Fluid-Structure Interaction in Civil Engineering Structures

The problems being addressed involve the dynamic interaction of solids (structure and foundation) with a liquid (water). Various numerical procedures are reviewed and employed to solve the problem of establishing the expected response of a structure subjected to seismic excitations while duly accounting for those interactions. The methodology is applied to the analysis of dams, lock gates, and large storage tanks, incorporating in some cases a comparison with the results produced by means of simplified analytical procedures.

Survey on integration of Applied Geology and Geomorphology in Civil Engineering curricula in the framework of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by using practical trips

The engineer must have sufficient theoretical knowledge to be applied to solve specific problems, with the necessary capacity to simplify these approaches, and taking into account factors such as speed, simplicity, quality and economy. In Geology, its ultimate goal is the exploration of the history of the geological events through observation, deduction, reasoning and, in exceptional cases by the direct underground exploration or experimentation. Experimentation is very limited in Geology. Reproduction laboratory of certain phenomena or geological processes is difficult because both time and space become a large scale. For this reason, some Earth Sciences are in a nearly descriptive stage whereas others closest to the experimental, Geophysics and Geochemistry, have assimilated progress experienced by the physics and chemistry. Thus, Anglo-Saxon countries clearly separate Engineering Geology from Geological Engineering, i.e. Applied Geology to the Geological Engineering concepts. Although there is a big professional overlap, the first one corresponds to scientific approach, while the last one corresponds to a technological one. Applied Geology to Engineering could be defined as the Science and Applied Geology to the design, construction and performance of engineering infrastructures in and field geology discipline. There has been much discussion on the primacy of theory over practice. Today prevails the exaggeration of practice, but you get good workers and routine and mediocre teachers. This idea forgets too that teaching problem is a problem of right balance. The approach of the action lines on the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) framework provides for such balance. Applied Geology subject represents the first real contact with the physical environment with the practice profession and works. Besides, the situation of the topic in the first trace of Study Plans for many students implies the link to other subjects and topics of the career (tunnels, dams, groundwater, roads, etc). This work analyses in depth the justification of such practical trips. It shows the criteria and methods of planning and the result which manifests itself in pupils. Once practical trips experience developed, the objective work tries to know about results and changes on student’s motivation in learning perspective. This is done regardless of the outcome of their knowledge achievements assessed properly and they are not subject to such work. For this objective, it has been designed a survey about their motivation before and after trip. Survey was made by the Unidad Docente de Geología Aplicada of the Departamento de Ingeniería y Morfología del Terreno (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid). It was completely anonymous. Its objective was to collect the opinion of the student as a key agent of learning and teaching of the subject. All the work takes place under new teaching/learning criteria approach at the European framework in Higher Education. The results are exceptionally good with 90% of student’s participation and with very high scores in a number of questions as the itineraries, teachers and visited places (range of 4.5 to 4.2 in a 5 points scale). The majority of students are very satisfied (average of 4.5 in a 5 points scale).

Preface. The Language of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Preface

Types of metaphor in civil engineering communication

La metáfora y otros mecanismos imaginativos subyacentes al pensa- miento y lenguaje humanos pueden ser utilizados en el discurso diario y especializado (Lakoff y Johnson 1980; Lakoff y Nuñez 2000). Asimismo pueden aparecer en la comunicación no verbal (Forceville y Urios-Aparisi 2009; Littlemore et al. Este volumen).Partiendo de estudios cognitivos y de la teoría de integración conceptual (Fauconnier 1997; Fauconnier y Turner 2002), este artículo examina la presencia de la metáfora en la ingeniería. Primeramente, se analiza un corpus lingüístico procedente de artículos de investigación de ingeniería civil. Los datos revelan el uso de la metáfora antropomórfica, sobre todo en expresiones relativas a la salud, como “diagnóstico”, “auscultación” o “proceso de curación”. Se exploran además ejemplos de ingeniería cuya fuente son proyecciones conceptuales corporales. Finalmente, abordamos la función de la metáfora visual bajo la teoría de integración conceptual mediante representaciones de ingeniería que evocan la anatomía humana o animal. Metaphor and other imaginative mechanisms that underlie human thought and language such as metonymy are used in everyday and specialised discourse (Lakoff and Johnson 1980; Lakoff and Nuñez 2000) They can also be involved in non- verbal forms of communication (Forceville and Urios-Aparisi 2009; Littlemore et al. this volume). Drawing on metaphor cognitive studies and on conceptual integration theory (Fauconnier 1997; Fauconnier and Turner 2002) this paper examines the occurrence of metaphor in engineering. First, we analyse results from a linguistic corpus formed by research papers from civil engineering journals. These data reveal the use of anthropomorphic metaphor, especially related to health or medical mappings such as “diagnosing”, “auscultation” or “curing”. Then, we explore how engineering notions are instantiated by bodily conceptual mappings according to conceptual integration theory. Finally, the function of visual metaphor is examined with conceptual integration theory by using engineering images evoking parts of human or animal anatomy.

