Thermal comfort investigation of an outdoor air-conditioned area in a hot and arid environment

Thermal comfort in hot and arid outdoor environments is an industrial challenging field. An outdoor air-conditioned area was designed and built to host sport and social events during summers 2014 and 2015 in Qatar. This article presents a thermal comfort analysis of the outdoor air-conditioned area using computational fluid dynamics, on-site spectators surveys, and on-spot climatic measurements. The study utilized computational fluid dynamics to develop a thermal comfort model of the outdoor air-conditioned area to predict the thermal comfort of the occupants. Five different thermal comfort indices; mean comfort vote, cooling power index, wet-bulb globe temperature index, Humidex, discomfort index, were utilized to assess the thermal comfort of spectators within the conditioned space. The indices utilized different on site measurements of meteorological data and on-site interviews. In comparison to the mean comfort vote of the sampled survey, all thermal comfort indices underestimated the actual thermal comfort percentage except the wet-bulb globe temperature index that overestimated the comfort percentage. The computational fluid dynamics results reasonably predicted most of the thermal comfort indices values. The computational fluid dynamics results overestimated the comfort percentage of mean comfort vote, wet-bulb globe temperature index, and discomfort index, while the thermal comfort percentage was underestimated as indicated by the cooling power index, and Humidex

Calculating and communicating ensemble-based volcanic ash dosage and concentration risk for aviation

During volcanic eruptions, aviation stakeholders require an assessment of the volcanic ash hazard. Operators and regulators are required to make fast decisions based on deterministic forecasts, which are subject to various sources of uncertainty. For a robust decision to be made, a measure of the uncertainty of the hazard should be considered but this can lead to added complexity preventing fast decision making. Here a proof-of-concept risk matrix approach is presented that combines uncertainty estimation and volcanic ash hazard forecasting into a simple warning system for aviation. To demonstrate the methodology, an ensemble of 600 dispersion model simulations is used to characterise uncertainty (due to eruption source parameters, meteorology and internal model parameters) in ash dosages and concentrations for a hypothetical Icelandic eruption. To simulate aircraft encounters with volcanic ash, trans-Atlantic air routes between New York (JFK) and London (LHR) are generated using time-optimal routing software. This approach has been developed in collaboration with operators, regulators and engine manufacturers; it demonstrates how an assessment of ash dosage and concentration risk can be used to make fast and robust flight-planning decisions even 23 when the model uncertainty spans several orders of magnitude. The results highlight the benefit of using an ensemble over a deterministic forecast and a new method for visualising dosage risk along flight paths. The risk matrix approach is applicable to other aviation hazards such as SO2 dosages, desert dust, aircraft icing and clear-air turbulence and is expected to aid flight-planning decisions by improving the communication of ensemble-based forecasts to aviation

'Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place': Anti-discrimination Legislation in the Liberal State and the Fate of the Australian Disability Discrimination Act

This article offers a critical analysis of some of the practical implications for disabled people of the Disability Discrimination Act of 1992. Specifically, it raises questions about politics and the role of the law as an instrument of social change?taking greater account of the interests of disabled people?on the one hand, and of the reliance of the social model of disability on a strategy based upon legal rights on the other. The article also suggests that the constraining effects of Australia's constitutional protections of rights and its federal system of government hinder the mildly progressive elements of the Disability Discrimination Act. To illustrate this, the paper employs empirical evidence to suggest that these effects have been exacerbated by the passage of the Human Rights Legislation Amendment Act in 1999

Memoriais de Atividades Acadêmicas - 2019-1

Memoriais de Atividades Acadêmicas - 2019-1.Memoriais de Atividades Acadêmicas - 2019-1