Assessment Of Potential Damage Research Articles

The Increasing Application of DIN 4150-3 for the Assessment of Potential Damage to Buildings from Construction Vibration and its Implications in Australia

The Increasing Application of DIN 4150-3 for the Assessment of Potential Damage to Buildings from Construction Vibration and its Implications in Australia

Potential Environmental Impacts of a Hospital Wastewater Treatment Plant in a Developing Country

Assessing the quality of a hospital wastewater treatment process and plant is essential, especially if the presence of chemical and biological toxic compounds is considered. There is less literature on hospital wastewater treatment in developing countries because of a lack of managerial awareness and stakeholder cooperation, accompanied by the limited capacity of investment meant to upgrade the existing infrastructures. Limited access to data further hampers the reliable analysis of hospital wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in developing countries. Thus, based on the possibility of collecting a sufficient amount of primary (i.e., field) data, this study performed an assessment of the potential impacts generated by the WWTP of Quaid-Azam International Hospital in Islamabad (Pakistan) considering its construction and operational phases. The major identified impacts were attributed to the energy mix used to operate the plant. Marine ecotoxicity was the most impactful category (34% of the total potential impacts accounted for), followed by human carcinogenic toxicity (31%), freshwater toxicity (18%), terrestrial ecotoxicity (7%), and human non-carcinogenic toxicity (4%). An analysis of potential impacts was combined with an assessment of potential damage according to an endpoint approach. In particular, the endpoint analysis results indicated that human health damage (quantified as DALY) was mainly dependent on the “fine PM (particulate matter) formation” category (51%), followed by “global warming and human health” (43%). Other categories related to human health impacts were human carcinogenic toxicity (3%), water consumption (2%), and human non-carcinogenic toxicity (1%). The other impact categories recorded a percentage contribution lower than 1%. With respect to ecosystem damage, “global warming and terrestrial ecosystems” played a major role (61%), followed by terrestrial acidification (24%), ozone formation (10%), water consumption (5%), and freshwater eutrophication (1%). This study’s findings support an increase in awareness in the hospital management board while pointing out the need to further implement similar studies to improve the quality of decision-making processes and to mitigate environmental impacts in more vulnerable regions. Finally, this research evidenced the need to overcome the existing general constraints on data availability. Consequently, further field work, supported by hospital managers in developing countries, would help in enhancing managerial procedures; optimizing treatment plant efficiency; and facilitating the implementation of circular options, such as sludge management, that often remain unexplored.

Life cycle assessment of chemical synthesis of genistein and its glucosyl derivatives to be employed in the modulation of angiogenesis of hepatocellular cancer

This work is focused on the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology for the quantification of the potential environmental impacts associated to the obtainment of three glucosyl derivatives of genistein. Genistein is known to possess the ability in vitro to contribute to control signaling of some molecules like Angiopoietin-2 that has a key role in angiogenesis and fibrosis from which Hepatocellular cancer can arise. Therefore, a fine tuning of genistein uptake and bioavailability (e.g., through glycosylation) may provide innovative anti-angiogenic therapies with benefits for cancer chemoprevention and treatment.The production of pharmaceutical quality genistein, from which the derivatives are obtained, was modelled considering a recently optimized published procedure. The preparation of 7-O-(β-D-glucosyl)genistein (or genistin) was experimentally conducted by exploiting a two-step synthetic protocol. During the work-up procedure, two further derivatives were isolated.In order to also comprise the potential human health benefits of the synthesized compounds, this work also proposes for the first time a potential damage assessment factor for genistein and its derivatives.

On the Use of Accelerometric Data to Monitor the Seismic Performance of Non-Structural Elements in Existing Buildings: A Case Study

Monitoring of non-structural elements is not usually implemented, despite the seismic vulnerability of these components and the significant cost associated with their replacement in case of damage. By exploiting the limited cost of commercial sensors, accelerometers were installed in an existing building to compare accelerations applied to non-structural elements in case of an earthquake with critical acceleration thresholds. The exceedance of these thresholds would indicate a possible danger for the occupants and the need for a more detailed inspection of the element, guiding prioritisation strategies in the aftermath of the earthquake. Furthermore, the real-time probabilistic assessment of potential damage to non-structural elements can serve to identify escape routes and facilitate rescue operations. Critical acceleration thresholds were defined from probabilistic considerations on the expected seismic performance of each typology of non-structural element, described by appropriately selected fragility curves. The feasibility of the proposed procedure was tested by comparing the identified acceleration thresholds with the design values of floor acceleration provided by the Italian Building Code. As a further application, critical acceleration values of the different non-structural elements were compared with a set of real floor acceleration values recorded at the top level of reinforced concrete buildings, highlighting critical non-structural element typologies.

