Engineering Commons^™

Adaptive Environments For Enabling Senior Citizens: An Holistic Assessment Tool For Housing Design And Iot-Based Technologies, Matteo Zallio, Damon Berry, Niccolò Casiddu

Conference papers

The population of older adults will continuously increase over the coming decades. As they get older, people will require assistance and regular monitoring, with higher costs for welfare system and families. Two vital aspects of a healthy lifestyle, are domestic autonomy and maintenance of relationships within the neighborhood. This leads to an interesting research issue: “Could houses and appliances have the potential to improve autonomy and quality of life of citizens? Which methods and tools could enhance wellbeing and healthy conditions? The house has the potential to be a safe, adaptive environment, integrated with technologies for life support. This work …

Investigating The Impact Of Unsupervised Feature-Extraction From Multi-Wavelength Image Data For Photometric Classification Of Stars, Galaxies And Qsos, Annika Lindh

Conference papers

Accurate classification of astronomical objects currently relies on spectroscopic data. Acquiring this data is time-consuming and expensive compared to photometric data. Hence, improving the accuracy of photometric classification could lead to far better coverage and faster classification pipelines. This paper investigates the benefit of using unsupervised feature-extraction from multi-wavelength image data for photometric classification of stars, galaxies and QSOs. An unsupervised Deep Belief Network is used, giving the model a higher level of interpretability thanks to its generative nature and layer-wise training. A Random Forest classifier is used to measure the contribution of the novel features compared to a set …

Reflecting Societal Values In Designing Flood Risk Management Strategies, Mark Adamson, John O'Sullivan, Zeinab Bedri

Conference papers

In 2006, the Office of Public Works (OPW) began the National Catchment-based Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme through a series of pilot studies. A Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) Framework was developed through the pilot studies that integrated a number of objectives related to a wide range of potential impacts and benefits into the core of process of appraising and selecting suitable flood risk management measures for a given area or location, and then for prioritising national investments for different schemes and projects. This MCA Framework, that provides a systematic process of developing a non-monetised but numerical indicator of benefit …

Evaluation Of Slope Stability Quantifying The Effect Of Vegetation, Roberto José Marín, Juan Pablo Osorio

Conference papers

The present study evaluates the shallow landslides susceptibility triggered by rainfall by means of multiple numerical simulations. The simulations integrate a transient rainfall infiltration model with an infinite slope stability model, both of them developed for unsaturated soils in a basin scale. TRIGRS’ infiltration model is used to calculate pore water pressure. The geotechnical model includes the evaluation of two parameters related to vegetation: root reinforcement and tree surcharge due to the weight of the vegetation. These simulations were carried out using multiple values of these parameters so that their behavior is analyzed for the topographic conditions of the watershed …

Activist: A New Framework For Dataset Labelling, Jack O'Neill, Sarah Jane Delany, Brian Mac Namee

Conference papers

Acquiring labels for large datasets can be a costly and time-consuming process. This has motivated the development of the semi-supervised learning problem domain, which makes use of unlabelled data — in conjunction with a small amount of labelled data — to infer the correct labels of a partially labelled dataset. Active Learning is one of the most successful approaches to semi-supervised learning, and has been shown to reduce the cost and time taken to produce a fully labelled dataset. In this paper we present Activist; a free, online, state-of-the-art platform which leverages active learning techniques to improve the efficiency of …

Construction Professional Service Firm Management: A Longitudinal Study Of Strategic Planning In Irish Quantity Surveying Practices, Roisin Murphy

Conference papers

This paper reports on the ongoing investigation of strategic planning in Irish Quantity Surveying practices. The construction industry in Ireland has undergone a period of significant change in the last five years fuelling a shift in focus from tactical to strategic planning in professional service firms operating within the sector. A previous paper identified the type, scope and extent of strategic planning within Quantity Surveying (QS) practices in Ireland in the years up to and during the economic downturn. The current paper expands on the previous research by identifying changes in approach to strategic management within these professional service firms …

