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Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Participatory Design Framework For Customisable Assistive Technology, Pearl O'Rourke

Doctoral

High product costs and device abandonment negatively affect people with disabilities who require Assistive Technology (AT), and poor product design is a root cause. The purpose of this research is to develop and demonstrate a participatory design framework for customisable AT, which addresses the need for low-cost assistive products that satisfy a broad range of consumers’ needs. This framework addresses two main gaps in the literature. First, user involvement in the design process of medical and rehabilitative products helps create products that are more effective but, although methods to involve users exist, there are currently scant techniques to translate the …

Circularly Polarized Solar Antenna For Airborne Communication Nodes, Oisin O’Conchubhair, Adam Narbudowicz, Patrick Mcevoy, Max Ammann

Articles

A circularly polarized solar cell antenna consisting of four sequentially rotated printed inverted-F antennas is proposed. Four multicrystalline silicon solar cells act as the ground plane and the antenna is suitable for low power airborne communication nodes and wireless sensor networks. The antenna design was developed to allow 100% insolation of the cells when directly facing a light source. The low-profile antenna minimises shadowing of the solar cell for oblique angle insolation.

A Dual Band Lte Pifa Antenna For M2m Applications, Abraham Loutridis, Matthias John, Max Ammann

Articles

A dual Planar Inverted-F-Antenna for M2M applications, is proposed. The antenna covers the lower LTE band (690-960 MHz) and partially the upper LTE band (1670-2067 MHz). The antenna is low cost with omni-directional radiation characteristics. The measured total efficiency and gain are better than 58% and 0.8 dBi across the operational frequency range. A parametric study of key geometrical parameters is made.

The Development Of Key Performance Indicators To Monitor Early Facilities Management Performance Through The Use Of Bim Technologies In Public Sector Projects, Barry Mcauley, Alan Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

One of the biggest threats faced by governments in delivering greater efficiency on public works is the need for the public sector to have an enhanced physical environment to operate from. The physical environment can either enhance or impede worker productivity, therefore contributing to its bottom line profits and success of the organisation. This has now resulted in the AEC sector witnessing the development and adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM), so as to ensure a new level of functionality for the management of buildings. Despite enhanced Facilities Management (FM) being the goal of BIM, there is still reluctance and …

Research Methodology: A Novice Researcher’S Approach, Cormac Flood, Lloyd Scott

Other resources

ABSTRACT

This research is a detailed study on the performance of external walls aimed at providing a guidance tool which will enable designers to determine the appropriate thermal upgrade system for a housing retrofit, particularly in Ireland; taking into account wall type, climatic conditions and orientation. This paper explains the steps taken to establish a research design and methodological approach suited to the topic at hand.

The choice of research methodology is a difficult step for the researcher to decide upon in the research process. When it comes down to an architectural technologist, the process becomes even more difficult. Throughout …

Bridging The Gap Between Engineering Workforce Needs And Student Engagement, Eileen Goold

Stream 2: Curriculum

This paper is inspired by the development of the proposed new technological university in Dublin; TU4Dublin is to become “Dublin’s Globally Engaged University” and is to be located at the nexus between learning and engagement (TU4Dublin, 2015). This study investigates engineering education in the context of career focused education. The main objective of this study is to investigate whether engineering students’ cognitive engagement benefits from bridging the gap between technical issues and the practical realities of modern engineering practice. A portfolio of engineering practice illustrating the practical realities of modern engineering practice in the context of Engineers Ireland’s competencies is …

Secondary Re-Use Of Batteries From Electric Vehicles For Building Integrated Photo-Voltaic (Bipv) Applications, Fintan Mcloughlin, Michael Conlon

Reports

PV Crops is evaluating the use of battery technologies such as Vanadium Redox within Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) applications. However, their inclusion into BIPV systems will inevitably raise the overall costs of such systems. As a result, PV Crops is looking at other measures in parallel to help lower the costs associated with such systems. One particular area of interest is the potential secondary re-use of battery technology from Electric Vehicle (EV) market as a way of mitigating high costs of such systems as well as a means of encouraging battery recycling.

