Mathematical Modeling Is Also Physics--Interdisciplinary Teaching between Mathematics and Physics in Danish Upper Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michelsen, Claus

2015-01-01

Mathematics plays a crucial role in physics. This role is brought about predominantly through the building, employment, and assessment of mathematical models, and teachers and educators should capture this relationship in the classroom in an effort to improve students' achievement and attitude in both physics and mathematics. But although there…

Predicting Energy Performance of a Net-Zero Energy Building: A Statistical Approach

PubMed Central

Kneifel, Joshua; Webb, David

2016-01-01

Performance-based building requirements have become more prevalent because it gives freedom in building design while still maintaining or exceeding the energy performance required by prescriptive-based requirements. In order to determine if building designs reach target energy efficiency improvements, it is necessary to estimate the energy performance of a building using predictive models and different weather conditions. Physics-based whole building energy simulation modeling is the most common approach. However, these physics-based models include underlying assumptions and require significant amounts of information in order to specify the input parameter values. An alternative approach to test the performance of a building is to develop a statistically derived predictive regression model using post-occupancy data that can accurately predict energy consumption and production based on a few common weather-based factors, thus requiring less information than simulation models. A regression model based on measured data should be able to predict energy performance of a building for a given day as long as the weather conditions are similar to those during the data collection time frame. This article uses data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility (NZERTF) to develop and validate a regression model to predict the energy performance of the NZERTF using two weather variables aggregated to the daily level, applies the model to estimate the energy performance of hypothetical NZERTFs located in different cities in the Mixed-Humid climate zone, and compares these estimates to the results from already existing EnergyPlus whole building energy simulations. This regression model exhibits agreement with EnergyPlus predictive trends in energy production and net consumption, but differs greatly in energy consumption. The model can be used as a framework for alternative and more complex models based on the experimental data collected from the NZERTF. PMID:27956756

Predicting Energy Performance of a Net-Zero Energy Building: A Statistical Approach.

PubMed

Kneifel, Joshua; Webb, David

2016-09-01

Performance-based building requirements have become more prevalent because it gives freedom in building design while still maintaining or exceeding the energy performance required by prescriptive-based requirements. In order to determine if building designs reach target energy efficiency improvements, it is necessary to estimate the energy performance of a building using predictive models and different weather conditions. Physics-based whole building energy simulation modeling is the most common approach. However, these physics-based models include underlying assumptions and require significant amounts of information in order to specify the input parameter values. An alternative approach to test the performance of a building is to develop a statistically derived predictive regression model using post-occupancy data that can accurately predict energy consumption and production based on a few common weather-based factors, thus requiring less information than simulation models. A regression model based on measured data should be able to predict energy performance of a building for a given day as long as the weather conditions are similar to those during the data collection time frame. This article uses data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility (NZERTF) to develop and validate a regression model to predict the energy performance of the NZERTF using two weather variables aggregated to the daily level, applies the model to estimate the energy performance of hypothetical NZERTFs located in different cities in the Mixed-Humid climate zone, and compares these estimates to the results from already existing EnergyPlus whole building energy simulations. This regression model exhibits agreement with EnergyPlus predictive trends in energy production and net consumption, but differs greatly in energy consumption. The model can be used as a framework for alternative and more complex models based on the experimental data collected from the NZERTF.

Artificial intelligence support for scientific model-building

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.

1992-01-01

Scientific model-building can be a time-intensive and painstaking process, often involving the development of large and complex computer programs. Despite the effort involved, scientific models cannot easily be distributed and shared with other scientists. In general, implemented scientific models are complex, idiosyncratic, and difficult for anyone but the original scientific development team to understand. We believe that artificial intelligence techniques can facilitate both the model-building and model-sharing process. In this paper, we overview our effort to build a scientific modeling software tool that aids the scientist in developing and using models. This tool includes an interactive intelligent graphical interface, a high-level domain specific modeling language, a library of physics equations and experimental datasets, and a suite of data display facilities.

Complementarity of Historic Building Information Modelling and Geographic Information Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, X.; Koehl, M.; Grussenmeyer, P.; Macher, H.

2016-06-01

In this paper, we discuss the potential of integrating both semantically rich models from Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to build the detailed 3D historic model. BIM contributes to the creation of a digital representation having all physical and functional building characteristics in several dimensions, as e.g. XYZ (3D), time and non-architectural information that are necessary for construction and management of buildings. GIS has potential in handling and managing spatial data especially exploring spatial relationships and is widely used in urban modelling. However, when considering heritage modelling, the specificity of irregular historical components makes it problematic to create the enriched model according to its complex architectural elements obtained from point clouds. Therefore, some open issues limiting the historic building 3D modelling will be discussed in this paper: how to deal with the complex elements composing historic buildings in BIM and GIS environment, how to build the enriched historic model, and why to construct different levels of details? By solving these problems, conceptualization, documentation and analysis of enriched Historic Building Information Modelling are developed and compared to traditional 3D models aimed primarily for visualization.

Identification Approach to Alleviate Effects of Unmeasured Heat Gains for MIMO Building Thermal Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cai, Jie; Kim, Donghun; Braun, James E.

It is important to have practical methods for constructing a good mathematical model for a building's thermal system for energy audits, retrofit analysis and advanced building controls, e.g. model predictive control. Identification approaches based on semi-physical model structures are popular in building science for those purposes. However conventional gray box identification approaches applied to thermal networks would fail when significant unmeasured heat gains present in estimation data. Although this situation is very common and practical, there has been little research to tackle this issue in building science. This paper presents an overall identification approach to alleviate influences of unmeasured disturbances,more » and hence to obtain improved gray-box building models. The approach was applied to an existing open space building and the performance is demonstrated.« less

Conceptual Change in Physical Geography and Environmental Sciences through Mental Model Building: The Example of Groundwater

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinfried, Sibylle

2006-01-01

This research tested the hypothesis that students' erroneous mental models about groundwater will change towards more valid concepts if they are taught on the basis of a mental model-building strategy that focuses on the clarification of students' misconceptions. To examine the hypothesis a quasi-experimental research design was chosen. The…

lidar change detection using building models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Angela M.; Runyon, Scott C.; Jalobeanu, Andre; Esterline, Chelsea H.; Kruse, Fred A.

2014-06-01

Terrestrial LiDAR scans of building models collected with a FARO Focus3D and a RIEGL VZ-400 were used to investigate point-to-point and model-to-model LiDAR change detection. LiDAR data were scaled, decimated, and georegistered to mimic real world airborne collects. Two physical building models were used to explore various aspects of the change detection process. The first model was a 1:250-scale representation of the Naval Postgraduate School campus in Monterey, CA, constructed from Lego blocks and scanned in a laboratory setting using both the FARO and RIEGL. The second model at 1:8-scale consisted of large cardboard boxes placed outdoors and scanned from rooftops of adjacent buildings using the RIEGL. A point-to-point change detection scheme was applied directly to the point-cloud datasets. In the model-to-model change detection scheme, changes were detected by comparing Digital Surface Models (DSMs). The use of physical models allowed analysis of effects of changes in scanner and scanning geometry, and performance of the change detection methods on different types of changes, including building collapse or subsistence, construction, and shifts in location. Results indicate that at low false-alarm rates, the point-to-point method slightly outperforms the model-to-model method. The point-to-point method is less sensitive to misregistration errors in the data. Best results are obtained when the baseline and change datasets are collected using the same LiDAR system and collection geometry.

Toward a virtual building laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Klems, J.H.; Finlayson, E.U.; Olsen, T.H.

1999-03-01

In order to achieve in a timely manner the large energy and dollar savings technically possible through improvements in building energy efficiency, it will be necessary to solve the problem of design failure risk. The most economical method of doing this would be to learn to calculate building performance with sufficient detail, accuracy and reliability to avoid design failure. Existing building simulation models (BSM) are a large step in this direction, but are still not capable of this level of modeling. Developments in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques now allow one to construct a road map from present BSM's tomore » a complete building physical model. The most useful first step is a building interior model (BIM) that would allow prediction of local conditions affecting occupant health and comfort. To provide reliable prediction a BIM must incorporate the correct physical boundary conditions on a building interior. Doing so raises a number of specific technical problems and research questions. The solution of these within a context useful for building research and design is not likely to result from other research on CFD, which is directed toward the solution of different types of problems. A six-step plan for incorporating the correct boundary conditions within the context of the model problem of a large atrium has been outlined. A promising strategy for constructing a BIM is the overset grid technique for representing a building space in a CFD calculation. This technique promises to adapt well to building design and allows a step-by-step approach. A state-of-the-art CFD computer code using this technique has been adapted to the problem and can form the departure point for this research.« less

Stochastic modelling of temperatures affecting the in situ performance of a solar-assisted heat pump: The multivariate approach and physical interpretation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Loveday, D.L.; Craggs, C.

Box-Jenkins-based multivariate stochastic modeling is carried out using data recorded from a domestic heating system. The system comprises an air-source heat pump sited in the roof space of a house, solar assistance being provided by the conventional tile roof acting as a radiation absorber. Multivariate models are presented which illustrate the time-dependent relationships between three air temperatures - at external ambient, at entry to, and at exit from, the heat pump evaporator. Using a deterministic modeling approach, physical interpretations are placed on the results of the multivariate technique. It is concluded that the multivariate Box-Jenkins approach is a suitable techniquemore » for building thermal analysis. Application to multivariate Box-Jenkins approach is a suitable technique for building thermal analysis. Application to multivariate model-based control is discussed, with particular reference to building energy management systems. It is further concluded that stochastic modeling of data drawn from a short monitoring period offers a means of retrofitting an advanced model-based control system in existing buildings, which could be used to optimize energy savings. An approach to system simulation is suggested.« less

Point clouds in BIM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antova, Gergana; Kunchev, Ivan; Mickrenska-Cherneva, Christina

2016-10-01

The representation of physical buildings in Building Information Models (BIM) has been a subject of research since four decades in the fields of Construction Informatics and GeoInformatics. The early digital representations of buildings mainly appeared as 3D drawings constructed by CAD software, and the 3D representation of the buildings was only geometric, while semantics and topology were out of modelling focus. On the other hand, less detailed building representations, with often focus on ‘outside’ representations were also found in form of 2D /2,5D GeoInformation models. Point clouds from 3D laser scanning data give a full and exact representation of the building geometry. The article presents different aspects and the benefits of using point clouds in BIM in the different stages of a lifecycle of a building.

