Design Reuse Research Articles

Automatic design generation of trusses from a reused steel stock library using graphic statics

Reuse of undamaged steel components in new structural design offers a means to reduce construction-related waste and carbon emissions. However, designing with reused members significantly differs from conventional methods as the design must conform to a so-called stock constraint. This work presents an automated stock-constrained design algorithm for planar trusses. To promote high efficiency of the resulting designs, graphic statics is used as the backbone of the algorithm. Additionally, optimization is used to reduce the wasted stock material when determining how to cut stock members to form the truss. To address the need for flexibility in reuse design, the underlying engine has inherent stochasticity and is fast (on the order of 1 min). It is herein executed 100 times per design case and shown to generate efficient design options that can either construct the same truss layout in multiple ways or provide the designer with different layout alternatives to select from. Carbon savings are estimated as 83%–90% for an obtained design case when compared to conventionally designed trusses made from recycled steel.

Framework for Implementation of Building Automation Control Programs for Industrial Heating and Cooling Systems

This article proposes a novel framework for the rapid implementation of automation programs in industrial heating and cooling systems. The global push for sustainability necessitates significant infrastructural transformations within these systems, which currently rely heavily on fossil fuels and are responsible for 75% of industrial final energy consumption. Our research highlights the critical role of design patterns and object-oriented programming principles to address the complex integration of additional energy converters and storage into automation programs. By leveraging design patterns, our framework encapsulates the intricacies of various components, such as actuators, sensors, and storage, within a comprehensive object-oriented model that also allows the integration of different control strategies. Qualitatively, this approach enhances the reusability, scalability, and adaptability of automation programs. Therefore, quantitatively, our framework enables a more resilient and efficient energy system. The framework is validated through its application to a complex, cross-linked industrial heating and cooling system at the ETA Research Factory of the Technical University of Darmstadt. Using the developed framework reduces implementation effort significantly due to its consistent and modular structure resulting from the reusable design patterns.

Reusable timber modular buildings, material circularity and automation: The role of inter-locking connections

As sustainability becomes a central concern in construction, the industry witnesses a significant surge in the adoption of material circularity principles, reflecting a new approach to resource management. Although mass timber construction holds significant potential for end-of-life (EoL) material circularity due to its natural materials and prefabrication, conventional connection systems hinder material reuse. Integrating interlocking techniques into modular construction could enhance circularity and enable future autonomous construction. This paper summarises design-for-reuse (DfR) strategies focusing on connection design for rapid assembly and disassembly of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) modules. These strategies can promote innovative connections with enhanced material circularity, which were illustrated through a recently proposed conceptual interlocking connections (MOD-IT). Additionally, a comparative cradle-to-cradle Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluates the environmental impact and circularity potential of timber modular buildings using this connection system. The study underscores the pivotal role of strategic connection design in achieving a closed-loop system in timber construction. This advancement fosters sustainability by improving efficiency, adaptability, reusability, and autonomy in the construction process.

A knowledge graph-enabled multi-domain mapping approach supporting product rapid design: A case study of new energy vehicles

In the context of mass personalization, the dynamic and erratic nature of customer requirements (CRs) is increasingly pronounced. Amidst intensifying market competition, enterprises are compelled to swiftly adjust their products to satisfy the ever-changing CRs. However, the complicated design processes often result in prolonged product update and iteration cycles. Thus, it is urgent for enterprises to promote product rapid design, in which, it is essential to map CRs to functional requirements (FRs), then to design parameters (DPs). Traditional mapping methods are time-consuming and labor-intensive, struggle to keep pace with the ever-changing CRs. Moreover, enhancing the efficiency of design knowledge management and reuse is imperative for achieving product rapid design. Considering the strengths of knowledge graphs (KGs) in knowledge management and mining, we establish a multi-domain product design KG (MPDKG) including a CR domain, a FR domain, and a DP domain, and facilitate the mapping process by constructing mapping relations between domains. Firstly, CR entities in the CR domain are extracted through a triple-task cascaded CRs identification model from online reviews and complaints. Secondly, FR entities are identified from product functional lists and instructions, and the Sentence-Bert model is employed to establish the mapping relations between CR entities and FR entities. Subsequently, a corpus comprising product design knowledge is constructed and a cross-domain joint entity relation extraction model is developed to extract DP entities and construct their mapping relations with FR entities. Lastly, the multi-domain mapping of BYD Qin is implemented as a case study to elucidate the practical utility and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

