Special Issue “Sustainable Construction”

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Special Issue “Sustainable Construction”

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section “Sustainable Engineering and Science“.

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2017

Special Issue Editors

Guest Editor

Prof. Dr. Víctor Yepes
Concrete Science and Technology Institute (ICITECH), Department of Construction Engineering and Civil Engineering Projects, Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia, Spain
Interests: multi-objective optimization; life-cycle assessment; decision-making; sustainability; concrete structures; CO2 emissions; construction management

Guest Editor

Dr. Tatiana García-Segura
Concrete Science and Technology Institute (ICITECH), Department of Construction Engineering and Civil Engineering Projects, Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia, Spain
Interests: multi-objective optimization; durability; safety; sustainability; post-tensioned bridges; maintenance; blended cement; recycled concrete

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This “Sustainable Construction” Special Issue comprises selected papers for Sustainability. Construction is one of the main sectors generating greenhouse gases. This industry consumes large amounts of raw materials, such as stone, timber, water, etc. Additionally, infrastructure should provide service over many years without safety problems. Therefore, their correct design, construction, maintenance and dismantling are essential to reduce economic, environmental and societal consequences. That is why promoting sustainable construction is becoming extremely important nowadays. This Special Issue is seeking papers that explore new ways of reducing the environmental impacts caused by the construction sector, as well promoting social progress and economic growth. These objectives include, but are not limited to:

  • The use of sustainable materials in construction
  • The development of technologies and processes intended to improve sustainability in construction
  • The optimization of designs based on sustainable indicators
  • The reduction of the economic, environmental and social impact caused by production processes
  • The promotion of durable materials that reduce the future maintenance
  • The life-cycle assessment
  • Decision-making processes that integrate economic, social, and environmental aspects

Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer-review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments and applications.

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Keywords

  • sustainable materials
  • life-cycle assessment
  • sustainable and efficient technologies and processes
  • design optimization
  • durable materials
  • maintenance minimization
  • decision-making

La aplicación de la toma de decisiones multicriterio a la gestión de presas

Presa de Aldeadávila. Wikipedia

La gestión del mantenimiento de las presas existentes constituye un proceso complejo que requiere la aplicación de la toma de decisiones atendiendo a  múltiples criterios para evitar las severas consecuencias sociales, económicas y medioambientales que pueden acarrear. A continuación os dejo un artículo científico que nos acaban de publicar al respecto. Realiza una revisión profunda del estado del arte en la materia. Espero que os sea de interés.

El artículo completo lo podéis encontrar aquí:  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617301051

 

Abstract:

Decisions for aging-dam management requires a transparent process to prevent the dam failure, thus to avoid severe consequences in socio-economic and environmental terms. Multiple criteria analysis arose to model complex problems like this. This paper reviews specific problems, applications and Multi-Criteria Decision Making techniques for dam management. Multi-Attribute Decision Making techniques had a major presence under the single approach, specially the Analytic Hierarchy Process, and its combination with Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution was prominent under the hybrid approach; while a high variety of complementary techniques was identified. A growing hybridization and fuzzification are the two most relevant trends observed. The integration of stakeholders within the decision making process and the inclusion of trade-offs and interactions between components within the evaluation model must receive a deeper exploration. Despite the progressive consolidation of Multi-Criteria Decision Making in dam management, further research is required to differentiate between rational and intuitive decision processes. Additionally, the need to address benefits, opportunities, costs and risks related to repair, upgrading or removal measures in aging dams suggests the Analytic Network Process, not yet explored under this approach, as an interesting path worth investigating.

Keywords:

  • Ageing dams;
  • Dam management;
  • Decision making;
  • Multiple criteria analysis;
  • Risk

Referencia:

ZAMARRÓN-MIEZA, I.; YEPES, V.; MORENO-JIMÉNEZ, J.M. (2017). A systematic review of application of multi-criteria decision analysis for aging-dam management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 147:217-230. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617301051

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Aplicación de los métodos de decisión multicriterio al diseño sostenible de puentes

Puente en cajón postesado sobre el Turia (Quart de Poblet). Proyectado por Javier Manterola y construído por Dragados y Construcciones en 1991.

