Papers

N/A

This article describes the implementation of a monitoring system on the breakwater at the Funchal Port (Madeira Island, Portugal) for the purpose of understanding its dynamic behavior and the temporal evolution of structural health. The monitoring system focuses on the breakwater superstructure and aims to identify the evolution of damage on the breakwater and analyze the impact of cruise ships docking and undocking. The system includes the measurement of displacements through geodetic techniques using global navigation satellite systems and the measurement of vibrations using accelerometers. Ten observation campaigns were performed over almost 3 years. As the measured displacements during this period were less than 7.5 mm it can be concluded that, despite some visible cracks, the breakwater superstructure did not suffer significant structural changes. It was shown from the measured acceleration records that some of the main modal parameters could be identified, namely the main natural frequencies of the superstructure. Through an analysis of the natural frequencies progression over time, it will be possible to identify deterioration effects on the foundation and/or the superstructure. The comparison of natural frequencies identified could be useful to evaluate the impact of these events on structural health.

This research was focused on the use of the modified Chapelle test as a direct laboratory methodology to access the pozzolanic activity of both experimental and commercial metakaolins. At the same time, this test was used in the evaluation of experimental metakaolins. This chemical test, performed during 16 hours at 90 °C, allows the quantification of portlandite fixed by the metakaolin sample. The calcium hydroxide that was not consumed is quantified by acid titration (HCl), and the test result is expressed in mg of fixed calcium hydroxide by g of metakaolin. According to this test, the pozzolanic activity of a metakaolin should not be less than 700 mg Ca(OH)2 / g metakaolin. The modified Chapelle pozzolanic activity of six commercial metakaolins was evaluated between 920 and 1560 mg Ca(OH)2 / g metakaolin. From the seven experimental metakaolins produced between 750 ºC and 940 ºC, a material with modified Chapelle pozzolanic activity value of 1240 mg Ca(OH)2 / g metakaolin was obtained, which is similar to some tested commercial metakaolins produced at industrial scale. The metakaolin produced at 800 ºC was ground, resulting in a particle size reduction of ? 4x less and a consequent increase of 21 % in the pozzolanic activity.

Methods and devices for in situ establishment of mechanical properties of wood have been recently developed in cooperation with European, US and Japanese researchers. The development of these new methods was motivated by requirements from engineers who need highly accurate data of mechanical properties of specific elements to plan renovations of historic buildings. Reliable data can replace overlyconservative values (usually provided by visual strength grading) in structural analysis, which allows the retention of more original material as the behavior of specific elements is safely assessed. The recently developed methods, which are described in this chapter, are tensile strength of small samples, tensile Young

This paper reviews the physical processes controlling wave-dominated inlets, based on several studies conducted at two inletslocated on the West Coast of Portugal. Once the observed hydrodynamics and morphological changes are reasonably simulated,numerical experiments are performed to explain the development of the inlet during fair weather conditions and itsshoaling and closure during winter storms. The former behaviour is explained by a tidal distortion that promotes ebbdominancewhile the latter is explained by the combination of several wave-related processes: (1) the

Tanto el perfil como la forma en planta de las playas fluviales vienen establecidos por numerosos factoresentre los que cabría destacar las características del sedimento y la dirección y módulo de la velocidad de la corriente en el río. Sin embargo, en ciertos casos, lejos incluso de su estuario o desembocadura, esta morfología puede estar determinada principalmente por la incidencia del oleaje pese a no tratarse de un entorno marítimo.Se presenta aquí una metodología cualitativa que nos permitirá reconocer los aspectos que influyen en la existencia de este tipo de morfologías. Para ello, se estudiará un caso particular, el de la playa de La Concordia ubicada en la margen izquierda del río Uruguay a 70 km de su desembocadura en el estuario del Rio de la Plata. Asimismo se analizará la forma en planta y se verificará que la misma está determinada por la acción del oleaje.

Joints are the most defining features of fractured rock masses. It has been well established thatjoint behaviour is mainly defined by wall topography, which is difficult to measure and define. Previousworks have employed both contact and non-contact scanning methods and multiple approaches tothe analysis of rock surfaces, but a majority focused exclusively on individual surface characterisationwithout appraising wall

Collisions with dangerous roadside obstacles and rollovers are responsible for many injuries and deaths in highways worldwide. International crash data indicate that roadside characteristics contribute to more than half of all run-off-road injury crashes (RORIC) involving serious injury or death. Furthermore, roadside geometric characteristics are believed to be the leading cause of rollover in single-vehicle RORIC. Differences in each country

One of the European policy objectives, as envisaged by the EC Transport White Paper, is to reduce Europe's dependence on imported oil and to cut greenhouse gas emission (GHG) from transport by 20% by 2030 and by 70% until 2050 (with respect to 2008 levels). For achieving this goal, the role of integrated energy and urban mobility systems are explored as part of a city