This paper presents the partial results of a project in progress that aims to improve the teaching and learning of Graphic Geometry modules taught in Engineering and Civil Engineering courses at the Federal University...This paper presents the partial results of a project in progress that aims to improve the teaching and learning of Graphic Geometry modules taught in Engineering and Civil Engineering courses at the Federal University of Pernambuco through the development of education methodologies and content integration of these disciplines using computational technologies. This study covers and analyzes the contents of Tridimensional Graphic Geometry, Technical Drawing 3 and Descriptive Geometry in the BSc course in Civil Engineering, in order to create an integrated assessment model across these disciplines from the use of specific computer graphic softwares. It is proposed to use computer graphic for： （i） concept formation, （ii） completing and/or reviewing the content, （iii） creation of a database with virtual geometric models and their applications in Engineering and for the studies of their representations, geometric properties, etc., providing digital images of everyday forms and objects. In order to begin the diagnosis of the current situation, we gave an open questionnaire to 65 students from the 16 groups of three-dimensional graphical geometry, 20 students from the two courses in Technical Drawing 3 and 35 students from the three Descriptive Geometry classes. The analysis of the data suggests that students better understand the two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional models through their modeling with the computer graphics software used, and the association of abstract concepts with concrete content. From the analysis of the data we can verify that when our students enter the foundation Engineering courses, the main difficulty in the disciplines of drawing is the three-dimensional visualization. The hypothesis is that the student will better understand the two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional models through their modeling with the computer graphic software used and the association of abstract concepts with concrete content.展开更多
One of the main promises of solar photovoltaic technology has been the use of so-called microinverter which intends to make it possible for anyone to produce their own power generation.This article presents a discussi...One of the main promises of solar photovoltaic technology has been the use of so-called microinverter which intends to make it possible for anyone to produce their own power generation.This article presents a discussion of a proposal to adapt the Brazilian Standard NBR 16274(photovoltaic systems connected to the network—minimum requirements for documentation,commissioning tests,inspection and performance evaluation)of grid-connected photovoltaic(PV)system design methodology-oriented inverter module(or microinverters).The article begins by presenting the different methodologies grid-connected PV system projects discussing positive and negative aspects of each.Then search presents a discussion of the positive and negative aspects of grid-connected PV system design methodology with microinverters,giving a practical example of design.The paper is organized as follows:Section 1 provides an introduction explaining the importance of the proposed methodology;Section 2 presents the different types of grid-connected PV system design methodology as well as its positive and negative aspects;Section 3 describes the key differentiators of grid-connected PV system design methodology with use of microinverters finished with practical example of scaling;Section 4 presents the main proposals to adapt and points on conflict of NBR 16274;Section 5 presents the work’s conclusions.展开更多
The majority of Middle East and North Africa(MENA)countries suffer from chronic imbalance between available water supply and rising water demand.This imbalance is expected to worsen even further in the future as a res...The majority of Middle East and North Africa(MENA)countries suffer from chronic imbalance between available water supply and rising water demand.This imbalance is expected to worsen even further in the future as a result of sharp population growth,rapid economic development and climate change,unless major positive measures are implemented to augment water supply and manage water demand.The supply management approach,on its own,practiced by many countries in the region for so many years has so far demonstrated its inability to bridge the“water gap”between available water resources and rising water demand,as most traditional water resourced in almost all MENA countries have been exploited(or over exploited),and the cost of non-traditional water resources has become increasingly prohibitively high,apart from its environmental impact.Demand management is regarded by many water experts in the region as the answer or“panacea”for the water imbalance problem.But,is demand management approach alone able to solve the problem of water scarcity in the MENA region?In other words,if all demand management measures have been fully implemented,would there still be gaps between supply and demand that need to be filled with supply augmentation,andwill supply management options still need to be part of the solution?This paper tries to answer this question by reviewing several works in this domain,particularly,recent studies by the World Bank[9-11].It was concluded that,although water demand management measures should be given the first priority,especially,in the agricultural sector where it has the maximum impact,demand management on its own will not be able to bridge the“water gap”,and supply management options,such as sea water desalination and the re-use of treated wastewater,will be part of the solution.展开更多
