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Highly glazed facades of commercial buildings are desirable from the point of view of architects, building owners, and building occupants because they create visual connections with the outdoors, offer the possibility for a naturally-lit workplace, and satisfy certain aesthetic desires. The physical properties of glass, however—even when part of the best current window systems—means that this form of environmental separation is highly vulnerable to thermal flux from and to the outdoor environment. The transmission of solar radiation to the perimeter spaces represents an important source of thermal influx, and is typically controlled with shading devices. At best, shading devices create a secondary thermal barrier between indoor and outdoor environments, which can lower energy consumption, decrease peak load, allow for smaller HVAC systems, and provide better occupant comfort. The physical influence of indoor blinds, though, is not always so straightforward. They tend to create two primary effects that operate in opposing directions in regards to energy consumption: (1) they reflect a portion of shortwave solar radiation entering the building back to the outdoors, and (2) they significantly increase the window surface area available for convective heat transfer, which can increase the convective fraction of solar gain, and potentially increase the magnitude of the instantaneous cooling load. For these reasons, the overall impact of interior blinds on equipment load and energy consumption is difficult to foresee. This study describes the results of experiments that tested various configurations of blinds in an outdoor test chamber that simulates conditions in a highly-glazed commercial office building. A simulation model that gives good agreement with experimental results was simultaneously developed. This model will allow retroactive parametric testing of blind parameters for the same given weather and internal load conditions. / text

This study develops an approach to developing surface shading for computer-generated 3D head models that adapts aesthetics from the post-impressionist portrait painting style of Vincent Van Gogh. This research is an attempt to reconcile a 2D expressionist style of painting and 3D digital computer generated imagery. The focus of this research is on developing a surface shading methodology for creating 3D impasto painterly renderings informed by Van Gogh’s self-portrait paintings. Visual analysis of several of Van Gogh’s self-portraits reveal the characteristics of his overall rendering style that are essential in designing methods for shading and texturing 3D head models. A method for shading is proposed using existing surfacing and rendering tools to create 3D digital heads rendered in Van Gogh’s style. The designed shading methodology describes procedures that generate brushstroke patterns. User controls for brushstroke profile, size, color and direction are provided to allow variations in the brushstroke patterns. These patterns are used to define thick oil paint surface properties for 3D digital models. A discussion of the range of results achieved using the designed shading methodology reveal the variations in the rendering style that can be achieved, which reflects a wide range of expressive 3D portrait rendering styles. Therefore, this study is useful in understanding Van Gogh’s expressive portrait painting style and in applying the essence of his work to synthesized 3D portraits.

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This thesis is part of a large, multi-laboratory project to develop a GPU system-on-chip (SoC) for embedded systems. In support of this project, this current thesis presents the assembler and linker for the overall system. These tools were developed ¡§from scratch¡¨ for this project, because the both the input (to our assembler) and the output (from our linker) have new formats, due to the novelty of our GPU. One of the challenges of the work in this thesis is the problem of memory management. Another is the problem of deciding upon an assembly format. But the largest challenge was in co-design. The assembler has to work with a compiler which is also under development by other students. Also, the machine instructions that we produce have to support the format and functionality of the GPU hardware. To accomplish this, the specific details of this hardware had to be rigorously defined through discussion and negotiation. Furthermore, the memory addresses also required codesign with the benchmark development team, which needs to have access to these memory locations. So codesign issues impacted many of the features of this thesis.

