Floor Space Research Articles

Rapid ammonia build-up in small individually ventilated mouse cages cannot be overcome by adjusting the amount of bedding

We sought to investigate if varying levels of bedding had an effect on intra-cage ammonia levels in individually ventilated mouse cages (Euro Standard Types II and III). Employing a routine 2 week cage-changing interval, our goal is to keep ammonia levels under 50 ppm. In smaller cages used for breeding or for housing more than four mice, we measured problematic levels of intra-cage ammonia, and a considerable proportion of these cages had ammonia levels at more than 50 ppm toward the end of the cage-change cycle. These levels were not reduced significantly when the levels of absorbent wood chip bedding was either increased or decreased by 50%. The mice in both cage types II and III were housed at comparable stocking densities, yet ammonia levels in larger cages remained lower. This finding highlights the role of cage volume, as opposed to simply the floor space, in controlling air quality. With the current introduction of newer cage designs that employ an even smaller headspace, our study urges caution. With individually ventilated cages, problems with intra-cage ammonia may go undetected, and we may opt to utilize insufficient cage-changing intervals. Few modern cages have been designed to account for the amounts and types of enrichment that are used (and, in parts of the world, mandated) today, adding to the problems associated with decreasing cage volumes.

Operational space efficiency (OpSE): a structured metric to evaluate the efficient use of space in industrial workstations

PurposeThis paper proposes a new metric, named Operational Space Efficiency (OpSE), intended to diagnose and quantify the inefficient use of floor space for stocking materials in industrial workstations. OpSE presents a formulation analogous to the well-known Overall Equipment Effectiveness and can be obtained as the product of three distinct indicators: Standard Compliance Effectiveness, Standards Selection Effectiveness and Design Space-usage Effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThis indicator scrutinizes how usefully floor space in workstations is used to temporarily stock materials in the form of raw materials, semi-finished products, parts and components. It is suited for analyzing fixed-position layouts as well as product layouts typical of repetitive manufacturing settings, such as assembly lines in the automotive sector. The proposed indicator leverages an appropriate loss structure that features those factors affecting floor space utilization in workstations with regard to supplying and stocking materials.FindingsAn Italian manufacturer in the field of electro-technology was used as an industrial case study for the application of the methodology. The application shows how the three indicators work in practice, the effectiveness of OpSE and the methodology as a whole, in diagnosing floor space usage inefficiencies and in properly addressing improvement actions of the internal logistics in industrial settings.Originality/valueThe paper scrutinizes some important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) dealing with space usage efficiency and identifies some significant drawbacks. Then it suggests a new, inclusive structure of losses and a KPI that not only measures efficiency but also allows to identify viable countermeasures.

Gender and Age Influence on Energy Consumption in A Selected Malaysian Office Building

Due to the fact that the majority of large buildings are being built in densely populated urban areas, Malaysian buildings use more energy per square metre of floor space than those in the majority of other nations. The researcher and intervention designer will be able to determine the impact of each social parameter on the building energy performance with the aid of their understanding of how and which social parameters contribute to building energy performance. The energy consumption profiles may include gender and age-related variables. When taking into account the correlation between age and energy consumption, this study sheds light on energy consumption and gender. The purpose of this study is to determine the connection between gender, age, and the amount of energy used in an office building. After that, it will go into how this group may be a springboard for fresh, energy-saving techniques that will ultimately benefit everyone. Using a combination of statistical and neural network methods, 1,116 samples from 13 office building locations across 150-day periods were assessed. Large amounts of data are difficult to evaluate using simply traditional statistical approaches, thus neural networks are employed to model and analyse these data sets. The study's findings imply that gender and age play a role in how efficiently a building uses energy. The findings show that women spend much more energy than men, and that the most significant age groups for energy consumption are those under 30 and those between 41 and 50 years old.

Stocking density, ambient temperature, and group size affectsocial behavior, productivity and reproductivity of goats- A review.

