with healthcare professionals and/or relatives during a crisis. All patients used the Breathing Space Module and 8 the Emotion Regulation Module (1 to 46 times). The diversity of patient profiles and use of the EMA and EMI modules proposed by emma was highlighted by three case reports.Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest that it is possible and acceptable to collect longitudinal fine-grained contextualized data (EMA) and to offer personalized intervention (EMI) in real time to people at high risk of suicide. Patients have different clinical and digital profiles and needs that require a highly scalable, interactive and customizable app. To become a complementary tool for suicide prevention, emma should be integrated in the existing emergency procedures.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Model of Air Velocity through a Poultry Transport Trailer in a Holding Shed

HighlightsComputational fluid dynamics modeling was an effective tool to simulate conditions on transport trailers in holding broilers for slaughter, to understand the performance of existing and alternative system configurations;Model simulation and measurements indicated that less than 32% of airflow generated by the cooling fans in the existing fan configuration in this study actually penetrated through the bird-occupied spaces;Simulations suggest that higher air velocity in the bird occupied zone within the modules can be achieved by alternative fan configurations at the holding shed, such as employing one fan per module, or with the addition of a transition enclosures from each fan outlet to the face of the receiving module. Abstract. The configuration of cooling systems in commercial holding sheds, where live broilers wait in cage modules for slaughter, varies between processing plants, with cooling system efficacies largely unknown. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to simulate airflow through cage modules in a poultry trailer in a typical holding shed configuration. Three alternative design configurations were simulated in order to better understand the air velocity profiles and to explore potential improvements for better cooling performance. Experimental data were collected within modules in a poultry trailer, parked in an existing commercial holding shed during warm summer conditions. Results from the CFD model had reasonable agreement with measured field data. Simulated air velocities were mostly within one standard deviation of measured values. Simulation of airflow through modules in the base configuration showed that less than 32% of airflow from the fans actually penetrated through the bird-occupied space. Module tiers experienced different airflow penetration due to the ad hoc positioning/alignment of the fans relative to the modules. In the base industry configuration, fans were in fixed positions and the number of fans and their centerline discharge axes did not align with the modules on the trailer. Regions not aligned with the faces of the fans, such as the uppermost and bottommost tiers, and horizontal locations offset from the fans, received the least airflow through the modules. Sections of modules experienced lower air velocity with increasing distance from the fans. Simulation of Design Alternative 2 (which added additional fans so that a fan was centered on each row) predicted an improved fan airflow of 3.08 and 3.05 kg s-1 through the cages in two adjacent rows, compared to 1.52 and 2.15 kg s-1 predicted for the original configuration. The increased air velocity using the alternative design illustrates the potential improvement and need to further optimize the design of these holding sheds. This research showed that a CFD model is an effective tool to simulate airflow conditions on poultry trailers in holding sheds to explore various holding shed cooling configurations and strategies. Keywords: Air velocity, CFD, Poultry Transportation, Poultry welfare.

INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO DESIGN AND MODIFICATION OF TECHNICAL PRODUCTS IN THE ROCKET AND SPACE INDUSTRY

The article discusses the importance of early design stages in the implementation of the project and proposes a methodology for designing innovative products. Examines an example of its application in the design of a space module.