This thesis aims at creating a dome fabricated from pattern and studying some of the forms of patterns that focus on organistic pattern. / Master of Architecture

Buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link), a non-native perennial bunchgrass, invades ecologically intact areas of the Sonoran Desert. It competitively excludes native plants and increases fire frequency and intensity. Since the 1990s, whole buffelgrass plants have been manually uprooted and removed to control the invasion in southern Arizona. Uprooting plants results in bare, disturbed soil which promotes buffelgrass seed germination. This study examined whether leaving entire uprooted buffelgrass plants (thatch) on a field site reduces future buffelgrass establishment compared to removing uprooted plants from the site. A secondary goal was to determine whether light reduction and autoallelopathy were major factors in the negative effect of thatch on buffelgrass seedling density. Field plots with an average of 8,095 kg/ha thatch had 1.9 buffelgrass seedlings/m(2) which was significantly fewer than the 2.9 seedlings/m(2) in plots without thatch. Thatched portions of thatch plots (50% of their total area) had only 0.7 seedlings/m(2). In the greenhouse, which reduced outdoor light intensity by 35.2%, buffelgrass seeds sown in bare soil resulted in significantly higher seedling density than beneath buffelgrass thatch. Potential autoallelopathic chemicals leached from partially decomposed buffelgrass thatch and leached thatch had an intermediate but not significant (p = 0.09) effect on seedling numbers. Results suggest that leaving uprooted buffelgrass plants has the benefit of reducing seedling establishment in the area disturbed by uprooting.

O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de diferentes alturas de ambientes protegidos e de diferentes níveis de sombreamento no cultivo de bromélias das espécies Aechmea fasciata e Guzmania lingulata. O experimento foi conduzido no período de 03 de abril de 2001 a 3 de abril de 2002, em dois ambientes protegidos, instalados, no sentido leste -oeste, na área experimental do Núcleo de Pesquisa em Ambiência (NUPEA), junto ao Departamento de Engenharia Rural, da Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Universidade de São Paulo, em Piracicaba, SP. Ambos os ambientes protegidos possuíam dimensões de 6,4m de largura por 17,5m de comprimento, com alturas diferenciadas, de 3,0m e de 3,5m. Esses ambientes possuíam cobertura plástica de polietileno de baixa densidade (PEBD), com 150m de espessura. A avaliação dos níveis de sombreamento aplicados às plantas no interior dos ambientes foi viabilizada pelo uso de telas de polipropileno de cor preta que proporcionaram sombreamentos de 18, 40, 60 e 80%. As mudas utilizadas no experimento foram obtidas através de micropropagação, e transplantadas para os vasos plásticos com uma idade aproximada de 90 dias em condições ex vitro. Avalio-se nos ambientes protegidos com diferentes alturas, a temperatura do ar, a umidade relativa, a temperatura de globo negro, a carga térmica radiante e a intensidade luminosa. Essa avaliação foi realizada pela leitura direta nos seguintes instrumentos: psicrômetros, termômetro de globo negro, anemômetro e luxímetro digital. Foram ainda realizadas coletas de dados de temperatura do ar, de umidade relativa e de radiação solar global, através de uma estação meteorológica automática. O desenvolvimento das plantas, sob os diferentes níveis de sombreamento e as diferentes alturas dos ambientes, foi avaliado através do número de folhas, da altura das plantas, da largura das folhas e do diâmetro da roseta. Nas condições em que foi conduzido o experimento, concluiu-se que não houve diferença significativa nos ambientes com diferentes alturas, quando relacionou-se a umidade relativa do ar, a temperatura do ar, a temperatura de globo negro, a carga térmica de radiação, a luminosidade e a radiação solar global. A A. fasciata, submetida aos vários níveis de sombreamento, mostrou um melhor desenvolvimento sob as telas de 40%, enquanto que para G. lingulata as telas de 60 e 80% de sombreamento proporcionaram desenvolvimento semelhante das plantas. / The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of different greenhouses heights and levels of shading on the growth of Aechmea fasciata and Guzmania lingulata (Bromeliaceae). The experiment was done from march 26'th of 2001 to april third of 2002, in two greenhouses, built in east-west orientation, at the experimental area of Nucleos of Environment Research - NUPEA, Rural Engineering Department, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil. Greenhouses measured: 6.4m in width, 17.5m in length and heights of 3.0m and 3.5m. They were covered with 150m thick low density polyethylene (PEBD). Black polypropylene cloth providing shading of 18%, 40%, 60%, and 80% was used. The plants used in the experiment were obtained through micropropagation and transplanted to plastic pots at approximately 90 days after ex vitro culture. The air temperature, the relative humidity, the black globe temperature, the radiant thermal load, and light intensity were evaluated inside the greenhouses. These evaluations were carried out through the direct reading from the following instruments: psycrometers, black globe thermometer, anemometer and digital luximeter. Air temperature, relative humidity and global solar radiation were also obtained through sensors connected to an automatic meteorological station. The development of the plants under different levels of shading and different heights was evaluated according to the number of leaves, height of plants, width of leaves, and the diameter of the rosette. Under the conditions used for the experiment, it can be concluded that the 3.5m high greenhouse showed lower air relative humidity when compared to the 3.0m high greenhouse. Plants of A. fasciata growing under different levels of shading had a better development under 40% cloths, while G. lingulata showed a more vigorous grouth under 60% and 80% of shading.

