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This paper presents a state of the art review for 3D printed facades. In the review, three main topics are identified: (i) computational design strategies for 3D printed facades, (ii) fabrication processes and materials, and (iii) performance assessment. The design section displays computational tools and methods for design to production of 3D printed facades. The chapter fabrication processes, materials, and applications illustrates the technology potential for facade application sorted by material groups. The performance assessment section presents current approaches to evaluating and validating the performance of 3DP facades. Finally, knowledge gaps, challenges, and future trends are discussed to offer insights into leading-edge solutions for facade design and fabrication., Automation in Construction, 152, ISSN:0926-5805

The goal of this study is to develop a better understanding of the working mechanisms of CAC-C$ acceleration of OPC in the first hour and establish a quantitative link between the progress of hydration, strength build-up and associated microstructure evolution. Monitoring the progress of reaction using isothermal calorimetry in the first few minutes of hydration is difficult owing to the limitations associated with the measurement method. We have developed a method to correct the heat data in the first minutes, which along with ICP data of elements Ca, Al and S, enables a quantification of the amounts of various phases dissolving and/or precipitating at different times after acceleration. It is concluded that strength build-up is directly proportional to heat of hydration up to a certain point, irrespective of accelerator dosage. However, beyond this point, there is a change of mechanism which is likely attributed to physical effects rather than chemical ones. Additionally, it was also found that the amount of available CA controls the rate of reaction and that the impact of CAC addition to OPC follows a decay function type heat release., Cement and Concrete Research, 170, ISSN:0008-8846

Alkali-activated concrete mixed with waste dredged sand (DS) is a new type of green concrete. In addition to reducing resource consumption and CO2 emissions, this approach is also cost-effective. Therefore, the ongoing research on its application in real industrial production is of great importance. This study examined the impact of the steam curing system on the mechanical properties and microstructure of alkali-activated dredged-sand concrete (AADSC). Different alkali equivalents and DS contents were used to produce AADSCs, and such AADSCs were cured using different steam curing schemes. The results show that steam curing significantly improves the early strength and 28-day strength under low alkali equivalent. The curing promotes the 1-day strength at 3% alkali equivalent from 2.1 MPa to 27 MPa after steam curing, and the 28-day strength increase was 7.8%. It is also found that the rise in compressive strength does not have a direct correlation with the energy consumption of steam curing. Even though the energy consumed by steam curing at 40 °C was 67% more than that at 60 °C, the 1 d strength under 40 °C steam curing was 7.5% lower. However, low-temperature steam curing retains more room for concrete strength increase. These results indicate the importance of a reasonable steam curing regime for the strength of AADSC. Acknowledged financial supports include the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2021YFB2600200), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. B230205017), State Key Laboratory of High-Performance Civil Engineering Materials (Grant NO. 2019CEM002), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51979090).

At present, the popularity of timber as a structural material is booming. However, the current knowledge on disproportionate collapse prevention and extreme loading of timber buildings is scarce. To prevent disproportionate and progressive collapse, catenary action is an important mechanism, where the axial capacity of bending members is activated. Because of the brittle behavior of timber in the relevant failure modes, it can only achieve catenary action via strengthening. In this paper, analytical expressions are derived for the elastic, plastic, and catenary capacity of laterally loaded wood and timber beams with a tension-side strip reinforcement. A load-path dependent M-N interaction diagram with damage accumulation explains the ultimate catenary capacity and the transition between the bending- and catenary-dominated load-carrying mode. The analytical expressions are validated and discussed based on tests on beech clearwood specimens reinforced with carbon fibers in a polyurethane matrix. Furthermore, a case study on glued laminated timber beams is presented to demonstrate the potential of reinforcing timber beams subjected to extreme loading., Construction and Building Materials, 385, ISSN:0950-0618

Leaching problems of municipal solid waste incineration bottom-ash (MSWI BA) have been extensively reported in the literature. The outstanding heavy-metal-ion binding capacity of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) can potentially address this problem. This study aimed to investigate the in-situ formation of Mg–Al LDHs in MgO–NaAlO 2-activated ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) and BA blends, and the evolution of pH, ions, reaction products, microstructure, strength, and leaching behavior were characterized. The results indicate that the formation of Mg–Al LDHs is promoted (up to 69.2%) using a higher MgO/NaAlO 2 molar ratio, which improves the heavy-metal-ion binding capacity. Simultaneously, the compressive strength increases up to 78.4% with higher MgO/NaAlO 2 molar ratios compared to NaAlO 2-activated (NA) sample. Al(OH) 4 – reacts with extra Mg 2+ ions rather than Ca 2+ ions to preferentially form Mg–Al LDHs over Ca–Al LDHs. Meanwhile, the extra Mg 2+ ions snatch the Al(OH) 4 – from Si(OH) 4, increasing the Mg–Al LDH content and reducing the zeolite content. Moreover, the in-situ-formed LDHs absorbed more SO 4 2– than Cl –.

Non-stabilized thermochemical materials impose several limitations on their use. These include swelling/shrinkage, cracking, and agglomeration over cycles. In addition, the deliquescence transition cannot be used and is even considered an unwanted side effect. In this work several salt hydrates for low temperature heat storage (K2CO3, CaCl2 and LiCl) are stabilized within a highly porous mm-sized polymer matrix. The composites containing wetting salt solutions are shown to be stable towards deliquescence. Three different composites were cycled. A K2CO3-polymer composite was cycled for 50 hydration/dehydration cycles and found to be kinetically and mechanically stable over all cycles, with swelling at higher cycle numbers. A LiCl-polymer composite was cycled for 40 cycles after which the composite became unstable. The composite containing CaCl2 was found to be kinetically and mechanically stable for 15 cycles. Composites with energy densities up to 2.4 GJ·m-3 and a peak power output of 325 W·kg-1 were fabricated which is equal or higher compared to previously reported systems. All composites have power outputs which are sustained at higher levels throughout the full discharge cycle. This work opens new pathways to stabilize salt hydrates as well-defined mm-sized particles exhibiting cyclic stability, while maintaining a high energy density and power output.

Pykrete is a material used for temporary structures in cold environments. In the last decade, this material has generally been used in shell structures that were constructed using inflatable fabric formwork and ropes. Recently, research has been carried out to use pykrete in structures made of linear elements and some structures of low heights have been able to be built.A pykrete tower-like structure was built in 2019 for the International Ice and Snow Innovation Design and Construction Competition, based on a proposal made by the Eindhoven University of Technology. This structure rises to 11 meters, making it the tallest pykrete structure with linear elements built so far. This paper describes the basic concepts, design process, testing methodology and building methods of this tower., Pykrete is a material used for temporary structures in cold environments. In the last decade, this material has generally been used in shell structures that were constructed using inflatable fabric formwork and ropes. Recently, research has been carried out to use pykrete in structures made of linear elements and some structures of low heights have been able to be built. A pykrete tower-like structure was built in 2019 for the International Ice and Snow Innovation Design and Construction competition, based on a proposal made by the Eindhoven University of Technology. This structure raised to 11 m, making it the tallest pykrete structure with linear elements built so far. This paper describes the base concepts, design process, testing methodology and building methods of this tower.

