Search results for: construction change

Authors: Beyene Daniel Abrha

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Agritourism in Eritrea is increasingly threatened by climate change, manifesting through rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and resource scarcity. This study employs quantitative methods to assess the economic and environmental impacts of climate change on agritourism, utilizing metrics such as annual income fluctuations, changes in visitor numbers, and energy consumption patterns. The methodology relies on secondary data sourced from the World Bank, government reports, and academic publications to analyze the economic viability of integrating solar energy into agritourism operations. Key variables include the Benefits from Renewable Energy (BRE), encompassing cost savings from reduced energy expenses and the monetized value of avoided greenhouse gas emissions. Using a net present value (NPV) framework, the research compares the impact of solar energy against traditional fossil fuel sources by evaluating the Value of Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions (CO2) and the Value of Health-Related Costs (VHRC) due to air pollution. The preliminary findings of this research are of utmost importance. They indicate that the adoption of solar energy can enhance energy independence by up to 40%, reduce operational costs by 25%, and stabilize agritourism activities in climate-sensitive regions. This research aims to provide actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders, supporting the sustainable development of agritourism in Eritrea and contributing to broader climate adaptation strategies. By employing a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, the study highlights the economic advantages and environmental benefits of transitioning to renewable energy in the face of climate change.

Keywords: agritourism, climate change, renewable energy, cost benefit analysis, resilience, cost-benefit analysis

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Authors: Abdalla Mohamed M. Musbahi

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The study area lies in Al-Falah area on Airport-Tripoli in Zone (16) Where planned establishment of complex multi-floors for residential and commercial, this part was divided into seven subzone. In each sup zone, were collected Orthogonal profiles by using Seismic refraction method. The overall aim with this project is to investigate the applicability of Seismic refraction method is a commonly used traditional geophysical technique to determine depth-to-bedrock, competence of bedrock, depth to the water table, or depth to other seismic velocity boundaries The purpose of the work is to make engineers and decision makers recognize the importance of planning and execution of a pre-investigation program including geophysics and in particular seismic refraction method. The overall aim with this thesis is achieved by evaluation of seismic refraction method in different scales, determine the depth and velocity of the base layer (bed-rock). Calculate the elastic property in each layer in the region by using the Seismic refraction method. The orthogonal profiles was carried out in every subzones of (zone 16). The layout of the seismic refraction set up is schematically, the geophones are placed on the linear imaginary line whit a 5 m spacing, the three shot points (in beginning of layout–mid and end of layout) was used, in order to generate the P and S waves. The 1st and last shot point is placed about 5 meters from the geophones and the middle shot point is put in between 12th to 13th geophone, from time-distance curve the P and S waves was calculated and the thickness was estimated up to three-layers. As we know any change in values of physical properties of medium (shear modulus, bulk modulus, density) leads to change waves velocity which passing through medium where any change in properties of rocks cause change in velocity of waves. because the change in properties of rocks cause change in parameters of medium density (ρ), bulk modulus (κ), shear modulus (μ). Therefore, the velocity of waves which travel in rocks have close relationship with these parameters. Therefore we can estimate theses parameters by knowing primary and secondary velocity (p-wave, s-wave).

Keywords: application of seismic, geotechnical study, physical properties, seismic refraction

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Authors: Castillo-Acevedo J, Mena-Rivero R, Silva-Poot H

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In Mexico, as largely of the developing countries, the rural housing is a study object, since the diversity of constructive idiosyncrasies for locality, involves various factors that make it vulnerable; an important aspect of study is the progressive deterioration that is seen in the rural housing. Various social programs, contribute financial resources in the field of housing to provide support for families living in rural areas, however, they do not provide a coordination with the self-construction that is usually the way in which is built in these areas. The present study, exposes the physical situation and an economic assessment that presents the rural self-constructed housing in three rural communities in the south of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, which were built with funding from federal social programs. The information compilation was carried out in a period of seven months in which there was used the intentional sampling of typical cases, where the object study was the housing constructed with supports of the program “Rural Housing” between the year 2009 and 2014. Instruments were used as the interview, ballot papers of observation, ballot papers of technical verification and various measuring equipment laboratory for the classification of pathologies; for the determination of some pathologies constructive Mexican standards were applied how NMX-C-192-ONNCCE, NMX-C-111-ONNCCE, NMX-C-404-ONNCCE and finally used the software of Opus CMS ® with the help of tables of the National Consumer Price Index (CPI) for update of costs and wages according to the line of being applied in Mexico, were used for an economic valuation. The results show 11 different constructive pathologies and exposes greater presence with the 22.50% to the segregation of the concrete; the economic assessment shows that 80% of self-constructed housing, exceed the cost of construction it would have compared to a similar dwelling built by a construction company; It is also exposed to the 46.10% of the universe of study represent economic losses in materials to the social activities by houses not built. The system of self-construction used by the social programs, affect to some extent the program objectives applied in underserved areas, as implicit and additional costs affect the economic capacity of beneficiaries who invest time and effort in an activity that are not specialists, which this research provides foundations for sustainable alternatives or possibly eliminate the practice of self-construction of implemented social programs in marginalized rural communities in the south of state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Keywords: economic valuation, pathologies constructive, rural housing, social programs

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Authors: Sowmiyaa V. S., Tiruvengala Padma, Dhanasekaran B.

