Víctor Yepes - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Videos by Víctor Yepes

Presento en este vídeo el libro "Procedimientos de construcción de cimentaciones y estructuras de... more Presento en este vídeo el libro "Procedimientos de construcción de cimentaciones y estructuras de contención", 2ª edición, editado por el Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universitat Politècnica de València.

Podéis conseguirlo en papel o formato digital en la siguiente dirección: https://www.lalibreria.upv.es/portalEd/UpvGEStore/products/p_328-9-2

4 views

Papers by Víctor Yepes

Hybrid steel girders: Review, advantages and new horizons in research and applications

Journal of Constructional Steel Research

Although it is still common practice to use homogeneous steel girders (same yield strength in the... more Although it is still common practice to use homogeneous steel girders (same yield strength in the flanges and web), implementing hybrid configurations seems to be an excellent alternative to improve the performance and sustainability of this type of structural element. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge on hybrid steel girders. The objective is to improve our understanding of this innovative and sustainable alternative to traditional homogeneous steel elements, with a focus on updating the theoretical basis for future design projects. The study analyzes 128 publications, from which information is extracted on five categorical variables, reflecting the current situation of hybrid elements. In addition to studying each variable separately and highlighting the most relevant research to date, a more in-depth statistical analysis is performed. It is based on simple correspondence analysis, which allows identifying the underlying relationships among the variables. Results summarize the design methods implemented to calculate these structures. Furthermore, the recommended hybrid ratios to achieve the best performance are presented. However, it is found that there are gaps in the research. Consequently, several promising lines of investigation are proposed.

INTED2021 Proceedings

Classical scheduling techniques are commonly employed tools in civil engineering schools worldwid... more Classical scheduling techniques are commonly employed tools in civil engineering schools worldwide for teaching project planning and management. Techniques such as the Critical Path Method (CPM), Precedence diagram method (PDM), Gantt chart or the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) present the advantage of their simplicity, ease of understanding and that they are implemented in the most accepted project management software such as Ms Project or Primavera P6. These scheduling techniques, however, present important limitations in dealing with the uncertainty inherent to construction project management. On the one hand, the deterministic approach of CPM to project planning learning reduces sensitivity and understanding of the factors that significantly alter and challenge the success of a project, while on the other hand PERT shows too limited capabilities in uncertainty modelling and underestimates the project duration standard deviation. Schedule Risk Analysis (SRA) is a stochastic method that has been pointed out to promote that students start managing projects more effectively and more efficiently. In this study, we employ an educational SRA software (ESRA) to help students understand the underlying assumption of stochastic scheduling, as well as to make explicit the advantages of stochastic scheduling compared to classical methods such as CPM or PERT. ESRA affords modelling both the uncertainty in the duration of activities, and the relationship between these uncertainties, expanding the range of planning problems, which students can now assess. This research was implemented in four stages through a workshop. First, we introduced the theoretical foundations of Monte Carlo Simulation, the method underlying most uncertainty assessment methods. Second students employed ESRA to see how this method works. Third, students worked around a case-study of the construction projects management and analysed the results, comparing those from the stochastic assessment with those of the deterministic assessment. Finally, they were asked to respond a questionnaire in which they had to address real-world decision-making regarding project scheduling that required having project uncertainties into account.

INTED2021 Proceedings

Traditionally, technical degrees have focused on promoting the functionality and durability of de... more Traditionally, technical degrees have focused on promoting the functionality and durability of designs, orienting the capacities of their students towards the optimization of economic aspects. The challenges that have recently emerged regarding the future of the construction sector and new cities require a paradigm shift in the conventional teaching of civil engineering and architecture. New training trends have been detected in higher education programs through the introduction of new concepts, such as sustainable design. According to UNESCO, "Education for Sustainable Development promotes competencies like critical thinking, and making decisions in a collaborative way". In the postgraduate course "Models of prediction and optimization of concrete structures", taught in the Master of Concrete Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, students are instructed in research methodologies that allow the evaluation of sustainability through different multi-criteria decision techniques in the selection of the best structural typology considering economic, environmental and social aspects. In this paper, a comparative study is made and the application of the different tools taught in the course for the decision making with multiple criteria, namely SAW, COPRAS, TOPSIS, VIKOR, ELECTRE, MIVES as well as AHP for the weightings. The assess offers a transversal vision, with the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of these multi-criteria techniques that are commonly used in the field of sustainability, applied in this case between three design alternatives for the structure of a single-family home.