A Review of Wireless Pavement System Based on the Inductive Power Transfer in Electric Vehicles

The proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) hinges upon the availability of robust and efficient charging infrastructure, notably encompassing swift and convenient solutions. Among these, dynamic wireless charging systems have garnered substantial attention for their potential to revolutionize EV charging experiences. Inductive power transfer (IPT) systems, in particular, exhibit a promising avenue, enabling seamless wireless charging through integrated pavements for EVs. This review engages in an in-depth exploration of pertinent parameters that influence the inductivity and conductivity performance of pavements, alongside the assessment of potential damage inflicted by IPT pads. Moreover, the study delves into the realm of additive materials as a strategic approach to augment conductivity and pavement performance. In essence, the review consolidates a diverse array of studies that scrutinize IPT pad materials, coil dimensions, pavement characteristics (both static and dynamic), and adhesive properties. These studies collectively illuminate the intricate dynamics of power transfer to EVs while considering potential repercussions on pavement integrity. Furthermore, the review sheds light on the efficacy of various additive materials, including metal and nanocomposite additives with an SBS base, in amplifying both conductivity and pavement performance. The culmination of these findings underscores the pivotal role of geometry optimization for IPT pads and the strategic adaptation of aggregate and bitumen characteristics to unlock enhanced performance within wireless pavements.

Application of Acoustic Emission as Damage Assessment Technique for Performance Evaluation of Concrete Structures: A Review

A significant increase in existing inspection efforts and the creation of more resilient structures using built-in sensors and systems is essential for accurate and reliable assessment and monitoring of structural conditions in order to minimize the risk of catastrophic failure. The acoustic emission (AE) technique could immensely benefit the damage assessment, real-time checking of structural integrity under operating conditions, and identification of the operational risk factors along with the causes of initiation and development of flaws. Therefore, this article presents a comprehensive overview of AE as a potential damage assessment and localization technique to determine the performance and behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) members along with an overview of the latest research in computational AE damage modeling and machine learning tools to optimize the accurate interpretation of voluminous AE data. The primary aim of this review is to identify specific gaps in the literature pertaining to concrete structures that need immediate attention of the researchers working in this domain. The identification of damage mechanisms based on AE events and parameters covered in this review would enable researchers to identify damage sources nondestructively in situ and produce large data sets for detailed statistical analyses of the effects of small-scale local damages in large-scale concrete structures. This review will also be helpful for practicing engineers to choose between different available AE parameters based on the limitations and advantages of these parameters for specific inspection and maintenance requirements of various types of RC structural elements, loading conditions, and failure.

Seismic damage prediction of RC buildings using machine learning

AbstractDecision‐makers and stakeholders require a rapid assessment of potential damage after earthquake events in order to develop and implement disaster risk reduction strategies and to respond systematically in post‐disaster situations. The damage investigated manually after an earthquake are complicated, labor‐intensive, time‐consuming, and error prone process. The development of fragility curves is time consuming and unable to predict the damage for wide classes of structures since it considers few structural properties and only one seismic characteristic. Furthermore, the nonlinear finite element method cannot be utilized for numerous buildings because it involves more time and money. This paper presents the machine learning (ML)‐based seismic damage prediction of RC buildings. It is found that some of the research works only considered seismic parameters or structural parameters to train the ML models and predict the structural damage assessment. However, these ML models may not fully reveal the underlying complexity of the relationship between input parameters and building performance. As a result, their applicability will be limited. This paper evaluates the feasibility of using ML techniques such as K‐nearest neighbor, random forest, decision tree, support vector machine, and artificial neural network to rapidly predict earthquake‐induced reinforced concrete building damage considering both the structural properties and ground motion characteristics. The machine learning models are trained using the simulation results. Due to lack of real earthquake damage datasets or limited access, most of the research works used Scikit Learn train_test_split function to randomly split the entire datasets into training and testing datasets and the performance of the proposed ML technique are evaluated using the testing datasets. However, in this study, the performances of different ML models are evaluated using real earthquake damage datasets of RC buildings collected after 2015 Nepal earthquake. The overall accuracy on testing datasets suggests the capability of machine learning algorithms in successfully predicting the seismic damage of reinforced concrete buildings in quick time with reasonable accuracy. This study is beneficial in emergency response and recovery planning after an earthquake.

