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Reinforced concrete (RC) structures with masonry infills are widely used for several types of buildings all over the world. However, it is well known that traditional masonry infills constructed with rigid contact to the surrounding RC frame performed rather poor in past earthquakes. Masonry infills showed severe in-plane damages and failed in many cases under out-of-plane seismic loading. As the undesired interactions between frames and infills changes the load transfer on building level, complete collapses of buildings were observed. A possible solution is uncoupling of masonry infills to the frame to reduce the infill contribution activated by the frame deformation under horizontal loading. The paper presents numerical simulations on RC frames equipped with the innovative decoupling system INODIS. The system was developed within the European project INSYSME and allows an effective uncoupling of frame and infill. The simulations are carried out with a micro-modelling approach, which is able to predict the complex nonlinear behaviour resulting from the different materials and their interaction. Each brick is modelled individually and connected taking into account nonlinearity of a brick mortar interface. The calibration of the model is based on small specimen tests and experimental results for one bay one storey frame are used for the validation. The validated model is further used for parametric studies on two storey and two bay infilled frames. The response and change of the structural stiffness are analysed and compared to the traditionally infilled frame. The results confirm the effectiveness of the INODIS system with less damage and relatively low contribution of the infill at high drift levels. In contrast to the uncoupled system configurations, traditionally infilled frames experienced brittle failure at rather low drift levels.
Industrial facilities must be thoroughly designed to withstand seismic actions as they exhibit an increased loss potential due to the possibly wideranging damage consequences and the valuable process engineering equipment. Past earthquakes showed the social and political consequences of seismic damage to industrial facilities and sensitized the population and politicians worldwide for the possible hazard emanating from industrial facilities. However, a holistic approach for the seismic design of industrial facilities can presently neither be found in national nor in international standards. The introduction of EN 1998-4 of the new generation of Eurocode 8 will improve the normative situation with
specific seismic design rules for silos, tanks and pipelines and secondary process components. The article presents essential aspects of the seismic design of industrial facilities based on the new generation of Eurocode 8 using the example of tank structures and secondary process components. The interaction effects of the process components with the primary structure are illustrated by means of the experimental results of a shaking table test of a three story moment resisting steel frame with different process components. Finally, an integrated approach of
digital plant models based on building information modelling (BIM) and structural health monitoring (SHM) is presented, which provides not only a reliable decision-making basis for operation, maintenance and repair but also an excellent tool for rapid assessment of seismic damage.
Seismic design of buried pipeline systems for energy and water supply is not only important for plant and operational safety but also for the maintenance of the supply infrastructure after an earthquake. The present paper shows special issues of the seismic wave impacts on buried pipelines, describes calculation methods, proposes approaches and gives calculation examples. This paper regards the effects of transient displacement differences and resulting tensions within the pipeline due to the wave propagation of the earthquake. However, the presented model can also be used to calculate fault rupture induced displacements. Based on a three-dimensional Finite Element Model parameter studies are performed to show the influence of several parameters such as incoming wave angle, wave velocity, backfill height and synthetic displacement time histories. The interaction between the pipeline and the surrounding soil is modeled with non-linear soil springs and the propagating wave is simulated affecting the pipeline punctually, independently in time and space. Special attention is given to long-distance heat pipeline systems. Here, in regular distances expansion bends are arranged to ensure movements of the pipeline due to high temperature. Such expansion bends are usually designed with small bending radii, which during the earthquake lead to high bending stresses in the cross-section of the pipeline. Finally, an interpretation of the results and recommendations are given for the most critical parameters.