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Due to urbanization, traffic congestion, air pollution and fuel consumption underground metros are constructed in urban cities nowadays. These metros reduce the commutation time and makes the daily transportation in urban cities hassle free. To construct the underground metros deep excavations are to be carried out. These excavations should be supported by an appropriate earth retaining structures to provide stability and to prevent deformation failures. The failure of deep excavations is catastrophic and hence appropriate caution need to be carried out during design and construction stages. This paper covers the construction aspects, equipment, quality control, design aspects of one of the earth retaining systems the Diaphragm Walls.

Keywords: underground metros, diaphragm wall, quality control of diaphragm wall, design aspects of diaphragm wall

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Authors: Afshin Jahangirzadeh, Shatirah Akib, Keyvan Kimiaei, Hossein Basser

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Coastal defense structures were built to protect part of shore from beach erosion and flooding by sea water. Effects of coastal defense structures can be negative or positive. Some of the effects are beneficial in socioeconomic aspect, but environment matters should be given more concerns because it can bring bad consequences to the earth landscape and make the ecosystem be unbalanced. This study concerns on the negative impacts as they are dominant. Coastal structures can extremely impact the shoreline configuration. Artificial structures can influence sediment transport, split the coastal space, etc. This can result in habitats loss and lead to noise and visual disturbance of birds. There are two types of coastal defense structures, hard coastal structure and soft coastal structure. Both coastal structures have their own impacts. The impacts are induced during the construction, maintaining, and operation of the structures.

Keywords: ecosystem, environmental impact, hard coastal structures, soft coastal structures

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Authors: Sawsan Domi

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Identifying urban patterns of traditional settlements perfumed in various ways. One of them through the three-dimensional ‘reading’ of the urban web: the density of structures, the construction materials and the colors used. Objectives of this study are to paraphrase and understand the relation between the formation of the traditional settlements and the shape and structure of their structural method. In the beginning, the study considered the components of the historical neighborhood, which reflected the social and economical effects in the urban planning pattern. Then, by analyzing the main components of the old neighborhood which included: analysis of urban patterns & streets systems, analysis of traditional architectural elements and the construction materials and their usage. ‘’Hamasa’’ Neighborhood in ‘’Al Buraimi’’ Governorate is considered as one of the most important archaeological sites in the Sultanate of Oman. The vivid features of this archaeological site are the living witness to the genius of the Omani person and his unique architecture. ‘’Hamasa’’ Neighborhood is also considered as the oldest human settlement at ‘’Al Buraimi’’ Governorate. It used to be the gathering area for Arab and Omani tribes who are coming from other governorates of Oman. In this old settlement, local characters were created to meet the climate problems and the social, religious requirements of the life. Traditional buildings were built of materials that were available in the surround environment and within hand reach. The Historical component was containing four main separate neighborhoods. The morphological structure of ‘’Hamasa’’ was characterized by a continuous and densely built-up pattern, featuring close interdependence between the spatial and functional pattern. The streets linked the plots, the marketplace and the open areas. Consequently, the traditional fabric had narrow streets with one- and two- storey houses. The material used in building facilities at ‘’Hamasa’' historical are from the traditionally used materials. These materials were cleverly used in building of local facilities. Most of these materials are locally made and formed, and used by the locals. ‘’Hamasa’’ neighborhood is an example of analyzing the urban patterns and geometrical features. The old ‘’ Hamasa’’ retains the patterns of its old settlements. Urban patterns were defined by both forms and structure. The traditional architecture of ‘’Hamasa’’ neighborhood has evolved as a direct result of its climatic conditions. The study figures out that the neighborhood characterized by the used construction materials, the scope of the residential structures and by the streets system. All formed the urban pattern of the settlement.

Keywords: urban pattern, construction materials, neighborhood, architectural elements, historical

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Authors: Wardatutthoyyibah, Satyawan Pudyatmoko, Sena Adi Subrata, Muhammad Ali Imron

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The proboscis monkey is an endemic species to the island of Borneo with conservation status IUCN (The International Union for Conservation of Nature) of endangered. The population of the monkey has a specific habitat and sensitive to habitat disturbances. As a consequence of increasing rates of land-use change in the last four decades, its population was reported significantly decreased. We quantified the effect of land use change on the proboscis monkey’s habitat through the species distribution modeling (SDM) approach with Maxent Software. We collected presence data and environmental variables, i.e., land cover, topography, bioclimate, distance to the river, distance to the road, and distance to the anthropogenic disturbance to generate predictive distribution maps of the monkeys. We compared two prediction maps for 2000 and 2015 data to represent the current habitat of the monkey. We overlaid the monkey’s predictive distribution map with the existing protected areas to investigate whether the habitat of the monkey is protected under the protected areas networks. The results showed that almost 50% of the monkey’s habitat reduced as the effect of land use change. And only 9% of the current proboscis monkey’s habitat within protected areas. These results are important for the master plan of conservation of the endangered proboscis monkey and provide scientific guidance for the future development incorporating biodiversity issue.