The global installed capacity for Photovoltaic’s (PV) connected …

On Pattern Reconfigurable Antennas Steered By Modulation Scheme, Adam Narbudowicz, Max Ammann, Dirk Heberling

Conference papers

The paper demonstrates how a modulation constellation can be used to steer the radiation pattern of a reconfigurable omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna. The proposed approach offers the benefit of digital beamforming while using a single antenna: the steering can be executed by low frequency electronics and independently for each frequency channel. In the proposed study, the antenna is excited by a signal generated by two I/Q modulators. By appropriately changing the I and Q components, a phase shift is generated which effectively steers the radiation pattern. The results were achieved using cosimulation between CST Microwave Studio and CST Design Studio.

Offshore Electrical Networks And Grid Integration Of Wave Energy Converter Arrays - Techno-Economic Optimisation Of Array Electrical Networks, Power Quality Assessment, And Irish Market Perspectives, Fergus Sharkey

Doctoral

Wave energy is an emerging industry and faces many challenges before commercial wave energy converter (WEC) arrays are installed. One of these challenges is the grid integration of WEC arrays. This includes offshore electrical networks, grid compliance, and access to electrical markets. This must be achieved in a technically viable manner and also at an acceptable cost. As electrical networks are expected to make up a large proportion of the overall WEC array CAPEX, perhaps up to 25%, this area is critical to the long term competitiveness of wave energy.

The objectives of this thesis are to develop technically and …

An Examination Of The Potential For Distributed Wind Generation (Dwg) In Urban Distribution Networks, Keith Sunderland, Thomas Woolmington, Michael Conlon, Gerald Mills

Conference papers

In a sustainable economy, smarter cities need energy networks that can deliver consistent electricity while maximising the use of intermittent renewables. Therefore an understanding of the available resource and a means for viable integration of distributed generation (DG) is required. In this research, energy harvesting of the wind climate is considered in the context of distributed wind generation (DwG) as an integral component of a smarter electricity network. The approach combines wind climate modeling of the resource at the urban scale with enhanced electricity network simulation. The former considers energy harvesting potential while the latter investigates the opportunities for this …

Developing An Edugame Simulation Application For Engineering It Works In Practice, But Will It Work In Theory?, Garrett Keenaghan, Imre Horváth, Wilfred Van Der Vegte

Conference Papers

This article describes the development of a web-based 3D simulation of an engineering workshop in refrigeration plant maintenance and the challenge of moving the application from a knowledge and skills acquisition model to a problem-solving edugame model across a range of possible scenarios within the restrictions of an academic programme’s learning outcomes. The 3D simulation workshop is described together with its real-world equivalent. The limitations of the app. simulation in engaging students in complex problem-solving are described together with the search for learning design theories to inform further development of the app. as a multi-level, scenario-based edugame. The article ends …

Investigating Correlation Between Availability Of Free Time Facilities For Pupils And Their Educational Achievements While Exploiting Linked Data And Volunteered Geographic Information, Peter Kovar

Dissertations

The advent of Semantic Web as an extension of the current World Wide Web (Web) brings methods and technologies to structure the data, interlink it with other related data and capture its semantics. This holds for new data to be published as well as for the data already on the Web. The interlinking of data led to definition of a linked data paradigm and the Semantic Web allows for creating a Global Linked Data Space. The linked data sets can combine data coming from heterogeneous sources. Using ontologies the meaning in data from different areas of interest can be compared …

Exploring The Impact That Organisational Culture And Structures Have On Knowledge Management Initiatives, Gavin Digan

Dissertations

The project builds on research in the domain of knowledge management, with a literature review covering several aspects of the domain. There is particular emphasis on knowledge management implementations within organisations. Several researchers in the area offer methodologies or strategies for organisations to adopt, when implementing knowledge management initiatives. These options are covered at length in the literature review along with real world case studies on organisations that have implemented knowledge initiatives with varying degrees of success. A key aspect of the research is assessing the impact of organisational culture on knowledge management initiatives. The literature review contains an extensive …

Can Passive Mobile Application Traffic Be Identified Using Machine Learning Techniques, Peter Holland

Dissertations

Mobile phone applications (apps) can generate background traffic when the end-user is not actively using the app. If this background traffic could be accurately identified, network operators could de-prioritise this traffic and free up network bandwidth for priority network traffic. The background app traffic should have IP packet features that could be utilised by a machine learning algorithm to identify app-generated (passive) traffic as opposed to user-generated (active) traffic. Previous research in the area of IP traffic classification focused on classifying high level network traffic types originating on a PC device. This research was concerned with classifying low level app …