Seismic excited liquid filled tanks are subjected to extreme loading due to hydrodynamic pressures, which can lead to nonlinear stability failure of the thinwalled cylindrical tanks, as it is known from past earthquakes. A significant reduction of the seismically induced loads can be obtained by the application of base isolation systems, which have to be designed carefully with respect to the modified hydrodynamic behaviour of the tank in interaction with the liquid. For this reason a highly sophisticated fluid-structure interaction model has to be applied for a realistic simulation of the overall dynamic system. In the following, such a model is presented and compared with the results of simplified mathematical models for rigidly supported tanks. Finally, it is examined to what extent a simple mechanical model can represent the behaviour of a base isolated tank in case of seismic excitation
Past earthquakes demonstrated the high vulnerability of industrial facilities equipped with complex process technologies leading to serious damage of the process equipment and multiple and simultaneous release of hazardous substances in industrial facilities. Nevertheless, the design of industrial plants is inadequately described in recent codes and guidelines, as they do not consider the dynamic interaction between the structure and the installations and thus the effect of seismic response of the installations on the response of the structure and vice versa. The current code-based approach for the seismic design of industrial facilities is considered not enough for ensure proper safety conditions against exceptional event entailing loss of content and related consequences. Accordingly, SPIF project (Seismic Performance of Multi- Component Systems in Special Risk Industrial Facilities) was proposed within the framework of the European H2020 - SERA funding scheme (Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance for Europe). The objective of the SPIF project is the investigation of the seismic behavior of a representative industrial structure equipped with complex process technology by means of shaking table tests. The test structure is a three-story moment resisting steel frame with vertical and horizontal vessels and cabinets, arranged on the three levels and connected by pipes. The dynamic behavior of the test structure and installations is investigated with and without base isolation. Furthermore, both firmly anchored and isolated components are taken into account to compare their dynamic behavior and interactions with each other. Artificial and synthetic ground motions are applied to study the seismic response at different PGA levels. After each test, dynamic identification measurements are carried out to characterize the system condition. The contribution presents the numerical simulations to calibrate the tests on the prototype, the experimental setup of the investigated structure and installations, selected measurement data and finally describes preliminary experimental results.
In many historical centres in Europe, stone masonry buildings are part of building aggregates, which developed when the layout of the city or village was densified. In these aggregates, adjacent buildings share structural walls to support floors and roofs. Meanwhile, the masonry walls of the façades of adjacent buildings are often connected by dry joints since adjacent buildings were constructed at different times. Observations after for example the recent Central Italy earthquakes showed that the dry joints between the building units were often the first elements to be damaged. As a result, the joints opened up leading to pounding between the building units and a complicated interaction at floor and roof beam supports. The analysis of such building aggregates is very challenging and modelling guidelines do not exist. Advances in the development of analysis methods have been impeded by the lack of experimental data on the seismic response of such aggregates. The objective of the project AIMS (Seismic Testing of Adjacent Interacting Masonry Structures), included in the H2020 project SERA, is to provide such experimental data by testing an aggregate of two buildings under two horizontal components of dynamic
excitation. The test unit is built at half-scale, with a two-storey building and a one-storey building. The buildings share one common wall while the façade walls are connected by dry joints. The floors are at different heights leading to a complex dynamic response of this smallest possible building aggregate. The shake table test is conducted at the LNEC seismic testing facility. The testing sequence comprises four levels of shaking: 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of nominal shaking table capacity. Extensive instrumentation, including accelerometers, displacement transducers and optical measurement systems, provides detailed information on the building aggregate response. Special attention is paid to the interface opening, the globa
A methodology for assessment, seismic verification and strengthening of existing masonry buildings is presented in this paper. The verification is performed using a calculation model calibrated with the results from ambient vibration measurements. The calibrated model serves as an input for a deformation-based verification procedure based on the Capacity Spectrum Method (CSM). The bearing capacity of the building is calculated from experimental capacity curves of the individual walls idealized with bilinear elastic-perfectly plastic curves. The experimental capacity curves were obtained from in-plane cyclic loading tests on unreinforced and strengthened masonry walls with reinforced concrete jackets. The seismic action is compared with the load-bearing capacity of the building considering non-linear material behavior with its post-peak capacity. The application of the CSM to masonry buildings and the influence of a traditional strengthening method are demonstrated on the example of a public school building in Skopje, Macedonia.
In: Computer Aided Architectural Design Futures 2005 2005, Part 4, 207-216, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3698-1_19 The conceptual design at the beginning of the building construction process is essential for the success of a building project. Even if some CAD tools allow elaborating conceptual sketches, they rather focus on the shape of the building elements and not on their functionality. We introduce semantic roomobjects and roomlinks, by way of example to the CAD tool ArchiCAD. These extensions provide a basis for specifying the organisation and functionality of a building and free architects being forced to directly produce detailed constructive sketches. Furthermore, we introduce consistency analyses of the conceptual sketch, based on an ontology containing conceptual relevant knowledge, specific to one class of buildings.
