Conceptual Design Stage Research Articles

A BIM-integrated Thailand building energy code framework for building envelope thermal requirements in a conceptual design stage

This work presents the development of a building energy code (BEC) of Thailand compliance framework during conceptual design stages (CDS) using building information modeling (BIM) through visual programming language (VPL). The proposed method included five steps: (i) establish a commercial building reference; (ii) develop a BIM base model; (iii) create a BIM overall thermal transfer value (OTTV) and roof thermal transfer value (RTTV) calculation model with VPL scripts; (iv) test the BIM framework with various scenarios; and (v) verify the results with Thailand BEC software. The findings revealed an insignificant difference between the results from the BIM calculation model and those estimated by the Thailand BEC software. This study demonstrated that using BIM with VPL for OTTV and RTTV calculations during the CDS may be implemented automatically, which could help designers make timely decisions to comply with Thailand’s BEC, considering building design, materials, and fenestration ratios.

Overall plan optimization of BWB UAV based on comprehensive evaluation

Based on the shape and performance characteristics of the wing-body fusion layout UAV, a multidisciplinary comprehensive analysis model, comprehensive evaluation model and optimization model suitable for the overall scheme of the UAV in the conceptual design stage are established, and the corresponding tools are developed. The geometric, weight, aerodynamic and stealth characteristics of the overall scheme of the wing-body fusion layout UAV are analyzed by combining numerical analysis and engineering methods. The improved TOPSIS method is used to establish a comprehensive evaluation model from the perspective of the loading capacity, economy and adaptability of the UAV. The rationality of the analysis model is verified by taking multiple UAV schemes as examples. Using the parallel subset simulation optimization algorithm, the traditional multi-objective optimization is completed with the maximum cruise lift-to-drag ratio and the minimum forward RCS as the goal, and the scheme optimization based on comprehensive evaluation is completed with the strongest competitiveness as the goal. Based on all the schemes generated by the multi-objective optimization process, the parameter correlation analysis is completed, and the influence of the span, sweep angle and twist angle on the aerodynamic and stealth characteristics is verified. The RCS of the final multi-objective optimization scheme is reduced 41.6%, and the cruise lift-to-drag ratio is improved 3.5% ; the competitiveness score of the comprehensive evaluation optimization scheme is improved 44.0%.

SCENOGRAPHY DESIGN IN A DIRECTOR’S ARTISTIC PRACTICE

The paper describes a methodology of designing scenography for a contemporary theatrical performance in the academic process. The systematic approach to artistic visualisation of a performance, modernisation of its structure, selection of scenography functions, style and type of design widen the range of the director’s interaction with the audience as well as contributes to effective management of the creative process from the stage of the artistic concept design through to its implementation. The method of depicting compositional schemes to design action development helps individual types of art interweave with the director’s concept, develop creative thinking and cope with numerous management challenges. Designing diverse parts of staging paves the way to developing students’ skills of comprehending the processes of integration of arts and technologies. The “directing scenographic concept” method contributes to the integration of the director’s and the artist’s professional activities, helps to express a creative idea in a groundbreaking form, and turns into an effective tool of innovative design and management of a theatrical performance.

Simplified modeling study of the forward fuselage structure based on the overall structural rapid design software for civil aircraft

Abstract In order to solve the problems of poor weight estimation accuracy and difficult layout design trade-offs in the concept demonstration and overall program definition stage of civil aircraft, Aircraft Layout, a civil aircraft overall program structure rapid design software, is used to establish a numerical calculation-based layout program rapid design simulation platform. Based on the forward fuselage structure, this paper gives the results of rapid modeling and finite element simulation and analysis of the forward fuselage isotropic section of a certain type of aircraft, which provides a reference for the optimization design of the structural components of the forward fuselage section of a certain type of aircraft in the conceptual scheme design stage.