Actualmente existe una tendencia clara hacia la sostenibilidad en los proyectos de estructuras, para lo cual es necesario equilibrar los criterios que apoyan esta sostenibilidad: la economía, el medio ambiente y la sociedad. Estos pilares básicos presentan objetivos diferentes y habitualmente enfrentados entre sí. Esta realidad conduce hacia la necesidad de adoptar procesos de toma de decisiones que permitan alumbrar soluciones capaces de satisfacer, de la mejor manera posible, los principios de sostenibilidad citados. Los puentes forman parte de las infraestructuras básicas de comunicación entre los distintos territorios. Por lo tanto, constituye una necesidad ineludible garantizar la sostenibilidad de este tipo de estructuras a lo largo de su ciclo de vida.

A continuación se presenta un artículo recién publicado que tiene como objetivo principal revisar la aplicación de las técnicas de decisión multicriterio al caso de los puentes. Esta investigación se enmarca dentro del proyecto BRIDLIFE (BIA2014-56574-R), en el cual participan los autores. La revisión se ha realizado atendiendo a las fases del ciclo de vida del puente, teniendo en cuenta aquellos trabajos que proponen soluciones y realizan un proceso directo de toma de decisiones respecto a estas soluciones. Asimismo, también se han considerado aquellas aportaciones que, a pesar de no realizar una selección entre varias soluciones, aplican un método de toma de decisiones para evaluar una solución en particular. La relevancia de estos trabajos estriba en la forma en que se realizan los procesos de evaluación, los cuales constituyen la piedra angular para el proyecto de un puente desde el punto de vista de la sostenibilidad, atendiendo a todas y cada una de las fases de su ciclo de vida.

Este artículo lo podéis descargar en el siguiente enlace: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/12/1295, aunque también os lo dejo en el post para vuestra descarga directa.

Referencia:

Penadés-Plà, V.; García-Segura, T.; Martí, J.V.; Yepes, V. A Review of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods Applied to the Sustainable Bridge Design. Sustainability 2016, 8, 1295.

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Gestión sostenible de pavimentos

trr.2015.issue-2523.coverLa gestión sostenible de los pavimentos supone la integración de aspectos económicos, técnicos y medioambientales en la toma de decisiones. A continuación dejo el resumen y la referencia de un artículo que nos acaban de publicar al respecto. El artículo completo lo podéis solicitar a la siguiente dirección: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291373081_Sustainable_Pavement_Management

ABSTRACT:

Sustainability, which is founded on the reconciliation of economic, environmental, and social aspects, has become a major issue for infrastructure managers. The economic and environmental impacts of pavement maintenance are not negligible. More than $400 billion are invested globally each year in pavement construction and maintenance. These projects increase the environmental impacts of vehicle operation by 10%. Because maintenance should be technically appropriate, infrastructure managers must integrate technical, economic, and environmental aspects in the evaluation of maintenance alternatives over the life cycle of a pavement. However, these aspects are normally assessed in measurement units that are difficult to combine in the decision-making process. This research examined and compared methods for the integrated consideration of technical, economic, and environmental aspects, and this study aimed to assist highway agencies, researchers, and practitioners with the integration of these aspects for the sustainable management of pavements. For this purpose, a set of maintenance alternatives for asphalt pavements was evaluated. Methods for the integration of these aspects were explored and led to recommendations for the most suitable methods for different scenarios. As a result of this analysis, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is recommended when the number of alternatives is small. In these situations, the AHP leads to results that are similar to those of the weighting-sum and multiattribute approaches that are frequently used for intuitive selection. However, when the number of alternatives is large, pair comparison becomes difficult with the AHP and the weighting-sum method becomes more appropriate.

Figura 1
Efectividad de las diferentes alternativas de tratamiento

Reference:

TORRES-MACHÍ, C.; CHAMORRO, A.; PELLICER, E.; YEPES, V.; VIDELA, C. (2015). Sustainable pavement management: Integrating economic, technical, and environmental aspects in decision making. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2523, Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2015, pp. 56–63. DOI: 10.3141/2523-07

Os dejo a continuación la versión autor:

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