ITCE-2003 - 4th Joint Symposium on Information Technology in Civil Engineering ed Flood, I., Seite 1-12, ASCE (CD-ROM), Nashville, USA In this paper we discussed graph based tools to support architects during the conceptual design phase. Conceptual Design is defined before constructive design; the used concepts are more abstract. We develop two graph based approaches, a topdown using the graph rewriting system PROGRES and a more industrially oriented approach, where we extend the CAD system ArchiCAD. In both approaches, knowledge can be defined by a knowledge engineer, in the top-down approach in the domain model graph, in the bottom-up approach in the in an XML file. The defined knowledge is used to incrementally check the sketch and to inform the architect about violations of the defined knowledge. Our goal is to discover design error as soon as possible and to support the architect to design buildings with consideration of conceptual knowledge.
Sensitivity Analysis of General Aviation Aircraft with Parallel Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Systems
(2019)
Sensitivity of phase detection techniques in aerated chute flows to hydraulic design parameters
(2012)
Sensor positioning and thermal model for condition monitoring of pressure gas reservoirs in vehicles
(2018)
Existing residential buildings have an average lifetime of 100 years. Many of these buildings will exist for at least another 50 years. To increase the efficiency of these buildings while keeping costs at reasonable rates, they can be retrofitted with sensors that deliver information to central control units for heating, ventilation and electricity. This retrofitting process should happen with minimal intervention into existing infrastructure and requires new approaches for sensor design and data transmission. At FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, students of different disciplines work together to learn how to design, build, deploy and operate such sensors. The presented teaching project already created a low power design for a combined CO2, temperature and humidity measurement device that can be easily integrated into most home automation systems
Under DLR-contract, Giessen University and DLR Cologne are studying solar-electric propulsion missions (SEP) to the outer regions of the solar system. The most challenging reference mission concerns the transport of a 1.35-tons chemical lander spacecraft into an 80-RJ circular orbit around Jupiter, which would enable to place a 375 kg lander with 50 kg of scientific instruments on the surface of the icy moon "Europa". Thorough analyses show that the best solution in terms of SEP launch mass times thrusting time would be a two-stage EP module and a triple-junction solar array with concentrators which would be deployed step by step. Mission performance optimizations suggest to propel the spacecraft in the first EP stage by 6 gridded ion thrusters, running at 4.0 kV of beam voltage, which would save launch mass, and in the second stage by 4 thrusters with 1.25 to 1.5 kV of positive high voltage saving thrusting time. In this way, the launch mass of the spacecraft would be kept within 5.3 tons. Without a launcher's C3 and interplanetary gravity assists, Jupiter might be reached within about 4 yrs. The spiraling-down into the parking orbit would need another 1.8 yrs. This "large mission" can be scaled down to a smaller one, e.g., by halving all masses, the solar array power, and the number of thrusters. Due to their reliability, long lifetime and easy control, RIT-22 engines have been chosen for mission analysis. Based on precise tests, the thruster performance has been modeled.
By DLR-contact, sample return missions to the large main-belt asteroid “19, Fortuna” have been studied. The mission scenario has been based on three ion thrusters of the RIT-22 model, which is presently under space qualification, and on solar arrays equipped with triple-junction GaAs solar cells. After having designed the spacecraft, the orbit-to-orbit trajectories for both, a one-way SEP mission with a chemical sample return and an all-SEP return mission, have been optimized using a combination of artificial neural networks with evolutionary algorithms. Additionally, body-to-body trajectories have been
investigated within a launch period between 2012 and 2015. For orbit-to-orbit calculation, the launch masses of the hybrid mission and of the all-SEP mission resulted in 2.05 tons and 1.56 tons, respectively, including a scientific payload of 246 kg. For the related transfer
durations 4.14 yrs and 4.62 yrs were obtained. Finally, a comparison between the mission scenarios based on SEP and on NEP have been carried out favouring clearly SEP.
The applicability of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and adsorptive stripping voltammetry (AdSV) at a non-toxic meniscus-modified silver solid amalgam electrode (m-AgSAE) for the determination of trace amounts of genotoxic substances was demonstrated on the determination of micromolar and submicromolar concentrations of 3-nitrofluoranthene using methanol - 0.01 mol L-1 NaOH (9:1) mixture as a base electrolyte and of Ostazine Orange using 0.01 mol L-1 NaOH as a base electrolyte.
The Volatility Framework is a collection of tools for the analysis of computer RAM. The framework offers a multitude of analysis options and is used by many investigators worldwide. Volatility currently comes with a command line interface only, which might be a hinderer for some investigators to use the tool. In this paper we present a GUI and extensions for the Volatility Framework, which on the one hand simplify the usage of the tool and on the other hand offer additional functionality like storage of results in a database, shortcuts for long Volatility Framework command sequences, and entirely new commands based on correlation of data stored in the database.