Understanding Probabilistic Interpretations of Physical Systems: A Prerequisite to Learning Quantum Physics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bao, Lei; Redish, Edward F.

2002-01-01

Explains the critical role of probability in making sense of quantum physics and addresses the difficulties science and engineering undergraduates experience in helping students build a model of how to think about probability in physical systems. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/YDS)

Environmental management and monitoring for education building development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masri, R. M.

2018-05-01

The purpose of research were (1) a conceptual, functional model designed and implementation for environmental management and monitoring for education building development, (2) standard operational procedure made for management and monitoring for education building development, (3) assessed physic-chemical, biological, social-economic environmental components so that fulfilling sustainable development, (4) environmental management and monitoring program made for decreasing negative and increasing positive impact in education building development activities. Descriptive method is used for the research. Cibiru UPI Campus, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia was study location. The research was conducted on July 2016 to January 2017. Spatial and activities analysis were used to assess physic-chemical, biological, social-economic environmental components. Environmental management and monitoring for education building development could be decreasing water, air, soil pollution and environmental degradation in education building development activities.

Building a Model PE Curriculum: Education Reform in Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, John

2012-01-01

The blueprint to build a model physical education (PE) curriculum begins by establishing a sound curricular foundation based on a lesson plan template that incorporates clear and concise program goals, the alignment of lessons to state or national content standards, and the collection, analysis and use of objective assessment data that informs…

Improving vulnerability models: lessons learned from a comparison between flood and earthquake assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Ruiter, Marleen; Ward, Philip; Daniell, James; Aerts, Jeroen

2017-04-01

In a cross-discipline study, an extensive literature review has been conducted to increase the understanding of vulnerability indicators used in both earthquake- and flood vulnerability assessments, and to provide insights into potential improvements of earthquake and flood vulnerability assessments. It identifies and compares indicators used to quantitatively assess earthquake and flood vulnerability, and discusses their respective differences and similarities. Indicators have been categorized into Physical- and Social categories, and further subdivided into (when possible) measurable and comparable indicators. Physical vulnerability indicators have been differentiated to exposed assets such as buildings and infrastructure. Social indicators are grouped in subcategories such as demographics, economics and awareness. Next, two different vulnerability model types have been described that use these indicators: index- and curve-based vulnerability models. A selection of these models (e.g. HAZUS) have been described, and compared on several characteristics such as temporal- and spatial aspects. It appears that earthquake vulnerability methods are traditionally strongly developed towards physical attributes at an object scale and used in vulnerability curve models, whereas flood vulnerability studies focus more on indicators applied to aggregated land-use scales. Flood risk studies could be improved using approaches from earthquake studies, such as incorporating more detailed lifeline and building indicators, and developing object-based vulnerability curve assessments of physical vulnerability, for example by defining building material based flood vulnerability curves. Related to this, is the incorporation of time of the day based building occupation patterns (at 2am most people will be at home while at 2pm most people will be in the office). Earthquake assessments could learn from flood studies when it comes to the refined selection of social vulnerability indicators. Based on the lessons obtained in this study, we recommend future studies to further explore cross-hazard studies.

Modelling urban rainfall-runoff responses using an experimental, two-tiered physical modelling environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Daniel; Pattison, Ian; Yu, Dapeng

2016-04-01

Surface water (pluvial) flooding occurs when rainwater from intense precipitation events is unable to infiltrate into the subsurface or drain via natural or artificial drainage channels. Surface water flooding poses a serious hazard to urban areas across the world, with the UK's perceived risk appearing to have increased in recent years due to surface water flood events seeming more severe and frequent. Surface water flood risk currently accounts for 1/3 of all UK flood risk, with approximately two million people living in urban areas at risk of a 1 in 200-year flood event. Research often focuses upon using numerical modelling techniques to understand the extent, depth and severity of actual or hypothetical flood scenarios. Although much research has been conducted using numerical modelling, field data available for model calibration and validation is limited due to the complexities associated with data collection in surface water flood conditions. Ultimately, the data which numerical models are based upon is often erroneous and inconclusive. Physical models offer a novel, alternative and innovative environment to collect data within, creating a controlled, closed system where independent variables can be altered independently to investigate cause and effect relationships. A physical modelling environment provides a suitable platform to investigate rainfall-runoff processes occurring within an urban catchment. Despite this, physical modelling approaches are seldom used in surface water flooding research. Scaled laboratory experiments using a 9m2, two-tiered 1:100 physical model consisting of: (i) a low-cost rainfall simulator component able to simulate consistent, uniformly distributed (>75% CUC) rainfall events of varying intensity, and; (ii) a fully interchangeable, modular plot surface have been conducted to investigate and quantify the influence of a number of terrestrial and meteorological factors on overland flow and rainfall-runoff patterns within a modelled urban setting. Terrestrial factors investigated include altering the physical model's catchment slope (0°- 20°), as well as simulating a number of spatially-varied impermeability and building density/configuration scenarios. Additionally, the influence of different storm dynamics and intensities were investigated. Preliminary results demonstrate that rainfall-runoff responses in the physical modelling environment are highly sensitive to slight increases in catchment gradient and rainfall intensity and that more densely distributed building layouts significantly increase peak flows recorded at the physical model outflow when compared to sparsely distributed building layouts under comparable simulated rainfall conditions.

Model Learner Outcomes for Physical Education. Teaching Learners To Think on Their Feet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minnesota State Dept. of Education, St. Paul.

This guide is designed to encourage educators as well as parents and community members to view physical education as an integral component of the school's educational program. It can be used for curriculum building and as an example of what represents current best practices in physical education. Model learner outcomes cover eight areas of study:…

Transnational Strategies for the Promotion of Physical Activity and Active Aging: The World Health Organization Model of Consensus Building in International Public Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chodzko-Zajko, Wojtek; Schwingel, Andiara

2009-01-01

In this paper we focus our attention on an examination of the four-step process adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its systematic campaign to promote physically active lifestyles by older adults across the 193 WHO member states. The four steps adopted by the WHO include (1) Building Consensus Among Professionals; (2) Educating the…

ALICE: A non-LTE plasma atomic physics, kinetics and lineshape package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, E. G.; Pérez-Callejo, G.; Rose, S. J.

2018-03-01

All three parts of an atomic physics, atomic kinetics and lineshape code, ALICE, are described. Examples of the code being used to model the emissivity and opacity of plasmas are discussed and interesting features of the code which build on the existing corpus of models are shown throughout.

Enhancements to AERMOD's building downwash algorithms based on wind-tunnel and Embedded-LES modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monbureau, E. M.; Heist, D. K.; Perry, S. G.; Brouwer, L. H.; Foroutan, H.; Tang, W.

2018-04-01

Knowing the fate of effluent from an industrial stack is important for assessing its impact on human health. AERMOD is one of several Gaussian plume models containing algorithms to evaluate the effect of buildings on the movement of the effluent from a stack. The goal of this study is to improve AERMOD's ability to accurately model important and complex building downwash scenarios by incorporating knowledge gained from a recently completed series of wind tunnel studies and complementary large eddy simulations of flow and dispersion around simple structures for a variety of building dimensions, stack locations, stack heights, and wind angles. This study presents three modifications to the building downwash algorithm in AERMOD that improve the physical basis and internal consistency of the model, and one modification to AERMOD's building pre-processor to better represent elongated buildings in oblique winds. These modifications are demonstrated to improve the ability of AERMOD to model observed ground-level concentrations in the vicinity of a building for the variety of conditions examined in the wind tunnel and numerical studies.

Modeling of Heat Transfer in Rooms in the Modelica "Buildings" Library

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wetter, Michael; Zuo, Wangda; Nouidui, Thierry Stephane

This paper describes the implementation of the room heat transfer model in the free open-source Modelica \\Buildings" library. The model can be used as a single room or to compose a multizone building model. We discuss how the model is decomposed into submodels for the individual heat transfer phenomena. We also discuss the main physical assumptions. The room model can be parameterized to use different modeling assumptions, leading to linear or non-linear differential algebraic systems of equations. We present numerical experiments that show how these assumptions affect computing time and accuracy for selected cases of the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140- 2007more » envelop validation tests.« less

Methodology for Physics and Engineering of Reliable Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cornford, Steven L.; Gibbel, Mark

1996-01-01

Physics of failure approaches have gained wide spread acceptance within the electronic reliability community. These methodologies involve identifying root cause failure mechanisms, developing associated models, and utilizing these models to inprove time to market, lower development and build costs and higher reliability. The methodology outlined herein sets forth a process, based on integration of both physics and engineering principles, for achieving the same goals.

Getting Started and Working with Building Information Modeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Dana K.

2009-01-01

This article will assume that one has heard of Building Information Modeling or BIM but has not developed a strategy as to how to get the most out of it. The National BIM Standard (NBIMS) has defined BIM as a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. As such, it serves as a shared knowledge resource for…

RESEARCH NEEDS FOR SCALING UP INDOOR SINK EFFECT MODELS

EPA Science Inventory

The events of 11 September 2001 underscored the need to study the vulnerability of buildings to weapons of mass destruction, including chemical, biological, physical, and radiological agents. Should these agents be released inside a building, they would interact with interior sur...

Les Houches 2017: Physics at TeV Colliders New Physics Working Group Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brooijmans, G.; et al.

We present the activities of the `New Physics' working group for the `Physics at TeV Colliders' workshop (Les Houches, France, 5--23 June, 2017). Our report includes new physics studies connected with the Higgs boson and its properties, direct search strategies, reinterpretation of the LHC results in the building of viable models and new computational tool developments.

