Search results for: green buildings

Authors: F. Heyecan Giritli, Gizem Akgül

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Because of the raising population of world; the need for houses, buildings and infrastructures are increasing rapidly. Energy and water consumption, waste production continues to increase. If this situation of resources continues, there will be a significant loss for next generations. Therefore, there are a lot of researches and solutions developed in the world. Also sustainability criteria are collected together by some countries to serve construction industry with certification systems. Sustainable building production process’s scope requires different path from traditional building production process. Moreover, the key objective of sustainable buildings is that the process includes whole life cycle duration. The process approaches from the decision of the project to the end of it; so the project team is needed from the beginning of the integrated project delivery model. Further more, by defining project team at the beginning of the project provides communication among the team members and defined problem solving and decision making methods. In this research includes the certification systems among the world to comprehend the head lines and assessment criteria. Therefore, it is understand that usually all green building criteria have the same contents. The aim of this research is to assess the sustainable project stakeholder’ perceptions in Turkish construction industry from the point of occupation, job title and years of experience. Therefore, a survey is made to assess the perceptions of each attendant. In Turkey, sustainability criteria are not clearly defined; on the other hand some regulations like waste management, energy efficiency are made by legal agencies. LEED certification system is the most popular system in Turkey that has attended and certificated. From the LEED official data, it’s understood that 308 project registered in Turkey. Therefore, LEED sustainability criteria are used in the survey. Head lines of LEED certification criteria; sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation and regional priority are indicated to assess the perceptions of survey participants. Moreover, only surveying of criteria are not enough; so the equipment, methods, risks and benefits also considered.

Keywords: LEED, sustainability, perceptions, stakeholders, construction, Turkey, risk, benefit

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Authors: Monica M. Marcos

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In the framework of Archaeological Research, Heritage Conservation and Restoration, the object of study is metrology applied in composition of religious architecture in ancient Egypt, and usefulness in Archaology. The objective is the determination of the geometric and metrological relations in architectural models and the module used in the initial project of the buildings. The study and data collection of religious buildings, tombs and temples of the ancient Egypt, is completed with plans. The measurements systematization and buildings modulation makes possible to establish common compositional parameters, with a module determined by the measurement unit used. The measurement system corresponding to the main period of egyptian history, was the Egyptian royal cubit. The analysis of units measurements, used in architectural design, provides exact numbers on buildable spaces dimensions. It allows establishing proportional relationships between them, and finding a geometric composition module, on which the original project was based. This responds to a philosophical and functional concept of projected spaces. In the heritage rehabilitation and restoration field, knowledge of metrology helps in excavation, reconstruction and restoration of construction elements. The correct use of metrology contributes to the identification of possible work areas, helping to locate where the damaged or missing areas are. Also in restoration projects, metrology is useful for reordering and locating decontextualized parts of buildings. The conversion of measurements taken in the current International System to the ancient egyptian measurements, allows understand its conceptual purpose and its functionality, which makes easier to carry out archaeological intervention. In the work carried out in archaeological excavations, metrology is an essential tool for locating sites and establishing work zones.

Keywords: egyptology, metrology, archaeology, measurements, Egyptian cubit

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Authors: Anita Singh, Richa Naula, Manoj Raghav

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India is a leading producer and consumer of fenugreek for its culinary uses and medicinal application. In India, most of the people are of vegetarian class. In such a situation, a leafy vegetable, such as fenugreek is of chief concern due to its high nutritional property, medicinal values and industrial uses. One of the most important factors restricting their large scale production and development of superior varieties is that very scanty knowledge about their genetic diversity, inter and intraspecific variability and genetic relationship among the species. Improvement of the crop depends upon the magnitude of genetic variability for economic characters. Therefore, the present research work was carried out to analyse the variability parameters for growth and yield character in twenty-eight fenugreek genotypes along with two standard checks Pant Ragini and Pusa Early Bunching. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replication during rabi season 2015-2016 at Pantnagar Centre for Plant Genetic Resources, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among all the genotypes for all traits. High genotypic and phenotypic coefficient variation were observed for characters, namely the number of primary branches per plant, number of leaves at 30, 45 and 60 DAS, green leaf yield per plant, green leaf yield q/ha . The genetic advance recorded highest in green leaf yield q/ha (33.93) followed by green leaf yield per plant (21.20g). Highest percent of heritability were shown by 1000 seed weight (99.12%) followed by the number of primary branches per plant (97.18%). Green leaf yield q/ha showed high heritability and high genetic advance. These superior genotypes can be further used in crop improvement programs of fenugreek.

Keywords: genetic advance, genotypic coefficient variation, heritability, phenotypic coefficient variation

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Authors: Said Alshukri, Mazhar Hussain Malik

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Green hydrogen is hydrogen produced using renewable energy sources. In the last few years, Oman aimed to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. Recently, the hydrogen economy has become a global trend, and many countries have started to investigate the feasibility of implementing this sector. Oman created an alliance to establish the policy and rules for this sector. With motivation coming from both global and local interest in green hydrogen, this paper investigates the potential of producing hydrogen from wind and solar energies in three different locations in Oman, namely Duqm, Salalah, and Sohar. By using machine learning-based software “WEKA” and local metrological data, the project was designed to figure out which location has the highest wind and solar energy potential. First, various supervised models were tested to obtain their prediction accuracy, and it was found that the Random Forest (RF) model has the best prediction performance. The RF model was applied to 2021 metrological data for each location, and the results indicated that Duqm has the highest wind and solar energy potential. The system of one wind turbine in Duqm can produce 8335 MWh/year, which could be utilized in the water electrolysis process to produce 88847 kg of hydrogen mass, while a solar system consisting of 2820 solar cells is estimated to produce 1666.223 MWh/ year which is capable of producing 177591 kg of hydrogen mass.

