Optimising Foundation Skirt Geometries for Reliable Foundation Capacity and Installation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Bransby ◽  
D. O’Driscoll ◽  
H. Zhu ◽  
M. F. Randolph ◽  
T. Drummen
Keyword(s):  
Marginal Cost ◽  
Efficient Solution ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The Self ◽  
Significant Cost ◽  
Design Life ◽  
Parametric Studies ◽  
Foundation Type ◽  
Fabrication Costs ◽  
Installation Time

Increasing numbers of subsea structures related to wells and pipelines are being placed on the seabed as part of typical subsea or tie-back developments. Given the proliferation of these structures and the marginal cost of offshore developments, controlling installation and fabrication costs for subsea structures can be key to project viability. Skirted mudmats are often the most cost-effective foundation type, and particular additional design focuses on optimising their cost by minimising foundation weight and installation time. Subsea foundations must be designed to withstand all applied loads during their design life (e.g. during set-down, tie-in, hydrotest, operation etc.) with suitable reliability. Using skirts, peripheral or internal, to improve the sliding resistance is an efficient solution provided the self-weight of the subsea structure on set-down is sufficiently large to ensure installation of the skirts (even for the strongest likely seabed conditions), but can lead to significant cost increases if additional ballast is required to ensure this. The paper examines how foundation skirt geometries can be optimised in order to provide sufficient foundation in-place capacity whilst minimising the amount of self-weight required for their installation. Parametric studies are presented that show how the sliding capacity of individual skirts is affected by the weight of the structure, and also the spacing and position within the foundation plan.

scholarly journals Development of Nonlinear Finite Element Models of Mortar-Free Interlocked Single Block Column Subjected to Lateral Loading

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Furqan Qamar ◽  
Shunde Qin
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Failure Load ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Nonlinear Finite Element ◽  
World Population ◽  
Bond Failure ◽  
Lateral Resistance ◽  
Lateral Strength ◽  
Parametric Studies ◽  
Single Block

AbstractAround the globe, the need for additional housing, due to the increase in world population, has led to the exploration of more cost effective and environmentally friendly forms of construction. Out of many technologies found, mortar-free interlocked masonry systems were developed to eliminate the deficiency of traditional masonry. For such systems against earthquakes, lateral resistance can be enhanced with plaster. But there is a need to further improve the performance of plaster in mortar-free interlocking walls for better ductility. The objective of this study is to develop nonlinear finite element (NLFE) models to explore the likely failure mechanism (e.g. bond failure) of such systems and to do parametric studies more cheaply than constructing many walls. Lateral failure load, load–displacement curves and crack patterns were compared with the experimental results. Parametric studies involving variation in block and plaster compressive strength and plaster thickness were undertaken using TNO DIANA NLFE models. A 150% increase in thickness of plaster only resulted in 28% increase in failure load, and column thickness can be reduced to theoretical 25 mm of blocks with 8 mm of plaster and yet exceed the lateral strength of a 150-mm-thick unplastered column. A cost analysis was also carried out, based on NLFE models, and showed that fibrous plastered column with 25-mm-thickness blocks gave equivalent performance to the 150-mm-thick unplastered column with 67% cost saving.

scholarly journals Surgical instrumentation: the true cost of instrument trays and a potential strategy for optimization

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Mhlaba ◽  
Emily W. Stockert ◽  
Martin Coronel ◽  
Alexander J. Langerman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Significant Cost ◽  
Instrument Type ◽  
Hospital Revenue ◽  
Potential Strategy ◽  
The Cost

Objective: Operating rooms (OR) generate a large portion of hospital revenue and waste. Consequently, improving efficiency and reducing waste is a high priority. Our objective was to quantify waste associated with opened but unused instruments from trays and to compare this with the cost of individually wrapping instruments.Methods: Data was collected from June to November of 2013 in a 550-bed hospital in the United States. We recorded the instrument usage of two commonly-used trays for ten cases each. The time to decontaminate and reassemble instrument trays and peel packs was measured, and the cost to reprocess one instrument was calculated.Results: Average utilization was 14% for the Plastic Soft Tissue Tray and 29% for the Major Laparotomy Tray. Of 98 instruments in the Plastics tray (n = 10), 0% was used in all cases observed and 59% were used in no observed cases. Of 110 instruments in the Major Tray (n = 10), 0% was used in all cases observed and 25% were used in no observed cases. Average cost to reprocess one instrument was $0.34-$0.47 in a tray and $0.81-$0.84 in a peel pack, or individually-wrapped instrument.Conclusions: We estimate that the cost of peel packing an instrument is roughly two times the cost of tray packing. Therefore, it becomes more cost effective from a processing standpoint to package an instrument in a peel pack when there is less than a 42%-56% probability of use depending on instrument type. This study demonstrates an opportunity for reorganization of instrument delivery that could result in a significant cost-savings and waste reduction.

scholarly journals Self-nudging and the citizen choice architect

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
SAMULI REIJULA ◽  
RALPH HERTWIG
Keyword(s):  
Goal Attainment ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Personal Autonomy ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Control Problems ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scope Of Application

