ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4554-738X
Current Organisations
Polytechnic University of Bari
,
Alfred Research Trusts, Alfred Health
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In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Civil Engineering | Structural Engineering | Engineering Systems Design | Architectural Science and Technology (incl. Acoustics, Lighting, Structure and Ecologically Sustainable Design) | Construction Materials |
Climate Change Mitigation Strategies | Residential Construction Design | Metals (e.g. Composites, Coatings, Bonding) | Civil Construction Design | Construction Materials Performance and Processes not elsewhere classified
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 14-04-2020
DOI: 10.3390/EN13081929
Abstract: This paper holds a critical review of current research activities dealing with smart architectural glazing worldwide. Hereafter, the main trends are analyzed and critically reported, with open issues, challenges, and opportunities, providing an accurate description of technological evolution of devices in time. This manuscript deals with some well-known, highly performing technologies, such as semitransparent photovoltaics and novel photoelectrochromic devices, the readiest, probably, to reach the final stage of development, to disclose the manifold advantages of multifunctional, smart glazing. The complex, overall effects of their building integration are also reported, especially regarding energy balance and indoor visual comfort in buildings.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2012
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-06-2020
DOI: 10.3390/CLI8060079
Abstract: In being aware that some factors (i.e. increasing pollution levels, Urban Heat Island (UHI), extreme climate events) threaten the quality of life in cities, this paper intends to study the Atmospheric UHI phenomenon in Bari, a Mediterranean coastal city in Southern Italy. An experimental investigation at the micro-scale was conducted to study and quantify the UHI effect by considering several spots in the city to understand how the urban and physical characteristics of these areas modify air temperatures and lead to different UHI configurations. Air temperature data provided by fixed weather stations were first compared to assess the UHI distribution and its daily, monthly, seasonal and annual intensity in five years (from 2014 to 2018) to draw local climate information, and then compared with the relevant national standard. The study has shown that urban characteristics are crucial to the way the UHI phenomenon manifests itself. UHI reaches its maximum intensity in summer and during night-time. The areas with higher density (station 2—Local Climate Zone (LCZ) 2) record high values of UHI intensity both during daytime (4.0 °C) and night-time (4.2 °C). Areas with lower density (station 3—LCZ 5) show high values of UHI during daytime (up to 4.8 °C) and lower values of UHI intensity during night-time (up to 2.8 °C). It has also been confirmed that sea breezes—particularly noticeable in the coastal area—can mitigate temperatures and change the configuration of the UHI. Finally, by analysing the frequency distribution of current and future weather scenarios, up to additional 4 °C of increase of urban air temperature is expected, further increasing the current treats to urban liveability.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2016
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-12-2018
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 12-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2010
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 04-01-2022
DOI: 10.3390/EN15010354
Abstract: The body of literature on climate change impacts on building energy consumption is rising, driven by the urgency to implement adaptation measures. Nevertheless, the multitude of prediction methodologies, future scenarios, as well as climate zones investigated, results in a wide range of expected changes. For these reasons, the present review aims to map climate change impacts on building energy consumption from a quantitative perspective and to identify potential relationships between energy variation and a series of variables that could affect them, including heating and cooling degree-days (HDDs and CDDs), reference period, future time slices and IPCC emission scenarios, by means of statistical techniques. In addition, an overview of the main characteristics of the studies related to locations investigated, building types and methodological approaches are given. To sum up, global warming leads to: (i) decrease in heating consumptions (ii) increase in cooling consumption (iii) growth in total consumptions, with notable differences between climate zones. No strong correlation between the parameters was found, although a moderate linear correlation was identified between heating variation and HDDs, and total variation and HDDs. The great variability of the collected data demonstrates the importance of increasing specific impact studies, required to identify appropriate adaptation strategies.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2013
Publisher: ASME International
Date: 11-08-2016
DOI: 10.1115/1.4031112
Abstract: This paper presents a numerical study aimed at identifying a suitable turbulence model to describe the fully developed turbulent mixed convention of air in smooth horizontal pipes. The flow characteristics considered here are relevant to those typically observed in ventilated hollow core slab (VHCS) applications and, because of this, the adopted geometry and boundary conditions are represented by the Reynolds number and Richardson number of about 23,000 and 1.04, respectively. Empirical expressions available in the literature are used as reference to evaluate the accuracy of different turbulence models in predicting the dimensionless velocity (u+) and temperature (T+) profiles as well as the Nusselt number (Nu). Among the turbulence models considered, the standard and realizable k-ε models provide the best overall predictions of u+, T+, and Nu in the fully developed flow, and the former is recommended for the modeling of VHCS systems as it gives slightly better estimates of the Nu values.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 21-05-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2023
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 09-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Publisher: International Solar Energy Society
Date: 2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2016
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2018
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 21-04-2023
DOI: 10.3390/BUILDINGS13041096
Abstract: Energy used in buildings is mainly attributed to provide the desired thermal comfort, which could result in an increase in carbon emission and, in turn, lead to further environmental degradation. A Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Double-Skin Façade (BIPV-DSF) is a promising way to maintain indoor thermal comfort, obtained with low environmental impact and energy consumption. The appropriate design of BIPV-DSFs can maximise indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency for buildings. This paper presents optimal BIPV-DSF design solutions, which are dedicated to offering comfortable and energy-efficient buildings, through optimisation of the most important design parameters of a BIPV-DSF under three different climate conditions in Australia. The results illustrate how thermal transmittance (U-value) and solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of windows of the BIPV-DSF, as the most important design parameters, were optimised for application in the context of different climates, operation modes, and orientations. The paper contributes to the matters concerning the integrated effect of BIPV-DSFs on thermal comfort and energy performance in buildings.
