Determination of a Mean Solar Radiation Year and of a Typical Meteorological Year for the region of Funchal in the Madeira Island

This paper presents the determination of a mean solar radiation year and of a typical meteorological year for the region of Funchal in the Madeira Island, Portugal. The data set includes hourly mean and extreme values for air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed and hourly mean values for solar global and diffuse radiation for the period 2004-2014, with maximum data coverage of 99.7%. The determination of the mean solar radiation year consisted, in a first step, in the average of all values for each pair hour/day and, in a second step, in the application of a five days centred moving average of hourly values. The determination of the typical meteorological year was based on Finkelstein-Schafer statistics, which allows to obtain a complete year of real measurements through the selection and combination of typical months, preserving the long term averages while still allowing the analysis of short term events. The typical meteorological year validation was carried out through the comparison of the monthly averages for the typical year with the long term monthly averages. The values obtained were very close, so that the typical meteorological year can accurately represent the long term data series. The typical meteorological year can be used in the simulation of renewable energy systems, namely solar energy systems, and for predicting the energy performance of buildings.

Toxicological assessment of novel green biocides for cultural heritage.

The damaging of buildings and monuments by biological contamination is a cause of serious concern. Biocides based on chemical toxic compounds have been used to mitigate this problem. However, in the past decade many of the most effective biocides have been banned due to their environmental and health hazards. Therefore, proper remediation actions for microbiologically contaminated historic materials based on environmentally safe solution is of vital importance. Bacillus species are emerging as a promising alternative for built heritage treatment. They produce a great diversity of secondary metabolites with biological activity, well known to possess antagonistic activities against many fungal pathogens. In order to evaluate the antifungal activity of the novel biocides produced in our laboratory by cultures of selected bacterial strains, liquid interaction assays using four biodeteriogenic fungi were achieved, revealing a nearly 100% of inhibitory capacity to fungal proliferation. To confirm their effective safe toxicological properties, in vivo tests using two different biological models were performed. The lyophilized supernatant of the Bacillus culture broth showed no lethality against brine shrimp and also no toxicological effects in Swiss mice through administration of acute dose of 5000 mg/kg by oral gavage. In fact, the bioactive compounds were no lethal at the tested dose unlike Preventol® (commercial biocide) that induced acute toxicity with 10 times minor concentration dose administrated in the same conditions. Therefore, the new bioactive compounds that suppress growth of biodeteriogenic fungi on historical artworks, presenting at the same time no toxicity against other living organisms, constituting an efficient and green safe solution for biodegradation/biodeterioration treatment of Cultural Heritage.

Characterization of traditional raw materials used in housing construction in Huambo Region - Angola

The sustainability of buildings associated to the use of raw earth has motivated the studies and the development of techniques and methods in the context of this type of construction. In the region of Huambo, Angola, these construction techniques are widely used, especially for low-income families who represent the majority of the population. Much of the buildings in Huambo province are built with adobe. Due to the climate in this region, subtropical, hot and humid, with altitudes above 1000 meters and extensive river system, these buildings are particularly vulnerable to the action of water and develop, in many situations, early degradation. The Huambo Province is located in central Angola, has 36 km2 area and approximately 2 million inhabitants. This work aims to evaluate, by conducting in-situ tests, physical and mechanical properties of adobe blocks typically used in the construction of those buildings. The methodology is based on field campaigns where in-situ expeditious tests were performed in soils (smell test, color, touch, brightness, sedimentation, ball, hardness, etc.) and tests on adobes blocks made with traditional procedures, particularly in terms of durability and erodibility (erosion test at Geelong method; evaluation test of wet / dry cycle, applying the New Zealand standards 4297: 1998; 4297: 1998 and 4297: 1999). The results will contribute to the characterization of the geomaterials and methods used in construction with earth in Huambo Province, contributing to the improvement of these sustainable solutions, with a strong presence in this region. The results of this study will also contribute to the proposal of constructive solutions with improved performance characteristics, comfort, safety and durability.