Abstract This article argues that nudges can often be turned into self-nudges: empowering interventions that enable people to design and structure their own decision environments – that is, to act as citizen choice architects. Self-nudging applies insights from behavioral science in a way that is practicable and cost-effective, but that sidesteps concerns about paternalism or manipulation. It has the potential to expand the scope of application of behavioral insights from the public to the personal sphere (e.g., homes, offices, families). It is a tool for reducing failures of self-control and enhancing personal autonomy; specifically, self-nudging can mean designing one's proximate choice architecture to alleviate the effects of self-control problems, engaging in education to understand the nature and causes of self-control problems and employing simple educational nudges to improve goal attainment in various domains. It can even mean self-paternalistic interventions such as winnowing down one's choice set by, for instance, removing options. Policy-makers could promote self-nudging by sharing knowledge about nudges and how they work. The ultimate goal of the self-nudging approach is to enable citizen choice architects’ efficient self-governance, where reasonable, and the self-determined arbitration of conflicts between their mutually exclusive goals and preferences.

scholarly journals A Design of a Lightweight In-Vehicle Edge Gateway for the Self-Diagnosis of an Autonomous Vehicle

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1594 ◽  
Author(s):  
YiNa Jeong ◽  
SuRak Son ◽  
EunHee Jeong ◽  
ByungKwan Lee
Keyword(s):  
Delay Time ◽  
Autonomous Vehicle ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Transmission Error ◽  
Control Area ◽  
Transmission Delay ◽  
The Self ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Address Mapping ◽  
Control Area Network

This paper proposes a Lightweight In-Vehicle Edge Gateway (LI-VEG) for the self-diagnosis of an autonomous vehicle, which supports a rapid and accurate communication between in-vehicle sensors and a self-diagnosis module and between in-vehicle protocols. A paper on the self-diagnosis module has been published previously, thus this paper only covers the LI-VEG, not the self-diagnosis. The LI-VEG consists of an In-Vehicle Sending and Receiving Layer (InV-SRL), an InV-Management Layer (InV-ML) and an InV-Data Translator Layer (InV-DTL). First, the InV-SRL receives the messages from FlexRay, Control Area Network (CAN), Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST), and Ethernet and transfers the received messages to the InV-ML. Second, the InV-ML manages the message transmission and reception of FlexRay, CAN, MOST, and Ethernet and an Address Mapping Table. Third, the InV-DTL decomposes the message of FlexRay, CAN, MOST, and Ethernet and recomposes the decomposed messages to the frame suitable for a destination protocol. The performance analysis of the LI-VEG shows that the transmission delay time about message translation and transmission is reduced by an average of 10.83% and the transmission delay time caused by traffic overhead is improved by an average of 0.95%. Therefore, the LI-VEG has higher compatibility and is more cost effective because it applies a software gateway to the OBD, compared to a hardware gateway. In addition, it can reduce the transmission error and overhead caused by message decomposition because of a lightweight message header.

scholarly journals Marginal cost curves for water footprint reduction in irrigated agriculture: guiding a cost-effective reduction of crop water consumption to a permit or benchmark level

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 3507-3524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abebe D. Chukalla ◽  
Maarten S. Krol ◽  
Arjen Y. Hoekstra
Keyword(s):  
Deficit Irrigation ◽  
Marginal Cost ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Subsurface Drip Irrigation ◽  
Irrigation Strategy ◽  
Cost Curves ◽  
Subsurface Drip ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Marginal Cost Curves

Abstract. Reducing the water footprint (WF) of the process of growing irrigated crops is an indispensable element in water management, particularly in water-scarce areas. To achieve this, information on marginal cost curves (MCCs) that rank management packages according to their cost-effectiveness to reduce the WF need to support the decision making. MCCs enable the estimation of the cost associated with a certain WF reduction target, e.g. towards a given WF permit (expressed in m3  ha−1 per season) or to a certain WF benchmark (expressed in m3  t−1 of crop). This paper aims to develop MCCs for WF reduction for a range of selected cases. AquaCrop, a soil-water-balance and crop-growth model, is used to estimate the effect of different management packages on evapotranspiration and crop yield and thus the WF of crop production. A management package is defined as a specific combination of management practices: irrigation technique (furrow, sprinkler, drip or subsurface drip); irrigation strategy (full or deficit irrigation); and mulching practice (no, organic or synthetic mulching). The annual average cost for each management package is estimated as the annualized capital cost plus the annual costs of maintenance and operations (i.e. costs of water, energy and labour). Different cases are considered, including three crops (maize, tomato and potato); four types of environment (humid in UK, sub-humid in Italy, semi-arid in Spain and arid in Israel); three hydrologic years (wet, normal and dry years) and three soil types (loam, silty clay loam and sandy loam). For each crop, alternative WF reduction pathways were developed, after which the most cost-effective pathway was selected to develop the MCC for WF reduction. When aiming at WF reduction one can best improve the irrigation strategy first, next the mulching practice and finally the irrigation technique. Moving from a full to deficit irrigation strategy is found to be a no-regret measure: it reduces the WF by reducing water consumption at negligible yield reduction while reducing the cost for irrigation water and the associated costs for energy and labour. Next, moving from no to organic mulching has a high cost-effectiveness, reducing the WF significantly at low cost. Finally, changing from sprinkler or furrow to drip or subsurface drip irrigation reduces the WF, but at a significant cost.

