Browsing MIT Tata Center for Technology + Design by Title
Now showing items 1-20 of 42
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Analysis and design for thermally autonomous housing in resource-constrained communities : a case study in Bhuj, India
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015)In the 2010 International Workshop on Housing, Health and Climate Change Meeting Report, the World Health Organization identifies housing as a primary cause of poor health in developing countries. The report cites inadequate ... -
Analysis of Rollover Shape and Energy Storage and Return in Cantilever Beam-Type Prosthetic Feet
(ASME International, 2014-08)This paper presents an analysis of the rollover shape and energy storage and return in a prosthetic foot made from a compliant cantilevered beam. The rollover shape of a prosthetic foot is defined as the path of the center ... -
Analysis of slipback of rural water supply systems in India using FIETS framework and IMIS database : Gujarat Case Study
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015)The objective of this project is to address the failure rate or "slipback" of rural water supply systems in India by analyzing performance of previous water projects using the national government database called IMIS. Data ... -
Application of bi-directional ICT channels to increase livelihoods for artisans in rural India
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014)The handicraft industry is the second largest employer in rural India after agriculture, and has been the fastest-growing export growth sector since India's liberalization in 1991. Today, however, millions of artisans face ... -
Architecture and System Analysis of Microgrids with Peer-to-Peer Electricity Sharing to Create a Marketplace which Enables Energy Access
(2015-06)More than 1.3 billion people in the world lack access to electricity and this energy poverty is a major barrier to human development. This paper describes a new concept of peer-to-peer electricity sharing which creates a ... -
Building stability through decentralization : the environmental, economic, and ethical argument for informal sector collection and decentralized waste processing in urban India
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014)Rapid population growth, urbanization and increasing affluence have led to increases in consumption and waste generation in all Indian cities. The current system, a mix of informal recyclables collection and centralized ... -
Catalyzing entrepreneurship from the ground up : an experiment in small-town India
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014)Entrepreneurs are essential for creating companies, jobs and growing wealth in communities. Currently, existing entrepreneurial programs start with self-identified entrepreneurs and provide facilities for their growth. ... -
Characterization of residuals from novel anaerobic digestion of organic municipal solid waste for application as liquid fertilizer
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015)Management of organic municipal solid waste presents numerous challenges in India. Anaerobic digestion is one technology that can be used to address this problem, by transforming organic waste into methane via microbial ... -
Comparative analysis of composting as a municipal solid waste treatment process in India
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015)A study of composting municipal solid waste (MSW) in India compared a specific facility in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India to existing standards and practices documented in literature globally and in other facilities ... -
Compost marketing guidelines for solid municipal waste management in India
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015)India has a waste problem. With the world's second largest population at 1.252 billion individuals, a population density of 382 persons per square kilometer and consumer behavior demanding a higher standard of life and ... -
Confined masonry for seismically resilient low-cost housing in India : a design and analysis method
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015)Confined masonry (CM) is a viable housing typology that is resilient and economical for developing countries in seismic regions. Given its suitability for low-tech environments, multiple authors have published instructions ... -
Delivering a low-cost, reliable drip irrigation filtration system for micro-irrigation in developing countries
(ASME International, 2014-08)The cylindrical filters presently used in drip irrigation systems frequently clog, increasing pressure loss and lowering the flow rate through the filters. This work investigates alternative filtration strategies that ... -
Design and evaluation of a cantilever beam-type prosthetic foot for Indian persons with amputations
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014)The goal of this work is to design a low cost, high performance prosthetic foot in collaboration with Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), in Jaipur, India. In order to be adopted, the foot must cost less than ... -
Development of a Design Tool for Flow Rate Optimization in the Tata Swach Water Filter
(ASME International, 2014-08)When developing a first-generation product, an iterative approach often yields the shortest time-to-market. In order to optimize its performance, however, a fundamental understanding of the theory governing its operation ... -
Development of an efficient off-grid pumping system and evaporation reduction strategies to increase access to irrigation for smallholder farmers in India
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013)Due to the unavailability of electricity, about 85% of groundwater irrigation in eastern India employs fuel-powered surface pumps, which can have system efficiencies as low as 5%. As fuel prices continue to rise, impoverished ... -
Droplet deposition on hydrophobic surfaces for agricultural sprays
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015)This thesis presents a study of the in-situ precipitation of polyelectrolytes during droplet impacts and its applications in enhancing the retention efficiency of sprays. Large amounts of agricultural sprays are wasted ... -
The Effects of Prosthesis Inertial Properties on Prosthetic Knee Moment and Hip Energetics Required to Achieve Able-bodied Kinematics
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2015-07)There is a major need in the developing world for a low-cost prosthetic knee that enables users to walk with able-bodied kinematics and low energy expenditure. To efficiently design such a knee, the relationship between ... -
Effects of Prosthesis Mass on Hip Energetics, Prosthetic Knee Torque, and Prosthetic Knee Stiffness and Damping Parameters Required for Transfemoral Amputees to Walk With Normative Kinematics
(ASME International, 2014-08)We quantify how the hip energetics and knee torque required for an above-knee prosthesis user to walk with the kinematics of able-bodied humans vary with the inertial properties of the prosthesis. We also select and optimize ... -
Environmental and economic tradeoffs in building materials production in India
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014)The current and projected growth of India's economy and population will continue to lead to increased demand for buildings and infrastructure, and there is a real need to consider what this increase means in terms of natural ... -
Exploring volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as a novel substrate for microbial oil production
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015)Cost effective production of biofuels depends critically on feedstock cost and availability. As such, volatile fatty acids (VFAs) can play an important role in advancing sustainable biofuel production since they can be ...