Search results for "Structural engineering"
showing 10 items of 1998 documents
A bottom-up approach for the evaluation of the flexible quota of aggregated loads
2015
The paper presents a bottom-up approach for building the aggregated load profile of numerous passive/active users connected to the low voltage electrical system. The approach is based on the Monte Carlo method and on the knowledge of the single electric and thermal loads, generators and thermal and geometrical characteristics of the building of the single end-user. The method proposed is able to differentiate the quota of flexible and not flexible aggregate load.
An overview of energy retrofit actions feasibility on Italian historical buildings
2017
Abstract Italian energy policy has determined important keystones in building energy efficiency regulations and their application throughout the country. However, there is still much work to be done in order to make sustainable societies and territories, especially in historical contexts that have the greatest potentiality of energy saving. In detail, in the framework of conservation, restoration, refurbishment, and retrofit actions, the debate among scientists, administrators and skilled people is still open due to the many aspects yet to be considered and solved. In this paper, the state of the art of Italian residential building heritage has been reviewed, while energy retrofit issues an…
Redesign of a Rural Building in a Heritage Site in Italy: Towards the Net Zero Energy Target
2017
In order to achieve the ambitious objective of decarbonising the economy, it is mandatory, especially in Europe and in Italy, to include the retrofitting of existing buildings. In a country where a large share of existing buildings have heritage value, it is important to design effective retrofit solutions also in historical buildings. In this context, the paper describes the experience of re-design of an existing rural building located in Sicily, inside the ancient Greeks' “Valley of the Temples”. An energy audit was performed on the building, and its energy uses were thoroughly investigated. A building model was developed in the TRNSYS environment and its performances validated. The valid…
An integrated simulation method for building energy performance assessment in urban environments
2012
a b s t r a c t The microclimate around a building, establishing through the interaction with other buildings or the natural environment, is a significant factor in the building energy consumption. This paper presents a method for the quantitative analysis of building energy performance under any given urban contexts by linking the microclimate model ENVI-met to the building energy simulation (BES) program EnergyPlus. The full microclimatic factors such as solar radiation, long wave radiation, air temperature, air humidity, and wind speed have been considered in the proposed scheme. A case study has been conducted to analyze the effects of different microclimatic factors on the energy balan…
Overview and future challenges of nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB) design in Southern Europe
2017
In times of great transition of the European construction sector to energy efficient and nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB), a market observation containing qualitative and quantitative indications should help to fill out some of the current gaps concerning the EU 2020 carbon targets. Next to the economic challenges, there are equally important factors that hinder renovating the existing residential building stock and adding newly constructed high performance buildings. Under these circumstances this paper summarises the findings of a cross-comparative study of the societal and technical barriers of nZEB implementation in 7 Southern European countries. The study analyses the present situat…
Energy-environmental and cost assessment of a set of strategies for retrofitting a public building toward nearly zero-energy building target
2017
Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess an energy retrofit of a building representative of those in public tertiary stock, to improve energy performance toward nearly Zero-Energy Building (nZEB) requirements. The building is located in the campus of the Politecnico di Milano University (Italy). Several hypothetical improvements regarding the building envelope and plants were assessed in terms of energy savings, costs, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The results of the study show that it is possible to reduce primary energy demand and associated emissions up to 40% from the current values by adopting market-available and well-proven technological solutions for retrofi…
Are the best available technologies the only viable for energy interventions in historical buildings?
2015
Worth aged buildings represent among the existing buildings a special case when it comes to their energy refurbishment. Unfortunately, the available technologies for building components characterized by high level of thermal performances show, not rarely, a limited compatibility with the architectural integrity of the building. In other words, the so-called Best Available Technologies, which are effectively adopted to optimize the building energy performances, in case of buildings to which a certain artistic, historic and/or architectural merit is recognized, i.e. heritage houses, might determine such kind of conflicts. This situation may lead to the selection of “non-invasive” but less per…
Comparison on the use of PV systems in the vertical walls
2015
In this article the preliminary evaluation of the performance of a photovoltaic window is presented. The aim is to trace the behavior of next-generation systems, which favor architectonical integration. Three different systems have been taken into account: a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC), blue and grey caved silicon panels. The systems can be placed behind a window or behind a wall of glass blocks.
Control of structural problems in cultural heritage monuments using close-range photogrammetry and computer methods
2005
This paper deals with the conservation of monumental buildings. Several methods used for the architectonic documentation are analysed in this study. Computers methods and close-range photogrammetry are proposed as a preventive method which allows to detect, measure and track the temporal evolution of some structural problems detected, and also to assess the degree of conservation of the materials employed. A group of monuments belonging to the Spanish historical heritage is analysed. In order to carry out the analysis a wire-frame model and a photo-realistic textured model were made. Work focused later on the area where structural problems were more acute.
Bending-Shear interaction domains for externally prestressed concrete girders
2013
In prestressed concrete structures, the evaluation of the safety level is generally carried out by separating the bending moment strength and the shear force capacity. Actually interaction between bending moment (M) and shear force (V) can have significant consequences on evaluations in service life, especially when the ultimate limit state (ULS) is considered. In this paper, the M-V interaction is addressed for prestressed concrete girders, in the cases of both bonded and unbonded prestressing tendons. It can be demonstrated, by drawing the interaction domains (M-V), that a significant reduction of the safety level has to be considered when shear force is evaluated together with bending mo…