COMPUTATIONAL CHALLENGES IN BUILDING MULTI-SCALE AND MULTI-PHYSICS MODELS OF CARDIAC ELECTRO-MECHANICS

PubMed Central

Plank, G; Prassl, AJ; Augustin, C

2014-01-01

Despite the evident multiphysics nature of the heart – it is an electrically controlled mechanical pump – most modeling studies considered electrophysiology and mechanics in isolation. In no small part, this is due to the formidable modeling challenges involved in building strongly coupled anatomically accurate and biophyically detailed multi-scale multi-physics models of cardiac electro-mechanics. Among the main challenges are the selection of model components and their adjustments to achieve integration into a consistent organ-scale model, dealing with technical difficulties such as the exchange of data between electro-physiological and mechanical model, particularly when using different spatio-temporal grids for discretization, and, finally, the implementation of advanced numerical techniques to deal with the substantial computational. In this study we report on progress made in developing a novel modeling framework suited to tackle these challenges. PMID:24043050

NREL Improves Building Energy Simulation Programs Through Diagnostic Testing (Fact Sheet)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

2012-01-01

This technical highlight describes NREL research to develop Building Energy Simulation Test for Existing Homes (BESTEST-EX) to increase the quality and accuracy of energy analysis tools for the building retrofit market. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a new test procedure to increase the quality and accuracy of energy analysis tools for the building retrofit market. The Building Energy Simulation Test for Existing Homes (BESTEST-EX) is a test procedure that enables software developers to evaluate the performance of their audit tools in modeling energy use and savings in existing homes when utility bills are available formore » model calibration. Similar to NREL's previous energy analysis tests, such as HERS BESTEST and other BESTEST suites included in ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 140, BESTEST-EX compares software simulation findings to reference results generated with state-of-the-art simulation tools such as EnergyPlus, SUNREL, and DOE-2.1E. The BESTEST-EX methodology: (1) Tests software predictions of retrofit energy savings in existing homes; (2) Ensures building physics calculations and utility bill calibration procedures perform to a minimum standard; and (3) Quantifies impacts of uncertainties in input audit data and occupant behavior. BESTEST-EX includes building physics and utility bill calibration test cases. The diagram illustrates the utility bill calibration test cases. Participants are given input ranges and synthetic utility bills. Software tools use the utility bills to calibrate key model inputs and predict energy savings for the retrofit cases. Participant energy savings predictions using calibrated models are compared to NREL predictions using state-of-the-art building energy simulation programs.« less

Can Youth Sport Build Character?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shields, David Light; Bredemeier, Brenda Light; Power, F. Clark

2001-01-01

Participation and competition in some sports are associated with lower stages of moral reasoning. Coaches can foster moral development by starting with the right mental model, holding benchmark meetings about team values, setting goals for physical and character skills, making time for guided discussion sessions, building community, modeling…

The analysis of thermal comfort requirements through the simulation of an occupied building.

PubMed

Thellier, F; Cordier, A; Monchoux, F

1994-05-01

Building simulation usually focuses on the study of physical indoor parameters, but we must not forget the main aim of a house: to provide comfort to the occupants. This study was undertaken in order to build a complete tool to model thermal behaviour that will enable the prediction of thermal sensations of humans in a real environment. A human thermoregulation model was added to TRNSYS, a building simulation program. For our purposes, improvements had to be made to the original physiological model, by refining the calculation of all heat exchanges with the environment and adding a representation of clothes. This paper briefly describes the program, its modifications, and compares its results with experimental ones. An example of potential use is given, which points out the usefulness of such models in seeking the best solutions to reach optimal environmental conditions for global, and specially local comfort, of building occupants.

Federating Cyber and Physical Models for Event-Driven Situational Awareness

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stephan, Eric G.; Pawlowski, Ronald A.; Sridhar, Siddharth

The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel method to improve electric power system monitoring and control software application interoperability. This method employs the concept of federation, which is defined as the use of existing models that represent aspects of a system in specific domains (such as physical and cyber security domains) and building interface to link all of domain models.

On entropy, financial markets and minority games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapart, Christopher A.

2009-04-01

The paper builds upon an earlier statistical analysis of financial time series with Shannon information entropy, published in [L. Molgedey, W. Ebeling, Local order, entropy and predictability of financial time series, European Physical Journal B-Condensed Matter and Complex Systems 15/4 (2000) 733-737]. A novel generic procedure is proposed for making multistep-ahead predictions of time series by building a statistical model of entropy. The approach is first demonstrated on the chaotic Mackey-Glass time series and later applied to Japanese Yen/US dollar intraday currency data. The paper also reinterprets Minority Games [E. Moro, The minority game: An introductory guide, Advances in Condensed Matter and Statistical Physics (2004)] within the context of physical entropy, and uses models derived from minority game theory as a tool for measuring the entropy of a model in response to time series. This entropy conditional upon a model is subsequently used in place of information-theoretic entropy in the proposed multistep prediction algorithm.

Near Zero Consumption Building as an Urban Acupuncture for a Vertical Slum. A Case Study in the City of Malaga, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosa-Jiménez, Carlos; Nebot, Nuria; García Moreno, Alberto; José Márquez Ballesteros, María

2017-10-01

A vertical slum is defined as a socially vulnerable community in a building, with serious problems of functionality, safety and habitability. It is related to an important level of physical degradation, and a precarious socioeconomic situation of its occupants. Their inability to create a real community for proper and mandatory maintenance increases the physical deterioration of the building. The abandonment of the original owners of the houses can cause a system of illegal occupation and illegal activities, and vice versa. In many cases, the new occupants are primarily interested in maintaining the building in a state of precariousness in order to avoid any attempt of renovation by administrations. These security and habitability problems often extend outside the building and they affect a whole community of neighbours within the neighbourhood who feel threatened and insecure, causing their rejection and a strong social segregation in the area. This article wants to show some of the results from a research work developed on a case study of vertical slum in the city of Malaga, in Spain. In this context of marginality previously described, the research project explores different alternatives for the renovation of a building, its vulnerable community and the neighbourhood in which it is inserted. The project establishes four major objectives: (a) a physical renovation of the building, (b) social transformation in a disadvantaged environment, (c) functional evolution-from a residential model to a new hybrid model with a mixed supply of social services, and (d) the incorporation of new parameters of environmental sustainability that improve the energetic behaviour of the building (transforming it into a building of almost zero consumption). The research closes with a series of strategies and results for the case study. However, the main contribution of the work is related to the research methodology that has been developed. This is structured according to the four principles of integrated urban renovation, based on a physical, social, economic and environmental perspective. This methodology and results have been explained so that they can be transferred to other areas and experience of urban recycling in vulnerable social environments.

Characteristics of School Campuses and Physical Activity Among Youth

PubMed Central

Cradock, Angie L.; Melly, Steven J.; Allen, Joseph G.; Morris, Jeffrey S.; Gortmaker, Steven L.

2009-01-01

Background Previous research suggests that school characteristics may influence physical activity. However, few studies have examined associations between school building and campus characteristics and objective measures of physical activity among middle school students. Methods Students from ten middle schools (n=248, 42% female, mean age 13.7 years) wore TriTrac-R3D accelerometers in 1997 recording measures of minute-by-minute physical movements during the school day that were then averaged over 15-minute intervals (n=16,619) and log-transformed. School characteristics, including school campus area, play area, and building area (per student) were assessed retrospectively in 2004–2005 using land-use parcel data, site visits, ortho-photos, architectural plans, and site maps. In 2006, linear mixed models using SAS PROC MIXED were fit to examine associations between school environmental variables and physical activity, controlling for potentially confounding variables. Results Area per enrolled student ranged from 8.8 to 143.7 m2 for school campuses, from 12.1 to 24.7 m2 for buildings, and from 0.4 to 58.9 m2 for play areas. Play area comprised from 3% to 62% of total campus area across schools. In separate regression models, school campus area per student (β=0.2244, p<0.0001); building area per student (β=2.1302, p<0.02); and play area per student (β=0.347, p<0.0001) were each directly associated with log-TriTrac-R3D vector magnitude. Given the range of area density measures in this sample of schools, this translates into an approximate 20% to 30% increase in average vector magnitude, or walking 2 extra miles over the course of a week. Conclusions Larger school campuses, school buildings, and play areas (per enrolled student) are associated with higher levels of physical activity in middle school students. PMID:17673097

Data-driven modeling, control and tools for cyber-physical energy systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behl, Madhur

Energy systems are experiencing a gradual but substantial change in moving away from being non-interactive and manually-controlled systems to utilizing tight integration of both cyber (computation, communications, and control) and physical representations guided by first principles based models, at all scales and levels. Furthermore, peak power reduction programs like demand response (DR) are becoming increasingly important as the volatility on the grid continues to increase due to regulation, integration of renewables and extreme weather conditions. In order to shield themselves from the risk of price volatility, end-user electricity consumers must monitor electricity prices and be flexible in the ways they choose to use electricity. This requires the use of control-oriented predictive models of an energy system's dynamics and energy consumption. Such models are needed for understanding and improving the overall energy efficiency and operating costs. However, learning dynamical models using grey/white box approaches is very cost and time prohibitive since it often requires significant financial investments in retrofitting the system with several sensors and hiring domain experts for building the model. We present the use of data-driven methods for making model capture easy and efficient for cyber-physical energy systems. We develop Model-IQ, a methodology for analysis of uncertainty propagation for building inverse modeling and controls. Given a grey-box model structure and real input data from a temporary set of sensors, Model-IQ evaluates the effect of the uncertainty propagation from sensor data to model accuracy and to closed-loop control performance. We also developed a statistical method to quantify the bias in the sensor measurement and to determine near optimal sensor placement and density for accurate data collection for model training and control. Using a real building test-bed, we show how performing an uncertainty analysis can reveal trends about inverse model accuracy and control performance, which can be used to make informed decisions about sensor requirements and data accuracy. We also present DR-Advisor, a data-driven demand response recommender system for the building's facilities manager which provides suitable control actions to meet the desired load curtailment while maintaining operations and maximizing the economic reward. We develop a model based control with regression trees algorithm (mbCRT), which allows us to perform closed-loop control for DR strategy synthesis for large commercial buildings. Our data-driven control synthesis algorithm outperforms rule-based demand response methods for a large DoE commercial reference building and leads to a significant amount of load curtailment (of 380kW) and over $45,000 in savings which is 37.9% of the summer energy bill for the building. The performance of DR-Advisor is also evaluated for 8 buildings on Penn's campus; where it achieves 92.8% to 98.9% prediction accuracy. We also compare DR-Advisor with other data driven methods and rank 2nd on ASHRAE's benchmarking data-set for energy prediction.