A Hybrid Prototype Method Combining Physical Models and Generative Artificial Intelligence to Support Creativity in Conceptual Design

Conceptual design is an essential stage in the design process, and its ultimate success largely depends on designers’ creativity. Both physical and digital prototypes are commonly adopted by designers to support ideation and creativity, providing intuitive perception and rapid iteration, respectively. In recent advancements, large-scale generation models are able to offer data-enabled creativity support by generating high-quality solutions comparable to human designers. This opens up an imaginary space for designers and brings new possibilities for design tools. In this study, we proposed a hybrid prototype method that synergistically combines physical models and generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the conceptual design stage. Correspondingly, we developed a hybrid prototype system to implement the proposed method. We conducted a comparative user study with 45 designers who completed a design task using the physical prototype method, standalone generative AI, and the hybrid prototype method, respectively. Our results verified the effectiveness of the hybrid prototype method and investigated its mechanism in supporting creativity. Finally, we discussed the application value and optimisation space of the hybrid prototype method.

An efficient multi-fidelity simulation approach for performance prediction of adaptive cycle engines

Adaptive cycle engine (ACE) with multi-stream, modulated bypass ratio, and high-thrust/high-efficiency mode provides the capability of multiple mission adaptation for the next-generation aviation propulsion system. The low-fidelity zero-dimensional (0D) performance simulation method is commonly adopted in conventional engines such as turbofan and turbojet. However, it is hard to accommodate well to ACE with complex variable geometry schemes and strong interaction between components. This paper presents an efficient multi-fidelity simulation approach, often referred to as component zooming, for predicting the performance of ACE with the three-stream configuration. The one-dimensional (1D) mean-line models of the adaptive fan and low-pressure turbine (LPT) are integrated into the 0D ACE model by the iteratively-coupled method. The performance predicted by the multi-fidelity ACE models with different component zooming strategies is compared. The maximum deviations of thrust, specific fuel consumption, turbine inlet temperature, and bypass ratio between the 0D/1D Adaptive Fan/1D LPT coupled model and 0D ACE model are −10.8%, −4.4%, −5.4% (−75 K), and 1.6%, respectively, which are considerable and non-negligible for the application in the design stage of ACE. The computing time of all the multi-fidelity models is less than 2 minutes. The effects of the key aerodynamic parameters of the adaptive fan and LPT on the engine performance are also evaluated. The proposed approach provides a generic and efficient solution for multi-fidelity ACE performance prediction with acceptable computing resource requirements and time cost, which is applicable in the engine conceptual and preliminary design stage.

Lumos: AI-driven prompt optimisation tool for assisting conceptual design

AI drawing tools, which rely on high-quality prompts to guide and refine the creative process, have the potential to enhance efficiency and quality during the conceptual design stage. However, addressing the inherent accuracy issues of AI is crucial. This study explores the efficiency and usability of integrating AI drawing with prompt optimisation tools and introduces a GPT-based prompt optimisation tool for validation. Experiment results indicate that, during the divergent thinking stage of concept design, both junior and senior designers using this tool reduced their average time consumption by 35.6% and 21.6%, respectively. Expert evaluations of the generated images reveal higher selection rates for images produced after prompt optimisation with this tool compared to those generated using natural language. These findings underscore the tool's potential to boost productivity and improve the usability of generated images, thereby expanding designers’ imaginative boundaries and enhancing their ability to leverage AI for streamlined workflows.

Optimizing the cost of the STEP programme.

The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme is a world-leading fusion power plant programme that has embedded a cost conscience in its design from the early phases. This firmly addresses the attitude of cost complacency of which many major infrastructure projects have historically been accused. While a detailed and highly accurate whole life cycle cost analysis is not possible, or even valuable, during the conceptual design stage, this early design phase is still the most critical programme phase where a focus on costs can drive longer term reductions and impact whole life cycle costs at the high level. Consequently, appropriate estimating methods for these early-stage designs and lessons learned from other industries are used to inform design decisions and ensure cost is part of the overall option analysis. Hence, while the overall programme cost estimate is too immature to be a reliable indicator for the final programme costs, significant effort has been undertaken to understand the major cost drivers and take action to make the STEP design as cost-effective as possible. This article is part of the theme issue 'Delivering Fusion Energy - The Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP)'.