Keywords: green hydrogen, machine learning, wind and solar energies, WEKA, supervised models, random forest

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Authors: Priya Ruban, Thirunavoukkarasu Manikkannan, Sakthivel Ramasamy

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Sulfide is one of the major pollutants of tannery effluent which is mainly generated during the process of unhairing. Recovery of Hydrogen green fuel from sulfide wastewater using photocatalysis is a ‘Cleaner Production Method’, since renewable solar energy is utilized. It has triple advantages of the generation of H2, waste minimization and odor or pollution control. Designing of safe and green photocatalysts and developing suitable solar photoreactor is important for promoting this technology to large-scale application. In this study, green photocatalyst i.e., spinach derived carbon dots (SCDs 5 wt % and 10 wt %)/TiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized for generation of H2 from sulfide wastewater using lab-scale solar photocatalytic reactor. The physical characterization of the synthesized solar light responsive nanocomposites were studied by using DRS UV-Vis, XRD, FTIR and FESEM analysis. The absorption edge of TiO2 nanoparticles is extended to visible region by the incorporation of SCDs, which was used for converting noxious pollutant sulfide into eco-friendly solar fuel H2. The SCDs (10 wt%)-TiO2 nanocomposite exhibits enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production i.e. ~27 mL of H2 (180 min) from simulated sulfide wastewater under LED visible light irradiation which is higher as compared to SCDs. The enhancement in the photocatalytic generation of H2 is attributed to combining of SCDs which increased the charge mobility. This work may provide new insights to usage of naturally available and cheap materials to design novel nanocomposite as a visible light active photocatalyst for the generation of H2 from sulfide containing wastewater.

Keywords: carbon dots, hydrogen fuel, hydrogen sulfide, photocatalysis, sulfide wastewater

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Authors: Catherine Sunter, Marius Nygaard, Lars Hamran, Børre Skodvin, Ute Groba

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Globally, the construction and operation of buildings contribute up to 30% of annual green house gas emissions. In addition, the building sector is responsible for approximately a third of global waste. In this context, the utilization of renewable resources in buildings, especially materials that store carbon, will play a significant role in the growing city. These are two reasons for introducing wood as a building material with a growing relevance. A third is the potential economic value in countries with a forest industry that is not currently used to capacity. In 2013, a four-year interdisciplinary research project titled “Wood Be Better” was created, with the principle goal to produce and publicise knowledge that would facilitate increased use of wood in buildings in urban areas. The research team consisted of architects, engineers, wood technologists and mycologists, both from research institutions and industrial organisations. Five structured work packages were included in the initial research proposal. Work package 2 was titled “Design-based research” and proposed using architecture master courses as laboratories for systematic architectural exploration. The aim was twofold: to provide students with an interdisciplinary team of experts from consultancies and producers, as well as teachers and researchers, that could offer the latest information on wood technologies; whilst at the same time having the studio course test the effects of the use of wood on the functional, technical and tectonic quality within different architectural projects on an urban scale, providing results that could be fed back into the research material. The aim of this article is to examine the successes and failures of this pedagogical approach in an architecture school, as well as the opportunities for greater integration between academic research projects, industry experts and studio courses in the future. This will be done through a set of qualitative interviews with researchers, teaching staff and students of the studio courses held each semester since spring 2013. These will investigate the value of the various experts of the course; the different themes of each course; the response to the urban scale, architectural form and construction detail; the effect of working with the goals of a research project; and the value of the studio projects to the research. In addition, six sample projects will be presented as case studies. These will show how the projects related to the research and could be collected and further analysed, innovative solutions that were developed during the course, different architectural expressions that were enabled by timber, and how projects were used as an interdisciplinary testing ground for integrated architectural and engineering solutions between the participating institutions. The conclusion will reflect on the original intentions of the studio courses, the opportunities and challenges faced by students, researchers and teachers, the educational implications, and on the transparent and inclusive discourse between the architectural researcher, the architecture student and the interdisciplinary experts.

Keywords: architecture, interdisciplinary, research, studio, students, wood

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Authors: Kunihisa Kakumoto

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Purpose: The global environmental problem is now raised in the global dimension. The sprawl phenomenon over the natural limitation is to be made a forecast beforehand in an algorithmic way so that the condition of our social life can hopefully be protected under the natural limitation. The sustainable condition in the globe is now to be found to keep the balance between the capacity of nature and the possibility of our social lives. The amount of water on the earth is limited. Therefore, on the reason, sustainable conditions are strongly dependent on the capacity of water. The amount of water can be considered in relation to the area of the green planting because a certain volume of the water can be obtained in the forest, where the green planting can be preserved. We can find the sustainable conditions of the water in relation to the green planting area. The reduction of CO₂ by green planting is also possible. Possible Measure and the Methods: Until now, by the opportunity of many international conferences, the concept of the solar community as one prototype has been introduced by technical papers. The algorithmic trial calculation on the basic concept of the solar community can be taken into consideration. The concept of the solar community is based on the collected data of the solar model house. According to the algorithmic results of the prototype, the simulation work in the globe can be performed as the algorithmic conversion results. This algorithmic study can be simulated by the amount of water, also in relation to the green planting area. Additionally, the submission of CO₂ in the solar community and the reduction of CO₂ by green planting can be calculated. On the base of these calculations in the solar community, the sustainable conditions on the globe can be simulated as the conversion results in an algorithmic way. The digital formation in the solar community can also be taken into consideration by this opportunity. Conclusion: For the finding of sustainable conditions around the globe, the solar community as one prototype has been taken into consideration. The role of the water is very important because the capacity of the water supply is very limited. But, at present, the cycle of the social community is not composed by the point of the natural mechanism. The simulative calculation of this study can be shown by the limitation of the total water supply. According to this process, the total capacity of the water supply and the capable residential number of the population and the areas can be taken into consideration by the algorithmic calculation. For keeping enough water, the green planting areas are very important. The planting area is also very important to keep the balance of CO₂. The simulative calculation can be performed by the relation between the submission and the reduction of CO₂ in the solar community. For the finding of this total balance and the sustainable conditions, the green planting area and the total amount of water can be recognized by the algorithmic simulative calculation. The study for the finding of sustainable conditions can be performed by the simulative calculations on the algorithmic model in the solar community as one prototype. The example of one prototype can be in balance. The activity of the social life must be in the capacity of the natural mechanism. The capable capacity of the natural environment in our world is very limited.