The interest in PET detectors with monolithic block scintillators is growing. In order to obtain high spatial resolutions dedicated positioning algorithms are required. But even an ideal algorithm can only deliver information which is provided by the detector. In this simulation study we investigated the light distribution on one surface of cuboid LSO scintillators of different size. Scintillators with a large aspect ratio (small footprint and large height) showed significant position information only for a minimum interaction depth of the gamma particle. The results allow a quantitative estimate for a useful aspect ratio.
In this paper, we present the structure, the simulation the operation of a multi-stage, hybrid solar desalination system (MSDH), powered by thermal and photovoltaic (PV) (MSDH) energy. The MSDH system consists of a lower basin, eight horizontal stages, a field of four flat thermal collectors with a total area of 8.4 m2, 3 Kw PV panels and solar batteries. During the day the system is heated by thermal energy, and at night by heating resistors, powered by solar batteries. These batteries are charged by the photovoltaic panels during the day. More specifically, during the day and at night, we analyse the temperature of the stages and the production of distilled water according to the solar irradiation intensity and the electric heating power, supplied by the solar batteries. The simulations were carried out in the meteorological conditions of the winter month (February 2020), presenting intensities of irradiance and ambient temperature reaching 824 W/m2 and 23 °C respectively. The results obtained show that during the day the system is heated by the thermal collectors, the temperature of the stages and the quantity of water produced reach 80 °C and 30 Kg respectively. At night, from 6p.m. the system is heated by the electric energy stored in the batteries, the temperature of the stages and the quantity of water produced reach respectively 90 °C and 104 Kg for an electric heating power of 2 Kw. Moreover, when the electric power varies from 1 Kw to 3 Kw the quantity of water produced varies from 92 Kg to 134 Kg. The analysis of these results and their comparison with conventional solar thermal desalination systems shows a clear improvement both in the heating of the stages, by 10%, and in the quantity of water produced by a factor of 3.
In positron emission tomography improving time, energy and spatial detector resolutions and using Compton kinematics introduces the possibility to reconstruct a radioactivity distribution image from scatter coincidences, thereby enhancing image quality. The number of single scattered coincidences alone is in the same order of magnitude as true coincidences. In this work, a compact Compton camera module based on monolithic scintillation material is investigated as a detector ring module. The detector interactions are simulated with Monte Carlo package GATE. The scattering angle inside the tissue is derived from the energy of the scattered photon, which results in a set of possible scattering trajectories or broken line of response. The Compton kinematics collimation reduces the number of solutions. Additionally, the time of flight information helps localize the position of the annihilation. One of the questions of this investigation is related to how the energy, spatial and temporal resolutions help confine the possible annihilation volume. A comparison of currently technically feasible detector resolutions (under laboratory conditions) demonstrates the influence on this annihilation volume and shows that energy and coincidence time resolution have a significant impact. An enhancement of the latter from 400 ps to 100 ps leads to a smaller annihilation volume of around 50%, while a change of the energy resolution in the absorber layer from 12% to 4.5% results in a reduction of 60%. The inclusion of single tissue-scattered data has the potential to increase the sensitivity of a scanner by a factor of 2 to 3 times. The concept can be further optimized and extended for multiple scatter coincidences and subsequently validated by a reconstruction algorithm.
Scientific questions
- How can a non-stationary heat offering in the commercial vehicle be used to reduce fuel consumption?
- Which potentials offer route and environmental information among with predicted speed and load trajectories to increase the efficiency of a ORC-System?
Methods
- Desktop bound holistic simulation model for a heavy duty truck incl. an ORC System
- Prediction of massflows, temperatures and mixture quality (AFR) of exhaust gas
Following the successful PHILAE landing with ESA's ROSETTA probe and the launch of the MINERVA rovers and the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, MASCOT, aboard the JAXA space probe, HAYABUSA2, to asteroid (162173) Ryugu, small landers have found increasing interest. Integrated at the instrument level in their mothership they support small solar system body studies. With efficient capabilities, resource-friendly design and inherent robustness they are an attractive exploration mission element. We discuss advantages and constraints of small sub-spacecraft, focusing on emerging areas of activity such as asteroid diversity studies, planetary defence, and asteroid mining, on the background of our projects PHILAE, MASCOT, MASCOT2, the JAXA-DLR Solar Power Sail Lander Design Study, and others. The GOSSAMER-1 solar sail deployment concept also involves independent separable sub-spacecraft operating synchronized to deploy the sail. Small spacecraft require big changes in the way we do things and occasionally a little more effort than would be anticipated based on a traditional large spacecraft approach. In a Constraints-Driven Engineering environment we apply Concurrent Design and Engineering (CD/CE), Concurrent Assembly, Integration and Verification (CAIV) and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). Near-term solar sails will likely be small spacecraft which we expect to harmonize well with nano-scale separable instrument payload packages.
