SEISMICITY of KAZAKHSTAN and ADJACENT TERRITORIES in 2015

In 2015, the seismic monitoring in Kazakhstan was conducted by two Organizations: Seismological Experience-Methodical Expedition of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (SEME), and the Republican State Enterprise Institute of Geophysical Research of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan (IGR). The paper presents detailed information on seismic observation networks. The joint catalogue based on the data of two organizations was compiled. It includes 489 earthquakes having energy class KR=6.6–12.2. The largest earthquake occurred on January 20, 2015 near the Semipalatinsk Test Site. The earthquake had magnitude MPVA=5.3, energy class KR=12.2, and was felt in a range of Kazakhstan settlements.

Labeling of Installed Heating Appliances in Residential Buildings: An Energy Labeling Methodology for Improving Consumers’ Awareness

In the EU 28, the installed heating appliance stock is quite old, with an actual replacement rate of 4%. This is directly reflected in the average efficiency of the installed heating systems, where around 60% of the stock is rated with an energy class of C or D (the lowest classes of the energy label scale). The European project HARP aims at raising consumers’ awareness of the planned replacement of their old and inefficient heating appliances with more efficient and renewable solutions. In this direction, an energy labeling methodology for old appliances has been developed to rate the installed stock before the introduction of the EU energy label. The methodology has been developed for space heating appliances and water heaters, targeting two types of users: end consumers and professional users. The validation considered about 4600 space heating appliances and 800 water heaters built between 1972 and 2019. Three heating appliances and two water heaters were tested in the laboratory, confirming the reliability of the proposed methodology. The expected impact of defining an energy labeling methodology for installed heating appliances increases the current replacement rate of these appliances in the EU from 4% to 5%.

Airtightness and Heat Energy Loss of Mid-Size Terraced Houses Built of Different Construction Materials

The European Union has adopted legislation aimed to increase the use of renewable energy and improve the effectiveness of conventional-form energy use. Additional structure insulation helps to decrease heat energy loss. Airtightness of the building envelope (building airtightness) is an additional factor that determines comfortable and energy-saving living environment. The conformity of heat energy loss with the object’s design energy class is one of the mandatory indicators used in the obligatory building energy performance certification procedure. Optionally, the objects to be certified are the entire buildings or separate units (flats). There is an issue of concern whether a flat assessed as a separate housing unit would meet the requirements of design energy class depending on the location of the unit in the building. The study is aimed to determine the change in heat loss of end units in terraced houses (townhouses) as a result of various factors, leading to uneven airtightness of the building envelope. The non-destructive assessment of building airtightness was implemented through the combined use of methods, namely Blower Door Test (around 200 measurements) and Infrared Thermography. The hollow clay unit masonry showed ca. 7–11% less airtightness than the sand–lime block masonry structure. The end units were up to 20% less airtight compared to the inside units.

Thermographic Analysis of Joints of Supporting Structures

The external partitions of a building (walls, roof, etc.) in addition to their supporting functions must also ensure an internal microclimate suitable for comfortable human work, recreation and other activities. This article analyzes the thermal characteristics of the external walls of a residential house and thermographically examines the joints of the different structures of the building. Thermographical examination may be performed either passively or actively. In the former case, the object of the examination ir heated up to a given temperature, after which thermographical images of the object are taken and analyzed. In the latter case, thermographical analysis is made of the object in its naturally established thermal conditions. This article examines the thermal characteristics of the partition structures of a residential building. The values of the thermal properties of the materials are taken from the documentation provided by their manufacturers, and in their absence, the data of the technical building regulations is used. Calculated analytically: the wall of the western annex only meets the C energy class requirements, the insulation of the old part of the building raised the heat transfer coefficient of the partition to class A, the thermal characteristic of the eastern annex wall corresponds to the A + energy class. This thermographic examination showed that the facade covered by the fibrous cement siding absorbed less heat compared to the masonry facades. Based on theoretical calculations and the thermographic analysis, it is recommended to additionally insulate the western annex from the inside. If possible, it is also recommended to additionally insulate both facade joints with polyurethane foam and to seal them with waterproofing mastic to prevent the sunrays from reaching the foam.

ANALYSIS OF GEOPHYSICAL PARAMETERS VARIATIONS AND SEISMIC EVENTS AT THE POINT OF DEEP MAGNETOTELLURIC SOUNDING

The paper considers the results of processing and analysis of data from deep magnetotelluric soundings (DMT) performed in 2018. Comparison of variations in apparent resistivity, the endogenous component of the magnetotelluric field, lunar-solar tidal deformations and seismic events that were recorded during the research. The objective of the study is to detect the relationship between the appearance of variations in electromagnetic parameters of the data of magnetotelluric monitoring from the occurred earthquakes, their distance, energy class and position, relative to the DMT point.