Keywords: the solar community, the sustainable condition, the natural limitation, the algorithmic calculation

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Authors: Ushir Daya, Zenadene Lazarus, Dimelle Moodley, Ehsan Saghatforoush

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It was found through literature that there is a lack of implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) incorporated into Building Information Modelling (BIM) in South Africa. The research aims to find if the implementation of IoT into BIM will make BIM more useful during the maintenance stage of buildings and assist facility managers when doing their job. The research will look at the existing problematic areas with building information modelling, specifically BIM 7D. This paper will look at the capabilities of IoT and what issues IoT will be able to resolve in BIM software, as well as how IoT into BIM will assist facility managers and if such an implementation will make a facility manager's job more efficient.

Keywords: internet of things, building information modeling, facilities management, structural health monitoring

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Authors: An-Shik Yang, Chiang-Ho Cheng, Jen-Hao Wu, Yu-Hsuan Juan

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Natural ventilation has played an important role for many low energy-building designs. It has been also noticed as a essential subject to persistently bring the fresh cool air from the outside into a building. This study carried out the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based simulations to examine the natural ventilation development of a work area in a public building. The simulated results can be useful to better understand the indoor microclimate and the interaction of wind with buildings. Besides, this CFD simulation procedure can serve as an effective analysis tool to characterize the airing performance, and thereby optimize the building ventilation for strengthening the architects, planners and other decision makers on improving the natural ventilation design of public buildings.

Keywords: CFD simulations, natural ventilation, microclimate, wind environment

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Authors: Jana Djounova

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The World Health Organization proposes an average annual reference level of 100 Bq/m³ to minimize health risks due to radon exposure in buildings. However, if this cannot be achieved under the country's specific conditions, the chosen reference level should not exceed 300 Bq/m³. The World Health Organization recognized the relationship between indoor radon exposure and lung cancer, even at low doses. Radon in buildings is one of the most important indoor air pollutants, with harmful effects on the health of the population and especially children. This study presents the assessment of indoor radon concentration as air pollution and analyzes the exposure to radon of children and workers. Assessment of air pollution and exposure to indoor radon concentrations under the National Science Fund of Bulgaria, in the framework of grant No КП-06-Н23/1/07.12.2018 in kindergartens in two districts of Bulgaria (Razgrad and Silistra). Kindergartens were considered for the following reasons: 1these buildings are generally at the ground and/or the first floor, where radon concentration is generally higher than at upper floors; 2these buildings are attended by children, a population generally considered more sensitive to ionizing radiation, although little data is available for radon exposure. The measurements of indoor radon concentrations were performed with passive methods (CR-39 track detectors) for the period from February to May 2015. One hundred fifty-six state kindergartens on the territories of two districts in Bulgaria have been studied. The variations of radon in the children's premises vary from 9 to 1087 Bq/m³. The established arithmetic mean value of radon levels in the kindergartens in Silistra is 139 Bq/m³ and in Razgrad 152 Bq/m³, respectively. The percentage of kindergarteners, where the radon in premises exceeds the Bulgarian reference level of 300 Bq/m³, was 19%. The exposure of children and workers in those kindergartens is high, so remediation measures of air pollution had been recommended. The difference in radon concentration in kindergartens in two districts was statistically analyzed to assess the influence of geography and geology and the difference

Keywords: air pollution, radon, kindergartens, detectors

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Authors: Torsten Schwan, Rene Unger

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Simulation of thermal and electrical building performance more and more becomes part of an integrative planning process. Increasing requirements on energy efficiency, the integration of volatile renewable energy, smart control and storage management often cause tremendous challenges for building engineers and architects. This mainly affects commercial or non-residential buildings. Their energy consumption characteristics significantly distinguish from residential ones. This work focuses on the many-objective optimization problem indoor air quality and comfort, especially in non-residential buildings. Based on a brief description of intermediate dependencies between different requirements on indoor air treatment it extends existing Modelica-based building physics models with additional system states to adequately represent indoor air conditions. Interfaces to corresponding HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system and control models enable closed-loop analyzes of occupants' requirements and energy efficiency as well as profitableness aspects. A complex application scenario of a nearly-zero-energy school building shows advantages of presented evaluation process for engineers and architects. This way, clear identification of air quality requirements in individual rooms together with realistic model-based description of occupants' behavior helps to optimize HVAC system already in early design stages. Building planning processes can be highly improved and accelerated by increasing integration of advanced simulation methods. Those methods mainly provide suitable answers on engineers' and architects' questions regarding more exuberant and complex variety of suitable energy supply solutions.