Keywords: endemic species, land use change, maximum entropy, spatial distribution

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Authors: Mukul Anand

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Quality oriented affordable shelter for all has always been the key issue in the housing sector of our country. Homelessness is the acute form of housing need. It is a paradox that in spite of innumerable government initiated programmes for affordable housing, certain section of society is still devoid of shelter. About nineteen million (18.78 million) households grapple with housing shortage in Urban India in 2012. In Indian scenario there is major mismatch between the people for whom the houses are being built and those who need them. The prime force faced by public authorities in facilitation of quality housing for all is high cost of construction. The present paper will comprehend executable techniques for dilution of cost factor in housing the homeless. The key actors responsible for delivery of cheap housing stock such as capacity building, resource optimization, innovative low cost building material and indigenous skeleton housing system will also be incorporated in developing these techniques. Time performance, which is an important angle of above actors, will also be explored so as to increase the effectiveness of low cost housing. Along with this best practices will be taken up as case studies where both conventional techniques of housing and innovative low cost housing techniques would be cited. Transportation consists of approximately 30% of total construction budget. Thus use of alternative local solutions depending upon the region would be covered so as to highlight major components of low cost housing. Government is laid back regarding base line information on use of innovative low cost method and technique of resource optimization. Therefore, the paper would be an attempt to bring to light simpler solutions for achieving low cost housing.

Keywords: construction, cost, housing, optimization, shelter

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Authors: Tianyu Gao

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Digital architectures use computer-aided design, programming, simulation, and imaging to create virtual forms and physical structures. Today's customers want to know more about their buildings. They want an automatic thermostat to learn their behavior and contact them, such as the doors and windows they want to open with a mobile app. Therefore, the architectural display form is more closely related to the customer's experience. Based on the purpose of building informationization, this paper studies the steel structure design based on BIM. Taking the Zigan office building in Hangzhou as an example, it is divided into four parts, namely, the digital design modulus of the steel structure, the node analysis of the steel structure, the digital production and construction of the steel structure. Through the application of BIM software, the architectural design can be synergized, and the building components can be informationized. Not only can the architectural design be feedback in the early stage, but also the stability of the construction can be guaranteed. In this way, the monitoring of the entire life cycle of the building and the meeting of customer needs can be realized.

Keywords: digital architectures, BIM, steel structure, architectural design

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Authors: Stephanie Wall, Guido Wimmers

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The construction and operation of buildings greatly contribute to environmental degradation through resource and energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The design of the envelope system affects the environmental impact of a building in two major ways; 1) high thermal performance and air tightness can significantly reduce the operational energy of the building and 2) the material selection for the envelope largely impacts the embodied energy of the building. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a scientific methodology that is used to systematically analyze the environmental load of processes or products, such as buildings, over their life. The paper will discuss the results of a comparative LCA of different envelope designs and the long-term monitoring of the Wood Innovation Research Lab (WIRL); a Passive House (PH), industrial building under construction in Prince George, Canada. The WIRL has a footprint of 30m x 30m on a concrete raft slab foundation and consists of shop space as well as a portion of the building that includes a two-story office/classroom space. The lab building goes beyond what was previously thought possible in regards to energy efficiency of industrial buildings in cold climates due to their large volume to surface ratio, small floor area, and high air change rate, and will be the first PH certified industrial building in Canada. These challenges were mitigated through the envelope design which utilizes solar gains while minimizing overheating, reduces thermal bridges with thick (570mm) prefabricated truss walls filled with blown in mineral wool insulation and a concrete slab and roof insulated with EPS rigid insulation. The envelope design results in lower operational and embodied energy when compared to buildings built to local codes or with steel. The LCA conducted using Athena Impact Estimator for Buildings identifies project specific hot spots as well illustrates that for high-efficiency buildings where the operational energy is relatively low; the embodied energy of the material selection becomes a significant design decision as it greatly impacts the overall environmental footprint of the building. The results of the LCA will be reinforced by long-term monitoring of the buildings envelope performance through the installation of temperature and humidity sensors throughout the floor slab, wall and roof panels and through detailed metering of the energy consumption. The data collected from the sensors will also be used to reinforce the results of hygrothermal analysis using WUFI®, a program used to verify the durability of the wall and roof panels. The WIRL provides an opportunity to showcase the use of wood in a high performance envelope of an industrial building and to emphasize the importance of considering the embodied energy of a material in the early stages of design. The results of the LCA will be of interest to leading researchers and scientists committed to finding sustainable solutions for new construction and high-performance buildings.

Keywords: high performance envelope, life cycle assessment, long term monitoring, passive house, prefabricated panels

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Authors: Babitha Elizabeth Philip

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This paper aims to study in general about bridges without expansion joints. Integral Abutment Bridges (IAB) fall into this category of bridges. They are having a continuous deck and also the girders are integrated into the abutments. They are most cost effective system in terms of construction, maintenance, and longevity. The main advantage of IAB is that it is corrosion resistant since water is not allowed to pass through the structure. The other attractions of integral bridges are its simple and rapid construction, smooth and uninterrupted deck which provides a safe ride. Also damages to the abutments can be avoided to a great extent due to better load distribution at the bridge ends. Damages due to improper drainage are not seen in IAB because of its properly drained approach slabs thus eliminating the possibility of erosion of the abutment backfill and freeze and thaw damage resulting from saturated backfill.

Keywords: continuous bridge, integral abutment bridge, joint bridge, life cycle cost, soil interaction

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Authors: V. Ivanov, J. Chu, V. Stabnikov

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Different biotechnological methods for the production of construction materials and for the performance of construction processes in situ are developing within a new scientific discipline of Construction Biotechnology. The aim of this research was to develop and test new biotechnologies and biotechnological grouts for the minimization of the hydraulic conductivity of the fractured rocks and porous soil. This problem is essential to minimize flow rate of groundwater into the construction sites, the tunneling space before and after excavation, inside levies, as well as to stop water seepage from the aquaculture ponds, agricultural channels, radioactive waste or toxic chemicals storage sites, from the landfills or from the soil-polluted sites. The conventional fine or ultrafine cement grouts or chemical grouts have such restrictions as high cost, viscosity, sometime toxicity but the biogrouts, which are based on microbial or enzymatic activities and some not expensive inorganic reagents, could be more suitable in many cases because of lower cost and low or zero toxicity. Due to these advantages, development of biotechnologies for biogrouting is going exponentially. However, most popular at present biogrout, which is based on activity of urease- producing bacteria initiating crystallization of calcium carbonate from calcium salt has such disadvantages as production of toxic ammonium/ammonia and development of high pH. Therefore, the aim of our studies was development and testing of new biogrouts that are environmentally friendly and have low cost suitable for large scale geotechnical, construction, and environmental applications. New microbial biotechnologies have been studied and tested in the sand columns, fissured rock samples, in 1 m3 tank with sand, and in the pack of stone sheets that were the models of the porous soil and fractured rocks. Several biotechnological methods showed positive results: 1) biogrouting using sequential desaturation of sand by injection of denitrifying bacteria and medium following with biocementation using urease-producing bacteria, urea and calcium salt decreased hydraulic conductivity of sand to 2×10-7 ms-1 after 17 days of treatment and consumed almost three times less reagents than conventional calcium-and urea-based biogrouting; 2) biogrouting using slime-producing bacteria decreased hydraulic conductivity of sand to 1x10-6 ms-1 after 15 days of treatment; 3) biogrouting of the rocks with the width of the fissures 65×10-6 m using calcium bicarbonate solution, that was produced from CaCO3 and CO2 under 30 bars pressure, decreased hydraulic conductivity of the fissured rocks to 2×10-7 ms-1 after 5 days of treatment. These bioclogging technologies could have a lot of advantages over conventional construction materials and processes and can be used in geotechnical engineering, agriculture and aquaculture, and for the environmental protection.

Keywords: biocementation, bioclogging, biogrouting, fractured rocks, porous soil, tunneling space

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Authors: Mokhlisur Rahman

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The growing consensus among scientists and world leaders indicates that immediate action should be considered regarding the climate change phenomenon. However, climate change is no more a global issue but a personal one. Thus, individual participation is necessary to address such a significant issue. Studies show that individuals who perceive climate change as a personal issue are more likely to act toward it. This abstract presents augmented reality (A.R.) technology in the social media platform Facebook video advertising. The idea involves creating a video advertisement that enables users to interact with the video by navigating its features and experiencing the result uniquely and engagingly. This advertisement uses A.R. to bring changes, such as people making changes in real-life scenarios by simple clicks on the video and hearing an instant rewarding fact about their choices. The video shows three options: room, lawn, and driveway. Users select one option and engage in interaction based on while holding the camera in their personal spaces: Suppose users select the first option, room, and hold their camera toward spots such as by the windows, balcony, corners, and even walls. In that case, the A.R. offers users different plants appropriate for those unoccupied spaces in the room. Users can change the options of the plants and see which space at their house deserves a plant that makes it more natural. When a user adds a natural element to the video, the video content explains a piece of beneficiary information about how the user contributes to the world more to be livable and why it is necessary. With the help of A.R., if users select the second option, lawn, and hold their camera toward their lawn, the options are various small trees for their lawn to make it more environmentally friendly and decorative. The video plays a beneficiary explanation here too. Suppose users select the third option, driveway, and hold their camera toward their driveway. In that case, the A.R. video option offers unique recycle bin designs using A.I. measurement of spaces. The video plays audio information on anthropogenic contribution to greenhouse gas emission. IoT embeds tracking code in the video ad on Facebook, which stores the exact number of views in the cloud for data analysis. An online survey at the end collects short qualitative answers. This study helps understand the number of users involved and willing to change their behavior; It makes personalized advertising in social media. Considering the current state of climate change, the urgency for action is increasing. This ad increases the chance to make direct connections with individuals and gives a sense of personal responsibility for climate change to act