Modeling urban building energy use: A review of modeling approaches and procedures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Wenliang; Zhou, Yuyu; Cetin, Kristen

With rapid urbanization and economic development, the world has been experiencing an unprecedented increase in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions is a common interest shared by major developed and developing countries, actions to enable these global reductions are generally implemented at the city scale. This is because baseline information from individual cities plays an important role in identifying economical options for improving building energy efficiency and reducing GHG emissions. Numerous approaches have been proposed for modeling urban building energy use in the past decades. This paper aims to provide an up-to-datemore » review of the broad categories of energy models for urban buildings and describes the basic workflow of physics-based, bottom-up models and their applications in simulating urban-scale building energy use. Because there are significant differences across models with varied potential for application, strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed models are also presented. This is followed by a discussion of challenging issues associated with model preparation and calibration.« less

Modeling urban building energy use: A review of modeling approaches and procedures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Wenliang; Zhou, Yuyu; Cetin, Kristen

With rapid urbanization and economic development, the world has been experiencing an unprecedented increase in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions is a common interest shared by major developed and developing countries, actions to enable these global reductions are generally implemented at the city scale. This is because baseline information from individual cities plays an important role in identifying economical options for improving building energy efficiency and reducing GHG emissions. Numerous approaches have been proposed for modeling urban building energy use in the past decades. Our paper aims to provide an up-to-datemore » review of the broad categories of energy models for urban buildings and describes the basic workflow of physics-based, bottom-up models and their applications in simulating urban-scale building energy use. Because there are significant differences across models with varied potential for application, strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed models are also presented. We then follow this with a discussion of challenging issues associated with model preparation and calibration.« less

Feasibility of Close-Range Photogrammetric Models for Geographic Information System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Luke; /Rice U.

2011-06-22

The objective of this project was to determine the feasibility of using close-range architectural photogrammetry as an alternative three dimensional modeling technique in order to place the digital models in a geographic information system (GIS) at SLAC. With the available equipment and Australis photogrammetry software, the creation of full and accurate models of an example building, Building 281 on SLAC campus, was attempted. After conducting several equipment tests to determine the precision achievable, a complete photogrammetric survey was attempted. The dimensions of the resulting models were then compared against the true dimensions of the building. A complete building model wasmore » not evidenced to be obtainable using the current equipment and software. This failure was likely attributable to the limits of the software rather than the precision of the physical equipment. However, partial models of the building were shown to be accurate and determined to still be usable in a GIS. With further development of the photogrammetric software and survey procedure, the desired generation of a complete three dimensional model is likely still feasible.« less

Modeling urban building energy use: A review of modeling approaches and procedures

DOE PAGES

Li, Wenliang; Zhou, Yuyu; Cetin, Kristen; ...

2017-11-13

With rapid urbanization and economic development, the world has been experiencing an unprecedented increase in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions is a common interest shared by major developed and developing countries, actions to enable these global reductions are generally implemented at the city scale. This is because baseline information from individual cities plays an important role in identifying economical options for improving building energy efficiency and reducing GHG emissions. Numerous approaches have been proposed for modeling urban building energy use in the past decades. Our paper aims to provide an up-to-datemore » review of the broad categories of energy models for urban buildings and describes the basic workflow of physics-based, bottom-up models and their applications in simulating urban-scale building energy use. Because there are significant differences across models with varied potential for application, strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed models are also presented. We then follow this with a discussion of challenging issues associated with model preparation and calibration.« less

Heterotic model building: 16 special manifolds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yang-Hui; Lee, Seung-Joo; Lukas, Andre; Sun, Chuang

2014-06-01

We study heterotic model building on 16 specific Calabi-Yau manifolds constructed as hypersurfaces in toric four-folds. These 16 manifolds are the only ones among the more than half a billion manifolds in the Kreuzer-Skarke list with a non-trivial first fundamental group. We classify the line bundle models on these manifolds, both for SU(5) and SO(10) GUTs, which lead to consistent supersymmetric string vacua and have three chiral families. A total of about 29000 models is found, most of them corresponding to SO(10) GUTs. These models constitute a starting point for detailed heterotic model building on Calabi-Yau manifolds in the Kreuzer-Skarke list. The data for these models can be downloaded from http://www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/projects/CalabiYau/toricdata/index.html.

A review of air exchange rate models for air pollution exposure assessments.

PubMed

Breen, Michael S; Schultz, Bradley D; Sohn, Michael D; Long, Thomas; Langstaff, John; Williams, Ronald; Isaacs, Kristin; Meng, Qing Yu; Stallings, Casson; Smith, Luther

2014-11-01

A critical aspect of air pollution exposure assessments is estimation of the air exchange rate (AER) for various buildings where people spend their time. The AER, which is the rate of exchange of indoor air with outdoor air, is an important determinant for entry of outdoor air pollutants and for removal of indoor-emitted air pollutants. This paper presents an overview and critical analysis of the scientific literature on empirical and physically based AER models for residential and commercial buildings; the models highlighted here are feasible for exposure assessments as extensive inputs are not required. Models are included for the three types of airflows that can occur across building envelopes: leakage, natural ventilation, and mechanical ventilation. Guidance is provided to select the preferable AER model based on available data, desired temporal resolution, types of airflows, and types of buildings included in the exposure assessment. For exposure assessments with some limited building leakage or AER measurements, strategies are described to reduce AER model uncertainty. This review will facilitate the selection of AER models in support of air pollution exposure assessments.

Thermal Impact of Fasteners in High-Performance Wood-Framed Walls: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christensen, D.

2011-01-01

Buildings are heavy consumers of energy, and residential building design is rapidly addressing topics to maximize energy conservation en route to net-zero energy consumption. Annual energy analysis of a building informs the choice among disparate energy measures, for cost, durability, occupant comfort, and whole-house energy use. Physics-based and empirical models of elements of a building are used in such analyses. High-performance wood-framed walls enable builders to construct homes that use much less than 40% of the energy consumed by similar homes built to minimum code. Modeling for these walls has considered physical features such as framing factor, insulation and framingmore » properties, roughness and convective effects, and air leakage. The thermal effects of fasteners used to construct these walls have not been fully evaluated, even though their thermal conductivity is orders of magnitudes higher than that of other building materials. Drywall screws and siding nails are considered in this finite element thermal conductivity analysis of wall sections that represent wood-framed walls that are often used in high-performance homes. Nails and screws reduce even the best walls' insulating performance by approximately 3% and become increasingly significant as the framing factor increases.« less

Building Science Identity in Disadvantaged Teenage Girls using an Apprenticeship Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pettit, E. C.; Conner, L.; Tzou, C.

2015-12-01

Expeditionary science differs from laboratory science in that expeditionary science teams conduct investigations in conditions that are often physically and socially, as well as intellectually, challenging. Team members live in close quarters for extended periods of time, team building and leadership affect the scientific process, and research tools are limited to what is available on site. Girls on Ice is an expeditionary science experience primarily for disadvantaged girls; it fully immerses girls in a mini scientific expedition to study alpine, glacierized environments. In addition to mentoring the girls through conducting their own scientific research, we encourage awareness and discussion of different sociocultural perspectives on the relation between the natural world, science, and society. The experience aligns closely with the apprenticeship model of learning, which can be effective in enhancing identification with science. Using a mixed-methods approach, we show that the Girls on Ice model helps girls (1) increase their interest and engagement in science and build a stronger science identity, (2) develop confidence, importantly they develop a combined physical and intellectual confidence; (3) engage in authentic scientific thinking, including critical thinking and problem solving; and (4) enhance leadership self-confidence. We discuss these results in a learning sciences framework, which posits that learning is inseparable from the social and physical contexts in which it takes place.

Use of Hypnosis in Self-Esteem Building: Review and Model for Rehabilitation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klich, Beatriz de M.; Miller, Mary Ball

Hypnotherapeutic approaches in helping physically disabled patients cope with stress and plan further goals during the rehabilitation period are discussed. Several techniques possible in a rehabilitation setting are presented, including integration of ego strengthening and self-esteem building. It is noted that, in rehabilitation, a major goal of…

Evaluating Deficiencies in Campus Facilities: The Institutional Research/Physical Plant Nexus.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, John M.

The University of Georgia (UG) conducted a complete campus building condition evaluation survey in 1989 that identified the nature and magnitude of the capital renewal/deferred maintenance requirements for each campus building. The survey design was based on a model developed by Harlan Bareither at the University of Illinois. Data were collected…

Novel high-fidelity realistic explosion damage simulation for urban environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaoqing; Yadegar, Jacob; Zhu, Youding; Raju, Chaitanya; Bhagavathula, Jaya

2010-04-01

Realistic building damage simulation has a significant impact in modern modeling and simulation systems especially in diverse panoply of military and civil applications where these simulation systems are widely used for personnel training, critical mission planning, disaster management, etc. Realistic building damage simulation should incorporate accurate physics-based explosion models, rubble generation, rubble flyout, and interactions between flying rubble and their surrounding entities. However, none of the existing building damage simulation systems sufficiently faithfully realize the criteria of realism required for effective military applications. In this paper, we present a novel physics-based high-fidelity and runtime efficient explosion simulation system to realistically simulate destruction to buildings. In the proposed system, a family of novel blast models is applied to accurately and realistically simulate explosions based on static and/or dynamic detonation conditions. The system also takes account of rubble pile formation and applies a generic and scalable multi-component based object representation to describe scene entities and highly scalable agent-subsumption architecture and scheduler to schedule clusters of sequential and parallel events. The proposed system utilizes a highly efficient and scalable tetrahedral decomposition approach to realistically simulate rubble formation. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system has the capability to realistically simulate rubble generation, rubble flyout and their primary and secondary impacts on surrounding objects including buildings, constructions, vehicles and pedestrians in clusters of sequential and parallel damage events.

