Search results for: packaging and label design

Authors: Matodzi Rapalalani

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In context with Spencer's (2018) classic labelling theory, labels influence the perceptions of both the individual and other members of society. That is, once labelled, the individual act in ways that confirm the stereotypes attached to the label. This study, therefore, investigates the understanding of gendered labelling and its effects on Vhavenda women. Gender socialization and patriarchy have been viewed as the core causes of the problem. The literature presented the development of gendered labelling, forms of it, and other aspects. A qualitative method of data collection was used in this study, and semi-structural interviews were conducted. A total of 6 participants were used as it is easy to deal with a small sample. Thematic analysis was used as the data was interpreted and analyzed. Ethical issues such as confidentiality, informed consent, and voluntary participation were considered. Through the analysis and data interpretation, causes such as lack of Christian values, insecurities, and lust were mentioned as well as some of the effects such as frustrations, increased divorce, and low self-esteem.

Keywords: gender, naming, Venda, women, African culture

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Authors: Chih Chin Yang, Chung Shan Sun

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In this paper, the relationships between professional competences and school curricula in IC design industry are explored. The semi-structured questionnaire survey and focus group interview is the research method. Study participants are graduates of microelectronics engineering professional departments who are currently employed in the IC industry. The IC industries are defined as the electronic component manufacturing industry and optical-electronic component manufacturing industry in the semiconductor industry and optical-electronic material devices, respectively. Study participants selected from IC design industry include IC engineering and electronic & semiconductor engineering. The human training with IC design professional competence in microelectronics engineering professional departments is explored in this research. IC professional competences of human resources in the IC design industry include general intelligence and professional intelligence.

Keywords: IC design, curricula, competence, task, duty

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Authors: Rangrong Yoksan, Amporn Sane, Nattaporn Khanoonkon, Chanakorn Yokesahachart, Narumol Noivoil, Khanh Minh Dang

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Polylactic acid (PLA) is the most commercially available bio-based and biodegradable plastic at present. PLA has been used in plastic related industries including single-used containers, disposable and environmentally friendly packaging owing to its renewability, compostability, biodegradability, and safety. Although PLA demonstrates reasonably good optical, physical, mechanical, and barrier properties comparable to the existing petroleum-based plastics, its brittleness and mold shrinkage as well as its price are the points to be concerned for the production of rigid and semi-rigid packaging. Blending PLA with other bio-based polymers including thermoplastic starch (TPS) is an alternative not only to achieve a complete bio-based plastic, but also to reduce the brittleness, shrinkage during molding and production cost of the PLA-based products. TPS is a material produced mainly from starch which is cheap, renewable, biodegradable, compostable, and non-toxic. It is commonly prepared by a plasticization of starch under applying heat and shear force. Although glycerol has been reported as one of the most plasticizers used for preparing TPS, its migration caused the surface stickiness of the TPS products. In some cases, mixed plasticizers or natural fibers have been applied to impede the retrogradation of starch or reduce the migration of glycerol. The introduction of fibers into TPS-based materials could reinforce the polymer matrix as well. Therefore, the objective of the present research is to study the effect of starch type (i.e. native starch and phosphate starch), plasticizer type (i.e. glycerol and xylitol with a weight ratio of glycerol to xylitol of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100), and fiber content (i.e. in the range of 1-25 % wt) on properties of PLA/TPS blend and composite. PLA/TPS blends and composites were prepared using a twin-screw extruder and then converted into dumbbell-shaped specimens using an injection molding machine. The PLA/TPS blends prepared by using phosphate starch showed higher tensile strength and stiffness than the blends prepared by using the native one. In contrast, the blends from native starch exhibited higher extensibility and heat distortion temperature (HDT) than those from the modified starch. Increasing xylitol content resulted in enhanced tensile strength, stiffness, and water resistance, but decreased extensibility and HDT of the PLA/TPS blend. Tensile properties and hydrophobicity of the blend could be improved by incorporating silane treated-jute fibers.