Introduction: Safety training is integral to modern safety management systems. However, what is trained in the classroom is not always adopted and applied in the workplace, creating the training transfer problem. Taking an alternative ontological stance, the aims of this study were to conceptualize this problem as one of ‘fit’ between what is trained and the contextual factors in the work environment of the adopting organization. Method: Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with experienced health and safety trainers having diverse backgrounds and experience. Data were thematically coded ‘bottom-up’ to capture reasons for safety training and where consideration of context occurs in the design and delivery of training. Then, the codes were thematically grouped against a pre-existing framework to categorize contextual factors that affect ‘fit’ into technical, cultural, and political factors each operating at different levels of analysis. Results: Safety training occurs to satisfy external stakeholder expectations and meet internal perceptions of need. Consideration of contextual factors can occur both in the design and delivery of training. A range of technical, cultural, and political factors were identified, which can operate at individual, organizational, or supra-organizational levels to influence safety training transfer. Conclusions: The study draws particular attention to the influence of political factors and the impact of supra-organizational factors on the successful transfer of training, areas not consistently considered in safety training design and delivery. Practical Application: The application of the framework adopted in this study provides a useful tool for discriminating between different contextual factors and the level at which they operate. This could enable more effective management of these factors to improve the potential for transfer of safety training from the classroom to the workplace.

This study concerns the development of a data-based compact model for the prediction of the fluid temperature evolution in district heating (DH) pipeline networks. This so-called “reduced-order model” (ROM) is obtained from reduction of the conservation law for energy for each pipe segment to a semi-analytical input–output relation between the pipe outlet temperature and the pipe inlet and ground temperatures that can be identified from training data. The ROM basically is valid for generic pipe configurations involving 3D unsteady heat transfer and 3D steady flow as long as heat-transfer mechanisms are linearly dependent on the temperature field. Moreover, the training data can be generated by physics-based computational “full-order” models (FOMs) yet also by (calibration) experiments or field measurements. Performance tests using computational training data for a single-pipe configuration demonstrate that the ROM (i) can be successfully identified and (ii) can accurately describe the response of the outlet temperature to arbitrary input profiles for inlet and ground temperatures. Application of the ROM to two case studies, i.e. fast simulation of a small DH network and design of a controller for user-defined temperature regulation of a DH system, demonstrate its predictive ability and efficiency also for realistic systems. Dedicated cost analyses further reveal that the ROM may significantly reduce the computational costs compared to FOMs by (up to) orders of magnitude for higher-dimensional pipe configurations. These findings advance the proposed ROM as a robust and efficient simulation tool for practical DH systems with a far greater predictive ability than existing compact models.

In this paper, we identified seven most widely spread conspiracy discourses about earthquakes. These conspiracy discourses link earthquakes to military activities like secret nuclear bomb testing, God's Providence like the punishment of humans for their sins, space activities like aliens visiting our planet, the US secret weather control program HAARP, tests of the Large Hadron Collider, fracking projects, and freemasonic plots. Following the major earthquake in Indonesia at the end of November 2022, we extracted data from Twitter by keywords using the Hoaxy tool for tracking the spread of information on Twitter. Applying the Bot Sentinel tool, we also got data on the sentiment of the users. The divine and military discourses dominated the conspiracy discussion, followed by the discussions about extraction and HAARP. Though there were more human-like accounts than bot-like accounts, we found a positive correlation between the frequency of tweets on the conspiracy discourses and the bot scores of the accounts, which suggests that bot-like accounts were tweeting more than human-like accounts. It was also found that normal accounts tweeted more than toxic accounts, and there was a positive relationship between the bot score and the toxicity level of an account. It suggests that bot-like accounts were involved more in disruptive activities than human-like accounts.

The formation of detrimental pitch deposits can cause various problems at pulp and paper mills, as they can contribute to unscheduled shutdowns and even paralyze the operation of the entire mills. To understand, avoid and control of pitch deposits formation in pulp mills, we investigated the overall chemical composition of 16 pitch deposit samples collected from the fiber line of a softwood kraft pulp mill. Sodium salts were tentatively speculated as the dominant fractions of the pitch deposits in addition to the minor fractions of the extractives and carbohydrates. Low molar mass extractives from dichloromethane, acetone and water extracts were analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The extractable fraction is chemically heterogeneous, representing the degradation products of carbohydrates, lignin, and woody extractives. Furthermore, new chlorinated stilbenes (monochloropinosylvin, dichloropinosylvin, trichloropinosylvin dimethyl ether, and dichlorinated pinosylvin monomethyl ether) and other chlorinated components (chloro-manoyl/epimanoyl oxide, 12- and 14-chlorodehydroabietic acids) were for the first time identified as part of pitch deposits in the fiber line. Moreover, significant amount of 3-hydroxy fatty acids was found from the drying stage, also representing novel pulp mill deposit compounds. Pinostilbene and pterostilbene are rarely identified from the industrial woody chips of Scotch pine. Overall, the investigation of extractive profile from pitch deposits may provide us with a new perspective to understand the formation mechanism of pitch deposits and study the binding behavior between the extractive and surfaces of the process equipment. The new findings may provide guidance for the pulp mills to design optimal strategies to avoid and control pitch deposits.

Micro Gas Turbines are small devices for on-site power and heat generation. Their high maintainability and fuel flexibility make them a suitable technology for transitioning to a greener economy. However, their commercialisation did not match the stakeholders’ expectations. The authors applied the Theory of Constraints – a methodology for the continuous improvement of systems – to the MGT industry introducing a structured and rigorous representation. The constraint – i.e. Root Cause – Analysis identified which entities sustain the cause–effect chain, eventually generating the Undesired Effects. The system constraints link to the specificity and effectiveness of commercialisation strategies and product innovation in agreement with evolutionary market theories. Moreover, the Theory of Constraints emphasises the presence of reinforcement loops that make targeting entities like high product costs ineffective. The missing piece to complete the puzzle is solving a logic block representing the product’s market competitiveness depending on economic and technical factors. This study suggests that combining market-driven innovation and commercialisation is likely the only long-term solution to the lack of commercial success of the technology. However, the work also highlights limitations in the proposed methodology and solutions. To tackle these, the authors suggest and introduce numerical frameworks based on the Theory of Constraint.