Assessment of potential damage in case of Upper Akkol Lake outburst (South-Eastern Altai, Russia)

At present, due to the gradual reduction of glaciation area in high mountainous areas around the world, there is an active transformation of landscapes freed from ice. Namely, the number of glacial moraine-dammed lakes is increasing. Such lakes are often unstable, rapidly changing their morphometric characteristics, which require observation. It is also known that recently there have been more frequent cases of catastrophic outbursts of such lakes and flooding of the territories below. Populations living in such areas are exposed to significant and often uncontrollable risks. One of such lakes, representing a potential threat of breaching, is the Upper Akkol Lake, located on the slope of the South Chuysky Ridge in South-Eastern Altai (Russia, Altai Republic). In this article, we assessed the potential damage from a possible lake outburst, and the information was communicated to local administrations in order to take timely measures to minimize damage or avoid a catastrophe.

Потенциальные ущербы от опасных и неблагоприятных метеорологических явлений на территории Российской Федерации: региональные особенности

Based on the method and statistical model of the Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia (V. V. Oganesyan) and using data of meteorological observations at more than 1400 stations in Russia, a centralized assessment of potential damage from the main types of severe and adverse weather events is made in monetary terms both throughout Russia and on the territories of individual Regional Offices of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring and individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation. To provide comparability of the results for different years, monetary estimates for Russia and its individual territories are reduced to the benchmark price level of 2017. For 2017, the integral estimate of potential damage for Russia is compared with the estimate of damage from severe and adverse weather events as a share of the country’s annual GDP. In this case, the difference in the above estimates does not exceed 5.4%. Keywords: potential damage, severe and adverse weather events, statistical model, monetary assessment, macroeconomic estimates, gross domestic product, economic sector

Crisis Management Policy of Natural Disaster

Abstract
 Indonesia is the country that has the most active volcanoes in the entire world. The Eurasian Plate, the Pacific Plate, and the Indo-Australian Plate are three active tectonic plates that cause collision zones to form these volcanoes. Indonesia is estimated to have 129 volcanoes, all of which are carefully monitored by the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation. This is done because several volcanoes in Indonesia continue to show activity. Moreover, it is estimated that more than five million people live in the "danger zone" of a volcano where they must be immediately evacuated if the mountain shows significant upward activity (Indonesia-Investment, 2019). However, efforts to reduce the risk of natural hazards remain largely uncoordinated in different types of hazards and do not necessarily focus on areas with the highest disaster risk.
 This paper uses a descriptive qualitative approach as the main writing approach and uses crisis management theory by Rosenthal, that crisis management involves efforts: (1) to prevent a crisis from occurring; (2) to prepare better protection against the impact of crisis agents; (3) to make effective responses to the actual crisis; and (4) to provide plans and resources for post-crisis recovery and rehabilitation.
 The results of this study are: (1) to accelerate forest recovery, the government can engage the community with security and welfare approach; (2) natural disaster management is the main responsibility of the government; (3) In crises due to natural disasters, form a team that is responsive to critical situations. This team was formed by involving government agencies, community leaders, and NGOs; and (4) to increase the government's capacity to reduce the impact of natural disasters, assessment of potential damage, the establishment of an early warning system, and the improvement of disaster-resistant capabilities are needed.
 Keywords: Crisis Management; Natural Disaster; Policy.

Improving flood risk map accuracy using high‐density LiDAR data and the HEC‐RAS river analysis system: A case study from north‐eastern Romania

AbstractNorth‐eastern Romania is frequently affected by storms that produce annual floods with catastrophic effects upon agriculture areas. The implementation of the 2007/60/ EC Directive, which aims, among other things, to assess and manage flood risk, is currently being carried out by means of rough hydrological risk maps. Additionally, the limits of the potentially floodable areas generated on digital elevation models with 30 points/m resolution (SRTM) do not correspond to the current topographic reality. Three tests (T1, T2, and T3) for modelling the floodplains and the comparative assessment of potential damages in the case of 30 localities in the study area (Başeu River basin) were carried out in this study. The results indicate that official data (T1) underestimate potential damage in the case of hydrological events with a recurrence interval probability of 1% (100‐year). The T2 [1%] (100‐year) results also highlight the role of hydro‐technical works in mitigating floods. In T3, the hydrological risk areas were generated with an accuracy of 0.5 m, evaluating the probable damage in cases of events with probabilities of 3% (33.3‐year), 1% (100‐year), and 0.1% (1,000‐year) recurrence intervals. The accuracy of the official hydrological hazard maps (T1) was improved using high‐density LiDAR data and HEC‐RAS software (T3).

METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO SCHOOLCHILDREN’S HEALTH

Introduction. Aim - improvement of methodological approaches to the assessment of potential damages to schoolchildren’s health. Materials and methods. There were surveyed 523 schoolchildren of educational institutions of the Tula region. Children are divided into three groups with pronounced, moderate and optimal intensity factors of the school environment. For assessing the damage to health, morbidity indices of negotiability, data of preventive medical examinations, characteristics of physical development were used. Results. Objects with an average and significant level of the potential risk of harm to health prevail among the children’s organizations in the country. The class of danger, the severity of the consequences for the health of the population exposed are the basis of the existing risk-oriented model of state control. An innovative approach to the hygienic assessment of sanitary and epidemiological well-being, taking into account the influence of a complex of factors of the intraschool environment, critical age periods of maturation of the child’s body, risks to children’s health, is proposed. In the examined children, violations of posture and vision, diseases of the nervous system, alimentary-dependent diseases, etc. were established to prevail. The greatest potential risk to health is caused by the influence of factors of the educational environment and the educational process, lifestyle. Conclusion. The use of the proposed methodological approach will allow solving complex tasks in the environment-health system: to identify the leading health problems and potential risk factors; the formation of risk-oriented programs for the health of children and adolescents.

The Effect of Grain Size on the Hydrodynamics of Mudflow Surge from a Tailings Dam-Break

Due to the differences in mineral processing techniques, the grain-size of tailings used in the construction of a tailings pond is not commensurate. It has been determined that the hydrodynamic characteristics of mudflow resulting from the failure of tailings dams are directly influenced by grain-size, solids concentration, and the surface roughness of gully and impoundment geometry. However, the behavior and influence of the grain size of mudflow resulting from a tailings dam failure have not been sufficiently examined. To investigate the effect of grain size on the hydrodynamic characteristics of mudflow surging from tailings dam failure, the law of mudflow evolution, the change of dynamics pressure, and the velocity distributions of mudflow have been obtained via a series of flume experiments utilizing three types of grain size tailings (d50 = 0.72 mm; d50 = 0.26 mm; d50 = 0.08 mm, respectively). This study proves conclusively that with an increase in grain size, the peak value of mudflow depth notably decreases in the same section. Furthermore, it has been noted that both the velocity and the dynamic pressure raise significantly, wherein the velocity displays two distinct primary stages; namely a rapid reduction stage and a slow reduction stage. This research provides a framework for the exploration of the effect of grain size on the hydrodynamics of slurry surging from a tailings dam failure, and all presented results provide an indispensable tool in terms of the accurate assessment of potential damage in the case of a prospective impoundment failure.

Occurrence and potential prediction of the giant jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai off Hyogo Prefecture, southwestern Sea of Japan, during 2006–2015

We monitored the occurrences of giant jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai off Hyogo Prefecture, southwestern Sea of Japan, from 2006 to 2015. Occurrence data were collected from daily by-catch number of medusae at three large-scale set-nets operated in Hyogo Prefecture. In addition, we examined parameters to base predictions of outbreaks of N. nomurai using environmental factors measured at Amarube set-net and by-catch data of a preliminary offshore trawl survey. Annual by-catch number of N. nomurai medusae exceeding ten thousand in the three set-nets was observed in 2006, 2007 and 2009. On the other hand, no medusa was observed in 2014 and 2015, and the annual values were 2–147 in the other five years (2008 and 2010–2013). Salinity measured at the Amarube set-net decreased from June to August or September, and then increased in every year. The first detection time of N. nomurai medusa occurred within one week from the day when the salinity reached a minimum value for the year. It is thought that prediction of the occurrence timing of N. nomurai may become possible in the future by monitoring salinity data. The present study revealed that in the years when large amounts of medusae were caught in the offshore trawl survey, many medusae were also collected in the set-nets. For predicting the amount of N. nomurai medusae impacting coastal areas of Hyogo Prefecture, the use of catch data from offshore trawl surveys will enable early assessment of potential damage to fisheries.

