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A Hopkinson tensile bar has been numerically simulated by means of the commercial software ABAQUS, with different gaps between the sample and the incident and the transmitted bars. This simulated a poor adjustment in the preparation of the tests and observed the effect the measurements of the stress of the incident, reflected and transmitted bars might have in the results of the stress-time and strain-time curves, as well as in the stress-strain curve of an aluminum sample. It is verified that the gap may significantly affect the elastic limit to be obtained from the dynamic tests and the expected results of the ultimate stress and deformation, and also affect the sample stress-strain curve to a large extent. We also concluded in the importance that is necessary in the testing equipment for a dynamic characterization of materials, in this case, the equipment for dynamic tensile testing.

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Residents of nursing homes have been significantly affected by COVID-19 in Spain. The factors that have contributed to the vulnerability of this population are very diverse. In this study, physical agents, chemical pollutants, population density and different capacities of residences were analysed to understand their influence on the number of elderly people who have died in geriatric centres in different autonomous communities (AACCs) of Spain. A statistical analysis was carried out on the variables observed. The results show that many residences with a larger number of deaths were private, with some exceptions. Physical agents and pollutants were found to be determining factors, especially for the communities of Extremadura and Castilla–La Mancha, although the large number of factors involved makes this study complicated. The compromise between air quality and energy efficiency is of great importance, especially when human health is at stake.

This chapter analyses the urban water cycle in the smarts cities, describes the current situation, which constitutes a valid but outdated knowledge, adopting the perspective of improving and extending the measures that lead to greater efficiency of the water collection, treatment, supply, sewage, purification, and reuse systems at all stages of the water cycle: the sites, construction, operation, and maintenance of the networks and systems that enable the cycle to be completed effectively. The process of converting a city into smart city includes resources, processes, and services, and all stages of the water cycle are a set of processes, with water as a fundamental resource, which condition the different services to citizens, and therefore, it is necessary to try to establish efficiency improvements in all of them.