Keywords: indoor air quality, dynamic simulation, energy efficient control, non-residential buildings

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Authors: Mehwish Jawaad

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Purpose: The concept of GrSCM (Green Supply Chain Management) in the academic and research field is still thought to be in the development stage especially in Asian Emerging Economies. The purpose of this paper is to contribute significantly to the first wave of empirical investigation on GrSCM Practices and Firm Performance measures in Pakistan. The aim of this research is to develop a more holistic approach towards investigating the impact of Green Supply Chain Management Practices (Ecodesign, Internal Environmental Management systems, Green Distribution, Green Purchasing and Cooperation with Customers) on multiple dimensions of Firm Performance Measures (Economic Performance, Environmental Performance and Operational Performance) with a mediating role of Investment Recovery and Competitiveness. This paper also serves as an initiative to identify if the relationship between Investment Recovery and Firm Performance Measures is mediated by Competitiveness. Design/ Methodology/Approach: This study is based on survey Data collected from 272, ISO (14001) Certified Textile Firms Based in Lahore, Faisalabad, and Karachi which are involved in Spinning, Dyeing, Printing or Bleaching. A Theoretical model was developed incorporating the constructs representing Green Activities and Firm Performance Measures of a firm. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling. Senior and Mid-level managers provided the data reflecting the degree to which their organizations deal with both internal and external stakeholders to improve the environmental sustainability of their supply chain. Findings: Of the 36 proposed Hypothesis, 20 are considered valid and significant. The statistics result reveal that GrSCM practices positively impact Environmental Performance followed by Economic and Operational Performance. Investment Recovery acts as a strong mediator between Intra organizational Green activities and performance outcomes. The relationship of Reverse Logistics influencing outcomes is significantly mediated by Competitiveness. The pressure originating from customers exert significant positive influence on the firm to adopt Green Practices consequently leading to higher outcomes. Research Contribution/Originality: Underpinning the Resource dependence theory and as a first wave of investigating the impact of Green Supply chain on performance outcomes in Pakistan, this study intends to make a prominent mark in the field of research. Investment and Competitiveness together are tested as a mediator for the first time in this arena. Managerial implications: Practitioner is provided with a framework for assessing the synergistic impact of GrSCM practices on performance. Upgradation of Accreditations and Audit Programs on regular basis are the need of the hour. Making the processes leaner with the sale of excess inventories and scrap helps the firm to work more efficiently and productively.

Keywords: economic performance, environmental performance, green supply chain management practices, operational performance, sustainability, a textile sector of Pakistan

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Authors: Florim Grajcevci, Flamur Grajcevci, Fatos Tahiri, Hamdi Kurteshi

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The territory of Kosova is actually included in one of the most seismic-prone regions in Europe. Therefore, the earthquakes are not so rare in Kosova; and when they occurred, the consequences have been rather destructive. The importance of assessing the seismic resistance of existing masonry structures has drawn strong and growing interest in the recent years. Engineering included those of Vulnerability, Loss of Buildings and Risk assessment, are also of a particular interest. This is due to the fact that this rapidly developing field is related to great impact of earthquakes on the socioeconomic life in seismic-prone areas, as Kosova and Prishtina are, too. Such work paper for Prishtina city may serve as a real basis for possible interventions in historic buildings as are museums, mosques, old residential buildings, in order to adequately strengthen and/or repair them, by reducing the seismic risk within acceptable limits. The procedures of the vulnerability assessment of building structures have concentrated on structural system, capacity, and the shape of layout and response parameters. These parameters will provide expected performance of the very important existing building structures on the vulnerability and the overall behavior during the earthquake excitations. The structural systems of existing historical buildings in Pristina, Kosovo, are dominantly unreinforced brick or stone masonry with very high risk potential from the expected earthquakes in the region. Therefore, statistical analysis based on the observed damage-deformation, cracks, deflections and critical building elements, would provide more reliable and accurate results for the regional assessments. The analytical technique was used to develop a preliminary evaluation methodology for assessing seismic vulnerability of the respective structures. One of the main objectives is also to identify the buildings that are highly vulnerable to damage caused from inadequate seismic performance-response. Hence, the damage scores obtained from the derived vulnerability functions will be used to categorize the evaluated buildings as “stabile”, “intermediate”, and “unstable”. The vulnerability functions are generated based on the basic damage inducing parameters, namely number of stories (S), lateral stiffness (LS), capacity curve of total building structure (CCBS), interstory drift (IS) and overhang ratio (OR).

Keywords: vulnerability, ductility, seismic microzone, ductility, energy efficiency

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Authors: Chang Hsueh-Sheng, Chen Tzu-Ling

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Earthquake is an unpredictable natural disaster and intensive earthquakes have caused serious impacts on social-economic system, environmental and social resilience. Conventional ways to mitigate earthquake disaster are to enhance building codes and advance structural engineering measures. However, earthquake-induced ground damage such as liquefaction, land subsidence, landslide happen on places nearby earthquake prone or poor soil condition areas. Therefore, this study uses spatial statistical analysis to explore the spatial pattern of damaged buildings. Afterwards, principle components analysis (PCA) is applied to categorize the similar features in different kinds of clustered patterns. The results show that serious landslide prone area, close to fault, vegetated ground surface and mudslide prone area are common in those highly damaged buildings. In addition, the oldest building might not be directly referred to the most vulnerable one. In fact, it seems that buildings built between 1974 and 1989 become more fragile during the earthquake. The incorporation of both spatial statistical analyses and PCA can provide more accurate information to subsidize retrofit programs to enhance earthquake resistance in particular areas.