STUDY ON THE TRANSITION FROM THE LINEAR ECONOMY TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

In the actual economic environment, it is more and more important for people to be aware of their impact on environmental aspects, consumption of natural resources and usage of resources several times by recycling and reuse at the initial intended usage or changing the place of usage in opposition to the principle of owning, using and then throwing away.The increasing of waste quantities are the direct consequences of consumption that exceeds real needs and, at the same time, alters the state of the environment as the main provider of resources. In the coming years, approaches of the products’ design and built must be focused to allow for the continued reuse of resources. The introduction of the circular economy is a challenge to the linear economy approach to resource production and consumption. The circular economy is an economy that produces zero waste. The circular economy concept is not so new. European and world decision-making communities have been circulating for years the concept of circular economy, but only now the concept is beginning to gain visibility and applicability. In this paper, a study on the transition of companies from the linear economy to the circular economy is developed. Starting from the fact that current global sustainable development is given special attention, based on the transition from linear to a circular economy, the study provides an image of the degree of knowledge on the concept of circular economy of private companies, highlighting the major discrepancies between the linear and the circular economy, as well as the multidimensional impact of the implementation of the circular economy. It is necessary for more and more companies to experience how the circular economy can help them in the extraction and transport of raw materials, materials and product design, production, distribution, and consumption of goods, repairs, remanufacturing schemes and reuse, waste management and recycling.

SketchCleanGAN: A generative network to enhance and correct query sketches for improving 3D CAD model retrieval systems

Given an input query, a search and retrieval system fetches relevant information from a dataset. In the Engineering domain, such a system is beneficial for tasks such as design reuse. A two-dimensional (2D) sketch is more conducive for an end user to give as a query than a three-dimensional (3D) object. Such query sketches, nevertheless, will inevitably contain defects like incomplete lines, mesh lines, overdrawn areas, missing areas, etc. Since a retrieval system’s results are only as good as the query, it is necessary to improve the query sketches.In this paper, the problem of transforming a defective CAD sketch into a defect-free sketch is addressed using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been investigated before. We first create a dataset of 534 hand-drawn sketches by tracing the boundaries of images of CAD models. We then pair the corrected sketches with their corresponding defective sketches and use them for training a C-WGAN (Conditional Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network), called SketchCleanGAN. We model the transformation from defective to defect-free sketch as a factorization of the defective input sketch and then translate it to the space of defect-free sketch. We propose a three-branch strategy to this problem. Ablation studies and comparisons with other state-of-the-art techniques demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed technique. Additionally, we also contribute to a dataset of around 58000 improved sketches using the proposed framework.

A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR IN TURKEY IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY

The construction sector is of critical importance for economic growth and employment creation. However, it also has significant environmental impacts, including high energy consumption, extensive use of natural resources, and substantial waste production. Currently, the construction sector in Turkey accounts for 35% of the country’s total energy consumption, making it a significant energy consumer. Research conducted in European Union countries indicates that buildings are responsible for 40% of total energy consumption and 36% of total CO2 emissions. It is believed that a similar situation exists in Turkey. Furthermore, the long lifespan of structures built in the sector is of great importance for sustainability. The contribution of poor-quality and unhealthy structures to environmental stress further highlights the role of the construction sector in sustainability. The study addresses the impacts of strategic goals such as the design and construction of sustainable building models, the recyclability and reuse of building materials, energy efficiency, and the reduction of CO2 emissions on the construction sector. The findings indicate that the integration of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies is crucial for the Turkish construction sector to move towards a sustainable future. In this context, it is recommended that the Turkish construction sector implement the necessary steps and engage in strategic planning in order to achieve its sustainability goals. The findings of the study emphasise the pivotal role and significance of the construction sector in this regard.

Creation of a Novel Ex Vivo 3D Printed Ileal Conduit Task Trainer for Teaching Conduitoscopy Skills

ObjectivesTo perform endoscopy in patients with urinary diversions requires specific endoscopic skills, which can currently only be gained in clinical practice. We created a 3D printed ex vivo ileal conduit model (stoma and conduit with ureters and 2 kidneys) to simulate “conduitoscopy” and evaluated the realism and limitations of the model. MethodsAccurate anatomical features were represented using an appropriate reusable design, realistic mechanical qualities with several material types, and 3D-printed components. Different models of bowel and ureters were assessed by the subject-matter experts (SME). The final ileal conduit model (Wallace 1 type anastomosis) was evaluated by 18 SMEs. ResultsMost experts gave their approval to the view of the stoma, as well as the appearance of the bowel, ureteric, and pelvicalyceal systems. A total of 72.1% of SMEs approved the ureteric endoscopic view compared to about 66% who accepted the endoscopic examination of the bowel. The model's overall appearance was good for 61.1% and excellent for 38.8% of experts. ConclusionConduitoscopy simulation training can now be facilitated using our novel and unique cutting-edge 3D printed model. We created a model that is highly anatomically accurate and workable. In our study, anatomical and visual realism was demonstrated. The next step would be increasing the length of the conduit and conduct a validation study.

