A review of sample preparation and its influence on pH determination in concrete samples

If we are to monitor the chemical processes in cementitious materials, then pH assays in the pore solutions of cement pastes, mortars, and concretes are of key importance. However, there is no standard method that regulates the sample-preparation method for pH determination. The state-of-the-art of different methods for pH determination in cementitious materials is presented in this paper and the influence of sample preparation in each case. Moreover, an experimental campaign compares three different techniques for pH determination. Its results contribute to establishing a basic criterion to help researchers select the most suitable method, depending on the purpose of the research. A simple tool is described for selecting the easiest and the most economic pH determination method, depending on the objective; especially for researchers and those with limited experience in this field.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Integrated value model for sustainable assessment of school centers construction

Hundreds of new school centers were built in Catalonia between 2000 and 2009. It was a governmental decision in order to solve an endemic lack of centers that in the early 2000s had worsen. Masonry and poured on site reinforced concrete structures were used to build most of these schools as it had been done previously. The novelty was the use of interesting off site construction processes such as prefabricated concrete, steel and wood technologies. These school edifices and their building processes were analyzed in the author’s thesis in 2009. Later in 2011 the author analyzed the lyfe cycle process of the construction of these centers. In this paper the authors assess the sustainability of these schools using a dynamic evaluation tool optimized for this case study. This tool has been defined using the Integrated Value Model for Sustainable Assessment (Modelo Integrado de Valor para una Evaluación Sostenible - MIVES).Postprint (published version

Decision-making through sustainability

From immemorial time, dams have contributed significantly for the progress of civilizations. For this reason, nowadays, there is a vast engineering heritage. Over the years, these infrastructures can present some ordinary maintenance issues associated with their normal operation or with ageing processes. Normally, these problems do not represent an important risk for the structure, but they have to be attended. To do it, owners of dams have to finance many ordinary interventions. As it is impossible to carry out all of them at the same time, managers have to make a decision and select the most “important” ones. However, it is not easy because interventions usually have very different natures (for example: repair a bottom outlet, change gates, seal a crack...) and they cannot use a classical risk analysis for these type of interventions. The authors, who are aware this problem, present, in this paper, a multi-criteria decision-making system to prioritize these interventions with the aim of providing engineers a useful tool, with which they can prioritize the interventions from the most important to the least. To do it, the authors have used MIVES. This tool defines the Prioritization Index for the Management of Hydraulic Structures (PIMHS), which assesses, in two phases, the contribution to sustainability of each intervention. The first phase measures the damage of the dam, and the second measures the social, environmental and economic impacts. At the end of the paper, a case of study is presented where some interventions are evaluated with PIMHS.Postprint (published version

Infrastructure, innovation and industry as solutions for breaking inequality vicious cycles

Currently, poverty and inequality are crucial social issues around the world. They demand objective evaluations with the purpose of defining policies and prioritizing actions. Most of the times the most important problem lies on the fact that individuals under poverty circumstances or belonging to vulnerable collectives cannot escape these conditions by themselves and need external assistance or interventions. Another added difficulty is that both poverty and inequality can be studied from different angles and require a multidimensional approach whose definition is not straightforward. There exists a vicious cycle defined by a collection of determinants or events that lead to a phenomenon in which various disadvantages work circularly so that it is impossible for individuals or households to break the cycle. In this context, setting the background in which these vicious cycles arise can be helpful in order to conduct in-depth studies as a first step to establishing possible solutions. Even though many researchers have proposed alternative schemes for the poverty’s vicious circle, none has been introduced for inequality. In this contribution, a meaningful and integrated cycle is defined for inequality at two different levels: first of all, at an individual level; secondly, at a collective level in which a certain group is made vulnerable. This cycle includes similar parameter as those comprised in the poverty cycle such as income, access to education and access to healthcare. However, it additionally places emphasis on other aspects such as participation in politics and access to leadership positions. Besides, a conceptual and analytical framework is built, whose objective is to describe ways in which infrastructure, innovation and industry can help interrupt the continuation of the cycle. This model integrates a collection of different measures that is to be potentially helpful for policy makers. Additionally, the frame accounts for not only the fight of current existing cycles, but also of future generations ones, hence considering sustainability dimensions.Postprint (published version

La calidad en la gestión de los Servicios Sociales Municipales: algunas experiencias de INTRESS

