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Analysis of Reinforced Concrete Spatial Structures with Different Structural Openings and Forms
Get PDFThe first reinforced concrete spatial structures date from 1920. Since then, their popularity has increased as a new structural system with widely used materials like reinforced concrete. The building trend of these structures faded near 1970s, because of the high costs in formwork and labor work compared to other structural systems, but also the high calculations difficulty and the lack of knowledge for their structural behavior strongly connected with their form.
The technological evolution of formworks, like air inflated forms or polymer modular formwork, as well as the technological advance of computer and software industry for civil engineering through automation of numerical methods and creation of new algorithms, have helped to reach new levels of expertise during the conceptual and structural design process.
The scope of this analytical study is the use of structural openings to create new lighter, sustainable and architectural forms of structures, using a new approach to the form finding process. The paper includes structure cyclic analysis due to finding the appropriate position and geometrical form of the openings considering stresses, deformations and boundary conditions of specific cases. Optimizations and analysis are made using advanced optimization algorithms of form finding and topological optimization (ATOM – Abaqus Topology Optimization Module ®) and FEM based software for static and seismic analysis.
Based on the analysis data of the case examples for the new designing approach to structural openings and forms, presented on this paper with the use of advanced software technology, we conclude that spatial structural system in 21st century should be considered as the next engineering challenge in conjunction to architectural trends for free, irregular and diverse forms
“Structures of light”. Structural morphologies as devices for capturing light
Get PDFThe present paper would look at the principles of architectural composition as analytical distinction of parts, the idea of the structural fragment, the use of open forms and serial repetition, featured in modern and contemporary architecture. Given the possibilities of reinforced concrete structures, light penetrates into the building through the structural frame and shapes the negative-space of the load-bearing form (pattern of light).
Moreover, the gap between enclosure and roofing system, the breaks in the walls, the disconnection at the angles in a masonry structure, become a powerful sources of light. The tectonic node shifts from being the robust part of the structure to a hiatus of light.
Goals, criteria and methods of analysis of the case studies:
In these monumental building, light is the former designing tool. By analyzing the most important historical architectures, the process of spatial design would show the importance of structural form in architecture and it could be used for contemporary approach. The structure bears the loads and creates "machines for capturing the light" at once.
Partialized designs have been drawn and re-created with 3d printing technology. An exemplar list of the case studies is the following:
- Matching separate structures: Hurva Synagogue L. I. Kahn, Casa della scherma by L. Moretti, Nelson-Atkins Museum by S. Holl.
- Gaps between structural series: Kimbell Museum by L. I. Kahn, Padiglione Italia competition entry by F. Venezia, Museum of Architecture in Lisbon by Aires Mateus.
- Tectonic hiatus: Hepworth gallery by D. Chipperfield, Palazzo dell’acqua e della luce by Albini and Gardella
Science and Different Images of the World
Get PDFIt has often been claimed in contemporary philosophy that the scientific world-view will necessarily replace the view of the world provided by common sense. It may be argued, however, that common sense holds a sort of methodological primacy over the aforementioned scientific world-view. For example, the thesis of the indeterminacy of radical translation entails the impossibility of establishing what a scientific theory is talking about. We can say what a scientific theory deals with only by having recourse to our ordinary language, i.e., by assuming that we know and understand in advance what we are talking about normally, in our daily life. It follows that science cannot be conceived of as a form of knowledge which is totally independent of ordinary language and, therefore, alternative to it. According to such a stance, even scientific theories stem from the universe of meanings that belong to common language. On his part Davidson, in challenging the scheme-content dualism, mentions both “a dualism of total scheme (or language) and uninterpreted content”, and “a dualism of conceptual scheme and empirical content”. What we have here is a real dichotomy between these two elements, in the sense that the (conceptual) scheme is “other than” the (non-conceptual) content that is opposed to it. Now, Davidson’s rejection of the scheme-content distinction is supported by a set of arguments purporting to reject, first of all, the thesis that totally different conceptual schemes can actually exist. To put things in a very sketchy manner, he equates having a conceptual scheme with having a language, so that we face the following elements: (1) language as the organizing force; (2) what is organized, referred to as “experience”, “the stream of sensory experience”, and “physical evidence”; and, finally, (3) the failure of intertranslatability. It follows that “It is essential to this idea that there be something neutral and common that lies outside all schemes”. If this is the situation, he goes on, then we could say that conceptual schemes that are different in a radical way from each other correspond to languages that are not intertranslatable. How can we, however, make sense of a total failure of intertranslatability among languages? For sure “we could not be in a position to judge that others had concepts or beliefs radically different from our own”. Davidson’s conclusion is that if one gives up the dualism of scheme and world, he will not give up the world, but will instead be able to “re-establish unmediated touch with the familiar objects whose antics make our sentences and opinions true”. Davidson’s solution is radical, but we are bound to ask at this point what the expressions “reality” and “world” mean for him. They seem to coincide with the world of common sense which is formed by the familiar objects whose antics - as he says - make our sentences and opinions true or false. These familiar objects are tables, chairs, houses, stars, etc., just as we perceive them in our daily life. One is not entitled to ignore, however, that the current discussions on the problem of scientific realism arise because there appears to be a strong asymmetry between the commonsense view of the world and the scientific one. For instance, the table that we see with our eyes is not the same table that we “see” through the mediation of scientific instruments, and this fact is not trivial. It is rather easy to reach a high level of inter-subjective agreement among the individuals present in a room about the color, size and weight of a table, and it can also be granted that we form our beliefs in this regard by triangulating with our interlocutors and the surrounding environment. Such an agreement, however, may turn out to be problematic when we try