The stocking density (animal/area, SD) is one of the significant factors that influence the welfare and performance of animals. However, there are discrepancies in the recommended SD for fiber, meat, and dairy goats, which means farming practices and welfare standards for goats should be better defined. Therefore, this review article sheds light on 1) some differences between goats and sheep. 2) the geographical distribution of fiber, meat type, and dairy goat populations. 3) effects of interaction between SD and group size on social, feeding, and aggressive behaviors. 4) the effects of SD on meat and milk production. 5) the relationship between SD and reproductive performance. In conclusion, the larger space allowance with access to an outdoor yard can improve species-specific behaviors and meat and milk yield. Moreover, goats are more sensitive to high SD (less than 3 m2/ goat), especially during the last stage of the gestation period. Allowing optimal floor space for each breed is important to avoid the undesired behavioral response. Conclusively, improving the housing aspects, including floor space and enrichment tools, would assist in implementing welfare-economic production standards for goats.

Cage restriction‐induced physical inactivity promotes subsequent hepatic apoptosis during tail suspension in young male rats

This study investigated the impact of long-term physical inactivity on hepatic cytoprotective- and inflammatory-related protein expressions in young rats and the subsequent apoptotic response during microgravity stress simulated by tail suspension. Four-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to the control (CT) and physical inactivity (IN) groups. The floor space of the cages provided to the IN group was reduced to half of that provided to the CT group. After 8 weeks, rats in both groups (n = 6-7) underwent tail suspension. Their livers were harvested immediately before (0 day) or 1, 3, and 7 days after tail suspension. Levels of hepatic heat shock protein 72 (HSP72), an anti-apoptotic protein, reduced over 7 days of tail suspension in the IN group than in the CT group (p < 0.01). Fragmented nucleosomes in the cytoplasmic fraction of the liver, an apoptotic index, were drastically increased by physical inactivity and tail suspension, and this change was significantly greater after 7 days of tail suspension in the IN group than in the CT group (p < 0.01). The apoptotic response was accompanied by the upregulation of pro-apoptotic proteins (cleaved caspase-3 and -7). Moreover, the levels of other pro-apoptotic proteins (tumor necrosis factor-1α and histone deacetylase 5) were also significantly higher in the IN than in the CT group (p < 0.05). Our results indicated that 8 weeks of physical inactivity decreased hepatic HSP72 levels and promoted hepatic apoptosis during the subsequent 7 days of tail suspension.

Reasonable kitchen space for urban residences: based on an investigation in Beijing

ABSTRACT Undersized space in kitchens remains a widespread and enduring problem in urban residences in China. However, no consensus exists on the area a satisfactory kitchen should take up and the causes of an undersized kitchen are still not sufficiently understood. This study examined reasonable spatial indices for kitchen design from the perspective of user satisfaction, based on 80 kitchens selected from multi-family residences in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Data were collected using on-site measurement and face-to-face questionnaires, including spatial features, household structure, cooking habits, possession of appliances and residents’ binary judgement about the kitchen area. Factors associated with residents’ kitchen area perception were explored using correlation analysis, while the reasonable design indices were proposed by scatter diagram analysis. This study confirmed the influence of floor space and width of the kitchen and recommends 5.11–6.10 m2 and 1.71–2.00 m as a reasonable scope for the respective dimensions. It also demonstrates that the area requirement increased in families with higher cooking frequency and decreased in youthful households and suggests that the accommodation of the refrigerator and large appliances should be considered in kitchen area allocation.

Pareto Optimal Solution of a Fuzzy Newsboy Problem

In this paper, a multi-item classical newsboy problem is formulated, occurring both fuzziness and randomness with floor space constraint. Here, the demand is considered as a random variable in fuzzy sense and also the purchase cost, salvage value, and selling price are fuzzy numbers. Initially, a method is explained for solving such a problem by using the minimization of a FN by Buckley [Buckley, JJ (2003). Fuzzy probabilities: New approach and applications]. Then the fuzzy programming technique, [Formula: see text]-constraint, and the weighted sum methods are applied to handle the multiobjective programming problem. The basic idea for transforming the fuzzy stochastic programming problem into a deterministic equivalent has been discussed. Finally, the deterministic model is solved by the LINGO package and is illustrated numerically.

