An Artificial - Intelligent - Based System to Automate the Design of Complex Mechanical Products

Over the last decades, there has been growing pressure on industrial companies to offer to their costumers products with high quality, in the minimum deadlines and with reasonable prices. Since the design phase plays a key role to achieve these difficult goals, many traditional, DFX (Design For X) and integrated approaches have been proposed. However, many limits are still present. Thus, the main objectives of this work were first to identify these limits and then to overcome them by proposing and developing an automated framework for integrated product design. In this work, we automated the integrated DFMMA (Design For Materials, Manufacturing and Assembly) approach by developing an architecture composed of four levels, namely: the Common Information Modeling Level, the Selection Systems Level, the Inference and Computation Level and finally the Application Level. The proposed automated system is based on ontologies, on the CBR (Cases Based Reasoning) and the RBR (Rules Based Reasoning). The first main result obtained throughout the contributions consists on the integration of Manufacturing process selection, Assembly solution selection and materials selection in one integrated design approach. The second main result obtained consists on the exploitation of all the previous design studies developed by the design team and the ability to reuse the designers experience throughout the case based reasoning used in the proposed architecture. Another important result consists on the formalization and the automation of the execution of the design rules and the ability to infer new results and to check inconsistencies in the developed product using the data and information modeled in the ontological model and throughout the Cases Based Reasoning that we have incorporated in the developed approach. In this way, the redundancy in work and the difficulties faced in case of having a high number of design alternatives are avoided. Consequently, the product quality increases and wastes of time and money decrease. Finally, to validate the functioning and the efficacy of the proposed DFMMA system, an application on the design of a complex mechanical product is developed in the end of the work.

The importance of iterative process in facade design optimization for a green office building in South Tangerang City

Currently, climate change and wellbeing provoke buildings to have higher sustainable performance. So, the condition expects that buildings can tackle those issues that benefit and less impact the environment and its occupants. This particular target needs integrated design approach that the role of the iterative process is necessary. The study focuses on the process of facade design for the buildings that are targeted to have sustainable performance. So, the design of the building facades shall be in accordance with the green building standard issued by GBC Indonesia, Greenship NB Version 1.2. The optimization of facade design was conducted based on three parameters: OTTV, daylight, and outside view. The minimum requirements for each parameter are 35 Watts/sqm for maximum OTTV, 30% for a minimum active area covered by daylight, and 75% for a minimum active area with an outside view. One of the aims of this study is to give a depiction of how to conduct a design process by using an iterative way. In addition, it is to identify the critical keys in enabling the building to the requirements.

The gap of cultural heritage protection with climate change adaptation in the context of spatial planning. The case of Greece

The case of cultural resources, and in particular of archaeological sites, is one of the key elements of the anthropogenic environment that is affected by climate change and needs protection. At the same time, it is a field of analysis allowing the understanding of the interactions and interconnections of natural and socio-economic systems in time and in different spatial scales, thus providing useful information on the phenomenon of climate change and on how to respond and adapt to it [1]. However, the related scientific research, policies and actions are still limited, as only in the last decade [2] there has been an (albeit ever-increasing) interest in this field. The main objective of this paper is to codify protection policies and to identify a typology of actions for major archaeological sites with tourist interest in Greece, in order to identify a framework for spatial planning to meet the challenges of reducing the effects of climate change such as: the adoption of an integrated design approach to the protection of cultural heritage rather than a traditional conservation approach; linking the cultural heritage with the natural environment; Bridging existing gaps and redefining cultural heritage in dynamic and spatial terms for both climate change adaptation and also emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction.

The Next Generation Fast Marine Access Solution

The long distance transport of offshore personnel has traditionally been undertaken by air. However, the desire for increased safety and efficiency in combination with the drive to lower operational cost in the offshore industry opens up new possibilities for fast marine access solutions. This article presents the development of the next generation Fast Crew Supplier that combines high transit speeds at high comfort levels with a reliable, safe and comfortable method of personnel exchange to the platform using a Walk-to-Work solution. The results of an integrated design approach are presented which are used to optimize the main transfer systems and their controls. It is shown that optimization of these systems allows a high workability for a Walk-to-Work solution on a fast and relatively lightweight ship in challenging wave conditions.

