Qualidade do ar interior e conforto térmico : um estudo em espaços de estacionamento em Natal/RN

The recent tendency to utilize parking lots for other purposes has demonstrated that more time has been spent by visitors, mainly in great cities. Therefore, this paper investigates the thermal comfort and the air quality indoors in areas specifically used as parking lots by analyzing the direct relation between such environments and vehicular pollution. The thermal comfort and the quality of air indoors in parking lots with different architectonic typology (ground-floor and underground) are also studied, aiming to contribute to the proposition of suitable new areas designated to human usage. Field research was done, in two distinct periods within different weather conditions (January and July) in, two naturally cooled, parking lots located in Natal - RN. The internal environment agents were measured by using tools for air temperature, humidity, speed and direction; interviews with employees and visitors and chemical analysis through appropriate tools to analyze specific material, carbon monoxide and ozone. The results showed that chemical agents densely concentrate mostly in the closed parking space, aggravated by weather conditions, which dissatisfied the visitors. Still, it was shown that architectonic typology, alongside topographical aspects compromise internal environmental conditions, which increases the retention of pollution, leading to dissatisfactory thermal comfort levels and becoming less suitable for usage by visitors considering air and thermal comfort aspects. Consequently, they are not suitable for human stay due to the poor quality of the indoor air

Qualidade do ar interior e conforto térmico : um estudo em espaços de estacionamento em Natal/RN

The recent tendency to utilize parking lots for other purposes has demonstrated that more time has been spent by visitors, mainly in great cities. Therefore, this paper investigates the thermal comfort and the air quality indoors in areas specifically used as parking lots by analyzing the direct relation between such environments and vehicular pollution. The thermal comfort and the quality of air indoors in parking lots with different architectonic typology (ground-floor and underground) are also studied, aiming to contribute to the proposition of suitable new areas designated to human usage. Field research was done, in two distinct periods within different weather conditions (January and July) in, two naturally cooled, parking lots located in Natal - RN. The internal environment agents were measured by using tools for air temperature, humidity, speed and direction; interviews with employees and visitors and chemical analysis through appropriate tools to analyze specific material, carbon monoxide and ozone. The results showed that chemical agents densely concentrate mostly in the closed parking space, aggravated by weather conditions, which dissatisfied the visitors. Still, it was shown that architectonic typology, alongside topographical aspects compromise internal environmental conditions, which increases the retention of pollution, leading to dissatisfactory thermal comfort levels and becoming less suitable for usage by visitors considering air and thermal comfort aspects. Consequently, they are not suitable for human stay due to the poor quality of the indoor air

Proposta de método para avaliação do desempenho térmico de residências unifamiliares em clima quente e úmido

Nowadays, evaluation methods to measure thermal performance of buildings have been developed in order to improve thermal comfort in buildings and reduce the use of energy with active cooling and heating systems. However, in developed countries, the criteria used in rating systems to asses the thermal and energy performance of buildings have demonstrated some limitations when applied to naturally ventilated building in tropical climates. The present research has as its main objective to propose a method to evaluate the thermal performance of low-rise residential buildings in warm humid climates, through computational simulation. The method was developed in order to conceive a suitable rating system for the athermal performance assessment of such buildings using as criteria the indoor air temperature and a thermal comfort adaptive model. The research made use of the software VisualDOE 4.1 in two simulations runs of a base case modeled for two basic types of occupancies: living room and bedroom. In the first simulation run, sensitive analyses were made to identify the variables with the higher impact over the cases´ thermal performance. Besides that, the results also allowed the formulation of design recommendations to warm humid climates toward an improvement on the thermal performance of residential building in similar situations. The results of the second simulation run was used to identify the named Thermal Performance Spectrum (TPS) of both occupancies types, which reflect the variations on the thermal performance considering the local climate, building typology, chosen construction material and studied occupancies. This analysis generates an index named IDTR Thermal Performance Resultant Index, which was configured as a thermal performance rating system. It correlates the thermal performance with the number of hours that the indoor air temperature was on each of the six thermal comfort bands pre-defined that received weights to measure the discomfort intensity. The use of this rating system showed to be appropriated when used in one of the simulated cases, presenting advantages in relation to other evaluation methods and becoming a tool for the understanding of building thermal behavior