Urban Transformation and Associated Emerging Urban Forms: An Examination of Physical Density from Planning Interventions Perspective

Rapid urbanization frequently results in unanticipated morphological traits that could have multifaceted consequences, especially in the urban physical transformation of cities in developing countries. This study aimed to examine these spatial transformation events and identify the related emergent urban forms in the morphogenesis of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia from the perspective of plan-led and spontaneous developments. The researchers conducted a thorough on-site investigation to gather the necessary physical information and supplemented it with a desk review and focus group discussion. We utilized the Spacematrix software to examine the data and pinpoint the evolving urban structures from different time periods. Overall, the research demonstrated that point-type low-rise development dominated organically developed sites, whereas plan-driven developments were dominated by block-type low-rise and block-type midrise forms. Furthermore, except for outlying areas, there has been a rising trend in the floor space index and spatial coverage patterns over the course of the city’s morphological eras. This may indicate a growing concern for space efficiency and sustainable development. The density of the street network in organically developed portions, on the other hand, was greater than that in formally planned areas. This shows the relevance of considering the concept behind organic development in planning and designing interventions besides the formal western planning philosophy.

A case study of the impact of regional knowledge services and management on regional economic development

Background. Knowledge can give an important contribution to local economic development, but the correlation between library activities and local economic development has not been clarified yet. The purpose of this investigation is to discuss the correlations between library output measures and regional economic measures.Methodology. The raw data obtained via the website of the National Bureau of Statistics of China have been analyzed by correlation coefficient calculations and multivariate regressions. Results and discussion. It was found that there are significant positive correlations between the data of the regional public libraries such as the collections of public libraries owned per person, the total number of circulation of public libraries, the Number of Seats of Reading Room in Public Libraries, the Floor Space of Buildings of Public Libraries Owned per 10000 Population, the Number of Lectures in Public Libraries and the data of their economic development. Linear relationships between library activities and the gross regional product of the five provinces in China and one of China’s direct-controlled municipalities were observed after multivariate regressions were performed on the data.Conclusions. It can be concluded that economic development can benefit the development of libraries, and better education or a more educated population has resulted in more library use. The correlation analysis and multivariate regression analysis can be developed as a new way to measure the societal value of public libraries orientated for economic development or other targets.

Timetable and roadmap for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality of China's building sector

Carbon mitigation effectiveness in the building sector profoundly determines the achievement of the “Dual carbon” target. However, the timetable and roadmap for the building sector to achieve such a target are still lacking. This study constructs a STIRPAT-PLS model framework to clarify the impact of the key factors from various dimensions on building carbon emissions across sub-sectors. Then, a dynamic scenario simulation model is established and applied in China to explore the dynamic evolutionary paths, and the timetable and roadmap are ultimately formulated. The results show that building sector will probably peak at 2.99 (± 0.09) Gt CO2 in 2036 (± 1). Rural residential buildings will peak earliest in 2026 (± 1), followed by urban residential and commercial buildings: in 2036 (± 2) and 2038 (± 1). Achieving carbon neutrality will require the building sector to peak its carbon emissions in 2026 with 2.16–2.40 Gt CO2. The remaining 0.56–0.81 Gt CO2 by 2060 will be offset by negative carbon technologies. Dynamic sensitivity analysis shows that building floor space per capita and energy intensity significantly promote the emission peaks, and population and building floor space per capita markedly impact the peaking times. This study can promote the development of the theory and model for carbon emissions prediction. It can also offer a scientific basis for governments to set effective carbon-reduction targets and paths.

Exploring the use of dual-processing in commercial property development decision-making under conditions of risk and uncertainty

PurposeCommercial property development builds floor space in anticipation of potential, but unknown, future demand, making it particularly prone to risk and uncertainty. The research explores the degree to which property developer decision-making is objective and rational and the degree to which it relies on behavioural instincts and intuition. Decision-making theory, including heuristics, is considered and its prevalence in the field of commercial property development is examined.Design/methodology/approachA “dual-processing” decision-making model, comprising intuitive System 1 and objective System 2 processing, is proposed and tested. Inductive research using template analysis of interviews, with “high status” commercial property developers, explored whether the model offers an accurate representation of developers' behaviour and effective lens through which to examine decisions made under conditions of risk and uncertainty.FindingsParticipants believed they adopted objective and rational approaches to complex commercial property development decisions. Analysis of interviews reveals that System 1 heuristics and intuition play significant roles in decision-making behaviour, leading to potential bias and systematic error. The research concludes that the dual-processing model provides a useful lens through which to better understand the decision-making approach adopted by commercial property developers.Originality/valueThe research represents the rare application of behavioural theory to the realm of commercial property development and provides new and original insight as to how important investment decisions are made under conditions of risk and uncertainty, with implications for professional practice.