Physical interaction with small solar system bodies (SSSB) is the next step in planetary science, planetary in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), and planetary defense (PD). It requires a broader understanding of the surface properties of the target objects, with particular interest focused on those near Earth. Knowledge of composition, multi-scale surface structure, thermal response, and interior structure is required to design, validate and operate missions addressing these three fields. The current level of understanding is occasionally simplified into the phrase, ”If you’ve seen one asteroid, you’ve seen one asteroid”, meaning that the in-situ characterization of SSSBs has yet to cross the threshold towards a robust and stable scheme of classification. This would enable generic features in spacecraft design, particularly for ISRU and science missions. Currently, it is necessary to characterize any potential target object sufficiently by a dedicated pre-cursor mission to design the mission which then interacts with the object in a complex fashion. To open up strategic approaches, much broader in-depth characterization of potential target objects would be highly desirable. In SSSB science missions, MASCOT-like nano-landers and instrument carriers which integrate at the instrument level to their mothership have met interest. By its size, MASCOT is compatible with small interplanetary missions. The DLR-ESTEC Gossamer Roadmap Science Working Groups‘ studies identified Multiple Near-Earth asteroid (NEA) Rendezvous (MNR) as one of the space science missions only feasible with solar sail propulsion. The Solar Polar Orbiter (SPO) study showed the ability to access any inclination, theDisplaced-L1 (DL1) mission operates close to Earth, where objects of interest to PD and for ISRU reside. Other studies outline the unique capability of solar sails to provide access to all SSSB, at least within the orbit of Jupiter, and significant progress has been made to explore the performance envelope of near-term solar sails for MNR. However, it is difficult for
sailcraft to interact physically with a SSSB. We expand and extend the philosophy of the recently qualified DLR Gossamer solar sail deployment technology using efficient multiple sub-spacecraft integration to also include landers for one-way in-situ investigations and sample-return missions by synergetic integration and operation of sail and lander. The MASCOT design concept and its characteristic features have created an ideal counterpart for thisand has already been adapted to the needs of the AIM spacecraft, former part of the NASA-ESA AIDA missionDesigning the 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen, Germany, 1-5 October 2018. IAC-18-F1.2.3 Page 2 of 17 combined spacecraft for piggy-back launch accommodation enables low-cost massively parallel access to the NEA population.
Following the recent successful landings and occasional re-awakenings of PHILAE, the lander carried aboard ROSETTA to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and the launch of the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, MASCOT, aboard the HAYABUSA2 space probe to asteroid (162173) Ryugu we present an overview of the characteristics and peculiarities of small spacecraft missions to small solar system bodies (SSSB). Their main purpose is planetary science which is transitioning from a ‘pure’ science of observation of the distant to one also supporting in-situ applications relevant for life on Earth. Here we focus on missions at the interface of SSSB science and planetary defence applications. We provide a brief overview of small spacecraft SSSB missions and on this background present recent missions, projects and related studies at the German Aerospace Center, DLR, that contribute to the worldwide planetary defence community. These range from Earth orbit technology demonstrators to active science missions in interplanetary space. We provide a summary of experience from recently flown missions with DLR participation as well as a number of studies. These include PHILAE, the lander of ESA’s ROSETTA comet rendezvous mission now on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, MASCOT, now in cruise to the ~1 km diameter C-type near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu aboard the Japanese sample-return probe HAYABUSA2. We introduce the differences between the conventional methods employed in the design, integration and testing of large spacecraft and the new approaches developed by small spacecraft projects. We expect that the practical experience that can be gained from projects on extremely compressed timelines or with high-intensity operation phases on a newly explored small solar system body can contribute significantly to the study, preparation and realization of future planetary defence related missions. One is AIDA (Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment), a joint effort of ESA, JHU/APL, NASA, OCA and DLR, combining JHU/APL’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) and ESA’s AIM (Asteroid Impact Monitor) spacecraft in a mission towards near-Earth binary asteroid system (65803) Didymos. DLR is currently applying MASCOT heritage and lessons learned to the design of MASCOT2, a lander for the AIM mission to support a bistatic low frequency radar experiment with PHILAE/ROSETTA CONSERT heritage to explore the inner structure of Didymoon which is the designated impact target for DART.