Empirical Comparative Analysis Of 1-Of-K Coding And K-Prototypes In Categorical Clustering, Fei Wang, Hector Franco, John Pugh, Robert J. Ross

Conference papers

Clustering is a fundamental machine learning application, which partitions data into homogeneous groups. K-means and its variants are the most widely used class of clustering algorithms today. However, the original k-means algorithm can only be applied to numeric data. For categorical data, the data has to be converted into numeric data through 1-of-K coding which itself causes many problems. K-prototypes, another clustering algorithm that originates from the k-means algorithm, can handle categorical data by adopting a different notion of distance. In this paper, we systematically compare these two methods through an experimental analysis. Our analysis shows that K-prototypes is more …

Form, Function Or Fiction: Gender And Diversity In Engineering Programmes In Ireland, Domhnall Sheridan, Una Beagon, Eabhnat Ni Fhloinn

Conference papers

Messe agus Pangur Bán, cechtar nathar fria shaindán: bíth a menmasam fri seilgg, mu menma céin im shaincheirdd.

I and Pangur Bán, my cat 'Tis a like task we are at; Hunting mice is his delight Hunting words I sit all night.

The poem Pangur Bán [1] was written by an unknown Irish monk in the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau, in southern Germany in the ninth century. The Abbey, founded in 724 by Saint Pirim, was a centre of learning in Europe for many centuries, reaching its apex under Abbot Berno of Reichenau (1008–48). The Christian church was the sole …

Model-Free And Model-Based Active Learning For Regression, Jack O'Neill, Sarah Jane Delany, Brian Macnamee

Conference papers

Training machine learning models often requires large labelled datasets, which can be both expensive and time-consuming to obtain. Active learning aims to selectively choose which data is labelled in order to minimize the total number of labels required to train an effective model. This paper compares model-free and model-based approaches to active learning for regression, finding that model-free approaches, in addition to being less computationally intensive to implement, are more effective in improving the performance of linear regressions than model-based alternatives.

Optical Wavelength Ratiometric Monitoring System For Data Centre Cwdm Applications, Anthony Colohan, Thomas Freir, Derek Finlay

Conference papers

The development of the internet and the subsequent increase in the quantity of connected devices in recent years has given rise to an explosion in demand of data traffic across telecommunication networks. Converged networks deliver high speed bit rates for the purpose of streaming videos, downloading music files and communicating over the internet; voice over internet protocol (VOIP). Further additional data traffic growth stemming from the upsurge in the amount of ‘tweets’ and instant messages (IM) created as well as emails written and cloud storage, has led to a demand for the construction of much larger data centres, which …

Activist: A New Framework For Dataset Labelling, Jack O'Neill, Sarah Jane Delany, Brian Macnamee

Conference papers

Acquiring labels for large datasets can be a costly and time-consuming process. This has motivated the development of the semi-supervised learning problem domain, which makes use of unlabelled data — in conjunction with a small amount of labelled data — to infer the correct labels of a partially labelled dataset. Active Learning is one of the most successful approaches to semi-supervised learning, and has been shown to reduce the cost and time taken to produce a fully labelled dataset. In this paper we present Activist; a free, online, state-of-the-art platform which leverages active learning techniques to improve the efficiency …

Mechanical And Thermal Evaluation Of Different Types Of Pcm-Concrete Composite Panels, Dervilla Niall, Oliver Kinnane, Roger West, Sarah Mccormack

Conference papers

ABSTRACT: Thermal mass indicates the ability of a material to store and release heat and is a function of the heat storage capacity of a material. The thermal mass of construction materials can be used to reduce the energy required for heating and cooling buildings. The heat storage capacity of concrete can be increased by incorporating phase change materials (PCMs) into the concrete and hence providing additional latent heat storage capacity. Research was carried out to compare the thermal behaviour of two different types of PCM/concrete composite panels. The first type of panel was formed by adding microencapsulated paraffin to …