Keywords: earthquake disaster, spatial statistic analysis, principle components analysis (pca), clustered patterns

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Authors: Olubusuyi Ayowole, Bashir Khoda

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Green bioprinting, from the context of merging 3D bioprinting with microalgae cell organization, holds promise for industrial-scale optimization. This study employs spectrophotometric analysis to explore post-bioprinting cell growth density variation within hybrid hydrogel biomaterial scaffolds. Three hydrogel biomaterials—Alginic acid sodium salt (ALGINATE), Nanofibrillated Cellulose (NFC) – TEMPO, and CarboxyMethyl Cellulose (CMC)—are chosen for their scaffolding capabilities. Bioink development and analysis of their impact on cell proliferation and morphology are conducted. Chlorella microalgae cell growth within hydrogel compositions is probed using absorbance measurements, with additional assessment of shear thinning properties. Notably, NFC exhibits reduced shear thinning compared to CMC. Results reveal that while mono-hydrogel substrates with pronounced adhesion inhibit Chlorella cell proliferation, Alginate fosters increased cell concentration alongside a slight viscosity rise.

Keywords: green bioprinting, 3d bioprinting, microalgae cell, hybrid hydrogel scaffolds, spectrophotometric analysis, bioink development, shear thinning properties

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Authors: Xu Xiao China, Xu Lei China

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After the 1990s, the concept of urban sustainable development has been increasing attention in urban planning and urban design. High carbon city, not a sustainable city construction model, has become an important problem which restricts the sustainable development of the city. Therefore, low-carbon city construction is the urgent need to solve the problem, and China is one of the core areas of low-carbon city construction in the world. The research work of low-carbon cities were participated by the Chinese government and academic institutes on theory and practice since 2007, and nowadays it comes to a practice stage with six low-carbon pilot provinces and 36 low-carbon pilot cities identified. To achieve the low-carbon target, developing low-carbon energy, adopting non-pollution technique, constructing green buildings and adopting ecolife-style are suggest by the government. Meanwhile, besides a new standard system and a new eco-environmental status evaluation method, the government also established the Chinese urban development institute including the Low-Carbon City Group. Finally, we want to transform the modern industrial civilization into an ecological civilization and realize sustainable urban development.

Keywords: low-carbon city, China, development practice, system construction, urban sustainability

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Authors: Akkouche Karim, Nekmouche Aghiles, Bouzid Leyla

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This study focuses on the development of a multifunctional Expert System (ES) called post-seismic damage inspection tool (PSDIT), a powerful tool which allows the evaluation, the processing and the archiving of the collected data stock after earthquakes. PSDIT can be operated by two user types; an ordinary user (engineer, expert or architect) for the damage visual inspection and an administrative user for updating the knowledge and / or for adding or removing the ordinary user. The knowledge acquisition is driven by a hierarchical knowledge model, the Information from investigation reports and those acquired through feedback from expert / engineer questionnaires are part.

Keywords: buildings, earthquake, seismic damage, damage assessment, expert system

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Authors: Galit Shiff, Yael Gilad

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The need to retrofit old buildings lies in the fact that buildings are responsible for the main energy use and CO₂ emission. Existing old structures are more dominant in their effect than new energy-efficient buildings. Nevertheless not every case of urban renewal that aims to replace old buildings with new neighbourhoods necessarily has a financial or sustainable justification. Façade design plays a vital role in the building's energy performance and the unit's comfort conditions. A retrofit façade residential methodology and feasibility applicative study has been carried out for the past four years, with two projects already fully renovated. The intention of this study is to serve as a case study for limited budget façade retrofit in Mediterranean climate urban areas. The two case study buildings are set in Israel. However, they are set in different local climatic conditions. One is in 'Sderot' in the south of the country, and one is in' Migdal Hahemek' in the north of the country. The building typology is similar. The budget of the projects is around $14,000 per unit and includes interventions at the buildings' envelope while tenants are living in. Extensive research and analysis of the existing conditions have been done. The building's components, materials and envelope sections were mapped, examined and compared to relevant updated standards. Solar radiation simulations for the buildings in their surroundings during winter and summer days were done. The energy rate of each unit, as well as the building as a whole, was calculated according to the Israeli Energy Code. The buildings’ facades were documented with the use of a thermal camera during different hours of the day. This information was superimposed with data about the electricity use and the thermal comfort that was collected from the residential units. Later in the process, similar tools were further used in order to compare the effectiveness of different design options and to evaluate the chosen solutions. Both projects showed that the most problematic units were the ones below the roof and the ones on top of the elevated entrance floor (pilotis). Old buildings tend to have poor insulation on those two horizontal surfaces which require treatment. Different radiation levels and wall sections in the two projects influenced the design strategies: In the southern project, there was an extreme difference in solar radiations levels between the main façade and the back elevation. Eventually, it was decided to invest in insulating the main south-west façade and the side façades, leaving the back north-east façade almost untouched. Lower levels of radiation in the northern project led to a different tactic: a combination of basic insulation on all façades, together with intense treatment on areas with problematic thermal behavior. While poor execution of construction details and bad installation of windows in the northern project required replacing them all, in the southern project it was found that it is more essential to shade the windows than replace them. Although the buildings and the construction typology was chosen for this study are similar, the research shows that there are large differences due to the location in different climatic zones and variation in local conditions. Therefore, in order to reach a systematic and cost-effective method of work, a more extensive catalogue database is needed. Such a catalogue will enable public housing companies in the Mediterranean climate to promote massive projects of renovating existing old buildings, drawing on minimal analysis and planning processes.