Small Spacecraft in Planetary Defence Related Applications–Capabilities, Constraints, Challenges
(2015)
In this paper we present an overview of the characteristics and peculiarities of small spacecraft missions related to planetary defence applications. We provide a brief overview of small spacecraft missions to small solar system bodies. On this background we present recent missions and selected projects and related studies at the German Aerospace Center, DLR, that contribute to planetary defence related activities. These range from Earth orbit technology demonstrators to active science missions in interplanetary space. We provide a summary of experience from recently flown missions with DLR participation as well as a number of studies. These include PHILAE, the lander recently arrived on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko aboard ESA’s ROSETTA comet rendezvous mission, and the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, MASCOT, now underway to near-Earth asteroid (162173) 1999 JU3 aboard the Japanese sample-return probe HAYABUSA-2. We introduce the differences between the conventional methods employed in the design, integration and testing of large spacecraft and the new approaches developed by small spacecraft projects. We expect that the practical experience that can be gained from projects on extremely
compressed timelines or with high-intensity operation phases on a newly explored small solar system body can contribute significantly to the study, preparation and realization of future planetary defence related missions. One is AIDA (Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment), a joint effort of ESA,JHU/APL, NASA, OCA and DLR, combining JHU/APL’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) and ESA’s AIM (Asteroid Impact Monitor) spacecraft in a mission towards
near-Eath binary asteroid (65803) Didymos.
Smart pixel : photonic mixer device (PMD) ; new system concept of a 3D-imaging camera-on-a-chip
(1998)
Smoothed Finite Element Methods for Nonlinear Solid Mechanics Problems: 2D and 3D Case Studies
(2016)
The Smoothed Finite Element Method (SFEM) is presented as an edge-based and a facebased techniques for 2D and 3D boundary value problems, respectively. SFEMs avoid shortcomings of the standard Finite Element Method (FEM) with lower order elements such as overly stiff behavior, poor stress solution, and locking effects. Based on the idea of averaging spatially the standard strain field of the FEM over so-called smoothing domains SFEM calculates the stiffness matrix for the same number of degrees of freedom (DOFs) as those of the FEM. However, the SFEMs significantly improve accuracy and convergence even for distorted meshes and/or nearly incompressible materials.
Numerical results of the SFEMs for a cardiac tissue membrane (thin plate inflation) and an artery (tension of 3D tube) show clearly their advantageous properties in improving accuracy particularly for the distorted meshes and avoiding shear locking effects.
Engineers are of particular importance for the societies of tomorrow. The big social challenges society has to cope with in future, can only be mastered, if engineers link the development and innovation process closely with the requirements of people. As a result, in the frame of the innovation process engineers have to design and develop products for diverse users. Therefore, the consideration of diversity in this process is a core competence engineers should have. Implementing the consideration of diverse requirements into product design is also linked to the development of sustainable products and thus leads to social responsible research and development, the core concept formulated by the EU.
For this reason, future engineers should be educated to look at the technical perspectives of a problem embedded in the related questions within societies they are developing their artefacts for. As a result, the aim of teaching engineering should be to prepare engineers for these requirements and to draw attention to the diverse needs in a globalized world.
To match the competence profiles of future engineers to the global challenges and the resulting social responsibility, RWTH Aachen University, one of the leading technical universities in Germany, has established the bridging professorship “Gender and Diversity in Engineering” (GDI) which educates engineers with an interdisciplinary approach to expand engineering limits. The interdisciplinary teaching concept of the research group pursues an approach which imparts an application oriented Gender and Diversity expertise to future engineers. In the frame of an established teaching concept, which is a result of experiences and expertise of the research group, students gain theoretical knowledge about Gender and Diversity and learn how to transfer their knowledge into their later field of action.
In the frame of the conference the institutional approach will be presented as well as the teaching concept which will be introduced by concrete course examples.