Sustainability, Dec 12, 2022

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Applied Sciences

This paper deals with the seismic column design of 35 elevated RC water storage tanks. Tanks comp... more This paper deals with the seismic column design of 35 elevated RC water storage tanks. Tanks comprise a top conic trunk reservoir, a column with variable hollow square cross-sections, and a shallow foundation on a sand layer. The five-column heights considered are 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 m. The five tanks are subjected to seven degrees of seismic loading characterized by the reference peak ground acceleration in Eurocode 8. The elevated tanks are designed against the full prescriptions of Eurocode 2, Eurocode 8, and the Spaniard Structural Code of Practice. This includes variable loads for seismicity, wind, snow, etc., together with the action of self-weight and dead loads. The optimization design method considered is a variant of the old bachelor algorithm, an adaptive threshold acceptance method with a neighborhood move based on the mutation operator from genetic algorithms. Column results show the high nonlinearity of the problem since the horizontal seismic forces depend on the r...

Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

Railways are an efficient transport mode, but building and maintaining railways tracks has a sign... more Railways are an efficient transport mode, but building and maintaining railways tracks has a significant environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions and use of raw materials. This is particularly true for slab tracks, which require large quantities of concrete. They are also more expensive to build than conventional ballasted tracks, but require less maintenance and have other advantages that make them a good alternative, especially for high-speed lines. In order to contribute to a more sustainable railways, this paper aims to optimise the design of one of the most common slab track typologies: RHEDA 2000. The main objective is to reduce the amount of concrete required to build the slab without compromising its performance and durability. To do so, a Finite Elements (FEM) model of the track has been used, paired with a kriging meta-model to allow analysing multiple options of slab thickness and concrete strength in a timely manner. By means of the kriging, optimal solutions have been obtained and them validate through the FEM model to ensure that predefined mechanical and geometrical constraints are met. Starting from an initial setup with a 30 cm slab made of concrete with a characteristic strength of 40 MPa, an optimised solution has been reached, consisting on a 24 cm slab

Revista CIATEC-UPF, Jun 18, 2019

Los puentes son infraestructuras esenciales para mejorar la comunicación dentro de un territorio.... more Los puentes son infraestructuras esenciales para mejorar la comunicación dentro de un territorio. La optimización constituye un proceso que permite obtener puentes de menor coste bajo ciertas restricciones. Debido a la complejidad de los problemas estructurales, la optimización matemática no es útil y se recurre a la optimización heurística debido a su mayor eficacia. En este trabajo se presenta una alternativa a la optimización heurística basada en los metamodelos. El procedimiento consiste en una reducción de los factores iniciales mediante el diseño de experimentos, reduciendo significativamente la complejidad del problema sin perder información. Posteriormente, se aplica la metodología de la superficie de respuesta para obtener el óptimo del problema. Este procedimiento se aplica a un tablero de un puente de losa maciza que cumpla todas las restricciones de las normativas.