Distance optimization KNN and EMD based lightweight hardware IP core design for EEG epilepsy detection

Long-term and effective detection of epileptic seizures is a crucial aspect of epilepsy monitoring and treatment. Addressing the resource overhead issue of wearable epilepsy detection devices, this paper proposes a lightweight hardware implementation scheme for epilepsy detection based on a reusable architecture empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN). Firstly, EMD is used to extract epileptic features from electroencephalogram (EEG), optimized through a reusable architecture design and sawtooth transform to reduce hardware resource usage. Subsequently, a KNN classifier with similarity judgment mechanism is designed to improve the recognition efficiency. Implemented on TSMC 65 nm process, the circuit area is 1.91 mm2, operates at 1 V and 20 MHz, with a power consumption of 4.034 mW. Evaluation on the Bonn EEG dataset yielded a classification accuracy of 96 %, sensitivity of 98 %, and a single detection delay of 1.51 ms. The hardware design offers a simple structure, high accuracy, and low resource consumption, making it suitable for wearable epilepsy detection devices.

EXPLORING THE INTEGRATION OF ADAPTIVE REUSE IN INTERIOR DESIGN: A CASE STUDY OF CALEB UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING

Adaptive reuse in interior design entails repurposing existing structures or spaces to serve new functions while preserving their architectural, cultural, and historical significance. The research explores the integration of adaptive reuse principles in interior design at Caleb University to address the recognized need for comprehensive understanding and guidance in effectively implementing adaptive reuse within educational institutions. The qualitative study employed interviews and on-site observations to explore adaptive reuse in interior design within Caleb University's administrative building, aiming to gain insights from stakeholders and document physical spaces, behaviours, and interactions, analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings of the qualitative study on adaptive reuse in Caleb University's administrative building reveal strategies focused on preserving historical context, integrating modern functionality, optimizing space utilization, enhancing user experience, and prioritizing cost-effectiveness within interior design, showcasing a comprehensive approach to sustainable adaptation and transformation. In conclusion, Caleb University's adaptive reuse integration in its administrative building exemplifies a holistic sustainability approach, balancing heritage preservation with modern functionality and financial prudence, offering a model for resilient built environments in educational settings and beyond. Keywords: Adaptive Reuse, Caleb University, Interior Design, Interior Space, Repurpose

Towards an effective approach for composition of model transformations

Model Driven Engineering (MDE) adoption in the industry suffers from many technical and non-technical problems. One of the significant technical problems lies in the difficulty of building complex transformations from the composition of small and reusable transformations. Another problem resides in developing transformations from scratch in case they are missing. In this paper, we present an approach to how to handle these issues. The approach allows composing reusable transformations to build more complex ones by providing a catalog of prebuilt transformations targeting common architectures, frameworks, and design patterns. To give guidance and simplify the task of developing new transformations, we describe a platform description model of an entire system or a part of it in two views: a UML profile and a set of transformations. We also present three transformation types, each of which handles different abstraction design concerns. Generic transformations are small and reusable to build complex transformations, system-independent transformations are reusable and implement high-level design decisions, and system-specific transformations are not reusable and implement all design decisions needed for a given system. The approach is implemented as a plugin for a UML modeling tool and validated by developing a system that simulates the behavior of a gas station through model transformations built from the composition of reusable transformations.

A Collaborative Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Framework for the Adaptive Reuse Design of Disused Railways

With an increasing focus on sustainable development and the reuse of disused infrastructure, there is a pressing need for effective decision-making methods. This study explored the use of the PROMETHEE method within a collaborative decision-making framework to assess the adaptive reuse options for a disused railway in Sicily, Italy. Using a participatory paradigm, the research actively involves stakeholders in the assessment process. The collaborative PROMETHEE approach acts as a tool for multi-criteria decision analysis, facilitating the comparison and prioritization of different reuse alternatives based on predefined criteria. The research highlights the effectiveness of PROMETHEE in streamlining decision-making processes for adaptive reuse efforts, particularly in the context of integrated conversions of abandoned railways. By combining multi-criteria decision analysis with collaborative methods, the study contributed to the formulation of sustainable and socially responsible strategies for the valorization of disused railway infrastructure. The results underline the importance of collaborative decision-making processes and the instrumental role of PROMETHEE in assisting stakeholders in evaluating and selecting adaptive reuse options for disused railways, thereby, in turn, promoting the sustainable development of these sites.