Nowadays, offshore renewable energy is seen more and more as an attractive alternative to onshore energy thanks to less space limitations and usually better weather conditions. However, the higher costs in installation and maintenance demand a continuous search for higher conversion efficiency in order to achieve an economically viable electricity generation. In this line, the co-location of wind and wave power sources might serve to reduce the generation power variability and also to take advantage of using the same infrastructure and implementation area. Several studies have been carried out mainly focused on determining possible zones of implantation or developing new co-location concepts. However, the optimization and control of these new offshore energy conversion systems have not been extensively studied in the literature. This article presents a new optimal control strategy for co-located wind and wave farms in order to fulfill the operation and integration requirements demanded by power system operators. The proposed control scheme is evaluated in several realistic scenarios. The obtained results show that with adequate control strategies, it is possible to increase the electricity production of co-located wind-wave farms satisfying the frequency requirements of the network, even in adverse events, and also to increase the total power reserve of the system.

The accurate description of the dynamics of dry-joint masonry structures strongly relies on the characterisation of the interaction at the units’ interfaces. Several experimental techniques are available for estimating the mechanical properties of the interface (i.e. stiffness and damping), yet, their reliability remains questionable given the lack of comprehensive comparative studies. This work presents an extensive experimental campaign on the meso-scale mechanics of dry-joint interfaces and quantifies both the interface stiffness and interface damping. Importantly, this paper reveals, for the first time, remarkable agreement of the interface stiffness estimated by inherently different experimental methods, namely deformation-based and vibration-based. Thus, it paves the way for the formulation of reliable constitutive laws that govern structural response in numerical modelling of dry-joint masonry structures.

The transportation sector plays a major role in the rapid economic growth of developing countries. Since this sector requires large amounts of fossil energy resources, it has a very important impact on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. As aviation has a significant contribution to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions among different type of transportation, there is considerable interest in policies, regulations and research to mitigate the adverse effects of aviation on climate [1]. This work investigates the role of air passengers and air freight on CO2 emissions from aviation for eight oil-producing countries in the middle east for the years 2013–2019. Maximum entropy bootstrap for time series and generalized maximum entropy estimation are used in this work, which represent two powerful techniques that lead to reliable and stable results in ill-posed models. The empirical results confirm the existence of a positive impact of air passengers on CO2 emissions from air transport in all the sample countries. But the connection between air freight and CO2 emissions from aviation is only confirmed for Iran and Qatar. The findings for the other countries regarding the impact of air freight on CO2 emissions from aviation depend on the significance levels considered. published

5 figures, 7 tables.-- Supplementary information available., The acid-free hydrothermal microwave–assisted selective scissoring (Hymass concept) of cellulosic substrates is gaining keen interest in the field of materials science. Besides, implementing catalytic methodologies to upgrade side streams produced during this process could contribute to better, holistic utilisation of the starting feedstock. This work depicts a zero-waste biorefinery concept based on cellulose defibrillation from almond hulls using various hydrotreatment technologies (hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation) for downstream processing on a ruthenium catalyst. Therein, the hemicellulose separated from the biomass preconditioning step was converted into sugar alcohols and/or marketable polyols with a relatively high yield (47.4%) by hydrolytic hydrogenation (437 K, 3h, 5.0 MPa H2). Meanwhile, a family of bioactive compounds (3-hydroxypyridines) could be directly extracted from the hydrolysate stream derived from microwave digestion, along with an energy carrier that was chemically stabilised (503 K, 60 min, 4.0 MPa H2) to obtain fuel additives (diethyl succinic acid, DES) and/or fuel intermediates., The authors are grateful for the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO, Project ENE2017-83854-R) and the I+D+i project PID2020-115053RB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. J.R. is grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for the Juan de la Cierva Incorporación (JdC-I) fellowship (Grant Number: IJC2018-037110-I) awarded.

Increased demand for food due to development and population growth has prompted irrigated agriculture expansion, posing enhanced global challenges to water, energy, and food security. To confront these challenges, an approach that considers the water-energy-food-environment nexus can address multidimensional trade-offs that complicate the efficient use of resources and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. In order to provide insights into solutions to these challenges for a specific case, this study develops a modelling toolkit that integrates biophysical and socioeconomic aspects of nexus components in the context of agro-export and irrigation expansion in Ecuador, a Belt and Road Country. The nexus toolkit is applied to agricultural-development scenarios defined in participatory workshops and incorporates a water resources model, a lifecycle environmental assessment, and a socioeconomic analysis. The modelling exercise is constructed around specific scenario-determined land use patterns in the Santa Elena peninsula of Ecuador. Agriculture in the peninsula is water-limited, relying on delivery infrastructure and transfers from a neighbouring catchment. Impacts on nexus components are analysed for ten crops under two potential land-use scenarios: a substantial increase in irrigated area due to investment in irrigation infrastructure; and a substantial shift in land use towards export crops. The two have distinct impact on water and energy use, global warming potential, freshwater eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, and fine particulate matter formation. The results provide insights into future water and energy resource challenges and environmental and socioeconomic trade-offs associated with likely changes in irrigation expansion. The results for scenarios show that, for example, banana production has the greatest environmental impacts (e.g. a 519% increase in global warming potential and 452% increase in fine particulate matter forma for scenario 2), primarily due to water and energy requirements, despite the crop being mainly produced organically. In addition, total net income and labour demand increase (net income increases by 43% and 217% under scenarios 1 and 2, respectively) due to a larger crop area and crop intensification. Scale effects on labour demand are mainly due to labour intensity of maize in Ecuador, which is disadvantaged in the crop export scenario (an unexpected result). However, expanding irrigated areas would also increase total water and energy demand for irrigation, global warming potential, and freshwater eutrophication. This type of information enables stakeholders and decision-makers to design policies that achieve equitable and sustainable agricultural production, water use, and economic growth. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC): NE/R015759/1

There is an urgent need for all industries to go beyond the existing set of policies against greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to combat climate change. As the major producer (19%) of GHG, the construction industry needs to optimise its carbon footprint (CF) decision-making processes to provide better management solutions against global warming. Identification and evaluation of the key factors that affect CF decision-making are critical yet limited. Based on our knowledge, no existing study compares the different characteristics of construction projects’ CF management approaches through the whole life cycle phases (including assessment, optimisation, and comparison) to enable CF-related knowledge transfer between the building and infrastructure sectors. To meet these knowledge gaps, this paper reviewed 1,465 studies related to infrastructure and building CF projects and selected 31 studies to evaluate academic researchers’ contributions toward the different CF decision-making stages for the building and infrastructure projects’ whole lifecycle. The paper systematically reviewed and assessed the existing information in five key CF decision-making stages: project drafting stage, methodology choosing stage, data collection stage, CF analysis stage, and CF visualisation stage. A generalised CF decision-making framework is also developed to inform future CF management. The limitations of the existing studies and the benefits of the developed framework were summarised. This study identifies the key information required from the perspective of CF management decision-makers and contributes a universal CF decision-making framework for state-of-the-art CF management practice.