A further development of the Added-Mass-Method allows the combined representation of the effects of both soil-structure-interaction and fluid-structure interaction on a liquid-filled-tank in one model. This results in a practical method for describing the dynamic fluid pressure on the tank shell during joint movement. The fluid pressure is calculated on the basis of the tank's eigenform and the earthquake acceleration and represented by additional masses on the shell. The bearing on compliant ground is represented by replacement springs, which are calculated dependent on the local soil composition. The influence of the shear modulus of the compliant soil is clearly visible in the pressure curves and the stress distribution in the shell. The acceleration spectra are also dependent on soil stiffness. According to Eurocode-8 the acceleration spectra are determined for fixed soil-classes, instead of calculating the accelerations for each site in direct dependence on the soil composition. This leads to unrealistic sudden changes in the system's response. Therefore, earthquake spectra are calculated for different soil models in direct dependence of the shear modulus. Thus, both the acceleration spectra and the replacement springs match the soil composition. This enables a reasonable and consistent calculation of the system response for the actual conditions at each site.
Near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis provides a typical example for the evolution of asteroid orbits that lead to Earth-impacts after a close Earth-encounter that results in a resonant return. Apophis will have a close Earth-encounter in 2029 with potential very close subsequent Earth-encounters (or even an impact) in 2036 or later, depending on whether it passes through one of several so-called gravitational keyholes during its 2029-encounter. Several pre-2029-deflection scenarios to prevent Apophis from doing this have been investigated so far. Because the keyholes are less than 1 km in size, a pre-2029 kinetic impact is clearly the best option because it requires only a small change in Apophis' orbit to nudge it out of a keyhole. A single solar sail Kinetic Energy Impactor (KEI) spacecraft that impacts Apophis from a retrograde trajectory with a very high relative velocity (75-80 km/s) during one of its perihelion passages at about 0.75 AU would be a feasible option to do this. The spacecraft consists of a 160 m x 160 m, 168 kg solar sail assembly and a 150 kg impactor. Although conventional spacecraft can also achieve the required minimum deflection of 1 km for this approx. 320 m-sized object from a prograde trajectory, our solar sail KEI concept also allows the deflection of larger objects. In this paper, we also show that, even after Apophis has flown through one of the gravitational keyholes in 2029, solar sail Kinetic Energy Impactor (KEI) spacecraft are still a feasible option to prevent Apophis from impacting the Earth, but many KEIs would be required for consecutive impacts to increase the total Earth-miss distance to a safe value. In this paper, we elaborate potential pre- and post-2029 KEI impact scenarios for a launch in 2020, and investigate tradeoffs between different mission parameters.
Solar sails enable missions to the outer solar system and beyond, although the solar
radiation pressure decreases with the square of solar distance. For such missions, the solar sail may gain a large amount of energy by first making one or more close approaches to the sun. Within this paper, optimal trajectories for solar sail missions to the outer planets and into near interstellar space (200 AU) are presented. Thereby, it is shown that even near/medium-term solar sails with relatively moderate performance allow reasonable transfer times to the boundaries of the solar system.
Solar sails are propelled in space by reflecting solar photons off large mirroring surfaces, thereby transforming the momentum of the photons into a propulsive force. This innovative concept for low-thrust space propulsion works without any propellant and thus provides a wide range of opportunities for highenergy low-cost missions. Offering an efficient way of propulsion, solar sailcraft could close a gap in transportation options for highly demanding exploration missions within our solar system and even beyond. On December 17th, 1999, a significant step was made towards the realization of this technology: a lightweight solar sail structure with an area of 20 m × 20 m was successfully deployed on ground in a large facility at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) at Cologne. The deployment from a package of 60 cm × 60 cm × 65 cm with a total mass of less than 35 kg was achieved using four extremely light-weight carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) booms with a specific mass of 100 g/m. The paper briefly reviews the basic principles of solar sails as well as the technical concept and its realization in the ground demonstration experiment, performed in close cooperation between DLR and ESA. Next possible steps are outlined. They could comprise the in-orbit demonstration of the sail deployment on the upper stage of a low-cost rocket and the verification of the propulsion concept by an autonomous and free flying solar sail in the frame of a scientific mission. It is expected that the present design could be extended to sail sizes of about (40 m)2 up to even (70 m)2 without significant mass penalty. With these areas, the maximum achievable thrust at 1 AU would range between 10 and 40 mN – comparable to some electric thrusters. Such prototype sails with a mass between 50 and 150 kg plus a micro-spacecraft of 50 to 250 kg would have a maximum acceleration in the order of 0.1 mm/s2 at 1 AU, corresponding to a maximum ∆V-capability of about 3 km/s per year. Two near/medium-term mission examples to a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) will be discussed: a rendezvous mission
and a sample return mission.
