Artigos de Revista

The paper addresses the seismic vulnerability assessment of a multispan footbridge, prone to span unseating due to shorter seat lengths. The structure is representative of a series of pedestrian crossings located in the Southern part of Portugal, a region with a relevant seismicity. A probabilistic approach allows considering the variability of the seismic action and uncertainties in the definition of the material properties and/or structural behavior. Based on incremental dynamic analyses and corresponding fragility curves, it is shown that, for code compliance design acceleration, there is a significant probability that the structure will only suffer minor damage.

The paper addresses the seismic vulnerability assessment of a multi-span footbridge, prone to span unseating due to shorter seat lengths. The structure is representative of a series of pedestrian crossings located in the Southern part of Portugal, a region with a relevant seismicity. A probabilistic approach allows considering the variability of the seismic action and uncertainties in the definition of the material properties and/or structural behavior. Based on incremental dynamic analyses and corresponding fragility curves, it is shown that, for code compliance design acceleration, there is a significant probability that the structure will only suffer minor damage.

No artigo faz-se uma apresentação sintética do 4.º Congresso Internacional da Habitação no Espaço Lusófono

Distributed plasticity Euler-Bernoulli fiber beams are regularly used byresearchers and practitioners to simulate the nonlinear seismic responseof reinforced concrete framed structures. This study presents a sensitivityanalysis, combining newly proposed and existing goodness-of-fitmeasures, to identify commonly used engineering modeling optionsthat most critically influence the response accuracy. The dynamic behaviorof three distinct structures tested in international blind predictionchallenges is considered. Sensitivity parameters include equivalent viscousdamping, element formulation, strain penetration effects, andmaterial models. The results are critically discussed in light of theoreticalshortcomings of the model assumptions.

The authors present a numerical study on railway track subgrade reinforcement using short soil-binder columns through injection, below the ballast layer. A 3D FEM program developed in MATLAB that considers the dynamic train

The solar chimney is a stack-induced ventilation strategy used to improve thermal performance in buildings. Besides operating via a buoyancy-driven airflow, even low velocity winds can affect the chimney functioning in both positive and negative ways. In technical literature, though, few studies have considered the influence of windspeed and direction, as well as discharge coefficients and wind pressure coefficients. This paper investigates the effects of wind interference on a solar chimney performance, through different scenarios of wind speed and direction, over a base case model. Wind tunnel experiments and computer simulations using EnergyPlus were carried out to perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of the airflow, as a function of the combined effect of thermal and wind components. Results showed that the airflow rate and distribution pattern at the outlet openings of the solar chimney are influenced by either the thermal gradients and, mainly, by the outdoor windvelocity and direction. A significant reduction in the volumetric flow rate of the chimney is observed due to wind incidence opposite to the inlet opening, even at low velocities, such as 0.6 m/s.

No artigo defende-se o desenvolvimento de habitações feitas/compostas muito mais por sítios específicos do que por funções domésticas rígidas e criticamente autonomizadas; sequencialmente a esta abordagem geral apresentam-se algumas temáticas associadas a esta perspectiva, com destaque para as matérias da relação entre agradabilidade espacial e conforto ambiental, da importância crucial da aplicação de aspectos essenciais de adaptabilidade, da consideração dos aspectos essenciais de funcionalidade num sentido verdadeiramente amplo e integrado/integrador, e da vital questão da possível e maximizada capacidade doméstica em termos de liberdade de apropriação e de contributo activo para o valor/identidade da habitação.

Continuando-se a abordar a matéria dos pequenos sítios domésticos, desenvolve-se, neste artigo, uma incursão exploratória, na apaixonante temática dos sítios-biblioteca, ou das casas/sítios-biblioteca. O artigo inicia-se com uma pequena reflexão em que se pretende contribuir para a definição de

No artigo desenvolve-se uma reflexão pessoal e livre e uma apresentação comentada do livro de Juhani Pallasmaa, intitulado

No artigo desenvolve-se uma apresentação comentada, mas sintética, da ideia que deu origem ao Congresso Internacional da Habitação no Espaço Lusófono