Peer-to-peer electricity markets are dedicated markets that enable the direct participation of small electricity end-users in energy trading activities. They are seen as a promising alternative that can empower end-users and accelerate the energy transition, by researchers, business developers, and legislators. Moreover, they can include environmental, social, or altruistic preferences that are relevant to end-users, in addition to the economic perspective. Such preferences are sometimes included in the modeling of P2P markets in the existing literature, but the assumptions behind them are rarely validated in practice. To investigate the desired attributes and preferences of end-users to participate in P2P markets, an online survey including a discrete choice experiment was conducted in The Netherlands The results of the survey are used to design a P2P electricity market with product differentiation. The participants in the market are residential end-users that are equipped with a home energy management system that can control some of the household appliances and automate the decision-making process for participation in the market. To facilitate this, a multi-objective stochastic optimization model is presented that incorporates results from the discrete choice experiment and real smart-meter measurements. The case study results demonstrate user preferences’ influence on market outcomes.

With the depletion of natural resources, it is essential to use recycled materials and industrial wastes to adapt the expanding building sector to the environment. Slag from electric arc furnaces is one example that can be used as a siderurgical aggregate in concrete production. Studying the interfacial transition zone between the aggregate and the binder is necessary because the reaction between the aggregate and the binder can significantly impact the concrete's microstructure and mechanical properties. In order to examine any concrete sample with any physical or chemical structure, this study introduces the instruments used to conduct these studies and the methods for preparing concrete samples for the desired area. The results show that solvent exchange with Ethanol is the best method for draining water from the inner surface of the sample in the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) with minimal destruction. Also, the kind of sample and its information determine the type of coating that should be applied. Gold is the best choice to examine the topography of the sample surface because it has a higher electron return coefficient than other elements and produces images of higher quality. The epoxy with a viscosity of 550 cP (20 °C) or 150 cP (50 °C), a maximum curing temperature of 50 °C, a curing time of 8 h, and an epoxy-to-hardener ratio of 25 to 3 g is the best configuration for having the best sample for microanalysis.

In this study, a numerical methodology is developed to monitor stress distributions and an experimental technique is investigated to measure stresses on metal embedded polymer matrix fiber-reinforced composite materials using X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The numerical method successfully predicts the stress distributions using only a few data points with an average accuracies of 11.6% and 11.8%, respectively for tapered and open hole tensile sample geometries. Experimental part of this study investigates different methodologies to measure stresses on surfaces of polymer composites materials of thin walled structures by XRD. For this reason, metallic materials were integrated onto the surface and near-surface of polymer matrix composites in three different configurations as in the forms of metal foil, metal powder, and metal wire mesh. In-situ experiments of measured and applied stresses revealed metal powder embedded composite materials as a promising material configuration for reliable monitoring of stresses.

Applied energy 343, 121219 (2023). doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121219, Published by Elsevier Science, Amsterdam [u.a.]

The literature offers some studies on the capacity of the greenery apparatus to decrease wind speed and regulate temperatures with the combination of the moisture retained by the plants and the air passing through them, but there is little on the maintenance of performance under particular weather conditions. The aim of this contri- bution is to verify the effectiveness of a vegetal façade in particularly windy conditions combined with rainy and/or high-irradiation events. The subject of the study is the enclosure of the Technology Innovation Centre for Development (itdUPM), on the Polytechnic University of Madrid, where a green wall prototype has been installed. For the purposes of the analysis, the environmental variables are examined and the monitoring data received from sensors positioned at the walls and skin of the insulated envelope are compared with the green face and without, comparing the differences in surface temperatures. These analyses are further examined by considering the correlation with different weather conditions. Experimentation shows a maintenance of per- formance, retaining an insulating capacity in all seasons, in both wind and rain, with results more evident in daylight hours. This contribute want to analyse the subtle variance between the performance of south and west facades. The strongest effect came forward during the summer season because the wall is affected by continuous irradiation on the south that is, also increased by hot weather.

This study deals with the behaviour of duplex stainless steel bolted connections. The aim of the study is to respond to the question if the current stainless steel design specifications are able to predict the behaviour of such connections. Firstly, the net cross-section capacity of duplex stainless steel plates subjected to tensile loading are presented. They were conducted to obtain the stress–strain curves and tensile fracture behaviour used to support the finite element (FE) fracture simulations. Secondly, nonlinear FE models are developed for duplex stainless steel bolted connections subjected to tensile loading. The FE models are validated against experimental data in terms of load–displacement curves, failure modes and ultimate loads. Then, a numerical parametric study that consists of 133 duplex stainless steel grade EN 1.4162 bolted connection specimens is carried out. The failure modes of bolted connections are carefully examined, including combined tear out and bearing, bearing and net section, looking at the influence of parameters such as end distance, edge distance and spacing between the bolts in the connections. The results are compared to the design rules prescribed in the current stainless steel design specifications. Generally, it is found that the Australian/New Zealand (AS/NZS), American (SEI/ASCE) Specification and European codes conservatively predict the ultimate strengths of the bolted connections, whereas the strengths predicted by the AS/NZS and SEI/ASCE specifications are overall more accurate and less scattered.

At present, the energy used for air conditioning in buildings in urban areas accounts for over 36% of total global energy consumption. Energy efficiency has become a critical factor in the urban planning of cities worldwide. Courtyard buildings in hot cities are a prime example of the approach used in traditional vernacular architecture to mitigate the effects of extreme weather. However, given the challenge of guaranteeing accurate modelling of microclimates within these courtyards, their impact on energy demand in buildings has been routinely overlooked by energy certification tools. This work examines three empirical case studies selected in Seville city (Spain), where temperatures during the summer months are extreme. The case studies selected display distinct geometric variations, and the primary objective of the research is to assess the influence of this geometric factor on the cooling energy demand of the building indoors. To achieve this, a validated methodology combining experimental and numerical data was implemented to evaluate the energy performance of buildings with courtyards. Different simulations were conducted to detect the impact of individual courtyard features. The results show a reduction in cooling demand of 8–18% depending on the geometry of the courtyard. Analysis was also carried out on the influence of the floor level and the orientation of adjacent rooms, revealing differences of 15% and 22%, respectively. The main conclusion of the research is that the use of courtyards as functional devices, paying particular attention to their geometry, is a key factor in the cooling energy demand of buildings.