Transactive Control of Commercial Building HVAC Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Corbin, Charles D.; Makhmalbaf, Atefe; Huang, Sen

This document details the development and testing of market-based transactive controls for building heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. These controls are intended to serve the purposes of reducing electricity use through conservation, reducing peak building electric demand, and providing demand flexibility to assist with power system operations. This report is the summary of the first year of work conducted under Phase 1 of the Clean Energy and Transactive Campus Project. The methods and techniques described here were first investigated in simulation, and then subsequently deployed to a physical testbed on the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) campus formore » validation. In this report, we describe the models and control algorithms we have developed, testing of the control algorithms in simulation, and deployment to a physical testbed. Results from physical experiments support previous simulation findings, and provide insights for further improvement.« less

Automated Deployment of Advanced Controls and Analytics in Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pritoni, Marco

Buildings use 40% of primary energy in the US. Recent studies show that developing energy analytics and enhancing control strategies can significantly improve their energy performance. However, the deployment of advanced control software applications has been mostly limited to academic studies. Larger-scale implementations are prevented by the significant engineering time and customization required, due to significant differences among buildings. This study demonstrates how physics-inspired data-driven models can be used to develop portable analytics and control applications for buildings. Specifically, I demonstrate application of these models in all phases of the deployment of advanced controls and analytics in buildings: in the first phase, "Site Preparation and Interface with Legacy Systems" I used models to discover or map relationships among building components, automatically gathering metadata (information about data points) necessary to run the applications. During the second phase: "Application Deployment and Commissioning", models automatically learn system parameters, used for advanced controls and analytics. In the third phase: "Continuous Monitoring and Verification" I utilized models to automatically measure the energy performance of a building that has implemented advanced control strategies. In the conclusions, I discuss future challenges and suggest potential strategies for these innovative control systems to be widely deployed in the market. This dissertation provides useful new tools in terms of procedures, algorithms, and models to facilitate the automation of deployment of advanced controls and analytics and accelerate their wide adoption in buildings.

Computational and mathematical methods in brain atlasing.

PubMed

Nowinski, Wieslaw L

2017-12-01

Brain atlases have a wide range of use from education to research to clinical applications. Mathematical methods as well as computational methods and tools play a major role in the process of brain atlas building and developing atlas-based applications. Computational methods and tools cover three areas: dedicated editors for brain model creation, brain navigators supporting multiple platforms, and atlas-assisted specific applications. Mathematical methods in atlas building and developing atlas-aided applications deal with problems in image segmentation, geometric body modelling, physical modelling, atlas-to-scan registration, visualisation, interaction and virtual reality. Here I overview computational and mathematical methods in atlas building and developing atlas-assisted applications, and share my contribution to and experience in this field.

Energy Performance and Optimal Control of Air-conditioned Buildings Integrated with Phase Change Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Na

This thesis presents an overview of the previous research work on dynamic characteristics and energy performance of buildings due to the integration of PCMs. The research work on dynamic characteristics and energy performance of buildings using PCMs both with and without air-conditioning is reviewed. Since the particular interest in using PCMs for free cooling and peak load shifting, specific research efforts on both subjects are reviewed separately. A simplified physical dynamic model of building structures integrated with SSPCM (shaped-stabilized phase change material) is developed and validated in this study. The simplified physical model represents the wall by 3 resistances and 2 capacitances and the PCM layer by 4 resistances and 2 capacitances respectively while the key issue is the parameter identification of the model. This thesis also presents the studies on the thermodynamic characteristics of buildings enhanced by PCM and on the investigation of the impacts of PCM on the building cooling load and peak cooling demand at different climates and seasons as well as the optimal operation and control strategies to reduce the energy consumption and energy cost by reducing the air-conditioning energy consumption and peak load. An office building floor with typical variable air volume (VAV) air-conditioning system is used and simulated as the reference building in the comparison study. The envelopes of the studied building are further enhanced by integrating the PCM layers. The building system is tested in two selected cities of typical climates in China including Hong Kong and Beijing. The cold charge and discharge processes, the operation and control strategies of night ventilation and the air temperature set-point reset strategy for minimizing the energy consumption and electricity cost are studied. This thesis presents the simulation test platform, the test results on the cold storage and discharge processes, the air-conditioning energy consumption and demand reduction potentials in typical air-conditioning seasons in typical China cites as well as the impacts of operation and control strategies.

Towards a Semantically-Enabled Control Strategy for Building Simulations: Integration of Semantic Technologies and Model Predictive Control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Delgoshaei, Parastoo; Austin, Mark A.; Pertzborn, Amanda J.

State-of-the-art building simulation control methods incorporate physical constraints into their mathematical models, but omit implicit constraints associated with policies of operation and dependency relationships among rules representing those constraints. To overcome these shortcomings, there is a recent trend in enabling the control strategies with inference-based rule checking capabilities. One solution is to exploit semantic web technologies in building simulation control. Such approaches provide the tools for semantic modeling of domains, and the ability to deduce new information based on the models through use of Description Logic (DL). In a step toward enabling this capability, this paper presents a cross-disciplinary data-drivenmore » control strategy for building energy management simulation that integrates semantic modeling and formal rule checking mechanisms into a Model Predictive Control (MPC) formulation. The results show that MPC provides superior levels of performance when initial conditions and inputs are derived from inference-based rules.« less

Development of an automated energy audit protocol for office buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deb, Chirag

This study aims to enhance the building energy audit process, and bring about reduction in time and cost requirements in the conduction of a full physical audit. For this, a total of 5 Energy Service Companies in Singapore have collaborated and provided energy audit reports for 62 office buildings. Several statistical techniques are adopted to analyse these reports. These techniques comprise cluster analysis and development of prediction models to predict energy savings for buildings. The cluster analysis shows that there are 3 clusters of buildings experiencing different levels of energy savings. To understand the effect of building variables on the change in EUI, a robust iterative process for selecting the appropriate variables is developed. The results show that the 4 variables of GFA, non-air-conditioning energy consumption, average chiller plant efficiency and installed capacity of chillers should be taken for clustering. This analysis is extended to the development of prediction models using linear regression and artificial neural networks (ANN). An exhaustive variable selection algorithm is developed to select the input variables for the two energy saving prediction models. The results show that the ANN prediction model can predict the energy saving potential of a given building with an accuracy of +/-14.8%.

Predicting indoor pollutant concentrations, and applications to air quality management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lorenzetti, David M.

Because most people spend more than 90% of their time indoors, predicting exposure to airborne pollutants requires models that incorporate the effect of buildings. Buildings affect the exposure of their occupants in a number of ways, both by design (for example, filters in ventilation systems remove particles) and incidentally (for example, sorption on walls can reduce peak concentrations, but prolong exposure to semivolatile organic compounds). Furthermore, building materials and occupant activities can generate pollutants. Indoor air quality depends not only on outdoor air quality, but also on the design, maintenance, and use of the building. For example, ''sick building'' symptomsmore » such as respiratory problems and headaches have been related to the presence of air-conditioning systems, to carpeting, to low ventilation rates, and to high occupant density (1). The physical processes of interest apply even in simple structures such as homes. Indoor air quality models simulate the processes, such as ventilation and filtration, that control pollutant concentrations in a building. Section 2 describes the modeling approach, and the important transport processes in buildings. Because advection usually dominates among the transport processes, Sections 3 and 4 describe methods for predicting airflows. The concluding section summarizes the application of these models.« less

Criteria, Methods and Implications. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Evaluation of Physics Education (Helsinki, Finland, June 25-29, 1990). Research Report 96.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahtee, Maija, Ed.; And Others

The main purpose of this symposium was to find new ideas and resources for the evaluation and improvement of physics education on all levels. The papers included in this document are entitled: (1) "Quality of Physics Teaching Through Building Models and Advancing Research Skills"; (2) "Evaluation of Physics Education in Terms of Its…

Analyzing Log Files to Predict Students' Problem Solving Performance in a Computer-Based Physics Tutor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Young-Jin

2015-01-01

This study investigates whether information saved in the log files of a computer-based tutor can be used to predict the problem solving performance of students. The log files of a computer-based physics tutoring environment called Andes Physics Tutor was analyzed to build a logistic regression model that predicted success and failure of students'…

Linear Sigma Model Toolshed for D-brane Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hellerman, Simeon

Building on earlier work, we construct linear sigma models for strings on curved spaces in the presence of branes. Our models include an extremely general class of brane-worldvolume gauge field configurations. We explain in an accessible manner the mathematical ideas which suggest appropriate worldsheet interactions for generating a given open string background. This construction provides an explanation for the appearance of the derived category in D-brane physic complementary to that of recent work of Douglas.

Distribution Locational Real-Time Pricing Based Smart Building Control and Management

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hao, Jun; Dai, Xiaoxiao; Zhang, Yingchen

This paper proposes an real-virtual parallel computing scheme for smart building operations aiming at augmenting overall social welfare. The University of Denver's campus power grid and Ritchie fitness center is used for demonstrating the proposed approach. An artificial virtual system is built in parallel to the real physical system to evaluate the overall social cost of the building operation based on the social science based working productivity model, numerical experiment based building energy consumption model and the power system based real-time pricing mechanism. Through interactive feedback exchanged between the real and virtual system, enlarged social welfare, including monetary cost reductionmore » and energy saving, as well as working productivity improvements, can be achieved.« less

DOING Physics--Physics Activities for Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zwicker, Earl, Ed.

1985-01-01

Students are challenged to investigate a simple electric motor and to build their own model from a battery, wood block, clips, enameled copper wire, bare wire, and sandpaper. Through trial and error, several discoveries are made, including a substitute commutator and use of a radio to detect motor armature contact changes. (DH)

Big Questions: The Ultimate Building Blocks of Matter

ScienceCinema

Lincoln, Don

2018-01-16

The Standard Model of particle physics treats quarks and leptons as having no size at all. Quarks are found inside protons and neutrons and the most familiar lepton is the electron. While the best measurements to date support that idea, there is circumstantial evidence that suggests that perhaps the these tiny particles might be composed of even smaller building blocks. This video explains this circumstantial evidence and introduces some very basic ideas of what those building blocks might be.

