Search Results (108)

The Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation is a foundational model in geophysical fluid dynamics (GFD), governing the propagation of long internal and surface gravity waves in stratified and shallow ocean environments where the interplay between nonlinear steepening and frequency-dependent dispersion gives rise to solitons. Although the analytical tractability of the KdV equation through inverse scattering is well established, systematic numerical exploration of multi-soliton interactions remains valuable for benchmarking solvers, probing conservation properties under varied oceanic initial conditions, and building intuition for more complex ocean wave phenomena. This article presents sangkuriang, an open-source Python library that solves the KdV equation using Fourier pseudo-spectral spatial discretization and adaptive eighth-order Runge–Kutta time integration. The implementation leverages just-in-time (JIT) compilation to achieve research-grade computational efficiency on standard hardware, making it readily accessible for coastal and ocean engineering applications, including idealized modeling of internal solitary waves on continental shelves, rapid parameter studies for solitary wave propagation in stratified basins, and pedagogical investigations of nonlinear dispersive wave dynamics. The solver is validated through four progressively complex idealized scenarios motivated by oceanic wave dynamics: isolated soliton propagation, symmetric interactions, overtaking collisions, and three-body interactions. High-fidelity conservation of mass, momentum, and energy is demonstrated, with relative errors remaining below $\mathcal{O}\left({10}^{-4}\right)$ across all test cases. Measured soliton velocities align with theoretical predictions within 5%, confirming the capture of the amplitude-dependent dispersion characteristic of oceanic solitary waves. Complementary diagnostics, including spectral entropy and recurrence quantification analysis (RQA), verify that the numerical solutions preserve the regular phase-space structure characteristic of integrable Hamiltonian systems. These results establish sangkuriang as a robust, lightweight platform for reproducible numerical investigation of idealized nonlinear dispersive wave dynamics relevant to coastal and ocean engineering applications. Full article

Increasing frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events, together with altered soil saturation dynamics, have significantly increased the occurrence of shallow landslides. These processes are closely linked to climate change and increasingly affect mountainous and hilly regions worldwide, where rainfall-induced pore pressure variations and transient infiltration govern slope instability. Despite growing recognition of climate-driven slope failures, most conventional geomechanical analyses still rely on static assumptions and simplified boundary conditions, which are insufficient to capture the pronounced temporal variability of hydro-climatic forcing. To address this gap, this study introduces a conceptual and methodological framework for a proactive landslide cadaster, developed within the Climate Adaptive Resilience Evaluation (CARE) framework. Rather than serving as a static inventory of past events, the proposed cadaster functions as a structured, updatable repository of climate–geomechanical parameters that directly support advanced landslide analyses. The core innovation lies in the formalization of the climate–geomechanical interface, which enables the transformation of climatic and hydrological variables into parameters directly applicable in geomechanical modeling. These parameters encompass climatic, hydrological, geomechanical, and thermo-hydraulic processes and are assigned to spatially referenced locations, complemented by documented landslide occurrences. Their spatial distribution forms a network of reference points that allows interpolation, continuous updating, and reuse across multiple analyses. In this way, the cadaster becomes a proactive, process-based data infrastructure, serving as the foundational input for scenario-based landslide susceptibility, hazard, and risk assessments within the CARE analytical workflow. The conceptual framework is illustrated through an example from Slovenia, focusing on the Visole area near Maribor, where selected data types and workflow steps are presented for demonstration purposes. Full article

This study presents an integrated workflow for acquiring, processing, and fusing terrestrial laser scanning and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) photogrammetric data to generate digital twins of heritage buildings within Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) and Historical Geographic Information System (HGIS) environments. Using a historic wooden church as a case study, the proposed approach demonstrates improved completeness and geometric quality compared to UAV-only models. Dimensional differences between UAV-only and integrated models ranged from 0.8 to 3.2 cm, confirming internal consistency and suitability for documentation purposes. The workflow standardizes key stages of acquisition, scaling, and point cloud fusion, and establishes links between HBIM models at Level of Detail (LOD) 100–300 and conservation requirements. Additionally, it identifies integration points for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based automation, supporting future developments in classification, segmentation, and conversion of 2D documentation into HBIM. The results highlight the potential of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS)-UAV integration for accurate, replicable heritage documentation and spatial–historical analysis. Full article