Keywords: motivations, climate, iot, personalized-advertising, action

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Authors: Yan Zhang, Felix Kin Peng Hui, Colin Duffield, Caroline X. Gao

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In post-pandemic Australia, it is unclear how building occupant have changed their behaviour in their interaction with buildings and other occupants. This research provides information on occupant behaviour change compared to before the pandemic and examines the predictors for those behaviour changes. This paper analyses survey responses from 2298 building occupants in Melbourne to investigate occupant behaviour change and determinants for those changes one year after the pandemic in Australia. The behaviour changes were grouped into three categories based on respiratory infection routes: (1) fomite: hand-shaking and hand hygiene behaviours; (2) airborne: individual interventions to indoor air quality such as face masking, window openings for occupants working in naturally ventilated space; (3) droplets: social distancing, reducing working hours in the workplace. The survey shows that the pandemic has significantly changed occupants' behaviour in all three categories compared to before the pandemic. The changes are significantly associated with occupants' perceived indoor air quality, indoor environmental cleanliness, and occupant density, demonstrating their growing awareness of respiratory infection risk that influences their health behaviours. The two most significant factors identified from multivariate regressions to drive the behaviour change include occupant risk perception of respiratory infections at the workplace and their observed co-worker's behaviour change. Based on the survey results, the paper provides adjusted estimates for related occupant behaviour parameters. The study also discusses alternatives for managing window operations in naturally ventilated buildings to improve occupant satisfaction. This paper could help Building Managers, and Building Designers understand occupant behaviour change to improve building operations and new building design to enhance occupant experience. Also, building energy modellers and risk assessors may use the findings to adjust occupant behaviour-related parameters to improve the models. The findings contribute to the knowledge of Human-Building Interaction.

Keywords: human-building interaction, risk perception, occupant behaviour, IAQ, COVID-19

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Authors: M. N. Akhtar, J. N. Akhtar

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The present study evaluates the properties of class F fly ash as a replacement of natural materials in civil engineering construction industry. The low-lime flash similar to class F is the prime variety generated in India, although it has significantly smaller volumes of high-lime fly ash as compared to class C. The chemical and physical characterization of the sample is carried out with the number of experimental approaches in order to investigate all relevant features present in the samples. For chemical analysis, elementary quantitative results from point analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) techniques were used to identify the element images of different fractions. The physical properties found very close to the range of common soils. Furthermore, the fly ash-based bricks were prepared by the same sample of class F fly ash and the results of compressive strength similar to that of Standard Clay Brick Grade 1 available in the local market of India.

Keywords: fly ash, class F, class C, chemical, physical, SEM, EDS

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Authors: Leila Rashidian, Abbas Ebrahimi

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The development of industrial activities, increase in fossil fuel consumption, vehicles, destruction of forests and grasslands, changes in land use, and population growth have caused to increase the amount of greenhouse gases especially CO₂ in the atmosphere in recent decades. This has led to global warming and climate change. In the present paper, we have investigated the trend of climate change according to the data simulation during the time interval of 2010-2030 in the Fars province. In this research, the daily climatic parameters such as maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and number of sunny hours during the 1977-2008 time interval for synoptic stations of Shiraz and Abadeh and during 1995-2008 for Lar stations and also the output of HADCM₃ model in 2010-2030 time interval have been used based on the A₂ propagation scenario. The results of the model show that the average temperature will increase by about 1 degree centigrade and the amount of precipitation will increase by 23.9% compared to the observational data. In conclusion, according to the temperature increase in this province, the amount of precipitation in the form of snow will be reduced and precipitations often will occur in the form of rain. This 1-degree centigrade increase during the season will reduce production by 6 to 10% because of shortening the growing period of wheat.

Keywords: climate change, Lars WG, HADCM3, Gillan province, climatic parameters, A2 scenario

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Authors: Z. Chen, C. S. Poon

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In Hong Kong, about 1,000 tonnes of sewage sludge were produced every day in 2014 representing a major fraction of the total solid municipal waste. Traditionally, sewage sludge is disposed of at landfills. This disposal method causes environmental issues and uses up precious space in landfills which are becoming saturated one by one. To tackle the disposal problem, Hong Kong government has just built a sewage sludge incinerator. Through incineration the volume of waste can be reduced up to 90% by converting sewage sludge into ash. Whilst sewage sludge ash (SSA) still needs to be disposed of at landfills, research has been conducted at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on using SSA to substitute cement for the production of construction materials. Results demonstrated that SSA contained many open and isolated pores and thus can reduce the cement dilution effect resulting in only slight decrease in the flexural and compressive strengths of cement mortar. The incorporation of SSA in cement mortar can be up to 20% of the binder, without too much worry about adverse effect on strength development of mortar. There was some enhancement in strength using ground SSA in comparison to the original SSA. The original SSA shortened the relative initial setting time of cement paste but ground SSA caused slight delay in the setting of cement paste. The research also found that increasing the percentage of SSA lead to decreasing workability of cement mortar with the same water/binder ratio, and ground SSA was beneficial to workability although grinding increased the surface area of SSA. This paper summarizes the major findings of the research.

