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The effects of climate change have been contributing to coral reef degradation. Artificial reefs are one method being used to counteract this destruction. However, the most common artificial approaches, such as sunken vehicles and prefabricated cement reefs, do not allow adequate coral development. This paper aims to demonstrate how designers, using additive manufacturing and computational design techniques, can create artificial reefs that better mimic natural reef structures.

This research focuses on developing three-dimensional matrices through computational design using additive manufacturing to achieve better coral settlement. A “Nature Centered Design” approach was followed, with the corals at the center of the design project. Samples with different geometries and roughness, produced using paste-based extrusion with porcelain and porcelain with oyster shell, were tested in a controlled environment to investigate the settlement preference of soft corals.

The rapid prototyping of samples confirmed the preference of corals to settle to complex surfaces compared to smooth surfaces. Porcelain showed comparable results to Portland cement, suggesting further testing potential. A closer resemblance to the natural and intricate forms found in coral reefs was achieved through computational design.

This paper proposes a new approach combining rapid prototyping with coral’s biological responses to enhance the understanding of their surface settlement preference. The Nature Centered Design approach, with additive manufacturing and computational design, made it possible to create an innovative working model that could be customized depending on the implementation area or intended coral species, validating the design approach as a method to support environmental conservation.

Arthroscopic osteochondroplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that has been used to treat femoroacetabular impingement syndrome, leading to significant improvements in patients’ clinical outcomes and quality of life. However, some studies suggest that inadequate bone resection can substantially alter hip biomechanics. These modifications may generate different contact profiles and higher contact forces, increasing the risk of developing premature joint degeneration. To improve control over bone resection and biomechanical outcomes during arthroscopic osteochondroplasty surgery, this study aims to present a novel system for measuring femoroacetabular contact forces.

Following a structured design process for the development of medical devices, the steps required for its production using additive manufacturing with material extrusion and easily accessible sensors are described. The system comprises two main devices, one for measuring femoroacetabular contact forces and the other for quantifying the force applied by the assistant surgeon during lower limb manipulation. The hip device was designed for use within an arthroscopic environment, eliminating the need for additional portals.

To evaluate its performance, the system was first tested in a laboratory setup and later under in-service conditions. The 3D printing parameters were tuned to ensure the watertighness of the device and sustain the intraoperative fluid pressures. The final prototype allowed for the controlled measurement of the hip contact forces in real-time.

Using additive manufacturing and readily available sensors, the present work presents the first device to quantify joint contact forces during arthroscopic surgeries, serving as an additional tool to support the surgeon’s decision-making process regarding bone resection.

Design for adaptability and disassembly (DfAD) is an effective method to reduce construction and demolition waste generation, landfill loads and greenhouse gas generation; preserve natural resources; and increase environmental awareness in the construction industry. However, it is an underexplored strategy due to a lack of information about projects and a set of agreed guidelines to guide buildings deconstruction. This study aims to understand how DfAD can support the sector’s transition toward circularity.

Through an integrative literature review, this study analyzed the current publications and terminologies used, identified the main themes discussed and described the key criteria for integrating deconstruction in the building design stage.

The results showed that the term DfAD encompasses different ecodesign strategies and is concentrated in six major thematic categories (design and construction principles, tools for DfAD, components and connections for DfAD, barriers, drivers and guidelines for DfAD, existing building stock potential and selective deconstruction process). In total, 60 criteria were presented to guide the deconstruction of buildings, emphasizing standardization, modularization and prefabrication of materials and components as fundamental requirements.

The study highlighted the need to expand the knowledge and training of the design team, establish public policies and tax incentives and develop tools, methods, and circular indicators to enable the implementation of deconstruction strategies for buildings.

Reuse and recycling building materials depend on an efficient set of information and tracking, which can be obtained by the materials passport (MP) tool. Although MP introduces principles of circular economy (CE) and brings environmental, social and economic benefits, it is little-explored in the construction sector. The purpose of this study is to explore the adoption of the MP in the sector to raise awareness about this tool. This analysis leads to the conception of a model and identifies the main challenges and opportunities to increase MP implementation in the sector.

Through a systematic literature review, based on the descriptive and thematic analysis, articles were selected, and analyzed to (1) review the MP state-of-the-art in the construction sector; (2) propose a materials passport model and (3) list the main challenges and opportunities to MP adoption.

The studies about MP were concentrated on strategies to implement general concepts and business opportunities. The MP model was proposed to overcome the lack of studies and understanding showed in the review. The model aimed to improve the recovery and reuse of materials across a building's life cycle. Challenges and opportunities were raised to direct decision-makers and support the development of this tool. A systematic regulation in the construction value chain and policy systems is crucial for creating digital platforms for data management of buildings' material.