Reliable assessment of bridge technical condition is a key challenge in infrastructure management due to uncertainty, subjectivity, and heterogeneity inherent in inspection-based data. Traditional deterministic evaluation methods often fail to capture the gradual nature of structural deterioration and the complex interactions between bridge components. This study proposes a hybrid methodology that integrates fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks (ANNs) to quantify the overall technical condition of bridge structures using long-term inspection data. A comprehensive dataset, derived from real bridge inspection reports collected over more than 15 years across various regions of Ukraine, served as the basis for model development. Five key input parameters—substructure condition, superstructure condition, deck condition, overall structural condition, and channel and channel protection condition—were employed to compute an integrated Bridge Condition Assessment indicator using a Mamdani-type fuzzy inference system. The resulting fuzzy-based indicator was subsequently used as the target variable for training ANN models. To ensure optimal predictive performance and training stability, Bayesian Optimization was applied for systematic hyperparameter tuning. Model performance was evaluated using standard regression metrics, including MSE, MAE, MAPE, and the coefficient of determination (R²). The results demonstrate that the proposed approach enables accurate approximation of the fuzzy-based Bridge Condition Assessment indicator, with MAPE values as low as 0.2% and R² exceeding 0.982 for the best-performing model. The hybrid framework effectively combines interpretability and scalability, providing a decision-support framework based on fuzzy logic and surrogate modeling for automated fuzzy-based bridge condition assessment, maintenance prioritization, and integration into digital asset management systems. Full article

Energy efficiency in buildings is a vital subject within sustainable construction and climate change mitigation, yet comprehensive bibliometric analyses mapping the complete evolution of this domain remain limited. This study provides a comprehensive four-decade analysis (1981–2025) of building energy efficiency research using data from the Web of Science database, employing VOSviewer (1.6.20), Bibliometrix (4.3.0), and custom Python (3.12.3) scripts with automated terminology normalization through TF-IDF vectorization (n-grams 2–3) and cosine similarity algorithms (threshold = 0.75). Two critical methodological innovations distinguish this investigation: first, Pruned Exact Linear Time changepoint detection statistically validated 2011 as the field’s statistically validated transition point (Mann–Whitney U test, p < 0.000001, effect size = 2.48), replacing arbitrary decade-based periodization; second, computational keyword harmonization enabled precise thematic evolution mapping across inconsistent terminology. The analysis reveals marked increase in research post-2011, with median annual output increasing from 15 articles (1981–2011) to 840.5 articles (2012–2024), and China emerging as the preeminent research center with 2978 publications. Thematic evolution analysis demonstrates fundamental transformation from seven specialized research themes (i.e., behavior, heat-transfer, simulation, impact, performance, consumption, optimization) in the foundational period to dramatic consolidation into two dominant themes (i.e., performance and simulation) in the contemporary period, reflecting maturation from fragmented, component-focused investigations toward holistic, integrated frameworks. International collaboration network analysis identifies four distinct geographic clusters with China, United States, United Kingdom, and Italy serving as central hubs. These findings provide actionable intelligence for researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders, while the computationally enhanced framework offers a replicable methodology for bibliometric analysis in other rapidly evolving interdisciplinary domains. Full article

Preservation design is characterized by high interactions among different skills, including both architectural and engineering field. When the architectural heritage is composed of the ruins of a medieval fortress, the contribution of archeological studies is fundamental to recognize the different construction phases of the building. This work presents the most recent stratigraphic analyses conducted on the fortress of Vogogna, a military masonry castle in Ossola Valley, Piedmont, whose origin is lost in time and provides further support to define the correct interpretation of the architectural artifact. Previous studies showed several shortcomings concerning the historical evolution of the structure and a precise geometrical survey. The authors developed a geometrical model of the archeological site, through advanced survey techniques, and analyzed the historical maps of the cadasters to investigate additions and transformations of the abandoned fortress and its connection with the rural and natural surrounding fields. The updated information provided new indications for the past uses of the building, and the digital model allowed further considerations on the geometrical characteristics of the structures, addressing some choices for the final reuse proposal for the site, today at the center of a wider project to enhance the cultural heritage in the Vogogna area. Full article

