Lessons learned from the “5.12” Wenchuan Earthquake:evaluation of earthquake performance objectives and the importance of seismic conceptual design principles

Many different types of buildings were severely damaged or collapsed during the May 12, 2008 Great Wenchuan Earthquake. Based on survey data collected in regions that were subjected to moderate to severe earthquake intensities, a comparison between the observed building damage, and the three earthquake performance objectives and seismic conceptual design principles specified by the national ＂Code for Seismic Design of Buildings GB50011-2001,＂ was carried out. Actual damage and predicted damage for a given earthquake level for different types of structures is compared. Discussions on seismic conceptual design principles, with respect to multiple defense lines, strong column-weak beam, link beam of shear walls, ductility detailing of masonry structures, exits and staircases, and nonstructural elements, etc. are carried out. Suggestions for improving the seismic design of structures are also proposed. It is concluded that the seismic performance objectives for three earthquake levels, i.e., ＂no failure under minor earthquake level, ＂＂repairable damage under moderate earthquake level＂ and ＂no collapse under major earthquake level＂ can be achieved if seismic design principles are carried out by strictly following the code requirements and ensuring construction quality.

Computer-based Creativity Enhanced Conceptual Design Model for Non-routine Design of Mechanical Systems

Computer-based conceptual design for routine design has made great strides, yet non-routine design has not been given due attention, and it is still poorly automated. Considering that the function-behavior-structure（FBS） model is widely used for modeling the conceptual design process, a computer-based creativity enhanced conceptual design model（CECD） for non-routine design of mechanical systems is presented. In the model, the leaf functions in the FBS model are decomposed into and represented with fine-grain basic operation actions（BOA）, and the corresponding BOA set in the function domain is then constructed. Choosing building blocks from the database, and expressing their multiple functions with BOAs, the BOA set in the structure domain is formed. Through rule-based dynamic partition of the BOA set in the function domain, many variants of regenerated functional schemes are generated. For enhancing the capability to introduce new design variables into the conceptual design process, and dig out more innovative physical structure schemes, the indirect function-structure matching strategy based on reconstructing the combined structure schemes is adopted. By adjusting the tightness of the partition rules and the granularity of the divided BOA subsets, and making full use of the main function and secondary functions of each basic structure in the process of reconstructing of the physical structures, new design variables and variants are introduced into the physical structure scheme reconstructing process, and a great number of simpler physical structure schemes to accomplish the overall function organically are figured out. The creativity enhanced conceptual design model presented has a dominant capability in introducing new deign variables in function domain and digging out simpler physical structures to accomplish the overall function, therefore it can be utilized to solve non-routine conceptual design problem.

Multi-objective Optimization Conceptual Design of Product Structure Based on Variable Length Gene Expression

It is a complicated problem for the bottom-to-top adaptive conceptual design of complicated products between structure and function. Reliable theories demand to be found in order to determine whether the structure accords with the requirement of design. For the requirement generally is dynamic variety as time passes, new requirements will come, and some initial requirements can no longer be used. The number of product requirements, the gene length expressing requirements, the structure of the product, and the correlation matrix are varied with individuation of customer requirements of the product. By researching on the calculation mechanisms of dynamic variety, the approaches of gene expression and variable length gene expression are proposed. According to the diversity of structure selection in conceptual design and mutual relations between structure and function as well as structure and structure, the correlation matrixes between structure and function as well as structure and structure are defined. By the approach of making the sum of the elements of correlation matrix maximum, the mathematical models of multi-object optimization for structure design are provided based on variable requirements. An improved genetic algorithm called segment genetic algorithm is proposed based on optimization preservation simple genetic algorithm. The models of multi-object optimization are calculated by the segment genetic algorithm and hybrid genetic algorithm. An example for the conceptual design of a washing machine is given to show that the proposed method is able to realize the optimization structure design fitting for variable requirements. In addition, the proposed approach can provide good Pareto optimization solutions, and the individuation customer requirements for structures of products are able to be resolved effectively.

The Conceptual Design Method for a Pumping Unit Based on QFD and TRIZ

Quality function deployment （QFD） is a quality system, that can help to design novel products that meet customers＇ needs. Theory of inventive problem solving （TRIZ） is a very powerful tool in helping to solve difficult technical problems encountered in the design process. Introducing QFD and TRIZ into the conceptual design of the pumping unit combines advantages of these two theories, therefore meeting different demands of different users. It can tell us “What should we do it” with QFD and “How should we do it” with TRIZ. The conceptual design method, which is based on QFD and TRIZ, is introduced andused to analyze and evaluate the conceptual design project of a pumping unit.

