Search results for "cost"
showing 10 items of 5421 documents
Effect of climate change on asphalt binder selection for road construction in Italy
2015
This work explores the influence of climate changes on the proper selection of asphalt binder for pavement construction purposes, according to the Performance Grade (PG) defined in the SUPERPAVE specifications. Based on temperature data at national level, it is possible to obtain thematic maps for the whole Italian territory, which is extremely useful for technicians and pavement engineers for selection of asphalt binder for road construction purposes. Furthermore, the statistical significant temperature trends’ knowledge enables deriving thematic maps which allows to include the effects of climate change in the asphalt binder design. It is argued that, due to climate change, the binders to…
Exploring the Potential and the Boundaries of the Rolling Horizon Technique for the Management of Reservoir Systems with over-Year Behaviour
2016
The paper presents a set of experiments on the Rolling Horizon Technique (RHT), applied to the management of a multi-reservoir, multipurpose water resources system with over-year behaviour. In the RHT, decisions on releases from reservoirs are taken for a number of time steps ahead (the Forecasting Horizon – FH) through an optimization model, based on the present water availability in reservoirs and on some forecasts of future inflows over the FH. Only the decision concerning the first time step (the current month) is then implemented, as new information on reservoir levels and forecasts becomes available so that the process can start again with updated information. The paper investigates h…
Serviceability of segmental concrete arch-frame bridges built by cantilevering
2013
The evaluation of the safety degree in service life for a segmental prestressed concrete bridge built by the cantilever method presents different aspects related to strength, deformability, durability and to effects of time-dependent phenomena as creep and shrinkage. The case-study of a prestressed concrete frame bridge with inclined piers is presented, built by cantilevering, with precast segments. By considering the fundamental items of design and construction stages, the implications due to the arch effect in this static scheme are investigated, with respect to an equivalent bridge with a final scheme of continuous girder on vertical piers. The birth of a significant value of axial force…
Steel based retrofitting interventions for existing masonry walls: a comparative numerical investigation
2021
Masonry buildings constitute a significant portion of the architectural heritage all over the world, also in regions affected by a high seismic hazard. Since this constructional material is character-ized by lack of tensile strength, as well as small deformation capacity, masonry structures could result hugely damaged if shaken by seismic forces. In order to avoid collapses and reduce struc-tural damage, innovative retrofitting interventions are necessary to improve the seismic behavior of masonry structures. In this context, steel-based techniques could be considered among the most suitable solutions. In fact, by using such a high-performant material, additional strength and ductility may …
Agrigento Cathedral
2015
At present Agrigento Cathedral is affected by extensive damage that seems to be mainly due to partial slumping of the foundation soil. The chapter deals with the state of damage that affects the cathedral and the investigation carried out for the mechanical characterization of the construction, the formulation of an FE model and the assessment of the safety level with respect to the service loads and with respect to exceptional loads like seismic ones. In the chapter the details of the above investigation are discussed, consideration also being given to the monitoring carried out in order to understand whether the phenomenon affecting the cathedral is ongoing. The results of the monitoring …
Shear strength of High-strength concrete beams: modeling and design recommendations
2014
Abstract In the present paper, the flexural and the shear resistance of high strength reinforced concrete (HSC) beams with longitudinal bars, in the presence of transverse stirrups is analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. The experimental researches here presented are parts of previous researches carried out by the author. Researches refer to HSC beams with high percentages of steel bars failing in shear and in flexure. From the analytical point of view, a model based on the evaluation of the resistance contribution due to beam and arch actions including bond splitting and concrete crushing failure modes is developed and presented. The model was verified against available experime…
Techno-economic optimum sizing of hybrid renewable energy system
2013
Using off grid hybrid renewable energy systems for rural electrification has become an attractive solution for those areas, where grid electricity is not feasible or cost of the grid extension is relatively large. Hybrid system combines several energy systems together, therefore it can supply high reliable electricity rather than a PV/battery system or a wind/battery system. But the most important thing is that the system should be economically attractive. To achieve both of these features, each of the components in the hybrid system should be optimally sized. This requires a detailed techno-economic analysis of different possible hybrid system configurations. The objective of this study is…
Flexural behaviour of glass panels under dead load and uniform lateral pressure
2013
Abstract In the present paper the experimental results relative to flexural tests on out-of-plane loaded large scale panels made of laminated structural glass are presented and discussed. Glass panels are parts of the structural facade of the Fontanarossa International Airport of Catania (Italy). Panels are mounted on a rigid testing frame and loaded with an uniformly distributed lateral pressure. Two different kinds of tests were carried-out, cyclic and monotonic, able to reproduce the serviceability and the ultimate conditions of the glass panels when subjected to the coupled effects of dead load and horizontal forces, the latter reproducing the wind action. Results obtained focused the h…
Structural Health Monitoring of Cracked Beam by the Dual Reciprocity Boundary Element Method
2012
In this paper a 2D boundary element model is used to characterize the transient response of a piezoelectric based structural health monitoring system for cracked beam. The BE model is written for piezoelectric non-homogeneous problem employing generalized displacements. The dual reciprocity method is used to write the mass matrix in terms of boundary parameters only. The multidomain boundary element technique is implemented to model non-homogeneous and cracked configuration, unilateral interface conditions are also considered to prevent the physical inconsistence of the overlapping between interface nodes belonging to the crack surfaces. To assess the reliability and the effectiveness of th…
Bending test for capturing the fractional visco-elastic parameters: theoretical and experimental investigation on giant reeds
2014
In this paper attention is devoted on searching a proper model for characterizing the behavior of giant reeds. To aim at this, firstly, meticulous experimental tests have been performed in the Laboratory of structural materials of University of Palermo. Further, the novel aspect of this paper is that of using an advanced Euler-Bernoulli model to fit experimental data of bending tests. Such a model of continuum beam takes into account different constitutive laws of visco-elasticity, being real materials visco-elastic.