20 years after the successful ground deployment test of a (20 m) 2 solar sail at DLR Cologne, and in the light of the upcoming U.S. NEAscout mission, we provide an overview of the progress made since in our mission and hardware design studies as well as the hardware built in the course of our solar sail technology development. We outline the most likely and most efficient routes to develop solar sails for useful missions in science and applications, based on our developed `now-term' and near-term hardware as well as the many practical and managerial lessons learned from the DLR-ESTEC Gossamer Roadmap. Mission types directly applicable to planetary defense include single and Multiple NEA Rendezvous ((M)NR) for precursor, monitoring and follow-up scenarios as well as sail-propelled head-on retrograde kinetic impactors (RKI) for mitigation. Other mission types such as the Displaced L1 (DL1) space weather advance warning and monitoring or Solar Polar Orbiter (SPO) types demonstrate the capability of near-term solar sails to achieve asteroid rendezvous in any kind of orbit, from Earth-coorbital to extremely inclined and even retrograde orbits. Some of these mission types such as SPO, (M)NR and RKI include separable payloads. For one-way access to the asteroid surface, nanolanders like MASCOT are an ideal match for solar sails in micro-spacecraft format, i.e. in launch configurations compatible with ESPA and ASAP secondary payload platforms. Larger landers similar to the JAXA-DLR study of a Jupiter Trojan asteroid lander for the OKEANOS mission can shuttle from the sail to the asteroids visited and enable multiple NEA sample-return missions. The high impact velocities and re-try capability achieved by the RKI mission type on a final orbit identical to the target asteroid's but retrograde to its motion enables small spacecraft size impactors to carry sufficient kinetic energy for deflection.
Solar tower power plants
(2008)
In the study, the process chain of additive manufacturing by means of powder bed fusion will be presented based on the material glass. In order to reliably process components additively, new concepts with different solutions were developed and investigated.
Compared to established metallic materials, the properties of glass materials differ significantly. Therefore, the process control was adapted to the material glass in the investigations. With extensive parameter studies based on various glass powders such as borosilicate glass and quartz glass, scientifically proven results on powder bed fusion of glass are presented. Based on the determination of the particle properties with different methods, extensive investigations are made regarding the melting behavior of glass by means of laser beams. Furthermore, the experimental setup was steadily expanded. In addition to the integration of coaxial temperature measurement and regulation, preheating of the building platform is of major importance. This offers the possibility to perform 3D printing at the transformation temperatures of the glass materials. To improve the component’s properties, the influence of a subsequent heat treatment was also investigated.
The experience gained was incorporated into a new experimental system, which allows a much better exploration of the 3D printing of glass. Currently, studies are being conducted to improve surface texture, building accuracy, and geometrical capabilities using three-dimensional specimen.
The contribution shows the development of research in the field of 3D printing of glass, gives an insight into the machine and process engineering as well as an outlook on the possibilities and applications.
Recently, the SHARP Corporation, Japan, has developed the world’s first "Plasma Cluster Ions (PCI)" air purification technology using plasma discharge to generate cluster ions. The new plasma cluster device releases positive and negative ions into the air, which are able to decompose and deactivate harmful airborne substances by chemical reactions. Because cluster ions consist of positive and negative ions that normally exist in the natural world, they are completely harmless and safe to humans. The amount of ozone generated by cluster ions is less than 0.01 ppm, which is significantly less than the 0.05-ppm standard for industrial operations and consumer electronics. This amount, thus, has no harming effects whatsoever on the human body. But particular properties and chemical processes in PCI treatment are still under study. It has been shown that PCI in most cases show strongly pronounced irreversible killing effects in respect of airborne microflora due to free-radical induced reactions and can be considered as a potent technology to disinfect both home, medical and industrial appliances.
The progress in natural language processing (NLP) research over the last years, offers novel business opportunities for companies, as automated user interaction or improved data analysis. Building sophisticated NLP applications requires dealing with modern machine learning (ML) technologies, which impedes enterprises from establishing successful NLP projects. Our experience in applied NLP research projects shows that the continuous integration of research prototypes in production-like environments with quality assurance builds trust in the software and shows convenience and usefulness regarding the business goal. We introduce STAMP 4 NLP as an iterative and incremental process model for developing NLP applications. With STAMP 4 NLP, we merge software engineering principles with best practices from data science. Instantiating our process model allows efficiently creating prototypes by utilizing templates, conventions, and implementations, enabling developers and data scientists to focus on the business goals. Due to our iterative-incremental approach, businesses can deploy an enhanced version of the prototype to their software environment after every iteration, maximizing potential business value and trust early and avoiding the cost of successful yet never deployed experiments.