Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are typically highlighted for their potential application in gas storage, separations and catalysis. In contrast, the unique prospects these porous and crystalline materials offer for application in electronic devices, although actively developed, are often underexposed. This review highlights the research aimed at the implementation of MOFs as an integral part of solid-state microelectronics. Manufacturing these devices will critically depend on the compatibility of MOFs with existing fabrication protocols and predominant standards. Therefore, it is important to focus in parallel on a fundamental understanding of the distinguishing properties of MOFs and eliminating fabrication-related obstacles for integration. The latter implies a shift from the microcrystalline powder synthesis in chemistry labs, towards film deposition and processing in a cleanroom environment. Both the fundamental and applied aspects of this two-pronged approach are discussed. Critical directions for future research are proposed in an updated high-level roadmap to stimulate the next steps towards MOF-based microelectronics within the community.

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An updated roadmap for the integration of metal–organic frameworks with electronic devices and chemical sensors

Can commercial low-cost sensor platforms contribute to air quality monitoring and exposure estimates?

Computer Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering

Buildings are among the largest consumers of electricity in the US. A significant portion of this energy use in buildings can be attributed to HVAC systems used to maintain comfort for occupants. In most cases these building HVAC systems run on fixed schedules and do not employ any fine grained control based on detailed occupancy information. In this paper we present the design and implementation of a presence sensor platform that can be used for accurate occupancy detection at the level of individual offices. Our presence sensor is low-cost, wireless, and incrementally deployable within existing buildings. Using a pilot deployment of our system across ten offices over a two week period we identify significant opportunities for energy savings due to periods of vacancy. Our energy measurements show that our presence node has an estimated battery lifetime of over five years, while detecting occupancy accurately. Furthermore, using a building simulation framework and the occupancy information from our testbed, we show potential energy savings from 10% to 15% using our system.

[ACM Press the 2nd ACM Workshop - Zurich, Switzerland (2010.11.02-2010.11.02)] Proceedings of the 2nd ACM Workshop on Embedded Sensing Systems for Energy-Efficiency in Building - BuildSys \'10 - Occupancy-driven energy management for smart building automation

Applications of low-cost sensing technologies for air quality monitoring and exposure assessment: How far have they gone?

La ricerca ha sviluppato strumenti e metodi per la valutazione e il controllo in fase progettuale dei rischi legati alla gestione di un edificio. Partendo dalla definizione di un quadro di obiettivi di gestione particolare attenzione e stata rivolta al rapporto fra le scelte progettuali e le attivita di conduzione e manutenzione. L’esito della ricerca e stato la creazione, e l’applicazione su casi studio, di un un tableau de bord del rischio per supportare i progettisti nel miglioramento degli aspetti legati alla manutenibilita e alla facilita di gestione delle proprie proposte progettuali e i committenti. Il contributo del tableau de bord ai committenti e in due direzioni, da una parte nella costruzione di un quadro di esigenze utile a richiedere una progettazione attenta ai principali problemi di gestione e, dall’altra, nel valutare le proposte progettuali in funzione dei rischi di gestione. Il quadro di strumenti e metodi proposti per la gestione in fase di progetto dei rischi di lungo periodo e stato testato sul progetto di due edifici di culto e i risultati sono riportati e commentati.

Risk management in architectural design. The control of uncertainty over objectives

Risk Assessment Methodology. DESTination RAIL Deliverable D3.6

FORESEE – D1.2: Guideline to set target levels of service and resilience for infrastructures

In the present paper an apparatus of tools and methods is presented to evaluate, at the design stage, the risks over a set of objectives through buildings lifetime. To this purpose a tool is first presented to relate technological requirements of each technical elements to the pertinent maintenance interventions. Then a process is also proposed to estimate the risks on user requirements runningMonte Carlo simulations. The risk management process proposed in the present work aims to support designers and promoters in making predictions on the outcomes of long, not standardized, multivariable dependent processes – as the building process is – in order to indicate the attitude of a designed building to meet a framework of important objectives through its lifetime.

The control, at the design stage, of risks related to buildings management over time

The research proposes a method and an apparatus of tools to evaluate buildings design, in order to control, at the design stage, the risks related to the operation and management phase. To this purpose, particular attention is paid on the relationship between design choices and the propensity of buildings to keep the satisfaction over time of a framework of requirements (that express users and client needs). The research proposes the use of a “tableau de bord” of risks to support both designers and clients in evaluating project proposals according to the long period risks over a set of declared needs.
The need for such a tool comes from the fact that, even though the design is the key decisional moment of the building process where the quality of buildings are largely determined, in the current practice of architectural design the performances of buildings in the long term are highly uncertain.
Important requirements that are uncertain are risky by definition. It follows that to control the risks of a building to become unsatisfactory in the long term, it is necessary to estimate the uncertainty over the performances related to the most relevant requirements.
In order to assess the uncertainty over a set of key requirements the research proposes to estimate both the exposure to failures and the adequacy of maintainability of building elements involved with each requirement, for evaluating whether or not the maintainability of elements is adequate. To this purpose a set of tools and maps have been settle in order to put in correlation needs with requirements. Then every requirement is tracked down to a list of technical elements. Finally, each element is linked to a range of possible interventions. In parallel with this set of maps, an open database of frequencies of all the interventions has also been created. These maps of correlations among requirements, elements and interventions are designed to estimate the level of exposure to the aging effect of each requirement. In addition, a tool for establishing the level of maintainability has also been created. On the basis of this frame of tools and maps to assess the level of both the exposure to failures and the maintainability of building elements, a method is then presented to estimate the propensity of technological requirements to be maintained acceptable over time. This information is used to estimate the uncertainty of technical requirements to be maintained satisfied through time.
A method to carry out the same estimation on more complex requirements, such as user requirements, is also presented in the work. User requirements depend on the performance of many technical elements. Therefor their uncertainty to be maintained satisfied through time relay on the maintainability of all elements involved. In order to compute the probability of these requirements to be maintained the Monte Carlo method is used.
The proposed tools and method, applied to a number of churches with some known problems in management, have shown to well represent the actual state of buildings.

Claudio Martani

Papers

Risk management in architectural design. The control of uncertainty over objectives

Risk Assessment Methodology. DESTination RAIL Deliverable D3.6

FORESEE – D1.2: Guideline to set target levels of service and resilience for infrastructures

The control, at the design stage, of risks related to buildings management over time

The control of uncertainty over objectives in architectural design