Hardware-in-the-Loop Modeling and Simulation Methods for Daylight Systems in Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mead, Alex Robert

This dissertation introduces hardware-in-the-loop modeling and simulation techniques to the daylighting community, with specific application to complex fenestration systems. No such application of this class of techniques, optimally combining mathematical-modeling and physical-modeling experimentation, is known to the author previously in the literature. Daylighting systems in buildings have a large impact on both the energy usage of a building as well as the occupant experience within a space. As such, a renewed interest has been placed on designing and constructing buildings with an emphasis on daylighting in recent times as part of the "green movement.''. Within daylighting systems, a specific subclass of building envelope is receiving much attention: complex fenestration systems (CFSs). CFSs are unique as compared to regular fenestration systems (e.g. glazing) in the regard that they allow for non-specular transmission of daylight into a space. This non-specular nature can be leveraged by designers to "optimize'' the times of the day and the days of the year that daylight enters a space. Examples of CFSs include: Venetian blinds, woven fabric shades, and prismatic window coatings. In order to leverage the non-specular transmission properties of CFSs, however, engineering analysis techniques capable of faithfully representing the physics of these systems are needed. Traditionally, the analysis techniques available to the daylighting community fall broadly into three classes: simplified techniques, mathematical-modeling and simulation, and physical-modeling and experimentation. Simplified techniques use "rules-of-thumb'' heuristics to provide insights for simple daylighting systems. Mathematical-modeling and simulation use complex numerical models to provide more detailed insights into system performance. Finally, physical-models can be instrumented and excited using artificial and natural light sources to provide performance insight into a daylighting system. Each class of techniques, broadly speaking however, has advantages and disadvantages with respect to the cost of execution (e.g. money, time, expertise) and the fidelity of the provided insight into the performance of the daylighting system. This varying tradeoff of cost and insight between the techniques determines which techniques are employed for which projects. Daylighting systems with CFS components, however, when considered for simulation with respect to these traditional technique classes, defy high fidelity analysis. Simplified techniques are clearly not applicable. Mathematical-models must have great complexity in order to capture the non-specular transmission accurately, which greatly limit their applicability. This leaves physical modeling, the most costly, as the preferred method for CFS. While mathematical-modeling and simulation methods do exist, they are in general costly and and still approximations of the underlying CFS behavior. Meaning in fact, measurements of CFSs are currently the only practical method to capture the behavior of CFSs. Traditional measurements of CFSs transmission and reflection properties are conducted using an instrument called a goniophotometer and produce a measurement in the form of a Bidirectional Scatter Distribution Function (BSDF) based on the Klems Basis. This measurement must be executed for each possible state of the CFS, hence only a subset of the possible behaviors can be captured for CFSs with continuously varying configurations. In the current era of rapid prototyping (e.g. 3D printing) and automated control of buildings including daylighting systems, a new analysis technique is needed which can faithfully represent these CFSs which are being designed and constructed at an increasing rate. Hardware-in-the-loop modeling and simulation is a perfect fit to the current need of analyzing daylighting systems with CFSs. In the proposed hardware-in-the-loop modeling and simulation approach of this dissertation, physical-models of real CFSs are excited using either natural or artificial light. The exiting luminance distribution from these CFSs is measured and used as inputs to a Radiance mathematical-model of the interior of the space, which is proposed to be lit by the CFS containing daylighting system. Hence, the components of the total daylighting and building system which are not mathematically-modeled well, the CFS, are physically excited and measured, while the components which are modeled properly, namely the interior building space, are mathematically-modeled. In order to excite and measure CFSs behavior, a novel parallel goniophotometer, referred to as the CUBE 2.0, is developed in this dissertation. The CUBE 2.0 measures the input illuminance distribution and the output luminance distribution with respect to a CFS under test. Further, the process is fully automated allowing for deployable experiments on proposed building sites, as well as in laboratory based experiments. In this dissertation, three CFSs, two commercially available and one novel--Twitchell's Textilene 80 Black, Twitchell's Shade View Ebony, and Translucent Concrete Panels (TCP)--are simulated on the CUBE 2.0 system for daylong deployments at one minute time steps. These CFSs are assumed to be placed in the glazing space within the Reference Office Radiance model, for which horizontal illuminance on a work plane of 0.8 m height is calculated for each time step. While Shade View Ebony and TCPs are unmeasured CFSs with respect to BSDF, Textilene 80 Black has been previously measured. As such a validation of the CUBE 2.0 using the goniophotometer measured BSDF is presented, with measurement errors of the horizontal illuminance between +3% and -10%. These error levels are considered to be valid within experimental daylighting investigations. Non-validated results are also presented in full for both Shade View Ebony as well as TCP. Concluding remarks and future directions for HWiL simulation close the dissertation.

Predicting physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake in adolescents: a test of the information, motivation, behavioral skills model.

PubMed

Kelly, Stephanie; Melnyk, Bernadette Mazurek; Belyea, Michael

2012-04-01

Most adolescents do not meet national recommendations regarding physical activity and/or the intake of fruits and vegetables. The purpose of this study was to explore whether variables in the information, motivation, behavioral skills (IMB) model of health promotion predicted physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake in 404 adolescents from 2 high schools in the Southwest United States using structural equation modeling (SEM). The SEM models included theoretical constructs, contextual variables, and moderators. The theoretical relationships in the IMB model were confirmed and were moderated by gender and race. Interventions that incorporate cognitive-behavioral skills building may be a key factor for promoting physical activity as well as fruit and vegetable intake in adolescents. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Femur Model Reconstruction Based on Reverse Engineering and Rapid Prototyping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Tongming; Zhang, Zheng; Ni, Hongjun; Deng, Jiawen; Huang, Mingyu

Precise reconstruction of 3D models is fundamental and crucial to the researches of human femur. In this paper we present our approach towards tackling this problem. The surface of a human femur was scanned using a hand-held 3D laser scanner. The data obtained, in the form of point cloud, was then processed using the reverse engineering software Geomagic and the CAD/CAM software CimatronE to reconstruct a digital 3D model. The digital model was then used by the rapid prototyping machine to build a physical model of human femur using 3D printing. The geometric characteristics of the obtained physical model matched that of the original femur. The process of "physical object - 3D data - digital 3D model - physical model" presented in this paper provides a foundation of precise modeling for the digital manufacturing, virtual assembly, stress analysis, and simulated surgery of artificial bionic femurs.

Toward University Modeling Instruction—Biology: Adapting Curricular Frameworks from Physics to Biology

PubMed Central

Manthey, Seth; Brewe, Eric

2013-01-01

University Modeling Instruction (UMI) is an approach to curriculum and pedagogy that focuses instruction on engaging students in building, validating, and deploying scientific models. Modeling Instruction has been successfully implemented in both high school and university physics courses. Studies within the physics education research (PER) community have identified UMI's positive impacts on learning gains, equity, attitudinal shifts, and self-efficacy. While the success of this pedagogical approach has been recognized within the physics community, the use of models and modeling practices is still being developed for biology. Drawing from the existing research on UMI in physics, we describe the theoretical foundations of UMI and how UMI can be adapted to include an emphasis on models and modeling for undergraduate introductory biology courses. In particular, we discuss our ongoing work to develop a framework for the first semester of a two-semester introductory biology course sequence by identifying the essential basic models for an introductory biology course sequence. PMID:23737628

Toward university modeling instruction--biology: adapting curricular frameworks from physics to biology.

PubMed

Manthey, Seth; Brewe, Eric

2013-06-01

University Modeling Instruction (UMI) is an approach to curriculum and pedagogy that focuses instruction on engaging students in building, validating, and deploying scientific models. Modeling Instruction has been successfully implemented in both high school and university physics courses. Studies within the physics education research (PER) community have identified UMI's positive impacts on learning gains, equity, attitudinal shifts, and self-efficacy. While the success of this pedagogical approach has been recognized within the physics community, the use of models and modeling practices is still being developed for biology. Drawing from the existing research on UMI in physics, we describe the theoretical foundations of UMI and how UMI can be adapted to include an emphasis on models and modeling for undergraduate introductory biology courses. In particular, we discuss our ongoing work to develop a framework for the first semester of a two-semester introductory biology course sequence by identifying the essential basic models for an introductory biology course sequence.

Physical Modeling of the Processes Responsible for the Mid-Latitude Storm Enhanced Plasma Density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuller-Rowell, T. J.; Maruyama, N.; Fedrizzi, M.; Codrescu, M.; Heelis, R. A.

2016-12-01

Certain magnetic local time sectors at mid latitudes see substantial increases in plasma density in the early phases of a geomagnetic storm. The St. Patrick's Day storms of 2013 and 2015 were no exception, both producing large increases of total electron content at mid latitudes. There are theories for the build up of the storm enhanced density (SED), but can current theoretical ionosphere-thermosphere coupled models actually reproduce the response for an actual event? Not only is it necessary for the physical model to contain the appropriate physics, they also have to be forced by the correct drivers. The SED requires mid-latitude zonal transport to provide plasma stagnation in sunlight to provide the production. The theory also requires a poleward drift perpendicular to the magnetic field to elevate the plasma out of the body of the thermosphere to regions of substantially less loss rate. It is also suggested that equatorward winds are necessary to further elevate the plasma to regions of reduced loss. However, those same winds are also likely to transport molecular nitrogen rich neutral gas equatorward, potentially canceling out the benefits of the neutral circulation. Observations of mid-latitude zonal plasma flow are first analyzed to see if this first necessary ingredient is substantiated. The drift observations are then used to tune the driver to determine if, with the appropriate electric field driver, the latest physical models can reproduce the substantial plasma build up. If it can, the simulation can also be used to assess the contribution of the equatorward meridional wind; are they an asset to the plasma build up, or does the enhanced molecular species they carry counteract their benefit.

Electric Motorboat Drag Racing: A Hands-On Physics Project that Motivates Students from Start to Finish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barry, Reno

2008-01-01

Electric Motorboat Drag Racing is a culminating high school physics project designed to apply and bring to life many content standards for physics. Students need to be given several weeks at home to design and build their model-sized electric motorboats for the 5-meter drag racing competition down rain gutters. In the process, they are discussing…

Evaluating the Maturity of Cybersecurity Programs for Building Control Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Glantz, Clifford S.; Somasundaram, Sriram; Mylrea, Michael E.