Keywords: facade, low budget, residential, retrofit

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Authors: M. H. Mehrabi, S. S. Ghodsi, Zainah Ibrahim, Meldi Suhatril

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Standard routes for upgrading existing buildings to improve their seismic response can be expensive in terms of both time and cost due to the modifications required to the foundations. As a result, interest has grown in the installation of viscoelastic dampers (VEDs) in mid and high-rise buildings. Details of a low-cost viscoelastic passive control device, the rotary rubber braced damper (RRBD), are presented in this paper. This design has the added benefits of being lightweight and simple to install. Experimental methods and finite element modeling were used to assess the performance of the proposed VED design and its effect on building response during earthquakes. The analyses took into account the behaviors of non-linear materials and large deformations. The results indicate that the proposed RRBD provides high levels of energy absorption, ensuring the stable cyclical response of buildings in all scenarios considered. In addition, time history analysis was employed in this study to evaluate the RRBD’s ability to control the displacements and accelerations experienced by steel frame structures. It was demonstrated that the device responds well even at low displacements, highlighting its suitability for use in seismic events of varying severity.

Keywords: dynamic response, passive control, performance test, seismic protection

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Authors: Nusrat T. Chowdhury

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Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is becoming a key to success for profitable businesses. The various activities contributing to carbon emissions in a supply chain are transportation, ordering and holding of inventory. This research work develops a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model that considers the scenario of a supply chain with multiple periods, multiple products and multiple suppliers. The model assumes that the demand is deterministic, the buyer has a limited storage space in each period, the buyer is responsible for the transportation cost, a supplier-dependent ordering cost applies for each period in which an order is placed on a supplier and inventory shortage is permissible. The model provides an optimal decision regarding what products to order, in what quantities, with which suppliers, and in which periods in order to maximize the profit. For the purpose of evaluating the carbon emissions, three different carbon regulating policies i.e., carbon cap-and-trade, the strict cap on carbon emission and carbon tax on emissions, have been considered. The proposed MINLP has been validated using a randomly generated data set.

Keywords: green supply chain, carbon emission, mixed integer non-linear program, inventory shortage, carbon cap-and-trade

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Authors: Ronald Collins, Jonathon Coleman, Joel Dasari, George Holt, Carl Metelko, Matthew Murdoch, Alexander Morgan, Yan-Jie Schnellbach, Robert Mills, Gareth Edwards, Alexander Roberts

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At the Wylfa Magnox Power Plant between 2014–2016, the VIDARR prototype anti-neutrino detector was deployed. It is comprised of extruded plastic scintillating bars measuring 4 cm × 1 cm × 152 cm and utilised wavelength shifting fibres (WLS) and multi-pixel photon counters (MPPCs) to detect and quantify radiation. During deployment, it took cosmic muon data in accidental coincidence with the anti-neutrino measurements with the power plant site buildings obscuring the muon sky. Cosmic muons have a significantly higher probability of being attenuated and/or absorbed by denser objects, and so one-sided cosmic muon tomography was utilised to image the reactor site buildings. In order to achieve clear building outlines, a control data set was taken at the University of Liverpool from 2016 – 2018, which had minimal occlusion of the cosmic muon flux by dense objects. By taking the ratio of these two data sets and using GEANT4 simulations, it is possible to perform a one-sided cosmic muon tomography analysis. This analysis can be used to discern specific buildings, building heights, and features at the Wylfa reactor site, including the reactor core/reactor core shielding using ∼ 3 hours worth of cosmic-ray detector live time. This result demonstrates the feasibility of using cosmic muon analysis to determine a segmented detector’s location with respect to surrounding buildings, assisted by aerial photography or satellite imagery.

Keywords: anti-neutrino, GEANT4, muon, tomography, occlusion

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Authors: Md. Moinul Islam, N. M. Golam Zakaria

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Seakeeping analysis of catamaran vessels in the earlier stages of design has become an important issue as it dictates the seakeeping characteristics, and it ensures safe navigation during the voyage. In the present paper, a 3D numerical method for the seakeeping prediction of catamaran vessel is presented using the 3D Green Function method. Both steady and unsteady potential flow problem is dealt with here. Using 3D linearized potential theory, the dynamic wave loads and the subsequent response of the vessel is computed. For validation of the numerical procedure catamaran vessel composed of twin, Wigley form demi-hull is used. The results of the present calculation are compared with the available experimental data and also with other calculations. The numerical procedure is also carried out for NPL-based round bilge catamaran, and hydrodynamic coefficients along with heave and pitch motion responses are presented for various Froude number. The results obtained by the present numerical method are found to be in fairly good agreement with the available data. This can be used as a design tool for predicting the seakeeping behavior of catamaran ships in waves.

Keywords: catamaran, hydrodynamic coefficients , motion response, 3D green function

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Authors: Juan Carlos Briones Macias

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Currently, the Huancavilca City Park in Guayaquil is an abandoned public space that is discovering a growing problem of insecurity, where various problems have been perceived, such as the lack of green areas, deteriorating furniture, insufficient lighting, the use of inadequate cladding materials and very sunny areas due to the lack of planning in the design of green areas. The objective of this scientific article is to redesign Huancavilca Park through public space design strategies for more attractive and comfortable areas, becoming a point of interaction in a safe and accessible way. A mixed methodology (qualitative and quantitative) was applied, obtaining information based on surveys, interviews, field observations, and systematizing the data in the traditional weighting of the structuring aspects of the park. The results were obtained from the methodological design scheme of iterative analysis of public spaces by Jan Güell. It is concluded that the use of urban strategies in the structuring elements of the park, such as vegetation, furniture, generating new activities, and security interventions, will specifically solve all the problems of the Huancavilca Park tested in a Pareto 80/20 Diagram.

