The construction industry is responsible for 40–45% of primary energy consumption in Europe. Therefore, it is essential to find new materials with a lower environmental impact to achieve sustainable buildings. The objective of this study was to carry out the life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of baked clay bricks incorporating organic waste. The scope of this comparative study of LCA covers cradle to gate and involves the extraction of clay and organic waste from the brick, transport, crushing, modelling, drying and cooking. Local sustainability within a circular economy strategy is used as a laboratory test. The energy used during the cooking process of the bricks modified with organic waste, the gas emission concentrate and the emission factors are quantified experimentally in the laboratory. Potential environmental impacts are analysed and compared using the ReCiPe midpoint LCA method using SimaPro 8.0.5.13. These results achieved from this method are compared with those obtained with a second method—Impact 2002+ v2.12. The results of LCA show that the incorporation of organic waste in bricks is favourable from an environmental point of view and is a promising alternative approach in terms of environmental impacts, as it leads to a decrease of 15–20% in all the impact categories studied. Therefore, the suitability of the use of organic additives in clay bricks was confirmed, as this addition was shown to improve their efficiency and sustainability, thus reducing the environmental impact.

In this paper, the geometric modeling and virtual reconstruction of the double-acting steam engine designed by Agustín de Betancourt in 1789 are shown. For this, the software Autodesk Inventor Professional is used, which has allowed us to obtain its geometric documentation. The material for the research is available on the website of the Betancourt Project of the Canary Orotava Foundation for the History of Science. Almost all parts of the steam engine are drawn on the sheets, but due to the absence of scale and space, it is insufficient to obtain an accurate and reliable 3D CAD (Computer-Aided Design) model. For this reason a graphic scale has been adopted so that the dimensions of the elements are coherent. Also, it has been necessary to make some dimensional and geometric hypotheses, as well as restrictions of movement (degrees of freedom). Geometric modeling has made it possible to know that the system is balanced with the geometric center of the rocker arm shaft, and presents an energetic symmetry whose axis is the support of the parallelogram where the shaft rests: calorific energy to the left and mechanical energy to the right, with the rocker arm acting as a transforming element from one to the other.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the key features of an identity standards manual and assess the differences in the rules used for applying the brand to both low- and high-context cultures, companies selling consumer goods and those selling services, and multinational and local companies. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on the analysis of 341 identity standards manuals and on the analysis of three key features found in the manuals: contents, normative tone, and development. Findings – The results divide the contents of the manual into two blocks: core and peripheral; and show that there are differences between the manuals of high- and low-context cultures, companies selling consumer goods and those selling services, and multinational and local companies. Research limitations/implications – Type I errors could have been introduced and the conclusions must be regarded as tentative. Practical implications – The findings show that applying the brand at an international level requires a strategy of adaptation which takes into account the particular nature of each culture. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the debate on standardization/adaptation of the signs of visual identity (name, logo, and color) in global marketing, by studying the rules used in applying the brand and discussion of the documents which contain them.

In this work, a practical methodology is proposed to analyze, before undertaking a large investment, an outdoor lighting installation renewal with light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires. The main problems found in many of the luminaires tested are associated with inrush peak currents in cold start (which may cause ignition problems with random shutdowns), the harmonic distortions caused by their AC/DC associated electronic nature driver, and their working and efficiency dependency on the ambient temperature. All these issues have been tested in the context of a large metal halide (MH) to LED luminaires lighting point renewal where six commercial LED projectors have been analyzed with the above considerations. This research has isolated a single-phase circuit powered with constant stabilized 230 V_AC voltage source in a real public lighting installation. All of them have been sequentially installed and their main electrical and power-quality parameters measured and recorded. The results indicate that each luminaire option will influence the expected long-term reliability (>50.000 h or more as expressed by the U.S. Department of Energy) of the lighting installation (in the case poor power quality is generated on the grid). The economic analysis made to estimate the profitability of the investment may be severely affected by the difference between the declared and the real consumption values in which they perform in our specific installation.

Digital 3D reconstruction of Betancourt’s historical heritage: the dredging machine in the Port of Kronstadt