The cyber-physical security threat to buildings is complex, non-linear, and rapidly evolving as operational and information technologies converge and connect buildings to cyberspace. Cyberattacks on buildings can exploit smart building controls and breach corporate networks, causing financial and reputational damage. This may result in the loss of sensitive building information or the disruption of, or damage to, the systems necessary for the safe and efficient operation of buildings. For the buildings and facility infrastructure, there is a need for a robust national cybersecurity strategy for buildings, guidance on the selection and implementation of appropriate cybersecurity controls for buildings, an approachmore » to evaluate the maturity and adequacy of the cybersecurity programs. To provide an approach for evaluating the maturity of the cybersecurity programs for building control systems, the US Department of Energy’s widely used Cybersecurity Capability and Maturity Model (C2M2) has been adapted into a building control systems version. The revised model, the Buildings-C2M2 (B-C2M2) provides maturity level indicators for cybersecurity programmatic domains. A “B-C2M2 Lite” version allows facility managers and building control system engineers, or information technology personnel to perform rapid self-assessments of their cybersecurity program. Both tools have been pilot tested on several facilities. This paper outlines the concept of a maturity model, describes the B-C2M2 tools, presents results and observations from the pilot assessments, and lays out plans for future work.« less

An Apparatus for Constructing an Electromagnetic Plane Wave Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kneubil, Fabiana Botelho; Loures, Marcus Vinicius Russo; Amado, William

2015-01-01

In this paper we report on an activity aimed at building an electromagnetic wave. This was part of a class on the concept of mass offered to a group of 20 pre-service Brazilian physics teachers. The activity consisted of building a plane wave using an apparatus in which it is possible to fit some rods representing electric and magnetic fields into…

Large-scale experiments for the vulnerability analysis of buildings impacted and intruded by fluviatile torrential hazard processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sturm, Michael; Gems, Bernhard; Fuchs, Sven; Mazzorana, Bruno; Papathoma-Köhle, Maria; Aufleger, Markus

2016-04-01

In European mountain regions, losses due to torrential hazards are still considerable high despite the ongoing debate on an overall increasing or decreasing trend. Recent events in Austria severely revealed that due to technical and economic reasons, an overall protection of settlements in the alpine environment against torrential hazards is not feasible. On the side of the hazard process, events with unpredictable intensities may represent overload scenarios for existent protection structures in the torrent catchments. They bear a particular risk of significant losses in the living space. Although the importance of vulnerability is widely recognised, there is still a research gap concerning its assessment. Currently, potential losses at buildings due to torrential hazards and their comparison with reinstatement costs are determined by the use of empirical functions. Hence, relations of process intensities and the extent of losses, gathered by the analysis of historic hazard events and the information of object-specific restoration values, are used. This approach does not represent a physics-based and integral concept since relevant and often crucial processes, as the intrusion of the fluid-sediment-mixture into elements at risk, are not considered. Based on these findings, our work is targeted at extending these findings and models of present risk research in the context of an integral, more physics-based vulnerability analysis concept. Fluviatile torrential hazard processes and their impacts on the building envelope are experimentally modelled. Material intrusion processes are thereby explicitly considered. Dynamic impacts are gathered quantitatively and spatially distributed by the use of a large set of force transducers. The experimental tests are accomplished with artificial, vertical and skewed plates, including also openings for material intrusion. Further, the impacts on specific buildings within the test site of the work, the fan apex of the Schnannerbach torrent in Tyrol (Austria), are analysed in detail. A couple of buildings are entirely reconstructed within the physical scale model at the scale 1:30. They include basement and first floor and thereby all relevant openings on the building envelopes. The results from experimental modelling represent the data basis for further physics-based vulnerability analysis. Hence, the applied vulnerability analysis concept significantly extends the methods presently used in flood risk assessment. The results of the study are of basic importance for practical application, as they provide extensive information to support hazard zone mapping and management, as well as the planning of local technical protection measures.

Leveraging a Relationship with Biology to Expand a Relationship with Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawtelle, Vashti; Turpen, Chandra

2016-01-01

This work examines how experiences in one disciplinary domain (biology) can impact the relationship a student builds with another domain (physics). We present a model for disciplinary relationships using the constructs of identity, affect, and epistemology. With these constructs we examine an ethnographic case study of a student who experienced a…

Advanced Multi-Physics (AMP)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Philip, Bobby

2012-06-01

The Advanced Multi-Physics (AMP) code, in its present form, will allow a user to build a multi-physics application code for existing mechanics and diffusion operators and extend them with user-defined material models and new physics operators. There are examples that demonstrate mechanics, thermo-mechanics, coupled diffusion, and mechanical contact. The AMP code is designed to leverage a variety of mathematical solvers (PETSc, Trilinos, SUNDIALS, and AMP solvers) and mesh databases (LibMesh and AMP) in a consistent interchangeable approach.

The role of building models in the evaluation of heat-related risks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buchin, Oliver; Jänicke, Britta; Meier, Fred; Scherer, Dieter; Ziegler, Felix

2016-04-01

Hazard-risk relationships in epidemiological studies are generally based on the outdoor climate, despite the fact that most of humans' lifetime is spent indoors. By coupling indoor and outdoor climates with a building model, the risk concept developed can still be based on the outdoor conditions but also includes exposure to the indoor climate. The influence of non-linear building physics and the impact of air conditioning on heat-related risks can be assessed in a plausible manner using this risk concept. For proof of concept, the proposed risk concept is compared to a traditional risk analysis. As an example, daily and city-wide mortality data of the age group 65 and older in Berlin, Germany, for the years 2001-2010 are used. Four building models with differing complexity are applied in a time-series regression analysis. This study shows that indoor hazard better explains the variability in the risk data compared to outdoor hazard, depending on the kind of building model. Simplified parameter models include the main non-linear effects and are proposed for the time-series analysis. The concept shows that the definitions of heat events, lag days, and acclimatization in a traditional hazard-risk relationship are influenced by the characteristics of the prevailing building stock.

First order error corrections in common introductory physics experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beckey, Jacob; Baker, Andrew; Aravind, Vasudeva; Clarion Team

As a part of introductory physics courses, students perform different standard lab experiments. Almost all of these experiments are prone to errors owing to factors like friction, misalignment of equipment, air drag, etc. Usually these types of errors are ignored by students and not much thought is paid to the source of these errors. However, paying attention to these factors that give rise to errors help students make better physics models and understand physical phenomena behind experiments in more detail. In this work, we explore common causes of errors in introductory physics experiment and suggest changes that will mitigate the errors, or suggest models that take the sources of these errors into consideration. This work helps students build better and refined physical models and understand physics concepts in greater detail. We thank Clarion University undergraduate student grant for financial support involving this project.

The role of logistic constraints in termite construction of chambers and tunnels.

PubMed

Ladley, Dan; Bullock, Seth

2005-06-21

In previous models of the building behaviour of termites, physical and logistic constraints that limit the movement of termites and pheromones have been neglected. Here, we present an individual-based model of termite construction that includes idealized constraints on the diffusion of pheromones, the movement of termites, and the integrity of the architecture that they construct. The model allows us to explore the extent to which the results of previous idealized models (typically realised in one or two dimensions via a set of coupled partial differential equations) generalize to a physical, 3-D environment. Moreover we are able to investigate new processes and architectures that rely upon these features. We explore the role of stigmergic recruitment in pillar formation, wall building, and the construction of royal chambers, tunnels and intersections. In addition, for the first time, we demonstrate the way in which the physicality of partially built structures can help termites to achieve efficient tunnel structures and to establish and maintain entrances in royal chambers. As such we show that, in at least some cases, logistic constraints can be important or even necessary in order for termites to achieve efficient, effective constructions.

Net-zero Building Cluster Simulations and On-line Energy Forecasting for Adaptive and Real-Time Control and Decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiwang

Buildings consume about 41.1% of primary energy and 74% of the electricity in the U.S. Moreover, it is estimated by the National Energy Technology Laboratory that more than 1/4 of the 713 GW of U.S. electricity demand in 2010 could be dispatchable if only buildings could respond to that dispatch through advanced building energy control and operation strategies and smart grid infrastructure. In this study, it is envisioned that neighboring buildings will have the tendency to form a cluster, an open cyber-physical system to exploit the economic opportunities provided by a smart grid, distributed power generation, and storage devices. Through optimized demand management, these building clusters will then reduce overall primary energy consumption and peak time electricity consumption, and be more resilient to power disruptions. Therefore, this project seeks to develop a Net-zero building cluster simulation testbed and high fidelity energy forecasting models for adaptive and real-time control and decision making strategy development that can be used in a Net-zero building cluster. The following research activities are summarized in this thesis: 1) Development of a building cluster emulator for building cluster control and operation strategy assessment. 2) Development of a novel building energy forecasting methodology using active system identification and data fusion techniques. In this methodology, a systematic approach for building energy system characteristic evaluation, system excitation and model adaptation is included. The developed methodology is compared with other literature-reported building energy forecasting methods; 3) Development of the high fidelity on-line building cluster energy forecasting models, which includes energy forecasting models for buildings, PV panels, batteries and ice tank thermal storage systems 4) Small scale real building validation study to verify the performance of the developed building energy forecasting methodology. The outcomes of this thesis can be used for building cluster energy forecasting model development and model based control and operation optimization. The thesis concludes with a summary of the key outcomes of this research, as well as a list of recommendations for future work.

Surface characteristics modeling and performance evaluation of urban building materials using LiDAR data.

PubMed

Li, Xiaolu; Liang, Yu

2015-05-20

Analysis of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) intensity data to extract surface features is of great interest in remote sensing research. One potential application of LiDAR intensity data is target classification. A new bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model is derived for target characterization of rough and smooth surfaces. Based on the geometry of our coaxial full-waveform LiDAR system, the integration method is improved through coordinate transformation to establish the relationship between the BRDF model and intensity data of LiDAR. A series of experiments using typical urban building materials are implemented to validate the proposed BRDF model and integration method. The fitting results show that three parameters extracted from the proposed BRDF model can distinguish the urban building materials from perspectives of roughness, specular reflectance, and diffuse reflectance. A comprehensive analysis of these parameters will help characterize surface features in a physically rigorous manner.

A regression-based approach to estimating retrofit savings using the Building Performance Database

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walter, Travis; Sohn, Michael D.