Keywords: polylactic acid, thermoplastic starch, Jute fiber, composite, blend

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Authors: Ahmed Z. Gabr, Ahmed A. Helal, Hussein E. Said

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With the incessant increase of power systems capacity and voltage grade, the safety of grounding grid becomes more and more prominent. In this paper, the designing substation grounding grid is presented by means of genetic algorithm (GA). This approach purposes to control the grounding cost of the power system with the aid of controlling grounding rod number and conductor lengths under the same safety limitations. The proposed technique is used for the design of the substation grounding grid in Khalda Petroleum Company “El-Qasr” power plant and the design was simulated by using CYMGRD software for results verification. The result of the design is highly complying with IEEE 80-2000 standard requirements.

Keywords: genetic algorithm, optimum grounding grid design, power system analysis, power system protection, single layer model, substation

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Authors: Szymon Misiek

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The genderqueer (or gender non-binary, both terms referring to those individuals who are identified as neither men nor women) community has been gaining greater visibility over the last few years. This includes legal recognition, representation in popular media, and inclusion of non-binary perspectives in research on transgender issues. Another important aspect of visibility is language. Gender-neutrality, often associated with genderqueer people, is relatively easy to achieve in natural-gender languages such as English. This can be observed in the growing popularity of the 'singular they' pronoun (used specifically with reference to genderqueer individuals) or the gender-neutral title 'Mx.' (as an alternative to 'Ms./Mr.'). 'Singular they' seems to have become a certain standard in the genderqueer community. Grammatical-gender languages, such as Polish, provide for a greater challenge to genderqueer speakers. In Polish, every noun is inherently gendered, while verbs, adjectives, and pronouns inflect for gender. Those who do not wish to settle for using only either masculine or feminine forms (which some genderqueer Polish speakers do choose) have to somehow mix the two, attempt to avoid gendered forms altogether, or turn to non-standard forms, such as neuter (not used for people in standard Polish), plurals (vaguely akin to English 'singular they'), or neologisms (such as verb forms using the '-u-' affix). The following paper presents the results of a survey conducted among genderqueer speakers of Polish regarding their choice of linguistic strategies. As no definitive standard such as 'singular they' has (yet) emerged, it rather seeks to emphasize the diversity of chosen strategies and their relation to a person's specific identity as well as the context an exchange takes place. The findings of the study may offer an insight into how heavily gendered languages deal with non-normatively gendered experiences, and to what extent English influences this process (e.g., the majority of genderqueer poles choose English terms to label their identity), as well as help design good practices aimed at achieving gender-equality in speech.

Keywords: genderqueer, grammatical gender in Polish, non-binary, transgender

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Authors: Shian Saroop, Dhiren Allopi

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In order to stay competitive and to meet upcoming stricter environmental regulations and customer requirements, designers have a key role in designing civil infrastructure so that it is environmentally sustainable. There is an urgent need for engineers to apply technologies and methods that deliver better and more sustainable performance of civil infrastructure as well as a need to establish a standard of measurement for greener infrastructure, rather than merely use tradition solutions. However, there are no systems in place at the design stage that assesses the environmental impact of design decisions on township infrastructure projects. This paper identifies alternative eco-efficient civil infrastructure design solutions and developed sustainability criteria and a toolkit to analyse the eco efficiency of infrastructure projects. The proposed toolkit is aimed at promoting high-performance, eco-efficient, economical and environmentally friendly design decisions on stormwater, roads, water and sanitation related to township infrastructure projects. These green solutions would bring a whole new class of eco-friendly solutions to current infrastructure problems, while at the same time adding a fresh perspective to the traditional infrastructure design process. A variety of projects were evaluated using the green infrastructure toolkit and their results are compared to each other, to assess the results of using greener infrastructure verses the traditional method of designing infrastructure. The application of ‘green technology’ would ensure a sustainable design of township infrastructure services assisting the design to consider alternative resources, the environmental impacts of design decisions, ecological sensitivity issues, innovation, maintenance and materials, at the design stage of a project.