Project performance measurement aims to identify deviations from intended goals and reduce ‘the gap’ between actual and expected performance. However, despite extensive measurement and control efforts, the gap is hard to close and, intriguingly, not necessarily related to the project's perceived performance, which is what will ultimately influence a stakeholder's satisfaction. Based on service quality research, this study explores the differences between perception and expectations of performance. Our mixed method study involving eighteen interviews and 85 survey responses in an IT-enabled change context shows that expectations and perceptions are fundamentally different concepts. As they are different, managing the gap between expectations and perceptions may be a nugatory task. The paper expands the literature on project performance measurement by questioning its foundations and offering a first step towards developing a more dynamic and subjective understanding of project performance that is consistent with a project's evolving nature.

Alexandra Olson, Tor-Olav Naevestad, Kati Orru, Kristi Nero, Abriel Schieffelers, Sunniva Frislid Meyer, The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on socially marginalised women: Material and mental health outcomes, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Volume 93, 2023, 103739, ISSN 2212-4209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103739 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420923002194) There is little knowledge about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted people who are socially marginalised, including individuals who face barriers when attempting to access services such as social safety nets, the labour market, or housing. There is even less understanding about women living under these circumstances. The aims of this study are therefore to examine the material and mental impacts of COVID-19 among socially marginalised women (compared with socially marginalised men) as well as influencing factors. The study is based on survey data (N = 304) involving people who are clients of social care organisations in thirteen European countries. The sample includes clients: a) living in their homes, b) in facilities, and c) on the street and in temporary accommodations. Results indicate that although material impacts were not significantly different for female and male respondents, socially marginalised women have experienced more severe mental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic than socially marginalised men. Female respondents have been significantly more worried about COVID-19 infection than men, and they report significantly more PTSD-symptoms related to the pandemic. Quantitative results indicate that these differences are related to the fact that the female respondents worry more about health risks (e.g. falling ill). Female respondents also seem to be harder hit mentally by the material impacts of COVID-19. Among the free text survey answers regarding the biggest problem for the respondents after the outbreak of the pandemic, the most prevalent reply (among both men and women) was related to material impacts of the pandemic (39% of the respondents), particularly the loss of work (65%). While women reported deterioration of social relations more often, men mentioned lacking access to services more frequently.

Light-gauge Steel Framed (LSF) floor panels are commonly employed in conventional and modular building constructions on the basis of their lightweight nature. Previous research studies on the fire performance of LSF floor panels have been limited to Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) lipped channel and hollow flange joists. Therefore, there is a need for research on the fire performance of the LSF floor panels designed with optimised CFS joists in conventional floor panels and modular floor panels. This paper focuses on the fire performance of LSF conventional and modular floor panels made of optimised CFS joists found in the literature, using Finite Element (FE) analyses. Heat transfer FE models of LSF floor panels were developed and validated against the data available in the literature. Subsequently, the validated FE models were extended to investigate the LSF conventional and modular floor panels made of optimised CFS joists. In total 32 different LSF modular and conventional panels were analysed. A load ratio-critical average joist temperature relationship was derived based on the past test results and extensive FE results. The established relationship in conjunction with time-temperature profiles from the FE analysis was used to predict the Fire Resistance Rating (FRR) of the LSF conventional and modular floor panels made of optimised CFS joists. The results showed that modular floor panels withstand significant standard fire loading compared to the conventional floor panels while optimised CFS joists can also be used to enhance the fire performance.

Nowadays, the semi-probabilistic design approach using partial safety factors is by far the most widely used technique for the design of new industrial buildings. It is believed that the method delivers a safe design with respect to a minimum degree of reliability as prescribed by EN1990. This paper aims at describing the behaviour of single-bay portal frames at a system level based on analytical reliability approach with dominant failure modes. In the case of extreme loading where cross-sections attain their ultimate resistances, the failure modes of single-bay portal frames can be described using a limited number of critical sections. The limit state or performance function is hence reduced to the assessment of those critical sections. Through the use of the well-known force-based method, an analytical matrix formulation of the problem can be proposed and can be easily implemented. For each variable included in the performance resistance of the system, probability density functions can be calculated (Monte Carlo method) and their influence on the system’s reliability level investigated. Comparison can then be made with the results obtained with the partial safety factor method. As a case-study, the influence of the building shape (height-to-span) and load ratio on the reliability of single-bay portal frames is investigated.

Contemporary societies face a myriad of challenges that require the modification of patterns, ways of living, being and producing. Although climate change is one of the most glaring problems, it cannot be understood merely by environmental aspects. Many of these challenges are interrelated and have their roots in a set of crystallized structures that are obsolete, namely the economic ones. Contemporary capitalism has been proving its limitations and contribution to less fair, harmonious and sustainable societies. Evidence of this is the policy efforts that many organizations, such as the European Commission, are making to promote environmental transitions, the circular economy, and green innovations. This article argues that the concept of civil economy may be complementary to this green policy agenda for reflecting on current social challenges and emphasize the importance of cultural, environmental, spiritual and economic resources operating together. It pays attention to gift-giving as a form of civil economy, defining a framework inspired by positive sociology. The article uses the case study of "Los Portales", an intentional sustainable community located in Spain, with around 40 inhabitants and more than 40 years of existence. The study is of ethnographic character and based on in-depth interviews with experts on the economic governance of this community. The results show that the principles of the gift economy were crucial to the success and longevity of the community. They also suggest an agency-centred approach in which individuals should engage activities that promote personal happiness, collective happiness and prosperity. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This paper evaluates a parametric analysis towards compliance with the nZEB standard, which in Spain is defined by the latest update of the Technical Building Code. This regulation is critically assessed regarding its ability to promote the concept of cost optimization, promote renewable energy sources and minimize primary energy consumption in the residential sector. To this end, a virtual building was defined and multiple designs were evaluated using DesignBuilder software. A set of 170 alternative scenarios was established and parametrically evaluated for five cities representing the five climatic zones of inland Spain (Bilbao, Burgos, Seville, Madrid and Almeria). The results were evaluated focusing on cost-cost effectiveness and primary energy consumption values for the different scenarios, evaluating them in relation to the minimum requirements set by the regulation. The great potential of photovoltaic energy is highlighted, which allows negative values to be obtained for the two Equivalent Uniform Annual Costs due to the cost avoided through self-consumption. This fact makes the optimal designs tend to electrification, specifically through air and ground source heat pumps. It is worth mentioning that the new Code has only established a minimum target for renewable self-consumption in the residential sector, which should be reinforced in future updates. The project leading to these results has received funding from “La Caixa” Foundation under the project code LCF/PR/SR20/52550013.