Publisher: Global Science & Technology Forum ( GSTF )
Date: 25-04-2016
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-05-2021
DOI: 10.3390/APP11104680
Abstract: Among the adaptive solutions, phase change material (PCM) technology is one of the most developed, thanks to its capability to mitigate the effects of air temperature fluctuations using thermal energy storage (TES). PCMs belong to the category of passive systems that operate on heat modulation, thanks to latent heat storage (LHS) that can lead to a reduction of heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) consumption in traditional buildings and to an improvement of indoor thermal comfort in buildings devoid of HVAC systems. The aim of this work is to numerically analyze and compare the benefits of the implementation of PCMs on the building envelope in both active and passive strategies. To generalize the results, two different EnergyPlus calibrated reference models—the small office and the midrise apartment—were considered, and 25 different European cities in different climatic zones were selected. For these analyses, a PCM plasterboard with a 23 °C melting point was considered in four different thicknesses—12.5, 25, 37.5, and 50 mm. The results obtained highlighted a strong logarithmic correlation between PCM thickness and energy reduction in all the climatic zones, with higher benefits in office buildings and in warmer climates for both strategies.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-07-2022
DOI: 10.3390/EN15144984
Abstract: User behaviour can significantly affect indoor thermal comfort conditions, as well as energy consumption, especially in existing buildings with high thermal masses where natural cross ventilation is the main strategy to reduce cooling loads. The aims of this paper were: (i) to compare how behavioural changes evaluated by means of rule-based and stochastic models lead to changes in indoor thermal comfort levels, and (ii) to define the patterns of indoor thermal comfort in historic residential buildings in future scenarios. To this end, a historic building located in Molfetta (Southern Italy) was analysed using a dynamic energy simulation engine in five weather scenarios (Typical Meteorological Year, current extreme weather file 2018, predicted weather files for 2020, 2050, and 2080 generated by morphing method), and stochastic and rule-based models for window openings were adopted and compared. The results showed that the stochastic model was more accurate than the rule-based one, resulting in a reduction of discomfort conditions during the summer period between 30% and 50% in all climate scenarios. However, although the differences between predicted discomfort levels using rule-based and stochastic models tended to increase, discomfort levels still appeared to be not acceptable in the 2050 and 2080 scenarios due to the rising temperature driven by climate change.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.08.144
Abstract: Providing evidence of potential changes in the climate has become increasingly important as it is the first step towards adopting mitigation and adaptation measures and planning for urban resilience. In this study a statistical analysis of the ambient air temperature time series over Sydney, Australia during 1970-2016 has been carried out with the aim to investigate potential changes towards higher temperatures. The dataset has been statistically analyzed using different techniques, concluding that the investigation should be performed on a monthly basis. A persistence analysis was conducted using different statistical approaches to investigate the dependence between consecutive monthly and daily ambient air temperature values. A trend analysis of the ambient air temperature and degree days time series has been conducted using linear regression to estimate the linear trend (slope) and its statistical significance (using a Student-t-test) and the Kendall-Mann test to identify the time at which the tendency starts to occur as well as the time after which it becomes statistically significant.