CASE-BASED CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

The current method of case-based design (CBD) can be well practiced forconfiguration design in which design experience knowledge is involved. However, since the designcase is confined to a certain application domain, it is difficult for CBD to be applied toconceptual design process that develops concepts to meet design specifications. Firstly, a functionfactor description space is erected to provide an exhibition room for all functions of design cases.Next, the approach for identifying the space state of function factor in description space isproposed, including the determination of the similarities between function factors of design case.And then a general object-oriented representation for design case is presented by bringing the classof function and in-out flow into the current case representation. Finally, a living example forelectro-pet design that illustrates the implementation of the method for case-based conceptualdesign based on distributed design case repositories is described.

MECHANICAL PRODUCT EXTENSIVE INTELLIGENT CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

Based on extenics, an extensive functional information model(function-behavioral action-structure-environmental constraint) of the mechanical productintelligent conceptual design is developed, and the mechanism of theoretic structure solutions isproduced, the mapping relations between function-behavior and behavior-structure are analyzed. Themodel is applied to the filling material system's conceptual design to verify validity.

Conceptual design of a 15-TW pulsed-power accelerator for high-energy-densityephysics experiments

We have developed a conceptual design of a 15-TW pulsed-power accelerator based on the linear-transformer-driver(LTD)architecture described by Stygar[W.A.Stygar et al.,Phys.Rev.ST Accel.Beams 18,110401(2015)].The driver will allow multiple,high-energy-density experiments per day in a university environment and,at the same time,will enable both fundamental and integrated experiments that are scalable to larger facilities.In this design,many individual energy storage units(bricks),each composed of two capacitors and one switch,directly drive the target load without additional pulse compression.Ten LTD modules in parallel drive the load.Each module consists of 16 LTD cavities connected in series,where each cavity is powered by 22 bricks connected in parallel.This design stores up to 2.75 MJ and delivers up to 15 TW in 100 ns to the constant-impedance,water-insulated radial transmission lines.The transmission lines in turn deliver a peak current as high as 12.5 MA to the physics load.To maximize its experimental value and flexibility,the accelerator is coupled to a modern,multibeam laser facility(four beams with up to 5 kJ in 10 ns and one beam with up to 2.6 kJ in 100 ps or less)that can provide auxiliary heating of the physics load.The lasers also enable advanced diagnostic techniques such as X-ray Thomson scattering and multiframe and three-dimensional radiography.The coupled accelerator-laser facility will be the first of its kind and be capable of conducting unprecedented high-energy-densityephysics experiments.

Conceptual design of energy-saving stripping process for industrial sour water

Sour water contains ammonia,carbon dioxide,and hydrogen sulfides,producing from oil refining,coking,and coal gasification.To reduce the energy consumption in sour water stripping,a novel process is proposed which integrates with the bottom flashing mechanical vapor recompression heat pump(MVRHP)for treating such wastewater.Here,Aspen PlusTM as a powerful set of chemical process simulation software is utilized to investigate the economy and feasibility of the novel process.Comparison of the results of two process simulations,it can be seen that it is possible to reduce the total annual cost by nearly 45%to adopt the novel process,despite the capital investment increase 45%more than the conventional process.Thus,the provided conceptual design will play a guiding role in the industrialization of the process.

Conceptual design and RCS performance research of shipborne early warning aircraft

In order to improve the survivability of the aircraft,conceptual design and radar cross section（RCS） performance research are done. The CATIA software is used to design the 3D digital model of the shipborne early warning aircraft, and some measures are taken to reduce the RCS characteristics of the early warning aircraft at the same time. Based on the physical optics method and the equivalent electromagnetic flow method,the aircraft＇s RCS characteristics and strength distribution characteristics are simulated numerically, and compared with the foreign advanced shipborne early warning aircraft. The simulation results show that under the X radar band, when the incident wave pitching angle is 0？, compared with the foreign advanced shipborne early warning aircraft, the forward RCS average value of the conceptual shipborne early warning aircraft is reduced to 24.49%, the lateral RCS average value is reduced to 5.04%, and the backward RCS average value is reduced to 39.26%. The research results of this paper are expected to provide theoretical basis and technical support for the conceptual design and the stealth design of the shipborne early warning aircraft.

AUTOMATIC APPROACH TO PRODUCT CONCEPTUAL DESIGN BASED ON CONSTRAINT NETWORK

Product design is considered as the constraint satisfaction problem (CSP),and a new design approach basedon constraint network is proposed and applied to make designautomatic partially. By means of constraint extraction, constraint network construction andoperation, constraint chains are acquired, and then the conceptual design scheme can be got bydecoding the information stored in the design constraint chains, which provides a novelty method formechanical product design automation. Shearing mechanism of shearing machine has been designed bythis way.