INTED2021 Proceedings, 2021

Students' capacity for eliciting valid and accurate assessment is crucial for their self-assessme... more Students' capacity for eliciting valid and accurate assessment is crucial for their self-assessment skill. Despite the central role that self-assessment plays in current conceptions of formative and classroom assessment, little attention has been paid for measuring the students' ability for carrying out valid and accurate assessment. This ability, connected with critical thinking, can be evaluated by comparing a students' assessment to performance on tests. Recently, the consistency index has been proposed as a metric for measuring students' critical thinking capacity, affording the observation of poor performance in the judgment capacity of a sample of 23 civil engineering students. This stresses the need of improving this aspect of students' education, which is required not only as a transversal competence, but also for the attainment of effective self-assessment capacity. In our study, we present an educational software that implements the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method for providing students with self-assessment of their ability to issue consistent judgment, as well as for training their critical thinking capacity. This way we aim at making students aware of eventual lacks in their skill for valid and consistent assessment, as well as at giving them the opportunity of improving this aspect through self-assessment. The educational software embodies a three-step process, in which the self-assessment takes place in the last stage: first, the student is asked to carry out a conventional teacher assessment based on a set of criteria, which are then weighted by him/her through AHP without consistency control. Second, students are asked to turn on the software's consistency index control, which will reveal eventual inconsistencies, and accordingly revise his/her judgments until they are acceptable. Finally, the student is invited to self-assess his/her capacity to issue consistent judgment by analysing differences between their assessment with (step 2) and without (step 1) the aid of the consistency control, to reflect upon the differences between consistent and inconsistent assessment, and to think of potential causes driving to inconsistent judgment. The whole process can be performed by the students in the presented software, which serves as a platform for effective self-feedback and training of their assessment accuracy and critical thinking capacity.

IEEE Access, 2021

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry is one of the most important produ... more The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry is one of the most important productive sectors, hence also produce a high impact on the economic balances, societal stability, and global challenges in climate change. Regarding its adoption of technologies, applications and processes is also recognized by its status-quo, its slow innovation pace, and the conservative approaches. However, a new technological era -Industry 4.0 fueled by AI-is driving productive sectors in a highly pressurized global technological competition and sociopolitical landscape. In this paper, we develop an adaptive approach to mining text content in the literature research corpus related to the AEC and AI (AEC-AI) industries, in particular on its relation to technological processes and applications. We present a first stage approach to an adaptive assessment of AI algorithms, to form an integrative AI platform in the AEC industry, the AEC-AI industry 4.0. At this stage, a macroscopic adaptive method is deployed to characterize ''Optimization,'' a key term in AEC-AI industry, using a mixed methodology incorporating machine learning and classical evaluation process. Our results show that effective use of metadata, constrained search queries, and domain knowledge allows getting a macroscopic assessment of the target concept. This allows the extraction of a high-level mapping and conceptual structure characterization of the literature corpus. The results are comparable, at this level, to classical methodologies for the literature review. In addition, our method is designed for an adaptive assessment to incorporate further stages.

Mathematics, 2020

The counterfort retaining wall is one of the most frequent structures used in civil engineering. ... more The counterfort retaining wall is one of the most frequent structures used in civil engineering. In this structure, optimization of cost and CO2 emissions are important. The first is relevant in the competitiveness and efficiency of the company, the second in environmental impact. From the point of view of computational complexity, the problem is challenging due to the large number of possible combinations in the solution space. In this article, a k-means cuckoo search hybrid algorithm is proposed where the cuckoo search metaheuristic is used as an optimization mechanism in continuous spaces and the unsupervised k-means learning technique to discretize the solutions. A random operator is designed to determine the contribution of the k-means operator in the optimization process. The best values, the averages, and the interquartile ranges of the obtained distributions are compared. The hybrid algorithm was later compared to a version of harmony search that also solved the problem. The...

Mathematics, 2020

The design of reinforced earth retaining walls is a combinatorial optimization problem of interes... more The design of reinforced earth retaining walls is a combinatorial optimization problem of interest due to practical applications regarding the cost savings involved in the design and the optimization in the amount of CO 2 emissions generated in its construction. On the other hand, this problem presents important challenges in computational complexity since it involves 32 design variables; therefore we have in the order of 10 20 possible combinations. In this article, we propose a hybrid algorithm in which the particle swarm optimization method is integrated that solves optimization problems in continuous spaces with the db-scan clustering technique, with the aim of addressing the combinatorial problem of the design of reinforced earth retaining walls. This algorithm optimizes two objective functions: the carbon emissions embedded and the economic cost of reinforced concrete walls. To assess the contribution of the db-scan operator in the optimization process, a random operator was d...

Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction, 2017

The sustainability approach has changed the modern society. Currently, the sustainability takes i... more The sustainability approach has changed the modern society. Currently, the sustainability takes into consideration, not only the economic and environmental facets, but also the social facet. Taking into account the three facets of sustainability, this paper shows the application of a method of active learning to assess the sustainability of three real retaining walls. A group of 29 students of the Master of Science in Planning and Management in Civil Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de València has experienced this assessment. The method followed was proposed by academics of the School of Civil Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) and Universidad de La Frontera (Chile). An approach multi-criteria and a clusters analysis are part of method, which allows developing a participative process with different points of view about the sustainability. The outcomes show that of this way students can forecast impacts from of the integration of design, plannin...

Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction, 2017

Structural engineers focus on the reduction of carbon emissions in reinforced concrete structures... more Structural engineers focus on the reduction of carbon emissions in reinforced concrete structures, while other impacts affecting ecosystems and human health become secondary or are left behind. The featured life cycle assessment shows the impacts corresponding to each construction stage of an earth-retaining wall with buttresses. In this study the contribution ratio of each input flow is analyzed. Accordingly, concrete, landfill, machinery, formwork, steel, and transport are considered. Results show that despite the concrete almost always accounts for the largest contribution to each impact, the impact shares of steel present noticeable sensitivity to the steel-manufacturing route. The parameter of study is the recycling rate, usually 75% reached in Spain. Noticeable variation is found when the recycling content increases. The relationship between the impacts of each material with the amount of material used discloses research interest.

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018

Earth-retaining walls are one of the most common structures in civil engineering, a discipline of... more Earth-retaining walls are one of the most common structures in civil engineering, a discipline of the construction sector, which is known to produce one of the highest environmental impacts. Therefore, developing cleaner design and construction practices could contribute to a more sustainable future for our planet. To make a step towards this goal, this study comprises the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the four most common earth-retaining walls built between 1 to 6 m of height: cantilever walls, gravity walls, masonry walls and gabion walls to obtain the best solutions for the environment. To assess the environmental impacts caused throughout their whole lifecycle including the production, construction, use and end of life phases, we used the OpenLCA software, the ecoinvent 3.3 database and the ReCiPe (H) method. The associated uncertainties have been considered and the results are provided in both midpoint and endpoint approaches. Our findings show that gabion and masonry walls produce the lowest global impact. On the one hand, gabion walls cause less damage to human health but on the other hand, masonry walls cause less damage to the ecosystems. Furthermore, gravity walls produce similar impacts to gabion and masonry walls between 1 and 3 m of height as well as fewer impacts than cantilever walls for a height of 4 m. In conclusion, gabion and masonry walls are preferable to concrete walls for heights between 1 and 6 m and cantilever walls should be used over gravity walls for greater heights than 4.5 m.

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017

This paper shows the differences between the design of a reinforced concrete structure considerin... more This paper shows the differences between the design of a reinforced concrete structure considering two objectives to minimize; economic cost and CO2 emissions. Both objectives depend on the amount of two high carbon intensive materials: cement in the concrete and steel; therefore, these objectives are related. As the balance between steel and cement per m 3 of concrete depends on several factors such as the type of structure, this study focuses on buttressed earth-retaining walls. Another factor that determines the balance between steel and concrete is the height of the wall. Thus, the methodology considers a parametric study for optimal designs of buttressed earth-retaining walls, where one of the parameters is the wall height. One of the objectives is to show the variation in cost when CO2 is minimized, respectful of minimizing the economic cost. The findings show that wall elements under bendingcompressive strains (i.e. the stem of the buttressed retaining wall) perform differently depending on the target function. On one hand, the study reveals an upward trend of steel per unit volume of concrete in emission-optimized earth-retaining buttressed walls, compared to the cost-optimized. On the other hand, it is checked that unlike the cost-optimized walls, emission-optimized walls opt for a higher concrete class than the minimum class available. These findings indicate that emission-optimized walls penalize not only concrete volume, but also the cement content, to the extent that a higher concrete class outperforms in reduced emissions. Additionally, the paper outlines how and to what extent the design of this typology varies for the two analysed objectives in terms of geometry and amount of materials. Some relevant differences influencing the geometry of design strategies are found.

Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, 2017

This paper deals with the cost optimization of road bridges consisting of concrete slabs prepared... more This paper deals with the cost optimization of road bridges consisting of concrete slabs prepared in situ and two precast-prestressed U-shaped beams of self-compacting concrete. It shows the efficiency of four heuristic algorithms applied to a problem of 59 discrete variables. The four algorithms are the Descent Local Search (DLS), a threshold accepting algorithm with mutation operation (TAMO), the Genetic Algorithm (GA), and the Memetic Algorithm (MA). The heuristic optimization algorithms are applied to a bridge with a span length of 35 m and a width of 12 m. A performance analysis is run for the different heuristics, based on a study of Pareto optimal solutions between execution time and efficiency. The best results were obtained with TAMO for a minimum cost of 104184 €. Among the key findings of the study, the practical use of these heuristics in real cases stands out. Furthermore, the knowledge gained from the investigation of the algorithms allows a range of values for the design optimization of such structures and pre-dimensioning of the variables to be recommended.

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017

Transport sector constitutes the second largest source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ... more Transport sector constitutes the second largest source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, being the road transportation the main contributor of these emissions. Efforts in the road sector have traditionally focused on vehicle emissions and infrastructure is typically not included in the emissions account. Road environmental impact is estimated to increase by 10% if the stages of road design, construction, and operation were considered. Previous literature has widely study sustainable practices in pavement design and construction, with little attention paid to maintenance. Current state of practice reveals that pavement managers barely consider environmental performance and their evaluations solely rely on technical and economic criteria. This situation creates the need to incorporate, in an integrated manner, technical, economic, and environmental aspects in the design of maintenance programs. The main objective of this research is to develop a tool for the optimal design of sustainable maintenance programs. Given a maintenance budget, the tool aims to maximize the long-term effectiveness of the network while minimizing GHG emissions derived from the application of maintenance treatments. The capability of the proposed tool is analyzed in a case study dealing with an urban pavement network. In comparison to the traditional maintenance policy, the proposed tool designs maintenance programs that increase the average network condition by up to 22% and reduces GHG emissions by 12%. This application also analyzes the effect of different budgetary scenarios in the technical and environmental performance of the network. This application helps pavement managers in the trade-off between budget and network performance.

Podéis conseguirlo en papel o formato digital en la siguiente dirección: https://www.lalibreria.upv.es/portalEd/UpvGEStore/products/p_328-9-2

4 views

Hybrid steel girders: Review, advantages and new horizons in research and applications

Journal of Constructional Steel Research

INTED2021 Proceedings

Sustainability, Dec 12, 2022

Applied Sciences

Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

Revista CIATEC-UPF, Jun 18, 2019

INTED2021 Proceedings, 2021

IEEE Access, 2021

Mathematics, 2020

Proceedings of International Structural Engineering and Construction, 2017

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017

Archives of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, 2017

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017

Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 2016

To enhance concern for the social aspects of sustainability and to delineate the criteria to be c... more To enhance concern for the social aspects of sustainability and to delineate the criteria to be considered at each stage of the life cycle of an infrastructure, this paper aims to determine the relevance of a set of criteria that evaluate social sustainability throughout the life cycle of a public civil infrastructure. This research presents the results of a case study applying the Delphi method to 24 Chilean experts consulted in a series of three rounds. In addition, binomial statistical tests and Kendall's coefficient were used to show the convergence of the experts. Thus, it was identified that of 36 initial criteria assessed at each stage of the life cycle, the consideration of 20 is required at the design stage, 29 at the construction stage, 33 during operation and 27 at demolition. The most relevant criteria, per life-cycle stage, were: "Stakeholder Participation" (design and demolition stages), "External Local Population" (design stage), "Internal Human Resources" (construction and demolition stages), "Macro-Social Action" of "Socio-Environmental Activities" (construction stage), and "Macro-Social Action" of "Socio-Economic Activities" (operation stage).