Natural ventilation cooling effectiveness classification for building design addressing climate characteristics

The evaluation of natural ventilation potential for effective sustainable options and innovative green building design strategies is of great interest to architects, researchers and governments. From a retrospective review, we found that the potential evaluation of natural ventilation (NV) cooling effectiveness in the same category based on similar meteorological uncertainty, research objectives and objects showed significant differences. Uncertainties added and uncertainty propagation (both model form uncertainties and parameter uncertainties) could result in large discrepancies between simulation outcomes and real scenarios, especially in the design performance modeling (DPM) phase. In this conceptual design stage, a few parameters are available and therefore decisive. It is necessary to review and identify the key performance indicators and explore the extent to which deviations are caused by inconsistencies or biases in model information. As a basis for more concrete research, we propose statistical tests based on quantitative evaluations to explore the rule of natural ventilation potential volatility and identify whether there is a significant potential improvement resulting from the critical parameter enhancement with the optimal relationship. The showcase is applied in China, where there has been a significant amount of criticism regarding the current building climate zoning due to the perceived coarseness of the system and where there has been an active exploration into the possibility of redefining building climate zoning with a view toward improving its accuracy and effectiveness.

Intelligent Conceptual Design of Railway Bridge Based on Graph Neural Networks

In the conceptual design stage of railway bridge, the beam type of the bridge at the main control point must be modified repeatedly to satisfy varying requirements. Thus, the demand for design efficiency is high. However, railway bridge design relies heavily on professional knowledge and experience and is typically completed manually by senior designers, thereby requiring considerable time. An intelligent beam type recommendation algorithm named AutoDis Graph Ontology Attention Matching (AGOAM) is proposed to rapidly generate bridge design plans for railway route main control points. This method acquires the node embeddings of the main control point and beam type attribute graphs through graph neural networks (GNNs) and predicts the score of each beam type through graph matching technology. The beam type with the highest prediction score is recommended. In addition, the accuracy of the recommendation results is improved through ontology-enhanced attribute interaction and attention mechanism-based graph pooling. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated with a real-world railway bridge design dataset, and ablation study is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the ontology-enhanced attribute interaction and attention mechanism-based graph pooling.

Research on geometry optimization of park office buildings with the goal of zero energy

At the conceptual design stage, the building geometry design can predict the building load demand and renewable energy application potential to some extent. Geometry design interventions are critical to efficiently achieving the goal of zero-energy buildings. In the existing studies, the typicality and representativeness of the object geometry in the practice project are not high, and the influence of different geometry indices on energy savings and photovoltaic (PV) utilization potential under the same type of plane shape is rarely considered. In addition, the surrounding building shading situations considered are single. There is still significant room for improvement in the typical geometries selection and optimization condition settings. This paper presents a study of three typical park office building geometries in hot summer and cold winter regions. An optimization method based on the genetic algorithm and energy consumption simulation is proposed that takes into account both building energy savings and PV utilization potential improvements. The geometry-related indices of each typical geometry are then optimized under different PV layout scenarios and surrounding shading situations, and suitable geometry design strategies for typical office buildings are proposed under each optimization scenario. Geometry optimization can significantly reduce building energy consumption (the building energy-saving rate is 1.3–10.7 %) and increase PV generation (enhancement of 13.37–66.67 % for PV generation potential), thus lowering the net energy consumption of buildings. The findings of this study can be used to guide the design of park office building geometries in hot summer and cold winter regions with the goal of zero energy, as well as to promote the practice of zero-energy office buildings at the regional and national levels.

Fusion decommissioning and regulation (UK-STEP perspectives)