Main Challenges and Goals of the H2020 STRATOFLY Project

As eluded in previous studies, with special reference to those carried out in the European framework, some innovative high-speed aircraft configurations have now the potential to assure an economically viable high-speed aircraft fleet. They make use of unexploited flight routes in the stratosphere, offering a solution to the presently congested flight paths while ensuring a minimum environmental impact in terms of emitted noise and green-house gasses, particularly during stratospheric cruise. Only a dedicated multi-disciplinary integrated design approach could realize this, by considering airframe architectures embedding the propulsion systems as well as meticulously integrating crucial subsystems. In this context, starting from an in-depth investigation of the current status of the activities, the STRATOFLY project has been funded by the European Commission, under the framework of Horizon 2020 plan, with the aim of assessing the potential of this type of high-speed transport vehicle to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 by 2035, with respect to key technological, societal and economical aspects. Main issues are related to thermal and structural integrity, low-emissions combined propulsion cycles, subsystems design and integration, including smart energy management, environmental aspects impacting climate change, noise emissions and social acceptance, and economic viability accounting for safety and human factors. This paper aims at summarizing the main challenges and goals of the STRATOFLY project, highlighting the steps forward with respect to the past European Projects and underlying the next planned goals.

REFOS: A Renewable Energy Multi-Purpose Floating Offshore System

The present paper deals with the development of a multi-purpose floating tension leg platform (TLP) concept suitable for the combined offshore wind and wave energy resources exploitation, taking into account the prevailing environmental conditions at selected locations along the European coastline. The examined Renewable Energy Multi-Purpose Floating Offshore System (REFOS) platform encompasses an array of hydrodynamically interacting oscillating water column (OWC) devices, moored through tensioned tethers as a TLP platform supporting a 10 MW wind turbine (WT). The system consists of a triangular platform supported by cylindrical floaters, with the WT mounted at the deck’s center and the cylindrical OWC devices at its corners. Details of the modelling of the system are discussed and hydro-aero-elastic coupling between the floater; the mooring system; and the WT is presented. The analysis incorporates the solutions of the diffraction; the motion- and the pressure-dependent radiation problems around the moored structure, along with the aerodynamics of the WT into an integrated design approach validated through extensive experimental hydrodynamic scaled-down model tests. The verified theoretical results attest to the importance of the WT loading and the OWC characteristics on the dynamics of the system.

Building a virtual factory: an integrated design approach to building smart factories

Purpose The complexity of manufacturing systems, on-going production and existing constraints on the shop floor remain among the main challenges for the analysis, design and development of the models in product, process and factory domains. The potential of different virtual factory (VF) tools and approaches to support simultaneous engineering for the design, and development of these domains has been addressed in the literature. To fulfil this potential, there is a need for an approach which integrates the product, process and production systems for designing and developing VF and its validation in real-life cases. This paper aims to present an integrated design approach for VF design and development, as well as a demonstration implemented in a wind turbine manufacturing plant. Design/methodology/approach As the research calls for instrumental knowledge to discover the effects of intervention on the operations of an enterprise, design science research methodology is considered to be a well-suited methodology for exploring practical usefulness of a generic design to close the theory–practice gap. The study was planned as an exploratory research activity which encompassed the simultaneous design and development of artefacts and retrospective analysis of the design and implementation processes. The extended VF concept, architecture, a demonstration and procedures followed during the research work are presented and evaluated. Findings The artefacts (models and methods) and the VF demonstrator, which was evaluated by industry experts and scholars based on the role of the VF in improving the performance in the evaluation and reconfiguration of new or existing factories, reduce the ramp-up and design times, supporting management decisions. Preliminary results are presented and discussed. Research limitations/implications The concept VF model, its architecture and general methodology as an integrated design and development approach, can be adopted and used for VF design and development both for discrete and continuous manufacturing plants. The development and demonstration were limited, however, because real-time synchronisation, 3D laser scanning data and a commonly shared data model, to enable the integration of different VF tools, were not achievable. Originality/value The paper presents a novel VF concept and architecture, which integrates product, process and production systems. Moreover, design and development methods of the concept and its demonstration for a wind turbine manufacturing plant are presented. The paper, therefore, contributes to the information systems and manufacturing engineering field by identifying a novel concept and approach to the effective design and development of a VF and its function in the analysis, design and development of manufacturing systems.

High Load Jacking Frames for Pin and Hanger Replacement at the Robert Moses Causeway

An innovative design of jacking frames was developed for pin and hanger replacement in Robert Moses Causeway (RMC) bridge in Suffolk County, New York. The robust and efficient design of the jacking frames results in a system with improved safety, performance, constructability, and economy. A fully integrated approach for design, fabrication, and construction was employed for higher quality and efficiency. A detailed and precise 3D model was created and directly used for finite element (FE) modeling, producing contract and shop drawings, and designing of temporary work platforms. This paper provides an overview of the integrated design approach and system design, and documents the computational study for this system (global analysis, stress analysis, and large-displacement stability analysis). There are many aging steel bridges in the U.S. and abroad that have similar pin and hanger systems, and jacking frames will be needed to replace those pins and hangers when they exhaust their useful service life. The concepts and details of the jacking frames can easily be emulated by engineers for developing similar safe and robust systems for suspended truss spans and other applicable bridge structures.