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The paper presents the final results from the research project “Urban Abacus of Building Energy performances (Abaco Urbano Energeticodegli Edifci – AUREE)” aimed at supporting the renovation and energy efficiency enhancement of urban building heritage financed by the “Ricerca Sistema Elettrico (MISE) program”. The crux of AUREE project is a Web – GIS GeoBlog portal with customized semantic dashboards aimed at sharing information on urban built environment and promoting the participation of local stakeholders to its improvement. As the latest development of this research, a workflow integrating the AUREE portal with BIM authoring and an open source IoT platform has been implemented and applied to an experimental case study concerning a public building in Carbonia (Italy). The headquarters of the sustainable energy research center Sotacarbo was selected as case study. The presented results proved that it was possible to create an open system, which could be easily consulted by "non-expert" users as well, to make available real-time monitoring data obtained from IoT sensors measuring the energy consumption, the indoor environmental conditions and the usage profiles of public buildings. The proposed open system could also be suitable to be later used as an effective tool to support the rising “energy communities”.

The present work deals with the structural optimization of self-supported Composite Steel Trussed-Concrete Beams (CSTCB). CSTCB belongs to the category of prefabricated steel truss embedded in a concrete core casted in situ. The truss is typically composed of a steel plate, which represents the bottom chord, a system of diagonal bars and some coupled rebars working as upper chord. Optimized geometries lead to the minimization of material use. This results in the minimization of the costs, the achievement of sustainability targets, the reduction on the self-weight as well as many architectural advantages. At this purpose, a MATLAB code is herein presented. The code aims to optimize the geometry of the beam by means of a genetic algorithm (ga). Two different operative phases, before and after the concrete hardening, which characterize the mechanical response of the beam, are considered within the code. In addition, a case study is developed showing the application of the Matlab code to a homogenized prismatic beam. Advances beyond the state of the art are therefore shown.

Architects and engineers have been always attracted by concrete shell structures due to their high efficiency and plastic shapes. In this paper the possibility to use concrete shells to support footbridges is explored. Starting from Musmeci’s fundamental research and work in shell bridge design, the use of numerical form-finding methods is analysed. The form-finding of a shell-supported footbridge shaped following Musmeci’s work is first introduced. Coupling Musmeci’s and Nervi’s experiences, an easy construction method using a stay-in-place ferrocement formwork is proposed. Moreover, the advantage of inserting holes in the shell through topology optimization to remove less exploited concrete has been considered. Curved shell-supported footbridges have been also studied, and the possibility of supporting the deck with the shell top edge, that is along a single curve only, has been investigated. The form-finding of curved shell-supported footbridges has been performed using a Particle-Spring System and Thrust Network Analysis. Finally, the form-finding of curved shell-supported footbridges subjected to both vertical and horizontal forces (i.e. earthquake action) has been implemented.

In the last few years, nonregular reinforced concrete (R/C) slabs have become more popular in buildings and bridges due to architectural or functional requirements. In these cases, an optimum design method to obtain the ultimate load capacity and the minimum reinforcement amount should be used. For simple R/C slabs, the yield-line method is extensively used in engineering practice. In addition to strength, the “true” failure mechanism is also obtained by identifying the parameters that define it and minimizing the collapse load. Unfortunately, when the mechanism is too complicated to be described or defined by several parameters (e.g., in slabs with complicated geometry), the method becomes more difficult because the system of nonlinear equations becomes harder to solve through traditional methods. In this case, an efficient and robust algorithm becomes necessary. In this paper, a structural analysis of R/C slabs is performed by using the yield-line method in association with a zero-th order optimization algorithm (the sequential simplex method) to avoid calculating gradients as well as any derivatives. The constraints that often limit these parameters are taken into account through the exterior penalty function method, leading to a successful solution of the problem. Considering that the direction of each yield-line is sought by minimizing the ultimate load and finding the parameters defining the collapse mechanism, another parameter concerned with the direction of an orthotropic reinforcement grid is introduced. In this way, the number of unknown parameters increases, but aside from obtaining the ultimate load and the parameters defining the collapse mechanism, the solution also finds both best and worst reinforcement orientations.