La dinámica del ámbito mediterráneo ha llevado a que, en la actualidad, la náutica de recreo teng... more La dinámica del ámbito mediterráneo ha llevado a que, en la actualidad, la náutica de recreo tenga, en ese espacio, uno de sus principales enclaves mundiales. Costas como las griegas, las del Adriático, las francesas, las de muchas de las islas -Córcega, Chipre, Mallorca y tantas otras-que emergen en esta mar, son hoy día escenario común de una de las prácticas más arraigadas en el presente: la activtdad turísttca. Y así ocurre también, desde hace décadas, en muchos de nuestros ámbitos, en especial sus áreas litorales, beneficiarios de excepcionales condiciones climáticas, sobre todo en lo que se refiere a la benignidad de las temperaluras y las horas de insolación: otras variables climáticas menos.favorables, -la pluviometría, por ejemplo-, no son sino la lógica contrapartida de esos beneficios que, no obstante. no se pueden ¡gnorar al ser lastre del desarrollo económico.

El proyecto HYDELIFE aborda directamente el reto de la sostenibilidad social y medioambiental de ... more El proyecto HYDELIFE aborda directamente el reto de la sostenibilidad social y medioambiental de las estructuras a lo largo de su ciclo de vida, desde el proyecto hasta la demolición. El objetivo consiste en la formulación y resolución del problema de optimización multiobjetivo que contemple el ciclo completo de construcciones modulares, puentes mixtos y estructuras híbridas. Para ello se han utilizado metaheurísticas híbridas con aprendizaje profundo, el empleo de la lógica neutrosófica y las redes bayesianas combinada con el análisis del ciclo de vida, análisis basado en fiabilidad, diseño óptimo robusto, metamodelos y técnicas de minería de datos. La principal contribución es la incorporación de las emergentes metaheurísticas híbridas basadas en el aprendizaje profundo para abordar la variabilidad de los parámetros y restricciones del problema de optimización multiobjetivo basado en criterios de sostenibilidad social y medioambiental. Por tanto, el proyecto aporta un mejor conocimiento en el diseño de las construcciones industrializadas, puentes mixtos y estructuras híbridas, tanto en el caso de obra nueva, como en el mantenimiento robusto si se aplica a infraestructuras existentes, mejorando la capacitación tecnológica de las empresas del sector y optimizando sus procesos de diseño, con el objetivo último de generar un beneficio social y medioambiental.

In recent times, a great deal of interest has emerged from different sectors of society towards s... more In recent times, a great deal of interest has emerged from different sectors of society towards sustainability and sustainable product design. Decision makers are increasingly encouraged to take into consideration the economic, environmental and social dimensions of reality when dealing with problems. Sustainability is of particular importance in the field of civil engineering, where structures are designed that are long lasting and shall cause significant impacts over a long period of time, such as bridges or dams. Consequently, when addressing a structural design, civil engineers shall account for the three dimensions of sustainability, which usually show conflicting perspectives. Multi-criteria methods allow the inclusion of non-monetary aspects into the design process of infrastructure. In the postgraduate course 'Predictive and optimisation models for concrete structures', offered at the Masters in Concrete Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de València, civil engineering students are taught how to apply such tools within the framework of sustainable design of concrete structures. The present paper conducts a state-of-the-art review of the main multi-criteria decision making methodologies taught in the course in the context of sustainability. Articles are searched in recognized databases, such as SCOPUS and Web of Science. The most significant methods, such as Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Elimination and Choice Expressing Reality (ELECTRE), Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) or Complex Proportional Assessment (COPRAS) are systematically discussed, identifying the actual trends concerning the use of such methodologies in the field of civil engineering. The review provides a deep insight in the multi criteria techniques that are most frequently used when assessing sustainability of infrastructure designs.