News in engineering education in Spain effective from 2010 in presence of external changes and mixed crisis, looking mostly to agro and civil engineers.

The engineering careers models were diverse in Europe, and are adopting now in Spain the Bolonia process for European Universities. Separated from older Universities, that are in part technically active, Civil Engineering (Caminos, Canales y Puertos) started at end of 18th century in Spain adopting the French models of Upper Schools for state civil servants with exam at entry. After 1800 intense wars, to conserve forest regions Ingenieros de Montes appeared as Upper School, and in 1855 also the Ingenieros Agrónomos to push up related techniques and practices. Other Engineers appeared as Upper Schools but more towards private factories. These ES got all adapted Lower Schools of Ingeniero Tecnico. Recently both grew much in number and evolved, linked also to recognized Professions. Spanish society, into European Community, evolved across year 2000, in part highly well, but with severe discordances, that caused severe youth unemployment with 2008-2011 crisis. With Bolonia process high formal changes step in from 2010-11, accepted with intense adaptation. The Lower Schools are changing towards the Upper Schools, and both that have shifted since 2010-11 various 4-years careers (Grado), some included into the precedent Professions, and diverse Masters. Acceptation of them to get students has started relatively well, and will evolve, and acceptation of new grades for employment in Spain, Europe or outside will be essential. Each Grado has now quite rigid curricula and programs, MOODLE was introduced to connect pupils, some specific uses of Personal Computers are taught in each subject. Escuela de Agronomos centre, reorganized with its old name in its precedent buildings at entrance of Campus Moncloa, offers Grados of Agronomic Engineering and Science for various public and private activities for agriculture, Alimentary Engineering for alimentary activities and control, Agro-Environmental Engineering more related to environment activities, and in part Biotechnology also in laboratories in Campus Monte-Gancedo for Biotechnology of Plants and Computational Biotechnology. Curricula include Basics, Engineering, Practices, Visits, English, ?project of end of career?, Stays. Some masters will conduce to specific professional diploma, list includes now Agro-Engineering, Agro-Forestal Biotechnology, Agro and Natural Resources Economy, Complex Physical Systems, Gardening and Landscaping, Rural Genie, Phytogenetic Resources, Plant Genetic Resources, Environmental Technology for Sustainable Agriculture, Technology for Human Development and Cooperation.

Leonardo's Civil Bridges

Within both aesthetic and history fields, civil engineering occupies a privileged place among arts whose manifestations are based on drawing. In this work, Leonardo’s creativity concerned with civil bridges proyects, have been studied. Leonardo designed ten bridges: eight of them intended for military porposes and only two were purely planned for civil functionaly - “Ponte sul corno d’oro”, infolio 66, manuscript L; and “Ponte a due piani”, represented in the Manuscript B at the Institute of France, infolio 23. There can be no doubt about Leonardo’s intentions when he started on designing these two bridges: his genious for creativy focused on providing both singulary and functionaly to the structures: they should be admired and utilized at the same time, a monument for civil society to be used.The work presented here attemps to make an scientist-historical trip along these Leonardo’s bridges, highlighting their technical, geometrical and aesthetic characteristics, as well as emphasizing Leonardo’s human, scientist and artistic nature.