scholarly journals Patent Buy-Outs for Global Disease Innovations for Low-and Middle-Income Countries

2006 ◽  
Vol 32 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 159-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Outterson
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Drug Price ◽  
Marginal Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
World Health ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
Generic Competition ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Cost Of Production

The World Health Organization’s CHOICE program analyzes the cost effectiveness of various health interventions related to the Millennium Development Goals. The program identifies the best strategies for improving health in low-income countries, using a standard set of methodological assumptions. These studies evaluate interventions in many areas, including child health and HIV/AIDS.For some of these treatments, drug costs are a significant variable: if the drug price doubles, the intervention becomes less cost effective. But if the drug price is reduced by 90%, then more therapies become affordable.Drug prices are uniquely susceptible to radical price reductions through generic competition. Patented pharmaceuticals may be priced at more than 30 times the marginal cost of production; the excess is the patent rent collected by the drug company while the patent and exclusive marketing periods remain. Patent rents are significant. AIDS drugs which sell for US$10,000 per person per year in the US are sold generically for less than US$200. If patented drugs could be sold at the marginal cost of production, cost effective treatments would become even more attractive, and other interventions would become affordable.

scholarly journals A Cost-Effective and Transferable Methodology for Rooftop PV Potential Assessment in Developing Countries

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phuong Minh Khuong ◽  
Russell McKenna ◽  
Wolf Fichtner
Keyword(s):  
Technology Development ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Market Potential ◽  
The Self ◽  
Priority Order ◽  
Efficient Uptake ◽  
Framework Conditions ◽  
Module Efficiency

The efficient uptake of decentralized solar rooftop photovoltaics (PV) is in some cases hindered by ineffective energy and political framework conditions. These may be based on inaccurate and uncertain potential assessments in the early development stage of the solar market. This paper develops a more accurate, cost-effective, and robust potential assessment for emerging and developing economies. Adjusting the module efficiency corresponding to regional and household conditions improves the output accuracy. The rooftop PV market changes are simulated regarding different input changes and policy designs, including changing the Feed-In Tariff (FIT), grid tariff, and technology development. In the case study, the market potential in Vietnam is estimated at 260–280 TWh/a and is clustered into six groups in priority order, in which Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh need the most policy focus. Changing the FIT from 8.83 to 9 Euro cent/kWh and using different regional FITs can activate an additional 16% of the market and lead to a possible 28 million Euro benefit. Increasing the grid tariff to 8.7 cents/kWh could activate the self-consumption model, and the self-sufficient market can be guaranteed in the case of CAPEX and OPEX being lower than 650 Euro/kWp. Future developments of the method should focus on combining this top-down method with detailed bottom-up approaches.

Parametric studies on the storage stability and aging effect of biodiesel treated with Eucalyptus oil as a cost‐effective green‐antioxidant additive

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (14) ◽  
pp. 11711-11724
Author(s):  
K. V. Yatish ◽  
H. S. Lalithamba ◽  
M. Sakar ◽  
Geetha R. Balakrishna ◽  
B. R. Omkaresh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Storage Stability ◽  
Aging Effect ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Antioxidant Additive ◽  
Eucalyptus Oil ◽  
Parametric Studies

scholarly journals THE LATENT CAUSES OF REWORK IN FLOATING PRODUCTION STORAGE AND OFFLOADING PROJECTS

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. D. Love ◽  
David John Edwards ◽  
Zahir Irani ◽  
Nuria Forcada
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Situated Learning ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Operational Performance ◽  
Significant Cost ◽  
Cost Growth ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Design And Construction

There is growing demand for cost effective and reliable floating production systems to maximize marginal and new deepwater fields worldwide. Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels are considered to be the most economical and viable options to meet this demand. Yet, FPSO projects are prone to significant cost and schedule growth. On average, FPSOs have been reported to experience a 20% cost growth and are delayed by six months. Overruns and delays represent uncertainties for owners, contractors and financial institutions. In-depth interviews with twenty-three practitioners about their experiences with FPSO projects revealed that rework arising from design and construction errors were major contributors to cost and schedule growth. Key latent conditions contributing to rework are classified according to people, organization and project. Using retrospective sensemaking an examination of the determinant histories in a new build and conversion FPSO that experienced rework was undertaken. The sharing of experience(s) is deemed pivotal for reducing rework in future projects, particularly through the use of communities of practice that are able to stimulate situated learning to take place. A reduction in rework will not only reduce cost and schedule growth, improve operational performance and augment safety.

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