Retrofitting building systems is known to provide cost-effective energy savings. This article addresses how the Building Performance Database is used to help identify potential savings. Currently, prioritizing retrofits and computing their expected energy savings and cost/benefits can be a complicated, costly, and an uncertain effort. Prioritizing retrofits for a portfolio of buildings can be even more difficult if the owner must determine different investment strategies for each of the buildings. Meanwhile, we are seeing greater availability of data on building energy use, characteristics, and equipment. These data provide opportunities for the development of algorithms that link building characteristics and retrofitsmore » empirically. In this paper we explore the potential of using such data for predicting the expected energy savings from equipment retrofits for a large number of buildings. We show that building data with statistical algorithms can provide savings estimates when detailed energy audits and physics-based simulations are not cost- or time-feasible. We develop a multivariate linear regression model with numerical predictors (e.g., operating hours, occupant density) and categorical indicator variables (e.g., climate zone, heating system type) to predict energy use intensity. The model quantifies the contribution of building characteristics and systems to energy use, and we use it to infer the expected savings when modifying particular equipment. We verify the model using residual analysis and cross-validation. We demonstrate the retrofit analysis by providing a probabilistic estimate of energy savings for several hypothetical building retrofits. We discuss the ways understanding the risk associated with retrofit investments can inform decision making. The contributions of this work are the development of a statistical model for estimating energy savings, its application to a large empirical building dataset, and a discussion of its use in informing building retrofit decisions.« less

Time on Your Hands: Modeling Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finson, Kevin; Beaver, John

2007-01-01

Building physical models relative to a concept can be an important activity to help students develop and manipulate abstract ideas and mental models that often prove difficult to grasp. One such concept is "time". A method for helping students understand the cyclical nature of time involves the construction of a Time Zone Calculator through a…

Use of Molecular Models for Active Learning in Biochemistry Lecture Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hageman, James H.

2010-01-01

The pedagogical value of having biochemistry and organic chemistry students build and manipulate physical models of chemical species is well established in the literature. Nevertheless, for the most part, the use of molecular models is generally limited to several laboratory exercises or to demonstrations in the classroom setting. A simple…

A tale of two slinkies: learning about scientific models in a student-driven classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gandhi, Punit; Berggren, Calvin; Livezey, Jesse; Olf, Ryan

2014-11-01

We describe a set of conceptual activities and hands-on experiments based around understanding the dynamics of a slinky that is hung vertically and released from rest. The motion, or lack thereof, of the bottom of the slinky after the top is dropped sparks students' curiosity by challenging their expectations and provides context for learning about scientific model building. This curriculum helps students learn about the model building process by giving them an opportunity to enlist their collective intellectual and creative resources to develop and explore two different physical models of the falling slinky system. By engaging with two complementary models, students not only have the opportunity to understand an intriguing phenomenon from multiple perspectives, but also learn deeper lessons about the nature of scientific understanding, the role of physical models, and the experience of doing science. The activities we present were part of a curriculum developed for a week-long summer program for incoming freshmen as a part of the Compass Project at UC Berkeley, but could easily be implemented in a wide range of classrooms at the high school or introductory college level.

Building conservation base on assessment of facade quality on Basuki Rachmat Street, Malang

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurniawan, E. B.; Putri, R. Y. A.; Wardhani, D. K.

2017-06-01

Visual quality covers aspects of imageability which is associated with visual system and the element of distinction. Within a visual system of specific area, the physical quality may lead to a strong image. Here, the physical quality is one of important that make urban aesthetic. Build a discussion toward visual system of urban area, this paper aim is to identify the influencing factors in defining the façade’s visual quality of heritage buildings at Jend. Basuki Rahmat Street, Malang City, East Java-Indonesia. This Street is a main road of Malang city center that was built by Dutch colonial government. It was designed by IR. Thomas Kartsten. It was known as one of Malang area that have good visual quality. In order to idenfity the influencing factors, this paper conducts Multiple linear regression as a tools of analysis. The examined potential factors are resulted from of architecture and urban design expert’s assessment to each building’s segment at Jend. Basuki Rahmat. Finally, this paper reveals that the influencing factors are color, rhythm, and proportion. This is demonstrated by the results model: Visual quality (Y) = 0.304 + 0.21 Colors(X5) + 0.221 rhythm (X6) + 0.304 proportion (X7). Furthermore, the recommendation of the building facade will be made based on this model and study of historical and typology building in Basuki Rachmat Street.

Local characteristics of cross-unit contamination around high-rise building due to wind effect: mean concentration and infection risk assessment.

PubMed

Liu, X P; Niu, J L; Kwok, K C S; Wang, J H; Li, B Z

2011-08-15

In this present work, the characteristics of hazardous gas dispersion and possible cross-unit contamination around a complex-shaped high-rise residential building due to wind effect are thoroughly studied using physical modeling method. Experiments were performed in a boundary layer wind tunnel for a 1:30 scale model that represented a 10-story residential building in prototype. Tracer gas, simulating exhausted room air, was continuously released from different floor levels, and its concentrations on the adjacent envelope surfaces were measured using fast flame ionization detectors. The mean concentration fields were reported and analyzed under different configurations during the experiment to consider the effects on pollutant dispersion behavior due to changes in source position and approaching wind condition, with the main emphasis on the differences between open-window and closed-window conditions. In particular, the measured concentration fields were further examined from a practical point of view, with respect to hazard assessment. Understanding these hazardous plume dispersion features is useful for employing effective intervention strategies in modern residential building environment in case of hazardous substance release. The study on this physical process is not only helpful to reduce the hazardous effect of routine release of harmful pollutant near the building, but also useful for the purpose of prevention and control of accidental infectious diseases outbreak. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Global Modeling Test Bed - Building a New National Capability for Advancing Operational Global Modeling in the United States.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toepfer, F.; Cortinas, J. V., Jr.; Kuo, W.; Tallapragada, V.; Stajner, I.; Nance, L. B.; Kelleher, K. E.; Firl, G.; Bernardet, L.

2017-12-01

NOAA develops, operates, and maintains an operational global modeling capability for weather, sub seasonal and seasonal prediction for the protection of life and property and fostering the US economy. In order to substantially improve the overall performance and accelerate advancements of the operational modeling suite, NOAA is partnering with NCAR to design and build the Global Modeling Test Bed (GMTB). The GMTB has been established to provide a platform and a capability for researchers to contribute to the advancement primarily through the development of physical parameterizations needed to improve operational NWP. The strategy to achieve this goal relies on effectively leveraging global expertise through a modern collaborative software development framework. This framework consists of a repository of vetted and supported physical parameterizations known as the Common Community Physics Package (CCPP), a common well-documented interface known as the Interoperable Physics Driver (IPD) for combining schemes into suites and for their configuration and connection to dynamic cores, and an open evidence-based governance process for managing the development and evolution of CCPP. In addition, a physics test harness designed to work within this framework has been established in order to facilitate easier like-to-like comparison of physics advancements. This paper will present an overview of the design of the CCPP and test platform. Additionally, an overview of potential new opportunities of how physics developers can engage in the process, from implementing code for CCPP/IPD compliance to testing their development within an operational-like software environment, will be presented. In addition, insight will be given as to how development gets elevated to CPPP-supported status, the pre-cursor to broad availability and use within operational NWP. An overview of how the GMTB can be expanded to support other global or regional modeling capabilities will also be presented.

Rock Physical Interpretation of the Relationship between Dynamic and Static Young's Moduli of Sedimentary Rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, T.

2017-12-01

The static Young's modulus (deformability) of a rock is indispensable for designing and constructing tunnels, dams and underground caverns in civil engineering. Static Young's modulus which is an elastic modulus at large strain level is usually obtained with the laboratory tests of rock cores sampled in boreholes drilled in a rock mass. A deformability model of the entire rock mass is then built by extrapolating the measurements based on a rock mass classification obtained in geological site characterization. However, model-building using data obtained from a limited number of boreholes in the rock mass, especially a complex rock mass, may cause problems in the accuracy and reliability of the model. On the other hand, dynamic Young's modulus which is the modulus at small strain level can be obtained from seismic velocity. If dynamic Young's modulus can be rationally converted to static one, a seismic velocity model by the seismic method can be effectively used to build a deformability model of the rock mass. In this study, we have, therefore, developed a rock physics model (Mavko et al., 2009) to estimate static Young's modulus from dynamic one for sedimentary rocks. The rock physics model has been generally applied to seismic properties at small strain level. In the proposed model, however, the sandy shale model, one of rock physics models, is extended for modeling the static Young's modulus at large strain level by incorporating the mixture of frictional and frictionless grain contacts into the Hertz-Mindlin model. The proposed model is verified through its application to the dynamic Young's moduli derived from well log velocities and static Young's moduli measured in the tri-axial compression tests of rock cores sampled in the same borehole as the logs were acquired. This application proves that the proposed rock physics model can be possibly used to estimate static Young's modulus (deformability) which is required in many types of civil engineering applications from seismically derived dynamic Young's modulus. References:Mavko, G., Mukerji, T. and Dvorkin, J., 2009, The Rock Physics Handbook, 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Using Tracker as a Pedagogical Tool for Understanding Projectile Motion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wee, Loo Kang; Chew, Charles; Goh, Giam Hwee; Tan, Samuel; Lee, Tat Leong

2012-01-01

This article reports on the use of Tracker as a pedagogical tool in the effective learning and teaching of projectile motion in physics. When a computer model building learning process is supported and driven by video analysis data, this free Open Source Physics tool can provide opportunities for students to engage in active enquiry-based…

The Serious Use of Play and Metaphor: Legos and Labyrinths

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Alison; Brookfield, Stephen

2013-01-01

In this paper the authors wish to examine kinesthetic forms of learning involving the body and the physical realm. The authors look at two particular techniques; using Legos to build metaphorical models and living the physical experience of metaphors in the shape of labyrinth-walking and its attendant activities. The authors begin by discussing…

Lightning attachment process to common buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saba, M. M. F.; Paiva, A. R.; Schumann, C.; Ferro, M. A. S.; Naccarato, K. P.; Silva, J. C. O.; Siqueira, F. V. C.; Custódio, D. M.

2017-05-01

The physical mechanism of lightning attachment to grounded structures is one of the most important issues in lightning physics research, and it is the basis for the design of the lightning protection systems. Most of what is known about the attachment process comes from leader propagation models that are mostly based on laboratory observations of long electrical discharges or from observations of lightning attachment to tall structures. In this paper we use high-speed videos to analyze the attachment process of downward lightning flashes to an ordinary residential building. For the first time, we present characteristics of the attachment process to common structures that are present in almost every city (in this case, two buildings under 60 m in São Paulo City, Brazil). Parameters like striking distance and connecting leaders speed, largely used in lightning attachment models and in lightning protection standards, are revealed in this work.