Artigos de Revista

Portuguese pine forests frequently have high density due to the large number of young trees, which are maintained in thestands due to the high costs of thinning operations and the lack of financial return provided by the markets available for smalldiameterpoles. With this problem in mind, a national project was launched to investigate the use of Maritime pine smalldiameterpoles in structural applications. It is believed that this utilization could promote stand thinning operations by providingextra income to forest owners. Poles for the study were collected in an interior central region of Portugal and visually gradedaccording to European standard EN1310. Poles were then tested (bending and compression) following European standardEN14251.The results obtained are presented and discussed along with the results obtained for round timber from other woodspecies and for Maritime pine strength graded structural timber with rectangular cross section. Considering future developmentof national strength grading standards (based on the results of this project), some correlations are presented between woodfeatures and mechanical properties and between bending strength and stiffness. Good correlations were obtained betweenbending strength, density, and local modulus of elasticity (MOE). A significant difference in the bending strength betweenround and rectangular cross sections was observed but not for MOE.

As waves travel and shoal towards a beach, their surface elevation becomes peaky (sharp crests) and asymmetric relative to the vertical. Within a wave period, the corresponding orbital velocity near the bottom shows a similar (time) variation and it is recognized that these nonlinearities are responsible for sediment transport. The resulting wave-induced bottom shear stresses are required for most sediment transport model computations. In this work,simple bottom shear stresses parameterisations for rough seabeds, under nonlinear waves, are analysed. Theeffects of the wave shape on the bottom shear stresses estimates is investigated by analysing a new set of experimental data, under accelerated skewed waves (SILVA et al., 2008). Results indicate a good agreementbetween all the formulations presented.

The emerging context of e-Science imposes new scenarios and requirements for digital preservation. In particular, the data must be reliably stored, for which redundancy is a key strategy. But managing redundancy must take into account the potential failure of component. Considering that correlated failures can affect multiple components and potentially cause a complete loss of data, we propose an innovative solution to manage redundancy strategies in heterogeneous environments such as data grids. This solution comprises a simulator that can be used to evaluate redundancy strategies according to preservation requirements and supports the process to design the best architecture to be deployed, which can latter be used as an observer of the deployed system, supporting its monitoring and management.

The hydrodynamics and alongshore sediment dynamics were evaluated on a meso-tidal estuarine beach, submitted to wind and vessel waves generated in an area of restricted fetch, not affected by oceanic waves. The beach morphology is characterised by two main features, a steep upper beach followed, seaward, by a low gradient terrace, both engaged in the surf zone depending on the tidal level. Sedimentologic surveys revealed the presence of coarser sand grains at the steep upper beach, finer sand grains at the low gradient terrace and a large geometrical spreading at the base of the beach face. The characterisation, based on a six-year wind data series, of the average annual wave climate in front of the beach, indicates a low energy environment where the estimated longshore transport is 14.5x103 m3.year-1, equally distributed in both directions. This study also concluded on the cross-shore distribution of the longshore sediment transport in the active part of the beach and on the contribution of each wind wave component to the longshore transport. Despite the important impact that the catamarans can have on cross-shore beach dynamics, their effect on the longshore transport is irrelevant

In spite of the lack of raw material of good quality, the use of gypsum plasters for interior plastering of walls and ceilings in Portugal was particularly expressive in the period between the 18th century and the first half of the 20th century. The quality and variety of gypsum plaster decorations in the Portuguese monumental and domestic architecture contrast with the rare studies on this subject. As a consequence, the almost inexistent information about this important heritage is leading to its fast loss. The present research occurs in this context, where the characterization of the Portuguese historical gypsum plasters is the first step to reach the main purpose: the development of new repair gypsum plasters compatible with the old materials. In this paper the results of the characterization of a particular gypsum plaster piece from the end of the 19th Century, simulating a marmorino, are presented and discussed. The invaluable role of microscopy in this case study will be emphasized as it was particularly important to answer the main questions raised by the other complementary analytical techniques. The results obtained are unexpected and allow understanding the materials and techniques used for the manufacture of this elaborate works of art, very scarcely reported in the literature and often interpreted only from the art history point of view.

The use of gypsum plaster for interior covering of walls and ceilings in the Portuguese architecture was particularly expressive in the period between the XVIII and the XX century. However, information about this important heritage is almost inexistent, which is leading to a fast loss of important patrimony. In this paper, the results of the characterization of gypsum plaster samples belonging to two buildings from the same historical period (end of the XIX century and beginning of the XX), situated in distant geographical regions of Portugal are presented and discussed. XRD, TGA-DTA, optical microscopy and SEM-EDS observations were used for the chemical and microstructural characterization. Some physical and mechanical properties, such as capillary absorption, dynamic elasticity modulus and compressive strength were also determined and a relationship between the characteristics observed in the samples and the technology associated to their use and application on site, as well as the possible existence of regional influences on all these aspects, are discussed.

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Resumo: Nesta comunicação são aplicados dois modelos numéricos baseados em equações do tipo Boussinesq, BOUSSiiw [12] e COULWAVE [9], na simulação da propagação de ondas sobre um baixio esférico localizado num fundo de profundidade constante (Chawla [5]). A propagação de ondas ao longo desta topografia envolve diversos fenómenos físicos, nomeadamente, o empolamento, a refracção, a difracção, e a dispersão não-linear. Por isso, constitui um óptimo teste para a validação e comparação dos modelos aqui apresentados. Este estudo foi conduzido experimentalmente por Chawla [5]. Os resultados numéricos de ambos os modelos são comparados com os resultados experimentais. Avalia-se assim o desempenho dos modelos numéricos.