Engineering Commons^™

Using Bluetooth Low Energy Devices To Monitor Visitor Activity In Remote Amenity Spaces, Ahlam Al Anbouri, David Powell, Damon Berry, John Mcgrory, Niall Holmes, Lorraine D'Arcy

Conference Papers

Tracking of pedestrian behaviour, particularly route selection and temporal behaviours, can be difficult to undertake. This is especially true of studies at a community or campus level where the anonymity of pedestrians can be difficult to protect. The introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations 2016 (GDPR) has increased the complexity of this challenge. Advances in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology in recent years have increased the potential to monitor human behaviour by tracking and triangulating pedestrians. This paper describes an experiment undertaken along The Great South Wall at the Port of Dublin, which is considered a leading amenity …

Eurasian Rail Freight In The One Belt One Road Era, Hans-Joachim Schramm, Xu Zhang

Conference Papers

This paper presents an overview of the recent development of Eurasian rail freight in the One Belt, One Road Era and further evaluates its service quality in terms of transit times and transport costs compared to other transport modes in containerised supply chains between Europe and China. A trade-off model of transit time and transport costs based on quantitative data from primary as well as secondary sources is developed to demonstrate the market niche for Eurasian rail freight vis-a-vis the more established modes of transport of sea, air, and sea/air. In a scenario analysis, further goods attributes influencing modal choice …

Lifelong Housing Design: User Feedback Evaluation Of Smart Objects And Accessible Houses For Healthy Ageing, Matteo Zallio, Niccolò Casiddu

Conference Papers

According to the latest research by the European Community and ISTAT (Italian National Institute of Statistics) surveys, Europe has the highest average age for its population. According to those data, in the near future, it could be necessary to move from a welfare model based on the centralization of care systems, to a system based on the distribution of certain healthcare facilities [1]. This means that the ageing population is ever increasing, thanks to better lifestyles, innovative medical care and wider access to different services. This work seeks to observe and analyse key implications of architectural and interior design features …

An Assessment Of The Accuracy Of Ppp In Remote Areas In Oman, Audrey Martin, Rashid Al Alawi

Conference Papers

Traditionally, high accuracy Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) positioning has involved differential techniques. Such techniques significantly reduce or eliminate inherent biases in the GNSS measurement by referencing simultaneous measurements to one or more known reference stations. On a national scale, these differential techniques rely heavily on a costly spatial infrastructure of accurately known points usually occupied by Continually Operating Reference Stations (CORS). In recent years, the development of Precise Point Positioning (PPP) techniques have been shown to reduce many of the inherent observation errors and biases in GNSS solutions which eliminate the need for a ground based reference station. Such …

Stock Aggregation Model And Virtual Archetype For Large Scale Retrofit Modelling Of Local Authority Housing In Ireland, James Pittam, Paul D. O’Sullivan, Garrett O’Sullivan

Conference Papers

Developing representative archetypes using a bottom up approach for stock modelling is an excellent tool for evaluating the overall performance of the building stock; however it requires detailed analysis of the various building types. Currently there is no detailed housing data base for Local Authority housing in Cork City, Ireland that catalogues the housing stocks geometric properties and thermal characteristics for each typology. This study details a methodology to catalogue the LAH stock and build a detailed housing data base. The GIS web based mapping application Google Street View is used to identify 20 house typologies across 36 LAH developments; …

An Evaluation Of The Performance Of Network Rtk Gnss Services In Ireland, Audrey Martin, Eugene Mcgovern

Conference Papers

The national Geodetic infrastructure for the island of Ireland has developed rapidly to a fully GNSS compatible coordinate reference system - Irish Transverse Mercator (ITM) which is realised through a Continuously Operating Reference System (CORS) network of active GNSS stations. The National Mapping Authority’s CORS network provides data for post processing and streamed raw data for real-time network (NRTK) solutions. This NRTK raw data is currently being used by both Leica and Topcon to provide independent NRTK solutions. A second CORS network, known as VRS Now Ireland, with both RINEX and NRTK capabilities, was established in 2008 by Trimble and …

Process Refinement Through Design Of Experiments (Taguchi) To Reduce Porosity Levels Of Thin Flame Spray Nicrbsi Coatings On Cast Aluminium Alloys, David Culliton, David Kennedy, Tony Betts

Conference Papers

Thin(16matrix of key deposition parameters was constructed to develop the optimum spray parameters. The effects of parameter variations on the porosity levels of these coatings were assessed. Key parameter interactions were reported. Quantifiable interactions between the selected parameters were noted for the LM24 substrate. However, on the LM25 substrate these interactions were much less defined. Corrosion performance of the optimised coatings, based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, was reported. The presence of through-pores in the coatings were shown to reduce the corrosion resistance of the coated systems by a factor of 10, in dilute NaCl solutions, compared to bulk 316L stainless …