Keywords: eco-efficiency, green infrastructure, infrastructure design, sustainable development

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Authors: Sanghoon Shim, Jaehwan Jung, Sung-Ah Kim

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As the digital technology develops, studies on the TUI (Tangible User Interface) that links the physical environment utilizing the human senses with the virtual environment through the computer are actively being conducted. In addition, there has been a tremendous advance in computer design making through the use of computer-aided design techniques, which enable optimized decision-making through comparison with machine learning and parallel comparison of alternatives. However, a complex design that can respond to user requirements or performance can emerge through the intuition of the designer, but it is difficult to actualize the emerged design by the designer's ability alone. Ancillary tools such as Gaudí's Sandbag can be an instrument to reinforce and evolve emerged ideas from designers. With the advent of many commercial tools that support 3D objects, designers' intentions are easily reflected in their designs, but the degree of their reflection reflects their intentions according to the proficiency of design tools. This study embodies the environment in which the form can be implemented by the fingers of the most basic designer in the initial design phase of the complex type building design. Leapmotion is used as a sensor to recognize the hand motions of the designer, and it is converted into digital information to realize an environment that can be linked in real time in virtual reality (VR). In addition, the implemented design can be linked with Rhino™, a 3D authoring tool, and its plug-in Grasshopper™ in real time. As a result, it is possible to design sensibly using TUI, and it can serve as a tool for assisting designer intuition.

Keywords: design environment, digital modeling, hand gesture, TUI, virtual reality

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Authors: Bong-Su Sin, Jong-Kyu Kim, Se-Il Song, Kwon-Hee Lee

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An automobile ball joint is a pivoting element used to allow rotational motion between the parts of the steering and suspension system. And it plays a role in smooth transmission of steering movement, also reduction in impact from the road surface. A ball joint is under various repeated loadings that may cause cracks and abrasion. This damages lead to safety problems of a car, as well as reducing the comfort of the driver's ride, and raise questions about the ball joint procedure and the whole durability of the suspension system. Accordingly, it is necessary to ensure the high durability and reliability of a ball joint. The structural responses of stiffness and pull-out strength were then calculated to check if the design satisfies the related requirements. The analysis was sequentially performed, following the caulking process. In this process, the deformation and stress results obtained from the analysis were saved. Sequential analysis has a strong advantage, in that it can be analyzed by considering the deformed shape and residual stress. The pull-out strength means the required force to pull the ball stud out from the ball joint assembly. The low pull-out strength can deteriorate the structural stability and safety performances. In this study, two design variables and two noise factors were set up. Two design variables were the diameter of a stud and the angle of a socket. And two noise factors were defined as the uncertainties of Young's modulus and yield stress of a seat. The DOE comprises 81 cases using these conditions. Robust design of a ball joint was performed using the DOE. The pull-out strength was generated from the uncertainties in the design variables and the design parameters. The purpose of robust design is to find the design with target response and smallest variation.

Keywords: ball joint, pull-out strength, robust design, design of experiments

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Authors: Barenten Suciu

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In this paper, effectiveness of a machine design process is evaluated on the basis of the specific output calculus. Concretely, a screw-worm gear mechanical transmission is designed by using the classical and the 3D-CAD methods. Strength analysis and drawing of the designed parts is substantially aided by employing the SolidWorks software. Quality of the design process is assessed by manufacturing (printing) the parts, and by computing the efficiency, specific load, as well as the specific output (work) of the mechanical transmission. Influence of the stroke, travelling velocity and load on the mechanical output, is emphasized. Optimal design of the mechanical transmission becomes possible by the appropriate usage of the acquired results.

Keywords: mechanical transmission, design, screw, worm-gear, efficiency, specific output, 3D-printing

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Authors: Mogens Saberi

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The following article focuses on a new seismic design approach for Denmark. Denmark is located in a low seismic zone and up till now a general and very simplified approach has been used to accommodate the effect of seismic loading. The current used method is presented and it is found that the approach is on the unsafe side for many building types in Denmark. The damages during time due to earth quake is presented and a seismic map for Denmark is developed and presented. Furthermore, a new design approach is suggested and compared to the existing one. The new approach is relatively simple but captures the effect of seismic loading more realistic than the existing one. The new approach is believed to the incorporated in the Danish Deign Code for building structures.

