Claus Thorp Hansen

Optimization of pipe networks

The paper treats a piping system, where the layout of the network is given but the diameters of the pipes should be chosen among a small number of different values. The cost of realizing the system should be minimized while keeping the energy heads at the nodes above some lower limits. A new algorithm using successive linear programming is presented. The performance of the algorithm is illustrated by optimizing a network with 201 pipes and 172 nodes. It is concluded that the new algorithm seems to be very efficient and stable, and that it always finds a solution with a cost near the best possible.

Two approaches to synthesis based on the domain theory

The domain theory is described in this chapter. By a strict distinction between the structural characteristics and the behavioural properties of a mechanical artefact, each domain, i.e., transformation-, organ-, and part-domain, becomes a productive view for design of mechanical artefacts. The functional reasoning within each domain and between the domains seems to be ruled by the function-means law (Hubka’s law). On the basis of the domain theory and the function-means law we present two formal approaches to the synthesis of mechanical artefacts, namely a design-process-oriented approach and an artefact-oriented approach. The design-process-oriented synthesis approach can be seen as a basic design step for composite mechanical artefacts. The artefact-oriented approach has been utilised for the development of computer-based design support systems.

An Approach to Simultaneous Synthesis and Optimization of Composite Mechanical Systems

SUMMARY TO be able to develop computer tools to support the engineering designer, it seems that the existing phenomenon models of the design process are too vague. The problem is that it is not possible to perform an unambiguous translation of phenomenon models into computer models, because the phenomenon models do not explicitly define design activities and results in the stages of the design process. This paper presents a phenomenon model of the design task execution. The activities to perform the design task execution are set up, and some of the activities are described using IDEFO and entity-relationship modelling techniques. The utilisation of the results of this research will lead to computer tools to support the combined synthesis and optimization task execution, which is characteristic for mechanical design.

Conceptual Design. Interpretations, Mindset and Models

Maximisingreader insights into the theory, models, methods and fundamental reasoning of design, this book addresses design activities in industrial settings, as well as the actors involved. This approach offers readers a new understanding of design activities and related functions, properties and dispositions. Presenting a design mindset that seeks to empower students, researchers, and practitioners alike, it features a strong focus on how designers create new concepts to be developed into products, and how they generate new business and satisfy human needs. Employing a multi-faceted perspective, the book supplies the reader with a comprehensive worldviewof design in the form of a proposed model that will empower their activities as student, researcher or practitioner. We draw the reader into the core role ofdesign conceptualisationfor society, for the development of industry, for users and buyers of products, and for citizens in relation to public systems. The book also features original contributions related to exploration,conceptualisationand product synthesis. Exploring both the power and limitations of formal design process models, methods, and tools viewed in the light of human ingenuity and cognition, the book develops a unique design mindset that adds human understanding to the list of methods and tools essential to design. This insight is distilled into useful mindset heuristics included throughout the book

Teaching Power Electronics With a Design-Oriented, Project-Based Learning Method at the Technical University of Denmark

Power electronics is a fast-developing technology within the electrical engineering field. This paper presents the results and experiences gained from applying design-oriented project-based learning to switch-mode power supply design in a power electronics course at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Project-based learning (PBL) is known to be a motivating problem-centered teaching method that not only places students at the core of teaching and learning activities but also gives them the ability to transfer their acquired scientific knowledge into industrial practice. Students choose a specification to implement from various power converter application projects, such as a fuel cell power conditioning converter, a light-emitting diode (LED) driver or a battery charger. The students select the topology, design magnetic components, calculate input/output filters and design closed-loop controllers necessary to fulfill the requirements listed in the chosen specification and thus meet the projects goals. This paper presents the course teaching plan and teaching methods, assessment method and student feedback.

Almost like being there; the Power of Personas when designing for foreign Cultures

Abstract Much research on personas focuses on how to develop and use personas, less on the validation and concrete value of them in the development of products for cultures far away from the actual design site. This article illustrates how such a validation was accomplished through producing a film and it provides an in-depth case description of how personas were developed and used. When designing a waste management system for soft plastic for a small village in India, personas were developed and applied by the designer to maintain a user-oriented focus throughout the participatory design process. During a three-month stay in the village, personas based on real people and the villagers’ everyday life and practices were developed by getting to know people and their ways of life through the use of ethnographic methods (observations, interviews, workshops and a film). The personas created a substantial understanding of the users’ individual needs, interests, values and emotions and helped to overcome the physical and cultural distance, enabling a strongly contextualised design.

The Design Process

The third element in the design machinery can be seen as part of the staging, but has such a major role that it needs its own treatment here in this chapter and further detailing in Chaps. 6– 10. Understanding and mastering an effective sequence of activities normally leads to a preferred, explicit design process as part of practice. In this chapter we highlight what really influences the composition of a process fitted for the actual task, context, and organization. We emphasize its dependency on human thinking and the artefacts’ nature, its role in supporting and managing the design activity, and its shaping into procedure. Our proposal for a design process, the Encapsulation Design Model, is a guide to understanding design’s nature, a framework for creating a fitted procedure, and a backbone for the application of models, approaches, and methods.

Product Life Synthesis

Product Life Synthesis is not only determined by the design activity but also by the context in which the product is deployed. This type of synthesis also takes place during the product’s lifecycle activities where life systems are established and utilized. In this last design phase, we identify three key influences from the finalized product development activity: need satisfaction and new business are established, and the product’s manufacture and utilization leads to environmental impacts. When these are better than earlier effects, we have innovation. Understanding innovation has its roots in understanding lifecycle conditions. In this chapter, we focus on these effects and how designers are able to influence them

Change, Development, and Conceptualization: Setting the Scene

From a design perspective, our society is a result of the incremental development of numerous societal systems into a complex web over thousands of years. Societal and human demands are met by our efforts to develop new knowledge and technologies, and deploy these in products and systems. Our focus here is on this transition into products and systems via more or less industrialized design processes. In exploring this we take an ‘onion peeling’ approach to gradually dig down from the fundamental nature of developing societal systems to our final focus on conceptualization and design. We explore how the creation of influential, sustainable, and valuable products requires the designer to empathically and technically understand the wider societal context and consequences of their actions. Thus, we close this chapter by outlining the designer’s role and challenges in this context, mirrored by what we see as the role of this book.

Designers and Their Knowing

Designers’ knowing is shaped by their education, training, experience, and research. In order to empower the designer we must be conscious of both what they know and what they do when they design.