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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 1 April 2019

Michel Leseure, Dawn Robins, Graham Wall and Dylan Jones

Offshore renewable energy technologies provide many new opportunities for coastal regions around the world, and although the energy policy literature has documented the success…

Abstract

Purpose

Offshore renewable energy technologies provide many new opportunities for coastal regions around the world, and although the energy policy literature has documented the success stories of many “first mover” regions, there is little guidance for “second mover” or “follower” regions. This paper aims to investigate the strategic challenges faced by coastal regions in the Channel area that are not first movers.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use a multiple case study approach to analyse the behaviour of regional stakeholders when planning and assessing their participation in the renewable energy sector.

Findings

The paper reveals the tendency of regional planners to idealise investments in renewable energy. The negative consequences of idealisation are inadequate strategic visions.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are only relevant in the context of the regions that are part of the case study.

Practical implications

The paper illustrates how idealisation of technology or strategy is created and how it impacts strategic decision-making. It also discusses how to address idealisation.

Social implications

Although much of the energy policy literature discusses the challenge of social acceptance, this paper documents an opposite phenomenon, idealisation. There is a need in the energy sector to find a middle ground between these two extremes.

Originality/value

The paper provides evidence and a theoretical analysis of a decision-making bias, idealisation, which is not discussed in the literature.

Details

International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6220

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 August 2014

Odeh Dababneh and Altan Kayran

In modeling an aircraft wing, structural idealizations are often employed in hand calculations to simplify the structural analysis. In real applications of structural design…

Abstract

Purpose

In modeling an aircraft wing, structural idealizations are often employed in hand calculations to simplify the structural analysis. In real applications of structural design, analysis and optimization, finite element methods are used because of the complexity of the geometry, combined and complex loading conditions. The purpose of this paper is to give a comprehensive study on the effect of using different structural idealizations on the design, analysis and optimization of thin walled semi-monocoque wing structures in the preliminary design phase.

Design/methodology/approach

In the design part of the paper, wing structures are designed by employing two different structural idealizations that are typically used in the preliminary design phase. In the structural analysis part, finite element analysis of one of the designed wing configurations is performed using six different one and two dimensional finite element pairs which are typically used to model the sub-elements of semi-monocoque wing structures. Finally in the optimization part, wing structure is optimized for minimum weight by using finite element models which have the same six different finite element pairs used in the analysis phase.

Findings

Based on the results presented in the paper, it is concluded that with the simplified methods, preliminary sizing of the wing configurations can be performed with enough confidence as long as the simplified method based designs are also optimized iteratively, which is what is practiced in the design phase of this study.

Originality/value

This research aims at investigating the effect of using different one and two dimensional element pairs on the final analyzed and optimized configurations of the wing structure, and conclusions are inferred with regard to the sensitivity of the optimized wing configurations with respect to the choice of different element types in the finite element model.

Details

International Journal of Structural Integrity, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-9864

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 June 2018

D. Wade Hands

During the last decade or so, philosophers of science have shown increasing interest in scientific models and modeling. The primary impetus seems to have come from the philosophy…

Abstract

During the last decade or so, philosophers of science have shown increasing interest in scientific models and modeling. The primary impetus seems to have come from the philosophy of biology, but increasingly the philosophy of economics has been drawn into the discussion. This paper will focus on the particular subset of this literature that emphasizes the difference between a scientific model being explanatory and one that provides explanations of specific events. The main differences are in the structure of the models and the characteristics of the explanatory target. Traditionally, scientific explanations have been framed in terms of explaining particular events, but many scientific models have targets that are hypothetical patterns: “patterns of macroscopic behavior across systems that are heterogeneous at smaller scales” (Batterman & Rice, 2014, p. 349). The models with this characteristic are often highly idealized, and have complex and heterogeneous targets; such models are “central to a kind of modeling that is widely used in biology and economics” (Rohwer & Rice, 2013, p. 335). This paper has three main goals: (i) to discuss the literature on such models in the philosophy of biology, (ii) to show that certain economic phenomena possess the same degree of heterogeneity and complexity often encountered in biology (and thus, that hypothetical pattern explanations may be appropriate in certain areas of economics), and (iii) to demonstrate that Hayek’s arguments about “pattern predictions” and “explanations of the principle” are essentially arguments for the importance of this type of modeling in economics.