Can Wikipedia Article Traffic Statistics Be Used To Verify A Technical Indicator? An Exploration Into The Correlation Between Wikipedia Article Traffic Statistics And The Coppock Technical Indicator., Cormac O'Connor

Dissertations

Recent studies have shown that, through the quantification of Wikipedia Usage Patterns as a result of information gathering, stock market moves can be predicted (Moat et al 2013). There was also research performed to determine the predictive nature of Wikipedia Data to predict movie box office success (Mestyan et al. 2013). The goal of any investor, in order to maximize the return of their investments, is to have an edge over other participants in the markets. Several tools and techniques have been used over the years to fulfil this, some proving to generate a consistent stream of income (Gillen 2012). …

An Open Source Implementation And Evaluation Of A Federated Searching Service Based On File Based Index And Relational Database Index, Alan Liu

Dissertations

One of the greatest challenges in the modern information world is the storage of data and the ability to extract usable knowledge from it, to enable enterprises to gain insight that can be leverage to succeed in the competitive environment. Data is constantly being generated and collected at a rapid pace from users and customers via many sources such as intranet, internet and other smart devices. To effectively use the collected data, knowledge must be extracted from it to allow effective and efficient business planning. While the core challenge of data analytics is to extract hidden non-trivial information form large …

Knowledge Management At Eni: A Case Study Of Managing Knowledge In An International Oil And Gas Company, Lauren Elizabeth Vecchietti, Kevin Delaney, Gianna Giudicati, Filippo Capriotti

Level 3

International oil and gas companies operate in a competitive environment where superior performance demands that opportunities be identified, evaluated and exploited to minimise time to market and create value for the stakeholders. To do so such companies rely on their human resources, state of the art technology, advanced management systems, innovation and knowledge to maintain competitive advantage. Oil and gas companies have long recognised the importance of knowledge management in achieving this goal. To the forefront of these oil and gas companies is Eni, which is one of the largest oil companies in the world. This paper represents an opportunity …

A Clustering Approach To Domestic Electricity Load Profile Characterisation Using Smart Metering Data, Fintan Mcloughlin, Aidan Duffy, Michael Conlon

Articles

The availability of increasing amounts of data to electricity utilities through the implementation of domestic smart metering campaigns has meant that traditional ways of analysing meter reading information such as descriptive statistics has become increasingly difficult. Key characteristic information to the data is often lost, particularly when averaging or aggregation processes are applied. Therefore, other methods of analysing data need to be used so that this information is not lost. One such method which lends itself to analysing large amounts of information is data mining. This allows for the data to be segmented before such aggregation processes are applied. Moreover, …

Lightening Strikes Twice For Dit Geomatics, Audrey Martin

Articles

The Technological University Dublin (DIT) is rapidly becoming known as an international centre for excellence for all things geospatial. In September 2014, Kevin O'Mahony, a final-year BSc Geomatics student, won the international Trimble Geospatial Student Competition. Kevin is the second consecutive DIT student to win this prestigious award, following on from the success of David Hyland (BSc Geomatics) in 2012. Both students submitted their papers under the supervision of Dr Audrey Martin FSCSI FRICS, Chair of the recently accredited (by SCSI) DIT MSc in Geospatial Engineering. The worldwide student competition is held every two years and is open to all …

Bs News March/April

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Medical Device Software And Technology: The Past, Present And Future, Martin Mchugh

Articles

No abstract provided.

Risk Management In Motorway Ppp Projects: Empirical-Based Guidelines, Nunzia Carbonara, Nicola Costantino, Louis Gunnigan, Roberta Pellegrino

Articles

This paper deals with the topic of risk management in Public–Private Partnership (PPP). The analysis of the related literature reveals that risks must be analyzed and managed on a context-specific approach, and that there is a lack of a comprehensive study on the appropriate risk mitigation strategies for each risk embedded in PPP projects. Focusing on the transport sector, based on the results of a Delphi survey, the paper provides guidelines for both public and private parties in defining a list of significant risks in PPP motorway projects, and identifying for them both the effective allocation and the suitable mitigation …