Steel gas pipelines are important component in energy sector. Due to its easy accessibility and importance, shallow-buried pipelines are becoming targets of intentional attack. Therefore, it is urgent to investigate the failure mechanism of buried pipelines subjected to ground surface blast loadings and carry out quantitative damage assessment of pipelines. The present study performs numerical simulation on the resistance of buried pipelines subjected to ground surface explosion. The simulated ground shock propagation in the soil medium was validated with technical manual TM5-855-1 as well as experimental data. The effects of charge weight, stand-off distance, explosive position offset, pipe diameter, pipe wall thickness, buried depth, and steel grade as well as different soil types were investigated. It was found that for the grade X70 pipe with the same buried depth 760 mm, the cross-sectional flattening ratio under charge weight 227 kg (typical sedan bomb) was nearly 544 times greater than the case in 2.3 kg charge weight (typical pipe bomb). The flattening ratio decreased 99.9% because of the buried depth increased from 300 mm to 1800 mm. The decrease in pipe diameter from 860 mm to 350 mm caused 89.6% reduction in flattening ratio. The increase in wall thickness from 4.80 mm to 12.7 mm caused 99.7% decline in flattening ratio. Similarly, it showed the flattening ratio decreased 29.3% when the steel grade increased from X42 (yield strength 290 MPa) to X80 (yield strength 580 MPa). The blast resistance was the worst when the pipeline was buried in clay soil, in which the flattening ratio was 74.8% and 40.3% greater as compared with sandy loam and soil medium. An analytical formula was derived to predict the flattening ratio of pipelines against surface explosion.

ispartof: Journal Of Building Engineering vol:66 status: Published online

An interface sample between Portland concrete and Opalinus Clay with a contact time of 10 years recovered from a field experiment was investigated by SEM-EDX and X-ray CT. The concrete side showed a large chloride ingress from the claystone alongside a decalcification and an opening of the porosity. Additional XRD, TGA and leaching experiments of the concrete at few centimetres (∼5 cm) away from the interface confirmed the chloride ingress. The interface was then subjected to a long-term percolation experiment accompanied with repeated X-ray CT-scans. Injection of synthetic claystone pore water proceeded into the claystone-part of the sample, and through the concrete part, whereby the outflow was continuously sampled. The bedding joints that were partially desaturated rapidly saturated, while hydraulic conductivity steadily decreased to values similar to unaltered claystone. The analysis of the exfiltrating aliquots shed light on the advective/diffusive properties of water transport and multi-component solute transport.

Maira Schobert, Kati Orru, Friedrich Gabel, Kristi Nero, Peter Windsheimer, Margo Klaos, Tor-Olav Nævestad, The three A's of social capital in crises: Challenges with the availability, accessibility and activatability of social support, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Volume 92, 2023, 103704, ISSN 2212-4209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103704.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221242092300184X) Social capital has become a major factor for analysing vulnerabilities and resilience in the context of disaster studies in recent years. Usually, it is studied along its three forms of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital, and it is often framed as a static characteristic that a person either has at his or her disposal or not. Based on the results of case studies conducted in Germany and Estonia focusing on four different crises (floods in Germany; long-term disruption of electricity due to a major storm in Estonia; a cyber-attack in Estonia; as well as the COVID-19 pandemic in both countries) we claim that this description and analysis of social capital does not allow for a comprehensive understanding of all the challenges disaster management has to deal with to decrease vulnerabilities and increase resilience. Using qualitative content analysis, we present a heuristic framework which not only asks whether bonding, bridging, and linking social capital is available to individuals, but also whether social capital is accessible and activatable when responding to or recovering from a disaster. In doing so, the paper helps to improve the overall usability of official or unofficial social support to cope with crises. Three A's of social capital in crises: Challenges with the availability, accessibility and activatability of social support

The behaviour and design of pin-ended stainless steel equal-leg angle section members under compression and compression plus minor-axis bending are investigated herein. The studied members are cylindrically pinned about the minor axis. An experimental investigation, including material testing, initial geometric imperfection measurements and physical tests on hot-rolled stainless steel equal-leg angle section members is first presented. Numerical models are developed and validated against the new experimental data. A numerical parametric study is then presented considering both hot-rolled and cold-formed stainless steel angle section columns alongside beam–columns with a wide range of slenderness values. Finally, new design proposals for pin-ended stainless steel equal-leg angle section members under compression and combined compression and minor-axis bending are developed and verified against the results of existing physical experiments, as well as the newly-generated test and numerical results. The proposed design rules are shown to offer substantially more accurate and consistent resistance predictions compared to existing codified design rules. The reliability of the new design provisions, with a recommended partial safety factor γM1 = 1.1, is verified following the EN 1990 procedure.

The volcanic eruption of Tajogaite in La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain) produced approximately 200 Mm3 of fine lapilli and ash. Using this volcanic ash (VA) to produce alkali-activated binders (AABs) fosters a sustainable approach to binder manufacturing, aligning with the principles of a circular economy and reducing reliance on non-renewable resources. The feasibility of using VA as a sole precursor for the formulation of sustainable AABs was evaluated based on its composition and physical-chemical properties. To this end, a comprehensive physicochemical characterization of VA was carried out and the physical, mechanical, and environmental properties of the binders formulated were analyzed. The physical-chemical analysis reveals the neoformation of typical secondary reaction products, such as NASH and (C,N)ASH gels. The microstructure analysis reveals that the AABs formulated using 6 M and 8 M NaOH activator solutions contain homogeneously dispersed unreacted VA particles within the binder matrix, providing increased cohesion and mechanical strength. The highest compressive resistance of AABs formulated using only VA as the precursor was achieved with a 6 M NaOH activator solution and a curing temperature of 60 ◦C, reaching a strength of 16 MPa. Although alkaline activation enhances the release of some metals and metalloids contained in the VA, the study of the environmental requirements at the end of the life cycle of the formulated AABs allows them to be classified as nonhazardous materials.

