Search results for "Structural engineering"
showing 10 items of 1998 documents
Vegetation and soil – related parameters for computing solar radiation exchanges within green roofs: Are the available values adequate for an easy mo…
2016
Several studies analyze the thermal performance of vegetated roofs, presenting either mathematical models or experimental quantifications of heat transfer process through them, also showing the effect of vegetation and soil parameters on the thermal and energy performance of this type of roofing system. However, presently the level of availability of these parameters, has not been enough considered. This work intends to investigate this underestimated issue of the green roofs’ thermal modeling, through the consideration of the availability of parameters pertinent to the shortwave radiation exchange, which are adopted by models based on leaf area index (LAI) and on the fractional vegetation …
Assessing the feasibility of cogeneration retrofit and district heating/cooling networks in small Italian islands
2017
Sustainability of energy supply strategies in small islands has been emerging as a severe issue, due to the large margins for improvement and rationalization of the most frequently adopted solutions. In most of the European islands, large amounts of heat are wasted by the operation of engine-based power plants; conversely, heat is produced by boilers (supplied by liquid fuels) or by electric equipment for a number of different uses, like domestic hot water production or space heating in winter. In this paper a techno-economic analysis is proposed to assess the feasibility of CHP-retrofit of the existing power plants and the possible utilization of the recovered heat to supply, via a distric…
Energy Optimization of BIPV Glass Blocks: a Multi-software Study
2017
Abstract The aim of this paper is to show the results of the performance analyses carried out on four patented glass block configurations integrated with third-generation Dye-sensitized Solar Cell (DSC) modules. The analyses take into account the thermal, optical and electrical performance by using three different software (COMSOL Multiphysics, WINDOW, Zemax), also enabling to take into consideration the peculiar three-dimensional geometry of this innovative glazed product. Starting from these results, new configurations improved as for the thermal insulation, are also introduced and studied, in order to make further considerations about the applicability of this building component for the …
PCM thermal storage design in buildings: Experimental studies and applications to solaria in cold climates
2017
Abstract As energy availability and demand often do not match, thermal energy storage plays a crucial role to take advantage of solar radiation in buildings: in particular, latent heat storage via phase-change material is particularly attractive due to its ability to provide high energy storage density. This paper analyzes the performance of a building-integrated thermal storage system to increase the energy performances of solaria in a cold climate. A wall opposing a highly glazed facade (south oriented) is used as thermal storage with phase change materials embedded in the wall. The study is based on both experimental and simulation studies. The concept considered is particularly suited t…
Testing of “Global Young's Modulus E” on a rehabilitated masonry bell tower in Venice
2017
Abstract This paper shows the effectiveness of the techniques chosen for the rehabilitation of the historic “Sant'Andrea” masonry bell-tower in Venice. The achieved rehabilitation projects based on the indenting technique consisting in removing and replacing bricks in bad conditions, and on the isolation of the bells at the belfry quote, respect all the constraints represented by the aesthetic and structural features of the building. Moreover, the experimental analyses used to define the existing state of the structure are described in detail. The tower is also an interesting case study for the validation of the proposed method to determine the global young's modulus in a rehabilitated maso…
A comparative evaluation of crashworthy composite sandwich structures
2007
Abstract This paper describes an experimental evaluation of the energy absorption properties of a series of novel designs for cost-effective crashworthy composite sandwich structures. All the designs are based on the concept of the “tied-core” sandwich, i.e. the use of additional core reinforcements that act to tie the opposing facings of a sandwich together, thus preventing catastrophic failure under edgewise loading. The design, manufacture and crush testing of hollow rectangular tubes fabricated from six different tied-core concepts is described. Factors that are shown to promote high energy absorption include large, continuous areas of contact between the facings and the ties, non-thin …
A multilayer anisotropic plate model with warping functions for the study of vibrations reformulated from Woodcock's work
2013
Abstract In this paper, a suitable model for static and dynamic analysis of inhomogeneous anisotropic multilayered plates is described. This model takes into account the variations of the transverse shear strains through the thickness of the plate by means of warping functions. Warping functions are determined by enforcing kinematic and static assumptions at the interfaces. This model leads to: a 10×10 stiffness matrix coupling to each other the membrane strains, the bending and torsion curvatures, and the x and y-derivatives of the transverse shear strains; and a classical 2×2 transverse shear stiffness matrix. This model has been proven to be very efficient, especially when high ratios be…
The control of indoor thermal comfort conditions: introducing a fuzzy adaptive controller
2004
The control and the monitoring of indoor thermal conditions represents a pre-eminent task with the aim of ensuring suitable working and living spaces to people. Especially in industrialised countries, in fact, several rules and standards have been recently released in order of providing technicians with suitable design tools and effective indexes and parameters for the checking of the indoor microclimate. Among them, predicted mean vote (PMV) index is often adopted for assessing the thermal comfort conditions of thermal moderate environments. Unfortunately, the PMV index is characterised by non-linear features, that could determine some difficulties when monitoring and controlling HVAC equi…
Studio delle prestazioni di giunzioni incollate ibride (Strength evaluation of structural hybrid bonded joints)
2013
The idea of “hybrid joints” arises from the need of joining together materials, producing a tough, stiff and lightweight joint. The core concept is: use two different joining techniques, with the aim to increase the strength and gather the advantages of each technique, reducing the drawbacks. In this work hybrid joints consist in joints produced with two different kinds of joining techniques: one of them being adhesive bonding and the other being one among Resistance Spot Welding, Pop Riveting, Clinching, Self Piercing Riveting. The performance of hybrid joints are compared with those of traditional joints for the single lap joint geometry, for different geometric (plates thickness, pitch o…
Influence of correlations between stresses on calculated fatigue life of machine elements
1996
The correlation between components of the random stress tensor and its influence on the calculated fatigue life of machine elements were analysed. Three covariance matrices of components of biaxial stress state were considered. They were determined from measurements of strains in an element of a vibrating screen for aggregate, in the back wall of a bus, and in a welded element of excavator fittings. Calculations were made according to four criteria of multiaxial random fatigue. Cycles were counted with the rainflow method, and damage was cumulated with the Palmgren-Miner hypothesis. It was found that convariances of random stress state components strongly influence the calculated fatigue li…