Bitrate Classification Of Twice-Encoded Audio Using Objective Quality Features, Colm Sloan, Damien Kelly, Naomi Harte, Anil C. Kokaram, Andrew Hines

Conference papers

When a user uploads audio files to a music stream- ing service, these files are subsequently re-encoded to lower bitrates to target different devices, e.g. low bitrate for mobile. To save time and bandwidth uploading files, some users encode their original files using a lossy codec. The metadata for these files cannot always be trusted as users might have encoded their files more than once. Determining the lowest bitrate of the files allows the streaming service to skip the process of encoding the files to bitrates higher than that of the uploaded files, saving on processing and storage space. This …

Thermal Mass Behaviour Of Concrete Panels Incorporating Phase Change Materials, Dervilla Niall, Roger West, Sarah Mccormack, Oliver Kinnane

Conference papers

Phase Change Materials (PCM) have been incorporated into a range of building envelope materials with varied success. This study investigates two different methods of combining concrete and phase change materials to form PCM/concrete composite panels. The first method involves adding microencapsulated paraffin to fresh concrete during the mixing process. The second method involves vacuum impregnating butyl stearate into lightweight aggregate which is then included in the concrete mix design. The primary aim of the study is to determine which method is the most effective way to improve the thermal mass characteristics of a concrete panel in the context of a …

Preliminary Investigation Into The Rate Of Carbonation Of Concrete Blocks Under Normal Production Yard Conditions, Aimee Byrne, Eanna Nolan

Conference papers

The release of CO2 from calcination during the manufacture of cement can be partially or fully offset by the CO2 it naturally absorbs during its lifetime. This paper reports results from a preliminary investigation into the rate of carbonation in concrete blocks stacked in a production yard over a period of 6 months. The blocks were stacked in a normal manner under natural exposure conditions. Carbonation progress was determined by splitting the blocks and spraying the freshly exposed surface with a phenolphthalein solution at intervals over the test period. It was found that the rate of the carbonation front progression …

An Overview Of The Development Of Cement-Based Batteries For The Cathodic Protection Of Embedded Steel In Concrete, Aimee Byrne, Niall Holmes, Brian Norton

Conference papers

This paper presents an overview of the cement-based batteries developed in DIT for use in the cathodic protection of embedded steel in reinforced concrete undergoing chloride-induced corrosion. Cathodic protection delivers an external current (approximately 20mA per m2 of embedded steel) which effectively polarises the internal current generated during corrosion. The batteries developed in DIT comprise of a cement-based electrolyte containing different additives including sand, aggregate, salts, carbon black and plasticiser with protruding anode and cathode metal plates. These batteries produced an initial electrical output of 1.5V and 23mA through a 10 resistor as measured using data acquisition units and a …

Impacts On One-Off Housing Arising From Amended Building Control Regulations In Ireland, Myles Keaveney, Kieran Compton

Conference papers

Single rural housing is very common in the Irish countryside. The Irish Central Statistics Office reported that one-off housing represented over a quarter of the total number of households in 2011. One-off houses are defined as occupied detached houses with individual septic tank wastewater treatment systems in rural areas (which include towns with a population of 1,500 or less).

The purpose of this study is to determine the increased cost to the consumer resulting from the introduction of the new Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014. In order to achieve the objective, a detailed description of past and current building control …

What Do We Know About Eesd And How Do We Know It?, Eddie Conlon, Iacovos Nicolaou, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

Huckle (2004) has argued that critical realism (CR) can provide a philosophical framework for higher education for sustainability. This paper reflects on the process of researching EESD in the Irish context and the usefulness of our approach which used mixed methods and drew on CR as its guiding philosophy. We will argue that aspects of the CR approach: its emphasis on a depth ontology, the search for causal mechanisms, its model of agency/structure relations and its emphasis on the combination of extensive and intensive methods provide tools for exploring EESD as a system. CR requires us to focus on “deeper …

Evaluating A New Cem Iii/A Cement For Concretes Exposed To Harsh Acid Rich Environments, David Thompson, Niall Holmes, John Reddy

Conference papers

The Irish Annex to the European specification, performance, production and conformity of concrete, IS EN 206, recommends CEM III/B cement for acid rich environments containing between 66 to 80% GGBS. However, BS 8500, the UK annex to EN 206 and the British Research Establishment (BRE) Special Digest 1, recommends CEM III/A cement with a GGBS range of 36-65%. This project investigated the performance of a new CEM III/A cement produced by Ecocem Ireland in concretes exposed to such environments using an extensive suite of laboratory tests.

