Environmental and sustainability assessment tools have an important role in moving towards a better world, bringing knowledge and raising awareness. In the architecture and civil engineering sector, these assessment tools help in moving forward to constructions that have less economic, environmental and social impacts. At present, there are numerous assessment tools and methods with different approaches and scopes that have been analyzed in numerous technical reviews. However, there is no agreement about which method should be used for each evaluation case. This research paper synthetically analyzes the main sustainability assessment methods for the construction sector, comparing their strengths and weaknesses in order to present the challenges of the Spanish Integrated Value Model for Sustainability Assessment (MIVES). MIVES is a Multi-Criteria Decision Making method based on the value function concept and the Seminars of experts. Then, this article analyzes MIVES advantages and weak points by going through its methodology and two representative applications. At the end, the area of application of MIVES is described in detail along with the general application cases of the main types of assessment tools and methods.

Many people lose their homes around the world every year because of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes. In the aftermath of a natural disaster, the displaced people (DP) have to move to temporary housing (TH) and do not have the ability to choose the settlement dimensions, distributions, neighborhood, or other characteristics of their TH. Additionally, post-disaster settlement construction causes neighborhood changes, environmental degradation, and large-scale public expenditures. This paper presents a new model to support decision makers in choosing site locations for TH. The model is capable of determining the optimal site location based on the integration of economic, social, and environmental aspects into the whole life cycle of these houses. The integrated value model for sustainable assessment (MIVES), a multicriteria decision making (MCDM) model, is used to assess the sustainability of the aforementioned aspects, and MIVES includes the value function concept, which permits indicator homogenization by taking into account the satisfaction of the involved stakeholders.

This paper presents the most outstanding experiences regarding the use of fibres as the main reinforcement in precast segmental linings in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. It is known that the addition of\ud structural fibres improves, on the one hand, the mechanical behaviour of the structure during its construction, especially in cases such as the thrust of the jacks, and on the other hand it leads to a reduction of the global costs by reducing the conventional passive reinforcement. The aim of this paper consists in presenting three real experiences that are representative of the application of FRC in urban tunnels and a\ud design methodology to take into account the structural contribution of the fibres. Two particular cases of the application of this design method are presented. In the first case, the use of 25 kg/m3 of fibres has led\ud to a reduction of 70% of the conventional reinforcement initially proposed in the project. In the second one, which was planned to employ fibres but without considering its structural contribution, the parametric study reflected the possibility of reducing up to a 38% of the rebars adding 25 kg/m3 of steel fibres in the concrete mixture. In light of good results, construction companies in Spain have become aware of the advantages of using fibres in these structures and have carried out experimental stretches. This attitude\ud has also been influenced by the approval of the new Spanish Code, which includes the FRC as a construction material with design purposes.Postprint (author’s final draft

17Fibre-reinforced concrete (FRC) is a suitable alternative to the traditional reinforced concrete used in the manufacture 28configurations for segmental linings of TBM tunnels using the MIVES method (a multi-criteria decision making 29 approach for assessing sustainability). This MCDM method allows minimising subjectivity in decision making while

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The recent publication of codes for the design of FRC is a major step towards extending the use of the material. An in depth analysis indicates several differences between the constitutive models proposed in the existing codes. In this study, these models are compared and a numerical simulation is performed to evaluate their differences in terms of the structural behavior predicted and measured in an experimental program of RC-FRC elements. The predictions provided by the models fit satisfactorily the experimental results for elements with steel fibers and with plastic fibers

E-mail address of corresponding author: seyed.mohammad.amin.hosseini@estudiant.upc.edu AbstractTemporary housing units (THUs) have been used for displaced population (DP) in the aftermath of natural disasters to serve as an alternative residence while the permanent housing process is completed.

a b s t r a c tThe design of steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) structures is evolving towards a new approach that uses correction factors to consider differences between the small-scale characterisation specimens and the real-scale elements. Recently, the Model Code 2010 proposed an orientation factor (K) that accounts for the effects of the orientation in the structural response of elements. The present study focuses on the identification of this factor in SFRC slabs with different dimensions. For that, flexural tests on real-scale slabs were conducted and the fibre orientation was assessed with an inductive method. A finite element analysis showed the differences between the experimental curves and the prediction of the Model Code without considering K. Based on the results obtained, a range of values is proposed for K and validated. This study sheds light on possible modifications that this philosophy of design might require to better reproduce the behaviour of slabs.