Review of the Current State of Development of the Progress Indicators in National Long-Term Renovation Strategies

The Commission Recommendation (EU) 2019/786 created a clear path towards a low and zero-emission building stock by 2050, based on milestones and progress indicators. National Long-Term Renovation Strategies (LTRS) are required to ensure the renovation into energy efficient and decarbonised buildings. This paper reviews the current status of the development of the progress indicators carried out by the Member States

Image analysis for measuring the size stratification in sand–gravel laboratory experiments

Measurements of spatial and temporal changes in the grain-size distribution of the bed surface and substrate are crucial to improving the modelling of sediment transport and associated grain-size selective processes. We present three complementary techniques to determine such variations in the grain-size distribution of the bed surface in sand–gravel laboratory experiments, as well as the resulting size stratification: (1) particle colouring, (2) removal of sediment layers, and (3) image analysis. The resulting stratification measurement method was evaluated in two sets of experiments. In both sets three grain-size fractions within the range of coarse sand to fine gravel were painted in different colours. Sediment layers are removed using a wet vacuum cleaner. Subsequently areal images are taken of the surface of each layer. The areal fraction content, that is, the relative presence of each size fraction over the bed surface, is determined using a colour segmentation algorithm which provides the areal fraction content of a specific colour (i.e. grain size) covering the bed surface. Particle colouring is not only beneficial to this type of image analysis but also to the observation and understanding of grain-size selective processes. The size stratification based on areal fractions is measured with sufficient accuracy. Other advantages of the proposed size stratification measurement method are (a) rapid collection and processing of a large amount of data, (b) a very high spatial density of information on the grain-size distribution, (c) the lack of disturbances to the bed surface, (d) only minor disturbances to the substrate due to the removal of sediment layers, and (e) the possibility to return a sediment layer to its original elevation and continue the flume experiment. The areal fractions are converted into volumetric fractions using an existing conversion model

A method for the automated construction of 3d models of cities and neighborhoods from official cadaster data for solar analysis

3D city models are a useful tool to analyze the solar potential of neighborhoods and cities. These models are built from buildings footprints and elevation measurements. Footprints are widely available, but elevation datasets remain expensive and time-consuming to acquire. Our hypothesis is that the GIS cadastral data can be used to build a 3D model automatically, so that generating complete cities 3D models can be done in a short time with already available data. We propose a method for the automatic construction of 3D models of cities and neighborhoods from 2D cadastral data and study their usefulness for solar analysis by comparing the results with those from a hand-built model. The results show that the accuracy in evaluating solar access on pedestrian areas and solar potential on rooftops with the automatic method is close to that from the hand-built model with slight differences of 3.4% and 2.2%, respectively. On the other hand, time saving with the automatic models is significant. A neighborhood of 400, 000 m2 can be built up in 30 min, 50 times faster than by hand, and an entire city of 967 km2 can be built in 8.5 h. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Advance, Retreat, and Halt of Abrupt Gravel-Sand Transitions in Alluvial Rivers

Downstream fining of bed sediment in alluvial rivers is usually gradual, but often an abrupt decrease in characteristic grain size occurs from about 10 to 1 mm, i.e., a gravel-sand transition (GST) or gravel front. Here we present an analytical model of GST migration that explicitly accounts for gravel and sand transport and deposition in the gravel reach, sea level change, subsidence, and delta progradation. The model shows that even a limited gravel supply to a sand bed reach induces progradation of a gravel wedge and predicts the circumstances required for the gravel front to advance, retreat, and halt. Predicted modern GST migration rates agree well with measured data at Allt Dubhaig and the Fraser River, and the model qualitatively captures the behavior of other documented gravel fronts. The analysis shows that sea level change, subsidence, and delta progradation have a significant impact on the GST position in lowland rivers