Keywords: low seismicity, new design approach, earthquakes, Denmark

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Authors: Hazem Abuorf

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From the perspective of viewing urban design as the architecture of public spaces, the latter has many advantages; for example, in achieving attractive and vibrant public spaces, ensuring safety and amenity, supporting a strong sense of place and local character. Besides all advantages, such spaces nevertheless trigger numerous dilemmas, how to design urban spaces preserving the quality of life in the long term while equally achieving cohesion between new urban developments and the already existing urban structure without causing a split in history through the cause of functional and aesthetic degradation. Analysis of this article seeks to propose a methodology deemed essential for assessing and stimulating design criteria of the public spaces when rehabilitating urban sites. The method’s utility is shown by analyzing rehabilitation projects in Gaza Strip, whose design of the public spaces has mainly focused on the physical aspect ignoring the place’s local identity, users’ needs, and history. The proposed methodology serves as a guide for municipal authorities and technical teams to deal with interventions that would rework the role of urban design towards making sense of place.

Keywords: urban design, public realm, rehabilitation projects, quality of life

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Authors: Haithem Elderrat, Huw Davies, Emmanuel Brousseau

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Elastomeric polymer foam has been used widely in the automotive industry, especially for isolating unwanted vibrations. Such material is able to absorb unwanted vibration due to its combination of elastic and viscous properties. However, the ‘creep effect’, poor stress distribution and susceptibility to high temperatures are the main disadvantages of such a system. In this study, improvements in the performance of elastomeric foam as a vibration isolator were investigated using the concept of Foam Filled Fluid (FFFluid). In FFFluid devices, the foam takes the form of capsule shapes, and is mixed with viscous fluid, while the mixture is contained in a closed vessel. When the FFFluid isolator is affected by vibrations, energy is absorbed, due to the elastic strain of the foam. As the foam is compressed, there is also movement of the fluid, which contributes to further energy absorption as the fluid shears. Also, and dependent on the design adopted, the packaging could also attenuate vibration through energy absorption via friction and/or elastic strain. The present study focuses on the advantages of the FFFluid concept over the dry polymeric foam in the role of vibration isolation. This comparative study between the performance of dry foam and the FFFluid was made according to experimental procedures. The paper concludes by evaluating the performance of the FFFluid isolator in the suspension system of a light vehicle. One outcome of this research is that the FFFluid may preferable over elastomer isolators in certain applications, as it enables a reduction in the effects of high temperatures and of ‘creep effects’, thereby increasing the reliability and load distribution. The stiffness coefficient of the system has increased about 60% by using an FFFluid sample. The technology represented by the FFFluid is therefore considered by this research suitable for application in the suspension system of a light vehicle.

Keywords: FFFluid, dry foam, anti-vibration devices, elastomeric polymer foam

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Authors: Sorin Valcan, Mihail Gaianu

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Labeling is a very costly and time consuming process which aims to generate datasets for training neural networks in several functionalities and projects. For driver monitoring system projects, the need for labeled images has a significant impact on the budget and distribution of effort. This paper presents the modifications done to an algorithm used for the generation of ground truth data for 2D eyes location on infrared images with drivers in order to improve the quality of the data and performance of the trained neural networks. The algorithm restrictions become tougher, which makes it more accurate but also less constant. The resulting dataset becomes smaller and shall not be altered by any kind of manual label adjustment before being used in the neural networks training process. These changes resulted in a much better performance of the trained neural networks.

Keywords: labeling automation, infrared camera, driver monitoring, eye detection, convolutional neural networks

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Authors: N. Azadi-Tinat, H. Oraizi

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Design of compact UWB multilayered microstrip filter with E-shape resonator is presented, which provides wide stopband up to 20 GHz and arbitrary impedance matching. The design procedure is developed based on the method of least squares and theory of N-coupled transmission lines. The dimensions of designed filter are about 11 mm × 11 mm and the three E-shape resonators are placed among four dielectric layers. The average insertion loss in the passband is less than 1 dB and in the stopband is about 30 dB up to 20 GHz. Its group delay in the UWB region is about 0.5 ns. The performance of the optimized filter design perfectly agrees with the microwave simulation softwares.

