Design strategies for non-residential zero-energy buildings: lessons learned from Task40/Annex 52: towards net zero-energy solar buildings

Net zero-energy buildings (Net ZEBs) have been the object of various studies in recent years as various countries have set this performance as long-term goal of their energy policies. Designing successful Net ZEBs represents a challenge since the definitions are yet generic, the assessment method and monitoring approach are under development and the literature is relatively scarce about the best sets of solutions for different typologies and climates likely to deliver an actual and reliable performance in terms of energy balance (used consumed vs. generated) on a costeffective basis. The International collaborative research initiative between the Solar Heating and Cooling (SHC) and the Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems (ECBCS) through Task 40/Annex 52 - Towards Net-Zero Energy Solar Buildings-, summarises most of the recent developments in this field. The authors of this article, who are participants in this task, are providing insights from on-going research work on some best practice leading projects which have been the object of an exploratory cross-case analysis in order to facilitate identification of the set of relevant design strategies. The close inspection of the strategies and indicators of the relative performance of the projects revealed interesting features about the combination of design challenges with techniques and technologies responsible for delivering the Zero Energy performance

Social networks: analysis and statistics for integrated social profiles

LAUREA SPECIALISTICANegli ultimi anni, la diffusione delle reti sociali è stata favorita dall’introduzione del Web 2.0, che non solo ha permesso agli utenti di servirsi dei contenuti presenti su Internet, ma anche di concorrere nel crearne nuovi. L’enorme successo ottenuto da alcune reti sociali, ha contribuito alla diffusione di molti “aggregatori di contenuto”, applicazioni che permettono di osservare gli aggiornamenti provenienti da più reti a cui l’utente è iscritto, nonché di interagire con altri membri della stessa rete. Nonostante le applicazioni di questo tipo siano molteplici, nessuna è in grado di visualizzare statistiche riguardanti un insieme di profili sociali forniti dall’utente. La tesi nasce con l’intento di studiare il problema legato alla reputazione di un utente all’interno delle reti sociali, di definire metriche e modelli d’analisi, nonché di creare un’applicazione web, attraverso la quale gli utenti registrati hanno la possibilità di visionare, non solo gli aggiornamenti relativi a più reti, ma anche statistiche riguardanti i dati raccolti quotidianamente, relative a più profili sociali. A tal proposito, è stata creata una pagina in grado di dare una visione generale in merito all’attività sociale dell’utente, riassumendo le informazioni quantitative raccolte, visualizzando indicatori di “visibilità” e “produttività” e dando la possibilità di visionare diagrammi temporali relativi all’attività sociale dell’utente. Partendo da una descrizione sulle reti sociali, sono state fornite le loro principali caratteristiche, introducendo esempi concreti, utilizzati in seguito per la realizzazione del progetto di tesi.Successivamente sono state presentate le scelte operate durante la fase implementativa, descrivendo come i dati forniti dalle API delle diverse reti sociali sono stati analizzati e hanno influenzato la struttura dati creata. Sono inoltre state presentate le principali caratteristiche dell’applicazione web realizzata. Infine, sono stati analizzati i risultati ottenuti attraverso la realizzazione del progetto e suggeriti alcuni interessanti sviluppi da attuare in futuro.The online social networks diffusion, in the last years, has been facilitated by the introduction of the Web 2.0 that, not only enables users to retrieve information on the web, but also to contribute creating new ones. The enormous success obtained by some of them, has contributed to the diffusion of many “content aggregators”, applications that enable users to see in real-time social updates coming from different social networks to which they are subscribed, providing them, the possibility to interact with others as if they are really connected to the social website. Despite there are many applications of this type, no ones allows to visualize integrated statistics related to a set of social profiles provided by the user. The main objectives of this thesis, are the study of the reputation problem within social networks, the definition of analysis metrics and models, and the creation of a web application through which registered users may view, not only social updates in real-time, but also statistical data daily collected, related to all their social profiles. In particular, it has been created, a page containing a general overview related to the user selected, resuming all his quantitative information collected, as well as, providing indicators of “visibility” and of “productivity”, and the possibility to visualize temporal diagrams about his social activity carried out over different social networks. This paper begins providing a background over online social networks, describing which are their main characteristics and introducing some example of them taking into considerations those used during the implementation phase. Subsequently it draws, the main contribution provided through the realization of the thesis project, describing how the analysis over the data provided by the different social network APIs has been conduced, presenting also the main important features of the web application realized and a detailed description about the implementation phase. Finally, it provides some conclusions about the project realized, evaluating the results obtained and suggesting some interesting future developments that could be done

