Search results for "Structural engineering"
showing 8 items of 1998 documents
Changing people’s attitudes and beliefs toward driving through floodwaters : Evaluation of a video infographic
2018
Abstract Despite awareness of campaigns such as ‘Turn Around, Don’t Drown’ and the Australian state of Queensland’s ‘If It’s Flooded, Forget It’, people continue to drive through floodwaters, causing loss of life, risk to rescuers, and damage to vehicles. The aim of this study was to develop a video infographic that highlights the dangers of driving through floodwaters and provide safety tips to reduce the risk, and to evaluate its effectiveness in changing the beliefs and intentions of Australian adults toward this risky driving behaviour. This study adopted an online three-wave non-controlled pretest–posttest design. Australian licensed drivers (N = 201, male = 41, female = 160; Mage = 34…
The thermal performances of historic masonry: In-situ measurements of thermal conductance on calcarenite stone walls in Palermo
2018
Abstract Rich literature explores materials and construction techniques of historic buildings, but limited information is available about the thermal and hygrometric features of their envelope. Nevertheless, accurate hygrothermal data are essential for identifying effective energy upgrade measures, which must be compatible with the conservation of the architectural heritage. In order to fill this gap, it is necessary to refer to local contexts, where the variety of historic buildings is limited and their material and construction features are comparable. This paper focuses on historic masonry walls and discusses the results of twenty in-situ measurements of thermal conductance, performed al…
Evaluation of web reinforcements in prestressed concrete box girders through shear-transverse bending domains
2020
In concrete box girders, the amount and distribution of reinforcements in the webs have to be estimated considering the local effects due to eccentric external loads and cross-sectional distortion and not only the global effect due to the resultant forces of a longitudinal analysis: shear, torsion and bending. This work presents an analytical model that allows designers to take into account the interaction of all these effects, global and local, for the determination of the reinforcements. The model is based on the theory of stress fields and it has been compared to a 3D finite element analysis, in order to validate the interaction domains. The results show how the proposed analytical mode…
Fractional viscoelastic transversally isotropic Timoshenko beam
2014
In this paper the viscoelastic behavior of pultruded beams has been examined. Pultruded beams are constituted by a polymer infilled with reinforcement in longitudinal direction, while in the orthogonal direction no fiber are present for technological reasons. As a consequence the material has two different behaviors in longitudinal and in orthogonal directions. It follows that pultruded beams are transversally isotropic, and the shear deformation may not be neglected. Based upon the previous observations and assuming for Creep and/or Relaxation test the power law, the constitutive equations are ruled by fractional operators. From constitutive laws, and assuming the Timoshenko beam theory to…
IEA EBC Annex83 Positive Energy Districts
2021
At a global level, the need for energy efficiency and an increased share of renewable energy sources is evident, as is the crucial role of cities due to the rapid urbanization rate. As a consequence of this, the research work related to Positive Energy Districts (PED) has accelerated in recent years. A common shared definition, as well as technological approaches or methodological issues related to PEDs are still unclear in this development and a global scientific discussion is needed. The International Energy Agency’s Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme (IEA EBC) Annex 83 is the main platform for this international scientific debate and research. This paper describes the challeng…
Analysis of requirements for valve accuracy and repeatability in high efficiency digital displacement motors
2018
Traditional variable displacement piston machines achieve high efficiency when operating at high displacements, but struggle with poor efficiency at low displacements. The pistons are connected to high pressure and low pressure in conjunction with the output shaft position and the displacement is changed by changing the piston stroke, resulting in almost constant friction, leakage, and compressibility losses independent of displacement. In digital displacement machines, the rotary valve is replaced by two fast switching on/off valves connected to every cylinder. By controlling the fast switching on/off valves, the cylinders can be controlled individually and friction, leakage and compressib…
On the Dynamics of Fractional Visco-Elastic Beams
2012
With increasing advanced manufacturing process, visco-elastic materials are very attractive for mitigation of vibrations, provided that you may have advanced studies for capturing the realistic behavior of such materials. Experimental verification of the visco-elastic behavior is limited to some well-known low order models as the Maxwell or Kelvin models. However, both models are not sufficient to model the visco-elastic behavior of real materials, since only the Maxwell type can capture the relaxation tests and the Kelvin the creep tests, respectively. Very recently, it has been stressed that the most suitable model for capturing the visco-elastic behavior is the spring-pot, characterized …
Photocatalytic nano-composite architectural lime mortar for degradation of urban pollutants under solar and visible (interior) light
2017
Abstract Recent advances in nano-technology and nano-additives can give enhanced properties to natural hydraulic lime (NHL), creating a multifunctional material. We have prepared a novel nanocomposite, made of a commercial mortar with 1 wt% and 5 wt% added titania nanoparticles (NPs). These TiO 2 NPs are themselves doped with 1 mol% silver, to give the material enhanced photocatalytic and antimicrobial properties. The Ag-doped TiO 2 NPs were made from a simple, costs effective, aqueous green nanosynthesis process, and the end material only contains 0.01–0.05% Ag. As this mortar is intended to both combat atmospheric pollution, and create more durable/lower maintenance building facades (plas…