Impact of design options in zero energy building conception: the case of large buildings in Portugal

The new recast of Directive 2010/31/EU in order to implement the new concept NZEB in new buildings, is to be fully respected by all Member States, and is revealed as important measure to promote the reduction of energy consumption of buildings and encouraging the use of renewable energy. In this study, it was tested the applicability of the nearly zero energy building concept to a big size office building and its impact after a 50-years life cycle span.

Building a person home behavior model based on data from smart house sensors 2015

Dissertação para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica Ramo de Energia

Building information model - avaliação do seu potencial como solução para os principais atrasos e desperdícios na construção portuguesa

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil – perfil de Construção

Methodology for collaborative enterprise reference ontology building

Dissertation presented at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia of Universidade Nova de Lisboa to obtain the Master degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Building information modeling: oportunidades e desafios para projectistas e donos de obra em Portugal

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil-Perfil de Construção

Building a knowledge and learning society in Portugal - Adult students in technological schools and higher education institutions

Chapter in Merrill, Barbara (ed.) (2009) Learning to Change? The Role of Identity and Learning Careers in Adult Education. Hamburg: Peter Lang Publishers. URL: http://www.peterlang.com/ index.cfm?vID=58279&vLang=E&vHR=1&vUR=2&vUUR=1

Building anonymised database samples

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

A simplified four-branch model for the analytical study of the out-of-plane performance of regular stone URM walls

During the last years, several studies have been made aiming to assess the out-of-plane seismic response of unreinforced stone masonry structures. This fact led to the development of a wide variety of models and approaches, ranging from simple kinematic based analytical models up to complex numerical simulations. Nevertheless, for the sake of simplicity, the out-of-plane seismic response of a masonry wall pier may be obtained by means of a simple single-degree-of-freedom system while still providing good results. In fact, despite the assumptions associated with such a simple formulation, it is also true that the epistemic uncertainty inherent with the selection of appropriate input parameters in more complex models may render them truly ineffective. In this framework, this paper focuses on the study of the out-of-plane bending of unreinforced stone masonry walls (cantilevers) by proposing a simplified analytical approach based on the construction of a linearized four-branch model, which is used to characterize the linear and nonlinear response of such structural elements through an overturning moment-rotation relationship. The formulation of the four-branch model is presented and described in detail and the meaningful parameters used for its construction are obtained from a set of experimental laboratory tests performed on six full-scale unreinforced regular sacco stone masonry specimens. Moreover, a parametric analysis aiming to evaluate the effect of these parameters’ variation on the final configuration of the model is presented and critically discussed. Finally, the results obtained from the application of the developed four-branch model on real unreinforced regular sacco stone masonry walls are thoroughly analysed and the main conclusions obtained from its application are summarized.

Simulation of masonry out-of-plane failure modes by multi-body dynamics

The seismic assessment of the local failure modes in existing masonry buildings is currently based on the identification of the so-called local mechanisms, often associated with the out-of-plane wall behavior, whose stability is evaluated by static force-based approaches and, more recently, by some displacement-based proposals. Local mechanisms consist of kinematic chains of masonry portions, often regarded as rigid bodies, with geometric nonlinearity and concentrated nonlinearity in predefined contact regions (unilateral no-tension behavior, possible sliding with friction). In this work, the dynamic behavior of local mechanisms is simulated through multi-body dynamics, to obtain the nonlinear response with efficient time history analyses that directly take into account the characteristics of the ground motion. The amplification/filtering effects of the structure are considered within the input motion. The proposed approach is validated with experimental results of two full-scale shaking-table tests on stone masonry buildings: a sacco-stone masonry façade tested at Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil and a two-storey double-leaf masonry building tested at European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (EUCENTRE).

Efficiency of strengthening techniques assessed for existing masonry buildings

The Azores archipelago is a zone with a vast cultural heritage, presenting a building stock mainly constructed in traditional stone masonry. It is known that this type of construction exhibits poor behaviour under seismic excitations; however it is extensively used in seismic prone areas, such as this case. The 9th of July of 1998 earthquake was the last seismic event in the islands, leaving many traditional stone constructions severely damaged or totally destroyed. This scenario led to an effort by the local government of improving the seismic resistance of these constructions, with the application of several reinforcement techniques. This work aims to study some of the most used reinforcement schemes after the 1998 earthquake, and to assess their effectiveness in the mitigation of the construction’s seismic vulnerability. A brief evaluation of the cost versus benefit of these retrofitting techniques is also made, seeking to identify those that are most suitable for each building typology. Thus, it was sought to analyze the case of real structures with different geometrical and physical characteristics, by establishing a comparison between the seismic performance of reinforced and non-reinforced structures. The first section contains the analysis of a total of six reinforcement scenarios for each building chosen. Using the recorded 1998 earthquake accelerograms, a linear time-history analysis was performed for each reinforcement scenario. A comparison was then established between the maximum displacements, inter-storey drift and maximum stress obtained, in order to evaluate the global seismic response of each reinforced structure. In the second part of the work, the examination of the performance obtained in the previous section, in relation to the cost of implementing each reinforcement technique, allowed to draw conclusions concerning the viability of implementing each reinforcement method, based on the book value of the buildings in study.