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1039/C6EE01514J
Abstract: This review article explores the historical development and the recent progress of photoelectrochromic devices (PECDs), evaluating on the bases of components evolution their future perspectives.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2019
Publisher: Universitat Politecnica de Valencia
Date: 04-04-2023
DOI: 10.4995/VITRUVIOIJATS.2023.18832
Abstract: The use of recovered materials in building construction is one of the most effective strategies for reducing the environmental impacts of the construction sector. Innovative technologies such as 3D construction printing can be applied in combination with recycling strategies in order to optimise their performances also from an environmental point of view. In fact, several studies have proposed the processing of waste material into printable material. At the same time, performance studies must be conducted on the building components produced by these methods. This study proposes a methodological approach to design a 3D printable building component made with recycled materials considering the improvement of thermal performances. In particular, the approach is based on three steps: reuse strategy conception target performance definition, modelling and iterative simulation 3D printing setting. The methodological approach has been applied to a 3D printable block using as printable material a cement-based mortar with recycled aggregates and recycled insulating material. As a result, the component’s shape (interlocking and inspired by honeycombs) can be customised to achieve the required thermal performance by using recycled materials in the printing process.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2012
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 29-04-2017
DOI: 10.3390/SU9050712
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2014
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 02-04-2022
DOI: 10.3390/CLI10040055
Abstract: The public housing stock across the European Union is generally constituted of old buildings (built prior to 1980) with high energy demand and indoor thermal comfort issues, which could be exacerbated by climate change. The aim of this paper was to quantify the impact of climate change on the energy demand of the public housing building stock. A neighbourhood located in Bari (south Italy) is considered as representative of a common construction typology of late 1970s in Italy. Energy models were created and calibrated with real-time data collected from utilities’ bills. The results showed a medium to strong correlation between age and energy consumption (r = 0.358), but no evident correlation between the number of tenants and energy consumption, although a significantly low energy consumption was found in apartments occupied by more than five tenants. An energy penalty of about 7 kWh/m2 of heating energy consumption for every 10 years of increase in the average age of tenants was calculated. Moreover, the impact of future weather scenarios on energy consumptions was analysed and an average annual energy penalty of 0.3 kWh/m2 was found.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-01-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 31-08-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 31-08-2022
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 07-11-2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 31-08-2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 31-08-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2016
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 31-08-2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 31-08-2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 31-08-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2022
Publisher: Universitat Politecnica de Valencia
Date: 04-04-2023
DOI: 10.4995/VITRUVIO-IJATS.2023.18832
Abstract: The use of recovered materials in building construction is one of the most effective strategies for reducing the environmental impacts of the construction sector. Innovative technologies such as 3D construction printing can be applied in combination with recycling strategies in order to optimise their performances also from an environmental point of view. In fact, several studies have proposed the processing of waste material into printable material. At the same time, performance studies must be conducted on the building components produced by these methods. This study proposes a methodological approach to design a 3D printable building component made with recycled materials considering the improvement of thermal performances. In particular, the approach is based on three steps: reuse strategy conception target performance definition, modelling and iterative simulation 3D printing setting. The methodological approach has been applied to a 3D printable block using as printable material a cement-based mortar with recycled aggregates and recycled insulating material. As a result, the component’s shape (interlocking and inspired by honeycombs) can be customised to achieve the required thermal performance by using recycled materials in the printing process.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 17-11-2022
DOI: 10.3390/CLI10110177
Abstract: The presence of higher air temperatures in the city in comparison with the surrounding rural areas is an alarming phenomenon named the urban heat island (UHI). In the last decade, the scientific community demonstrated the severity of the phenomenon lified by the combination of heat waves. In southern Italy, the UHI is becoming increasingly serious due to the presence of a warming climate, extensive urbanization and an aging population. In order to extensively investigate such phenomenon in several cities, recent research calibrated quantitative indexes to forecast the maximum UHI intensity in urban districts by exploiting multicriteria approaches and open-source data. This paper proposes different mitigation strategy to mitigate the Urban Heat Island Intensity in Bari. Firstly, the research evaluates the absolute max UHI intensity of the 17 urban districts of Bari (a city in southern Italy, Puglia) by exploiting the recent index-based approach IUHII. Secondly, a comparative evaluation of seven European cities (Bari, Alicante, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Milan and London) is achieved to point out the positives and negative aspects of the different urban districts. In total, the comparison required the analysis of 344 districts of 7 European cities: 17 districts in Bari (Italia) 9 districts in Alicante (Spain) 21 in Madrid (Spain) 80 in Paris (France) 96 in Berlin (Germany) 88 in Milan (Italy) and 33 in London (UK). Finally, the results emphasize some virtuous ex les of UHII mitigation in the major European cities useful to draw inspiration for effective mitigation strategies suitable for the urban context of Bari.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 06-2015
