The performance of offshore process equipment on floating production platforms may be reduced through imposed sea motion. Fluid sloshing inside primary separators and non-segregated storage tanks may lead to oil/water mixing. The aim of previous work into sloshing has been to prevent damage to LNG tankers and increase the stability of space rockets. Work into oil/water sloshing appears limited. A computer controlled motion simulator was developed to conduct experiments with two rectangular vessels filled with air, refined oil and water. Two single sinusoidal forcing motions were applied, pitch and surge at various amplitudes and periods. Additional experiments were conducted with combined forcing motions pitch/roll and pitch/surge. Air/water interface profiles were measured and analysed using a computer based data logging and processing system. Air/oil and oil/water profiles were recorded using high speed video equipment. Also studied were the effect of baffles in reducing interface amplitude and the effect of forcing on oil/water transfer. A linear theory was derived to predict natural frequencies of three fluid systems and a numerical model was developed to predict near resonant behaviour. Air/water experiments and numerical model showed a coupling of natural and forcing frequencies in the free surface frequency spectrum. Favourable comparisons were also seen between the numerical model and oil/water experiments. Additional experiments indicated that oil/water mixing is promoted by resonant forcing in an unbaffled vessel. The presence of baffles reduces interfacial breakup and hence reduces oil content of water.

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Product Platform Planning is an emerging philosophy that calls for the planned development of families of related products. It is markedly different from the traditional product development process and relatively new in engineering design. Product families and platforms can offer a multitude of benefits when applied successfully such as economies of scale from producing larger volumes of the same modules, lower design costs from not having to redesign similar subsystems, and many other advantages arising from the sharing of modules. While advances in this are promising, there still remain significant challenges in designing product families and platforms. This is particularly true for defining the platform components, platform architecture, and significantly different platform and product variants in a systematic manner. Lack of precise definition for platform design assets in terms of relevant customer requirements, distinct differentiations, engineering functions, components, component interfaces, and relations among all, causes a major obstacle for companies to take full advantage of the potential benefits of product platform strategy. The main purpose of this research is to address the above mentioned challenges during the design and development of modular platform-based product families. It focuses on providing answers to a fundamental question, namely, how can a decision support approach from product module definition to the determination of platform alternatives and product variants be integrated into product family design? The method presented in this work emphasizes the incorporation of critical design requirements and specifications for the design of distinctive product modules to create platform concepts and product variants using a data clustering approach. A case application developed in collaboration with a tire manufacturer is used to verify that this research approach is suitable for reducing the complexity of design results by determining design commonalities across multiple design characteristics. The method was found helpful for determining and integrating critical design information (i.e., component dimensions, material properties, modularization driving factors, and functional relations) systematically into the design of product families and platforms. It supported decision-makers in defining distinctive product modules within the families and in determining multiple platform concepts and derivative product variants. / Ph. D.

Military acquisition programs have long been criticized for the exponential growth in program costs required to generate modest improvements in capability. One of the most promising reform efforts to address this trend is the open system architecture initiative, which uses modular design principles and commercial interface standards as a means to reduce the cost and complexity of upgrading systems over time. While conceptually simple, this effort has proven to be exceptionally difficult to implement in practice. This difficulty stems, in large part, from the fact that open systems trade additional cost and risk in the early phases of development for the option to infuse technology at a later date, but the benefits provided by this option are inherently uncertain. Practical implementation therefore requires a decision support framework to determine when these uncertain, future benefits are worth the cost and risk assumed in the present. The objective of this research is to address this gap by developing a method to measure the expected costs, benefits and risks associated with open systems. This work is predicated on three assumptions: (1) the purpose of future technology infusions is to keep pace with the uncertain evolution of operational requirements, (2) successful designs must justify how future upgrades will be used to satisfy these requirements, and (3) program managers retain the flexibility to adapt prior decisions as new information is made available over time. The analytical method developed in this work is then applied to an example scenario for an aerial Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance platform with the potential to upgrade its sensor suite in future increments. Final results demonstrate that the relative advantages and drawbacks between open and integrated system architectures can be presented in the context of a cost-effectiveness framework that is currently used by acquisition professionals to manage complex design decisions.