Ontology methodology building criteria for crowdsourcing innovation intermediaries

Crowdsourcing innovation intermediaries are organizations that mediate the communication and relationship between companies that aspire to solve some problem or to take advantage of any business opportunity with a crowd that is prone to give ideas based on their knowledge, experience and wisdom. A significant part of the activity of these intermediaries is carried out by using a web platform that takes advantage of web 2.0 tools to implement its capabilities. Thus, ontologies are presented as an appropriate strategy to represent the knowledge inherent to this activity and therefore the accomplishment of interoperability between machines and systems. In this paper we present an ontology roadmap for developing crowdsourcing innovation ontology of the intermediation process. We start making a literature review on ontology building, analyze and compare ontologies that propose the development from scratch with the ones that propose reusing other ontologies, and present the criteria for selecting the methodology. We also review enterprise and innovation ontologies known in literature. Finally, are taken some conclusions and presented the roadmap for building crowdsourcing innovation intermediary ontology.

Building Smarter Cities through Social Entrepreneurship

The objective of the present study is to examine the extent to which social ventures are able to increase the smartness of the cities. To achieve this goal, we adopt a qualitative approach, based on the case study method to obtain valuable insights about different characteristics and strategies of Cais (a non-profit association dedicated to help disadvantaged people in urban areas). By focusing on the analysis of the Cais activities, we assess whether its social intervention match the dimensions proposed by Giffinger et al. (2007) to rank smart cities’ performance, namely if it has smart: (i) economy; (ii) people; (iii) governance; (iv) mobility; (v) environment; and (vi) living. The research shows that the action pursued comprises elements from all the above mentioned dimensions. Further, the analysis reveals that Cais reinforces the smartness of the city where it acts (attributes such as living, economy, people, and environment).

GIS capacity building for risk management to help developing countries:Case of climate change problem in Amhara rural region (Ethiopia)

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Design and implementation of 3D buildings integration for a Webgl-Based Virtual Globe: a case study of Valencian Cadastre and Fide Building Mode

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Avaliação de Segurança de um Edifício Antigo na Baixa do Porto

Com o presente trabalho pretende-se avaliar a segurança de um elemento estrutural de um edifício antigo (tradicional) da baixa da Porto edificado nos finais do última quartel do século XVIII. Após uma pequena introdução onde será exposta a estrutura do trabalho, capítulo a capítulo, será feita uma explanação histórica sobre o meio urbano onde o edifício está construído, os métodos construtivos adotados desde 1755 até aos nossos dias, passando pelo historial do próprio edificado. Passar-se-á de seguida à análise do edifício, apresentando evidências do que eventualmente terá sido construído de base até aos dias de hoje. Será feita uma apresentação dos elementos construtivos que compõe actualmente o edificio, apresentando evidências do estado de cada um, ou seja, será feita um levantamento das patologias evidentes e visíveis a olho nu, recorrendo a métodos expeditos de análise. Também será feito um levantamento dimensional da volumetria , planimétria do edifício e da compartimentação, registando as dimensões dos elementos estruturais e arquitectónicos relevantes para a realização dos respectivos projectos. Posteriormente passar-se-á para uma exposição dos diversos tipos de ensaios, começando pela apresentação dos métodos disponíveis atualmente para a caracterização física e mecânica dos materiais, seguida da realização dos ensaios, recolha de dados no edificado e proposta de definição dos materiais. Após a recolha de todos estes elementos, estão reunidas as condições para se passar a uma análise estrutural, onde para estes objectivos, serão aplicados os mais avançados programas de cálculo estrutural existentes na actualidade, suportados em metodologias que analisam não só o elemento mas também a sua interação com os que lhe servem de fronteira acabando-se num todo que é o edifício. Pretende-se com este estudo estrutural avaliar a segurança de uma parte significativa e representativa do edifico baseado na regulamentação em vigor. A parte a analisar representa o pavimento aplicado na construção. Finalizar-se-á com a apresentação das conclusões, propondo eventuais ações futuras.