Keywords: method of least square, multilayer microstrip filter, n-coupled transmission lines, ultra-wideband

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Authors: C. Njoku Paul

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This paper deals with systems engineering applications design for offshore oil drilling production platform in the Nigerian Marine Environment. Engineering Design model of the distribution and accumulation of petroleum hydrocarbons discharged into marine environment production platform and sources of impact of an offshore is treated.

Keywords: design of offshore oil drilling production platform, marine, environment, petroleum hydrocarbons

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Authors: S. S. Dol

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Improvement in vehicle efficiency can reduce global fossil fuels consumptions. For that sole reason, Shell Global Corporation introduces Shell Eco-marathon where student teams require to design, build and test energy-efficient vehicles. Hence, this paper will focus on design processes and the development of a fuel economic vehicle which satisfying the requirements of the competition. In this project, three components are designed and analyzed, which are the body, chassis and powertrain of the vehicle. Optimum design for each component is produced through simulation analysis and theoretical calculation in which improvement is made as the project progresses.

Keywords: energy efficient, drag force, chassis, powertrain

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Authors: Devanandan Govender

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Curriculum design and development in higher education is a complex and challenging process. Amongst others, the extent to which higher education curriculum responds to a country's imperatives, industry requirements, and societal demands are some important considerations. Added to this is the whole notion of sustainable development, climate change and in the South African context the issue of ‘Africanising the curriculum’ is also significant. In this paper, the author describes and analyses the various challenges related to curriculum transformation, design and development within an ODL context and how we at Unisa engage and address curriculum transformation in mainstream curriculum design and development both at course design level and programme/ qualification level.

Keywords: curriculum transformation, curriculum creep, curriculum drift, curriculum mapping

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Authors: Shima Nikanjam, Badiossadat Hassanpour, Adi Irfan Che Ani

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The design process in architecture education is based upon the Learning-by-Doing method, which leads students to understand how to design by practicing rather than studying. First-year design studios, as starting educational stage, provide integrated knowledge and skills of design for newly jointed architecture students. Within the basic design studio environment, students are guided to transfer their abstract thoughts into visual concrete decisions under the supervision of design educators for the first time. Therefore, introductory design studios have predominant impacts on students’ operational thinking and designing. Architectural design thinking is quite different from students’ educational backgrounds and learning habits. This educational challenge at basic design studios creates a severe need to study the reality of design education at foundation year and define appropriate educational methods with convenient project types with the intention of enhancing architecture education quality. Material for this study has been gathered through long-term direct observation at a first year second semester design studio at the faculty of architecture at EMU (known as FARC 102), fall and spring academic semester 2014-15. Distribution of a questionnaire among case study students and interviews with third and fourth design studio students who passed through the same methods of education in the past 2 years and conducting interviews with instructors are other methodologies used in this research. The results of this study reveal a risk of a mismatch between the implemented teaching method, project type and scale in this particular level and students’ learning styles. Although the existence of such risk due to varieties in students’ profiles could be expected to some extent, recommendations can support educators to reach maximum compatibility.

Keywords: architecture education, basic design studio, educational method, forms creation skill

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Authors: Ahmed R. Ballil

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Heat exchangers are devices used to transfer heat between two fluids. These devices are utilized in many engineering and industrial applications such as heating, cooling, condensation and boiling processes. The fluids might be in direct contact (mixed), or they separated by a solid wall to avoid mixing. In the present paper, interactive computer-aided design of shell and tube heat exchangers is developed using Visual Basic computer code as a framework. This design is based on the Bell-Delaware method, which is one of the very well known methods reported in the literature for the design of shell and tube heat exchangers. Physical properties for either the tube or the shell side fluids are internally evaluated by calling on an enormous data bank composed of more than a hundred fluid compounds. This contributes to increase the accuracy of the present design. The international system of units is considered in the developed computer program. The present design has an added feature of being capable of performing modification based upon a preset design criterion, such that an optimum design is obtained at satisfying constraints set either by the user or by the method itself. Also, the present code is capable of giving an estimate of the approximate cost of the heat exchanger based on the predicted surface area of the exchanger evaluated by the program. Finally, the present thermal and hydraulic design code is tested for accuracy and consistency against some of existed and approved designs of shell and tube heat exchangers.