A Funded Decommissioning Programme (FDP) is submitted to the secretary of state for approval as a requirement for a nuclear site licensee to install or operate a nuclear power station. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) reactor will not require a nuclear site licence and therefore a FDP is currently not a legal requirement under Section 45 of the Energy Act 2008, (HMG 2008 Energy act 2008). However, it is expected that in line with the UK energy sector the UKAEA STEP programme needs to understand what is required both technically and financially to decommission the STEP reactor and associated facilities. This considers the initial summary level documents to support the FDP, which sets out the steps to decommission STEP at the end of its operational life. These documents are not fully developed as the STEP programme is currently in the concept design stage and is expected to be revised as more information becomes available and the Funding Arrangements Plan (FAP) and Decommissioning and Waste Management Plan (DWMP) are developed further along with the Detailed DWMP (DDWMP) which underpins the DWMP is also developed. Ultimately the DWMP, DDWMP and references should demonstrate UKAEA’s plans for the decommissioning of the West Burton site and for the management and disposal of waste 3 3Waste in this paper includes both primary and secondary waste arisings. arisings are realistic, clearly defined and achievable. Although this work has been done within the context of the UK and for a spherical tokamak a lot of the designated technical matters and technical matter that are not designated will be applicable to decommissioning outside of the UK as the work for decommissioning is still required, irrespective of the legal framework for funding of the decommissioning. This work is also applicable for other forms of fusion devices, especially as they develop into commercial scale for energy production, as the drivers are associated with the hazards from ionising radiation.

Concept programmes to support healthcare design. Analysis and discussion of the Swedish case

Against the backdrop of the complex healthcare design process and the absence of national regulations on the functional and spatial organisation of healthcare facilities, this paper discusses the Swedish use of non-regulatory Concept Programmes, i.e. orientation tools for the conceptual stages of design conceived to facilitate the systematic transfer of knowledge from research and best practices to the design practice. A comparison is also made with the design approach and the norm in the Italian context, stimulating a two-fold debate on: the tools and methods needed to guide the design of primary care facilities; the process that should lead to the definition of such tools.

Inspirational Stimuli to Support Creative Ideation for the Design of AI-powered Products

Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize product design, and designers need to know how to best leverage its capabilities. Based on the concept–knowledge (C-K) theory, a set of inspirational stimuli (IS) for the design of AI-powered products (ISfAI) has been developed to contribute to the conceptual design stage. We extracted 40 ISs from 1,755 granted AI patents using a five-step process and validated their feasibility through a controlled experiment using three design aids: brainstorming, ISfAI Sheet, and ISfAI Cards. Results suggest that the ISfAI Cards can serve as a creative tool to enabling practitioners to generate a greater range of high-quality AI-powered ideas, particularly in terms of Novelty, Creativity, Elaboration and Flexibility. This study has practical implications for developing AI-powered products and services.

Development of the “Digihet” Multimedia Education Program to Improve Health Quality in the Setara Community Group

The digital divide and low health quality are challenges faced by the Setara South Sempaja community group. The impact of flooding is a health problem frequently experienced by this community group. The Technology and Health Education Program (Digihet) is designed to address this issue by providing education on the use of digital technology and clean and healthy living patterns to vulnerable groups affected by health problems. This study aims to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of the Digihet program in improving digital literacy, specifically in clean and healthy living patterns, and the quality of life of the community. The Digihet program is developed using multimedia development techniques, starting from the concept design stage to distribution. The Digihet program teaches about 10 clean and healthy living skills for households, including childbirth assisted by healthcare professionals, exclusive breastfeeding for babies, weighing babies and toddlers, using clean water, washing hands with clean water and soap, using healthy latrines, eradicating mosquito larvae at home, eating fruits and vegetables every day, engaging in physical activity every day, and not smoking indoors. Data were collected through beta testing, and the research results showed that the Digihet program is effective in increasing digital literacy in forming clean and healthy living patterns. The results of this study are expected to serve as a basis for developing multimedia health education programs and contribute to enhancing the understanding of the relationship between digital literacy, public health, and information technology in the context of household health quality.

Development of Strength Evaluation Methodology for Independent IMO TYPE C Tank with LH2 Carriers

Given the inadequate regulatory framework for liquefied hydrogen gas storage tanks on ships and the limitations of the IGC Code, designed for liquefied natural gas, this study introduces a critical assessment procedure to ensure the safety and suitability of such tank designs. This study performed a heat transfer analysis for boil-off gas (BOG) calculations and established separate design load cases to evaluate the yielding and buckling strength. In addition, the study assessed methodologies for both high-cycle and low-cycle fatigue assessments, complemented by comprehensive structural integrity evaluations using finite element analysis. A comprehensive approach was developed to assess the structural integrity of Type C tanks by conducting crack propagation analysis and comparing these results with the IGC Code criteria. The practicality and efficacy of these methods were validated through their application on a 23K-class liquefied hydrogen carrier at the concept design stage. These findings may have important implications for enhancing safety standards and regulatory policies.