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 20-03-2020
DOI: 10.3390/EN13061449
Abstract: Electrochromic systems for smart windows make it possible to enhance energy efficiency in the construction sector, in both residential and tertiary buildings. The dynamic modulation of the spectral properties of a glazing, within the visible and infrared ranges of wavelengths, allows one to adapt the thermal and optical behavior of a glazing to the everchanging conditions of the environment in which the building is located. This allows appropriate control of the penetration of solar radiation within the building. The consequent advantages are manifold and are still being explored in the scientific literature. On the one hand, the reduction in energy consumption for summer air conditioning (and artificial lighting, too) becomes significant, especially in "cooling dominated" climates, reaching high percentages of saving, compared to common transparent windows on the other hand, the continuous adaptation of the optical properties of the glass to the changing external conditions makes it possible to set suitable management strategies for the smart window, in order to offer optimal conditions to take advantage of daylight within the confined space. This review aims at a critical review of the relevant literature concerning the benefits obtainable in terms of energy consumption and visual comfort, starting from a survey of the main architectures of the devices available today.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2020
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 27-06-2020
DOI: 10.3390/BUILDINGS10070114
Abstract: Building skins should host multiple functions for increased performance. Addressing this, their design can benefit by learning from nature to achieve multifunctionality, where multifunctional strategies have evolved over years. However, existing frameworks to develop biomimetic adaptive building skins (Bio-ABS) have limited capabilities transferring multifunctionality from nature into designs. This study shows that through investigating the principles of hierarchy and heterogeneity, multifunctionality in nature can be transferred into biomimetic strategies. We aim at mapping the existing knowledge in biological adaptations from the perspective of multifunctionality and developing a framework achieving multifunctionality in Bio-ABS. The framework is demonstrated through the case study of Echinocactus grusonii implemented as a Bio-ABS on a digital base-case building. The methods include the Bio-ABS case study demonstrating the framework and simulating the performance of the case study and base-case building to comparatively analyze the results. The outcomes are a framework to develop multifunctional Bio-ABS and simulation results on the performance improvement Bio-ABS offer. The performance comparison between the Bio-ABS and base-case building show that there is a decrease in the discomfort hours by a maximum of 23.18%. In conclusion, translating heterogeneity and hierarchy principles in nature into engineered designs is a key aspect to achieve multifunctionality in Bio-ABS offering improved strategies in performance over conventional buildings.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 11-07-2021
DOI: 10.3390/BUILDINGS11070303
Abstract: Here, we overview the Buildings journal Special Issue dedicated to the following topic: “Novel Technologies to Enhance Energy Performance and Indoor Environmental Quality of Buildings” (www [...]
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 09-08-2021
DOI: 10.3390/SU13168923
Abstract: The Fourth Industrial Revolution represents the beginning of a profound change for the building sector. In the last decade, the perspective of shapes, materials, and construction techniques is evolving fast due to the additive manufacturing technology. On the other hand, even if the technology is growing fast and several 3D printed buildings are being developed worldwide, the potential of concrete 3D printing in building prefabrication remains unexplored. Consequently, the application of new digital fabrication technologies in the construction industry requires a redesign of the construction process and its components. This paper proposes a novel conception, design, and prototyping of a precast building envelope to be prefabricated with extrusion-based 3D concrete printing (3DCP). The new design and conception aim to fully exploit the potential of 3D printing for prefabricated components, especially in terms of dry assembly, speed of implementation, reusability, recyclability, modularity, versatility, adaptability, and sustainability. Beyond the novel conceptual design of precast elements, the research investigated the 3D printable cementitious material based on a magnesium potassium phosphate cement (MKPC), which was devised and tested to ensure good performances of the proposed component. Finally, a prototype has been realised in scale with additive manufacturing technology in order to verify the printability and to optimize the extruder path. This study leads us to believe that the combined use of prefabricated systems, construction automation, and innovative materials can decisively improve the construction industry’s sustainability in the future.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 14-12-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2018
Start Date: 2018
End Date: 03-2022
Amount: $362,734.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 07-2016
End Date: 05-2022
Amount: $4,000,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity