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A new cable-damper stopper equipped for Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plants (CFTPPs) was proposed in our previous paper, where a series of shaking table tests were carried out to investigate its seismic performance, so this paper aims to reveal the working mechanism of the stopper from the theoretical and numerical simulation aspects. The stopper is composed of three main components, i.e. a steel cable, a steel block and a viscous damper. First, the nonlinear restraint stiffness of the steel cable to the boiler was derived; second, the critical damping of the stopper, which makes the vibration of the boiler decay exponentially with no oscillation, was derived; third, an iterative method was proposed to globally tune the CFTPP structure, which makes it possible to obtain the optimal parameters of the cable-damper stopper, including the diameter of the steel cable and damping coefficient of the damper. Finally, finite element models were built and time history analyses were conducted to verify the proposed optimization approach. Firstly, the finite element models were proved valid through the comparison between the results of the simulations and the experiments. Then, based on the results of the simulations, the theoretical procedure was validated. The results revealed that the proposed cable-damper stopper reduced the seismic responses of displacements of the top floor and the boiler significantly, about 30.18% and 60.01% respectively compared with their counterparts of CFTPPs without stoppers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development process and key findings of the first-ever health impact assessment (HIA) conducted on the proposed Alpu coal-fired power plant (ACPP) in Eskisehir, Turkiye. The study followed a systematic HIA methodology, commencing with an extensive literature search on coal-fired power plants and the region's specific characteristics during the screening step. In the subsequent scoping phase, in-depth discussions were conducted with a diverse range of experts and stakeholders to be used as inputs. The study findings highlight that the ACPP's impact on human health will be multifaceted. In addition to the estimated additional 10,000 premature deaths attributed to air pollution during the 35-year, the ACPP is expected to have implications for occupational health, including increased occupational diseases and injuries. Furthermore, it may also affect income, employment, food access, and nutritional quality. The health implications of the ACPP will extend beyond Eskisehir, potentially affecting a region with a current population of approximately 11 million residents throughout its lifetime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is an editorial from the journal Impact Assessment & Project Appraisal. It celebrates the beginning of the new year and the 25th anniversary of the journal. The editorial highlights the importance of the Impact Assessment community in promoting sustainability and addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. It also announces a special collection of articles that have received the "Best Paper Award" to commemorate the journal's journey. The editorial provides a brief overview of the research articles and book review included in the current issue, covering topics such as the role of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in protecting landscapes, incorporating climate change consequences in Environmental Assessments, and indigenous-led impact assessment tools. The editorial concludes by expressing the hope that readers will enjoy reading the articles. [Extracted from the article]