Solar Cell Efficiency Enhancement Through Down-Shifting And Up-Converting Layers: The Ephocell Project: Luminescent Downshifting Quantum Yield Measurements, M. Kennedy, L. Aubouy, D. Gutiérrez-Tauste, A. Jorge, M. Faccini, G. Noriega, M. Di Lorenzo, M. Cocca, M. Avella, M. Errico, G. Gentile, John Doran, Brian Norton, S. Baluschev, J. Bistué Guardiola, A. Robles Molina, J. Puigdollers, C. Voz, S. Daren, F. Tsvetkov, A. Pashov

Conference Papers

Organic cells and dye-sensitized cells developed to-date have a narrow active absorption range, relative to the spectral range of the available solar resource. Their efficiency could be significantly enhanced through a process of down-shifting (DS) and up-conversion of non-absorbable photons converting them to photons better matching the spectral response of the particular solar cell. The DS molecules must exhibit a large Stokes shift and high luminescent quantum yield when incorporated in the downshifting polymer layer. In this paper, the QY of a downshifting Europium (III) complex in solution is determined using two distinct experimental techniques. The QY is measured for …

Development Of A Theoretical Decoupled Stirling Cycle Engine, Barry Cullen, Jim Mcgovern

Conference Papers

The Stirling cycle engine is gaining increasing attention in the current energy market as a clean, quiet and versatile prime mover for use in such situations as solar thermal generation, micro cogeneration and other micro distributed generation situations. A theoretical Stirling cycle engine model is developed. Using a theoretical decoupled engine configuration in which working space swept volume, volume variation, phase angle and dead space ratio are controlled via a black-box electronic controller, a model is developed that is to be used as a tool for analysis of the ideal Stirling cycle engine and the limits on its real world …

Uniarab: An Universal Machine Translator System For Arabic Based On Role And Reference Grammar, Brian Nolan, Yasser Salem

Conference Papers

This paper presents a machine translation system (Hutchins 2003) called UniArab (Salem, Hensman and Nolan 2008). It is a proof-of-concept system supporting the fundamental aspects of Arabic, such as the parts of speech, agreement and tenses. UniArab is based on the linking algorithm of RRG (syntax to semantics and vice versa). UniArab takes MSA Arabic as input in the native orthography, parses the sentence(s) into a logical meta-representation based on the fully expanded RRG logical structures and, using this, generates perfectly grammatical English output with full agreement and morphological resolution. UniArab utilizes an XML-based implementation of elements of the Role …

The Application Of Web 2.0 Technologies As An Experimental Method Of Teaching Remote Sensing At Dit, Ireland, Avril Behan

Conference Papers

This paper describes the implementation of an experimental method of delivery for a module of remote sensing material to second year students on the BSc (Hons) in Geomatics at the Dublin Institute of Technology. The project began as a reaction to poor levels of student engagement and unsatisfactory grades, as well as the requirement to focus more on real-world type problems due to the implementation of a work-placement semester for third year students. Both pedagogical considerations (movement towards formative feedback, interactivity and group-based work) and the effect of technological drivers, such as the popularity of the internet in general and …

Metrology And Proportion In The Ecclesiastical Architecture Of Medieval Ireland, Avril Behan, Rachel Moss

Conference Papers

The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which detailed empirical analysis of the metrology and proportional systems used in the design of Irish ecclesiastical architecture can be analysed to provide historical information not otherwise available. Focussing on a relatively limited sample of window tracery designs as a case study, it will first set out to establish what, if any, systems were in use, and then what light these might shed on the background, training and work practices of the masons, and, by association, the patrons responsible for employing them.

Preparation And Accreditation Of Level 7 Engineering Programmes, Mark Mcgrath

Conference Papers

Accreditation of 3^rd level educational programmes by a suitably recognised professional body is of particular relevance in relation to engineering. The completion of a sequence of modules which leads to the attainment of this professionally recognised award is viewed as integral to the undertaking. The engineering technology fields are developing and expanding rapidly and the third level sector must keep abreast of these changes. This is essential if the third level institutions wish to continue delivering programmes which produce graduates who can successfully complete the transition from 3rd. Level to the various engineering sectors.

This paper outlines various aspects …

Enhancing Educational Programmes For Geomatics In Ireland, Frank Prendergast, William Prendergast, Avril Behan, Helen Murray

Conference Papers

The growing spatial information needs of society, the rapid development of new surveying technologies, and the global demand for appropriately qualified surveyors, have triggered a radical re-evaluation of Geomatics education in Europe. Although significant enhancements to DIT’s educational programmes have been made during the last decade, the provision of new opportunities for learners and innovative changes to existing paradigms of training and education are required. This paper addresses some of the issues confronting educators in DIT, and presents some of the strategies for their enhancement and implementation.