Procedia environmental sciences最新文献

Building energy performance forecasting is a well-known challenge. Several studies show that, when in operation, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings do not perform exactly as predicted because of climate differences, user and operational profiles deviations, and furthermore due to technical changes and imperfections that occur in construction process. In engineering practice it is common to use monthly method (EN ISO 13790) for calculation of residential building energy performance. However, if this method is used in a commercial tool or in a national methodology for energy performance certification (Directive 2010/31/EU), it is usually customized with a number of default values, simplifications, and predefined weather data to facilitate the work or architects and engineers. Mismatching of calculated energy performance (either at design stage or for a building as built) and metered energy use of a building is becoming a problem in the real-estate market. More accurate building energy modelling based on hourly dynamic simulation method is a promising solution to diminish the discrepancies of calculated and metered energy use. The paper investigates the calculated and metered energy use of monitored apartments in a highly energy efficient apartment building Eco Silver House committed to meet the national nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB) requirements. The monitoring of 20 apartments (some fully in use, some not occupied but moderately heated) was done in the first heating season after the completion of the building. For two selected flats the detailed comparison of calculated energy use with two monthly method based tools (PHPP and national) and with an hourly simulation by IDA ICE software is presented. Shortcomings and advantages of the applied calculation methods are discussed, and the importance of the dynamic simulation in nZEB design is pointed out. Inter alia, by dynamic simulation the energy performance of two simulated flats in transient boundary conditions the compliance of the apartment energy indicators in design and in operation stage was proven. The case study derives from FP7 EE-Highrise demonstration project – Eco Silver House (ESH) - a multi-residential high-rise energy efficient building of 128 flats, located in the city center of Ljubljana, Slovenia (www.ee-highrise.eu).

Urbanization is one of human induced activities causing land use changes. In recent years, various land usetransformationsin Bangkok influenced the city's ecological sustainability in all means, i.e., diminishing the city's cultivated land and greenery. This study investigates lack of green spaces due to extreme urban growth in the mega city. To do so, first, land use transitions are modelled through two different images; one from Landsat 5Thematic Mapper for the year 1994, and second fromHJ-1A CCD for the year 2012. Next, theMulti-Layer Perceptron Markov Model (MLP-Markov) is applied to predict land usechange for the year 2030. The MLP neural network is trained to modelland usetransitionsthrough creating transition maps. Markov Chain predictive model is applied with sufficient accuracy to process the transition maps for the prediction process. The results indicate that 348km²of green areas are transformed into built-up areas for the period 1994-2012,witha considerable loss of greenery (42%). The MLP model predictions show 4% increase in built-up and 6% decrease in greenery for the period 2012-2030. The study highly recommends conservation of green spaces and green corridors in the city. Future research can includeanalysing greenplot ratio for suitablegreen patches in vulnerable sites. The research output will benefit urban planners to implement long term planning strategies forsecuring natural environment in mega cities.

One of the most important objectives in building design is to achieve acceptable indoor comfort levels with minimum energy requirements. To accomplish this, firstly a serious consideration must be given to various construction and design parameters, such as the building's envelope structure and shape, its orientation, as well as the climatic data of the region. Secondly, as the envelope heat transmission contributes to the heating and cooling loads, the incorporation of an adequate heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system (HVAC) must be considered. In this study, the effect of the thermophysical properties of a brickwork layer and the thickness of a thermal insulation layer, on the heat flows of a building zone with a varying orientation, is determined. This building zone, having a specific outline geometry, is exposed to winter conditions that correspond to the northern region of Greece (Thessaloniki). The heating loads are assessed for different indoor temperature settings within the building enclosure, while the operation of the system is assumed to be continuous. Although some other aspects could be considered, this study also stresses to the importance of incoming solar radiation by glazing surfaces on the internal surfaces of the studied building zone; the above solar heat gain analysis relies on the sunlit-pattern approach. The foregoing presentation is concerned with varying proportions of glazing surfaces to the total wall surface. As it is shown, the consideration of the above issues is influential to maintain an acceptable indoor environment, while decreasing the heat flow exchanges through building envelopes. For the purposes of this study, a lumped thermal-network model incorporating several heat flow paths has been employed (transient thermal analysis).

The sustainability assessment of building materials presents a major challenge the building physics community must approach, in order to establish justified sustainable solutions for the built environment. This study introduces EcoHestia, a comprehensive environmental building assessment tool, whose operation is based on a standardized, transparent, verifiable and internationally recognized approach life cycle approach (ISO 14040 series). The methodology as well as the rationale of EcoHestia is presented in detail. The major parameters which are considered, and the required assumptions for the development and establishment of the proposed building materials sustainability scheme are introduced and discussed in detail. A case study concerning the sustainability assessment of two buildings with the use of EcoHestia is presented and discussed.

In the last decades, Çiftlikköy village in the northwest of Mersin city centrehasbeen under the threat of losing its rural lifestyle and natural landscape. Especially after the establishment of auniversity on a neighbouring valley, a dense residential area constructed and rural qualities of the village has been transformed into a different character. High-rise urban apartment blocks and low-density rural housing side-by-side marks social-physical contradictions and urban segregation in this selected case. In the paper, sustainability issues will be discussed in accordance to the well-being of inhabitants, inequality of rights between wide-ranging economic groups, existing and new users, settlement conditions and transformation from the rural to the urban community.

The present paper briefly describes a methodology to evaluate the sustainability of existing steel bridges. This method applied to the case study for the restoration design of the old steel Echedoros river railway bridge. An intervention on an existing bridge characterized as sustainable if the design considerations include critical sustainability assessments. The present case study also compared to other relevant assessments of the option to construct a new steel bridge for the same total span. Assessments concern remaining fatigue life, estimation of its structural resistance for the traffic capacity, identification of the environmental impacts of the structural solutions and evaluation of the total cost of the project. In the present work, the structural analysis performed using a finite element scheme for the overall bridge. In addition, several finite element analysis models of critical details also performed and studied. The verification of the design parameters adopted, i.e. loads and resistance assessment mainly based on the ‘Sustainable Bridges’ guidelines recently published by the European Commission. The estimation of the environmental impacts of the structural solutions according to life cycle principles based on the use of known LCA tools and the cost evaluated by applying the well-known discounted cash flow technique. The approach with the individual impacts combined to produce an overall sustainability score for the design option also highlighted. This way, the proposed methodology leads to a more accurate assessment of the sustainability of an existing steel bridge.

There is a profound ongoing change in urban settlements and this particular phenomenon can be observed principally in the relationships between central and peripheral areas.

The peripheral areas constitute the context in which the future of urban settlements can be properly tested, where the future quality of life of individuals and of communities can be prefigured. The criteria of safety, sustainability, and welfare, which will be covered in the context of peripheral areas, will become continually more important. The sense of identity and belonging, which is stronger in the central parts, is weak or lacking in the peripheral ones.

A sort of spreading centrality should be aimed at, by applying an integrated approach, with an adaptation to the specifics and without losing the required uniformity.

Public facilities are facilities needed to support the functions and provide the activities defined by the government or by the utility companies, Public facilities as an element are such an essential element that should be taken in consideration when designing the master comprehensive plan. The location of schools is one of the most crucial decisions communities get to make that School districts and local governments should not take it randomly instead they should use these guidelines through the school siting process. This paper aims to achieve a guideline for school locations through highlighting educational public facilities planning definition, location, and impact on the city urban development. Then analysing relevant case studies and comparing between them to emphasize the theoretical part, achieving a general guideline for school locations.