Conceptual design of shore station for an innovative waste collecting vessel

Marine environment protection legislation in the EU requires ships to return waste they generate on voyages to waste-reception facilities in ports. In many harbors there is a need to expand the port infrastructure to enable the operation of Waste Collecting Vessels (WCVs). In addition, these vessels can perform new functions of cleaning port basins and adjacent waterways. A novelty in the presented research on the conceptual design of the shore station is the inclusion of new requirements for an autonomy and modularization of the vessel. The shore station was designed in the form of a floating pontoon, taking into account the various functional requirements addressed in the ship's conceptual design stage. The pontoon consists of modules corresponding to the ship segments moored in them. The conceptual design was intentionally defined in a generalized form to allow for further development and adaptation to local requirements at individual ports.

A Service Blueprint Approach in Ship Building Activity Mapping

In the evolving landscape of shipbuilding, the confluence of innovative methodologies and advanced technologies is reshaping paradigms in ship design and production. The industry's quest for multidisciplinary methods that elaborate representing diverse ship building activities and boost efficiency in managing these activities has unveiled the potential of the service blueprint, a tool used in service design, which addresses design of activities and determining who does what activities when in collaboration with whom. Our proposition centres on the structured activity mapping representation, a novel activity map that utilizes service blueprint with detailed description of activities with rich and structured representation of context. The framework offers a comprehensive perspective, illuminating intricate processes such as concept design, detailed design and production stages as well as service and operation stages. This mapping would ensure alignment of each activity with overarching project objectives, encapsulating values, interactions, collaborations. This paper illustrates the approach of service blueprint in representing ship building activities with discussion on improvement potential of current activity mapping through the service blueprint approach as being conducted in the SEUS EU Horizon project.

Design strategy for resonance avoidance to improve the performance of tension leg platform-type floating offshore wind turbines

The objective of this study is to determine the effect of elasticity of the tower and blades of a large tension leg platform (TLP)-type FOWT on the eigenmodes of the entire system and suggest reference directions to be implemented in the conceptual design stage. Typically, TLP-type FOWTs are connected by a mooring system with strong tension and exhibit an extremely short natural period of motion compared with a semi-submersible platform. Furthermore, the wind turbine tower mounted on the floating platform is flexible in the fore-aft and side-to-side directions, forming a vibrating system in itself; therefore, it is coupled with the motion of the floating platform. In particular, the tower elasticity is known to influence the roll and pitch motions of the platform. In this study, the motion response characteristics of the platform were investigated according to the changes in the tower design parameter (bending stiffness). The influence of blade elasticity was also confirmed, verifying that the physical characteristics of both the tower and blade significantly affect the motion of the TLP. Additionally, the degree of influence based on environmental loads was identified to suggest a design direction for FOWTs while avoiding resonance.

Strokes2Surface: Recovering Curve Networks From 4D Architectural Design Sketches

AbstractWe present Strokes2Surface, an offline geometry reconstruction pipeline that recovers well‐connected curve networks from imprecise 4D sketches to bridge concept design and digital modeling stages in architectural design. The input to our pipeline consists of 3D strokes' polyline vertices and their timestamps as the 4th dimension, along with additional metadata recorded throughout sketching. Inspired by architectural sketching practices, our pipeline combines a classifier and two clustering models to achieve its goal. First, with a set of extracted hand‐engineered features from the sketch, the classifier recognizes the type of individual strokes between those depicting boundaries (Shape strokes) and those depicting enclosed areas (Scribble strokes). Next, the two clustering models parse strokes of each type into distinct groups, each representing an individual edge or face of the intended architectural object. Curve networks are then formed through topology recovery of consolidated Shape clusters and surfaced using Scribble clusters guiding the cycle discovery. Our evaluation is threefold: We confirm the usability of the Strokes2Surface pipeline in architectural design use cases via a user study, we validate our choice of features via statistical analysis and ablation studies on our collected dataset, and we compare our outputs against a range of reconstructions computed using alternative methods.