Evaluating stomatal ozone fluxes in WRF-Chem: Comparing ozone uptake in Mediterranean ecosystems

The development of modelling tools for estimating stomatal uptake of surface ozone in vegetation is important for the assessment of potential damage induced due to both current and future near surface ozone concentrations. In this study, we investigate the skill in estimating ozone uptake in plants by the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) V3.6.1, with the Wesely dry deposition scheme. To validate the stomatal uptake of ozone, the model simulations were compared with field measurements of three types of Mediterranean vegetation, over seven different periods representing various meteorological conditions. Some systematic biases in modelled ozone fluxes are revealed; the lack of an explicit and time varying dependency on plants’ water availability results in overestimated daytime ozone stomatal fluxes particularly in dry periods. The optimal temperature in the temperature response function is likely too low for the woody species tested here. Also, too low nighttime stomatal conductance leads to underestimation of ozone uptake during night. We demonstrate that modelled stomatal ozone flux is improved by accounting for vapor pressure deficit in the ambient air. Based on the results of the overall comparison to measured fluxes, we propose that additional improvements to the stomatal conductance parameterization should be implemented before applying the modelling system for estimating ozone doses and potential damage to vegetation.

Development of model for the estimation of direct flood damage including the movable property

In recent decades, an increase in flood damage has been observed; therefore, the assessment of potential damage is becoming more important. Estimation of potential flood damage can be achieved with various existing models. However, their transferability is questionable and the actual availability of input data is often limited. To overcome these shortcomings, a new model has been developed to effectively estimate flood damage in Croatia. The proposed model uses only publicly available data such as the CORINE data set and information from censuses. The model was developed in an open source Geographic Information System programme. Validation of the model's performance was performed using data from the extreme May 2014 flood that occurred in the Balkan Peninsula. Furthermore, the model has already been used in practice and has proven to be user‐friendly due to the minimum input required from open source data, allowing for insights to be gained from data updates.

Tangible and Intangible Flood damage evaluation

Flooding and flash floods that cause significant economic and social damage have been widely studied in the last few decades. The European Commission Flood Directive 2007/60 Flood Risk Management Plans require the assessment of potential damage to give an appreciation of the magnitude of the consequences of a flood event and so help stakeholders to use a cost benefit approach to planning flood mitigation measures. This paper evaluates the direct tangible flood damage applying the JRC water depth-damage functions for the European territory to estimate the potential economic damage. Intangible damage is evaluated with the Life Safety Model (LSM) to study the dynamic interactions among people, vehicles, buildings and the flood wave. LSM assesses potential flood damage and allows the development of a Flood Evacuation Plan in case of an emergency, underlining the evacuation routes adopted by people and vehicles. This enables emergency managers to avoid evacuation bottleneck problems and identify areas of potential high mortality. The impact of changes such as road network improvements, the location of safe havens and timing of flood warnings can be assessed in terms of potential loss of life. The developed methodology has been applied on the Sardinian Flood Risk Management Plan pilot basin, the Coghinas river lowland basin.

Integral Approach of Performance-Based Design for Tunnels

Over the past 50 years, tunnel design engineering—driven mainly by construction techniques and equipment specialization in mechanized tunneling, enhancement of computational tools, and development of sophisticated numerical analysis frameworks—has significantly advanced. Furthermore, performance observation throughout instrumentation of hundreds of tunnels around the world, including many well-documented famous failures, has provided a large amount of data regarding current design criteria shortcomings. Initially, this paper presents a revision of existing analysis design criteria based on the observation of actual tunnel behavior and points out the limitations. In a second part, an integral approach of performance-based design and the assessment of potential damage on surrounding structures is presented. The method is exemplified by a case study.

Investigation of temperature-dependent stiffness variation of a layer of asphalt and their possible effect on the deformation behaviour of concrete structures

In the time of increasing maintenance costs, the continuous inspection and the earliest possible damage detection become more and more important. In order to minimize future maintenance costs, the exact evaluation of the condition of the structure and the exact assessment of potential damages are of essential importance. Therefore the University of Luxembourg carries out projects to investigate an efficient application of different assessment methods taking into account praxis relevant test conditions. As a part of this project especially the changing temperatures which influence the stiffness of the materials are analysed. As a consequence, for the condition assessment of structures, the asphalt layer cannot only be taken into consideration as a mass applied as load on the structure. Due to bond effects of the asphalt layer to the load carrying element its changing stiffness induced by changing temperatures influences the stiffness of the whole structure.Within this paper this effect will be illustrated. First the load carrying behaviour and the stiffness of pre-stressed concrete slabs realized with and without an additional asphalt layer will be investigated in a climate chamber and the results will be compared for different temperatures.

Discussion: Potential damage assessment in buildings undergoing tilt

Discussion: Potential damage assessment in buildings undergoing tilt