Keywords: cement replacement, construction material, sewage sludge ash, waste recycling

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Authors: Festus A. Olutoge, Ahmed A. Akintunde, Anuoluwapo S. Kolade, Aaron A. Chadee, Jovanca Smith

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Geopolymer concrete's (GPC) compressive strength was investigated. The GPC was incorporated with rice husk ash (RHA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), which may have potential in the construction industry to replace Portland limestone cement (PLC) concrete. The sustainable construction binders used were GGBFS and RHA, and a solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate gel (Na₂SiO₃) was used as the 12-molar alkaline activator. Five GPC mixes comprising fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, GGBS, and RHA, and the alkaline solution in the ratio 2: 2.5: 1: 0.5, respectively, were prepared to achieve grade 40 concrete, and PLC was wholly substituted with GGBFS and RHA in the ratios of 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 100:0. A control mix was also prepared which comprised of 100% water and 100% PLC as the cementitious material. The GPC mixes were thermally cured at 60-80ºC in an oven for approximately 24hrs. After curing for 7 and 28 days, the compressive strength test results of the hardened GPC samples showed that GPC-Mix #3, comprising 50% GGBFS and 50% RHA, was the most efficient geopolymer mix. The mix had compressive strengths of 35.71MPa and 47.26MPa, 19.87% and 8.69% higher than the PLC concrete samples, which had 29.79MPa and 43.48MPa after 7 and 28 days, respectively. Therefore, geopolymer concrete containing GGBFS incorporated with RHA is an efficient method of decreasing the use of PLC in conventional concrete production and reducing the high amounts of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere in the construction industry.

Keywords: alkaline solution, cementitious material, geopolymer concrete, ground granulated blast furnace slag, rice husk ash

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Authors: Shelly-Ann Gajadhar

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Over the last twenty years, the traditional economic motivations of foreign direct investment have been amalgamated with geopolitical motivations. This is evidenced by the extensive ratification of bilateral investment treaties (BIT) globally and the emergence of state-owned multinational companies (SOMNCs) that directly compete with local domestic enterprises (LDE). This paper investigates the impact that Chinese SOMNCs have on LDEs within Trinidad and Tobago’s construction sector and, determines whether knowledge transfer occurs. The paper employed semi-structured interviews of industry experts and concluded that LDEs predominantly experience adverse spillovers, inclusive of a long-term competition effect, with no technology transfer occurring.

Keywords: foreign direct investment, bilateral investment treaties, knowledge transfer, international business, Caribbean

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Authors: M. Baldini, H. K. Jacobsen, M. Jaccard

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In light of the international efforts to comply with the Paris agreement and emission targets for future energy systems, Denmark and Canada are among the front-runner countries dealing with climate change. The experiences in the energy sector have seen both countries coping with trade-offs between investments in renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency, thus tackling the climate issue from the supply and demand side respectively. On the demand side, the industrial sector is going through a remarkable transformation, with implementation of energy efficiency measures, change of input fuel for end-use processes and forecasted electrification as main features under the spotlight. By looking at Canada and Denmark's experiences as pathfinders on the demand and supply approach to climate change, it is possible to obtain valuable experience that may be applied to other countries aiming at the same goal. This paper presents a comparative study on industrial energy efficiency between Canada and Denmark. The study focuses on technologies and system options, policy design and implementation and modelling methodologies when implementing industrial energy savings in optimization models in comparison to simulation models. The study identifies gaps and junctures in the approach towards climate change actions and, learning from each other, lessen the differences to further foster the adoption of energy efficiency measurements in the industrial sector, aiming at reducing energy consumption and, consequently, CO₂ emissions.

Keywords: industrial energy efficiency, comparative study, CO₂ reduction, energy system modelling

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Authors: Brendah Nagula, Omolo Fredrick Okalebo, Ronald Ssengendo, Ivan Bamweyana

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The Kampala Physical Development Plan (KPDP) was developed in 2012 and projected both long term and short term developments within the City .The purpose of the plan was to not only shape the city into a spatially planned area but also to control the urban sprawl trends that had expanded with pronounced instances of informal settlements. This plan was approved by the National Physical Planning Board and a signature was appended by the Minister in 2013. Much as the KPDP plan has been implemented using different approaches such as detailed planning, development control, subdivision planning, carrying out construction inspections, greening and beautification, there is still limited knowledge on the level of conformance towards this plan. Therefore, it is yet to be determined whether it has been effective in shaping the City into an ideal spatially planned area. Attaining a clear picture of the level of conformance towards the KPDP 2012 through evaluation between the planned and the existing land use in Kampala City was performed. Methods such as Supervised Classification and Post Classification Change Detection were adopted to perform this evaluation. Scrutiny of findings revealed Central Division registered the lowest level of conformance to the planning standards specified in the KPDP 2012 followed by Nakawa, Rubaga, Kawempe, and Makindye. Furthermore, mixed-use development was identified as the land use with the highest level of non-conformity of 25.11% and institutional land use registered the highest level of conformance of 84.45 %. The results show that the aspect of location was not carefully considered while allocating uses in the KPDP whereby areas located near the Central Business District have higher land rents and hence require uses that ensure profit maximization. Also, the prominence of development towards mixed-use denotes an increased demand for land towards compact development that was not catered for in the plan. Therefore in order to transform Kampala city into a spatially planned area, there is need to carefully develop detailed plans especially for all the Central Division planning precincts indicating considerations for land use densification.