Evaluating the conceptual design schemes of complex products based on FAHP using fuzzy number

In the conceptual design stage of complex products, CBR（Case-Based Reasoning） tool is useful to offer a feasible set of schemes. Then the most adaptive scheme can be generated through a procedure of comparison and evaluation. The procedure is essentially a multiple criteria decision-making problem. The traditional multiple criteria programming is not flexible enough in executing the system evaluation algorithm due to both the limited experimental data and the lack of human experiences. To make the CBR tool to be more efficient, a new method for the best choice among the feasible schemes based on the Fuzzy AHP using Fuzzy numbers （FFAHP） is proposed. Since the final results become a problem of ranking the mean of fuzzy numbers by the optimism of decision-maker using the FFAHP, its execution is much more intuitive and effective than with the traditional method.

A Preliminary study on the seismic conceptual design

The seismic conceptual design is an essential part of seismic design codes. It points out that the term 'seismic conceptual design' should imply three aspects,i.e.,the given concept itself,the specific provisions related to the given concept and the designing following the provisions. Seismic conceptual design can be classified into two categories: the strict or traditional seismic conceptual design and the generalized seismic conceptual design. The authors are trying to define for both conceptual designs their connotations and study their characteristics,in particular,the differences between them. Authors emphasize that both conceptual designs sound very close,however,their differences are apparent. The strict conceptual designs are usually worked out directly from engineering practice and/or lessons learnt from earthquake damage,while the generalized conceptual designs are resulted in a series of visions aiming to realize the general objectives of the seismic codes. The strict conceptual designs,(traditional conceptual designs) are indispensable elements of seismic codes in assuring designed structures safer and the generalized conceptual designs are playing key roles in directing to a more advanced and effective seismic codes.

Web-Based Interactive VR-CAD System for Conceptual Design and Analysis

To overcome the bottleneck of the one-way translation from VR （ virtual reality） to CAD in VR-based CAD system, this paper proposes a Web-based VR-CAD system WVCD （ Web-based virtual conceptual designer） to support both customers＇and design team members＇involvement in the conceptual design and analysis activity over the Internet. It provides users with both parametric and freehand methods to create and edit 3D conceptual models with different levels of complexity in a VR environment intuitively without the need of switching between the VR environment and CAD tools. As a simple and low-cost VR-CAD system, WVCD can help to popularize and improve the Web-based collaborative conceptual design.

Application of Hopfield Neural Networks Approach in Solar Energy Product Conceptual Design

A new product conceptual design approach is put forward based on Hopfield neural networks models. By research on the mechanisms of Hopfield neural networks, the associative simulation approaches are proposed. The approach is given by Hebb learn- ing law, Hopfield neural networks and crossover and mutation. The calculating models and the calculating formulas for the concep- tual design are put forward. Finally, an example for the conceptual design of a solar energy lamp is given. The better results are ob- tained in the conceptual design.

Automatic Virtual Entity Simulation of Conceptual Design Results—Part Ⅱ:Symbolic Scheme Simulation

The development of new products of high quality, low unit cost, and short lead time to market are the key elements required for any enterprise to obtain a competitive advantage. This part of the paper presents a methodology to automatically simulate the conceptual design results in the virtual entity form. To the identified basic mechanisms, their kinematic analysis is carried out by matching basic Barranov trusses, and their virtual entities are modeled based on feature-based technique and encapsulated as one design object. Based on the structures of the basic mechanisms and their connections, a space layout to the mechanical system corresponding to the symbolic scheme is then fulfilled. With the preset-assembly approach, all parts in the mechanical system are put onto proper positions where the constraint equations are met according to the space layout results. In this way, the virtual entity assembly model of the mechanical system relative to the symbolic scheme is set up. The approach presented in this paper can not only obtain innovative conceptual conceptual design results, but also can evaluate their performances under 3-D enviroment efficently.

Automatic Virtual Entity Simulation of Conceptual Design Results—Part Ⅰ:Symbolic Scheme Generation and Identification

The development of new products of high quality, low unit cost, and short lead time to market are the key elements required for any enterprise to obtain a competitive advantage. For shorting the lead time to market and improving the creativity and performances of the product, a rule-based conceptual design approach and a methodology to simulate the conceptual design results generated in conceptual design process in automatical virtual entity form are presented in this paper. This part of paper presents a rule-based conceptual design method for generating creative conceptual design schemes of mechanisms based on Yan＇s kinematic chain regeneration creative design method. The design rules are adopted to describe the design requirements of the functional characteristics, the connection relationships and topological characteristics among mechanisms. Through the graphs-based reasoning process, the conceptual design space is expanded extremely, and the potential creative conceptual design results are then dug out. By refining the design rules, the solution exploration problem is avioded, and the tendentious conceptual design schemes are generated. Since mechanical, electrical and hydraulic subsystems can be transformed into general mechansims, the conceptual design method presented in this paper can also be applied in the conceptual design problem of complex mechatronic systems. And then the method to identify conceptual design schemes is given.