Piezoelectric(PZ)energy has been paid attention to as conventional renewable energy sources including solar,wind,and geothermal power.To address the dilemma of climatic conditions affecting the energy harvesting using...Piezoelectric(PZ)energy has been paid attention to as conventional renewable energy sources including solar,wind,and geothermal power.To address the dilemma of climatic conditions affecting the energy harvesting using Lead Zirconate Titanate(PZT)in pavement,wafer-boxes were used with embedded PZT sensors,since wafer-boxes have the ability to be embedded in the pavement where sensors are protected from any kind of physical damage.This research project was designed to identify which shaped wafer-box produced the most electric voltage and power.Various forms of wafer-box were developed to identify if there was any potential difference in voltage generation due to the structural shapes of the box.Seven different shapes of prototype wafer-boxes were designed utilizing both a 3D printer and 3D Computer Aided Design(CAD).These wafer-boxes were coupled with embedded PZT sensors which were tested in asphalt pavement analyzer(APA)machine under certain load to produce electric voltage.Collected voltage data from the APA wheel load test(WLT)were analyzed using various statistical methods.The statistical analyses results indicated that out of the seven different shaped wafer-boxes,the right-angled triangular shaped box produced the highest average voltage values where’s square shaped wafer-box produced the lowest amount of voltage.Structural properties of a wafer-box in terms of section modulus,area moment of inertia,extreme points,and radius of gyration were also analyzed,and a regression analysis was conducted to identify the reasons of different amounts of voltage produced.These voltage values could be used to calculate the power using power formulas showing relationship between power and voltage values.The outcome helped to identify which shape is most effective to power generation under certain circumstances.The regression analysis results indicated that out of four properties the section modulus is the most influential structural property affecting voltage production.展开更多
English is a compulsory subject and given only one or two semesters at tertiary education in Indonesia. This subject is to help the students read and access various information to enrich their main subjects during the...English is a compulsory subject and given only one or two semesters at tertiary education in Indonesia. This subject is to help the students read and access various information to enrich their main subjects during their study and prepare for their professionals in the future. However,some studies find that these English classes are boring because the materials are not useful for the students. Based on need analysis,the non-English department students wish the lecturers to provide materials in line with their majoring subjects.This paper discusses the characteristics of the materials developed by means of action research together with a subject lecturer and a class of civil engineering students at Politeknik Negeri Bandung(Polban),a state polytechnic in Indonesia. Two of the characteristics concerning with the thinking framework of the civil engineering students and the themes of the materials were also considered.These materials have been tried out for two semesters, and the results indicated that the students’ learning autonomy develops. After using the materials for four weeks(150 minutes a week),the students attempted to select types of materials that needed to be discussed in the class and those uploaded into e-learning programs so that they were able to access,prepare the materials for the next class and learn these materials outside the class.展开更多
文摘This paper presents the partial results of a project in progress that aims to improve the teaching and learning of Graphic Geometry modules taught in Engineering and Civil Engineering courses at the Federal University of Pernambuco through the development of education methodologies and content integration of these disciplines using computational technologies. This study covers and analyzes the contents of Tridimensional Graphic Geometry, Technical Drawing 3 and Descriptive Geometry in the BSc course in Civil Engineering, in order to create an integrated assessment model across these disciplines from the use of specific computer graphic softwares. It is proposed to use computer graphic for： （i） concept formation, （ii） completing and/or reviewing the content, （iii） creation of a database with virtual geometric models and their applications in Engineering and for the studies of their representations, geometric properties, etc., providing digital images of everyday forms and objects. In order to begin the diagnosis of the current situation, we gave an open questionnaire to 65 students from the 16 groups of three-dimensional graphical geometry, 20 students from the two courses in Technical Drawing 3 and 35 students from the three Descriptive Geometry classes. The analysis of the data suggests that students better understand the two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional models through their modeling with the computer graphics software used, and the association of abstract concepts with concrete content. From the analysis of the data we can verify that when our students enter the foundation Engineering courses, the main difficulty in the disciplines of drawing is the three-dimensional visualization. The hypothesis is that the student will better understand the two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional models through their modeling with the computer graphic software used and the association of abstract concepts with concrete content.