Keywords: public space, green areas, vegetation, street furniture, urban analysis

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Authors: Daniel M. Muntean, Viorel Ungureanu

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More than half of the urban population in Romania lives today in residential buildings made out of large prefabricated reinforced concrete panels. Since their initial design was made in the 1960’s, these housing units are now being technically and morally outdated, consuming large amounts of energy for heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting, while failing to meet the needs of the contemporary life-style. Due to their widespread use, the design of a system that improves their energy efficiency would have a real impact, not only on the energy consumption of the residential sector, but also on the quality of life that it offers. Furthermore, with the transition of today’s existing power grid to a “smart grid”, buildings could become an active element for future electricity networks by contributing in micro-generation and energy storage. One of the most addressed issues today is to find locally adapted strategies that can be applied considering the 20-20-20 EU policy criteria and to offer sustainable and innovative solutions for the cost-optimal energy performance of buildings adapted on the existing local market. This paper presents a possible adaptive design scenario towards sustainable retrofitting of these housing units. The apartments are transformed in order to meet the current living requirements and additional extensions are placed on top of the building, replacing the unused roof space, acting not only as housing units, but as active solar energy collection systems. An adaptive building envelope is ensured in order to achieve overall air-tightness and an elevator system is introduced to facilitate access to the upper levels.

Keywords: adaptive building, energy efficiency, retrofitting, residential buildings, smart grid

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Authors: Dali Nikolaishvili, Nino Khareba, Mariam Tsitsagi

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Tbilisi has been a capital of Georgia since the 5ᵗʰ century. City area was covered by forest in historical past. Nowadays the situation has been changing dramatically. Dozens of problems are caused by damages/destruction of green cover and solution, at one glance, seems to be uncomplicated (planting trees and creating green quarters), but on the other hand, according to the increasing tendency, the built up of areas still remains unsolved. Finding out the ways to overcome such obstacles is important even for protecting the health of society. Making of Retrospective cartography of the forest area of Tbilisi with use of GIS technology and remote sensing was the main aim of the research. Research about the dynamic of forest-cover in Tbilisi and its surroundings included the following steps: assessment of the dynamic of forest in Tbilisi and its surroundings. The survey was mainly based on the retrospective mapping method. Using of GIS technology, studying, comparing and identifying the narrative sources was the next step. And the last one was analyzed of the changes from the 80s to the present days on the basis of decryption of remotely sensed images. After creating a unified cartographic basis, the mapping and plans of different periods have been linked to this geodatabase. Data about green parks, individual old plants existing in the private yards and respondents' Information (according to a questionnaire created in advance) was added to the basic database, the general plan of Tbilisi and Scientific works as well. On the basis of analysis of historic, including cartographic sources, forest-cover maps for different periods of time were made. In addition, was made the catalog of individual green parks (location, area, typical composition, name and so on), which was the basis of creating several thematic maps. Areas with a high rate of green area degradation were identified. Several maps depicting the dynamics of forest cover of Tbilisi were created and analyzed. The methods of linking the data of the old cartographic sources to the modern basis were developed too, the result of which may be used in Urban Planning of Tbilisi. Understanding, perceiving and analyzing the real condition of green cover in Tbilisi and its problems, in turn, will help to take appropriate measures for the maintenance of ancient plants, to develop forests and to plan properly parks, squares, and recreational sites. Because the healthy environment is the main condition of human health and implies to the rational development of the city.

Keywords: catalogue of green area, GIS, historical cartography, cartography, remote sensing, Tbilisi

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Authors: Joana Mourão

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Transition to a low carbon economy requires changes in consumption and production patterns, including the improvement of existing buildings’ environmental performance. Urban rehabilitation is a top policy priority in Europe, creating an opportunity to increase this performance. However, urban rehabilitation comprises different typologies of interventions with distinct levels of consideration for cultural urban heritage values and for environmental values, thus with different impacts. Cities rely on both material and non-material forms of heritage that are deep-rooted and resilient. One of the most relevant parts of that urban heritage is the historical pre-industrial housing stock, with an extensive presence in many European cities, as Lisbon. This stock is rehabilitated and transformed at the framework of urban management and local governance traditions, as well as the framework of the global economy, and in that context, faces opportunities and threats that need evaluation and control. The scope of this article is to define methodological bases and research lines for the assessment of impacts that urban rehabilitation initiatives set on the vulnerable and historical pre-industrial urban housing stock, considering it as an environmental and cultural unreplaceable material value and resource. As a framework, this article reviews the concepts of urban regeneration, urban renewal, current buildings conservation and refurbishment, and energy refurbishment of buildings, seeking to define key typologies of urban rehabilitation that represent different approaches to the urban fabric, in terms of scope, actors, and priorities. Moreover, main types of interventions - basing on a case-study in a XVIII century neighborhood in Lisbon - are defined and analyzed in terms of the elements lost in each type of intervention, and relating those to urbanistic, architectonic and constructive values of urban heritage, as well as to environmental and energy efficiency. Further, the article overviews environmental cultural heritage assessment and life-cycle assessment tools, selecting relevant and feasible impact assessment criteria for urban buildings rehabilitation regulation, focusing on multi-level urban heritage integrity. Urbanistic, architectonic, constructive and energetic integrity are studied as criteria for impact assessment and specific indicators are proposed. The role of these criteria in sustainable urban management is discussed. Throughout this article, the key challenges for urban rehabilitation planning and management, concerning urban built heritage as a resource for sustainability, are discussed and clarified.

