Search results for "1105"
showing 10 items of 459 documents
PRIVATE FINANCING ALTERNATIVES FOR INFRASTRUCTURE OF STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES
2018
The aim of the article is to examine infrastructure classification and assess private financing alternativesfor major groups of physical infrastructure under ownership of state owned enterprises in Latvia.Tasks of the research include examining types infrastructure with a focus on physical infrastructure,explaining importance of physical infrastructure to economy of a country and society, studying physicalinfrastructure financing challenges and problems, conducting a research on a state owned enterprisesin Latvia, which own physical infrastructure, conducting expert interviews to reveal key challenges ofprivate financing alternatives for funding of infrastructure of state owned enterprises …
Public-Private Partnerships: Agency Costs in the Privatization of Social Infrastructure Financing
2019
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been subjected to considerable public debate. In particular, this debate has concerned PPP financing and its implications. Using insights from agency theory, this study aims to develop a theoretical understanding of PPP financing. The following research question is investigated: How does the privatization of financing decrease or increase agency costs in social infrastructure PPPs? A comparative case study consisting of four Norwegian PPP projects with different financial configurations is undertaken. The findings suggest that the private sector is risk averse, increasing the cost of capital. In addition, private financing does not seem to have the i…
Design of RC joints equipped with hybrid trussed beams and friction dampers
2021
Abstract The challenge of this research consists in the first attempt to apply a dissipative friction connection to beam-to-column joints with semi-prefabricated Hybrid Steel-Trussed Concrete Beams (HSTCB) and RC pillars cast in-situ. Nowadays, HSTCBs are widely adopted in civil and industrial buildings and, therefore, it is required to evaluate their compliance with the capacity design criteria and their seismic energy dissipation capability. However, the design of the reinforcement of such beams usually lead to the adoption of large amount of steel within the panel zone which becomes potentially vulnerable to the effects of seismic cyclic actions and dramatically reduce the dissipation ca…
Investigation of design strategies and quantification of energy flexibility in buildings: A case-study in southern Italy
2021
Abstract The need for nearly (net) zero energy buildings in the current European landscape does not merely refer to energy balances: the aim to investigate the interaction between generation and load and find sources of technical-economic energy efficiency is marking the rise in interest throughout research and practice of energy flexibility solutions in buildings. In this regard, the study aims at enhancing the energy flexibility of a building in southern Italy through Rule-Based Control algorithms for the control of the space heating system and the charge and discharge of an electricity storage. The influence of electricity pricing and the thermal comfort conditions on flexibility is also…
Masonry structures: A proposal of analytical generation of fragility functions for tsunami impact – Application to the Mediterranean coasts
2021
Abstract Evaluation of tsunami vulnerability of coastal buildings is gaining high interest in recent years in the areas with high tsunami hazard. Fragility evaluation is a fundamental step to obtain a quantitative estimation of the probability of building damage and in order to define possible strategies for risk mitigation. Several empirical fragility curves are available for masonry structures. However, an empirical fragility curve is generally based on field surveys after tsunami events, not always available. Conversely, analytical fragility curves are based on prediction approaches. In this paper, a proposal for the evaluation of analytical fragility curves for masonry structures typica…
Sustainable Infrastructure Projects: Systemic versus Traditional Delivery Models
2021
Sustainability involves multiple environmental, technical, social and economic factors, and such complex analysis requires systemic solutions. Delivery models are key to achieving system benefits and enhancing sustainable development in infrastructure investments. They define the phases of a project, incentive structures, risk sharing and the relationships among the actors in it. They are usually developed early in the project and determine the project dynamics and outcomes. We compared traditional delivery models with systemic ones. We identified and illustrated elements that differ between them through two cases. The contribution is an increased understanding of how systemic infrastructur…
Physical and mechanical properties of sustainable hydraulic mortar based on marble slurry with waste glass
2021
This paper aims to propose and characterize a sustainable hydraulic mortar entirely obtained by the reuse of waste materials, with marble slurry coming from quarries in the north-western Sicily and glass powder coming from a waste collection plant in Marsala (Province of Trapani). The first was used as raw material to produce the mortar binder by a kilning and slaking process, while the second was used as a pozzolanic additive. The chemical and morphological characterization of the marble slurry was done by XRD, FTIR, STA and SEM analyses. Glass powder was analyzed through particle size distribution measurements, XRD and standard pozzolanic tests. Hydraulic mortars constituted by slaked lim…
Efficiency improvement of a ground coupled heat pump system from energy management
2011
The installed capacity of an air conditioning system is usually higher than the average cooling or heating demand along the year. So, most of the time, the system is working under its actual capacity. In this contribution, we study the way to improve the efficiency of a ground coupled heat pump air conditioning system by adapting its produced thermal energy to the actual thermal demand. For this purpose, an air conditioning system composed by a ground coupled heat pump and a central fan coil linked to an office located in a cooling dominated area was simulated, and a new management strategy aiming to diminish electrical consumption was developed under the basic constraint that comfort requi…
Experimental testing of phase change materials in a warm-summer humid continental climate
2019
Abstract The construction industry (and buildings) is one of the largest energy consuming and CO2 emitting sectors in the world. To counter this, more lightweight structures are being used and energy saving applications are being developed. Phase change materials (PCM) are materials that can be considered to tackle these new challenges. It has been proven that PCMs can be passively used to improve the thermal mass of lightweight structures, which improves thermal comfort and reduces peak cooling and heating loads and therefore provides energy savings. To use these materials in an active way, they should be used together with ventilation, cooling or heating equipment, and collectors to accum…
CEFLES2: The remote sensing component to quantify photosynthetic efficiency from the leaf to the region by measuring sun-induced fluorescence in the …
2009
The CEFLES2 campaign during the Carbo Europe Regional Experiment Strategy was designed to provide simultaneous airborne measurements of solar induced fluorescence and CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes. It was combined with extensive ground-based quantification of leaf- and canopy-level processes in support of ESA's Candidate Earth Explorer Mission of the "Fluorescence Explorer" (FLEX). The aim of this campaign was to test if fluorescence signal detected from an airborne platform can be used to improve estimates of plant mediated exchange on the mesoscale. Canopy fluorescence was quantified from four airborne platforms using a combination of novel sensors: (i) the prototype ai…