ANALYSIS OF GEOPHYSICAL PARAMETERS VARIATIONS AND SEISMIC EVENTS AT THE POINT OF DEEP MAGNETOTELLURIC SOUNDING

The paper considers the results of processing and analysis of data from deep magnetotelluric soundings (DMT) performed in 2018. Comparison of variations in apparent resistivity, the endogenous component of the magnetotelluric field, lunar-solar tidal deformations and seismic events that were recorded during the research. The objective of the study is to detect the relationship between the appearance of variations in electromagnetic parameters of the data of magnetotelluric monitoring from the occurred earthquakes, its’ distance, energy class and position, relative to the DMT point.

Analysis of manifestation of joint acoustic and electric responses of near-surface sedimentary rocks on the deformation by earthquake seismic waves in the South of Kamchatka

We continue the investigation of earlier discovered joint acoustic and electric responses of near-surface sedimentary rocks on the deformation by earthquake seismic waves. The appearance and absence of this response in earthquakes with the energy class of more than 11.0, which occurred from June 2017 to May 2021 by the eastern coast of Kamchatka in the latitude band of 51.7-54.0° N, are under consideration. From those earthquakes we selected 52 events, the seismic waves of which had rock acoustic response at Karymshina site, IKIR FEB RAS. Occurrences of joint acoustic and electric responses of rocks and manifestations of their low-frequency and high-frequency acoustic responses were analyzed. Applying the nonparametric correlation Spearman analysis, statistically significant relation between the energy class of the earthquakes under consideration and the distance from hypocenter to the observation site was discovered.

Power-law patterns in sequences of statistically related events preceding to the main event

Используя статистическую модель связанных событий и данные сейсмического каталога КФ ФИЦ ГС РАН за период 01.01.1962-31.12.2002 (n = 79283 события) для зоны субдукции Курило-Камчатской островной дуги (50°-60° с.ш., 156°-166° в.д., классы 4.1-16.1, глубины 0-600 км) построены последовательности событий, предшествующих главному событию заданной магнитуды и связанных с ним в пространственно-временной области. Проведён статистический анализ наличия степенных закономерностей в этих последовательностях на основании релаксационной модели деформационной активности. Степенные закономерности были выделены только в последовательностях связанных событий, предшествующих главному событию с энергетическим классом меньше 12 (показатель степени 0.5-0.7). Это объясняется большим объёмом выборки для главных событий такого класса и небольшой пространственно-временной областью их подготовки, что уменьшает вероятность попадания афтершоков от более крупных событий, предшествующих главному удару, в рассматриваемые последовательности. Using a statistical model of related events and data from the seismic catalog of the FRC GS RAS for the period 01.01.1962-31.12.2002 (n = 79283 events) for the subduction zone of the Kuril-Кamchatka island arc (50°-60° N, 156°-166° E, classes 4.1-16.1, depths 0-600 km) the sequences of events preceding the main event of a given magnitude and associated with it in the spatio-temporal region are constructed. A statistical analysis of the power laws presence in these sequences was carried out on the basis of the relaxation model of deformation activity. It was possible to obtain power-law patterns in sequences of related events for main events thet energy class is less than 12. The exponent takes the values of 0.5-0.7. The possibility of detecting of power-law patterns for the main events of such an energy class is explained by a large sample size for them and by a by a small spatio-temporal region of event preparation that reduces the probability to got the aftershocks from events with larger energy preceding the one under consideration into the sequence of related events.

Application of Neolepenism in Climatic Conditions with Frequent Fog

Neolepenism is a new type of energy efficient architecture that could respond to the challenges of sustainable development, primarily as a passive means of protection in the fight against the effects of global warming and climate change. The author improved and optimized the positive experiences of the architecture of Lepenski Vir (Serbia) and made a model of a small family house of neolepenism with a flat roof, which he presented at the 50th International Congress and Exhibition on HVAC in Belgrade in 2019. During the presentation of the model, in the discussion at the exhibition, the question was asked: "Can this architecture be applied in climatic conditions with frequent occurrence of morning fog?" Using the meteorological databases of the Meteonorm program and the typical meteorological years for Ljubljana (Slovenia), as well as the previously developed program in Excel that was used in calculations for this architecture of neolepenism, the author presents the results for Ljubljana, a city located in the valley and where morning fogs are common. In meteorological data, the appearance of frequent morning fog is manifested through a reduced intensity of direct solar radiation in the morning. The paper presents conclusions concerning the optimal orientation of neolepenism buildings for this type of climate depending on the energy class of the building.The obtained results at the level of the whole year indicate that for the needs of heating, the eastern orientation is slightly better than the southern one for the buildings of energy class B, while for the less isolated buildings, the southern orientation has a slight advantage. For the area of ​​Ljubljana, the orientation of the neolepenism building does not play a significant role for heating needs, but still the author believes that the originally assumed eastern orientation should be kept as optimal, due to the need for cooling during the summer season. However, in addition to good thermal insulation, the compactness of the form of neolepenism architecture also plays a crucial role in saving energy and achieving thermal comfort.