Poluição sonora: um grave problema na cidade de Mossoró-RN

In the latest decades, we have observed some environment alterations of big proportions in our planet. Sound pollution, visual pollution, water pollution, air pollution, soil pollution, all the principal kinds of environment pollution have raised in the path of economy development. In Mossoró it is not different; the environment has suffered a long and continuous damage caused by predatory abuse. The river is polluted, the ciliar vegetation of Carnauba was totally altered and with it a part of the local fauna disappeared. In fact, the city urban environment has, and continues to be, deeply altered and the sound pollution is a reflex of the urban modifications undergone in the city as time goes by. Through bibliographic review, the gauging of noise and fieldwork, this research project had the objective of analyzing the principal activities that cause sound pollution in the urban perimeter of the city of Mossoró, RN, emphasizing the causes, effects and spacial distribution of the polluter agents, as well as understanding how the environmental laws treat the sound issue in the urban environment of the city. The President Dutra avenue, where popular events of Mossoró take place and an important access for the city, was the chosen place to study this pollution that became, recently, another hindrance that interferes on the life quality of the local population. The results of this brief research emphasizes the urgency to alert society, specially about the importance of law and public organs that are located in our city, therefore solving problems such as the aforementioned above

Análise da mobilidade urbana de Natal/RN a partir do uso de indicadores de sustentabilidade

In contemporary times, the urban mobility is presented as one of the main challenges of large and medium-sized Brazilian cities , it presents signs of unsustainability , above all due to the increase in motorized transport system , especially the individual . Thus , it is clear that mobility is considered of special interest for sustainable urban development , is facing a crisis that is reflected in negative externalities , particularly with regard to congestion , accidents , air pollution , social exclusion , among others. The complexity of these problems requires an integrated analysis based on the principles of sustainability . In this sense , trying to understand this problem and in the attempt to minimize its impacts, Costa (2008 ) proposed the Index of Sustainable Urban Mobility (I_SUM) with the goal of providing a methodology capable to assess relevant aspects of mobility , including social dimensions , political, economic and environmental . Given the above, was elected as the main objective of this study is to analyze urban mobility in Natal / RN from the perspective of sustainability . Like specific objectives will seek to analyze Natal´s urban mobility, using the I_SUM like a tool for both the city as a whole and for each of its four administrative regions; evaluate Natal s urban accessibility conditions and verify to what extent the access to urban services and equipment is facilitated or hindered because of the location and incomes of the population . For this, it was necessary to use bibliographic , documentary and field research . The index , which varies from 0.00 to 1.00, revealed for Natal an Global value of 0,510, and that refers to its administrative regions, it was found that there are very small percentage differences from the overall index calculated for the city . The performance of I_SUM by administrative region showed that although there are differences , the results were very similar , varying between 0,494 and 0,537. Particularly in relation to urban accessibility, it appears that Natal presents as an unequal city and this inequity , which is not only income is reflected in the issues related to accessibility and hence urban mobility

Quilombolas e desenvolvimento sustentável: análise a partir da comunidade Capoeira dos Negros (Macaíba/RN)

Quilombo communities remaining are groups marked by insufficient public assistance and characterized by living in rural and conducting economic activities such as agriculture. The development on a sustainable basis is important to ensure strategies for economic growth and environmental preservation. This work aims to study the remaining Quilombo Capoeira Black community, located in the municipality of Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte, considering the principles of sustainable development. Attempt to respond to what level such community can be considered sustainable from an analysis of their social practices. The methodological procedures used consisted of a literature review and documentary, questionnaires, conducting semi-structured interviews and direct observation. The final results show that the family farm has characteristics that approximate the principles of sustainable development, including the diversification of labor, food production with less environmental damage and strengthening the rural environment, and indicate that the main economic activities practiced in Capoeira dos Negros community are agriculture, manufacturing of cassava flour and brick manufacturing, which, in turn, are linked to negative environmental impacts, such as sedimentation pond, groundwater contamination, air pollution and soil erosion. What lead to the conclusion that the social practices of the community are not in line with the dimensions of sustainable development. It is hoped that the survey results provide subsidies for development and implementation of public policies

Poluentes atmosféricos: monóxido e dióxido de carbono no nordeste do Brasil

The interference of man in the middle atmosphere can be evidenced by the presence of carbon monoxide, gas associated with burning fossil fuels and carbon dioxide content, essential for respiration of plants and thermal balance of the Earth. In this thesis we initially evaluated the intensity of the spatial distribution of carbon monoxide in the Northeast of Brazil, and subsequently the behavior of temporal variations of the pollutants carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the atmospheric boundary layer Maxaranguape / RN. Research has shown that, driven by speculation and promoting the occupation of land for agriculture, cattle ranching and tourism in the Northeast of Brazil, the changes established by the man in the middle geomorphological affect the lower troposphere on a large scale, with a predominance of concentrations in central Pernambuco, Paraiba's south-central and central-west of Alagoas. However, the study of Maxaranguape / RN results showed little variation in carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, with the speed of the wind persisting with values greater than 7.8 m / s, showing dispersion and diffusion of pollutants which resulted in faster renewal of local atmospheric air