Transient optimization of a new solar-wind multi-generation system for hydrogen production, desalination, clean electricity, heating, cooling, and energy storage using TRNSYS

In the current study, a renewable system with two potential wind and solar energies for electricity production, cooling, and heating has been investigated. The proposed system included reverse osmosis, heat pumps, fuel cell subsystems, wind turbines, photovoltaic/thermal panel units, battery storage, and a hydrogen storage tank. Given Iran's high potential for renewable energy, a performance analysis of six cities, Esfahan, Zanjan, Bandar Anzali, Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, and Tabriz was done to determine where the proposed power plant should be located. Six decision factors were analyzed for system performance: solar panel angle, solar panel count, wind turbine count, cooling capacity, heating capacity, and fuel cell power. The findings demonstrate that the number of solar panels, wind turbines, and fuel cells significantly influences power, fuel consumption, and system costs. Finally, the outcomes were analyzed by the Response surface method to choose the best system that can satisfy the demand for residential units for one year. To evaluate the effectiveness of the suggested method, a 100-unit apartment building with a 196-square-meter floor space was considered. The results also showed that the combination of hydrogen units and battery storage reduced variations in supply and demand and correctly stabilized the stored energy during a drop in output. The suggested system has a life cycle cost of 674278.4$/h and the capacity to generate 225694.8 kWh of surplus power for residential units with a thermal comfort index. According to the optimization results, the system's optimal panel count was 106, the optimal angle was 26°, the optimal fuel cell power was 65.6 kW, the ideal wind turbine count was 24, the ideal heating capacity was 20.2 kW, and the optimal cooling capacity was 48.7 kW.

Microclimate analysis of high-density urban residential open enclosures: A case of Thane, India

Urban heat island produces a significant impact by modifying the microclimate in urban areas. To ensure good quality of life with a safe and healthy built environment, the floor space index (FSI) can be an effective tool. It helps to control the urban densities and shape the morphology of the built environment. Taking the case of typical residential development in a densely populated Indian city, an attempt has been made to explore the relationship between FSI and the microclimate of such open spaces that perform like an open enclosure (OE). Adopting the simulation pathway in ENVI-met, a mathematical relationship is established between an important tool used by urban planners and the variables of the microclimate in a typical urban enclosure. The observations indicate that FSI has a strong negative correlation with air temperature and mean radiant temperature. Evaluation of physiological equivalent temperature reveals a similar relationship with FSI, demonstrating a temporal transposition of the trend for a particular FSI range of 2.5-3.5 in the late evening and early morning hours due to high humidity levels and reduced wind speeds. The study will help the planners to prognosticate the microclimatic variables while working out the data-based, logical and well-evaluated future development control regulations.

Why are adaptive facades not widely used in practice? Identifying ecological and economical benefits with life cycle assessment

The challenges concerning climate change require innovative approaches. Adaptive façades (AF) represent a promising approach, as making the façade adaptable brings several benefits such as less energy usage or increased comfort. Nevertheless, they are not widely used in practice, since the known advantages/motivators appeal in particular to stakeholders who have little involvement in the decision-making of the design process and entail compromises to stakeholders who do. In this article it is shown that besides the known advantages and compromises of AF, there are further motivators for stakeholders with high decision-making power. In a case study, a building with typical centralized ventilation is compared with a building where an AF with an integrated ventilation system was installed to substitute the centralized ventilation system. This results in a lower building height and corresponding weight of the construction, as the central duct system can be eliminated. 3 m of building height and up to 340 tons of material can be saved, which results in avoided impact on climate change of 110 tons CO2-eqviv. (−7%). During utilization, 615 tons of CO2-eqviv. Can be avoided. The lifecycle costs can be reduced by 485,000 € while the rentable floor space can be increased by 4%.