Keywords: spatial plan, post classification change detection, Kampala city, landuse

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Authors: Seyeon Lee, Suyeon Lee, Julia Rogers

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This research investigates and records post-flood and typhoon conditions of low income housing in the Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam; area prone to extreme flooding in Central Vietnam. The cost of rebuilding houses after flood and typhoon has been always a burden for low income households. These costs often lead to the elimination of essential construction practices for disaster resistance. Despite relief efforts from international non-profit organizations and Vietnam government, the impacts of flood and typhoon damages to residential construction has been reoccurring to the same neighborhood annually. Notwithstanding its importance, this topic has not been systematically investigated. The study is limited to assistance provided to low income households documenting existing conditions of low income homes impacted by post flood and typhoon conditions in the Thua Thien Hue Province. The research identifies leading causes of the building failure from the natural disasters. Relief efforts and progress made since the last typhoon is documented. The quality of construction and repairs are assessed based on Home Builders Guide to Coastal Construction by Federal Emergency Management Agency. Focus group discussions and individual interviews with local residents from four different communities were conducted to get incites on repair effort by the non-profit organizations and Vietnam government, and their needs post flood and typhoon. The findings from the field study informed that many of the local people are now aware of the importance of improving housing conditions as one of the key coping strategies to withstand flood and typhoon events as it makes housing and community more resilient to future events. While there has been a remarkable improvement of housing and infrastructure with the support from the local government as well as the non-profit organizations, many households in the study areas are found to still live in weak and fragile housing conditions without gaining access to the aid to repair and strengthen the houses. Given that the major immediate recovery action taken by the local people tends to focus on repairing damaged houses, and on this ground, low-income households spend a considerable amount of their income on housing repair, providing proper and applicable construction practices will not only improve the housing condition, but also contribute to reducing poverty in Vietnam.

Keywords: disaster coping mechanism, housing welfare, low-income housing, recovery reduction

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Authors: Fangwen Ni, Hongpeng Xu

Abstract:

When disasters occur, it is important to provide temporary shelters to protect victims from their environment and to comfort them with privacy and dignity. However, the commonly used shelters like tents and shanties can not ensure a comfortable condition. Furthermore, the demand for more energy and less pollution has become a major challenge. Focusing on the sustainable of temporary shelters, this study intends to clarify the essential role of temporary shelters before the reconstruction work is done. The paper also identifies the main problems from three aspects including spatial layout, thermal comfort and utilization of passive technology. Moreover, it expounds the passive strategies of ecological design by case study and simulation. It is found that the living condition of shelters can be improved from the perspective of architectural space, ventilation theory and construction techniques. Regardless of being temporary, these shelters are crucial elements in emergency situations and should be taken more seriously.

Keywords: architectural space, construction technique, sustainable strategy, temporary shelter

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Authors: Faisal Anwar, Dawar Zaidi, Shubham Dixit, Nafees Ahmedii

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This paper analyzes the various properties of biodiesel such as pour point, cloud point, viscosity, calorific value, etc produced from different feedstocks. The aim of the work is to analyze change in these properties after converting feedstocks to biodiesel and then comparring it with ASTM 6751-02 standards to check whether they are suitable for diesel engines or not. The conversion of feedstocks is carried out by a process called transesterification. This conversion is carried out to reduce viscosity, pour point, etc. It has been observed that there is some remarkable change in the properties of oil after conversion.

Keywords: biodiesel, ethyl ester, free fatty acid, production

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Authors: Wuthichai Wongthatsanekorn, Nuntana Matheekrieangkrai

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This research proposes Bee Algorithm (BA) to optimize Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) truck scheduling problem from single batch plant to multiple construction sites. This problem is considered as an NP-hard constrained combinatorial optimization problem. This paper provides the details of the RMC dispatching process and its related constraints. BA was then developed to minimize total waiting time of RMC trucks while satisfying all constraints. The performance of BA is then evaluated on two benchmark problems (3 and 5construction sites) according to previous researchers. The simulation results of BA are compared in term of efficiency and accuracy with Genetic Algorithm (GA) and all problems show that BA approach outperforms GA in term of efficiency and accuracy to obtain optimal solution. Hence, BA approach could be practically implemented to obtain the best schedule.

