Análise estatística da patologia em edifícios recentes

O património edificado com menos de 25 anos, considerado o património recente, apresenta um conjunto muito elevado de edifícios cujo desempenho está abaixo do padrão desejável. O País em geral, e a região de Trás-os-Montes, particularmente o Distrito de Bragança sofreu nessa época um enorme incremento de construção, muitas das vezes sem ser dotada das necessárias características de robustez que lhe permita evidenciar hoje em dia uma melhor condição de estado. Recorrendo-se a uma amostra aleatória do parque edificado em causa procedeu-se à tipificação de fenómenos de patologia associados à respectiva manifestação patológica. Analisaram-se por meio de um processo de diagnóstico cerca de 100 casos dos quais se apresentam as situações mais frequentes bem como as respectivas incidências na qualidade de vida dos utentes. Conclui-se com a identificação das principais causas que estiveram na origem das manifestações observadas salientando-se a existência de erros do processo (projecto e construção) como a causa mais frequente (80%). Patologia relacionada com a Humidade e com Fissuração representa por sua vez cerca de 80% da totalidade das disfunções analisadas de onde se conclui que a acção de agentes atmosféricos, bioquímicos ou físicos, bem como o fim do ciclo de vida dos componentes acaba por não justificar a durabilidade da construção que se vê prematuramente afectada por erros. Não restam dúvidas que a acção mais importante a encetar para contrariar este cenário é a de recrutar actores especializados para o processo construtivo, integrando-os em estruturas profissionais que possam garantir a eficiência do seu desempenho

Natural vegetal fibbers as a new resilient layer for floating floors

This paper presents a new use for a product made with low cost natural fibbers from vegetal by-products (coconuts coir) to be used as a resilient layer for floating floors to increase impact sound insulation. The acoustic behaviour was characterized by in situ measurements using concrete floors in accordance with standards EN 140-7 and 717-2. The use of this material in floating floors showed in laboratorial measurements a weighted impact sound improvement index (DLw) of 18 and 22 dB. On site, the improvement of the floating floor regarding the naked structural slab was found to be from 15 to 27 dB. Predictions based on current models were also made for the solution in study. As conclusion, the consequences of real construction applications of this product are commented regarding the reproduction of the now achieved results. Note of some limitations are also given regarding the methodology bias that can be introduced in the final results, particularly when in presence of structures with reduced airborne sound insulation

Avaliação da taxa de sucesso em reabilitação urbana

A cidade de Bragança foi pioneira na utilização e implementação dos recursos disponibilizados por alguns programas de reabilitação urbana, tendo concretizado uma intervenção significativa, alargada a edifícios particulares. Esta actividade teve início em 1999 e prolongou-se até Março de 2007. Constatando-se uma adesão generalizada da população a este tipo de intervenções que se tornaram apelativas quer pela renovada imagem urbana quer pela modernidade que em geral tinha associada, coloca-se a questão de avaliar outros parâmetros da eficácia destes programas. Procedeu-se assim à identificação de casos tipo resultado das intervenções realizadas, avaliando não só os recursos disponibilizados pelos programas mas também a eficácia da sua implementação. Em geral, das diversas evidências que se identificaram é possível observar-se uma profunda diferença entre a intervenção urbana elaborada por gestão pública e a intervenção privada, facto que faz ressaltar a imagem degradada do património construído (não intervencionado) face à inequívoca melhoria urbana. Conclui-se assim que seria necessária uma promoção pública centralizada para cooperar com os privados na reabilitação do património, colmatando a dificuldade existente actualmente que deixa ao privado a "obrigação" da iniciativa de intervenção e de apelação aos diversos programas existentes

BIM model to support O&M tasks

: Technological evolution and BIM have changed the design development process in the construction industry. The operation and maintenance (O&M) phase requires building information throughout its service life, which was previously paper based, making it difficult to carry out maintenance activities. BIM assists in the management, storage, and digital sharing of information generated. However, only part of the information generated is required for the maintenance phase of the building. Although a subset of the IFC schema already exists to describe the data exchange between the BIM model and maintenance software, the data are generic and not well defined according to each the element source of maintenance (ESM). Therefore, through a literature review of existing studies on the use of BIM to support O&M processes, this paper aims to design an information flow to integrate maintenance information into the BIM model. The information is based on six main maintenance acts (inspection, cleaning, proactive measure, correction, replacement, and terms of use) and organized in an external sheet. The building will be divided into ESM according to its function in the building to facilitate the maintenance information flow between sheets and the BIM model.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The ACUSTILAB, a small Educational double reverberant chamber