Therapeutic metaphors in engineering: how to cure a building structure

Cognitive linguistics have conscientiously pointed out the pervasiveness of conceptual mappings, particularly as conceptual blending and integration, that underlie language and that are unconsciously used in everyday speech (Fauconnier 1997, Fauconnier & Turner 2002; Rohrer 2007; Grady, Oakley & Coulson 1999). Moreover, as a further development of this work, there is a growing interest in research devoted to the conceptual mappings that make up specialized technical disciplines. Lakoff & Núñez 2000, for example, have produced a major breakthrough on the understanding of concepts in mathematics, through conceptual metaphor and as a result not of purely abstract concepts but rather of embodiment. On the engineering and architecture front, analyses on the use of metaphor, blending and categorization in English and Spanish have likewise appeared in recent times (Úbeda 2001, Roldán 1999, Caballero 2003a, 2003b, Roldán & Ubeda 2006, Roldán & Protasenia 2007). The present paper seeks to show a number of significant conceptual mappings underlying the language of architecture and civil engineering that seem to shape the way engineers and architects communicate. In order to work with a significant segment of linguistic expressions in this field, a corpus taken from a widely used technical Spanish engineering journal article was collected and analysed. The examination of the data obtained indicates that many tokens make a direct reference to therapeutic conceptual mappings, highlighting medical domains such as diagnosing,treating and curing. Hence, the paper illustrates how this notion is instantiated by the corresponding bodily conceptual integration. In addition, we wish to underline the function of visual metaphors in the world of modern architecture by evoking parts of human or animal anatomy, and how this is visibly noticeable in contemporary buildings and public works structures.

Estudio de redes WSN y su aplicación a la ingeniería civil

Las redes inalámbricas están experimentando un gran crecimiento en el campo de la instrumentación electrónica. En concreto las redes de sensores inalámbricas (WSN de Wireless Sensor Network) suponen la opción más ventajosa para su empleo en la instrumentación electrónica ya que sus principales características se acoplan perfectamente a las necesidades. Las WSN permiten la utilización de un número relativamente alto de nodos, están orientadas a sistemas de bajo consumo y funcionamiento con baterías y poseen un ancho de banda adecuado para las necesidades de la instrumentación electrónica. En este proyecto fin de carrera se ha realizado un estudio de las tecnologías inalámbricas disponibles, se han comparado y se ha elegido la tecnología ZigBeeTM por considerarse la más adecuada y la que más se ajusta a las necesidades descritas. En el desarrollo de mi vida profesional se han conectado dos campos teóricamente distantes como son la instrumentación electrónica y la ingeniería civil. En este proyecto se hace una descripción de la instrumentación que se utiliza para controlar estructuras como presas, túneles y puentes y se proponen casos prácticos en los que las redes WSN aportan valor añadido a instrumentación actual y a los sistemas de comunicaciones utilizados. Se definen tanto los sistemas de comunicaciones utilizados actualmente como una serie de sensores utilizados para medir los principales parámetros a controlar en una obra civil. Por último se ha desarrollado una aplicación de prueba de una red ZigBeeTM basada en equipos comerciales del fabricante Digi. consiste en una aplicación desarrollada en entorno web que maneja de forma remota, a través de Internet, las entradas y salidas digitales y analógicas de los nodos que forman la red. Se forma una red ZigBeeTM con un coordinador, un router y un dispositivo final. El Coordinador está integrado en un Gateway que permite acceder a la red ZigBeeTM a través de internet y conocer el estado de los nodos que forman la red. Con los comandos adecuados se puede leer el estado de las entradas y salidas analógicas y digitales y cambiar el estado de una salida digital. ABSTRACT. Wireless networks are experiencing tremendous growth in the field of electronic instrumentation. In particular wireless sensor networks represent the most advantageous for use in electronic instrumentation since its main characteristics fit perfectly to the needs. The WSN allow the use of a relatively large number of nodes, are aimed at low-power systems and battery operation and have an adequate bandwidth for the needs of electronic instrumentation. In this project has made a study of available wireless technologies have been compared and chosen ZigBeeTM technology was considered the most appropriate to the needs described. In the course of my professional life have connected two fields are theoretically distant as electronic instrumentation and civil engineering. In this project, there is a description of the instrumentation used to control structures such as dams, tunnels and bridges and proposes practical cases in which WSN networks add value to current instrumentation and communications systems used. There are defined as communications systems now being used as a set of sensors used to measure the main parameters to be controlled in a civil structure. Finally, I have developed a test application based ZigBeeTM networking equipment maker Digi trading. It consists of a Web-based application developed to manage remotely, via the Internet, the digital and analog inputs and outputs nodes forming the network. ZigBeeTM It forms a network with a coordinator, router and end device. The Coordinator is built into a gateway that allows access to the ZigBeeTM network through internet and know the status of the nodes forming the network. With the appropriate command can read the status of the digital inputs and outputs and change the state of a digital output.

