Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

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A child dies in road traffic crashes every fourth minute. Totally were 186 300 children under the age of 18 killed in vehicle accidents in 2012, even more were severely injured [1]. The World Health Organisation (WHO) could conclude that fatalities in traffic accidents are more likely to occur in low- to middle income countries compared to high income countries [1]. Finite element based human body models has enabled the increased understanding of kinematics and injury mechanisms of child occupants. These models sustain higher biofidelity than the previously used crash test dummies. The European project PIPER [6] had the aim to develop a model that, combined with a framework, would simplify positioning and also to offer a scalable HBM child model. The PIPER framework software and the scalable PIPER model offers child HBM:s within the ages 1.5-6-years old and is an useful tool for the analysis of child occupants.    The present study evaluates the kinematics and dummy responses of the 4- and 6-year old PIPER model evaluated. The objective of this master thesis is to evaluate the PIPER model with respect to its sensitivity to seat belt geometries, child restraint system, load cases and child anthropometrics. The aim of the master thesis is to get an increased comprehension of the PIPER model and its capability to evaluate occupant kinematics relevant for safety developments, with a special focus on seat belt geometry and interaction in frontal impacts.   The PIPER model showed good sensitivity to different seatbelt geometries regarding the abdominal part of the shoulder belt and to different CRS. The PIPER framework was perceived as hard to use and with the presence of errors. The kinematic response showed good accuracy compared to other previous studies with other crash test dummies however, reoccurring error termination could not be neglectable.    The PIPER model is limited to its ease to positioning in desired sitting postures within the PIPER framework. It is regardless of its disadvantages believed to be a suitable tool to further understand occupant kinematics, as for different belt routings, child anthropometrics and dummy responses are further studies needed to validate the outputs that the model offers and to conclude its robustness in crashworthiness tests.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: Dept. of Public Policy and Administration. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 128-141.

Face aux enjeux climatiques actuels, le secteur bâtiment est encouragé à réduire sa consommation énergétique tout en préservant le confort des occupants. C’est dans ce contexte que s’inscrit le projet ANR PRECCISION qui vise au développement d’outils et de méthodes pour la gestion énergétique optimisée des bâtiments qui nécessitent l’utilisation de modèles thermiques dynamiques. Les travaux de thèse, effectués entre le G2Elab et le G-SCOP, se sont focalisés sur les problématiques liées à l’estimation paramétrique de ces modèles. En effet, les incertitudes liées aux phénomènes mal maîtrisés et la nature des modèles rendent le calibrage des paramètres des modèles délicat. Cette procédure complexe n’est à ce jour pas systématisable : les modèles auto-regressifs ont une faible capacité d'extrapolation car leur structure est inadaptée, tandis que les modèles physiques sont non-linéaires par rapport à de nombreux paramètres : les estimations conduisent à des optimums locaux fortement dépendant de l'initialisation. Pour lever ce verrou, plusieurs approches ont été explorées à partir de modèles physiques adaptés pour lesquels des études sur l’identifiabilité ont été menées sur une plateforme expérimentale : PREDIS MHI. Différentes stratégies d'optimisation sont alors proposées visant à déterminer les paramètres qui peuvent être recalés. La première approche repose sur une analyse a priori de la dispersion paramétrique, la seconde repose sur une procédure de méta-optimisation qui détermine dynamiquement, au fur et à mesure d'une séquence d'optimisations, les paramètres à recaler. Les résultats sont analysés et comparés à diverses approches (modèles universels, identification « naïve » de tous les paramètres d’un modèle physique, algorithme génétique, …) à travers différents cas d'application. / In order to tackle the actual climate issues, the building field is encouraged to reduce his energetic consumption without changing the occupant’s comfort. In this context, the aim of the ANR PRECCISION project is to develop tools and methods for energetic management of the buildings which needs the use of dynamical thermal models. The PHD works, realise between the G2Elab and the G-SCOP, was focused on models parametric estimation issues. Indeed, uncertainties due to unknown phenomena and the nature of models lead to difficulties for the calibration of the models. Nowadays, this complex procedure is still not automatable: auto-regressive models have a low capacity to extrapolate because of their inadequate structure, whereas the physical models are non-linear regarding many parameters: estimations lead towards local optimums which highly depend on the initial point. In order to eliminate these constraints, several approaches have been explored with physical models adapted for which identifiability studies have been reached on an experimental platform: PREDIS MHI. Different optimisation strategies will be proposed in order to determine the parameters which can be estimated. The first approach uses an analyse a priori of the parametric dispersion, the second one use a meta optimisation which dynamicaly determined as the optimisation sequence, the parameters which can be readjusted. The results are analysed and compared to several approaches (universal models, “simple” identification of all the parameters of a physical model, genetic algorithm …) in different application cases.

