NASA concept vehicles and the engineering of advanced air mobility aircraft

NASA is conducting investigations in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft and operations. AAM missions are characterised by ranges below 300 nm, including rural and urban operations, passenger carrying as well as cargo delivery. Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is a subset of AAM and is the segment that is projected to have the most economic benefit and be the most difficult to develop. The NASA Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project is developing UAM VTOL aircraft designs that can be used to focus and guide research activities in support of aircraft development for emerging aviation markets. These NASA concept vehicles encompass relevant UAM features and technologies, including propulsion architectures, highly efficient yet quiet rotors, and aircraft aerodynamic performance and interactions. The configurations adopted are generic, intentionally different in appearance and design detail from prominent industry arrangements. Already these UAM concept aircraft have been used in numerous engineering investigations, including work on meeting safety requirements, achieving good handling qualities, and reducing noise below helicopter certification levels. Focusing on the concept vehicles, observations are made regarding the engineering of Advanced Air Mobility aircraft.

Communication Network Standards for Smart Grid Infrastructures

Upgrading the existing energy infrastructure to a smart grid necessarily goes through the provision of integrated technological solutions that ensure the interoperability of business processes and reduce the risk of devaluation of systems already in use. Considering the heterogeneity of the current infrastructures, and in order to keep pace with the dynamics of their operating environment, we should aim to the reduction of their architectural complexity and the addition of new and more efficient technologies and procedures. Furthermore, the integrated management of the overall ecosystem requires a collaborative integration strategy which should ensure the end-to-end interconnection under specific quality standards together with the establishment of strict security policies. In this respect, every design detail can be critical to the success or failure of a costly and ambitious project, such as that of smart energy networks. This work presents and classifies the communication network standards that have been established for smart grids and should be taken into account in the process of planning and implementing new infrastructures.

Communication Networks Standards for Smart Grid Infrastructures

The upgrade of energy infrastructure to those of smart grids, necessarily goes through the provision of integrated technological solutions that ensure the interoperability of their business capabilities and reduce the risk of devaluation of the systems used. The heterogeneity of the infrastructures and the dynamics of their operating environment, requires the continuous reduction of the complexity, the faster execution of the processes and the easy addition of innovative counterparts. Also, the integrated management of the overall ecosystem demands the provision of end-to-end interconnection, quality assurance, the definition of strict security policies, collaborative integration and correlation of events. In this respect, every design detail can be critical to the success or failure of a costly and ambitious project, such as that of smart energy networks. This work presents communication operating standards specific to the smart electricity networks applications, which should be taken into account in the process of planning and implementation of new infrastructures.

Conceptual aerodynamic design of an executive supersonic passenger aircraft – ESPA

Despite 50 years of technological advancement since the inception of Concorde, research on supersonic passenger aircraft has only recently resulted in design and flight test of several small 12- to 55-passenger business jets with supersonic cruises between Mach 1.2 and 2.2. Analytical research designs of larger 300-passenger aircraft have been conducted only to speeds of Mach 2.0 and 2.2, mainly avoiding moving beyond turbojet propulsion. This research extends on an earlier multifactor regression sizing study to determine in greater design detail what the configuration of a 200-passenger Mach 3.0 aircraft could be using extant technology. This research article is the first part of two and covers the conceptual aircraft design evolution focussing on the aerodynamics, wing and fuselage. In contrast, the second article covers engine conceptual design and placement. Wing shape optimization is performed using fundamental CFD analysis to arrive at a configuration suitable for both subsonic and supersonic flight. Noise considerations and shock wave formation drive further design iterations based on the research literature. The viability of this research design informs a future multidisciplinary optimization like those recently published in the literature for smaller supersonic business jets.

Optimization of reinforced concrete structures: importance of design detail level

The study of the influence for design solution detailing on the cost of reinforced concrete structures during their optimization is carried out. A hypothesis is formulated on the final improvement of the target criterion with an increase in the number of variable parameters. Depending on this number, the concepts of three levels of detail are introduced, at which optimization can be carried out, and the degree of risk of failure of the structure is indicated for them. Using the example of finding a constructive solution for a reinforced concrete beam by the cost minimization criterion, the relationship of the cost change is shown when the number of independently variable parameters changes. The normal operation of the beam and the emergency action effects in the form of local damage to a single corner connection are taken into account. Genetic algorithms are used for the optimization.

