A method for reinforcing porous mineral construction material is proposed, in which during the first step a solution of calcium acetoacetate Ca(OOCCH2COCH3)2 in a solvent is prepared, upon which such solution is applied onto each surface of said construction material in order to enable penetration thereof towards the interior of said construction material, namely into pores therein, by which calcium carbonate CaCO3 is produced and deposited within the pores in the construction material. Said application of said solution of calcium acetoacetate Ca(OOCCH2COCH3)2 onto the surface of each porous mineral construction material is optionally at least once repeated. The solvent is preferably water, but optionally the solvent can also be alcohol, namely methanol or ethanol, or a mixture thereof.
F.32 International patent
COBISS.SI-ID: 2211687Broadcasting Bite into Science is a very recognizable program on the broadcasting program Radio-Television of Slovenia. Here, researchers from various Slovenian scientific institutions present themselves in conjunction with current scientific themes, such as, for example, Microplastic in the sea, 3-D printing of houses, obesity .... As such, we have been invited to present advanced methods for monitoring corrosion in concrete in the field, which is being examined by the Laboratory for Metal Corrosion and Corrosion Protection. Participation on the aobevmentioned broadcasting programme was also a result of the project M. Era-Net projekt B-Impact: Bronze improved non-hazardous Patina Coatings (2015-2017), with ZAG as a coordinator (GARTNER, Nina, KOSEC, Tadeja. Final progress report : Deliverable D0.4 : B-IMPACT Bronze-improved non-hazardous patina coatings. Ljubljana: Zavod za gradbeništvo Slovenije, 2017. Ilustr. http://www.b-impact.eu/public/d04.pdf. [COBISS.SI-ID 2318439]) and a result of scientific paper (MASI, G., ESVAN, J., JOSSE, C., CHIAVARI, C., BERNARDI, E., MARTINI, C., BIGNOZZI, M. C., GARTNER, Nina, KOSEC, Tadeja, ROBBIOLA, Luc. Characterization of typical patinas simulating bronze corrosion in outdoor conditions. Materials chemistry and physics, ISSN 0254-0584. [Print ed.], Oct. 2017, vol. 200, str.308-321,ilustr. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0254058417306016?via%3Dihub, doi: 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2017.07.091. [COBISS.SI-ID 2321767]).
F.27 Contribution to preserving/protecting natural and cultural heritage
COBISS.SI-ID: 2342759External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) facades with expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation and thin rendering are applied frequently in buildings. Considering high combustibility of EPS, with these facades concerns also arise regarding spread of a possible fire between neighbouring compartments of high-rise buildings. Fire tests of two large-scale facades were performed to study two parameters presumably influencing significantly the fires of such facades in real-life settings, i.e. incident heat flux upon the facade%s surface (IHFFS) and damage of the facade%s render (the latter being a consequence of poor or unfinished construction work, ageing or fire-induced thermal strain). The first facade was rendered fully and was exposed to moderately-fast increasing IHFFS. In the second (partially unrendered) facade case the IHFFS progressed faster. The facade flame body (temperatures and shape) was monitored by thermocouples, photo and video cameras. For detection of melting of EPS and internal burning, thermocameras were used within the facades areas outside the visible plume. In the plume zone, however, a group of thermocouples was embedded inside EPS and the shapes (plateaus and slopes) of the collected time-temperature graphs were observed for these purposes. The IHFFS imposed on the facades during fire testing were estimated by numerical calculations. In both cases the first pronounced render crack was evolved at the estimated average between-windows IHFFS of around 30 kW/m2 and was followed by internal burning of EPS. While the latter did not seem to spread across the facade for the fully-rendered facade, a fast fire spread was detected for the second specimen.
F.24 Improvements to existing system-wide, normative and programme solutions, and methods
COBISS.SI-ID: 2240871This paper deals with accuracy and long-term stability of bridge weigh-in-motion (B-WIM) systems. Research focused on four improvements, developed within two research projects financed by the European Commission. These improvements have increased accuracy of the results for four classes according to the European WIM specifications. The novel axle detection method recommends alternative locations to acquire strain responses under the moving vehicles, which provide reliable axle information without the need to install axle detectors in the carriageway. The new algorithm for calculating experimental influence lines combines the individual influence lines, generated from the responses of vehicles from the traffic flow, to obtain a robust solution that does not depend on the type of the vehicle. The third development adjusts the sensor factors to account for measurement errors on concrete structures, especially those resulted from hidden cracks. Finally, the effects of varying temperature and vehicle velocities on the WIM results were studied and their influences mitigated, to increase long-term stability of B-WIM results. All improvements were validated using long-term B-WIM measurements collected on four different bridges. Studies were performed also in collaboration with other institutions (MANDIĆ IVANKOVIĆ, Ana, SKOKANDIĆ, Dominik, ŽNIDARIČ, Aleš, KRESLIN, Maja. Bridge performance indicators based on traffic load monitoring. Structure and infrastructure engineering, ISSN 1573-2479, Dec. 2017, str. 1-13, ilustr. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15732479.2017.1415941, doi: 10.1080/15732479.2017.1415941. [COBISS.SI-ID 2340455).
F.17 Transfer of existing technologies, know-how, methods and procedures into practice
COBISS.SI-ID: 2338663Increasing use of the ground as a thermal reservoir is expected in the near future. Shallow geothermal energy (SGE) systems have proved to be sustainable alternative solutions for buildings and infrastructure conditioning in many areas across the globe in the past decades. Recently novel solutions, including energy geostructures, where SGE systems are coupled with foundation heat exchangers, have also been developed. The performance of these systems is dependent on a series of factors, among which the thermal properties of the soil play a major role. The purpose of this paper is to present, in an integrated manner, the main methods and procedures to assess ground thermal properties for SGE systems and to carry out a critical review of the methods. In particular, laboratory testing through either steady-state or transient methods are discussed and a new synthesis comparing results for different techniques is presented. In situ testing including all variations of the thermal response test is presented in detail, including a first comparison between new and traditional approaches. The issue of different scales between laboratory and in situ measurements is then analysed in detail. Finally, the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of soil is introduced and discussed. These coupled processes are important for confirming the structural integrity of energy geostructures, but routine methods for parameter determination are still lacking.
F.04 Increase of the technological level
COBISS.SI-ID: 2340199