Keywords: bell-delaware method, heat exchangers, shell and tube, thermal and hydraulic design

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Authors: Tofigh Hamidavi, Sepehr Abrishami, Pasquale Ponterosso, David Begg

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Structural design and analysis is an important and time-consuming process, particularly at the conceptual design stage. Decisions made at this stage can have an enormous effect on the entire project, as it becomes ever costlier and more difficult to alter the choices made early on in the construction process. Hence, optimisation of the early stages of structural design can provide important efficiencies in terms of cost and time. This paper suggests a structural design optimisation (SDO) framework in which Genetic Algorithms (GAs) may be used to semi-automate the production and optimisation of early structural design alternatives. This framework has the potential to leverage conceptual structural design innovation in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) projects. Moreover, this framework improves the collaboration between the architectural stage and the structural stage. It will be shown that this SDO framework can make this achievable by generating the structural model based on the extracted data from the architectural model. At the moment, the proposed SDO framework is in the process of validation, involving the distribution of an online questionnaire among structural engineers in the UK.

Keywords: building information, modelling, BIM, genetic algorithm, GA, architecture-engineering-construction, AEC, optimisation, structure, design, population, generation, selection, mutation, crossover, offspring

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Authors: Roman Knizek, Denisa Karhankova, Ludmila Fridrichova

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For their exceptional properties nanofibers, respectively, nanofiber layers are achieving an increasingly wider range of uses. Nowadays nanofibers are used mainly in the field of air filtration where they are removing submicron particles, bacteria, and viruses. Their efficiency is not changed in time, and the power consumption is much lower than that of electrically charged filters. Nanofibers are primarily used for converting and storage of energy in both air and liquid filtration, in food and packaging, protecting the environment, but also in health care which is made possible by their newly discovered properties. However, a major problem of the nanofiber layer is practically zero abrasion resistance; it is, therefore, necessary to laminate the nanofiber layer with another suitable material. Unfortunately, lamination of nanofiber layers is a major problem since the nanofiber layer contains small pores through which it is very difficult for adhesion to pass through. Therefore, there is still only a small percentage of products with these unique fibers 5.

Keywords: nanofiber layer, nanomembrane, lamination, electrospinning

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Authors: Pimploi Tirastittam, Phutthiwat Waiyawuththanapoom, Sawanath Treesathon

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As there are several countries which import agriculture product from Thailand, those countries demand Thailand to establish the traceability system. The traceability system is the tool to reduce the risk in the supply chain in a very effective way as it will help the stakeholder in the supply chain to identify the defect point which will reduce the cost of operation in the supply chain. This research is aimed to design the traceability system for Tubtimjun roseapple for exporting to China, and it is the qualitative research. The data was collected from the expert in the tuntimjun roseapple and fruit exporting industry, and the data was used to design the traceability system. The design of the tubtimjun roseapple traceability system was followed the theory of supply chain which starts from the upstream of the supply chain to the downstream of the supply chain to support the process and condition of the exporting which included the database designing, system architecture, user interface design and information technology of the traceability system.

Keywords: design information, technology system, traceability, tubtimjun roseapple

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Authors: Eric Hawkinson, Edgaras Artemciukas

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This study outlines iterations of designing mobile augmented reality (MAR) applications for tourism specific contexts. Using a design based research model, several cycles of development to implementation were analyzed and refined upon with the goal of building a MAR platform that would facilitate the creation of augmented tours and environments by non-technical users. The project took on several stages, and through the process, a simple framework was begun to be established that can inform the design and use of MAR applications for tourism contexts. As a result of these iterations of development, a platform was developed that can allow novice computer users to create augmented tourism environments. This system was able to connect existing tools in widespread use such as Google Forms and connect them to computer vision algorithms needed for more advanced augmented tourism environments. The study concludes with a discussion of this MAR platform and reveals design elements that have implications for tourism contexts. The study also points to future case uses and design approaches for augmented tourism.