In Ireland, up to €5.8bn will be invested to provide fresh drinking water and …

Using Photovoltaics To Power Electrochemical Chloride Extraction From Concrete, Sean Bond, Lynette O'Callaghan, Niall Holmes Dr., Brian Norton

Conference papers

Corrosion of embedded steel in reinforced concrete (RC) is a world-wide problem, that reduces structural performance and lifespan. Chloride attack may be a result of seawater, de-icing salts or contaminated admixtures, brought on by ingress of chlorides into the concrete. Electrochemical Chloride Extraction (ECE) is a non-destructive treatment for contaminated RC structures, that due to uncertainty of treatment times and applied current densities, is only 50% effective. It is often diesel powered has an environmental impact and often very costly due to the long treatment times. To improve the efficiency of ECE the influences of concrete resistance, cement type and …

Solar Photovoltaic System Control Topology Investigation For Power Source Mismatch, Lynette O'Callaghan

Conference papers

An investigation into solar photovoltaic (PV) system control topology selection, when partial shade is anticipated in the solar array, is presented. As available area is maximised in Building Integrated PV (BIPV) systems, shading is an inevitable consequence. The presence of partial shading in a PV array leads to multiple power peaks in the power-voltage curve, due to bypass diode sections being triggered, and an increase in module mismatch losses in the array. A building energy design software, Integrated Environmental Solutions, is used to determine the shadowed area on PV modules throughout the year, incorporating the PV system location and geometrical …

Use Of Forecast Uncertainties In The Power Sector: State-Of-The-Art Of Business Practices, Corinna Möhrlen, Ricardo J. Bessa, Morgane Barthod, Gianni Goretti, Malte Siefert

Conference papers

The work we present is an investigation on the state-of-the-art use of forecast uncertainties in the business practices of actors in the power systems sector that is part of the “IEA Wind Task 36: Wind Power Forecasting”. The purpose of this task is to get an overview of the current use and application of probabilistic forecasts by actors in the power industry and investigate how they estimate and deal with uncertainties. The authors with expertise in probabilistic forecasting have been gathering information from the industry in order to identify the areas, where progress is needed and where it is difficult …

The Accuracy Of A 2d And 3d Dendritic Tip Scaling Parameter In Predicting The Columnar To Equiaxed Transition (Cet), M. Seredynski, Marek Rebow, J. Banaszek

Conference papers

The dendrite tip kinetics model accuracy relies on the reliability of the stability constant used, which is usually experimentally determined for 3D situations and applied to 2D models. The paper reports authors` attempts to cure the situation by deriving 2D dendritic tip scaling parameter for aluminium-based alloy: Al-4wt%Cu. The obtained parameter is then incorporated into the KGT dendritic growth model in order to compare it with the original 3D KGT counterpart and to derive two-dimensional and three-dimensional versions of the modified Hunt’s analytical model for the columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET). The conclusions drawn from the above analysis are further confirmed through …

Comparative Study Between Direct Load Control And Fuzzy Logic Control Based Demand Response, Chittesth Veni Chandran, Malabika Basu, Keith Sunderland

Conference papers

Demand response (DR), as part of Demand side management (DSM), is a method that modifies consumer side energy consumption. By actively controlling the time associated with electricity consumption, both energy and economic efficiencies are increased. There is however, depending on the algorithm employed, potential for consumer comfort levels to be adversely affected. Generally direct load (Boolean logic) control is employed, which solely considers demand reduction and not customer comfort. In comparison, fuzzy logic based programs can consider non-deterministic inputs such as consumer comfort level with ease and simplicity. This paper considers the evolution of DR through a comparison of the …

