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Abstract: Laterally loaded slender piles present a classic soil–structure interaction problem where pile displacements and flexural demands are governed by the mobilized lateral resistance of the surrounding soil and the axial-bending capacity of the reinforced concrete section. In response to increasing pressure to reduce embodied emissions, this study develops LAVERCO, an optimization framework for cost- and CO2-efficient design of bored reinforced-concrete piles in cohesive soils subjected to combined lateral and axial actions. The framework integrates Eurocode-based geotechnical checks with full N–M section verification of the RC pile and applies a genetic algorithm over a multi-parametric grid of lateral load, vertical load, and undrained shear strength, using economic cost and embodied CO2 as alternative single objectives. Rank-based (Spearman) sensitivity analysis quantifies how actions, soil strength, and design variables influence the optimal solutions. The results reveal two consistent geometry regimes: CO2-optimal piles are systematically longer and slimmer, while COST-optimal piles are shorter and thicker. In both cases, the objective is dominated by pile length and is reduced by higher undrained shear strength; vertical load has a moderate direct effect, while horizontal load contributes mainly through deflection and bending checks. Feasibility improves significantly in stronger clays, and CO2-optimal geometries generally incur higher costs, clarifying the trade-off between economic and environmental performance. The framework provides explicit geometry-level guidance for selecting bored pile designs that balance cost and embodied CO2 across a wide range of soil and loading conditions and can be directly applied in both preliminary and detailed designs.
Keywords: laterally loaded pile, reinforced-concrete piles, structural analysis, reinforced-concrete design, optimization, CO2 emissions, genetic algorithm, multiparametric analysis, civil engineering practice
Published in DKUM: 19.01.2026; Views: 0; Downloads: 4
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Abstract: This study investigated commuting behavior at four technical faculties (BCTF) in Maribor. The main aim was to provide suggestions and solutions for challenges related to active commuting to the BCTF, while promoting advancements in CO2 emission reduction. The research methodology was based on analyses of a questionnaire survey and calculations of CO2 emissions. The results indicate that implementing measures to promote walking, bicycling and the use of city and regional public transport, in conjunction with supportive housing and parking policies, has the potential to eliminate car trips within 0–1 km of the BCTF and reduce car trips from other zones in favor of active commuting by 30% to 50%. These proposed transport scenarios could lead to an annual reduction in CO2 emissions ranging from 17% to 29%. The greatest potential for CO2 savings is observed within 0–5 km of the BCTF, where a shift to walking and bicycling could reduce emissions by up to 44%. The results also highlighted a notable disparity, indicating that students with term-time accommodations emitted 3.5 times and 4.1 times less annual CO2 within 0–5 km of the BCTF compared to students and staff commuting daily from their permanent residences in the city.
Keywords: university, travel behavior, modal choice, active mobility, CO2 emissions
Published in DKUM: 30.01.2024; Views: 361; Downloads: 70
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Abstract: This article deals with the evaluation of energy efficiency indicators of an older single unit house with the use of "KI energija 2017" software, which is widely used among qualified Slovenian experts authorized to carry out the energy performance assessments and issue an energy performance certificate. The energy performance analysis before and after the implementation of proposed measures has shown significant energy saving potential in renovation of existing buildings.
Keywords: energy efficiency, energy indicators, energy performance, building renovation, CO2 emissions
Published in DKUM: 04.12.2023; Views: 488; Downloads: 69
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Abstract: This paper presents the design of geosynthetic reinforced flexible pavements and their modification by incorporating waste materials into bonded and unbonded layers of the pavement structure. The optimal design of flexible pavements was achieved by minimizing the construction cost of the pavement. The incorporation of waste materials into the pavement structure affects the material properties. Therefore, along with the traffic load, the effects of the material properties of the asphalt concrete, base layer, sub-base layer, and subgrade were analyzed in terms of pavement structure costs and CO2 emissions of materials used in pavement construction. In addition, a comparison was made between pavements with and without geosynthetic reinforcement in terms of design, optimum construction cost, and CO2 emissions. The use of geosynthetics is even more effective in pavement structures that contain waste materials in an unbound layer, both in terms of cost and CO2 emissions. The minimum value of the California Bearing Ratio of the subgrade was determined at which the use of geosynthetic reinforcement for pavement structure with and without the inclusion of waste materials is economically and sustainably justified. The use of geosynthetics could result in a 15% reduction in pavement structure cost and a 9% reduction in CO2 emissions due to the reduced thickness of unbound layers. In addition, reducing the CBR of the unbound layer from 100% to 30% due to the inclusion of waste materials implies a cost increase of up to 13%. While the present study is based on an empirical pavement design method in which pavement thickness is limited by the pavement thickness index, the same minimum thicknesses are obtained in the optimization process regardless of whether the objective function is the minimum construction cost or minimum CO2 emissions.
Keywords: pavement design, waste materials, optimization, minimum construction cost, CO2 emissions, geosynthetics, waste management
Published in DKUM: 18.09.2023; Views: 644; Downloads: 72
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Abstract: The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has to be stabilized, requiring a reduction in current emission rates in existing plants. This will be done by reducing the environmental burden imposed in such areas as materials input andCO2 emission reduction and using cleaner production, resources, and energy recycling. Any opportunities for emission reduction and CO2 reuse largely depend on existing plant and energy systems. CO2 can be separated from the outlet stream (purge gas) and from flue gas by a membrane or absorption system(absorber and regenerator) or adsorption system and reused as a reactantin a reactor system. Therefore, product yield can be increased and CO2emissions reduced, simultaneously. CO2 emissions can be reduced at the source. The authors of this paper studied CO2 reuse in a methanol process, in which electricity can be generated using an open gas turbine, followed by a separator. Simultaneous optimization of a process structure and its parametersusing simplified nonlinear programming (NLP) ensures an additional annual profit, influenced by reusing the flow rate of CO2. The additional electricity cogeneration and additional flow rates of the raw material could generate an additional profit of 2.79 MEUR/a.
Keywords: chemical processing, methanol production, optimization, nonlinear programming, CO2 emissions, CO2 reuse
Published in DKUM: 31.05.2012; Views: 2261; Downloads: 100
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