European Retrofit Network: Retrofitting Evaluation Methodology Report

The research programme, funded by the EU Progress Fund, looks at the potential impacts of construction training in the area of „retrofitting‟ social housing to make it more sustainable, in particular to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This report investigates methodologies for measuring and demonstrating carbon emissions reductions resulting from retrofitting measures in the partner countries (UK, Spain, Poland and Montenegro). The output of this part of the study is a methodology appropriate to measuring the likely carbon reduction impacts through common retrofit measures in the social housing sector, taking into account the likely cost effectiveness of measures, the impact on occupants, the project management challenges and thus the measures that are most likely to be employed in policy and practice. An appropriate methodology is one that can be applied across the range of different conditions found in the partner countries (representative to some degree of the range of conditions found across Europe as whole). Low carbon retrofit has been defined as „incremental improvements to the building fabric and systems with primary intention of improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

Numerical study on the response of shoreline change to the tidal channel after a beach nourishment project on an embayed beach

Beach erosion is a severe problem worldwide and beach nourishment is widely regarded today as an environmentally acceptable method to protect and enlarge beaches. In many beach nourishment projects on headland-bay beaches, artificial headlands were constructed on the natural headlands to form an embayed beach in static equilibrium to protect the beach more effectively. However, the construction of artificial headland would weaken the water exchange in the bay and make the water quality easy to deteriorate. In a beach nourishment project in Qinhuangdao, China to dispose this discrepancy an engineering measure was conducted: to reserve a tidal channel between the artificial headland and the natural headland to allow the tidal current to pass. In this paper, a shoreline change model was set up based on GENESIS model to evaluate the influence of the reserve of the tidal channel on the shoreline change after the project. The model was verified by reproducing the post-project shoreline. Four different project schemes with different scales of tidal channel were simulated and discussion was given based on the analysis of simulated results. The numerical evaluation of various scheme options indicates that it is feasible to involve the tidal channel in beach nourishment projects with artificial headland and the scale of the tidal channel should be designed based on the hydrodynamic processes and the state of the beach

The classification of all single travelling wave solutions to Calogero-Degasperis-Focas equation

Under the travelling wave transformation, Calogero-Degasperis-Focas equation was reduced to an ordinary differential equation. Using a symmetry group of one-parameter, this ODE was reduced to a second order linear inhomogeneous ODE. Furthermore, we applied the change of the variable and complete discrimination system for polynomial to solve the corresponding integrals and obtained the classification of all single travelling wave solutions to Calogero-Degasperis-Focas equation.Comment: 9 page

Theoretical investigation of bridge seismic responses with pounding under near-fault vertical ground motions

Vertical earthquake loading is normally regarded not as important as its horizontal components and are not explicitly considered in many seismic design codes. However, some previous severe near-fault earthquakes reveal that the vertical ground motion component can be much larger than the horizontal components and may cause serious damage to the bridge structures. This paper theoretically investigates the vertical pounding responses of a two-span continuous bridge subjected to the severe near-fault vertical ground motions. The bridge is simplified as a continuous beam-spring-rod model. The structural wave effect and the vertical pounding between the bridge girder and the supporting bearing are considered, and the theoretical solutions of bridge seismic responses are derived from the expansion of transient wave functions as a series of eigenfunctions. The effects of vertical earthquake and vertical pounding on the bridge bearing, girder and pier are investigated. The numerical results show that the severe vertical earthquake loading may cause the bridge girder to separate from the supporting bearing and hence result in vertical poundings between them when they are in contact again. These vertical poundings can significantly alter the seismic responses of the bridge structure and may cause severe damage to the bridge components such as bridge girder, supporting bearing and bridge pier. Neglecting the influence of vertical earthquake loading may lead to inaccurate estimation of seismic responses of bridge structures, especially when they are subjected to near-fault earthquake with relatively large vertical motion

Kinetic Parameters Evaluation for Isoprene Mixed with Aluminum Oxide

AbstractWe analyzed the basic hazard characteristics for isoprene in the manufacturing process by evaluating the runaway reaction, kinetic parameters and safety parameters in this study. Experiments were carried out by calculating the thermal decomposition reactions for isoprene and mixed with aluminum oxide in non-isothermal conditions by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Afterwards results indicated that isoprene had a conjugated double bond of unstable structure, and therefore it was prone to produce exothermic reaction during the process of polymerization. Aluminum oxide was applied to mix with isoprene, which could increase the heat release rate. Based on the results, safety information should be provided to government and relevant industries for prevention the accident occur in relevant plants

Do the Barker Codes End?

A Barker code is a binary code with k^th autocorrelation <= 1 for all nonzero k. At the workshop, the Barker code group split into four non-disjoint subgroups: - An "algebra group", who explored symmetries of the search space that preserve the autocorrelations' magnitude. - A "computing group", who explored methods for quickly finding binary codes with very good autocorrelation properties. - A "statistics group", who explored ways to quantify what has been empirically observed about autocorrelation in the search space S_2^N. - A "continuous group", who explored a non-discrete analogue of the problem of finding sequences with good autocorrelations

Introducing Small-World Network Effect to Critical Dynamics

We analytically investigate the kinetic Gaussian model and the one-dimensional kinetic Ising model on two typical small-world networks (SWN), the adding-type and the rewiring-type. The general approaches and some basic equations are systematically formulated. The rigorous investigation of the Glauber-type kinetic Gaussian model shows the mean-field-like global influence on the dynamic evolution of the individual spins. Accordingly a simplified method is presented and tested, and believed to be a good choice for the mean-field transition widely (in fact, without exception so far) observed on SWN. It yields the evolving equation of the Kawasaki-type Gaussian model. In the one-dimensional Ising model, the p-dependence of the critical point is analytically obtained and the inexistence of such a threshold p_c, for a finite temperature transition, is confirmed. The static critical exponents, gamma and beta are in accordance with the results of the recent Monte Carlo simulations, and also with the mean-field critical behavior of the system. We also prove that the SWN effect does not change the dynamic critical exponent, z=2, for this model. The observed influence of the long-range randomness on the critical point indicates two obviously different hidden mechanisms.Comment: 30 pages, 1 ps figures, REVTEX, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Thermodynamical Bethe Ansatz and Condensed Matter

The basics of the thermodynamic Bethe ansatz equation are given. The simplest case is repulsive delta function bosons, the thermodynamic equation contains only one unknown function. We also treat the XXX model with spin 1/2 and the XXZ model and the XYZ model. This method is very useful for the investigation of the low temperature thermodynamics of solvable systems.Comment: 52 pages, 6 figures, latex, lamuphys.st