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The thermal performance of economical housing located in hot climates remains a pending subject, especially in emerging economies. A cellular concrete mixture was designed, considering its thermophysical properties, to apply the new material into building envelopes. The proposed materials have low density and thermal conductivity to be used as a nonstructural lightweight construction element. From the design stage, a series of wall systems based on cellular concrete was proposed. Whereas in the second phase, the materials were analyzed to obtain the potential energy savings using dynamic simulations. It is foreseen that the energy consumption in buildings located in these climates will continue to increase critically due to the temperature increase associated with climate change. The temperatures predicted mean vote (PMV), electric energy consumption, and CO2 emissions were calculated for three IPCC scenarios. These results will help to identify the impact of climate change on the energy use of the houses built under these weather conditions. The results show that if the conventional concrete blocks continue to be used, the air conditioning energy requirements will increase to 49% for 2030 and 61% by 2050. The proposed cellular concrete could reduce energy consumption between 15% and 28%, and these saving rates would remain in the future. The results indicate that it is necessary to drive the adoption of lightweight materials, so the impact of energy use on climate change can be reduced.

It is disclosed a method for the stability analysis of foundation piles and piers subjected to lateral loading, both static and seismic conditions. The stability analysis for stratified soil is based upon the models of foundation soil-structure interaction and the Rankine´s theory of earth passive pressure. In addition, its application is simpler and it can be solved using a spreadsheet. The procedure described in this work can be used in homogeneous soils as in stratified soils, considers the horizontal drag forces exerted by the soil mass against the foundation during an earthquake, can be used easily in the four pile and piers boundary cases, and considers the pore pressure generated in a fine saturated soil during an earthquake or during a rapid application of the horizontal load. The solution of two examples are shown, one in static condition and one in seismic condition, detailing the procedure step by step.