Keywords: augmented tourism, augmented reality, user experience, mobile design, e-tourism

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Authors: Belen Montero, Carmen Ramirez, Maite Rico, Rebeca Bouza, Irene Derungs

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Starch is a promising polymer for producing biocomposite materials because it is renewable, completely biodegradable and easily available at a low cost. Thermoplastic starches (TPS) can be obtained after the disruption and plasticization of native starch with a plasticizer. In this work, the solvent casting method was used to obtain TPS films from wheat starch plasticized with glycerol and reinforced with nanocellulose (CNC). X-ray diffraction analysis was used to follow the evolution of the crystallinity. The native wheat starch granules have shown a profile corresponding to A-type crystal structures typical for cereal starches. When TPS films are analyzed a high amorphous halo centered on 19º is obtained, indicating the plasticization process is completed. SEM imaging was made in order to analyse the morphology. The image from the raw wheat starch granules shows a bimodal granule size distribution with some granules in large round disk-shape forms (A-type) and the others as smaller spherical particles (B-type). The image from the neat TPS surface shows a continuous surface. No starch aggregates or swollen granules can be seen so, the plasticization process is complete. In the surfaces of reinforced TPS films aggregates are seen as the CNC concentration in the matrix increases. The CNC influence on the mechanical properties of TPS films has been studied by dynamic mechanical analysis. A direct relation exists between the storage modulus values, E’, and the CNC content in reinforced TPS films: higher is the content of nanocellulose in the composite, higher is the value of E’. This reinforcement effect can be explained by the appearance of a strong and crystalline nanoparticle-TPS interphase. Thermal stability of films was analysed by TGA. It has not observed any influence on the behaviour related to the thermal degradation of films with the incorporation of the CNC. Finally, the resistance to the water absorption films was analysed following the standard UNE-EN ISO 1998:483. The percentage of water absorbed by the samples at each time was calculated. The addition of 5 wt % of CNC to the TPS matrix leads to a significant improvement in the moisture resistance of the starch based material decreasing their diffusivity. It has been associated to the formation of a nanocrystal network that prevents swelling of the starch and therefore water absorption and to the high crystallinity of cellulose compared to starch. As a conclusion, the wheat film reinforced with 5 wt % of cellulose nanocrystals seems to be a good alternative for short-life applications into the packaging industry, because of its greatest rigidity, thermal stability and moisture sorption resistance.

Keywords: biocomposites, nanocellulose, starch, wheat

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Authors: Aidoud Assia, Bencheikh Messaouda, Boukour Salima

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Polystyrene is often seen in the ocean and on Algerian beaches, mainly as food containers. It's one of the top 10 most common items found there. This happens because it's light and easily carried away from its original source, like packaging or transport, into the environment. Unfortunately, it's not recycled much because it's not very profitable to do so. Hence, turning this waste into a resource can turn challenges into opportunities for a territory's economic and environmental development, which is the focus of this study. the goal is to analyze the physical and mechanical properties of a new type of mortar made from dune sand mixed with recycled polystyrene. it also aim to assess its potential for use in various construction applications. The mixtures were prepared by replacing portions of dune sand with polystyrene waste at varying volumes (10%, 20%, and 30%), while keeping the amount of cement constant. The results indicate a noticeable impact on both the physical and mechanical properties because of incorporating polystyrene waste.

Keywords: polystyrène, eco-mortier, sable de dune, résistance

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Authors: Putul Haldar, Yogendra Singh, D. K. Paul

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Un-Reinforced Masonry (URM) infilled RC framed buildings are the most common construction practice for modern multi-storey buildings in India like many other parts of the world. Although the behavior and failure pattern of the global structure changes significantly due to infill-frame interaction, the general design practice is to treat them as non-structural elements and their stiffness, strength and interaction with frame is often ignored, as it is difficult to simulate. Indian Standard, like many other major national codes, does not provide any explicit guideline for modeling of infills. This paper takes a stock of controlling design provisions in some of the major national seismic design codes (BIS 2002; CEN 2004; NZS-4230 2004; ASCE-41 2007) to ensure the desired seismic performance of infilled frame. Most of the national codes on seismic design of buildings still lack in adequate guidelines on modeling and design of URM infilled frames results in variable assumption in analysis and design. This paper, using nonlinear pushover analysis, also presents the effect of one of such assumptions of conventional ‘simultaneous’ analysis procedure of infilled frame on the seismic performance of URM infilled RC frame buildings.