Uncertainties in the modal estimation from output-only data in civil structures

Cualquier estructura vibra según unas frecuencias propias definidas por sus parámetros modales (frecuencias naturales, amortiguamientos y formas modales). A través de las mediciones de la vibración en puntos clave de la estructura, los parámetros modales pueden ser estimados. En estructuras civiles, es difícil excitar una estructura de manera controlada, por lo tanto, las técnicas que implican la estimación de los parámetros modales sólo registrando su respuesta son de vital importancia para este tipo de estructuras. Esta técnica se conoce como Análisis Modal Operacional (OMA). La técnica del OMA no necesita excitar artificialmente la estructura, atendiendo únicamente a su comportamiento en servicio. La motivación para llevar a cabo pruebas de OMA surge en el campo de la Ingeniería Civil, debido a que excitar artificialmente con éxito grandes estructuras no sólo resulta difícil y costoso, sino que puede incluso dañarse la estructura. Su importancia reside en que el comportamiento global de una estructura está directamente relacionado con sus parámetros modales, y cualquier variación de rigidez, masa o condiciones de apoyo, aunque sean locales, quedan reflejadas en los parámetros modales. Por lo tanto, esta identificación puede integrarse en un sistema de vigilancia de la integridad estructural. La principal dificultad para el uso de los parámetros modales estimados mediante OMA son las incertidumbres asociadas a este proceso de estimación. Existen incertidumbres en el valor de los parámetros modales asociadas al proceso de cálculo (internos) y también asociadas a la influencia de los factores ambientales (externas), como es la temperatura. Este Trabajo Fin de Máster analiza estas dos fuentes de incertidumbre. Es decir, en primer lugar, para una estructura de laboratorio, se estudian y cuantifican las incertidumbres asociadas al programa de OMA utilizado. En segundo lugar, para una estructura en servicio (una pasarela de banda tesa), se estudian tanto el efecto del programa OMA como la influencia del factor ambiental en la estimación de los parámetros modales. Más concretamente, se ha propuesto un método para hacer un seguimiento de las frecuencias naturales de un mismo modo. Este método incluye un modelo de regresión lineal múltiple que permite eliminar la influencia de estos agentes externos. A structure vibrates according to some of its vibration modes, defined by their modal parameters (natural frequencies, damping ratios and modal shapes). Through the measurements of the vibration at key points of the structure, the modal parameters can be estimated. In civil engineering structures, it is difficult to excite structures in a controlled manner, thus, techniques involving output-only modal estimation are of vital importance for these structure. This techniques are known as Operational Modal Analysis (OMA). The OMA technique does not need to excite artificially the structure, this considers its behavior in service only. The motivation for carrying out OMA tests arises in the area of Civil Engineering, because successfully artificially excite large structures is difficult and expensive. It also may even damage the structure. The main goal is that the global behavior of a structure is directly related to their modal parameters, and any variation of stiffness, mass or support conditions, although it is local, is also reflected in the modal parameters. Therefore, this identification may be within a Structural Health Monitoring system. The main difficulty for using the modal parameters estimated by an OMA is the uncertainties associated to this estimation process. Thus, there are uncertainties in the value of the modal parameters associated to the computing process (internal) and the influence of environmental factors (external), such as the temperature. This Master’s Thesis analyzes these two sources of uncertainties. That is, firstly, for a lab structure, the uncertainties associated to the OMA program used are studied and quantified. Secondly, for an in-service structure (a stress-ribbon footbridge), both the effect of the OMA program and the influence of environmental factor on the modal parameters estimation are studied. More concretely, a method to track natural frequencies of the same mode has been proposed. This method includes a multiple linear regression model that allows to remove the influence of these external agents.