to reconcile this vision of the world with what today science tells us about it. So, being in touch with such familiar objects as tables, chairs and stars “all the time” - as Richard Rorty adds - has a fundamental bearing only on the ontology of common sense, since our actual science shows that quite a different representation of reality can actually be provided (or, even better, it shows that those objects might not exist as men perceive them). Naturally, one can always resort to an objection of the following kind: Why should we deem the table viewed as a collection of subatomic particles more important than the table that our eyes see in daily life? After all, we can conduct our life well enough even ignoring what science claims (just like men did for many thousand years). This, however, may be judged as a serious underevaluation of the scientific enterprise. As a matter of fact, in the last centuries we are confronted not by one world-view, but by two complex images, each of which means to be a complete picture of man in the world. Wilfrid Sellars called these two perspectives, respectively, the manifest and the scientific image of man in the world. They are both intersubjective and non arbitrary. What are, however, these two images, and are they really alternative? Let us note, from the onset, that the two images we just mentioned are both idealizations in the same sense of Max Weber’s “ideal types”. This means that, in order to discover their actual presence, we need having recourse to a good deal of philosophical abstraction. In other words, they are not disclosed by mere empirical recognition. For instance, we live in the commonsense view of the world, and only a complex process of reflection makes us understand that we, as human beings, share a common view of the world, which is in turn determined by the fact that our physical structure bounds us to conceive of reality in a certain way rather than in another. Think about the importance that light, for example, has not only in daily life, but even in our philosophical conceptualization of the world. The story is complicated by the fact that each image has a history, and while the manifest image dates back to pre-history, the scientific image is constantly changing shape
Environment protection in the legal system of Albania: The current situation in Albania on combating environmental crimes and the new reform directions
Get PDFThe scope of this article is twofold, on one hand; it makes an analysis of the current situation of the environment protection through the criminal law in the Albania, by proving a legal landscape on the current criminal conducts as are foreseen by the Criminal Code of Albania. It starts with an introduction which aims to highlight the status play of the increased attention that is being shown for the environmental protection in the global arena. Then it makes an assessment on the definition of the environmental harm, and the technical-legal approaches utilised for the protection of the environment. After that, this article makes a description of the legal concept of environment in Albania and analyses the existing criminal offences as they are foreseen by the Criminal Code. On the other hand, the article makes a preliminary assessment of the new coming reform on the environmental crime in Albania, by trying to identify the problematic issues and their address by the draft-law. The conclusions reached at the end shows the evolution of the concept of environment and its protection, welcomes the new reform by noting the need of the judicial authorities to be trained in order to be fully implemented
Report between the President and Constitutional Court and its influence on the functioning of the Constitutional System in Kosovo
Get PDFThis paper aims at clarifying the report between the President and the Constitutional Court. If we take as a starting point the constitutional mandate of these two institutions it follows that their final mission is the same, i.e., the protection and safeguarding of the constitutional system. This paper, thus, will clarify the key points in which this report is expressed. Further, this paper examines the theoretical aspects of the report between the President and the Constitutional Court, starting from the debate over this issue between Karl Schmitt and Hans Kelsen. An important part of the paper will examine the Constitution of Kosovo, i.e., the contents of the constitutional norm and its application. The analysis focuses on the role such report between the two institutions has on the functioning of the constitutional system. In analyzing the case of Kosovo, this paper examines Constitutional Court cases in which the report between the President and the Constitutional Court has been an issue of review. Such cases assist us in clarifying the main theme of this paper. Therefore, the reader will be able to understand the key elements of the report between the President as a representative of the unity of the people on the one hand and the Constitutional Court as a guarantor of constitutionality on the other hand
A Survey on Peace Perceptions Among University Students in Albania: Implications for Social Science Curricula
Get PDFThe main purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the field of peace education as one of the main pillars of peace studies through promoting and triggering Albanian students’ participation in building and sustaining a culture of peace in the society. It measures perceptions of Albanian students studying in social science disciplines, on peace and peace education. Additionally, it evaluates how much social science curricula in Albania have a peace orientation. The thesis is interested to note if there is a correlation between students perceptions of peace concepts and the rate of involving peace education themes into the curricula they study. In line with these, it has developed three main hypothesis: (1) Students perceive peace mainly as the absence of war; (2) Students perceive peace education as learning about ways of how to stop wars; (3) The majority of Social Studies’ Curricula do not have a peace education approach; (4) There is a positive correlation between students perceptions on peace terms and their involvement in social studies curricula. The thesis employs a quantitative methodology. It utilizes the survey research design, statistical percent distribution and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Criteria of peace and peace education have been derived from the literature review. 18 main peace education themes have been used, coded and numbered from 1-18. The significance of results are measured through the Chi-Square and Phi- Cramer’s V tests. In addition the significance levels of the interference of the independet varialbes such as gender, institution and department are measured through Anova and Mancova tests. Results accept the first, second and the third assumption and reject the fourth one. Albanian students explain peace and peace education by referring mostly to negative peace concepts. Gender significantly interfers in whether students accept peace as the absence of war while department has a siginifcant interference level only at the question that measures their willingness to be part of peace activites. In addition to these results, 33.5 percent of curricula involve any of the peace education theme. The relation between the two set of variables is negative only for two peace education themes and insignificant for all the others.