This study developed an MP model to enable the management of building materials at different stages of the building's life cycle and contributes to future developments of the studies on this knowledge domain.

Green roofs are still often seen as a pure aesthetical element in architecture, as a spleen of some “greenies”. In fact green roofs already contribute, to some extent, to a better microclimate through evaporation, filtering of dust from the air and a decrease in temperatures at the rooftop. In cities like Berlin and Munich many green roofs have already been realised. Coupled with this microclimate improvement, is the thermal comfort improvement under such roofs by more mass, dry or wet substrate, and shading through the plants. Besides improving the microclimate and the indoor climate, the retention of rainwater is another important advantage. That means an important reduction of the rainwater input in the sewage system during rainfalls, cutting the peak load, avoiding an overload of the system, which might cause flooding and serious health problems. The risk of flooding in cities, which is increasing in many cities due to a ground sealed by buildings, asphalt and concrete, can be diminished. One recent example of the use of green roofs with this purpose is the Potsdamer Platz in the centre of Berlin, where 100 percent of the rainwater has to be evaporated or used for toilet flushing on the building site. Scientific knowledge on green roofs is still limited to temperate climates, due to a development which took place in central Europe. Since 2000 a scientific project in Rio de Janeiro is checking local parameters, like possible vegetation, which can be used and substrate composition. Parallel to this, four prototype roofs, three greened and one blank, are used to measure the retention rate of the rain water and the temperature on the underside of the roofs in order to analyse the possible improvement of the thermal comfort in buildings. This paper will describe the scientific results of Germany and discuss the practicability on a larger scale under tropical conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to use PAM-CRASH, a finite element analysis solver, to assess the performance of a mass production vehicle cross car beam (CCB) under an overlap frontal crash scenario (crashworthiness). Simulation results were reviewed according to what is plausible to register regarding some critical points displacements and, moreover, to identify its stress concentrations zones. Furthermore, it was also computed the CCB modal analysis (noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) assessment) in order to examine if its natural modes are within with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) design targets.

The available data at the beginning of the present study consisted of the structure CAD file and performance requirements stated by the OEM for NVH. No technical information was available concerning crashworthiness. Taking into account these limitations, it was decided to adapt the requirements for other mass production cars of the same category, as regards dynamic loading. A dynamic explicit code finite element analysis was performed throughout the CCB structure simulating the 120e−3 s crash event. For the modal analysis, there were some necessary modifications to the explicit finite element model in order to perform the analysis in implicit code. In addition, the car body in white stiffness was assigned at the boundaries. These stiffness values are withdrawn from the points where the CCB is attached to the car body’s sheet metal components.

Although the unavailability of published results for this particular CCB model prevents a comparison of the present results, the trends and order of magnitude of the crash simulation results are within the expectations for this type of product. Concerning modal analysis, the steering column first natural frequency has a percent deviation from the design lower bound value of 5.09 percent when local body stiffness is considered and of 1.94 percent with fixed boundary conditions. The other requirement of the NVH assessment regarding a 5 Hz minimum interval between first vehicle CCB mode and the first mode of the steering column was indeed achieved with both boundary configurations.

This study is a further confirmation of the interest of numerical modeling as a first step before actual experimental testing, saving time and money in an automotive industry that has seen an enormous increase of the demand for new car models in the last decade.

This study aims to follow the Job Demands-Resources model to understand how: job resources (organisational health and organisational support) were related to work engagement through intrinsic motivation (personal resource); and intrinsic motivation was associated with job satisfaction through work engagement.

Data were collected from 504 workers (50% women and 50% men; M = 39.48 years old, SD = 11.98) at four- and five-star hotels from the Algarve, Portugal. Through structural equation modelling, using the maximum likelihood estimation method, nine research hypotheses were tested.

Results indicated that intrinsic motivation mediated the relationship between organisational health and work engagement. Work engagement mediated the association between intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction.

Hotel managers must promote a supportive work environment and demonstrate openness to receiving suggestions from employees. Employees should also be informed about their hotel’s business model and operation. At the task design level, challenging and stimulating tasks should be created and job rotation policies should be implemented to foster work motivation. Also, managers must recruit employees that present positive emotions, proactivity and stress and time management skills.

This study considered the role of organisational health as a job resource, a new concept in hospitality. The selected personal resource, intrinsic motivation, is different from positive psychological capital, the typical resource used in hospitality studies.