This paper presents the ACUSTILAB, an educational physical tool designed by the authors to be used by civil engineering students in laboratory classes regarding environmental and building acoustics. The ACUSTILAB is a fully functional scale model (about 1:2) of a double reverberant chamber with 1.5 x 3.5 x 1.4 m3. Its main use is to help teach the practical concepts of reverberation time and sound insulation and the effects of their variability by the visible use of different materials. This wheeled concrete model has its interior divided in two chambers by a movable separation that can be quickly changed according with the desired type of measurements. The upper enclosure simulates a slab to be used for structure borne transmission analysis. The ACUSTILAB is assisted by commercially available computer software to control the Reverberation Time, Dn.w (STC) and Ln,w (IIC) tests using a separate large screen to be visible by all the students surrounding the model during the classes

Serious pervasive games

Serious Pervasive Games extend themagic circle (Huizinga, 1938) to the players’ context and surrounding environment. The blend of both physical and fictive game worlds provides a push in player engagement and promotes situated learning approaches. Space and time, as well as social context, acquire a more meaningful impact on the gameplay. From pervasive learning towards science communication with location-based games, this article presents research and case studies that exemplify their benefits and related problems. Pervasive learning can be defined as “learning at the speed of need through formal, informal and social learning modalities” (Pontefract, 2013). The first case study—the BEACONING project—aims to contextualize the teaching and learning process, connecting it with problem-based game mechanics within STEM. The main goal of this project is to provide the missing connection between STEM subjects and real-world interactions and applications. The pedagogical foundation is supported on problem-based learning (PBL), in which active learning is in the center, and learners have to work with different tools and resources in order to solve problems (quests). Teachers create, facilitate, and assess pervasive and gamified learning activities (missions). Furthermore, these quests are gamified in order to provide non-linear game plots. In a second case study, we demonstrate and evaluate how natural heritage can benefit from pervasive games. This study is based on a set of location-based games for an existing natural park, which have been developed in order to provide enhanced experiences, as well as additional information about some species that are more difficult to observe or that are seasonal. Throughout the research and development of these projects, we have encountered and identified several problems, of different nature, present in pervasive games.This work was financed by the ERDF - European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia within project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030740 - PTDC/CCICOM/30740/2017. Part of this work has also been supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 - The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 2014–2020, under grant agreement No. 687676. We would also acknowledge the research grant from the Operation NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000049 supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Social Fund (ESF), and also the FCT-Austin grant Ref. PD/BD/142893/2018.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Modeling urban traffic noise dependence on energy, assisted with Monte Carlo simulation

Traffic noise, as energy phenomena, depends on the energy source used. The key components of noise are rolling, aerodynamic and engine noise, with over 95% of source energy coming from engine power supply. The relationship between noise and energy spent to produce it was studied before. However, by then, limited to car noise. The upcoming developments conducted to the current paper that presents a global model including bus, truck and motorbike, based on a new concept of speed and energy that support the continued knowledge and the major developments that have now been considered. New on-site data was collected on cars and original data was collected on bus, trucks and motorbikes. An innovative approach was used to build a noise model based on Monte Carlo simulation of vehicles mix that correlates speed and energy consumption, using research data. Results allow concluding that conventional urban traffic management strategy contributes to increase energy consumption (rather than reducing noise) at a rate of almost 0.045 kgCO2 vehicle/km/day. This means that in an average European town the reduction of urban maximum speed from 50 to 30 km/h does not reduce noise but increases carbon footprint in 1.17 tonCO2 per day

Manutenção de edifícios : análise e exploração de um banco de dados sobre um parque habitacional

Tese de mestrado. Construção de Edifícios. 1989. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Port