The Institute of Civil Engineering (I.C.E.) is one of the two education institutes operating under College of Engineering of the University of the Philippines Diliman.In October 2008, the University of the Philippines Board of Regents approved the transformation of the Department of Civil Engineering to an Institute with the creation of the Institute of Civil Engineering to address the growing need for a center of excellence in civil engineering and its specialized fields, with combined capabilities in instruction, research and extension service. It is the first and only Institute of Civil Engineering in the Philippines.
Intelligent control systems are crucial for ensuring occupants' comfort and minimizing exposure to indoor pollutants. At the same time, these systems must optimize the building's energy use. Recent research in building science and control has demonstrated the advantages of reinforcement learning (RL) agents over their physicsbased and rule-based counterparts in optimizing indoor environment dynamics. While previous studies have shown that RL agents can be transferred across buildings, ensuring their robustness and reliability is essential for such transfer to be effective in real-world applications. Consequently, this study analyzes the robustness of the decision-making ability of a deep Q network (DQN)-based RL agent and estimates the uncertainties in the predicted actions using the Monte Carlo (MC) dropout approach. The performance of twelve action selection policies (MC-DQN1 to MC-DQN12) has been assessed in terms of associated particulate matter (PM) exposure and energy consumption, with the traditional DQN (TradDQN) serving as the benchmark. The analysis reveals substantial variability in average exposure among different MC-DQNs for various emission activities, with variations ranging from -23% to +34% during high-emission activities. Finally, fractional exposures corresponding to different indoor PM levels (<= 10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, and > 40 mu g m(-3)) have been estimated to identify the specific periods during which these MC-DQNs underperform. Barring a few MC-DQNs that effectively reduced exposure at high PM levels (> 40 mu g m(-3)), other agents struggled to bring the PM levels to the desired level.
Urban flooding has been escalating risks in rapidly urbanizing regions, particularly under climate change. This study evaluates flood management strategy in a 297-Ha catchment of Pokhara, Nepal, by integrating Low Impact Development (LID) measures with conventional drainage upgrades under a 25-year design storm. Hydrological and 2D flood modeling in PCSWMM revealed that urbanization and inadequate drainage capacity have caused severe inundation along Lamachaur section, even during relatively frequent 2-year storms. Climate projections indicated no major increase in extreme rainfall depth but a higher frequency of intense events, highlighting increasing flood exposure. Implementation of LID strategies including permeable pavements, bioretention cells, and green roofs reduced total runoff by up to 67
We present a boundary integral formulation for steadily propagating semi-infinite plane strain tensile and shear fractures in poroelastic media. By combining fundamental solutions of plane strain poroelasticity for an instantaneous fluid source and instantaneous edge dislocations (normal and slip modes) with temporal and spatial superposition principles, we derive boundary integral equations for steadily moving fractures under the adopted hydraulic boundary conditions. These equations relate the tractions (normal and shear stresses) and the pore fluid pressure on the fracture surfaces to the fracture opening, slip, and the fluid displacement function. Assuming prescribed traction and pore fluid pressure profiles, we develop a numerical methodology to solve the governing equations for fracture opening, slip, and the fluid displacement function. The formulation is systematically verified on several relevant problems, including a tensile fracture with exponential normal loading, a stress-free tensile fracture with an imposed exponential pore fluid pressure, and a shear fracture under uniform shear loading over a finite region, demonstrating excellent agreement with analytical and semi-analytical solutions. The resulting boundary integral framework provides an accurate and efficient tool for analyzing semi-infinite steadily propagating cracks in permeable poroelastic media. By supplementing the formulation with appropriate closure relations and additional physics, such as lubrication flow in hydraulic fractures or frictional strength evolution in shear fractures, it can be used to investigate a broad range of coupled fracture-fluid problems. The approach may also be adapted to other classes of elasto-diffusive problems by modifying the underlying physical parameters.
Abstract The purpose of the study is to assess the state of energy efficiency of multi-story residential urban buildings of co-owners and classify recommended measures for modernization and improvement of the level of energy efficiency. A statistical analysis of 30 energy certificates of condominium buildings in the city of Odesa, entered into the USESFC register in 2025, was performed. Quantitative and percentage processing of data on energy efficiency classes, periods of operation, and building floors was carried out with the help of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The study revealed the unsatisfactory condition of the enclosing structures, the heat transfer resistance indicators of which are only 32.4...73.3% of the normatively permissible ones. The structure of the actual annual energy consumption is established: heating (70%), hot water supply (16%), lighting (8%), cooling (4%), ventilation (2%). The analysis of the specific consumption of primary energy and emissions of greenhouse gases confirms the low energy independence of the fund, the excess of the specific consumption of primary energy over the specific energy consumption is 88.9%. Significant exceeding of the maximum levels of energy consumption during heating and cooling in buildings of 5...16 floors (by 75...87%), while buildings of 17...24 floors demonstrate better compliance with the norms (exceedance of 6%).A classification of recommended measures for modernization and increasing the level of energy efficiency has been developed. We see prospects in the need for a systematic transition to the nZEB and ZEB standards, the introduction of individual heating points and online monitoring.
With the progressive advancement of China’s power industry toward higher voltage levels and larger capacity, substations have become critical infrastructures whose resilience to natural disasters requires urgent enhancement. In particular, under the coupled effects of multiple hazards such as earthquakes and strong winds, the optimization of substation design and the improvement of disaster response capabilities are essential to ensure the safe and stable operation of the national power grid. This paper provides a comprehensive review of existing research on the seismic and wind performance of substations and electrical equipment, as well as current studies on multihazard coupling effects including joint wind and earthquake actions. It systematically summarizes research methods and key findings related to the vulnerability assessment of electrical equipment. The study aims to offer insights for the performance enhancement and disaster prevention design of power facilities, with significant implications for the improved safety and reliability of future power infrastructure.