Les trente dernières années ont été marquées en France par de profondes mutations sociales et économiques issues à la fois de crises financières successives et d’un bouleversement des structures familiales qui conjugués à une précarité économique croissante ont conduit à une situation de fragilisation de certaines populations, dont les propriétaires occupants. Jusque dans les années 40, ils étaient relativement « protégés » des aléas économiques grâce au droit détenu sur l’immeuble occupé qui leur offrait à la fois une garantie patrimoniale et un statut social. Aujourd’hui, le contexte socio-économique induit de véritables risques de paupérisation qu’ils proviennent de crise économique, de crise sociétale ou encore qu'ils soient inhérents à la propriété elle-même, auxquels n’échappent pas les propriétaires occupants. La propriété n'apparaît donc plus comme vecteur de stabilité dans le logement, mais au contraire peut constituer un facteur de précarisation. Il convient alors de s'interroger sur les capacités du droit de propriété à protéger le logement d'occupants économiquement fragiles. Les propriétaires n'étant pas bénéficiaires du droit au logement, il était nécessaire de s'intéresser au contenu du droit de propriété et aux garanties inhérentes à ce droit dans la perspective d'une protection du propriétaire occupant fragilisé.Cette analyse critique du droit de propriété dépasse largement la seule dimension historique, en soulignant notamment ses limites en terme de protection du logement, en analysant les mécanismes "palliatifs" mis en œuvre par les politiques sociales en réponse à la précarisation des propriétaires occupants. Elle s'interroge enfin, sur le contenu et la place du droit de propriété dans la société du XXIème siècle. / The last thirty years were characterized in France by profound social and economic changes borned of successive financial crises and a upheaval of family structures. Combined with an increasing economic precariousness, the situation has led to the weakening of some populations among which the owners-occupiers. To the forties, they were relatively “protected” from economic hazards because of the owner right on the occupied building which offered them at once, patrimonial guarantee and social status. Today, the socioeconomic context leads to real risks of impoverishment resulting from societal and economic crisis or even inherent in the very property, the owner occupiers cannot escape from. Thus property does not appear as a vector of stability in the housing any more but, inversely can constitute a factor of casualization.We should therefore wonder about the ability of property right to protect the housing of economically fragile occupants. Because the owners are not beneficiaries of the right for the housing, the contents of property right and its guarantees should be examined in the prospect of the protection of weakened owner occupiers.Beyond historical dimension, the critical study will underline the limits of the protection of the housing, analyze the “palliative” mechanisms implemented by social policies responding to the casualization of the owner-occupiers. It will finally examine the contents and the place given to property right in the society of the 21st century.