Keywords: urban rehabilitation, impact assessment criteria, buildings integrity, embodied energy

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Authors: Apetsi K. Ampiah, Zhao Xin

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Earthquakes over the years have been known to cause devastating damage on buildings and induced huge loss on human life and properties. It is for this reason that engineers have devised means of protecting buildings and thus protecting human life. Since the invention of devices such as the viscous and friction dampers, scientists/researchers have been able to incorporate these devices into buildings and other engineering structures. The viscous damper is a hydraulic device which dissipates the seismic forces by pushing fluid through an orifice, producing a damping pressure which creates a force. In the friction damper, the force is mainly resisted by converting the kinetic energy into heat by friction. Devices such as viscous and friction dampers are able to absorb almost all the earthquake energy, allowing the structure to remain undamaged (or with some amount of damage) and ready for immediate reuse (with some repair works). Comparing these two devices presents the engineer with adequate information on the merits and demerits of these devices and in which circumstances their use would be highly favorable. This paper examines the performance of both viscous and friction dampers under different ground motions. A two-storey frame installed with both devices under investigation are modeled in commercial computer software and analyzed under different ground motions. The results of the performance of the structure are then tabulated and compared. Also included in this study is the ease of installation and maintenance of these devices.

Keywords: friction damper, seismic, slip load, viscous damper

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Authors: Kaan Yamanturk, Cihan Dogruoz

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Seismic isolators have been utilized around the world to protect the structures, nonstructural components and contents from the damaging effects of earthquakes. In Structural Engineering, seismic isolation is used for protecting buildings and its vibration-sensitive contents from earthquakes. Seismic isolation is a passive control system that lowers effective earthquake forces by utilizing flexible bearings. One of the most significant isolation systems is seismic isolators. In this paper, double pendulum type Teflon coated seismic isolators utilized in a city hospital project by Guris Construction and Engineering Co. Inc, located in Kutahya, Turkey, have been investigated. Totally, 498 seismic isolators were applied in the project. These isolators are double friction pendulum type seismic isolation devices. The review of current practices is also examined in this study. The focus of this study is related to the application of passive seismic isolation systems for buildings as practiced in Kutahya City Hospital Project. Based on the study, the acceleration at the top floor will be 0.18 g and it will decrease 0.01 g in every floor. Therefore, seismic isolators are very important for buildings located in earthquake zones.

Keywords: maximum considered earthquake, moment resisting frame, seismic isolator, seismic design

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Xiwu Hu

Abstract:

Product quality and safety serve as the foundation and guarantee for Qinghai Province to establish itself as a hub for green organic agricultural and livestock products. Although an internet-based system platform has been established to enable quality traceability queries for yak products, issues such as information silos, data distortion, and excessive centralization persist in quality and safety supervision. These challenges undermine data reliability and hinder the full functionality of the platform's traceability features. This study aims to construct a quality and safety supervision system for green organic agricultural and livestock products in Qinghai Province, ensuring data security throughout the breeding, slaughtering, and distribution stages of yak production. This study leverages the Fabric technology platform to integrate blockchain technology into the existing regulatory framework, constructing a quality supervision system comprising five stakeholders: regulators, yak farms, slaughter and processing enterprises, logistics and transportation enterprises, and sales enterprises. Through a six-tier structure for data collection and processing, the system standardizes the data-on-chain process and ensures rapid interaction across all stages. An ERP sandbox simulation demonstrates that the system improves the overall compliance rate of yak product supervision and inspection by nearly 10% compared to the previous year, increases the compliance rate of market sample inspections by 48%, and enhances economic benefits by 46%. This study develops a transparent and secure quality safety application system that ensures the quality of yak products, enhances their market competitiveness, and serves as a valuable reference for the quality and safety supervision of other organic agricultural and livestock products. It aims to promote the sustainable development of green agriculture on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Keywords: Qinghai Tibet plateau, green organic agricultural and livestock products, blockchain technology, yak products, quality and safety

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Authors: Gulsah Olgun, Ozgur Bozdag, Yildirim Ertutar

Abstract:

This paper mainly focuses on performance assessment of buildings by associating the damage level with the damage cost. For this purpose a methodology is explained and applied to the representative mid-rise concrete building residing in Izmir. In order to consider uncertainties in occurrence of earthquakes, the structural analyses are conducted for all possible earthquakes in the region through the hazard curve. By means of the analyses, probability of the structural response being in different limit states are obtained and used to calculate expected damage cost. The expected damage cost comprises diverse cost components related to earthquake such as cost of casualties, replacement or repair cost of building etc. In this study, inter-story drift is used as an effective response variable to associate expected damage cost with different damage levels. The structural analysis methods performed to obtain inter story drifts are response spectrum method as a linear one, accurate push-over and time history methods to demonstrate the nonlinear effects on loss estimation. Comparison of the results indicates that each method provides similar values of expected damage cost. To sum up, this paper explains an approach which enables to minimize the expected damage cost of buildings and relate performance level to damage cost.

Keywords: expected damage cost, limit states, loss estimation, performance based design

Procedia PDF Downloads 273