Os sistemas de controle solar auxiliam no controle da radiação solar incidente no envoltório, e, de acordo com a NBR 15220-3, é recomendável seu uso para a zona bioclimática 3, na cidade de Porto Alegre. Assim, com a ação de retrofitting, é possível utilizar os sistemas de controle solar como modo de adaptar o envoltório das edificações ao clima local e aos padrões de consumo atuais. Dessa forma, o retrofitting do envoltório pode contribuir com a redução do consumo energético e a dependência de sistemas de refrigeração e aquecimento mecânico. Logo, o objetivo da dissertação é qualificar e quantificar energeticamente os sistemas de controle solar com vistas à redução do consumo energético nos ambientes construídos. Um estudo de caso foi realizado na cidade de Porto Alegre, onde um edifício foi selecionado perante um conjunto de edificações existentes. Com o auxílio de um método expedito de cálculo energético, foi realizada a avaliação energética do envoltório da edificação atual e do seu retrofitting proposto. A edificação passou de nível energético E para nível A, comprovando o êxito do estudo de retrofitting aplicado. A pesquisa concluiu que, alinhado com o encontrado na revisão da literatura, as edificações com grandes aberturas orientadas para oeste são um equívoco de projeto no clima de Porto Alegre e que as ações de retrofitting são uma alternativa de adaptação ao clima local, tornando os edifícios eficientes energeticamente. / Shading systems help to control the incident solar radiation on the envelope, and, according to NBR 15220-3, its use is recommended for the bioclimatic zone 3, in the city of Porto Alegre. Hence, with retrofitting, it is possible to use shading systems as a way of adapting the building envelope to the local climate and current consumption patterns. Thus, the retrofitting of the envelope can contribute to the reduction of the energy consumption and of the dependence on systems of refrigeration and mechanical heating. Therefore, the objective of this dissertation is to qualify and quantify the energy of shading systems in order to reduce energy consumption in built environments. Thus, a case study was conducted in the city of Porto Alegre, where a building was selected from a set of existing buildings. We performed an energetic evaluation of current envelope of buildings and its proposed retrofitting by using a facilitated method for energy calculation. The buildings moved from energy level E to level A, proving the success of the study on the applied retrofitting. We conclude that, as also shown in literature review; buildings with large openings oriented to the west in Porto Alegre are a design misconception due to the city’s climate. Thus, retrofitting actions are alternative ways to adapt to the local climate so that buildings are energy efficient.

A method has been developed to measure the perceived depth of computer generated images of simple solid objects. Computer graphic techniques allow for independent control of different depth queues (stereo, shading, and texture) and enable the investigator thereby to study psychophysically the interaction of modules for depth perception. Accumulation of information from shading and stereo and vetoing of depth from shading by edge information have been found. Cooperativity and other types of interactions are discussed. If intensity edges are missing, as in a smooth-shaded surface, the image intensities themselves could be used for stereo matching. The results are compared with computer vision algorithms for both single modules and their integration for 3D vision.