Artigos de Revista

A presença de fendas em elementos de madeiraconstitui com frequência uma fonte de preocupações e litígios, quer no âmbito da construção de estruturas novas de madeira, quer no da avaliação da segurança de estruturasem serviço.No entanto, a existência de fendas é muitas vezes sobrevalorizada pelos intervenientes no processo de construção, quer em importância absoluta, quer em importância relativa face a outras anomalias presentes, muitas vezes mais graves embora menos evidentes.

In the framework of a research project entitled

This paper presents a study of the viability of improving the performance of cementitious mortars through the addition of very fine aggregates from crushed red clay ceramics. For that purpose, an experimental campaign was performed with the main purpose of testing the possibility of improving the performance of cementitious mortars at several levels: strength, water absorption, shrinkage, water permeability, durability, among others. The results obtained look very promising, even though this line of research needs to be further pursued.

The degradation of concrete structures caused by delayed ettringite formation (DEF) is a problem that affects many concrete structures worldwide [1]. This pathology is due to the formation of expansive ettringite inside the material and is very difficult to deal with, because presently there is no efficient method to repair concrete structures affected by DEF. Hence, there is an urgent need to find preventive methods that may enable the inhibition of DEF in new constructions. This paper presents the findings of a long-term study [2,3] on the expansion rate and microstructure of heat-cured concretes with different amounts of mineral additions, like fly ash, metakaolin, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, silica fume and limestone filler. For this purpose different concrete compositions were produced using the same binder, water/binder (w/b) ratios and aggregate type. The concretes were prepared and subjected to a heat-curing cycle and subsequently to two dryinghumidification cycles. After these cycles the concrete specimens were immersed in water for longterm storage at 20 ± 2ºC. Length changes of specimens were measured at regular intervals. The microstructures of old heat curing specimens were investigated by optical microscopy and SEMEDS analysis. The results of the blended-concrete compositions were compared with control compositions, and the conclusions were extracted.

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In Portugal, conservation and rehabilitation interventions on monuments (churches, convents, palaces and fortresses), as well as on historical centres (dwelling buildings), have been assuming increasing relevance. To guarantee the present requirements of habitability and aesthetic appearance without descharacterization, in conservation interventions it is necessary to implement wall covering solutions compatible with the background and the preexisting materials. In this work, the application to a case study of a diagnosis methodology for the definition of the probable causes of the anomalies and for the evaluation of the state of conservation of the renders is described. The measures adopted for the repair of the anomalies are referred, through the control of the causes and minimization of their effects.

The combined use of several geological, geochemical andgeophysical observations during six years enabled the detection of a very fainthalo of chemical contamination induced by the operation of a young wastedisposal facility in Northern Portugal. The halo does not classify as pollutionby any standards, but is observed to be intensifying and thus signals a potentialhazardous situation in future years. The approach used shows that acomprehensive and diverse monitoring programme, although relativelyinexpensive and easy to carry out, may detect concealed leaks long before anyenvironmental concern is justified, and thus may help avert future complexremediation needs caused by the uncontrolled growth of undetectedunderground pollution plumes.

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The 2D horizontal morphodynamic modeling system MORSYS2D simulates bottom topography evolution in coastal zones. Sand fluxes are computed with different practical formulas, either for current dominated (e.g, Ackers & White, van Rijn) or combined wave-current flows (e.g., Soulsby van Rijn). Although sensitivity analyses of bottom topography changes in terms of the transport formulas used have already been done, a comparison of the sediment fluxes computed with the different formulations, considering the same flow conditions and using the parameterizations considered in the model (e.g, bottom roughness, bottom stress) is lacking. With that purpose, we have conceptualized a suitable range of wave and current conditions above a sand bed composed of uniform sediment that is characteristic of the conditions encountered in estuaries, tidal inlets and continental shelves, and applied the several flux formulations. To assess the differences obtained, the average value and the standard deviation were computed for each flow condition. This exercise enabled us to identify, for different parameter ranges, the transport formulations which are consistent with one another and those that deviate the most from the mean. This information is useful in practical applications by defining conditions for optimal formula performance.

O presente trabalho introduz sumariamente os conceitos básicos da teoria da decisão estatística