This paper deals with the postgraduate course 'Predictive and optimisation models for concrete st... more This paper deals with the postgraduate course 'Predictive and optimisation models for concrete structures', offered at the Masters in Concrete Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica de València. Within this course, engineering students are introduced into different optimization algorithms, such as simulated annealing, neural networks, genetic algorithms, etc. of application in the automated design of concrete structures of any type. In recent times, such heuristic methods have turned out to be of great interest in the resolution of complex and actual engineering problems, such as the sustainable design and management of structures. This communication presents a case study where the ongoing research of the teaching body is applied so as to find the most sustainable management strategy for a particular bridge system consisting of 7 bridges whose lengths vary between 380 m and 1980 m. The optimization problem here aims to minimize both the economic and environmental life cycle impacts derived from the maintenance of the concrete decks of a bridge network by selecting the adequate maintenance intervals for every deck considering annual budgetary restrictions. A multi-objective simulated annealing algorithm is applied to find the set of Pareto optimal solutions for the presented engineering problem. The environmentally preferable maintenance strategy results in life cycle costs 4.9% greater than those related to the cost-optimal strategy, which in turn results in environmental impacts 5.6% greater than those from the environmentally optimized management option. Results are then compared to the optimal strategies considering a single bridge deck, showing that the optimality at the bridge level does not necessarily lead to a sustainable optimum at the network level. From this it follows that, when optimizing maintenance under budgetary restrictions, the network shall be analysed as a whole, and not as an aggregation of optimal strategies for each individual bridge. The case study presented here shows in a nutshell the close connection between the course curricula of the MSc course and the ongoing research of the teaching and research group.

This paper aims to establish a hierarchical corresponding structure between the competencies and ... more This paper aims to establish a hierarchical corresponding structure between the competencies and the learning outcomes of a subject. To this end, after checking the different interpretations that exist between the two concepts, one chooses to consider that the learning outcomes are concretions of the competences for a certain level and that they are the result of the teaching-learning process. In addition, the necessary alignment between the programs of a subject, the acquisition of competencies and learning outcomes and the evaluation of the student, recommends to prioritize the learning results in two levels. As a result of the foregoing, this paper shows the applicability of this hierarchical correspondence to two subjects of the degree of Civil Resumen El objetivo del artículo es establecer una estructuración de correspondencias jerárquicas entre las competencias y los resultados de aprendizaje de una asignatura. Para ello, tras comprobar las distintas interpretaciones que existen entre ambos conceptos, se opta por considerar que los resultados del aprendizaje son concreciones de las competencias para un determinado nivel y que son el resultado del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Además, el necesario alineamiento entre los programas de una asignatura, la adquisición de competencias y resultados de aprendizaje y la evaluación del estudiante, aconseja jerarquizar los resultados de aprendizaje en dos niveles. Como resultado de lo anterior, se muestra la aplicabilidad de esta correspondencia jerárquica a dos Palabras clave: competencias, resultados de aprendizaje, correspondencia jerárquica, procedimientos de construcción, ingeniería civil.