Palacete dos Condes de Sampayo - proposta de refuncionalização no contexto de valorização da Zona Ribeirinha do Município da Moita

A percepção e intervenção no espaço histórico, enquanto arquétipo cultural, constituíram o mote enquadrador do presente trabalho, merecendo amplo tratamento no primeiro capítulo. O segundo capítulo é dedicado ao estudo do palacete dos condes de Sampayo, elemento patrimonial de elevado valor significativo e que aqui se apresenta como objecto de tratamento central. O espólio consultado relativo ao arquivo da casa de Sampayo, permitiu-nos claramente fazer recuar no tempo a construção original do palacete, num percurso temporal análogo ao contíguo moinho de maré, ambos implementados no núcleo histórico de Alhos Vedros. Igualmente clarificou como, quando e de que forma a casa da Cova, dos Mendonça Furtado, convergirá com a casa dos Sampayo, num contexto socioeconómico específico em que a estruturação interna da nobreza se escorava nos sistemas de parentesco para consolidação do seu poder e para o fortalecimento e manutenção das casas titulares. Os modelos comparativos são tratados no capítulo três e surgem na figura das pousadas, valorizadoras dos edifícios com valor histórico e indutoras de sinergias locais. Por último, o capítulo quatro é totalmente dedicado à conceptualização de um projecto para a funcionalização do palacete como pousada. A perspectiva da sustentabilidade na fundamentação patrimonial do projeto, inscreve-se no programa de requalificação da frente ribeirinha do concelho da Moita e ancora numa perspetiva de âmbito mais alargado, inerente às políticas da administração do território e turismo da Grande Área Metropolitana de Lisboa. ABSTRACT; The perception and action in space history, as cultural archetype, constituted the framed motto of this work deserves wider treatment in the first chapter. The second chapter is devoted to the study of the palace of the Counts of Sampayo, of its assets in high-value significant and presented here is treated as central. The stock found on the file's house Sampayo, allowed us to clearly back in time the original construction of the palace, a temporal course similar to the adjacent tidal mill, both implemented in the historical center of Plantsville. He also clarified how, when and how the pit house, the Mendonca Furtado, converge with the house of Sampayo, specific socio-economic context in which the internal structure of the nobility was underpinned in kinship systems to consolidate its power and the strengthening and maintaining the homes owners. Comparative models are treated in chapter three, appearing in the picture of the holiday, not value of buildings of historic and inducing local synergies. Finally, chapter four is devoted entirely to the conceptualization of a project to re-functionalization of the mansion and guesthouse. The perspective of sustainability in the grounds of equity of the project is part of the program of the riverfront redevelopment of Moita and grounded on a broader scope, inherent in the policies of the planning and tourism Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon.

Armazenamento sazonal de energia solar térmica de baixa temperatura para climatização de edifícios

Face aos padrões atuais de vida, em que despendemos a maior parte do nosso tempo no interior de edifícios, com um nível de conforto que ninguém quer abdicar, urge o desenvolvimento de tecnologias de climatização sustentáveis. Devido a uma combinação única de fatores, casas de baixo consumo de energia (e também casas passivas) em Portugal, são particularmente adequadas de explorar as vantagens da energia solar térmica, especialmente quando combinado com armazenamento sazonal de energia. No entanto nenhum exemplo documentado existe de como esta sinergia pode ser explorada com sucesso em Portugal, ilustrando assim o modo em que a necessidade de aquecimento pode ser colmatada de uma forma sustentável sem o uso de combustíveis fósseis. A energia solar é uma excelente alternativa de fonte de energia para aquecimento de edifícios. Um principal fator que limita a sua aplicação é que é uma fonte de energia com uma disponibilidade média de variação cíclica. O uso de armazenamento sazonal de energia pode reduzir substancialmente o custo do sistema solar que é capaz de fornecer até 100% das necessidades energéticas dos edifícios. Estes sistemas são projetados para armazenar a energia solar durante o verão e reter o calor armazenado para posterior utilização durante o inverno; Abstract: SEASONAL SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE FOR LOW TEMPERATURE HEATING BUILDINGS. Given the current standards of living, where we spent most of our time inside buildings, with a level of Comfort that no one wants to give up, urges the development of sustainable climate control technologies. Due to a unique combination of factors, low energy (and also passive) houses in Portugal are particularly well suited to exploiting the advantages of solar thermal energy especially when combined with seasonal energy storage. However no documented example there of how this synergy can be exploited successfully in Portugal, illustrating the way in which the need for heating can be addressed in a sustainable manner without the use of fossil fuels. Solar energy is an important alternative energy source for heating applications. One main factor that limits its application is that it is an energy source with an average availability of cyclical variation. The use of seasonal thermal energy storage can substantially reduce the cost of solar energy systems that can supply up to 100% of buildings energy needs. Such systems are designed to collect solar energy during the summer and retain the stored heat for use during the winter.