Design for Disassembly and Reuse: A Synthesis for Timber Construction

Abstract A global demand has emerged for a paradigm shift in the construction industry. In favour of sustainable practices, there is an increasing focus on timber applications. In this context, both academics and practitioners have begun to explore ways to implement new strategies leading to circular use, such as Design for Disassembly and Reuse (DfD&R). This paper aims to investigate scientific publications reporting on recent and emerging debates and practices in the field of DfD&R with a focus on timber construction. For this purpose, a meta-synthesis of a systematic literature review was used. This procedure allowed the collection, classification, and critical appraisal of 71 scientific articles published over the last two decades. By categorising the articles into main content categories and subcategories, their main approaches and methods could be systematically classified and critically analysed. The results showed what types of research are being produced, what aspects they are considering, and, within the life cycle of a building, what stages they are covering. As a result, this synthesis has highlighted the main focus in the field, leading to an understanding of the trend in recent studies. This article synthesises research in the field, contributing to the transition to circular timber building.

Effect of Passive Energy Efficiency Measures in Designing Sustainable Primary Healthcare Facilities in Nigeria

This study aims to develop a design for a sustainable healthcare centre through passive energy efficiency measures to improve the thermal comfort, cooling, lighting and ventilation requirements for primary healthcare centres in Nigeria. The methodology adopted for the study included both primary and secondary data collection. Primary data were collected from the administered questionnaire (5-point Likert scale closed-ended), a total of 350 sets of questionnaires administered and 87% were valid. A case study research strategy was adopted to ascertain the effectiveness and efficiency of building design with an emphasis on sustainable architectural design principles. A significant regression equation was revealed (F (2,257) = 33.619, p <.000, with an R2 of 0.294, which revealed that implementing passive measures for energy optimization has a significant and positive effect on designing sustainable healthcare centres. It further recommends the integration of passive design, design for deconstruction, adaptive reuse, and design for human comfort as part of architectural design principles that would result in sustainable energy optimization should be adopted in every design of primary healthcare centres by architects.

Integration of UML Class Diagrams Based on Semantics and Structure

As a high-level reuse, software design reuse has received more and more attention because of its important impact on the subsequent development stages. Usually, the design models are typically represented as some graphs or diagrams, in which Unified Modeling Language (UML) class diagram is so widely used in software design that it has become the de facto standard. There has been some research on the reuse of UML class diagrams so far, mainly focusing on matching and retrieval. However, it is worth noting that there are many similar class diagrams modeling the same object or some related class diagrams modeling different aspects of the same object in the reuse repository. As a matter of fact, the primary step to achieve a high-quality reuse is to have high-quality software artifacts, so the well-designed UML class diagrams become a necessary resource for software design reuse. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate these class diagrams so that they have stronger modeling ability, and eliminating redundancy is another benefit of the integration. Up to now, there has been little discussion about the integration of class diagrams, so we propose an integration approach based on semantics and structure in this paper. The equivalent elements that can identify the semantically merged parts are defined, and the possible conflict items are listed from both semantic and structural aspects. The integration procedure composed of three stages is proposed, in which an approach combining semantic common class diagrams (SCCDs) and structural common graph sequence (SCGS) is combined to determine the merged parts, the integration issue of heterogeneous class diagrams is considered from the proposed abstract models, and the conflict resolution for each conflict item is described by examples. The experimental results show the effectiveness of our proposed integration approach.

Design and Development of Component Library for Component-based University Orientation Management System

In the last few years, the orientation and management system of the universities has become more data-driven, information-based and intelligent. This article focuses on designing and implementing an orientation management system for universities. It analyses the actual needs of orientation work and determines the functional goals and design principles of the system. The text focuses on the design and development process of component libraries. This includes component classification, naming conventions, interface design, and re-usability and extensibility design. These aspects provide strong support for the construction of the system. This article elaborates on the methods and processes of system testing and evaluation. Comprehensive testing is conducted to verify the system’s functions and performance, ensuring that it meets actual needs. The research results presented in this article provide a constructive reference for the construction of orientation management systems in universities and lay a solid foundation for the optimization and upgrading of future systems.