Sustainable assessment of retaining walls through an active learning method considering multiple stakeholders

Conferencia presentada en Encuentros Barcelona 26-28 octubre de 2016 en Universidad de Barcelona.... more Conferencia presentada en Encuentros Barcelona 26-28 octubre de 2016 en Universidad de Barcelona. El desarrollo sostenible compatibiliza lo económico, lo social y lo ambiental, sin comprometer las posibilidades del desarrollo de las nuevas generaciones y de la vida futura del planeta (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987; United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 1992). En este contexto, ya a partir de 1992 la industria de la construcción ha iniciado planes de acción propuestos por las Naciones Unidas y sus organizaciones a través de la Agenda 21 para la Construcción Sostenible en el Desarrollo de los Países (International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction y United Nations Environment Programme, 2002). Este plan fue suscrito en sus inicios por más de 178 países convocados por las Naciones Unidas en la denominada Conferencia de Río sobre el Medio Ambiente y el Desarrollo (UNCED, 1992). Desde ese momento, se ha concienciado el seguimiento de una agenda orientada a la sostenibilidad a lo largo del ciclo de vida del proyecto: planeamiento, diseño, construcción, explotación y demolición. No obstante, no ha sido suficiente. Se reconoce que la limitación fundamental de la sostenibilidad hoy en día esque tiende a centrarse en las consideraciones biofísicas y económicas sin tener la suficiente consideración de los aspectos sociales.

¿Suponen las playas inteligentes un cambio de paradigma en el ámbito de su gestión? Resulta tenta... more ¿Suponen las playas inteligentes un cambio de paradigma en el ámbito de su gestión? Resulta tentador cualquier cambio de paradigma aplicado en el ámbito científico. Del cambio de paradigma de las playas ya se habló en su momento cuando se reclamaba un órgano de gestión que permitiese atender las necesidades de los usuarios y de lo que se en aquel momento se llamaba “el nuevo enfoque”. A día de hoy, probablemente la incorporación de la inteligencia artificial y las nuevas tecnologías de comunicación permitan un cambio profundo en la forma de gestionar las playas; sin embargo, según se argumenta a continuación, para ello sería necesaria la incorporación de estas tecnologías en el proceso de toma de decisión de los gestores. No existe constancia clara de que dicha situación no se haya producido de momento y, por tanto, resulta de interés cierto acercamiento al concepto de playa inteligente..

Este manual trata de los fundamentos de la gestión del coste y la producción de la maquinaria emp... more Este manual trata de los fundamentos de la gestión del coste y la producción de la maquinaria empleada en la construcción. Se desarrollan los aspectos relacionados con la selección de las máquinas, su vida económica y estructura de coste. Se introducen los conceptos básicos sobre disponibilidad, fiabilidad y mantenimiento de equipos, así como otros referentes a la gestión de inventarios y parques de maquinaria. Se analizan los aspectos fundamentales del estudio del trabajo aplicables a los equipos. Se desarrollan los conceptos relacionados con la constructividad y constructabilidad, la medida y los incentivos a la productividad, el fenómeno del aprendizaje. Además, se explican aspectos necesarios para el cálculo de la producción de máquinas y conceptos relacionados con el estudio de métodos y medición del trabajo, el cronometraje, el rendimiento y los factores de producción, entre otros. El libro se complementa con un listado de referencias, así como numerosas cuestiones de autoevaluación y problemas resueltos que permiten al estudiante ampliar y aplicar los conocimientos desarrollados. Este manual tiene como objetivo apoyar los contenidos lectivos de los programas de los estudios de grado relacionados con la ingeniería civil, la edificación y las obras públicas. No obstante, también resulta útil en otros estudios relacionados con la ingeniería de la construcción y la minería y a aquellos profesionales que desarrollan sus tareas en estos ámbitos

Reactive proactive architecture, 2018

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry has been changing during the last y... more The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry has been changing during the last years for several reasons. The appearance of new technologies like Building Information Modelling and techniques like Lean Construction or life cycle analysis are creating new trends and opportunities that alter the methodologies of this industry. Regardless the methodology applied on a restoration there is a difference between the terms rehabilitation and reinforcement misunderstandings. Rehabilitation is the reacquisition by the elements of their initial capabilities, allowing them to perform the same as before they had received the damage in the structural performance of the element. Most of the techniques are valid in both cases, but there are some that are not. As our focus is the structural reinforcement we will be increasing the actual structural performance of the element even if that means just to recover its original state.