Fan-noise reduction of data centre telecommunications’ server racks, with an acoustic metamaterial broadband, low-frequency sound-absorbing liner

An acoustic metamaterial is evaluated successfully as a means to reduce axial fan noise in an IT server rack application. The continuing growth in demand for cloud-based memory storage is outpacing sustainable energy management which still requires the axial fan as a fundamental component in temperature control technologies. As chip temperatures increase, additional numbers of more powerful fans are required to run faster with the result that data centres have become unsafe working environments due to the acoustic output exceeding prescribed occupational noise level limits. Noise isolation using soundproof cabinets is expensive and impractical in data centres which seek to reduce floor space and communication losses. Instead, in this work, a 15 mm deep acoustic liner solution is proposed being the approach taken in the aeronautics sector to reduce aeroengine noise which, similarly, is a flow duct problem. The acoustic metamaterial adopted here is the recently developed Segmented Membrane Sound Absorber (SeMSA) which can be tailored for low frequency, broadband and tonal noise in a thin form-factor and which can be used in a grazing flow configuration. An equivalent circuit model developed for the SeMSA allows its design to be optimised to attenuate a typical server fan’s frequency spectrum. An array of manufactured rectangular SeMSA cells was embedded in a “deflector plate”, which is an existing component in a server rack. The deflector plate was implemented in a custom-built fan sound power rig, tested in an hemi-anechoic chamber and compared to a hardwall case and to PU foam. A relative overall decrease of 2.5 dBA was achieved for the SeMSA deflector plate liner which corresponds to a 43.9% decrease in overall sound emissions, which using a material thickness of only 15 mm, signifies an almost twofold increase in the time required for hearing damage to occur. A 3 dBA drop was achieved at the blade passing frequency of 620 Hz, while relative drops of 1–2.5 dBA were achieved from 2000–8000 Hz.

A Fast Method for Identifying Room Configurations from Unit Boundaries in Existing Residential Buildings

Prediction of interior room layout from observations on the exterior boundaries of a unit is sometimes needed in cases of emergencies when unit entry is denied. Seeing that 3D laser scanners are becoming smaller, lighter, and easier to carry around, this paper attempts to offer a fast method that can automatically reconstruct a room model relying merely on the 3D point cloud of the unit boundaries. The method first partitions the building floor space to generate the so-called “room seeds” from the intersections of lines that are extended from the detected wall segments. Then, the grammar approach compares different possible room configurations through a trial-and-error process to find the most possible one. The proposed method is tested on a real residential building case for validation. The proposed method may be useful in emergent cases when exact floor plans are not available. The method can be extended to other Manhattan-type buildings as long as the grammar rules are settled.

Research on the Optimization and Application of the Washing Dechlorination Process for Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash.

In this paper, the fly ash cyclic gradient washing dechlorination process is systematically studied through experiments, and the effects of process parameters such as liquid-solid ratio, the number of leaching, and process pulping on the dechlorination effect of fly ash are investigated and analyzed with the currently operating three-stage counter-current washing dechlorination process. The experimental results indicate that with the liquid-solid ratio of 3:1, the number of leaching of 4, and the primary process pulping, the chlorine content of washing fly ash is reduced to 0.5-0.6%. The Baume degree in the washing filtrate is increased to 11-12 °Bé, the total amount is reduced by about 15%, and the average turbidity value is ≤5NTU. Meanwhile, the moisture content of the washing fly ash is reduced to 28-30%. By comparing with the actual construction project, it is found that under a disposal capacity of 100 t/d, the cyclic gradient washing dechlorination process can reduce the installed power by 30.3%, the floor space by 32.9%, the treatment volume of washing filtrate by 11.1%, and the drying load by 27.9% compared to the traditional three-stage counter-current washing and dechlorination process.

A new children's hospital with a larger floor space, single rooms, and V-shaped ward design: A pre-post evaluation of nurse time providing patient care and nurse, patient, and family experiences.

