Experimental Study of Alternative Solutions for Integrated Energy and Structural Buildings Retrofits

Un approccio olistico nella progettazione di interventi è fortemente favorito dalle recenti Calls Europee sull’efficienza energetica per promuovere una riqualificazione degli edifici più sostenibile ed efficiente in termini di costi. Risolvere tutte le carenze dell’edificio con un’unica soluzione è fortemente incoraggiato, ma il tema è ancora poco affrontato dalla comunità scientifica. La presente tesi illustra una ricerca sperimentale di soluzioni alternative per il retrofit energetico e strutturale di edifici in legno. Il primo obiettivo dello studio affronta l’ottimizzazione energetica di edifici in legno lamellare incrociato (CLT), che successivamente sarà implementata anche con una ottimizzazione strutturale. Il secondo obiettivo riguarda una soluzione integrata energetica e strutturale per edifici con telaio in legno (PF) attraverso l’utilizzo di una muratura in blocchi di terra cruda sul lato interno ed esterno della struttura per ottimizzarne il comportamento complessivo a taglio e risposta energetica. La metodologia si è basata su: campagne di monitoraggio su un caso studio in diverse stagioni e condizioni operative, attraverso studi simultanei comparati di differenti finiture interne ed esterne; tests meccanici su muretti in terra cruda, utilizzando la tecnica della correlazione digitale delle immagini (DIC). In primo luogo, i risultati hanno dimostrato che, per un edificio in CLT, nel clima Mediterraneo, l’adozione di uno strato di finitura interno massivo, garantisce la migliore prestazione termica annuale, sotto differenti condizioni operative. Inoltre, una facciata ventilata con una massa termica esterna è la scelta migliore poiché limita i flussi termici provenienti dall’esterno in estate e inverno. In secondo luogo, per quanto riguarda la strategia di retrofit in PF, è stato verificato sperimentalmente che il blocco in terra cruda ha un buon comportamento termico, indipendentemente dall’uso dell’impianto di raffrescamento, e il beneficio di giunti a coda di rondine per migliorare il comportamento a taglio di tamponature di strutture intelaiate in legno.A holistic approach in the design of interventions is strongly boosted by recent Horizon Calls on energy-efficiency to perform a more sustainable and cost-effective building rehabilitation. Solving all building deficiencies at once with a unique solution is highly promoted, but the topic is still seldom addressed by the scientific community. The present thesis outlines an experimental research on alternative solutions for energy and structural retrofits strategies for wooden buildings. The first objective of the study deals with the energy optimization of cross laminated timber (CLT) buildings, that will eventually be implemented with a structural rehabilitation. The second objective focuses on an integrated energy and structural alternative solution for platform frame (PF) buildings by means of a masonry wall, made of unbaked earth blocks, on the internal and external sides of the structure, to optimize its global shear behavior and thermal responsiveness. The methodology comprised: extensive monitoring campaigns on a case study in different seasons and operative conditions, by means of simultaneous comparative studies of different internal and external linings; mechanical testing on unbaked masonry wallettes by means of digital image correlation (DIC) technique. Firstly, the outcomes demonstrated that, for CLT buildings, in the Mediterranean climate, the adoption of a massive innermost layer guarantees the best thermal performance on annual basis under different indoor operative conditions. Moreover, a ventilated technology, with an outer thermal mass, is the best choice yearly, being beneficial for minimizing the incoming heat fluxes through the envelope. Secondly, regarding the retrofit strategy of PF buildings, it was experimentally verified that the earth block masonry has a good thermal performance, regardless of the switching on/off of the cooling system, and that the presence of the dovetail joints improve the overall shear behavior of masonry veneer walls in wooden light-framing structures

[Cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome].