Kenneth Løvold Rødseth, Shadow pricing of electricity generation using stochastic and deterministic materials balance models, Applied Energy, Volume 341, 2023, 121095, ISSN 0306-2619, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121095. Marginal abatement cost is an essential input to optimal environmental policies. Shadow pricing has become a popular method for estimating abatement costs subject to parsimonious data requirement. This paper provides a novel contribution to the literature on shadow pricing by considering the implication of the materials balance principle for shadow prices. To that end, the paper establishes a Convex Nonparametric Least Squares estimator for the weak G-disposable production model, which for the first time enables modeling a composite error term and joint estimation of the production frontier and contextual variables within this production model framework. Applying the Directional Distance Function, environmental efficiencies and shadow prices for carbon dioxide emissions are estimated for a sample of power producers using both stochastic and deterministic frontier models. Average shadow price estimates for carbon dioxide range between 14,000 and 40,000 $/ton CO2 for the weak G-disposable model and between 70 and 77 $/ton CO2 for the conventional production model that ignores the materials balance. These findings cast doubt on previous shadow price estimates since a majority of comparable studies ignore the strict technical relationship among pollution-generating inputs and bad outputs under the materials balance condition. Shadow pricing of electricity generation using stochastic and deterministic materials balance models

This paper appraises current usage and future weather service needs in Ireland. The data for this study were collected using a household preparedness questionnaire and focus groups with urban communities, rural dwellers, and marine users, farmers, students, and an island community. The questionnaire was used to collect data on weather warnings and preparedness following a category red severe weather warning. Data on participants’ need for weather forecasts and warnings, current and future weather service requirements, and the effectiveness of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Service (NMHS) were collected from the focus groups. Our analysis identifies the importance of accurate weather forecasts to the public and groups such as farmers as they plan their professional and private lives. Participants were aware of the weather warning system's color-coded structure, with the highest-level warnings considered most effective in capturing attention. Most participants spoke negatively about category yellow warnings, as they perceived them to be issued too frequently. Experience of warnings being issued and threats failing to materialize caused a minority of participants to ignore warnings and not take preparedness action. The professionalism of the NMHS was praised by focus group participants, and there was a high level of overall satisfaction with the quality of the national weather warning system (75.1% of survey participants were mostly or extremely satisfied). Opportunities to improve weather services included enhanced communication with service users, improved web and app interfaces, a move to probabilistic forecasting, and weather warnings that encompass calls to action.

Data availability: Data will be made available on request. Copyright © 2023 The Authors. This paper investigates a vacuum heat treatment (VHT) technology at 160℃, 200℃ and 240℃ for 6–14 h to modify bamboo sawdust (BS) and then BS/cement composites for the development of low carbon construction materials. The hydration process, thermal stability, micro-morphology and crystallinity, and chemical and mechanical changes for both VHT BS and composites are examined by FTIR, TG-DTG, XRD and SEM analyses. The mechanism of improving the mechanical properties of modified BS on composite materials is further elaborated together with the physical and mechanical properties and durability. The results show that the flexural strength and compressive strength of the modified BS/cement composites after VHT at 200℃ for 10 h are increased by 61.2% and 13.8%, respectively, compared with those in the untreated group, and the composites have better durability in the modified group. VHT resulted in cellulose and hemicellulose degradation to certain degrees, lignin undergoes cross-linked condensation reaction and cellulose crystallinity increases. These changes reduce the number of BS hydrophilic groups and result in changes in BS microstructure and surface topography, providing favorable conditions for the bonding and interface development of BS/cement composites. The impact of BS/cement composites on the carbon footprint in the production stage was analyzed, showing that the carbon emissions of BS/cement composites after VHT were reduced by 5.7% compared with that of the corresponding OPC composites. Forestry Science and Technology Project of Fujian (KLB18007A); EU-NWE, Interreg IV B project ‘Grow2Build’.

The availability of high spatio-temporal resolution of urban air temperature is paramount for understanding urban heat island (UHI) and developing effective mitigation strategies, in particular for local-scale mitigations. Obtaining high spatial resolution of air temperature at city-scale is challenging as the quantity of weather stations is often limited in cities, particularly in those less developed ones. In this study, based on the existing weather station network in Guangzhou city, China, we compare eight different air temperature interpolation models and select one with the best performance to interpolate city-scale air temperature. The training and validation of the models are performed using observatory meteorological data of 321 weather stations in Guangzhou. Deep learning-derived land cover information and social-economic data are encoded to be used as explanatory variables. The regression kriging combined with multiple linear regression is found to result in the best performance, with an average root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.92℃ and a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.959. Furthermore, the quantities and locations of current weather stations can be optimized by the proposed model. Guided by the k-means clustering alongside the information of geocoordinates and land cover, the number of current weather stations in Guangzhou can be reduced by 50% (i.e., 160 weather stations) while retaining the model performance. This study proposes and demonstrates an effective model for obtaining city-scale air temperature at high spatio-temporal resolution with data from sparse weather stations, which is much needed for cities which want to enhance their city-scale air temperature mapping by complementing new weather stations to their existing weather station network.

The issue of child and forced labor employed in the production of goods has been at a forefront of public debate in recent decades with millions of victims and nearly all countries being affected. This paper examines whether information about the use of child and forced labor in the production of goods affects their imports to the United States. I investigate this question using the largest naming and shaming strategy ever implemented world-wide: inclusion on the U.S. government’s list of goods produced with child or forced labor. This list aims to provide impartial information to consumers and firms about a broad range of goods, in contrast to previously used measures in the literature which have tended to be more emotionally driven boycotts or labelling campaigns of specific goods. The paper finds that such information provision decreased United States imports of goods believed to be made using child and forced labor. The results are mainly driven by goods closer to the point of consumption, where consumers might reasonably be expected to penalize products that are thought to rely on such labor, while no effect was found for intermediate goods. Thus, public information strategies may be efficient policy instruments in disincentivizing the purchase of certain goods believed to be made with child and forced labor.

Alkali-activated materials (AAM) and hybrid cements (HC) have become sustainable alternatives to Portland cement (PC) due to their low carbon footprint. The main differences between AAM and HC lie in their content of clinker (none in the AAM and usually lower than 30% for HCs) and the type of activator used (strong alkaline solutions for AAM and small amounts of solid alkalis for HC). Durability problems related with microstructural changes due to decalcification and leaching of the cementitious paste have been well researched for PC pastes, but it is still not well known for AAM and HC. The present work aims to study the leaching process for cement pastes of both types of sustainable pastes. Blast furnace slag (BFS) was selected as a precursor to manufacture hybrid slag (HS) pastes and alkali-activated slag (AAS) pastes. A commercial CEM IV was selected as reference material. A 6 M NH4NO3 solution was used to accelerate leaching kinetics. After 28 days of immersion, the mineralogical and microstructural changes were evaluated. Results show that AAS pastes exhibited the highest leaching resistance of all the pastes under study, due to the absence of portlandite and the high level of polymerization of silicate chains. In HS pastes, the presence of portlandite (due to PC in the material) and gypsum (due to the activator) explains their intermediate performance, in between CEM IV and AAS. The authors have been able to carry out the present research thanks to financial support from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades of Spain (RTI2018-096428-B-I00 and PID2020-116738RJ-I00 projects) and Madrid Government (Comunidad de Madrid) under the Multiannual Agreement UC3M in the line of "Fostering Young Doctors Research" (HORATSO-CS-UC3M) in the context of the V PRICIT (Regional Programme of Research and Technological Innovation).