Reusable energy-absorbers design harnessing snapping-through buckling of tailored multistable architected materials

Abstract Multistable metamaterials are artificially engineered materials that possess microarchitectures capable of maintaining multiple stable configurations. However, the realization of mechanical metamaterials with numerous programmable stable configurations using Double-Curved Beam (DCB) elements remains an ongoing challenge. In this study, we exploit the snapping-through buckling phenomenon exhibited by architected DCB structures to devise a mechanical metamaterial with a unique deformation mode, encompassing Multi-stability, Multi-path, Multi-platform, and Multi-step characteristics, hence referred to as a 4M mechanical metamaterial. By employing DCB as fundamental building block elements, architected metamaterials with two-dimensional (2D) series or parallel lattices are successfully constructed, as well as three-dimensional (3D) tubular geometries, denoted as DCB-n-m-C and DCB-n-m-M metamaterials, respectively. These metamaterials exhibit reversible energy absorption characteristics and the stiffness can be transformed from positive to negative under both small and large elastic deformations. Functional gradient design and tailored deformation capability are given by adjusting the wall thickness of each layer of double-curved beams, thereby demonstrating the multi-path deformation features inherent in 4M metamaterials. DCB-n-m-M metamaterials has multiple energy platforms in the process of snapping-through, which reflects the multi-platform characteristics of 4M metamaterial. Consequently, novel properties such as multistability, programmability, and reusable energy absorption characteristics are achieved. To comprehensively understand the mechanical response of the metamaterials, a thorough investigation into the influence of geometric parameters is conducted, including the number of polygonal edges, the number of the layers, and the aspect ratio Q. This investigation involves a combination of theoretical analyses, numerical simulations, and experimental verifications. The introduced design strategy paves a way for the innovative design of multistable, multi-step, tailored, and reversible deformation metamaterials.

Surveying factors that influence healthcare personnel in the transition to reusable surgical gowns

AbstractThis study surveyed 190 healthcare professionals to examine attitudes towards reusable surgical gowns, aiming to reduce medical waste. Comfort (scoring 5.32 out of 7) and misconceptions about gowns serving as personal protective equipment (87% hold this belief) are crucial influencers. External motivators, trust, emotions, and workload also impact perceptions. The study recommends enhancing reusable gown design for comfort, multifunctionality, and hygiene trust. It calls for communication strategies to normalise reusables in healthcare and urges a transition to sustainable practices.

Beyond Preservation: Heritage as an Educational Practice Process at 141 Neil Road, Singapore

Over the past two decades, the concept of heritage has been significantly broadened, with an increasing number of scholars viewing it not as a set of static objects with fixed meanings but as a social process consciously endowed with commemorative functions through human creation. This research illustrates and empirically supports this perspective through a case study. Initially, the paper reviews the development of the heritage concept through the literature review and elaborates on the idea of “heritage as process”. Subsequently, it examines Singapore’s enriching exploration and successful implementation of heritage conservation, particularly since 2000, when the local government shifted from preserving historical buildings to a comprehensive conservation strategy that embraces a sense of place, identity, and memory and encourages a bottom-up participatory approach. Finally, this paper takes the transformation of the century-old townhouse at 141 Neil Road in Singapore as its focus. After being renovated into an urban architectural heritage conservation laboratory, the house has gradually become a place of heritage on Neil Road by training professionals’ construction skills, transforming its function, introducing technological explorations, and enhancing public interaction. This process has developed the abilities of heritage conservation professionals in desktop research, reuse design, and practical construction skills while simultaneously promoting community participation and heightening awareness of heritage conservation among local residents. Through daily practices, this historical townhouse gradually became a place of heritage on Neil Road, exemplifying the research theme that “heritage is a comprehensive and dynamic practice encompassing social, cultural, and technological dimensions”. From being preserved for renovation in 2020 to being approved as a “Heritage Show House” by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in 2023, the case of 141 Neil Road offers a new perspective in the heritage conservation field that “heritage is always in the process of becoming, rather than a constant given”.

A Comparison of Internal Mandrel Designs for Rotary Draw Bend Forming of Carbon-fibre/Thermoplastic (PA6) Tubular Structures

Carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic tubular structures can be post-formed into desired curvatures via rotary draw bending (RDB) at elevated temperatures. During this process, a rigid internal mandrel is required to support the walls of the tubes to maintain their ovality and minimise unwanted geometrical distortions. This paper investigates four internal mandrel designs for post-forming carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 6 (CF/PA6) thermoplastic tubes. Mandrel designs include silicone rod, bullet, wire, and coil spring, were evaluated through RDB-forming experiments with [± 60°]4 CF/PA6 tubes formed to 90° bends. The designs were evaluated for their effectiveness on minimising distortions resulted from induced stresses during post-forming by measuring the post-formed tube diameter and extrados strains. The mandrel designs were also evaluated for their usability when integrated into the RDB process. Results from optical measurements and micro-computed tomography showed the spring mandrel outperformed others, producing tubes with the least geometrical distortions and no defects during the forming process. As compared to other designs, the spring mandrel is a reusable unibody design that is easy to assemble and remove from the tubes.