Sustainable and effective urban development
(UD Department of Civil Engineering)
Objective:
Elaborate an integrated approach to the development of urban green spaces and other green surfaces, monitoring techniques of urban green space system with smart technologies, application of new data collection and data processing techniques.
Description:
The sustainable development of settlements is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The area of settlements is constantly increasing, and local regulations are not able to effectively limit the increase in the proportion of built-up area. The mandatory and convenience services provided by the settlements do not adequately follow the increase in the area, a part of the population falls outside the scope of the services. One of the basic settlement services is the provision of green spaces in proper quantity and quality. Those living near green spaces can expect a better quality of life and longer life expectancy than those living further away from that areas. Ensuring optimal access to green spaces in the name of environmental justice is a key issue. The aim is to take an integrated approach to the development of urban green spaces and other green areas, to monitor the green space system with smart technologies, and to apply new data collection and data processing techniques.
(Assessment of) Urban hydrology and water management
(UD Department of Civil Engineering)
Objective:
Assessment of the impacts of climate change on urban hydrology, the new challenges and solutions to maintain or restore the urban hydrological cycle, and the role of integrated blue-green and grey infrastructures in the sustainable urban water management.
Description:
Cities are highly vulnerable to climate change. The rising temperature, together with the heat island effect, as well as the change in the precipitation distribution – and other climate change impacts - have an effect on the urban hydrological cycle. The management of the impacts of water scarcity and extreme flash flood events need a paradigm shift in urban water management starting with long-term sustainable solutions by using integrated blue-green and grey infrastructures, while the development of blue-green infrastructure elements helps to maintain or restore the urban hydrological cycle and the sustainable urban water management at the same time. The main goal is to identify possible solutions, group of measures – taking into consideration on the already available ones – for Hungarian settlements with different size and problems.
Urban Ecological Studies
(UD, Department of Civil Engineering)
Objective:
research on terrestrial ecosystem problems with special regard to the analysis of the environmental health effects of green spaces in urban areas.
Description:
In relation to the engineering sciences, it studies the so-called terrestrial ecosystem problems with special regard to the analysis of the environmental health impacts of green spaces in urban areas.
The analysis of urban ecological problems, the mapping of quantitative and qualitative indicators of green spaces, the calculation of the related human thermal comfort index, the preparation of a database for surface covering of sample areas, the analysis of relationship between factors affecting competitiveness (built-up density, climate adaptation) and the lack of green spaces (green space deficit) are one of the critical research areas of the group.
In the context of urban humans and urban living space, the analysis of exposure to environmental hazards has a particular importance. The background pollution of the urban environment is used to formulate conceptual options that are optimal from an ecological perspective of environment. The related research findings contribute to lay the foundations of future-oriented, modern urban ecological studies and innovative developments.
Urban ecological studies
(UD, Department of Civil Engineering)
Objectives:
It deals with research on terrestrial ecological problems, with a particular focus on the analysis of the environmental health impacts of green spaces in urban sample areas.
Description:
Sustainable urban water management integrates not only engineering and environmental sciences, but also social and economic aspects. The evolving technology of renewable energy let us use energy dependent water and wastewater treatment technologies in the future that will enhance artificial recharge of aquifers using all kinds of used waters and stormwater as water sources. This is, by decreasing the gap in the water cycle, essential in moving towards a more sustainable urban water management. The importance of urban stormwater management as one specific element is obvious due to flashfloods experienced in most of the cities operating an overloaded drainage system. Applying the already developed sustainable drainage systems to retrofit the existing ones is a win-win approach addressing the problem of water scarcity and overloaded drainage systems as well as the heat-island effect experienced in built-up urban areas, causing health issues. The impact of climate change on the urban water cycle; new challenges and corresponding solutions in decreasing the gap in the water cycle by applying integrated (grey / green/ blue) infrastructure elements in sustainable urban water management.
Study of historical structures
(UD, Department of Civil Engineering)
Objective:
Investigation and analysis of historical architecture using procedural approach. Establishing a methodology; explore, reveal, and model the underlying generative principles behind the diversity of forms.
Description:
The Research Group studies both the historical building structures and the historical urban structures. From a scientific point of view, the group seeks to explore and model the underlying, mathematically describable architectural regularities. An outstanding area is the Gothic architecture, mainly its technical side. Following the principles of building archaeology (Bauforschung), in the course of the research the buildings themselves serve as primary sources, including all of their irregularities and distortions. The Department of Civil Engineering examines the structural behaviour, deformations, and boundary states of historical structures through model experiments. From a theoretical point of view, the group is currently working on a procedural approach to historical architecture, and on the related methodology. The aim of the research is to explore and reveal the generative principles behind the diversity of forms, and to model them using algorithms. The scale ranges from microarchitecture to urban fabrics. The vast majority of historical buildings have masonry structure. In the case of masonry structures, geometry is not simply a mean of architectural self-expression: it plays a key role in the stability of the structure. The geometric determinacy of Gothic architecture is especially strong, but research has so far predominantly dealt only with its formal aspects. In contrast, in the case of the procedural approach, not the forms themselves are the subject of the research, but the underlying generative, algorithmizable rules. The generative, interpretive algorithms created in this way can also be used to study the stability, distortions, and boundary states of masonry structures.
Research of engineering materials and structures
(UD, Department of Civil Engineering)
Objective:
Examining the properties of engineering materials and structures already used in the construction, and supporting the innovation efforts of the industry with increasing demands on these materials with our laboratory background.
Description:
The research group has carried out significant research in recent years, for example on the mechanical properties and possible use of the timber-containing lightweight concrete. The behavior of many reinforced concrete structural elements with plastic fiber reinforcement has been studied. The group has provided professional and scientific support for the research of a regional factory producing Glass Fiber Reinforcement Polymer for reinforced concrete structures. For many years research group was involved in the design and development of mobile container structures with complex technologies. Our research direction within the field of civil engineering have been the optimal combination of the material and structure made of it. The research group has dealt with stability problems of steel structures and carried out unique experimental developments in design of the joints of timber truss structures with wooden dowels.