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To conclude, the results do not mean that peace education does not impact peace knowledge. But, peace education does not make a significant change if incorporated only in terms of syllabus topics. this thesis reconfirms that raising peace awareness in the society requires a multi- dimensional approach with the involvement of all relevant actors and not only institutions of education.Epoka Universit
A Misleading Portrayal of Women in Oral Literature: An Example from Akamba Circumcision Songs
Get PDFThis paper aims to study the misleading portrayal of women in Akamba male circumcision songs. The study will investigate how the woman is portrayed in the Kamba male circumcision songs and how the songs should influence the circumcised and the community as a whole to have a positive perception towards women. The study supports the proposition by Fox (1993), that what we read and listen affects our psyches and attitudes
Probabilistic seismic hazard analysis of events occurred in Albania
Get PDFAlbania is a seismic region so the goal of many earthquake engineers is to ensure the durability of a structure for a given level of ground vibration. There are many uncertainties about magnitude, location and the intensity of the future earthquake. Probability methods allow us to speak quantitatively about variables phenomenon. Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) aims to reveal these uncertain and to produce the distribution of the future earthquakes that may occur. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the calculation involved in PSHA and to give some qualifications about the probability of intense ground vibration at a place and their associated rates of exceedance. The results can be used to identify the ground vibration intensity, which has small probability of being exceeded. In calculation are involved the location and intensity of all the seismic events occurred in Albania
Effects of Soft storey Irregularity on RC building Response
Get PDFAlbanian building stock is composed of reinforced concrete and masonry buildings. Most of these buildings are designed with Old Albanian Codes (KTP Codes) and some of them are constructed without any project. Considering these facts and the observations done in Albanian construction industry, presence of structural irregularities is very common in these buildings. Irregularities are weak points in the building which may cause fail of one element or total collapse of the building during an earthquake. Irregularities encountered in Albanian construction practice consist of short column, large and heavy overhangs, reinforcement details and soft story irregularity. Since Albania is a high seismic country which has been hit many times from earthquakes of different magnitudes establishes the need to study the effect of irregularities. Among all these irregularities in this study is taken in consideration the soft story effect under seismic loads in low and mid-rise buildings of Albanian construction practice. In order to get the effect of soft story irregularity in RC buildings several number of Nonlinear Static (Pushover) Analyses are done for regular frames, frames with soft story because of higher height and lack of masonry infill walls in ground story or because of the presence of both cases for the two types of structures, 3 and 6-story frames representing low and mid-rise buildings respectively. The analysis has been performed by ETABS software. The results of the analyses indicate that low and mid-rise structures with soft story irregularity due to absence of infill walls and higher height of ground story are more vulnerable during earthquakes
Earthquake Performance Assessment of a Low-rise URM Building
Get PDFIn the present paper, seismic performance assessment of a typical low-rise unreinforced masonry (URM) building, which has been built in accordance with template designs in Albania, has been performed. For this purpose, one of the most widely used template designed URM building typology has been selected as a good representatives of residential building stock. This type shows some particular features, typical of the traditional construction techniques at that time which could be identified as the additional potential damage sources. The building was designed and constructed in 1960 and contains details which are typical of that construction period of the region. Material properties are assessed based upon experimental test results. Then, the buildings is modeled and analyzed as 3-D assembly of finite elements. The earthquake ground motion to be used in performance assessment is determined through probabilistic seismic hazard assessment. The seismic response of the buildings has been evaluated for various earthquake levels based on Eurocode 8 and FEMA 440 guidelines. Upon the evaluation of the obtained results here for the earthquake performance of this type of buildings, useful conclusions are drawn on the strength and nonlinear behavior of masonry subjected to earthquake actions