Details

Including a Symposium on Bruce Caldwell’s Beyond Positivism After 35 Years
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-126-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 June 2015

Ross P. D. Johnston, Mohammed Sonebi, James B. P. Lim, Cecil G. Armstrong, Andrzej M. Wrzesien, Gasser Abdelal and Ying Hu

This paper describes the results of non-linear elasto-plastic implicit dynamic finite element analyses that are used to predict the collapse behaviour of cold-formed steel portal…

Abstract

This paper describes the results of non-linear elasto-plastic implicit dynamic finite element analyses that are used to predict the collapse behaviour of cold-formed steel portal frames at elevated temperatures. The collapse behaviour of a simple rigid-jointed beam idealisation and a more accurate semi-rigid jointed shell element idealisation are compared for two different fire scenarios. For the case of the shell element idealisation, the semi-rigidity of the cold-formed steel joints is explicitly taken into account through modelling of the bolt-hole elongation stiffness. In addition, the shell element idealisation is able to capture buckling of the cold-formed steel sections in the vicinity of the joints. The shell element idealisation is validated at ambient temperature against the results of full-scale tests reported in the literature. The behaviour at elevated temperatures is then considered for both the semi-rigid jointed shell and rigid-jointed beam idealisations. The inclusion of accurate joint rigidity and geometric non-linearity (second order analysis) are shown to affect the collapse behaviour at elevated temperatures. For each fire scenario considered, the importance of base fixity in preventing an undesirable outwards collapse mechanism is demonstrated. The results demonstrate that joint rigidity and varying fire scenarios should be considered in order to allow for conservative design.

Details

Journal of Structural Fire Engineering, vol. 6 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-2317

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2015

Laszlo Hetey, James Campbell and Rade Vignjevic

This paper aims to describe the development of an advisory system that helps building sound finite element (FE) models from computer-aided design data, with actual uncertainty…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to describe the development of an advisory system that helps building sound finite element (FE) models from computer-aided design data, with actual uncertainty levels expressed by error values in per cent, as today there is no widely accepted tool for FE idealisation error control.

Design/methodology/approach

The goal is to provide a computer-aided engineering (CAE) environment which assists the FE modelling phase. A demonstration program has been developed that leads the user through a step-by-step process and helps to detect idealisation errors. Uncertainties are identified and analysed following the procedure. An example illustrates the methodology on the collapse analysis of aerospace stiffened panels.

Findings

The design shows how a knowledge-based system can be used to aid a safe virtual product development.

Research limitations/implications

The extension of current CAE environments is difficult, as the programs do not provide sufficient flexibility, changeability and FE solver independence. New developments can take the presented concept as a starting point.

Practical implications

The application of error control strategies increases the FE modelling fidelity and can prevent incorrect design decisions. The practical conversion of FE idealisation support depends on the ambitions of CAE software providers.

Originality/value

This research shows how a previously paper-and-pencil-based error control procedure can be transformed to an easy-to-use tool in modern software.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, vol. 87 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1968

G. Sander

THE idea of a dual analysis in finite elements of a given structure was put forward in Ref. 4. The first analysis should be of the displacement type, using conforming displacement…

Abstract

THE idea of a dual analysis in finite elements of a given structure was put forward in Ref. 4. The first analysis should be of the displacement type, using conforming displacement models of the finite elements. This results in a continuous, piecewise differcntiable displacement field in the whole structure, for which linear elasticity theory predicts lower bounds to the local static influence coefficients. The second analysis should be based on equilibrium models of the finite elements. The stress field within the structure is then continuously transmitted across the interfaces and satisfies detailed equilibrium conditions in the interior of each element. This property furnishes upper bounds to the influence coefficients.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 40 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Abstract

Details

Philosophy, Politics, and Austrian Economics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-405-2

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1992

Felix Geyer

Takes a general systems approach to reconceptualize and interconnect existing theories of alienation in community and in society. Alienation is viewed as a generic term for…

Abstract

Takes a general systems approach to reconceptualize and interconnect existing theories of alienation in community and in society. Alienation is viewed as a generic term for different types of information processing disturbances of human individuals, conceived as autoietic, self‐steering and self‐referential systems. In considering the possible relationships between alienation and the community‐society continuum, regarded as a controversial and complex one, a third element, complexity itself, which exerts its influence, is introduced. The main focus is on the different kinds of alienated response that may be evoked by relatively simple versus relatively complex environments. Discusses the idealized concept of the community and describes the negative effects of idealization. Finally, addresses the question of what type of community is still feasible in the highly complex society.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 21 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Abstract

Details

The Ideological Evolution of Human Resource Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-389-2

Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2018

Hsiang-Ke Chao

The model-based enquiry depends on the form in which models are formulated and represented. When economists select a model as an efficient reasoning tool, they may first consider…

Abstract

The model-based enquiry depends on the form in which models are formulated and represented. When economists select a model as an efficient reasoning tool, they may first consider the type of model whose inherited epistemic virtue and reasoning rules best fits their needs. This chapter studies the dependence between the different forms of models and scientific knowledge by considering a particular form of model, that is, the diagram. This chapter draws from the history of location theory, which provides us with an example of how economists reasoned with diagrams, how their particular geometric shapes became an idealized landscape, and how they reasoned into them to account for actual spatial patterns of economic activity providing the opportunity for policy advice. Three different diagrams are examined: Johann Heinrich von Thünen’s concentric rings of agricultural land use, Alfred Weber’s triangles of industrial locations, and Walter Christaller’s hexagons of market area.

Details

Including a Symposium on Mary Morgan: Curiosity, Imagination, and Surprise
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-423-7

Keywords

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