For space missions, the flight heritage of components is crucial, and it is a key element for mission success. One of the major components is the (FS) Flight Software, which is considered as an essential part of mission success. Hence, the same concept is applicable of the flight software since it is verified, and been tested in space. The FS process needs to be well defined in order to contain all the requirements, and avoid delays in the project. In this paper, we proposed a methodology for developing the flight software for nano-satellite systems. MYSAT-1 mission has been used as a case study for the proposed methodology.
This paper aimed at investigating the thermal performance of Double Skin Fa?ade (DSF) for an existing conventional residential building located in Irbid, Jordan. Special focuses were implemented on the different geometry shapes of the DSF to achieve the maximum benefits possible in attaining the thermal comfort zones with the minimum usage of the fossil-fuels based machinery. Simulation through the IES VE software confirmed that both the cavity width and geometry of the DSF have a massive impact in obtaining a relatively moderate thermal zone during winter seasons and an acceptable indoor temperature during summer seasons. All scenarios showed a significant improvement of the building's thermal performance in comparison to the base case, where this research focuses on selecting the most appropriate DSF's geometry in order to achieve the highest possible energy reduction.
Cities today, owing to the rapid urbanization and population increase, are grappling with several urban issues such as pollution, congestion, personal health, and safety. Sustainable development through new planning approaches such as Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is seen as a possible solution to mitigate these negative effects on the overall livability of the urban area. As part of possibilities for charting a more sustainable urban future, TOD and energy efficient buildings have gained attention in the recent years. However, most research has focused on the contribution of both these sustainable approaches separately. Little research exists that investigates the energy efficiency of recommending sustainable development such as a TOD in an urban area. Hence, this research examines whether a sustainable planning approach such as a TOD has a positive influence on the energy efficiency of its built urban area in comparison to a non- TOD type development.
A pre-requisite to reducing the energy intensity of the building sector is to assess and understand current drivers of energy consumption. Drivers include building design characteristics, outdoor environmental conditions, as well as the operation patterns of building systems by occupants. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where buildings consume more than 70% of the total electricity demand, a comprehensive analysis of the drivers of building energy performance has not yet been conducted. This paper proposes an approach, which is unique in its ability to capture the combined effects of technical, as well as, operation-related building parameters. A regression models is proposed and applied to data gathered from 713 mixed-use buildings in downtown Abu Dhabi. Results indicate that in addition to physical building parameters such as window tinting, operational parameters, including AC cleanliness, chiller condition, and thermostat temperature setting have shown significant impacts on energy consumption levels.
Globally, biggest amount of water is consumed for agricultural purposes. Part of this consumption is due to the evaporation cooling technique that is typically used in cooling greenhouses. This technique vastly consumes water and energy. Ground Heat-Exchanger is an environmentallyfriendly solution used for heating/cooling and based on seasonal temperature difference between the ground and the ambient. A study was conducted on a ground-to-air heat exchanger used in thermally insulated greenhouse system equipped with actuated windows, LEDs fans, and sensors. A fuzzy controller was proposed to maintain the greenhouse environment by utilizing weather conditions through automated windows and ground heat through the ground heat exchanger. Results showed the heat exchanger can keep the greenhouse temperature at a constant level of about 26?C. It hence can be used for pre-cooling in summer and heating in winter. The proposed controller was able to maintain the greenhouse temperature within the acceptable range.
The connection between energy and water in the UAE is very high: the rely is on desalination to ensure the domestic water demand. Thermal desalination technologies are the major techniques used in the UAE, therefore, cogeneration-based power desalination plants dominate the energy sector in the UAE, which ties the power and the water production together. This bond results in significant impact on the environment and the climate change due to GHG emissions and other solid and liquid waste. The purpose of this paper is to first examine all the existing technologies related to energy generation and desalinated water production, second to investigate the social cost and specify the socio, environmental and economic characteristics of the different present technologies. Third to find out the optimal water and energy production development strategy based on different scenarios.
Existing RC building stock designed before the implementation of current design standards may require efficient seismic retrofit strategies to resist anticipated earthquakes. This study focuses on the effectiveness of RC jacketing, steel jacketing and FRP overlays on improving the seismic performance of low-to-midrise RC frame buildings. Two reference structures representing prestandard RC multi-story buildings are selected for this study based on the current design practices of the region. Detailed inelastic pushover and incremental dynamic analyses are performed using 3D fiber-based numerical models for the assessment of the seismic response of the reference structures before and after retrofit. A parametric study is undertaken to investigate the impact of the jacket thickness and number of FRP layers on improving the seismic performance. It is concluded that both RC and steel jacketing is effective in improving the lateral strengths to meet current design standards, while FRP overlays are efficient in improving ductility.
The Soil-Structure-Interaction (SSI) has a significant effect on the overall structural behavior of reinforced concrete buildings. This research work aims to study the SSI effect for the case of a 6- story building with a pile foundation. The numerical model foresees the study of the main shear wall of the structure with connected reinforced concrete slabs. The foundation system is a pilecap with three piles found within a soil class E, according to ASCE7-10. By using the hexahedral isoparametric finite element, the structure is discretized in 3D, where the adopted concrete material model is the smeared crack approach, and the steel bars are modelled by using embedded rebar elements. Both soil and concrete foundation are discretized with hexahedral elements. Monotonic and cyclic analyses are performed in order to evaluate the behavior of the fixed-base structure and the corresponding SSI model that is founded on the flexible soil.
This paper aims to present an experimental program to investigate the flexural behavior of Fiber- Reinforced concrete (FRC) beams reinforced longitudinally with Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Polymers (BFRP) bars. The experimental program consists of material evaluation and flexure test. Material evaluation was performed in order to obtain the compressive strength of the proposed concrete mix and tensile strength of the internal rebars. Flexure test was conducted on each of the BFRPFRC beams using four-point loading test setup to investigate any enhancements in the flexural behavior in terms of moment capacity, load versus mid-span deflection and crack behavior. The test matrix consists of 6 beams with different comparisons to mainly focus on studying the effect of BFRP reinforcement ratio and fibers type (Basalt and Synthetic).
Evaluating the dynamic characteristics is a fundamental step for the design of buildings when subjected to earthquake loads. One of the essential dynamic properties of structures is the fundamental period. Several expressions for the calculation of the fundamental period have been proposed by building codes and previous studies. However, further assessment studies for the fundamental periods are still needed to provide more reliable formulas for seismic design. In this study, period data for 147 instrumented buildings with various lateral force resisting systems (LFRSs) are compared with different formulas from building codes and previous studies. Another set of period data are considered from selected simulated structures. Different LFRSs are considered, including RC moment resisting frames (MRFs), steel MRFs, RC shear walls, braced systems and masonry structures. The comparisons between the derived period expressions with those of the design provisions confirm the conservative code design approach for the considered systems.
