Research Projects
INTENT – Intelligent health monitoring of road infrastructures using bender elements embedded in pavements
The goal of this R&D project is to develop a new bender element for the continuous monitoring of the dynamic stiffness of unbound granular layers, and use it, along with conventional sensors and advanced numerical models, to fuel machine learning algorithms for continuous monitoring of pavements.
BuildingAdapt – Pioneer study to analyse the resilience of university teaching buildings to climate change: Lusófona University – Lisbon University Center
Climate Analytics has estimated that within 80 years maximum summer and autumn temperatures may increase up to 8ºC in Portugal. Also, in spring and winter temperatures may rise between 2ºC and 4ºC. The increase in urban temperature will have a major impact in buildings energy consumption and their occupants´ environmental comfort.
This study focuses on the growing concern about how university teaching buildings can adapt to climate change and how the environmental comfort conditions of their occupants can be guaranteed in future scenarios. Building A of Lusófona University – Lisbon University Center will be used as case study, considering the urgent needs for its rehabilitation and maintenance of its character.
The aim of this project is to identify the best rehabilitation strategies to improve occupants´ environmental comfort considering the present and future climate conditions. First, it will be created a 3D model of the building based on a 3D Point Cloud survey. Then a data acquisition system and environmental comfort sensors will be installed in Building A to monitor its thermo-hygrometric conditions along the year. This data will be used to calibrate the computational models to be developed. After, the 3D model will be used to develop computational models based on current climate conditions and future climate scenarios. Different passive design solutions will be tested within the computational models to improve the thermal performance of the buildings´ envelope. Also, carbon negative solutions, as green walls, will be analysed to enable capturing greenhouse gases over the building lifetime and promote comfort and well-being to the Campus users. At the end an optimal cost methodology will be implemented to identify the best solutions to be implemented.
The results obtain along the project will help Lusófona University – Lisbon University Center to make an informed decision on how to adapt to climate change and invest in more cost-effective rehabilitation strategies.
be-READY – Resilient road pavements for sustainability
The Project “be-READY – REsilient roAD pavements for sustainabilitY” of Professor Vítor Antunes from the Civil Engineering Department of Lusófona University was approved.
Aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and in the context of the European Green Deal, transportation infrastructures are fundamental for global development, promoting socio-economic opportunities and enabling economies to operate more competitively and with more resilience against adverse conditions. The transportation infrastructure sector, particularly in its road construction and maintenance activities, has contributed significantly to the 34% of construction and demolition waste produced, considering the total waste generated worldwide. Bituminous roads represent more than 80% of the European road network, which presently integrates around 950 billion tonnes of bituminous materials, being this a 100% recyclable material.
Pavement asset management actors have been pursuing further sustainable solutions and practices to adopt in their construction and maintenance actions. The general approach for improving sustainability consists of reducing energy consumed, emissions generated, and the amounts of virgin material used. It means implementing preventive maintenance, lowering the bituminous mixture heat and adopting other eco-friendly pavement technologies.
The research group at ULHT has been involved in pavement research for the last nine years. On the other hand, the research group at OsloMet is preparing a master course on sustainable pavement and has been pursuing an active role in supporting the Viken County in a project to build a near to zero-emission road section and green public procurement.
Therefore, in collaboration with IST, LNEC, IP and JJR, the objectives of the proposal are: (i) update the existent specifications for the use of construction and demolition waste in road construction and maintenance; (ii) prepare a course on sustainable road design and construction, taking into consideration different climatic conditions and the extreme events (climate change and high loads); (iii) evaluate the performance of recycled pavements during the life-cycle by monitoring real road sections; (iv) calibrate models by performing Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) of sustainable and resilient pavement solutions considering the long-term performance of pavements and costs related to energy needs and greenhouse gas emissions.
App4SHM – Smartphone application for structural health monitoring
Development of a smartphone application to monitor the structural health of buildings and special structures (like bridges) after catastrophic events.