Tracing acidification induced by Deccan Phase 2 volcanism

The Deccan Volcanic Province (DVP) was built up by three major phases of eruptions; the most voluminous of which, the Deccan Phase 2, encompassed the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (KT) boundary. Deccan eruptions have been implicated as a contributor to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, however, mechanism by which volcanic activity affected biota remains poorly understood. We applied a combination of rock magnetic techniques scanning electron microscopy to characterize mineral assemblages of three sections of intertrappean lacustrine sediments from the north-western Maharashtra Deccan Volcanic Provinces. Our results indicate that in sediments deposited during the early stages of the Deccan Phase 2, the Daïwal River and Dhapewada sequences, iron-bearing mineral association is dominated by detrital iron oxides (magnetite and hematite) sourced from the weathering of the surrounding basaltic bedrocks, with minor contribution form authigenic iron sulphides (framboidal pyrite, pyrrhotite and/or greigite). The sediments deposited during the final stages of Phase 2 (the Podgawan sequence) differ significantly in their characteristics. In particular, the Podgawan sediments have 1) very low magnetic susceptibility values, but higher terrigenous fraction (clays and shales) content; 2) more complex assemblage of magnetic minerals, 3) ubiquitous presence of Fe–Ca–Ce vanadates; and 4) unusual lithological variations in the middle part of the section (represented by a charcoal-rich level that is capped by a red clay layer containing fossilized bacterial colonies). We suggest that these unusual characteristics reflect increased acidity in the region during the deposition of the Podgawan sequence, likely due to cumulative effects of volcanic aerosols released during the Deccan Phase 2 eruptions. The combination of these features may be used to recognize episodes of increased acidity in the geological record. Our results also contribute to understanding of local vs. global effects of the Deccan volcanism.

O engenheiro Adriano Monteiro e a utilização do ferro na reconversão e refuncionalização de espaços em Évora: o caso do Palácio D. Manuel e dos Paços do Concelho

Resumo A partir da segunda metade do século XIX e XX assistiu-se à introdução de novos materiais, como o ferro fundido, o aço e o vidro, na remodelação ou construção de edifícios que procuravam dar resposta às novas necessidades de gestão urbana e de criação de espaços de lazer e sociabilidade. Nestas intervenções, que ficaram marcadas pela arquitectura do ferro, os engenheiros, grupo profissional detentor de competências técnicas que os habilitavam a trabalhar com estes materiais, tiveram um papel determinante. Na cidade de Évora a ligação entre a utilização de novos materiais e os engenheiros, é visível no papel que o Engenheiro Adriano Monteiro teve na reconversão do Palácio D. Manuel e na remodelação do edifício dos Paços do Concelho. Palavras-chave: Engenheiro, Arquitectura do Ferro, Évora, Palácio D. Manuel, Paços do Concelho Abstract From the second half of the nineteenth century onwards, there was the introduction of new materials, such as cast iron, steel and glass, in the remodeling or in the construction of buildings that sought to satisfy the new needs of urban management and the creation of leisure spaces and sociability. In these interventions that were marked by the iron architecture, the engineers, a professional group with technical skills that enabled them to work with these materials, played a decisive role. In the city of Évora this link between the utilization of new materials and engineers, is visible in the role that engineer Adriano Monteiro had in the conversion of the D. Manuel Palace and in the remodeling of the Town Hall building. Keywords: Engineers, Iron Architecture, Évora, D. Manuel Palace, City Hall