De nos jours, l'humidité dans les bâtiments est une problématique majeure car elle impacte simultanément la consommation énergétique, le confort des occupants, ainsi que les risques de moisissures dans l'envelope du bâtiment. Les matériaux de construction ont la capacité d'absorber et de libérer de grandes quantités de vapeur d'eau et peuvent par conséquent amortir les variations d'humidité relative intérieure. Cette proporiété est appelée tampon hygrique. Elle est liée aux échanges de vapeur d'eau entre l'air intérieur et les parois, à la ventilation, et aux sources de vapeur. Cet effet a été précédemment mis en évidence à l'échelle du matériau et de la paroi par des expériences de laboratoire et des modèles numériques. Cependant, peu de modèles décrivent de manière réaliste les sources intérieures dues à la présence et aux activités des occupants. Dans ce travail, un modèle hygrothermique à l'échelle de la pièce a été développé en Python afin d'investiguer l'influence du scénario d'occupation, et l'impact du tampon hygrique des parois sur l'air intérieur. Ce modèle regroupe les transferts couplés d'énergie et de masse dans les parois, ainsi que les sources intérieures décrites par un système de conditionnement d'air et par la présence et les activités des occupants. Ce dernier étant modélisé de manière stochastique par un modèle implémenté dans une plateforme nommée No-MASS. Des indicateurs de performance sur les besoins énergétiques, le confort hygrique intérieur, et les risques liés aux moisissures dans les parois ont été définis pour quantifier la performance hygrothermique d'une pièce. La sensibilité des indicateurs de performance vis-à-vis du scénario d'occupation a été évaluée en simulant des scénarios stochastique, déterministe et constant. Les résultats ont montré une influence marginale du scénario à l'échelle de l'année. [...} / Humidity in buildings has nowadays become a major concern as it impacts simultaneously the energy consumption, the occupants' comfort and the moisture related risks in the buildings envelope. Buildings materials have the ability to absorb and release large amounts of moisture and therefore they may dampen the indoor relative humidity variations. This is called the moisture buffering capacity. It depends on the vapour exchanges between the air and the walls, the ventilation and the indoor moisture sources. This property was previously highlighted at material and wall scales through laboratory experiments and numerical models. However, few models describe the indoor sources due to the occupants' presence and activities in a realistic way. In this work, a hygrothermal room model was developed in Python to investigate the influence of the occupancy scenario and of the impact of the walls moisture buffering on indoor air balance. This model regroups the coupled heat and mass transfer in the walls, as well as the indoor sources depicted by the air-conditioning system and the occupants' presence and activities. The numerical modelling of the latter relies on a stochastic occupancy model implemented in a platform called No-MASS. Performance indicators on the energy demand, the indoor hygric comfort and the moisture related risks in the walls were defined to quantify the hygothermal performance of a room. The sensitivity of the performance indicators towards the occupancy scenario was assessed by simulating a stochastic occupancy scenario, a deterministic one and a constant one. Results showed a marginal influence of the scenario at year scale. However, at smaller time scales (seasonal or monthly), their impact on the indoor relative humidity dampening was not negligible, mainly due to the consideration of a seasonal effect for the stochastic scenario. [...]

D.Com. / When low cost carriers are introduced into domestic or regional scheduled air transport markets, the effects tend to be profound. In most markets where they have been introduced, lower prices have tended to lead to the stimulation of demand. As the scope of the market increases, so too does the number of entrants in the market, resulting not only in higher levels of competition but also lower prices and services. The success of the low cost model is indicated by the uptake in the air transport markets, where low cost carriers sometimes account for as much as 50% of the total air traffic movements. The presence of the low cost carriers is not necessarily a guarantee of success and the market failure rates tend to be high...

Energy efficiency within the housing sector is progressing. In Vallastaden which is a newly developed city district in Linköping, Sweden, constructors together with the municipality have made attempts to create a sustainable built environment. One of the goals was to establish energy efficient residential buildings in Vallastaden. The overall aim of the study was to investigate the development of two energy plus buildings in Vallastaden and explore the potentials for the energy concept in these buildings to reduce the energy use. The perceptions of the occupants were included in the study since their views and practices play an important part for the buildings’ energy performance. Qualitative interviews were conducted with informants from two housing companies and three households. The findings show that the motives for the housing companies were try out new things and progress within the housing sector. The housing companies were however uncertain if their buildings would become energy efficient in practice since it depended on how the occupants would interact with the technology and the energy concept. There is a risk that the energy concept and the technology may not reach its full potential in reducing energy since the occupants either had no reflection about their role in the energy concept or were uncertain about the technology. The communication between the housing companies and the occupants needs to be strengthened for occupants to realize their influence on the energy use in these buildings.

In Painter, Painter, Elle Chae explores the home as an unstable, unpredictable environment that is highly sensitive to the traces emanating from the domestic space, including its inhabitants. This body of work examines how the occupant’s interactions can blur the notion of home as a shelter. Using the creative deconstruction as a mode of generating new meanings, Chae’s conceptual juxtaposition and wide range of techniques and surface create reverie scenes that are open to and encourage freedom of interpretations.