Keywords: bee colony optimization, ready mixed concrete problem, ruck scheduling, multiple construction sites

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Authors: Tayfun Cay, Fazil Nacar

Abstract:

Energy investments have increased in North Mediterranean Ceyhan and Yumurtalık districts of Turkey in the last years because of the treaties which are signed between Turkey and other countries for petroleum and natural gas transmission. Authority of land use has passed to district and metropolitan municipalities from town municipalities because of changes in coast legislation and local management legislation. Also Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning and Ministry of Industry and Commerce have had a right to comment on planning unofficially. Public investments increase in area and related planning and expropriation services continue. On the other hand, a lot of private sectors invest in organised industrial sites and industrial areas and it causes a rapid change in ownership status. Also Ceyhan-yumurtalık region is the tourism centre of North Mediterranean. Tourism investments continue in this district. Especially construction sector gain speed and a lot of country sites and apartments are built. In these studies, changes in planning activities in management of different administrative organisations and changes in ownership status and changes in private properties will be presented.

Keywords: coast management, land management, land use, property, public interest

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Authors: Malika Kharouf, Aly Chkeir, Khac Tuan Huynh

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Detecting change points in time series data is a challenging problem, especially in scenarios where there is limited prior knowledge regarding the data’s distribution and the nature of the transitions. We present a method designed for detecting changes in the covariance structure of high-dimensional time series data, where the number of variables closely matches the data length. Our objective is to achieve unbiased test statistic estimation under the null hypothesis. We delve into the utilization of Random Matrix Theory to analyze the behavior of our test statistic within a high-dimensional context. Specifically, we illustrate that our test statistic converges pointwise to a normal distribution under the null hypothesis. To assess the effectiveness of our proposed approach, we conduct evaluations on a simulated dataset. Furthermore, we employ our method to examine changes aimed at detecting frailty in the elderly.

Keywords: change point detection, hypothesis tests, random matrix theory, frailty in elderly

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Authors: Bal Deep Sharma, Suresh Ray Yadav

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Local soils are often chosen due to their widespread availability and low cost. However, these soils typically have poor durability, which can lead to significant limitations in their use for construction. To address this issue, various soil stabilization techniques have been developed and used over the years. This study investigates the viability of employing the mineral polymerization (MIP) technique to stabilize black soils, intending to enhance their suitability for construction applications. This technique involves the microstructural transformation of certain clay minerals into solid and stable compounds exhibiting characteristics similar to hydroxy sodalite, feldspathoid, or zeolite. This transformation occurs through the action of an alkaline reactant at atmospheric pressure and low temperature. The soil sample was characterized using grain size distribution, Atterberg limit test, organic content test, and pH-value tests. The unconfined compressive strength of the soil specimens, prepared with varying percentages of sodium hydroxide as an additive and sand as a filler by weight, was determined at the optimum moisture content. The unconfined compressive strength of the specimens was tested under three different conditions: dry, wet, and cycling. The maximum unconfined compressive strengths were 77.568 kg/cm², 38.85 kg/cm², and 56.3 kg/cm² for the dry, wet, and cycling specimens, respectively, while the unconfined compressive strength of the untreated soil was 7.38 kg/cm². The minimum unconfined compressive strength of the wet and cycling specimens was greater than that of the untreated soil. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that these soils can be effectively used as construction material after treatment with sodium hydroxide.

Keywords: soil stabilization technique, soft soil treatment, sodium hydroxide, unconfined compressive strength

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Authors: Kika Ioannou Kazamia

Abstract:

This paper examines the action research cycle of the second phase of longitudinal research on sustainable interior design practices, between two groups of stakeholders, designers and clients. During this phase of the action research, the second step - the change stage - of Lewin’s change management model has been utilized to change values, approaches, and attitudes toward sustainable design practices among the participants. Affective domain learning theory is utilized to attach new values. Learning with the use of information technology, collaborative learning, and problem-based learning are the learning methods implemented toward the acquisition of the objectives. Learning methods, and aims, require the design of interventions with participants' involvement in activities that would lead to the acknowledgment of the benefits of sustainable practices. Interventions are steered to measure participants’ decisions for the worth and relevance of ideas, and experiences; accept or commit to a particular stance or action. The data collection methods used in this action research are observers’ reports, participants' questionnaires, and interviews. The data analyses use both quantitative and qualitative methods. The main beneficial aspect of the quantitative method was to provide the means to separate many factors that obscured the main qualitative findings. The qualitative method allowed data to be categorized, to adapt the deductive approach, and then examine for commonalities that could reflect relevant categories or themes. The results from the data indicate that during the second phase, designers and clients' participants altered their behaviours.

Keywords: design, change, sustainability, learning, practices

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Authors: Ferrah F., Baheddi M.

Abstract:

This study relates to how water content in some clay soils affects their structure by increasing or decreasing the volume. These cyclic phenomena of swelling-shrinkage cause parasitic stresses in structures and at the foundation. These stresses create damage in buildings, highways, pavements, airports and structures lightly loaded. This study was conducted on soil from a site near the hospital of N'gaous (Batna), whose soil is at the origin of cracks in the filler walls of the hospital. After a few years of exploitation, and according to the findings of experts in subdivision of construction and urbanism (SUCH), cracks appeared just after the heavy rains that the region experienced in 1987. Our study shows the need to become aware of the importance of damages occasioned by swellings by adopting construction techniques to solve this problem. The study is to determine a methodology to take into account the effects of swelling in calculating long-term foundations.

Keywords: clay, swelling, shrinkage, swelling pressure, compressibility

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