FEASIBILITY STUDY BENDUNGAN POH SANTEN DI KABUPATEN JEMBRANA

ABSTRAKPembangunan sarana penyediaan air baku bagi Kabupaten Jembrana merupakan salah satu kebutuhan yang utama bagi kelangsungan hidup masyarakat di daerah tersebut. Sarana penyediaan air baku berupa bendungan sebagai tempat tampungan air merupakan suatu alternatif dalam mengatasi masalah pemenuhan kebutuhan air irigasi dan air bersih didaerah tersebut. Pada studi-studi tentang ketersediaan air baik air permukaan maupun bawah permukaan dengan tingkat kebutuhan air penduduk di Kabupaten Jembrana yang semakin meningkat, maka telah direkomendasikan untuk melakukan kajian-kajian teknis tentang upaya-upaya penyediaan air baku terutama dengan membangun bendungan. Salah satu studi yang telah direkomendasikan adalah melakukan studi pendahuluan berupa studi kelayakan Bendungan Poh Santen di daerah aliran sungai (DAS) Tukad Pergung di Kecamatan Medoyo. Dalam studi ini, desain awal bendungan Poh Santen dipilih konstruksi Bendungan Tipe Urugan Inti Vertikal dengan material urugan random sesuai dengan ketersediaan jenis material di lokasi studi. Tinggi bendungan 32 m dan tampungan total sebesar 1,272x106 m3. Pemanfaatan air bendungan Poh Santen untuk memenuhi kebutuhan air irigasi seluas 269 ha dan memenuhi kebutuhan air bersih penduduk dengan debit rencana sebesar 0,142 m3/dt. Analisis kelayakan didapat hasil bendungan Poh Santen dinyatakan sangat layak untuk dilajutkan pada tahap Detail Desain (IRR>12% dan BCR>1)Kata kunci: bendungan, tampungan, air irigasi, air bersih, kelayakan teknis ABSTRACTThe construction of raw water supply facilities for Jembrana Regency is one of the main needs for the survival of the people in the area. Means of supplying raw water in the form of dams as water reservoirs are an alternative in overcoming the problem of meeting the needs of irrigation water and clean water in the area. In studies of the availability of water both surface and subsurface water with the increasing level of water needs of the population in Jembrana Regency, it has been recommended to conduct technical studies on efforts to provide raw water, especially by building dams. One study that has been recommended is a preliminary study in the form of a feasibility study of the Poh Santen Dam in the Tukad Pergung watershed in Medoyo District. In this study, the initial design of the Poh Santen dam was chosen by the construction of a Vertical Core Urugan Dam type with a random Urugan material according to the availability of material types at the study site. The dam is 32 m high and the total reservoir is 1,272 x 106 m3. Utilization of Poh Santen dam water to meet irrigation water needs covering an area of 269 ha and meet the population's clean water needs with a planned discharge of 0.142 m3 / sec. The feasibility analysis shows that the results of the Poh Santen dam are declared to be very feasible to be continued at the Design Detail stage (IRR> 12% and BCR> 1)Keywords: dams, reservoirs, irrigation water, clean water, technical feasibility

Making the case for simulation: Unlocking carbon reduction through simulation of individual ‘middle actor’ behaviour

This paper makes the case for agent-based modelling as a route to unlocking the potential of existing buildings to reduce energy demand and contribute to achieving carbon reduction targets. The construction of a model to simulate this system requires significant innovation in data collection and handling. The need to focus on ‘middle actors’ in construction – specifically the tradesmen who carry out repair, maintenance and renovation – in order to reduce energy demand in existing buildings is described. This is the first work that proposes to simulate these actors. After identifying this opportunity, the paper considers what modelling techniques are required to describe the possible effects of changes to middle actor behaviour across the construction industry. Having discussed the different types of data needed, the paper uses the ‘overview, design, detail’ approach to describe how an agent-based model might be developed, using rule sets derived from middle actor data. Finally, the types of interventions that might be tested are outlined, indicating how policy and practice could be informed by the proposed modelling approach.