Structural optimization of arches under multi-load cases is faced. For this aim, truss-type arches are to be considered because, under different load cases, bending effects unavoidably occur in single-rib arches shaped under one load case only. An effective procedure for simultaneous topology, shape and size optimization of truss-arches under multi-load cases is proposed. For this aim, shape, size and topology variables are assembled in a unique set of variables that are simultaneously optimised by the optimization algorithm. For given Pratt-type brace pattern, different topologies have been considered by varying the node number, whereas Cubic Rational Bézier curves have been used to shape the arch chords. Optimum diameter and thickness of the circular hollow section members was also obtained. Optimization was performed in MATLAB environment, by applying a modified Differential Evolution (DE) algorithm implemented with a Constraint Domination Selection (CDS) criterion. For each design variable vector, a FEM analysis of the resulting model has been carried out by SAP2000 to evaluate the objective function value (volume) feasibility of each design variable vector in terms of structural performance. Optimal solutions have been found and compared, providing useful suggestions to consider as guidelines in truss-arche design.

The current poor predictability of end points associated with the bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is a large limitation when evaluating its viability for treating contaminated soils and sediments. However, we have seen a wide range of innovations in recent years, such as an the improved use of surfactants, the chemotactic mobilization of bacterial inoculants, the selective biostimulation at pollutant interfaces, rhizoremediation and electrobioremediation, which increase the bioavailability of PAHs but do not necessarily increase the risk to the environment. The integration of these strategies into practical remediation protocols would be beneficial to the bioremediation industry, as well as improve the quality of the environment.

Curved arch bridges with curved deck supported by an inclined arch either through web members or without are studied. Reference to shell-supported bridges is first made. It must be taken into account that even if the deck is supported by a shell, its bottom free edge (usually stiffened) is described by a thrust line, so that the shell connects the curved deck (that is a horizontal arch) with an inclined 3D funicular arch. A limit case is that the ring girder of the curved deck and the funicular arch merge dividing the shell into two parts, so that, if shell thickness tends to zero, no shell connects them. This is the case of curved bridges supported only at mid-span by an inclined arch. The efficiency of different arches is compared. Moreover, the deck can be supported not only at mid-span but also by web members connecting deck girder and inclined arch. In this latter case, the most appropriate form of the inclined arch is obtained.

9 páginas.-- 1 figura.-- 3 tablas.-- 22 referencias.-- Supporting Information Role of Desorption Kinetics in the Rhamnolipid-Enhanced Biodegradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/es5011253/suppl_file/es5011253_si_001.pdf, The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a rhamnolipid biosurfactant on biodegradation of 14C-labeled phenanthrene and pyrene under desorption-limiting conditions. The rhamnolipid caused a significant solubilization and enhanced biodegradation of PAHs sorbed to soils. The enhancement was, however, negatively influenced by experimental conditions that caused an enrichment of slow desorption fractions. These conditions included aging, a higher organic matter content in soil, and previous extraction with Tenax to remove the labile-desorbing chemical. The decline in bioavailability caused by aging on sorbed 14C-pyrene was partially reversed by rhamnolipids, which enhanced mineralization of the aged compound, although not so efficiently like with the unaged chemical. This loss in biosurfactant efficiency in promoting biodegradation can be explained by intra-aggregate diffusion of the pollutant during aging. We suggest that rhamnolipid can enhance biodegradation of soil-sorbed PAHs by micellar solubilization, which increase the cell exposure to the chemicals in the aqueous phase, and partitioning into soil organic matter, thus enhancing the kinetics of slow desorption. Our study show that rhamnolipid can constitute a valid alternative to chemical surfactants in promoting the biodegradation of slow desorption PAHs, which constitutes a major bottleneck in bioremediation., Support for this research was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CGL2010-22068-C02-01 and CGL2013-44554-R), the Andalusian Government (RNM 2337) and the FPI Programme (E.C.).