Keywords: URM infills, RC frame, seismic design codes, construction sequence of infilled frame

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Authors: Jovana Dj. Jovanovic, Svetlana M. Stevovic

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The highest priority of so called, projected passive houses is to meet the appropriate energy demand. Every single material and layer which is injected into a dwelling has a certain energy quantity stored. The passive houses include optimized insulation levels with minimal thermal bridges, minimum of air leakage through the building, utilization of passive solar and internal gains, and good circulation of air which leans on mechanical ventilation system. The focus of this paper is on passive house features, benefits and targets, their feasibility and energy demands which are set up during each project. Numerous passive house-standards outline the very significant role of zero-energy dwellings towards the modern label of sustainable development. It is clear that the performance of both built and existing housing stock must be addressed if the population across the world sets out the energy objectives. This scientific article examines passive house features since the many passive house cases are launched.

Keywords: benefits, energy demands, passive houses, sustainable development

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Authors: Pei-Jun Xue, Ming-Yu Hsiao

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Chinese characters, or hanzi, represent a process of simplifying three-dimensional signs into plane signifiers. From pictograms at the beginning to logograms today, a Han linguist thus classified them into six categories known as the six categories of Chinese characters. Design is a process of signification, and cultural-creative design is a process translating ideas into design with creativity upon culture. Aiming to investigate the process of cultural-creative design transforming cultural text into cultural signs, this study analyzed existing cultural-creative products with the six categories of Chinese characters by treating such products as representations which accurately communicate the designer’s ideas to users through the categorization, simplification, and interpretation of sign features. This is a two-phase pilot study on designing cultural-creative products with the six categories of Chinese characters. Phase I reviews the related literature on the theory of the six categories of Chinese characters investigated and concludes with the process and principles of character evolution. Phase II analyzes the design of existing cultural-creative products with the six categories of Chinese characters and explores the conceptualization of product design.

Keywords: six categories of Chinese characters, cultural-creative product design, cultural signs, cultural product

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Authors: Witthaya Mekhum, Napasri Suwanajote, Isara Sangprasert

Abstract:

This research on logo design of pajamas, OTOP product of Sainoi community, Sainoi district, Nonthanuri Province is a participatory action research aiming to find the logo for pajamas, an OTOP product of Sainoi community. Sample of this research is 50 local residents from Sainoi community in Sainoi district, Nonthanuri Province. The questionnaire consisted of 4 main parts. Part 1: factors that influence the decisions of consumers; Part 2: characteristics of the materials used in the design; Part 3: attitude assessment and needs of consumers about logo designing to develop marketing channels; Part 4: suggestions. Interviews were conducted. For data analysis, checklist items were analyzed with frequency and percentage. Open-end items were analyzed by summarizing and using ratio scale and mean and standard deviation. The research results showed that the design, cutting and fabric affect the decision of the consumers. They want design to be decent and beautiful. Illustrations used in graphic design logos should be Lines. Fonts should be English letters and the color of the font should be the same color.

Keywords: design, logo, OTOP product, pajamas

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Authors: Elke Meex, Elke Knapen, Griet Verbeeck

Abstract:

The focus of sustainable building is gradually shifting from energy efficiency towards the more global environmental impact of building design during all life-cycle stages. In this context, many tools have been developed that use a LCA-approach to assess the environmental impact on a whole building level. Since the building design strongly influences the final environmental performance and the architect plays a key role in the design process, it is important that these tools are adapted to his work method and support the decision making from the early design phase on. Therefore, a comparative evaluation of the degree of architect-friendliness of some LCA tools on building level is made, based on an evaluation framework specifically developed for the architect’s viewpoint. In order to allow comparison of the results, a reference building has been designed, documented for different design phases and entered in all software tools. The evaluation according to the framework shows that the existing tools are not very architect-friendly. Suggestions for improvement are formulated.

Keywords: architect-friendliness, design supportive value, evaluation framework, tool comparison

Procedia PDF Downloads 535