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Mestrado Bolonha em Finanças This dissertation aims to evaluate the performance of a set of special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC) in the US market, comparing it with previous results obtained with similar methodologies and with results from a traditional IPO. From the companies’ point of view, SPAC represents a quicker and more efficient method to raise capital both from public markets and institutional investors, avoiding the heavy costs in time and expenses of the IPO procedures. The literature (i.e., Lakicevic and Vulanovic, 2013; Dimitrova, 2017) has suggested that the market has a positive trend when considering M&A announcements, regarding SPAC. However, the enthusiasm around this tool may be related to the IPO phase, as the returnsturn negative quickly. The analysis over the trend denotes that returns have been traced in the last decade because the market is getting more efficient as time pass. The process of maturation is constantly going on and it is leveling out the gap in terms of performance between short and medium/long term performance. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo avaliar o desempenho de um conjunto de empresas de aquisição de propósito específico (SPAC) no mercado dos EUA, comparando-o com resultados anteriores obtidos com metodologias semelhantes e com resultados de um IPO tradicional. Do ponto de vista das empresas, a SPAC representa um método mais rápido e eficiente de levantar capital tanto dos mercados públicos quanto dos investidores institucionais, evitando os altos custos em tempo e despesas dos procedimentos de IPO. A literatura (isto é, Lakicevic e Vulanovic, 2013; Dimitrova, 2017) sugeriu que o mercado tem uma tendência positiva quando se consideram as anúncios de Fusões e Aquisições, em relação às SPAC. No entanto, o entusiasmo em torno dessa ferramenta pode estar relacionado à fase de IPO, já que os retornos se tornam negativos rapidamente. A análise sobre a tendência indica que os retornos têm sido rastreados na última década porque o mercado está ficando mais eficiente à medida que o tempo passa. O processo de amadurecimento está constantemente em andamento e está nivelando a diferença em termos de desempenho entre o curto e o médio/longo prazo. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The seismic vulnerability of existing RC framed buildings in seismic-prone areas requires affordable and practice-oriented solutions for their retrofitting. In this paper, the authors present a retrofitting solution for RC buildings based on the combined use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels and asymmetric friction connections (AFCs). The AFC connection is activated when the force level reaches the design threshold. The energy dissipation of the AFC increases the structural dissipation capacity and reduces the displacement demand. This research presents the outcomes of an experimental campaign on selected prototypes of these AFC connectors. The authors assess their dissipative capacity from cyclic load tests in four different connector arrangements and examine the contribution of aluminum shim layers. The first results highlight the significant dissipation potential of the AFC, although they also provide evidence of the notable sensitivity on the design and constructive details. The authors present a modeling approach to simulate the experimental results.

The report describes the existing state of the real pilot building, located in Catania, which will be renovated during the demonstration activities of the e-SAFE project. The document is the result of a survey activity that has concerned different aspects, including architectural issues, geometric issues, construction and energy issues, and structural issues. The results presented in this report are preliminary to the design of the renovation solutions that will be applied to the pilot building during the demonstration activity,and allowed understanding the main criticalities that must be considered during the design and the implementation stages

This is the presentation given by Carola Tardo at the8th International Conference on Computational Methods in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (COMPDYN)

Deep renovation interventions on existing buildings remain currently unattractive due to technical, financial and cultural/social barriers. Now that the European Union 2018 Energy Performance Directive aims to “reach the long-term greenhouse gas emission goal and decarbonize the building stock”, Member States may use their long-term renovation strategies to address risks also related to fire hazards and seismic loads in addition to energy renovation. This opens a wider market for innovative approaches in retrofit of existing buildings. The current paper illustrates the primary outcomes of an ongoing multidisciplinary Horizon 2020 research project (called e-SAFE), tackling the integration of energy, seismic and architectural renovation interventions through an innovative and combinable technological solution, applicable to non-historic RC framed buildings (i.e. built after 1950) and easily adaptable to specific climatic conditions, seismicity levels and other boundary conditions. Hence, the proposed solution will contribute to the de-carbonization of the EU building stock, reducing the occurrence of natural hazards related to climate changes, and, at the same time, to the improvement of the social resilience against earthquakes and to the enhancement of buildings architectural image. The seismic retrofit technology consists in the external application of modular prefabricated Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) panels on the existing perimetral walls. These panels are connected to the beams of two consecutive floors by means of friction dampers and provide additional lateral stiffness and strength to the existing structure, thus reducing the storey drift demand in case of earthquake. The friction dampers cut the force transmitted by the CLT panel to the structure and dissipate energy, which further reduce the drift demand. Strength, stiffness and dissipation capacity provided by the system are controlled by modulating the thickness and the number of CLT panels, as well as the friction dampers size. In this research phase, friction damper prototypes have been designed in order to optimize both mechanical performance and production process. Detailed numerical models allowed to investigate the stress distribution in the dissipative connections. The results of the preliminary testing campaign will be presented and discussed in this paper, also in relation with the findings of the numerical analysis and future tests.