Conceptual Design Process for LEO Satellite Constellations Based on System Engineering Disciplines

Satellite design process is an interdisciplinary subject in which the need for collaboration among various science and engineering disciplines is evident.Meanwhile,finding an optimal process for conceptual design of a satellite,which can optimize time and cost,is still an important issue.In this paper,based on system engineering approach,an optimal design process is proposed for LEO satellite constellations.In the proposed method,design process,design sequences,and data flow are established.In this regard,the conceptual design process is divided into two levels of mission(or constellation)and system(or satellite)as well as 15 main activities based on the mission profile,previous experiences of the authors,and existing literature.Then,the relationships between these activities have been determined by considering the importance of relationships according to their priority.Finally,these relations are optimized based on design structure matrix(DSM).By utilizing this approach,system design process of a telecommunication satellite constellation in LEO is formulated in conceptual design phase.Performance and capability of the proposed approach in optimal design process of the satellite constellation are investigated by comparing the outcome with existing results in the literature.

Conceptual Design and Selection of Natural Fibre Reinforced Biopolymer Composite (NFBC) Takeout Food Container

Biopolymer composite has gained huge attention for its beneficial properties such as biodegradable and less impact to the environment.This consequently would diminish the dependency on the petroleum-based polymer.Abundance of studies have been done on the development and characterization of biopolymer composite materials for food packaging application,but work on the conceptual design of biopolymer composite packaging product is hardly found.Using the Kano Model,Quality Function Deployment for Environment(QFDE),morphological map,and Analytic Hierarchy Method(AHP)framework combination,this paper presents the conceptual design of a natural fibre reinforced biopolymer composites take-out food container.To understand customer satisfaction with the current use of takeout food containers,the Kano model was applied,and the findings were integrated into QFDE.The highest weight of voices of customer and environment(VOCE)as the solution parameters for the design characteristics were later refined using the aid of morphological chart(MC)to systematically develop conceptual designs.Lastly,AHP was utilized to pick the final concept design.The concept design with the highest score(8.3%)was chosen as the final conceptual design.

Conceptual Design of Glass/Renewable Natural Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Hybrid Composite Motorcycle Side Cover

This paper presents the development process relating to the conceptual design of glass/renewable natural fibrereinforced polymer hybrid composite motorcycle side cover.Motorcycle side cover is a component frequently made from plastic or steel that functions on covering the motorcycle parts,components and systems such as frame,battery,electrical systems and mechanical systems.Function Analysis Systems Techniques(FAST)is used to identify the functions of motorcycle side cover.The right-side cover of motorcycle model SYM E-Bonus 110 has been physically studied to identify the competitive benchmarking criteria.The functions and competitive benchmarking criteria are then compiled and integrated with the environmental requirements to identify the Product Design Specifications(PDS).The coir fibre has been selected from six identified dominant renewable natural fibre used for automotive component through integration of Ranking Method and Quality Based Selection(QBS).Then the polypropylene matrix is selected after shortlisting the existing thermoplastic that is used with coir fibre and has high suitability for injection moulding manufacturing.The polypropylene matrix is then evaluated using Weighted Evaluation Matrix(WEM)by comparing to benchmark material which is Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene(ABS).After that,the conceptual design development of glass/renewable coir fibre-reinforced polypropylene motorcycle side cover is carried out using an integrated Theory of Inventive Problem Solving(TRIZ)and Morphological Chart,followed by final conceptual design selection using integration of Pugh Scoring Method and QBS.The conceptual design development intended on improving the biodegradability to reduce pollution to the environment.However,the usage of glass/coir fibre-reinforced polypropylene hybrid composite may increase the weight due to higher density.Four innovative design concepts have been developed and the selected final concept design has the most minimum number of ribs and minimum thickness with the same ratio of glass fibre and natural fibre composition.

Systems engineering optimization of Omid-2 in the conceptual design phase

Due to the importance and role of systems engineering in space mission developments, optimization of Omid＇s systems engineering as a milestone to its current and future generations is focused. In this regard systems engineering management organization as the basis of optimization work flow in the conceptual design phase is proposed for improvement. To improve the systems engineering management, an agile enhanced organization chart is developed that defines various system duties. This is a type of concurrent engineering approach that promotes direct communication and data interchange between the team members. Due to the importance of decision making in the conceptual design phase, two design matrices are constructed that portray merits of various design options in terms of improved satellite life as well as specific choices of remote sensing capability for the Omid second generation（Omid-2）. Conceptual design optimization is explored considering several structural objectives as well as optimal solar energy absorption utilizing a multiple criteria decision making approach. The Eigenvector method is utilized to formulate the objective function via expert judgment. This approach is robust with respect to designer probable miss-judgment. The optimized version of Omid-2 turned out to be a passive Z-axis spin stabilized satellite made of hexagonal honeycomb configuration with carbon-epoxy side panels and Aluminum bottom plate.