This application will be able to interrogate the phone’s internal sensors, or other paired devices via Bluetooth or USB, and to analyze and compare the data collected through intelligent algorithms properly trained in order to detect damage and quantify the structural risk in real time. As it is a mobile application with access to a server, it is possible to create a networked system of several nodes through the simultaneous use of several smartphones.
This is a R&D project funded by COFAC and involving students and professors from ULHT’s civil engineering and computer science courses: Eloi Figueiredo, Hugo Rebelo, Ionut Moldovan, Luís Silva, Nuno Penim, Paulo Oliveira, Pedro Alves.
IP3 – Development of solutions to be adopted in the expansion of the IP3 rigid pavement
QUANTI – Damage quantification in composite structures using artificial intelligence and numerical simulations
ClimaBridge – Impact of climate change on the structural health of bridges
The goal of this project is to develop a systematic framework for the probabilistic assessment of the impact of climate change on the structural health of existing bridges, by coupling climate risk evaluation and health monitoring techniques. Basically, we intend to integrate existing procedures for the assessment of climate change threats into the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of bridges, leading to a climate-aware SHM framework.
Additionally, this project intends to present the latest technological updates on the SHM of bridges to the scientific community, technical staff of consultancy companies and public entities in Portugal and Norway, as well as to promote technological advances and business initiatives around the life-cycle management of bridges.
Various activities are planned under the ClimaBridge Project, namely: two three-day workshops (Lisbon and Oslo), a joint course on SHM, long-term monitoring of an existing railway bridge, several scientific meetings and a one-day conference.
Geodynamics and vibrations due to trains
A project dedicated to the themes of geodynamics and vibrations induced by rail traffic and financed by the Fund for Bilateral Relations – EEA Grants. The initiative is promoted by the Lusófona University and has the participation of a Norwegian partner (NGI). It is coordinated by Nuno Santos.
For more information, visit the EEA Grants Portugal.
Reconhecer Project
The Barcelos City Council intends to inventory special structures like bridges, viaducts, tunnels, overpasses, underpasses, and water passages existing in the municipality, which are under its direct responsibility. For this purpose, the municipal executive approved the implementation of the “Reconhecer” project, developed by the Lusófona University and the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC), through a protocol involving the three entities. According to the document, this project also intends to support the definition of a strategy for monitoring the condition of those special structures, to facilitate the budgeting of their maintenance and, ultimately, to promote permanent protection of human lives.
Ravago – Utilização de fibras INNOCELL FG3000 em misturas do tipo Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA)
This work aims to evaluate the behavior of Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) type mixtures using cellulose fibers with polyolefin waxes, including the application of these mixtures in an experimental section included in the national road network. The work is financed by the company RAVAGO CHEMICALS SPAIN, SA and includes cooperation with Infraestruturas de Portugal.
Research Topics
Structural Health Monitoring
Sustainable Road Infrastructure Materials and Design
Research Collaborations
MATEREO signed a collaboration agreement with the Lusófona University
This agreement intends to foster the transfer of scientific knowledge from research to practice in the area of bridge management and to promote the development of research activities between both institutions.
Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) assina protocolo com a Universidade Lusófona
Cooperation Agreement with IfaS and the Trier University of Applied Sciences
University Lusófona (ULHT) has a cooperation agreement with IfaS and the Trier University of Applied Sciences, in Germany, since 2016.
The cooperation aims to development training programs on issues of circular economy, sustainable development and material flow management, as well as the academic exchange of students and Professors, as well as experiences and knowledge on issues of resource economics and the environment.
Professors and representatives of the ULHT participate on the yearly International Circular Economy Week (ICEW) of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2017. The ICEW and the exchange activities between IfaS and the ULHT has served as a platform bringing together like-minded professionals, academia and businesses from all over the world to one unique place on earth – the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld – for activities to showcase, demonstrate and share knowledge on the latest advancements in the application of Circular Economy, the practical means of tackling global economic and technological challenges of energy transition policies towards 100% renewable energy systems, and sustainable resource management (including water, sanitation and waste management strategies) paying special attention to the sustainable business aspect of the initiatives.
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