http://hdl.handle.net/10498/6788 Thu, 05 Nov 2026 12:22:58 GMT 2026-11-05T12:22:58Z http://hdl.handle.net/10498/40537 Regenerative Design for Heat-Resilient Cities: Nature-Based Microclimatic Strategies in a Mediterranean Context Diz Mellado, Eduardo María; Soto Orozco, Juan; López Cabeza, Victoria Patricia; Sánchez de la Flor, Francisco José; Rivera Gómez, Carlos Urban areas in Mediterranean climates are increasingly affected by extreme heat, exacerbated by the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect and the lack of climate-responsive public spaces. This study addresses the need for integrated methodologies combining empirical monitoring and simulation tools to support regenerative urban design. The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) in improving microclimatic conditions and outdoor thermal comfort during summer heatwave periods in a vulnerable urban area in Seville (Spain). A mixed-method approach combining microclimatic monitoring and ENVI-met simulations in situ was applied. A field campaign conducted in summer 2023 was used to characterize baseline conditions and calibrate the model, which simulated both current and proposed scenarios incorporating vegetation, shading systems, permeable materials, and water features. Results from the Seville case study show significant improvements, with air temperature reductions of up to 1.6 °C (daytime) and 1.9 °C (nighttime), surface temperature decreases of up to 11 °C, and thermal comfort improvements reaching 8 °C in UTCI. Beyond environmental benefits, the intervention promotes socially regenerative public space by enhancing usability, inclusivity, and comfort. Limitations include the use of a single representative summer day and inherent simplifications of the ENVI-met model. These findings demonstrate the potential of integrated NBS strategies to mitigate urban heat and support climate-adaptive and socially responsive urban design. Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10498/40537 2026-05-08T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10498/40291 More than novelty: students’ perceived pedagogical value of a 360° engine visualization experience Pérez García, Santiago Leonel; Ruiz Marín, Nazaret; Rojas, Juan-Carlos; Higuera Trujillo, Juan Luis Digital technologies are increasingly being incorporated into higher education, opening new possibilities for the teaching of contents that are difficult to address through conventional resources alone. In engineering education, one of the challenges lies in helping students understand complex technical systems in a more visual and accessible way. In this context, a 360º visualization experience focused on an engine was implemented as a teaching innovation, allowing students to explore the resource on a computer screen. Specifically, the aim of the present study was to analyse students’ post-experience perceptions of the utility, novelty and relevance of this educational resource and to examine the pedagogical value attributed to it in comparison with the usual course resources. A second aim was to compare this pattern in two universities in which the experience was implemented in the same way: the University of Cádiz (Spain) and Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico). To this end, 40 post-experience questionnaires were analysed, corresponding to 20 students from each university. The instrument included three items assessing the perceived utility, novelty and relevance of the technological resource, using a seven-point Likert scale, together with an open-ended question aimed at capturing students’ qualitative perceptions of the experience and its added value compared with the usual course resources. Results indicate a clearly positive evaluation in the three dimensions considered. In both institutions, the resource was assessed very favourably, suggesting that it was perceived not merely as an attractive addition, but as a meaningful support for learning. This interpretation was reinforced by the qualitative responses, which highlighted the role of the experience in making the engine easier to visualise and understand, as well as more engaging from an educational perspective. Although students from Tecnológico de Monterrey tended to provide slightly higher scores, no statistically significant differences were found between the two universities. Overall, the findings suggest that 360º visualization constitutes a valuable educational innovation in engineering teaching across two academic contexts. In particular, students attributed to it a pedagogical value that went beyond the usual course resources. The contribution is therefore centred on students’ appraisal of the resource after use. It focuses on the value they attribute to it within the teaching process, rather than on the measurement of learning outcomes. The study may be of interest to teachers and researchers involved in the design and assessment of digital educational innovations in higher education, especially in disciplines dealing with complex technical contents. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10498/40291 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10498/40289 Seeing differently. Pre-post preliminary evidence of improved conceptual understanding of an engine through a 360° virtual environment Ruiz Marín, Nazaret; Pérez García, Santiago Leonel; Rojas, Juan-Carlos; Higuera Trujillo, Juan Luis The teaching of engine-related contents in engineering programmes often requires students to understand spatial, functional and thermodynamic relations that may be difficult to grasp through lectures and conventional teaching materials alone. In this context, visual digital resources may help students approach such contents in a more intuitive and understandable way. Specifically, the aim of the present study was to examine whether the use of a 360º virtual environment was associated with objectively measured changes in students’ conceptual understanding of the engine, implemented identically at the University of Cádiz (Spain) and Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico). The focus was therefore placed on objective pre-post learning performance rather than on students’ post-experience evaluation of the resource. To tackle it, three objective learning questions were administered before and after the activity, and a total learning score was calculated from the number of correct answers obtained in each questionnaire. In total, 40 pre-experience and 40 post-experience questionnaires were analysed, evenly distributed between Cádiz and Monterrey (20 in each group). Results indicate that learning scores were significantly higher after the experience than before it when the total sample was considered. This same pattern was observed when each university was analysed separately, with significant differences between the pre- and post-experience measurements in both cases. By contrast, no statistically significant differences were found between the two universities either before or after the activity. As a whole, the findings suggest that this educational innovation may contribute to improving students’ short-term conceptual understanding of the engine, showing a consistent pre-post pattern across two different institutional contexts. The contribution is therefore centred on objective evidence of conceptual learning, rather than on students’ perceptions of the pedagogical value of the resource. These preliminary results may be of interest to teachers and researchers working on technology-enhanced learning, engineering education, and the teaching of contents that are difficult to communicate through traditional resources alone. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10498/40289 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39861 Gestión Sostenible de Aceites Lubricantes Usados: Evaluación Técnico-Ambiental y Perspectivas Políticas para una Economía Circular Cabrera Escobar, Catherine Paulina Los aceites lubricantes usados representan uno de los residuos más peligrosos y voluminosos generados a nivel mundial por actividades marítimas, industriales y automotrices. De manera puntual, en la Unión Europea su producción es de más de tres millones de toneladas anuales. Están conformados por hidrocarburos alifáticos y aromáticos, metales pesados como cromo, plomo, cadmio y sustancias como bifenilos policlorados y benceno. Estos poseen una alta persistencia ambiental, toxicidad y además son carcinógenos debido a su composición química, con la capacidad de contaminar hasta un millón de litros de agua por cada litro derramado. Su gestión inadecuada implica graves riesgos no solo ambientales, sino también de salud pública, tanto por su vertido en ecosistemas marítimos y terrestres, como por su combustión no controlada. Para ello, una gestión sostenible adecuada de los aceites lubricantes usados representa un verdadero desafío ambiental, normativo y técnico. Con este propósito se evaluaron varias alternativas tecnológicas que contribuyan a un tratamiento sostenible, incluyendo su regeneración y valorización energética, en procesos como extracción mediante disolventes, adsorción con materiales poliméricos, combustión controlada y pirólisis. Estrategias que se orientan hacia modelos de economía circular, priorizando siempre la regeneración sobre la valorización o su eliminación final. Desde esta perspectiva, se busca recuperar recursos, disminuir el uso de materias primas fósiles y reducir los impactos ambientales asociados a este tipo de residuos. De igual forma, se llevaron a cabo comparaciones técnico-económicas entre distintas tecnologías de tratamiento, tomando en cuenta variables como eficiencia, costo operativo, rendimiento, generación de posibles residuos y su viabilidad económica e industrial. Seguidamente, se ejecutó una simulación numérica de derrames con el modelo SIMOIL en el entorno marítimo con la finalidad de analizar el comportamiento de estos residuos evaluando su propagación, importante para la planificación de respuestas inmediatas a emergencias. Sus posibles aplicaciones ratifican que su adecuada gestión es un punto clave para la transición hacia modelos altamente sostenibles y de economía circular, transformando los aceites lubricantes usados en materias primas reciclables o recursos energéticos, disminuyendo de esta manera la dependencia del petróleo virgen. La integración de los avances tecnológicos con marcos regulatorios altamente sólidos y estrategias de gestión ambiental constituyen el eje fundamental para enfrentar este reto de manera sostenible. Para ello, la tesis doctoral realiza un análisis de marcos regulatorios y de políticas públicas que se encuentran en relación con los aceites lubricantes usados a nivel global, comparando modelos de gestión de diferentes regiones, con el fin de identificar las mejores prácticas y realizar una propuesta con lineamientos estratégicos que se encuentren alineados con la economía circular.; Used lubricating oils constitute one of the most hazardous and voluminous waste streams generated worldwide by maritime, industrial, and automotive activities. Notably, within the European Union, their annual production exceeds three million tonnes. These wastes are composed of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, heavy metals such as chromium, lead, and cadmium, as well as hazardous substances including polychlorinated biphenyls and benzene. Due to their chemical composition, they exhibit high environmental persistence, toxicity, and carcinogenic potential, with the capacity to contaminate up to one million litres of water per litre spilled. Inadequate management of these wastes poses severe risks not only to the environment but also to public health, both through their discharge into marine and terrestrial ecosystems and through uncontrolled combustion processes. Accordingly, the sustainable management of used lubricating oils represents a significant environmental, regulatory, and technical challenge. To address this issue, several technological alternatives were evaluated to support sustainable treatment pathways, including regeneration and energy recovery processes such as solvent extraction, adsorption using polymeric materials, controlled combustion, and pyrolysis. These strategies are aligned with circular economy principles, prioritizing regeneration over energy recovery or final disposal. From this perspective, the objective is to recover valuable resources, reduce the consumption of virgin fossil-based raw materials, and mitigate the environmental impacts associated with this type of waste. Furthermore, techno-economic comparisons were conducted among different treatment technologies, considering key variables such as efficiency, operational costs, process yield, secondary waste generation, and economic and industrial feasibility. Subsequently, a numerical simulation of oil spills was performed using the SIMOIL model in a marine environment, with the aim of analyzing the behavior and dispersion of these residues, which is critical for the planning of rapid emergency response strategies. The potential applications identified confirm that the proper management of used lubricating oils is a key factor in advancing the transition toward highly sustainable and circular economy models, enabling their transformation into recyclable raw materials or energy resources, thereby reducing dependence on virgin petroleum. The integration of technological advancements with robust regulatory frameworks and environmental management strategies constitutes the cornerstone for addressing this challenge in a sustainable manner. In this context, the present doctoral thesis includes a comprehensive analysis of regulatory frameworks and public policies related to used lubricating oils at a global scale, comparing management models across different regions in order to identify best practices and propose strategic guidelines aligned with circular economy principles. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10498/39861 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z