Queremos presentar en este breve artículo dos experiencias de INTRESS en el desarrollo de buenas prácticas que puedan ayudar a la implantación de sistemas de gestión de calidad en las administraciones locales así como en organizaciones y entidades del Tercer Sector. Se expone pues, por un lado, la experiencia desarrollada en la Concejalía de Acción Social, Mujer y Familia del Ayuntamiento de Valdemoro (Madrid) a través de la formación de sus profesionales en la gestión por procesos y la mejora continua y por otro lado, la iniciativa 'Indicadores Sociales' desarrollada por la red de Consultoría Social, para el desarrollo de una Web de indicadores sociales que permita compartir resultados y buenas prácticas en entidades de acción social.This short article sets out to present two schemes carried out by INTRESS in the development of good practices which may be of help in the implementation of quality management systems in local administrations as well as in Third Sector organisations and bodies. This presentation therefore puts forward the scheme undertaken at the Department of Social Action, Women and Family of Valdemoro (Madrid) Council, by training professionals in management by processes and continuous improvement and, on the other hand, the 'Social Indicators' initiative implemented by the Social Consultancy network, for developing a social indicator Web enabling results and good practices to be shared among social action bodies

Bond behavior of self consolidating concrete

The new generation of innovative projects has led to the use of greater amounts of reinforcement and the development of concrete with specific characteristics. It is necessary to use a material that ensures the uniformity of the cross section, as well as the adherence of the existing reinforcement, and due to this, the self-consolidating concrete becomes an technique alternative has great potential to achieve these properties. The aim of this paper is to analyze the bond behavior of self-consolidating concrete that was obtained by means of the Beam Test performed within a large experimental campaign of characterization. Four types of SCC were studied with two strength levels (40 MPa and 60MPa) and two different types of granular skeletons, using two specimens at each age (3, 7, and 28 days). All specimens were tested with a corrugated steel bar 10 mm in diameter. The results show that the adhesion tension independently of resistance presents a rapidly evolving at 7 days reached 95% of the total adhesion by 28 days.Postprint (published version

Fisac, Construction by Analogy: Ferroconcrete and brick vaults

[EN] This study is an attempt to trace the origins of the relation between brick vaults and thin ferroconcrete skins; Fisac’s transformation by analogy of a traditional building method into a new construction technique, both of which were associated with the creation of surfaces with curved geometries, their interactions and their differences. The context is the post-war Spain, of the 1940s and 1950s: the period of Autarky and the beginning of the apertura or opening up of Spain to the outside world. The study focuses on a reduced number of individuals: Luis Moya, Rafael Aburto, Francisco Cabrero, Eduardo Torroja and, above all, Miguel Fisac. In the case of Fisac, the article proposes a hypothesis concerning the use of recoverable brick vault formwork for creating ferroconcrete elements.[ES] El presente estudio trata de rastrear el origen de la relación entre las bóvedas tabicadas de fábrica y los elementos de membrana de hormigón armado de poco espesor; la traslación por analogía de una forma de construcción tradicional a una nueva técnica, ambas ligadas a la formación de superficies con geometrías curvas; sus interacciones y diferencias. El marco es la España de posguerra, temporalmente abarca las décadas de los 40 y 50 del siglo XX, es decir, los años de la autarquía y el principio de la apertura. Se acota el estudio a unos pocos personajes: Luis Moya, Rafael Aburto, Francisco Cabrero, Eduardo Torroja y, sobre todo, Miguel Fisac. Sobre el trabajo de este último se planteará una hipótesis de solución constructiva para la realización de elementos prefabricados de hormigón armado a partir de encofrados recuperables de bóvedas tabicadas.Aguado Benito, JA. (2020). Fisac, construcción por analogías. Hormigón armado y bóvedas tabicadas. En IX Congreso Internacional Arquitectura Blanca. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/CIAB9.2020.10616OC

Sensitivity Analysis of a Bidirectional Wireless Charger for EV

Bidirectional chargers are required to fully integrate Electric Vehicle (EV) into the smart grids. Additionally, wireless chargers ease the charge/discharge process of the EV batteries so that they are becoming more popular to fulfill a V2G scenario. When considering the load of wireless chargers, it is a requirement to know the real output power that these systems offer. The designed output power may differ from the real one as components suffer from tolerance. This paper defines six sensitivity factors to model the severity of the effects of tolerance into the output power. To do so, an electric circuit analysis is used and a mathematical formulation is derived. The six sensitivity factors are computed for a laboratory prototype.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Deim-based pgd for multi-parametric nonlinear model reduction

A new technique for efficiently solving parametric nonlinear reduced order models in the Proper Generalized Decomposition (PGD) framework is presented here. This technique is based on the Discrete Empirical Interpolation Method (DEIM)[1], and thus the nonlinear term is interpolated using the reduced basis instead of being fully evaluated. The DEIM has already been demonstrated to provide satisfactory results in terms of computational complexity decrease when combined with the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD). However, in the POD case the reduced basis is a posteriori known as it comes from several pre-computed snapshots. On the contrary, the PGD is an a priori model reduction method. This makes the DEIM-PGD coupling rather delicate, because different choices are possible as it is analyzed in this work