Analysis Of Glottal Source Parameters In Parkinsonian Speech, Jane Hanratty, Catherine Deegan, Mary Walsh, Barry Kirkpatrick

Conference papers

Diagnosis and monitoring of Parkinson's disease has a number of challenges as there is no definitive biomarker despite the broad range of symptoms. Research is ongoing to produce objective measures that can either diagnose Parkinson's or act as an objective decision support tool. Recent research on speech based measures have demonstrated promising results. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of the glottal source signal in Parkinsonian speech. An experiment is conducted in which a selection of glottal parameters are tested for their ability to discriminate between healthy and Parkinsonian speech. Results for each glottal parameter are presented for a …

Levilised Cost Of Energy Analysis: A Comparison Of Urban (Micro) Wind Turbines And Solar Pv Systems, Keith Sunderland, Mahinsasa Narayana, Ghanim Putrus, Michael Conlon

Conference papers

The relatively high capital cost associated with micro wind energy systems and the resulting long payback periods, makes for a challenging argument for these technologies. However, as the global population becomes increasingly concentrated in urban areas, the potential for accessing any available renewable energy resource, including wind and solar PV, could become a necessity. This infers that the economics associated with small/micro energy systems need to be better appreciated. This paper presents a levelised cost of energy (LCOE) analysis for rural/urban small/micro wind energy systems that is contextualised by a solar PV system comparison. Further insight is offered through a …

Spontaneous Mirror-Symmetry Breaking In Different Non-Chiral Liquid Crystalline Systems, Yuri Panarin

Conference papers

Spontaneous Mirror-Symmetry and appearance of chiral self-assembled superstructures in non-chiral systems represents a fascinating field of contemporary research with potential applications. For long time the formation of helical superstructure was associated with enantiomeric chiral molecules. Later on Pasteur showed that that the racemic mixtures of chiral molecules can resolve spontaneously into two chiral forms. Such deracemization or symmetry breaking in racemic mixtures was observed during crystallization. In recent years interest in mirror-symmetry breaking extended to soft matter systems.

Exploring The Role Of Spatial Cognition In Problem Solving, Gavin Duffy, Sheryl Sorby, Steven Nozaki, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

While spatial aptitude is acknowledged as a key cognitive ability that accompanies success in STEM education, less is reported about the qualitative differences between weak and strong visualisers in how they approach and engage with assessments in STEM education. In this paper, we study one particular aspect of the STEM curriculum - solving convergent ‘word’ problems in mathematics - in an attempt to discern quantitative and qualitative differences between the approaches weak and strong visualisers adopt when solving these problems. The paper is a work-in-progress that started with a search for suitable convergent mathematics problems which were then presented to …

Esprit Based Robust Anti-Islanding Algorithm For Grid-Tied Inverter, Sandipan Patra

Conference papers

Abstract—This paper presents an anti-islanding protection scheme for a grid tied inverter. In this scheme, the oscillation variation in frequency is estimated by Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariant Technique (ESPRIT). The proposed system is implemented in MATLAB and real time in OPAL-RT. Series of simulation results demonstrate that nondetection zone of proposed algorithm is negligible, and the scheme is also free from nuisance tripping to other transient events.

Laser Micromachining Of Contactless Rf Antenna Modules For Payment And Cards And Wearable Objects, Matthias John

Conference papers

The use of contactless payment methods for consumer transactions is becoming increasingly popular - 1.1 billion contactless transactions were made by Visa cardholders across Europe in the 12 months to July 2015 (€12.6 billion total value). Typically the contactless payment process uses a Radio Frequency (RF) enabled smartcard or a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled smartphone. In order to ensure continued market acceptance and repeat usage the contactless operation must be robust, quick and efficient. This paper describes the development of an inductively coupled contactless smartcard utilising UV DPSS laser micromachining to fabricate the novel antenna structures from copper laminated …