The aim of this work is to present an original, relatively simple, and elegant approach to the analysis of long rectangular plates subjected to uniformly distributed vertical loads acting on various surfaces. Plate analysis is important in many fields, especially where components are either rectangular plates or can be approximated as such. The Transfer Matrix Method is increasingly used in research, as evidenced by the references cited. The advantages of this method lie in the simplicity of its algorithm, the ease of implementation in programming, and its straightforward integration into optimization software. The approach consists of discretizing the rectangular plate by sectioning it with planes parallel to the short sides—i.e., perpendicular to the two long edges. This results in a set of beams, each with a length equal to the width of the plate, a height equal to the plate’s thickness, and a unit width. Each unit beam has support at its ends that replicate the edge conditions of the plate along its long sides. In the study presented, the rectangular plate is embedded along its two long edges, meaning the unit beam is considered embedded at both ends. The Transfer Matrix Method is particularly valuable because it lends itself well to iterative calculations, making it easy to develop software capable of analyzing long rectangular plates quickly. This makes it especially useful for shape optimization applications, which we intend and hope to pursue in future studies. Full article

Climate change refers to a significant and measurable alteration in the climate’s state, evident through shifts in the average and variability of key climate factors. Although the onset of climate change spans several decades, recent studies reveal a concerning intensification that is increasingly driven by anthropogenic activities, with the construction sector emerging as a significant contributor. The present paper investigates climate-conscious innovations within Romania’s construction industry, with a specific focus on the implementation of adaptive strategies. Through a narrative review methodology, this study synthesizes diverse sources, including scientific literature, technical reports, urban policy documents and relevant websites, to map the integration of sustainable construction practices in response to climate pressures. The findings highlight a range of local approaches, including passive design, green infrastructure, and reversible architecture, reflecting Romania’s gradual alignment with broader European environmental objectives. Despite Romania’s relatively low green contribution on a global scale, the country faces significant climate risks, including heatwaves, intense rainfall, and droughts. This evolving climate context necessitates a comprehensive adaptation of architectural practices, construction processes, material selection, and design strategies to mitigate environmental impact and enhance resilience. However, the narrative review approach has inherent limitations, including the potential for selection bias and limited replicability, which constrain the generalizability of the findings. Future research should employ quantitative and empirical methods to validate the effectiveness of climate-adaptive measures in structural engineering. Key areas include the integration of climate-resilient materials, structural performance under climate-induced stressors, and lifecycle carbon assessments of building components. Additionally, further investigation is needed into the development of predictive simulation models that assess the long-term structural impacts of evolving climate scenarios specific to Romania’s geographic and climatic conditions. Full article

The maize crop is an essential contributor to food security. At a global level, it is the cereal with the highest production, and the second imported commodity. This study evaluates the impact of precision agriculture on the morpho-productive traits and agronomic efficiency of the Turda 201 maize hybrid under distinct cultivation systems. A bifactorial field trial was conducted in Cojocna, Transylvania (Romania), using two factors: the farming system (organic vs. conventional) and the cultivation technology (standard vs. precision). The work hypothesis is that precision agriculture can enhance maize performance compared to standard methods. The results indicated that morphological traits such as plant height (197 cm), cob length (17.20 cm), and leaf number (10.60) were significantly higher in the conventional system, particularly under precision technology. In the organic system, while improvements were observed with precision input, overall growth and yield remained lower. The same trends are seen in production traits, which are lower in an organic system compared with conventional (6464.22 kg/ha vs. 9204 kg/ha, when precision technology was used). Agronomic efficiency has a spectacular increase in the conventional–precision experimental variant (4.92 kg/kg) compared with the organic–standard experimental variant (0.002 kg/kg). Crude protein, dry matter, nitrogen-free matter, and starch content are the main qualitative maize characteristics influenced by the cropping system and technology. The conventional–precision experimental variant led to the highest values of the above-mentioned parameters compared with the organic–standard experimental variant (86.90% vs. 83.60% dry matter; 10.75% vs. 8.65% crude protein; 72.60% vs. 64.40% nitrogen-free matter; 83.15% vs. 79.50% starch). Principal Component Analysis revealed that the crop system (PC1) was the dominant factor influencing morpho-productive traits, while environmental factors (PC2) contributed mainly to the variability of the characteristics. These findings support the use of precision agriculture as a tool for enhancing sustainable maize production, particularly in conventional systems. Full article

