1,721,086 research outputs found
Using AHP methodology for prioritizing the actions in the transport sector in the frame of SECAPs
Full text linkThe drafting of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan, required for the local authorities joining the Covenant of Mayors initiative, is an opportunity to plan actions reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. Choosing the measures to implement requires the application of a methodology that compares them, considering costs and impacts in terms of energy consumption, emissions reduction, and social benefits. The paper aims to develop a method based on the typical approach of the Analytical Hierarchy Process, supporting decisions in the transport sector in the frame of the drafting of SECAP. The method allows determining the priority actions and the optimal allocation of economic resources, through the definition of indicators and weights, obtained by involving stakeholders in the process
The European Standards for Energy Efficiency in Buildings: an analysis of the Evolution with Reference to a Case Study
Full text linkThe improvement of the energy efficiency of building stocks represents an important contribution for the
reduction of the energy consumption in the European Union (EU), along with the decrease of greenhouse gases emissions.
In this aim both the public administrations and the technical experts need reliable calculation methodology to assess
buildings’ energy performance. In this framework, despite the recent publication of the Standard EN ISO 52016, that deeply
modifies the approach to the energy building simulation by introducing a new hourly dynamic calculation model, the
current normative framework (EN ISO 13790) will maintain its validity until the incorporation of the new Standard in the
national Standards and Decrees (such as the Italian Standard UNI/TS 11300-1) will take place. The aim of this paper is
comparing the suitability of the simulation approaches proposed by the above-cited Standards in relation to their different
levels of complexity and to the levels of details of the results provided by them. On purpose, a case study in which the
energy behaviour of a public building, sited in the Sicilian city of Trapani in the South of Italy, will be analysed and the
results of the simulations conducted according to the aforementioned Standards will be compared considering the outcomes
of the EnergyPlus software as reference values
Tunnel fire active protection: improving ventilation system
Full text linkThe main aim of this work is to evaluate how the use of an active protection method,
consisting in an improved forced longitudinal ventilation system, can determine a positive
impact on heat extraction and people evacuation time in a tunnel fire scenario, by considering a
case study which simulations are based on a real gallery
Suitability of Some Existing Damage Indexes for Regulating Contracts Between Curators of Museums and HVAC Maintenance and Management Companies
No full textHeating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems in museums are called to properly control important microclimate parameters, not only for visitors’ wellbeing, but mostly for works of art preservation. Accordingly, in case of interruptions occurring to HVAC systems, due to maintenance interventions or drawbacks, it is essential to guarantee the shortest possible period of disservice to which possible damages for the works of art are related.
In this regard the aim of this work is to introduce a protocol to follow to support curators in regulate the stipulation of contracts with external companies for a more effective management and maintenance of the HVAC systems in order to preserve the works of art, by integrating into the contracts economic penalties related to the system’s disservice period.
The feasibility of this new procedure has been checked by means of a case study involved the “Museo Regionale” of Palermo (Italy)
A generalized model of human body radiative heat exchanges for optimal design of indoor thermal comfort conditions
No full textHuman thermal sensation depends heavily on radiative exchanges between the human body and the surrounding
environment. Because these exchanges play a crucial role in the thermal balance of the human body, about 35%
of the process, human thermal sensation should draw the attention of planners when designing both indoor
environments and equipment.
The present study aims to contribute to this field by proposing a procedure for delineating the optimal
comfort conditions for occupants in most of the articulate and realistic configurations of actual indoor environments.
Specifically, this procedure enables accurate assessment of the radiant field surrounding a subject in
a given indoor realistic environment and considers its variability with space and time along with the presence of
high-intensity radiant sources. The proposed simulation tool contains a set of algorithms in which the degree of
complexity depends on the level of accuracy for modelling the radiative heat transfer between the occupants and
surrounding environment.
The feasibility of these algorithms for designers and researchers has also been checked for a single room
characterised by the presence of windows in two different exposures. This configuration implies a complex
pattern of the sun entering the room, which in turn determines relevant spatial modifications of the indoor
comfort thermal conditions. Such complex situations are effectively interpreted by the proposed model.
This analysis provides useful indications for suitable design of layouts of the confined space and the size of an
effective heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system to limit the discomfort felt inside the room
A Hierarchical System of Models for the Optimal Design of Control Strategies in Spark Ignition Automotive Engines
No full text
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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