文摘One of the main promises of solar photovoltaic technology has been the use of so-called microinverter which intends to make it possible for anyone to produce their own power generation.This article presents a discussion of a proposal to adapt the Brazilian Standard NBR 16274(photovoltaic systems connected to the network—minimum requirements for documentation,commissioning tests,inspection and performance evaluation)of grid-connected photovoltaic(PV)system design methodology-oriented inverter module(or microinverters).The article begins by presenting the different methodologies grid-connected PV system projects discussing positive and negative aspects of each.Then search presents a discussion of the positive and negative aspects of grid-connected PV system design methodology with microinverters,giving a practical example of design.The paper is organized as follows:Section 1 provides an introduction explaining the importance of the proposed methodology;Section 2 presents the different types of grid-connected PV system design methodology as well as its positive and negative aspects;Section 3 describes the key differentiators of grid-connected PV system design methodology with use of microinverters finished with practical example of scaling;Section 4 presents the main proposals to adapt and points on conflict of NBR 16274;Section 5 presents the work’s conclusions.
文摘The majority of Middle East and North Africa(MENA)countries suffer from chronic imbalance between available water supply and rising water demand.This imbalance is expected to worsen even further in the future as a result of sharp population growth,rapid economic development and climate change,unless major positive measures are implemented to augment water supply and manage water demand.The supply management approach,on its own,practiced by many countries in the region for so many years has so far demonstrated its inability to bridge the“water gap”between available water resources and rising water demand,as most traditional water resourced in almost all MENA countries have been exploited(or over exploited),and the cost of non-traditional water resources has become increasingly prohibitively high,apart from its environmental impact.Demand management is regarded by many water experts in the region as the answer or“panacea”for the water imbalance problem.But,is demand management approach alone able to solve the problem of water scarcity in the MENA region?In other words,if all demand management measures have been fully implemented,would there still be gaps between supply and demand that need to be filled with supply augmentation,andwill supply management options still need to be part of the solution?This paper tries to answer this question by reviewing several works in this domain,particularly,recent studies by the World Bank[9-11].It was concluded that,although water demand management measures should be given the first priority,especially,in the agricultural sector where it has the maximum impact,demand management on its own will not be able to bridge the“water gap”,and supply management options,such as sea water desalination and the re-use of treated wastewater,will be part of the solution.
文摘Piezoelectric(PZ)energy has been paid attention to as conventional renewable energy sources including solar,wind,and geothermal power.To address the dilemma of climatic conditions affecting the energy harvesting using Lead Zirconate Titanate(PZT)in pavement,wafer-boxes were used with embedded PZT sensors,since wafer-boxes have the ability to be embedded in the pavement where sensors are protected from any kind of physical damage.This research project was designed to identify which shaped wafer-box produced the most electric voltage and power.Various forms of wafer-box were developed to identify if there was any potential difference in voltage generation due to the structural shapes of the box.Seven different shapes of prototype wafer-boxes were designed utilizing both a 3D printer and 3D Computer Aided Design(CAD).These wafer-boxes were coupled with embedded PZT sensors which were tested in asphalt pavement analyzer(APA)machine under certain load to produce electric voltage.Collected voltage data from the APA wheel load test(WLT)were analyzed using various statistical methods.The statistical analyses results indicated that out of the seven different shaped wafer-boxes,the right-angled triangular shaped box produced the highest average voltage values where’s square shaped wafer-box produced the lowest amount of voltage.Structural properties of a wafer-box in terms of section modulus,area moment of inertia,extreme points,and radius of gyration were also analyzed,and a regression analysis was conducted to identify the reasons of different amounts of voltage produced.These voltage values could be used to calculate the power using power formulas showing relationship between power and voltage values.The outcome helped to identify which shape is most effective to power generation under certain circumstances.The regression analysis results indicated that out of four properties the section modulus is the most influential structural property affecting voltage production.
文摘English is a compulsory subject and given only one or two semesters at tertiary education in Indonesia. This subject is to help the students read and access various information to enrich their main subjects during their study and prepare for their professionals in the future. However,some studies find that these English classes are boring because the materials are not useful for the students. Based on need analysis,the non-English department students wish the lecturers to provide materials in line with their majoring subjects.This paper discusses the characteristics of the materials developed by means of action research together with a subject lecturer and a class of civil engineering students at Politeknik Negeri Bandung(Polban),a state polytechnic in Indonesia. Two of the characteristics concerning with the thinking framework of the civil engineering students and the themes of the materials were also considered.These materials have been tried out for two semesters, and the results indicated that the students’ learning autonomy develops. After using the materials for four weeks(150 minutes a week),the students attempted to select types of materials that needed to be discussed in the class and those uploaded into e-learning programs so that they were able to access,prepare the materials for the next class and learn these materials outside the class.