Macro Micro Studio:A Prototype Energy Autonomous Laboratory

In 2011, the Departments of Architecture, Physics and Engineering began the development of a small Passivhaus standard, renewable energy self-sufficient studio at the University Botanical Gardens in Dundee. The prototype was conceived as an experimental, integrated technical platform to monitor the performance of an ultra-low-energy consumption, energy positive building in the Scottish climate, and understand user behaviour in relation to managing energy in-use and reducing occupant’s energy consumption. The building fabric has been constructed using regional sustainable materials, including a low-thermal bridging timber kit relying on Scottish small cross-section timber and a novel foam concrete (air entrained) slab foundation. While further work is required to complete the installation of the renewable energy system, predictive modelling indicates that energy autonomy can be largely achieved. With the recent introduction of the new Passivhaus 2009 criteria in October 2015, this project provides an insight into the practical application of an autarkic energy system in a northern European climate. The following paper describes the research rationale, the processes and decision making in the development of the formal and technical design of the building and discusses our current thinking in the design and quantification of the energy system

Load Matching and Grid Interaction of Net Zero Energy Buildings

“Net Zero Energy Building” has become a prominent wording to describe the synergy of energy efficient building and renewable energy utilization to reach a balanced energy budget over a yearly cycle. Taking into account the energy exchange with a grid infrastructure overcomes the limitations of seasonal energy storage on-site. Even though the wording “Net Zero Energy Building” focuses on the annual energy balance, large differences may occur between solution sets in the amount of grid interaction needed to reach the goal. The paper reports on the analysis of example buildings concerning the load matching and grid interaction. Indices to describe both issues are proposed and foreseen as part of a harmonized definition framework. The work is part of subtask A of the IEA SHCP Task40/ECBCS Annex 52: “Towards Net Zero Energy Solar Buildings”

Quantitative DWI as an Early Imaging Biomarker of the Response to Chemoradiation in Esophageal Cancer

For patients diagnosed with stages IIa-IIb esophageal cancer, the current standard of care treatment is tri-modality therapy (TMT), where neoadjuvant chemoradiation (nCRT) is followed by surgical resection. Histopathology of resected tumors reveals that pathological complete response (pCR) is achieved in 20-30% of patients through nCRT alone. Because of the high mortality and morbidity associated with esophagectomy, it may be advantageous for patients exhibiting pCR from nCRT alone to be placed under observation rather than completing their TMT. Therefore, a method for predicting response at an early time-point during nCRT is highly desirable. Conventional methods such as endoscopic ultrasound, re-biopsy, and morphologic imaging are insufficient for this purpose. During nCRT, morphologic changes in tumors are often preceded by changes in the tumor biology. Diffusion Weighed Imaging (DWI) is an MRI modality which is sensitive to microscopic motion of water molecules in tissue. Quantitative DWI provides a measure of the cellular microenvironment which is impacted by cellularity, extra-cellular volume fraction, structure of the extracellular matrix, and cellular membranes. This work sought to investigate if changes in quantitative DWI may be used as an early imaging biomarker for the prediction of response to nCRT in esophageal cancer. DWI scans were performed on a small group of esophageal cancer patients (stages IIa to IIIb) before, at interim, and after completion of their nCRT. Quantitative diffusion parameter maps were estimated for DWI scans using the following models of diffusion: mono-exponential, intra-voxel incoherent motion (IVIM), and kurtosis. Summary measures of quantitative diffusion parameters were extracted from tumor voxels through volumetric contouring. These summary measures were retrospectively compared between histopathologically confirmed groupings of patients as pCR and non-pCR. The study found that the relative change in mean ADC could completely separate groupings of pCR and non-pCR patients (AUC=1) at a cutoff of 27.7%. Measurement by volume contouring was shown to be highly reproducible between readers. This pilot study demonstrates the promise of using DWI for organ sparing approaches after nCRT in esophageal cancer

The stuttering energy transition in Germany: Wind energy policy and feed-in tariff lock-in.

This article aims to examine whether the formulation of specific low carbon policy such as the feed-in tariff for wind energy in Germany can partly be a barrier to a comprehensive energy transition (Energiewende). Despite their short and medium-term success, these policies could create a long-term lock-in if they are formulated in a way that leads to a stagnation of systems innovation. The research finds that while the share of wind energy has increased rapidly over time, the feed-in-tariff and other low carbon policies and incentives have not been sufficient to achieve a socio-technical regime transition in Germany yet. We suggest that the German feed-in-tariff has incorporated wind energy (a niche-innovation) and wind energy actors (pathway newcomers) into a slightly modified socio-technical regime that is rather similar to the earlier ‘fossil fuel dominant’ socio-technical regime

Mehrdimensionale hydrodynamisch-numerische Modelle im praxisorientierten und operationellen Einsatz

Die Dissertation zeigt die relevanten Grundlagen mehrdimensionaler HN-Modelle. Es wird eine Anleitung für das praktische Arbeiten gegeben und Besonderheiten einzelner Modelltypen werden diskutiert. Auf aktuelle Anforderungen wird eingegangen und Synergieeffekte hybrider bzw. gekoppelter Modellierung werden aufgezeigt. Abgeschlossen wird die Arbeit durch Ausführungen zum operationellen Modelleinsatz sowie die Vorstellung des für das Hochwassermanagement entwickelten Softwaresystems FlowGIS