This extensive study examines the solar rooftop photovoltaic potential (RTP) over polluted cities in major geographic and economic zones of India. The study examines the climatology of solar radiation attenuation due to aerosol, clouds, architectural effects, etc. The study exploits earth observations from ground, satellite, and radiative transfer modeling (RTM) in conjunction with geographic information systems tools. The study exploits long-term observations of cloud properties from the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites operated by EUMETSAT and aerosol properties data gathered from ground-based measurements provided by AERONET. The innovation in the study is defined in two steps. Firstly, we estimated the RTP using the current state of the art in the field, which involved using suitability factors and energy output based on the PVGIS simulations and extrapolating these for effective rooftop areas of the cities. Secondly, we advanced beyond the current state of the art by incorporating roof morphological characteristics and various area share factors to assess the RTP in more realistic terms. These two steps were applied under two different scenarios. The study determined that the optimum tilt angle is equal to the cities’ latitude for installing solar PV systems. In addition, the research emphasizes the advantages for the environment while offering energy and economic losses. According to our findings, the RTP in the rural city examined in this study is 31% greater than the urban city of India under both scenarios. The research has found that the metropolitan city, which boasts a maximum rooftop area of approximately 167 km², could host a significant RTP of around 13,005 ± 1210.71 (6970 ± 751.38) MWh per year under scenario 1 (scenario 2). Overall, solar radiation losses due to aerosol effects dominate radiation losses due to cloud effects on the city scale. Amongst all polluted cities, estimated financial losses due to aerosols, clouds, and shadows are 11,241.70 million, 4439 million, and 1167.65 million rupees, respectively. Our findings emphasize the necessity of accounting for air pollution for accurate solar potential assessments in thoughtful city planning. The creative approach that utilizes publicly available data establishes a strong foundation for penetrating solar photovoltaic (PV) technology into society. This integration could significantly contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, promoting environmentally sustainable urban development and prevention strategies. Full article

Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia and one of the fastest-expanding cities in Africa, is undergoing rapid urbanization which has led to acute housing scarcity and a growth of informal settlements. The growth of informal settlements seems unstoppable and needs appropriate policy direction to create a sustainable city. Despite the significance of the challenges posed by informal settlements, their coverage is not well-documented or known spatially. The aim of this research is to identify the spatial coverage of informal settlements after restructuring the boundary of the city. This study reviewed the existing literature and different spatial data including city wide line maps, land use plan, all cadaster data, and other spatial maps collected from different sources including city sectoral offices. Furthermore, observation and interviews with experts in the field were conducted to better understand the context of informal settlements. The data were analyzed by ArcGIS 10.8 software to identify the location of informal settlements by overlying those data and verifying this with field observation at selected areas using recent satellite images. The results show that about 50 percent of the settlements are informal. It was revealed that the existing data are fragmented, inconsistent, and difficult to access or retrieve. In this regard, informal settlements are still a critical and growing issue with regard to fast urbanization. Therefore, the results can be used for academic research, devising appropriate policy direction, and in decision-making for sustainable development. Full article

This article presents the Transfer Matrix Method as a mathematical approach for the calculus of different structures that can be discretized into elements using an iterative calculus for future applications in the vehicle industry. Plate calculus is important in construction, medicine, orthodontics, and many other fields. This work is original due to the mathematical apparatus used in the calculus of long rectangular plates embedded in both long borders and required by a uniformly distributed force on a line parallel to the long borders. The plate is discretized along its length in unitary beams, which have the width of the rectangular plate. The unitary beam can also be discretized into parts. As applications, the long rectangular plates embedded on the two long borders and charged with a vertical uniform load that acts on a line parallel to the long borders are studied. A state vector is associated with each side. For each of the four cases studied, a matrix relationship was written for each side, based on a transfer matrix, the state vector corresponding to the origin side, and the vector due to the action of external forces acting on the considered side. After, it is possible to calculate all the state vectors for all sides of the unity beam. Now, the efforts, deformations, and stress can be calculated in any section of the beam, respectively, for the long rectangular plate. This calculus will serve as a calculus of resistance for different pieces of the components of vehicles. Full article