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Self-driving cars used to be a concept of a future society. However, through years of research, testing, and dedication they are becoming a modern day reality. To further expand research and testing capabilities in the field of autonomous vehicles, an Autonomous Vehicle Research Platform (AVRP) can be developed. The purpose of an AVRP is to provide researchers with an autonomous ground vehicle testing platform they can outfit with sensors and equipment to meet their specific research needs. The platform will give researchers the capabilities to test algorithms, new sensors, navigation, new technologies, etc. that they believe would help advance autonomous vehicles. When their testing is done, their equipment can be removed so the next researcher can utilize the platform. The scope of this thesis is to develop the operational specifications for an AVRP that can operate at level 4 autonomy. These specifications include navigation and sensing hardware, such as LIDAR, radar, ultrasonic, cameras, and important specifications that pertain to using each, as well as a review of optimal mounting locations. It will also present benchmarks for computing, design specs for power and communication buses, and modifications for universal mounting racks. / Master of Science / A world with self-driving cars may not be as far as we think. Many ground vehicles now a days already have some sort of driver assist system(s) to aid the driver in everyday driving. Examples of these systems include cruise control that adjusts its speed to leading vehicles, or lane detection with steering assist to help keep the vehicle in its lane when the driver is briefly distracted. These smaller systems are far from allowing the vehicle to drive itself, but they do act as a small stepping stone toward fully autonomous vehicles. To further the research and exploration in the world of autonomous ground vehicles, it can be very beneficial to have a single test vehicle that can meet a variety of research needs. This is where an Autonomous Vehicle Research Platform (AVRP) would come in handy. The main goal behind an AVRP is to give researchers the ability to outfit an autonomous research platform with hardware and testing equipment they deem necessary for their research. When the researcher has completed their testing, they remove their added equipment to restore the platform to its base form for the next researcher to use. The scope of this thesis is to develop the operating specifications for an AVRP. This includes types of sensors for understanding the surrounding environment, and their optimal mounting locations, and hardware for positioning and navigating within that environment. It also discusses power estimation for powering the needed hardware and systems, computing benchmarks from other autonomous research platforms, and a communication structure for the AVRP.

This research investigates the potential of digital platforms to broaden the scope of action and empower permaculture communities in their attempt to challenge the capitalist mode of production regarding topics such as food harvesting and consumption patterns. It draws on Manzini’s (2018) critique of neoliberalism and his discussion on designing for social innovation, which suggests focusing on and enhancing existing members' capabilities rather than their needs; fostering cross-collaboration within and among communities; and allowing these collaborations to mature over time. It combines design thinking and co-design to develop further a previously existing proof of concept of a mapping platform that connects permaculture initiatives in Brazil. When it was created in 2018, this platform was tested by potential users who underscored severe usability limitations, and as a result, it was never fully implemented. This thesis discusses such limitations and proposes an improved platform to empower those communities by fostering collaboration beyond individuals and local groups towards regional communities.

This study investigates how the data about environmental conditions can be used in order toprovide individuals with the tool to claim against industrial companies causing the pollutionand affecting people’s life. Based on extensive research in relation to the political, social,technological and ethical context of the use case, the design solution introduces an open dataplatform where individuals and NGOs can collect, store, analyse and reuse collected data. Proposed design outcome is creating a bridge between users outside of technological scopeand the emerging field of IoT devices in order to make the data collection affordable andaccessible. It introduces a workflow for implementing the off-shelf technology into the digitalinfrastructure together with supportive functionalities to use collected information forcontext-specific purposes. The concept was developed with strong emphasis on implementingdemocratic values into the design solution, such as protection of personal data, distributedgovernance and transparency.

The agile creation of 3D CAD platforms (3D CAD models that can be configured to obtain a family of Products) has become an important factor for increasing competitiveness of organizations that create discrete products. Design Automation (DA) is a powerful tool that can be used for speeding up and optimizing the design process of those 3D CAD platforms. Nonetheless, for effectively applying DA on the development of 3D CAD platforms it is desirable to count on tools that address the three fundamental hurdles that are also obstructing the wide adoption of DA in practice. These hurdles are the lack of identification of DA opportunities, the absence of performance metrics, and the absence of methods for continuous improvement. This dissertation contributes a set of methods and tools to incrementally improve the process for creating 3D CAD platforms towards increased automation. The tools proposed include the development of a Metrics Framework (MF) for assessing the capabilities of an organization for creating 3D CAD platforms; a method for increasing the organizational capabilities for creating 3D CAD platforms, and a method for identifying optimal improvement efforts for creating 3D CAD platforms in a multi-objective scenario

This paper introduces the topic of Cohousing as a solution to the chronic housing crisis and examines how it can be supported by digital platforms, and what form they should take. The theoretical concept of platforms and infrastructure is examined in general and specifically for communities along with other co-operative practices. The methodology of Research through Design (RtD) paired with recognised design methods of interviews, surveys and participatory design including workshops and co-design, employing a design process blending ideation and prototyping with each of these methods. The resulting design is a platform serving the dual functionality of marketing the Cohousing practice to wider society coupled with aggregating the infrastructural and communication needs of a cohousing group. The design works to support a highly interpersonal community-based activity through the face-to-face interaction of groups and demonstrates how the studies of platforms and infrastructure combined with research through design can support such practices.