This dissertation provides one methodology to determine potential energy savings of buildings with limited information. This methodology is based upon the simplified energy analysis procedure of HVAC systems and the control of the comfort conditions. Numerically, the algorithm is a tailored exhaustive search over all the independent variables that are commonly controlled for a specific type of HVAC system. The potential energy savings methodology has been applied in several buildings that have been retrofitted and/or commissioned previously. Results from the determined savings for the Zachry building at Texas A&M after being commissioned show a close agreement to the calculated potential energy savings (about 85%). Differences are mainly attributed to the use of simplified models. Due to the restriction of limited information about the building characteristics and operational control, the potential energy savings method requires the determination of parameters that characterize its thermal performance. Thus, a calibrated building is needed. A general procedure has been developed to carry out automated calibration of building energy use simulations. The methodology has been tested successfully on building simulations based on the simplified energy analysis procedure. The automated calibration is the minimization of the RMSE of the energy use over daily conditions. The minimization procedure is fulfilled with a non-canonical optimization algorithm, the Simulated Annealing, which mimics the Statistical Thermodynamic performance of the annealing process. That is to say, starting at a specified temperature the algorithm searches variable-space states that are steadier, while heuristically, by the Boltzmann distribution, the local minima is avoided. The process is repeated at a new lower temperature that is determined by a specific schedule until the global minimum is found. This methodology was applied to the most common air-handler units producing excellent results for ideal cases or for samples modified with a 1% white noise.

A multiple-sensor optical shape measurement system (SMS) based on the principle of white-light fringe projection has been developed and commercialised by Loughborough University and Phase Vision Ltd for over 10 years. The use of the temporal phase unwrapping technique allows precise and dense shape measurements of complex surfaces; and the photogrammetry-based calibration technique offers the ability to calibrate multiple sensors simultaneously in order to achieve 360° measurement coverage. Nevertheless, to enhance the applicability of the SMS in industrial environments, further developments are needed (i) to improve the calibration speed for quicker deployment, (ii) to broaden the application range from shape measurement to deformation field measurement, and (iii) to tackle practically-challenging surfaces of which specular components may disrupt the acquired data and result in spurious measurements. The calibration process typically requires manual positioning of an artefact (i.e., reference object) at many locations within the view of the sensors. This is not only timeconsuming but also complicated for an operator with average knowledge of metrology. This thesis introduces an automated artefact positioning system which enables automatic and optimised distribution of the artefacts, automatic prediction of their whereabouts to increase the artefact detection speed and robustness, and thereby greater overall calibration performance. This thesis also describes a novel technique that integrates the digital image correlation (DIC) technique into the present fringe projection SMS for the purpose of simultaneous shape and deformation field measurement. This combined technique offers three key advantages: (a) the ability to deal with geometrical discontinuities which are commonly present on mechanical surfaces and currently challenging to most deformation measurement methods, (b) the ability to measure 3D displacement fields with a basic single-camera single-projector SMS with no additional hardware components, and (c) the simple implementation on a multiple-sensor hardware platform to achieve complete coverage of large-scale and complex samples, with the resulting displacement fields automatically lying in a single global coordinate system. A displacement measurement accuracy of ≃ 1/12,000 of the measurement volume, which is comparable to that of an industry-standard DIC system, has been achieved. The applications of this novel technique to several structural tests of aircraft wing panels on-site at the research centre of Airbus UK in Filton are also presented. Mechanical components with shiny surface finish and complex geometry may introduce another challenge to present fringe projection techniques. In certain circumstances, multiple reflections of the projected fringes on an object surface may cause ambiguity in the phase estimation process and result in incorrect coordinate measurements. This thesis presents a new technique which adopts a Fourier domain ranging (FDR) method to correctly identifying multiple phase signals and enables unambiguous triangulation for a measured coordinate. Experiments of the new FDR technique on various types of surfaces have shown promising results as compared to the traditional phase unwrapping techniques.

Water distribution network models are widely used for various purposes such as long-range planning, design, operation and water quality management. Before these models are used for a specific study, they should be calibrated by adjusting model parameters such as pipe roughness values and nodal demands so that models can yield compatible results with site observations (basically, pressure readings). Many methods have been developed to calibrate water distribution networks. In this study, Darwin Calibrator, a computer software that uses genetic algorithm, is used to calibrate N8.3 pressure zone model of Ankara water distribution network / in this case study the network is calibrated on the basis of roughness parameter, Hazen Williams coefficient for the sake of simplicity. It is understood that there are various parameters that contribute to the uncertainties in water distribution network modelling and the calibration process. Besides, computer software&rsquo / s are valuable tools to solve water distribution network problems and to calibrate network models in an accurate and fast way using automated calibration technique. Furthermore, there are many important aspects that should be considered during automated calibration such as pipe roughness grouping. In this study, influence of flow velocity on pipe roughness grouping is examined. Roughness coefficients of pipes have been estimated in the range of 70-140.

The objective of this master thesis is to design a robotic work cell for automated insertion of thermostatic heads. The proposed design was based on the comprehensive analysis of the current workplace. By taking the demands of the company and customer into consideration, several possibilities of the robotic work cell design were proposed, from which the most suitable one was chosen and carefully elaborated. During the process of designing, several safety standards had to be taken into consideration in order to mitigate risks. For that purpose, a risk analysis was conducted as well. Using the Siemens Process Simulate software, the proposed robotic work cell concept was verified, including cycle time analysis. The last part of the thesis is an assessment of the initial expenditures of the robotic work cell equipment, as well as the return of the investment calculation. Drawing of the robotic work cell layout is attached to the thesis.

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