An ecosystem health assessment (EHA) is essential for comprehensively improving the ecological environment and socio-economic conditions, thereby promoting the sustainable development of a specific area. Most previous EHA studies have focused on urbanized regions, paying insufficient attention to rural areas with urban enclaves and national natural parks. This study employed the Basic Pressure–State–Response methodological approach. The composition of indicators (35) encompassed both spatiotemporal data and socio-economic information. The random forest algorithm was used on the Google Earth Engine platform to classify and evaluate changes in land use and land cover (LULC). In addition, weighting coefficients were calculated, and driving factors were subsequently identified. The analysis revealed that the rural administrative divisions in the central part of Zerendy district, where the city of Kokshetau is situated, exhibited a relatively low level of ecosystem health (EH). The southwestern rural administrative divisions of the studied district, where the national nature park and the reserve territories are located, exhibited a higher level of EH. Other rural administrative divisions located in the eastern parts of the district generally exhibited a moderate level of EH. Interested managers can use the results of our assessment to implement adequate measures aimed at improving the health of the Zerendy district ecosystem. Full article

Coastal erosion has posed significant challenges to sustainability and socio-economic stability along Senegal’s coastline, leading to substantial infrastructure losses. Using GIS multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), two sub-indices were derived for Senegal’s coastal departments: the physical susceptibility (PSI) and the social-economic vulnerability (SVI) to coastal erosion. The integrated coastal erosion vulnerability (ICER) model was derived by their aggregation. A total of 26 criteria were used, 18 for PSI and 8 for SVI. The criteria weighting coefficients of the sub-indices were determined using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Validation of the model accuracy was performed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves that were calculated based on a created coastal erosion cadaster and true positive (TP) sites and manually acquired true negative (TN) sites. The accuracy assessment confirmed the consistency of the physical susceptibility model (PSI) and proved that existing coastal erosion sites are within (5) very high susceptibility areas. Through the generated ICER, the coastal departments were divided into areas of (1) very low, (2) low, (3) medium, (4) high and (5) very high vulnerability to coastal erosion. Very high (5) and high (4) classes cover around 31% of the coastal departments, mostly encompassing a narrow coastal strip and low river valleys and mouths. The presented coastal susceptibility and vulnerability maps, with a spatial resolution of 30 m, identified problematic areas in Senegal’s coastal departments and can help decision-makers in the construction of effective coastal zone management and sustainable development. Full article

The systematic approach to the establishment of a cadaster in most European countries has resulted in a variety of cadastral documents. Most official cadastral data are from the 19th and 20th centuries and are stored as hard copies or electronic data in a data warehouse, while the original documents are stored in analog format in separate locations, making the cadastral data difficult to access. The increasing interest in the use of archival cadastral documents has stimulated their digitalization in most countries, allowing users to access cadastral documents through metadata catalogs. Most catalogs use archival metadata standards to describe cadastral documents, with a lack of application of geoinformation metadata standards that represent fundamental spatial datasets. Archival metadata standards do not provide enough information about the origin and quality of cadastral data. The aim of this study was to examine the applicability of the ISO 19115-1 standard for describing cadastral documents. The methodology includes a comparison and an analysis of documents which are stored in different locations. The metadata of archived cadastral documents are recorded in archive inventories, and archives use different terminology for documents with the same content. The scientific contribution of this study is given by the classification of key documents and their associated properties that uniquely described each document. Four types of documents were classified by comparison, and we analyzed the content between documents. Property identification resulted in the semantic mapping to metadata elements of ISO 19115-1 and showed a considerable congruence of elements. It was possible to apply the ISO 19115-1 standard for describing documents of systematic cadaster establishment, with additional extensions for some elements. Proposed extensions to describe the cadastral documents include replacing free text with domains of appropriate values, adding stricter obligations, and restricting the use of domain values. The standardization of metadata for analog cadastral documents in archives has created a prerequisite for the development of a metadata catalog, which would increase the availability and accessibility of cadastral data for different user groups. Full article