The impact of hospital building design on patients, families and nurses related to nursing care interactions is not well understood. This study reports a pre-post intervention study to understand the effects of the move to a new children's hospital in Perth, Australia, on nurse workflow activities and on patient, family, and nurse experiences. We used a pre-post explanatory sequential design involving observation of nurse work tasks; measurement of the Practice Environment Scale and Nurse Work Index; weekly surveys of nurse, patient and family experiences; and nurse focus groups and interviews with patients and families. Survey data were analysed using linear regression; qualitative data analysis used a thematic approach. Nurse time spent walking almost doubled (p < 0.001), from an estimated 10 min at T1 (pre-move) to around 20 min at T4 (12 months post-move), but there was no difference in nurse time providing patient care (p = 0.114). The Practice Environment Scale and Nurse Work Index showed significantly reduced scores for nursing foundations for quality of care (adjusted mean difference -0.08, p = 0.016) and staffing and resource adequacy (adjusted mean difference -0.19, p < 0.001).This fall was mirrored in nurse experience surveys with a reduction in mean scores from T1 to T3 (3 months post-move) of -0.7 (p < 0.001) and from T1 to T4 of -0.4 (p = 0.002). Thematic analysis of qualitative data found that initial challenges appeared to reduce over time. Nurses reported difficulties managing workflow in the new wards and feelings of exhaustion at T3, but this changed to more positive accounts at T4. For patients and families there was a tension between leaving the old and familiar, enjoying the light and space of the new and shared observations that nurses appeared to be busier at T3. At T4, these experiences had changed to 'being a family in hospital' and confidence that a nurse was always close by. Both benefits and challenges of the new hospital design were encountered from the perspective of nurses, patients, and families. Nurses spent double the time walking in the new environment, but time spent providing patient care was unchanged. Over time, the initial practice challenges reduced as nurses adapted to working in the new environment. ACTRN12618000775213.

Economic analysis of crossbred (Landrace × Desi) pig reared under different floor space allowances

Present experiment was conducted to study the relative economics of crossbred (Landrace×Desi) pigs with thirty six crossbred barrows reared under 3 different floor space allowances (n=12 each) having group size of 4 pigs/pen. One group (TIS) was provided floor space as per Indian Standards (0.9, 1.35 and 1.8 m2/pig for weaner, grower and finisher stages, respectively) specifications, while other two groups with 33% (T2/3) and 50% (T1/2) reduced floor space allowances. Only covered floor area was provided for all the groups. Different parameters analyzed during the study involved growth, feed conversion efficiency, requirement of water and labour for floor washing, and some other economic variables. Pigs were reared up to 28 weeks of age. Relative economics of pig rearing for three floor space allocation groups was calculated using partial budget analysis. Major performance traits, i.e. average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion efficiency (FCE) did not differ significantly among the groups. Although body weights of T2/3 and T1/2 groups were marginally higher than TIS group. In contrary to minor savings of labour, large quantity of water was saved in T1/2 and T2/3 groups (805.4 liters/pig and 400.1 liters/pig, respectively) than TIS group between weaner and finisher stages. Additionally, input costs of ₹` 145 and ` ₹ 96 per pig was saved by providing floor space as per T1/2 and T2/3 groups, respectively than TIS group. It can be concluded that economic gains were maximum in 50% floor space reduction group without adverse effect on performance traits of crossbred pigs.

High-Efficiency Pre-Treatment Core Tube for Produced Water in the Main Cavity Coupled with Secondary Cavities and Its Application in the Bohai Heavy Oilfield

Improving the produced fluid yield is an effective measure for realizing the crude oil production capacity of offshore platforms. However, for offshore platforms employed in production, using the narrow space of the platform to expand the produced water treatment system is a significant problem. In this study, a highly efficient pre-treatment core tube was coupled with the main cavity and secondary cavities (MCSCs) based on a vane-type tubular separator and a cub-mother cyclone. The optimal inlet Reynolds number and processing capacity were determined according to the structure size of the MCSC, and the MCSC was applied to achieve highly efficient pre-treatment of produced water in a heavy oilfield in the Bohai Sea. The comprehensive evaluation indicators FA and FV were better than those used by current technology. When the influent oil content fluctuated around 2000 mg/L (average of 1772.81 mg/L), the oil content in the effluent was stable and below 200 mg/L (average of 106.44 mg/L), and the separation efficiency was nearly 94%. Compared to those of the current corrugated plate interceptor on the platform, the floor space was reduced by more than 60% and the separation efficiency increased by up to 65%.