Environmental issues are becoming increasingly important, and researchers are developing new technologies and models to reduce environmental impact. The circular economy is a production and consumption model that involves sharing, borrowing, reusing, repairing, reconditioning and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible. This study focuses on the concept of reuse and, specifically, how to reduce waste generated by pandemics through recycling and reusing facemasks made of polyamide fabric. Facemasks can be reused to refurbish buildings in low-income contexts. To assess the reutilization potential of recycled bulk polyamide fiber, thermal, acoustic, and fire performance properties were assessed experimentally. The results show that they are comparable to commercial insulation materials such as glass wool and mineral wool in terms of thermal conductivity, while also demonstrating good sound absorption performance at medium and high frequencies (greater thickness and density will increase the amount of insulation and sound absorption). The material’s fire performance is similar to that of other synthetic insulation materials, such as EPS. However, the performance is worse than for common organic insulation materials, such as cellulose. Finally, a lowcost, self-portable insulation panel concept designed for indoor installation was tested for material performance. Considering these properties, this solution may represent a significant opportunity to enhance thermal and acoustic comfort in vulnerable energy-poor households, bringing clear environmental benefits and positive social implications. This research was partially funded with grants from the Centre for Development Cooperation – Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya for the local cooperation project “REEhabilitant el Raval” (grants 2020-D005, 2021-K003 and 2022-C007), by the Catalan agency AGAUR through its research group support program (2021 SGR 00341), and by the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering of the University of Brescia through the MetATer PRD project. The authors would like to thank Prof. Edoardo Piana for access to the applied technical physics laboratory at the University of Brescia, and to Dr. Laia Haurie for access to the materials laboratory at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, and for their valuable advice. Peer Reviewed Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles::11.1 - Per a 2030, assegurar l’accés de totes les persones a habitatges i a serveis bàsics adequats, segurs i assequibles, i millorar els barris marginal Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles

Mass housing (MH) buildings from the ‘60s to the ‘80s, after decades of continuous use and inadequate maintenance, cause several sustainability issues and need rehabilitation. Most current conventional rehabilitation approaches have long been criticized because they consider neither sustainability requirements nor contemporary building standards. In this regard, the assessment and selection of suitable approaches for rehabilitating MH interiors, from a holistic sustainability viewpoint, is a crucial issue that faces several challenges since this is a multidisciplinary and multi-criteria process. On this subject, the present study develops a novel MCDM model based on the MIVES and Delphi methods for the holistic sustainability assessment of MHs’ interior rehabilitation considering involved stakeholders' preferences. This MIVES-Delphi model relies on a comprehensive literature review, experts' seminars, on-site surveying, LCA, BIM, user/expert-based questionnaires, bias reduction, and sensitivity analysis. The model was first applied in the Ekbatan MH case study, the largest MH in Iran, to assess the sustainability of four different interior rehabilitation scenarios, including three common rehabilitation scenarios plus an innovative one. Consequently, the new model was validated, and the most sustainable scenario was selected. The specific results regarding these scenarios' evaluation disclosed that none of the common rehabilitation scenarios could either meet the minimum sustainability target value or serve as proper solutions for MH's interior rehabilitation. Contrarily, the fourth scenario, with a global sustainability index of 0.71, could meet the standard minimum target. This outcome provides a possibility for innovative rehabilitation processes to have positive effects on increasing the sustainability performance in MH buildings.

Existing approaches to sustainable dwellings often involve high-tech equipment and skilled workers, which are less accessible in low-resource settings. This research introduces a novel template design and automated parametric model for the design of corbel dwellings that can be built using standard equipment, local material, and lower-skilled workers. The template design is a modular, single-story dome-shaped structure transitioning from a square-base footprint to a circular roof zone using only five block types. Interlocking block features enable both aligned and offset dry stacking and reduce the use of mortar and formwork. The geometrically complex design is enabled by a parametric model that automatically synthesizes alternative designs and conducts preliminary structural analysis, including stability and FEA in real-time. The example context used is Morocco where the entire structure can be constructed using Compressed Earth Blocks. A range of dwellings are automatically generated using one set of blocks to explore the design space., Developments in the Built Environment, 14

This paper presents a multistep methodology combining unsupervised and supervised learning techniques for the identification of the daily heating energy consumption patterns in buildings. The relevant number of typical profiles is obtained through unsupervised clustering processes. Then Classification and Regression Trees are used to predict the profile type corresponding to external variables, including calendar and climatic variables, from any given day. The methodology is tested with a variety of datasets for three different buildings with different uses connected to the district heating network in Tartu (Estonia). The three buildings under analysis present different energy behaviors (residential, kindergarten and commercial buildings). The paper shows that unsupervised clustering is effective for pattern recognition since the results from the classification and regression trees match the results from the unsupervised clustering. Three main patterns have been identified in each building, seasonality and daily mean temperature being the variables that have the greatest effect. The results concluded that the best classification accuracy is obtained with a small number of clusters with a classification accuracy from 0.7 to 0.85, approximately. The authors would like to thank GREN Eesti [44] for providing data from the substations for academic purposes. The authors would like to acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) for funding through the Sweet-TES research project (RTI2018-099557-B-C22). This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 768567.

Alkali-activated binders for concrete composites are emerging as the available low-embodied-carbon alternatives to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Despite decades of research, the durability of alkali-activated concrete remains a concern, especially the issues related to chloride penetration and the potential for chloride-induced corrosion of embedded steel bars. In this study, a multi-phase, multi-component ionic numerical model is developed to investigate the chloride transport in alkali-activated fly ash/slag (AAFS) concretes. The model framework considers the porosity of concrete, the chloride binding, and the electrochemical coupling between multi-species. Based on the proposed model, the parametric studies of a series of influencing factors on both chloride transport and initiation time of reinforcement corrosion are performed and discussed. The results indicate that the slag content and the water to binder ratio are the dominant factors affecting chloride penetration and corrosion initiation time of steel bars in AAFS concretes due to their greater contributions to reduce the porosity, while the aggregate volume fraction presents a limited effect compared with other factors. The transport model proposed in this study brings insights to the prediction of the service life of alkali-activated reinforced concrete structures. ISSN:0008-8846