Re-interpretation of an ancient passive cooling strategy: a new system of wooden lattice openings

Abstract Traditional passive cooling strategies are a very important tool in Mediterranean architecture to face climate changes and to limit energy consumption, both in new and ancient buildings, toward sustainability and reduction of fossil fuel consumption. Starting from the traditional architectural culture, the aim of the study is to understand how using and re-interpreting ancient constructive elements that interact with the outdoor environment, in order to assure the indoor thermal-hygrometric comfort. In this regard, the paper proposes the study of a new system of wooden lattice openings to be installed in Mediterranean buildings. It originates from the Islamic architecture and it is used especially to control natural light into the buildings. Actually, it has also the function to regulate the airflow into the indoor environment, mitigating the climate conditions and ensuring the comfort of inhabitants. For this reason, the research proposes the analysis of this system through modern computational tools and demonstrates that it can guarantee better indoor summer conditions, improving wind velocity and air change rate in the room

THE DIAGNOSIS OF ROAD SURFACE DISTRESSES THROUGH IMAGE-BASED MODELING TECHNIQUES. EXPERIMENTAL SURVEY ON LABORATORY-RUTTED SAMPLES

In the past few years, there has been a drastic increase in the use of image-based modeling (IBM) techniques to create high quality, reality-based 3D models. The low costs of these techniques, as well as their attractive visual quality, have led many researchers and professionals to invest their energy and resources in several tests. IBM is rarely used in the field of road surface distresses as diagnosis is usually performed using other techniques and devices. Road safety statistics reveal that about a half of the total number of accidents occur mainly due to the deterioration of the pavement. The goal of effective road network management is often incompatible with economic resources designated for maintenance and rehabilitation. For this reason, IBM diagnosis of distresses seems necessary in order to both increase the level of road safety and to avoid incorrect interventions and treatments of road pavement. One of the strengthens of multi-view stereo techniques is the possibility to capture millions of points in a very short time, and to produce a 3D, textured polygonal model that can easily be used for visualizing and communicating digital assets. Our goal was to implement the IBM techniques on a laboratory-rutted sample and to verify the metric accuracy of the model and its validity for the distress diagnosis in terms of severity (rut depth). In order to assess the IBM technique, we compared its 3D model to the blue LED 3D scan (Artec Spider) of the same rutted sample

Numerical simulation of water free-surface flows through a front-tracking lattice Boltzmann approach

Three-dimensional (3D) hydraulic modelling of rapidly varying surface flows is a challenging task for practical engineering applications. One example is represented by the fast-moving fronts originating from dam breaches that proceed downstream through artificial channels. In this work, a fully 3D lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is tested. The numerical model is a front-tracking variant of the LBM, being the free surface tracked through the liquid volume fraction. Model performances are evaluated simulating the effect of dam-break flows on synthetic settings schematically represented by an artificial domain and comparing results with analytical data and experimental laboratory measurements. Obtained results are promising for the use of LBM for practical engineering applications

Fatigue in lung cancer patients: symptom burden and management of challenges.

Lung cancer (LC) remains the most common cause of cancer death in several countries across the world. Fatigue is the most frequently reported symptom in LC patients throughout the entire course of disease, and all international guidelines recommend early screening for cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and symptoms that can affect patients’ quality of life. In patients with LC, fatigue belongs to the symptom cluster of pain, depression, and insomnia, which are commonly observed simultaneously, but are typically treated as separate although they may have common biological mechanisms. The treatment of CRF remains one of the difficult areas in the oncology field: scarce evidence supports pharmacological therapies, while some interesting data arising indicates alternative remedies and physical exercise seem to be one of the most effective approaches for CRF at any stage of LC

Improving the indoor climate of the traditional Ottoman houses in the Medina of Algiers

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Experimental study of the effect of horizontal screen diameter on hydraulic parameters of vertical drop

AbstractThe horizontal screen is one of the energy dissipater structures used on the brink of vertical drop. These structures increase the energy dissipation and the turbulence in the flow by causing air entrainment. In the present study, the effect of the diameter of the screen with constant porosity at three different diameters on the hydraulic parameters of the vertical drop was investigated. The experiments were performed in the relative critical depth range of 0.13 to 0.39. The results showed that by increasing the relative diameter of the horizontal screen, the relative wetting length and turbulence length increased, the residual energy remained constant and the pool depth decreased. Compared to the stilling basin, the horizontal screen significantly reduces turbulence length and residual energy. The results also showed that the application of horizontal screens at the brink of the drop, with and without a downstream rough bed, could be a suitable alternative for a stilling basin

A New Railway Bridge on Gornalunga River: a Flood Modeling Study.

In the present work, a 1D-2D-coupled model was used to perform hydraulic analysis of Gornalunga River (Sicily), in order to estimate and analyze the flood risk in correspondence of a crossing bridge. In the frame of the project "Speed up of the railway line Catania-Syracuse", an existing bridge, crossing Gornalunga River, has to be enlarged and a configuration that mitigates the hydraulic risk on the surrounding area has to be found. At this aim, two different future configurations were considered and a flood modeling study in proximity of the railway crossing in existing and future configurations was conducted using MIKE FLOOD. Depths of flowing water through the bridge, as well as the maximum flood extent and maximum inundation depth have been evaluated for each scenario in order to identify the configuration that minimizes the hydraulic risk for the surrounding area. Finally, the effectiveness of this last solution is analyzed and discussed by comparison with the actual configuration. Simulation results demonstrate that in proximity of the railway bridge water level, as well the hazard risk of the surrounding area decrease passing from the actual configuration to the future one