Analysis And Characterization Of Finite-Size Curved Frequency Selective Surfaces, Francesco Mattiello, Giovanni Leone, Giuseppe Ruvio

Articles

Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSSs) are spatial filters that are largely employed in radomes for radars and antennas where high performance is necessary. FSS can be categorised in terms of their frequency behaviour. Band-pass FSS structures are able to let the electromagnetic wave pass in certain frequency ranges and shield others, which are especially suitable for out-of-band stealth of radomes. The properties of frequency selectiveness of these screens are used at microwave and infrared wavelengths. By tuning the electrical size and geometry of the unit-cell (patch or aperture) different frequency behaviours of the structure are generated. Although their analysis and simulation …

Integration Of Antenna Array With Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cell, Oisin O'Conchubhair, Patrick Mcevoy, Max Ammann

Articles

The integration of a low-profile antenna array with a multicrystalline silicon solar cell capable of powering a low-power wireless sensor at 2.45 GHz is reported. Lattice bus bars on the cell are exploited to minimize antenna shadows from low-profile antennas and transmission lines for a higher output power. The dual inverted-F array improves gain, and beam switching enables the array to sweep a wider coverage angle with larger beamwidths compared to other solar integrated antennas.

Assessing The Water Quality Response To An Alternative Sewage Disposal Strategy At Bathing Sites On The East Coast Of Ireland, Zeinab Bedri, John O'Sullivan, Louise Deering, Katalin Demeter, Bartholomew Masterson, Wim Meijer, Gregory O'Hare

Articles

A three-dimensional model is used to assess the bathing water quality of Bray and Killiney bathing sites in Ireland following changes to the sewage management system. The model, firstly calibrated to hydrodynamic and water quality data from the period prior to the upgrade of the Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW), was then used to simulate Escherichia coli (E. coli) distributions for discharge scenarios of the periods prior to and following the upgrade of the WwTW under dry and wet weather conditions. E. coli distributions under dry weather conditions demonstrate that the upgrade in the WwTW has remarkably improved the bathing water …

Digital Signal Processing Foundations, David Dorran

Other resources

Signals are all around us and come in a wide variety of shapes and forms. When we speak we create pressure variations in the air which generate audio signals; earthquakes produce large seismic signals; healthcare professionals monitor ECG signals which capture the electrical activity of the heart; radio, internet and telephone signals are being transmitted across the world; the list of signals is endless! (see 2 minute video at pzdsp.com/vid1 for some examples) Digital signal processing (DSP) is primarily about making use of computers to help us analyse and manipulate signals in order to help us with our everyday lives. …

Assessing The Economic Benefits Of Compressed Air Energy Storage For Mitigating Wind Curtailment, Brendan Cleary, Aidan Duffy, Alan O'Connor, Michael Conlon, Vasilis Fthenakis

Other resources

Renewable energy generation in the All-Island of Ireland (AII) is set to increase by 2020 due to binding renewable energy targets. To achieve these targets, there will be periods of time when 75% of electricity will be generated mainly from onshore wind. Currently, the AII system can accommodate a 50% maximum permissible instantaneous level of wind generation. The system operators must make system wide wind curtailment decisions to ensure this level is not breached. Subsequently, the ability to limit wind curtailment using large scale energy storage such as pumped hydroelectric energy storage and compressed air energy storage (CAES) is increasingly …

An Analysis Of The Predictive Capability Of C5.0 And Chaid Decision Trees And Bayes Net In The Classification Of Fatal Traffic Accidents In The Uk, Aiden O'Connor

Dissertations

Road traffic accidents are a significant cause of deaths worldwide and there is a global focus on understanding accident contributory factors and implementing prevention strategies. Although accident statistics are steadily improving, effective prevention must be persistent, evidence based and properly resourced. This research aimed to extract fatal traffic accident prediction from UK STATS19 accident data using C5.0 and Chaid decision trees and Bayes net classification models. Data was grouped as either fatal or non-fatal. The class imbalance due to fatal accident infrequency was considered and data transformation and sampling techniques were applied to increase prediction likelihood. Chaid was used for …

Online Resource Platform For Mathematics Education, Marisa Llorens, Edmund Nevin, Eileen Mageean

Other resources

No abstract provided.