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the industrialized world. Being multiple risk factors for atherosclerosis it emerged the concept of global cardiovascular risk assessment. Furthermore, risk factors clustered together. The metabolic syndrome, as the confluence of risk factors of metabolic origin, is associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. A clinical diagnosis of metabolic syndrome allows to identify individuals at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes and it affects therapeutic strategies for primary prevention. Although changes in lifestyle are fundamental to treat all the risk factors, pharmacologic interventions targeting the single component of the syndrome also play an important role. Increasingly, an alternative strategy is available and attractive: the introduction of therapies targeting multiple risk factors simultaneously through a combination of 2 or more drugs into a single capsule

Experimental Comparison Between Three Types of Opaque Ventilated Facades

Background: The growing interest for the energy efficiency of building technologies has led the construction sector towards the adoption of Opaque Ventilated Facades (OVFs) as high-performance solutions for building systems. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the optimal thermal inertia of the outer surface of ventilated facades with respect to the indoor comfort and the reduction of the outdoor overheating. Method: An experimental study was carried out in Central Italy (Mediterranean climate), by comparing the thermo-physical performance of three opaque ventilated façades, characterized by different positions of the mass (hollow bricks) within the air cavity. One has no mass and is enclosed by a Lightweight (L) cladding; one has an Internal Mass (IM) right adjacent to the insulation layer and an external lightweight cladding; the last one has an External Massive cladding (EM). The three prototypes (L, IM and EM walls), were installed on a test room and simultaneously monitored in the summer season. Result: The experimental outcomes demonstrate that the EM wall outperforms the others in terms of cooling efficiency, as the incoming heat fluxes towards the indoors are considerably reduced. Moreover, such a configuration led to the lowest surface temperatures on the outer slab, thus contributing to the mitigation of the external environmental overheating. Conclusion: Overall the External Mass (EM) solution was found to be the best choice, being beneficial for mitigating the outdoor surrounding temperatures and enhancing the buoyancy-driven ventilation

The role of wall layers properties on the thermal performance of ventilated facades: Experimental investigation on narrow-cavity design

In this paper we have investigated how different materials and thermal masses impact on the perfor- mance of ventilated facades with narrow cavities, by measuring the variation in terms of heat flows and ventilation efficiency. While geometry has been widely explored, the role of wall composition has re- ceived much less attention. To bridge the gap, three real-scale prototypes of ventilated facades were built and tested all over the year on a mock-up in Central Italy: (i) L, with a lightweight external enclosure, as a baseline reference, (ii) IM, with a massive layer enclosed in the gap and (iii) EM, with an external massive cladding. The results demonstrated that the EM solution more effectively mitigated the average surface temperatures (both external and internal), with values of –2 °C and –1 °C in summer and of –3 °C and –0.5 °C in winter, when compared to the L solution. Moreover, in the EM case, the ventilated cavity reduced both the incoming and outgoing heat fluxes, since the outer mass operated as a thermal buffer between the outdoor and the ventilation chamber. Conversely, the presence of an internal mass determined an increase of the heat transfer towards the indoor environment. The position of the thermal mass in the outer layer also increased the air velocity in the gap thus enhancing the stack effect

Experimental study of the mechanical behaviour of a new extruded earth block masonry

The aim of this research is to investigate, through the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique, the mechanical performance of a new type of earth masonry, built with extruded blocks and characterized by dovetail horizontally staggered bed joints. The experimental program consists of two levels of investigations: (i) preliminary phase on components, (ii) compression, diagonal compression and combined shear-compression tests on 12 wallettes. Regarding the components, results showed that the mean compressive strength of the earth block was low (3.5 MPa) with respect to traditional bricks and similar to adobe blocks. The dovetail joints were effective in their joining role showing a rather good strength (2.4 MPa) when tested in triplet configuration. Regarding the wallettes, the DIC highlighted failure modes complying with the ones of a traditional masonry under shear, while it showed a ‘‘column behaviour” with vertical sliding under compressive tests. Fragile failures occurred during the diagonal compression test. DIC revealed to be a promising technique to recover the full-field strain and crack maps

Genetic determinants and early carotid atherosclerosis: is there a role for the ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase phosphodiesterase 1 (ENPP-1) K121Q polymorphism? Preliminary results in non diabetic individuals

[No abstract available

The relation between glycemic control and HDL-C in type 2 diabetes: a preliminary step forward?

Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are associated with cardiovascular (CV) disease in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Unfortunately available drugs to increase HDL-C have failed to demonstrate a reduction in CV risk. We assessed the effect of improving glycemic control on HDL-C levels. A 6-month intervention resulted in significant improvement in HbA1c but not in HDL-C levels. However, when considering the subgroup of subjects with low levels of HDL-C at baseline, we found a significant and inverse relation between improvement in HbA1c and HDL-C levels. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved