Brick Works Research Articles

Study of relationship between cost overrun and material waste in building construction projects

AbstractThis paper aims to recognize the effect of material waste on cost increase in Palestinian construction projects. The study used questionnaire survey to achieve its objectives. The target population of the study are constructors and consultants involved in construction projects. The study also predicts the effect of cost overrun on material waste in some construction activities, namely: ceramic and brick works. The collected data were analyzed using statistical analyses. The study has established that among the various factors that affect cost overrun, experience in the line of work, conflicts among project participants, payments delay, and political situation are the key factors. While the analysis revealed that the main material waste factors are: poor site management, using untrained labors, rework due to workers' mistakes, selecting the lowest bidder contractor/subcontractor, and frequent change orders. Data from 55 building projects constructed in the West Bank between 2015 and 2020 were collected to test the relation between material waste and cost increase. Two mathematical models were developed: Model (l) links cost increase and waste in ceramic works. It indicates that if waste increases by 1%, the cost will increase by 1.07%. Model (2) links between cost increase and material waste in brick works. It tells that if waste increases by 1%, cost will increase by 1.25%. R square of value >0.7, for both models, indicates a strong linear relation between cost increase and material waste. This is the first study that predicts the effect of material waste on cost increase in Palestinian construction sector. The study encourages different parties related to construction projects to manage factors of cost overrun and material waste to enhance the sector of construction.

Yet Another Marks

The article describes an amazing history of a phenomenal success in South Africa at the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX centuries of a Jewish emigrant from the Russian Empire Sammy (Samuel) Marks, rising from a peddler to a multimillionaire, called at the peak of his career the “uncrowned king of Transvaal”. He founded in cooperation with his cousin Isaac Lewis several branches of South African industrial economy and helped peaceful resolution of the Anglo-Boer war of 1899–1902. Among Marks and Lewis business interests were diamonds, gold and coal. Marks and Lewis business projects included distilleries, canning and glass factories, establishing flour-mills and brick works, erecting the country’s first hydroelectric power station. Marks pioneered in using tractors and progressive farm technologies. He was also widely respected for his generous charity activities. Sammy Marks played a significant role in the peaceful resolution of the Anglo-Boer conflict. Being a friend of Transvaal president P.Kruger and trusted by both sides of the hostilities, Marks helped to organize negotiations to end the Anglo-Boer war. Peace negotiations were held and concluded in his estate at Vereneeging in spring 1902. Peace agreements opened the way for modern statehood initially in the form of South African Union. Sammy Marks was nominated senator in the first Union parliament in 1910 and held this position till his death in 1920.

Life cycle GHG assessment of a building restoration: Case study of a heritage industrial building in Toronto, Canada

The refurbished Don Valley Brick Works’ Kiln Building, in Toronto, Canada, now the TD Future Cities Centre, is designed to have net zero carbon emissions. This is to be achieved through the reuse of existing materials and structures, selection of lower-carbon materials purchased from local sources, installation of renewable energy systems, natural lighting and improved thermal insulation of the building’s envelope, as well as developing a carbon offset strategy. The heritage designation of the building imposed restrictions on the design of the project (e.g., preventing insulation of exterior walls). In collaboration with the owner and constructor, the project team completed a life cycle assessment (LCA) consisting of an assessment of embodied emissions of the building’s restoration from cradle to grave, accompanied by a scoping estimate of greenhouse gas emissions associated with its future operational energy use. Primary construction data for the newly-added materials, transport, and construction activities were used. Life cycle inventory analysis and impact assessment were implemented in the One Click LCA software. Use phase carbon intensity was estimated using design and literature data. In addition to the ‘core and shell’ LCA scope typically applied to buildings, the team also tracked materials and processes that are often not included in building LCA studies such as HVAC, plumbing, and renewable energy systems.Embodied carbon for the restoration project, assuming a 60-year lifetime, is calculated as 1250 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). Sixty-nine percent of the carbon comes from the materials (extraction to manufacturing) used in construction, 20% is due to replacement of materials during the building’s service life, and most of the remaining 11% is from on-site construction energy (5%) and waste disposal at end-of-life (4%). The main building elements contributing to the embodied carbon are the renewable energy systems (31%) and the raised concrete floor (26%). Building envelope and foundation play minor roles, as they are mostly pre-existing. The embodied carbon added to the building through the restoration project is forecast to be balanced by savings in operational energy related to heating, cooling and lighting, within 3–13 years, depending on whether natural gas or electricity use are avoided, respectively.Uncertainties in the analysis arise from partial or missing data, modeling assumptions and future scenario unknowns. The model is sensitive to the useable lifetime of the building, local or non-local sourcing of building materials, modeling of certain components used in large quantities, and changes in the recycled content of steel. This study of a net zero carbon refurbishment project of a heritage building provides insights for assessments of future projects as such refurbishments become more commonplace. The methods and recommendations regarding data sources, data collection, and approach to uncertainty evaluation will be useful for LCA of any construction project.

Effect of Embedding Reinforcement on Brick Works Built by Three Different Types Bricks and Two Different Mortar Ratios

Experimental investigations have been conducted on brick prism specimens to study its performance with the presence of reinforcement. Brick prisms were constructed using red bricks, fly ash bricks and concrete bricks with and without embedding steel reinforcement. Cement mortar with 1:5 and 1: 6 mixes have been used to build prisms. Concrete bricks of same sizes were casted in the lab and used after proper curing. Brick prisms were subjected to compressive force by Universal Testing Machine. Compressive strength of different types of brick prisms were compared and plotted. Compressive strengths were improved by embedding steel reinforcement in the brick works. Reinforced Concrete brick prisms contributed higher strength. Reinforced fly ash brick prism contributed higher compressive strength than the red brick. By embedding reinforcements in the brick works, load carrying capacity and stability of brick works have been improved. Due to ductile properties of steel reinforcement, steel embedding brick works led to ductile and reduce brittle cracks. Overall performance of brick works improved by embedding steel reinforcement

Iranian Seljuk Architecture with an Emphasis on Decorative Brickwork of the Qazvin Kharaqan Towers

Iranian Seljuk period is one of the most magnificent, the most prominent, and at the same time, the fate of the most innovative historical periods. One of the prominent works of Seljuk architecture, which is a valuable work in art and architecture of the Islamic Iran in terms of decorative brickwork, is the Qazvin Kharaqan Towers. These twin towers have more than thirty types of brickwork with stunning arch-viewings and outstanding Kufic brick lines. In this report, I present the architectural and decorative features of Kharaqan Towers of Qazvin. This study benefits from analytical and descriptive approaches based on a field research. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the brickwork decoration and art of Kharaqan Towers. In the mentioned building, about thirty different designs have been applied. This reveals an ancient tradition related to the different graphic layout that initially had been done on plaster at the Sassanid era and then was used in the brick works. Composition and different layout adjustment of these towers are admirable. This study gives an insight to this timeless artwork.

Sand martins favour loess: How the properties of loess ground facilitate the nesting of sand martins/bank swallows/uferschwalben (Riparia riparia Linnaeus 1758)

Sand martins/bank swallows (Riparia riparia Linnaeus 1758) nest in tunnels excavated in loess deposits. Loess is particularly suitable because of its cohesive properties, its ease of excavation, its ability to form vertical faces, its ready availability in small scale brick works. A low clay content is a requirement for suitable ground (palaeosols appear to have too much clay), and in sand deposits a low level of cementation. The selective nature of nesting behaviour may have some stratigraphic value, and it may be that loess availability affects the distribution of sand martins (they move away from river banks to brick pits). Soil crust formation may affect the inhabitability of nest tunnels (the same phenomenon may be important in loess deposit formation). Penetration resistance of the ground is required to be in a middle-range, not too hard, not too soft. This is the Heneberg compromise: a compromise between tunnel stability and ease of excavation and construction.

P13 Clinical, radiographic and pulmonary function findings in silicosis

IntroductionSilicosis is a pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of respirable silica. The condition is irreversible, and may be complicated by other pulmonary and non-pulmonary diseases. We describe clinical, radiographic and...

Excavations on the route of the Dalkeith Northern Bypass, 1994–95 and 2006

An evaluation and subsequent targeted excavations were carried out along the route of the proposed A68 Dalkeith Northern Bypass by the Centre for Field Archaeology (CFA) between September 1994 and March 1995, with additional watching briefs taking place in 1997. The bypass was not constructed at the time, and further pre-construction mitigation work was recommended in 2005, with fieldwork being carried out in 2006–08. This report describes the results of the evaluations and each excavation individually. The route traverses a narrow strip of the Lothian plain which contained several prehistoric sites, including two ring-groove structures, a stone-paved area and two pit alignments, a Roman temporary camp, a post-medieval building, an 18th-century designed landscape, and two industrial sites (a brick and tile works and a coal pit engine house). Several sites also produced ephemeral remains of earlier or later date. Overall, the results indicated a settlement pattern and land use which concentrated on the sands and gravels of the river terraces, with far less settlement on the unforgiving compacted clays which otherwise characterise large parts of the road corridor.

Remaining Still

Remaining Still

Deindustrialization as Public History: An Exhibition at the Manitoba Museum

The mass settlement and industrialization of southern Manitoba that began in the 1870s, and the reversal of much of this development in the twentieth century, is a major theme of the newest permanent gallery at the Manitoba Museum.1 This paper examines this history of industrial activity and deindustrialization and explores how these processes have been interpreted in the Parklands/Mixed Woods Gallery. Three distinct industries are considered: the Leary Brick Works in Roseisle, the Manitoba Glass Company of Beausejour, and Mary Maxim Limited, a mail-order woollens company that began in the village of Sifton.

Restoration of the Don Valley Brick Works: Whose Restoration? Whose Space?

Social identities, ideologies and values may be expressed through urban landscapes as spatial practices that appear chaste, moral and beneficial to society as a whole. As nature conservation is increasingly absorbed into the rhetoric and practice of sustainable urban design, it is often assumed to be honourable endeavour that slows the pace of environmental destruction and bestows the critical environmental functions upon which urban fabric depends. However, conservation practices often conceal, produce and reinforce hegemonic social relations. This paper considers the recent transformation of Toronto's Don Valley Brick Works from an industrial complex to a ‘naturalized’ urban park, illustrating how socially exclusionary practices may be expressed through ecological restoration and environmental aesthetics.

Mixing Water Treatment Residual with Excavation Waste Soil in Brick and Artificial Aggregate Making

A large quantity of water treatment residual is generated each year from fresh water treatment plants in Taiwan. Landfill disposal of the nonhazardous sludge is impractical because of the high cost of transportation and an increasing scarcity of landfill sites in Taiwan. The water treatment residual was characterized; the ceramic bodies were prepared and sintered to formulate into building bricks and artificial aggregates. The sintering temperature requirement by the water treatment residual was higher than normally practiced in brick works due to the higher Al2 O3 and lower Si O2 content. The excavation waste soil, practically clay, was blended with water treatment residual to improve the brick quality. Under the commonly practiced brick-making condition, up to 15% of water treatment residual could be added to produce first grade brick specified by the National Science Council (NSC). Test results of specific gravity, water absorption, and compressive strength of the artificial aggregates confirmed its ap...

Friends or Foe? Invasive Species and Public Green Space in Toronto

Environmentalists and ecologists typically regard invasive species as ecologically detrimental and undesirable. Although the ecological impacts of invasive species are well documented, less attention has been devoted to the sociocultural contexts guiding responses to species invasion. In this study the roles of invasive species are reconsidered through three prominent green spaces in Toronto, Canada: the Don Valley Brick Works, High Park, and the Leslie Street Spit. The case studies challenge popular negative assumptions about invasive species and suggest that they can serve important functions both for local ecosystems and for human communities. The case studies also provide lessons on the tension between and within different environmental imaginaries informing invasive species management. Invasives are often compatible with recreational interests, whereas naturalization efforts are ecologically sensitive and costly. Invasives can help restore human‐made wastelands, and naturalization efforts often benefit wealthy rather than poor neighborhoods.

Thallium in the Environment and Health Effects

Thallium is present in the natural environment in low concentration, being found most frequently in the sulphide ores of a number of heavy metals. Atmospheric emission and deposition from industrial sources has resulted in raised levels in the vicinity of mineral smelters, coal burning power plants, brick works and cement plants. In contaminated areas, raised levels are found in vegetables, fruit and in farm animals. Thallium is used industrially in small quantities, with uses in electronics, in the production of certain glasses and crystals and in medical diagnostics. It has in the past been commonly used as a rodenticide, but its use has now been banned in many countries. Thallium salts are now considered to be amongst the most toxic compounds known. With regard to population exposure, an epidemiological study in an area with high thallium concentrations in soil and garden vegetables centred on a cement plant, has found evidence of a dose response relationship between thallium concentration in urine and a number of non-specific subjective symptoms. Much further research is required to investigate the possible adverse health effects of thallium following population exposure.

チャンパ祠堂のレンガ施工法と屋蓋の迫り出し手法について

The Kingdom of Champa had been located in the middle and the south region of present Vietnam and enjoyed its glory during 2 to 15 century. This study shows a result of field surveys on the Champa remains. The edifices of Champa were built by masonry construction. Main building material is brick and sandstone is used as the member of reinforcement. This study analyses its construction-technic; Brick works and Corbel structure. Both Brick works and Corbel syructures are able to distinguish into 3 types according to differece technics.

A Forward Recoil Energy Spectrometry (Fres) Test of Hydrogen Reduction as a Strategy for Firing of Chinese Ceramics

We have investigated successfully the hydrogen concentration of samples of modern roof tile from the Shanghai Roof Tile and Brick Works. The intent of the investigation is to determine the applicability of ion beam analysis in the form of Forward Recoil Energy Spectrometry (FRES) to the analysis of the hydrogen content of the samples. We can measure hydrogen introduced during firing in modern bricks that we know were fired using hydrogen reduction. Completion of this feasilibity test allows us to propose sampling and testing ancient Chinese ceramics and to use the modern roof tile samples as a baseline for comparison.

Air-borne Dust in the Ceramic Industries (Part 4) : Tile and Refractory Brick Works

Air-borne Dust in the Ceramic Industries (Part 4) : Tile and Refractory Brick Works

Use of energy storage in industry— potential in Sweden

The industrial energy use is characterized by fluctuating power demand. Mainly the variation is built up by three components: • seasonal variations due to the climate; • power demand variations caused by the fluctuating production rates; • variations due to the choice of equipment and processes. To make the best use of an energy storage it should be charged and discharged. Thus energy storages would play an important role in levelling power demand variations having short periods, e.g. differences between production and non-production hours. The transfer of energy between seasons is more advantageously solved by other means. The needs and possibilities for the use of energy storage depend upon the following factors: • mismatch between energy source and sink; • existence of surplus energy; • sufficient potential levels. Energy use patterns vary according to branch due to the choice of processes. Thus the potential for short time energy storage has been investigated branch by branch. Energy storage possibilities are of different kinds in different branches of industry. Heating of buildings and tapwater as well as the use of process surplus heat for other production processes are considered. Case studies from four of the investigated branches (plastics, heat treatment, brick works and foundries) are presented including potential solutions to the storage applications. Swedish industrial energy use amounts to 417 PJ annually, corresponding to one third of the country's energy use. This study comprehends industrial branches outside the process industries (by process industries we mean the paper and pulp, chemical and iron and steel industries). Energy use within the studied branches is 135 PJ and the potential for short time energy storage is approximately 18 PJ.

Some sections in the Lower Gault of the Weald

Sections in the dentatus Zone of the Lower Gault in the Weald are described. The presence of the eodentatus Subzone at the Coney Hill sand-pit, Barrow Green, is recorded and a comparison is made with deposits of this Subzone exposed at the Shere By-Pass and at Folkestone. The benettianus Subzone exposed at Shere and in the Sevenoaks Brick Works are described and correlated with other known or possible occurrences in the Weald. The expansion of deposits of the dentatus-spathi Subzone in the northern Weald when traced westwards from Folkestone is demonstrated. In Kent and east Surrey the deposits are greatly condensed. In west Surrey the degree of condensation becomes less, and in east Hampshire the dentatus-spathi Subzone is little condensed and forms the bulk of the Lower Gault. In the Selborne area it appears that the transgression during the cristatum and basal orbignyi Subzones has removed all Lower Gault sediments above the dentatus-spathi Subzone. In Sussex there is evidence of an easterly condensation within deposits of this Subzone, and the presence of a nodule bed, comparable to the dentatus nodule bed at Folkestone, is recorded in the English Channel off Beachy Head.

Scientific LUBRICATION

The Presidential Address to the Liverpool Engineering Society by Mr. Farthing (the salient points of which are reproduced in this issue) has particular bearing upon lubrication and especially on young lubrication engineers. Mr. Farthing stressed the very wide field open to young engineers and the difficulties associated with training in order to cover as wide a field as may be necessary. It is usually so important to gain a wide knowledge before one can specialise and this is certainly the case with lubrication engineers. One cannot begin to fully appreciate the intricacies of a lubrication system with all its accessory components lubricating and guarding, for example, a large motive power plant or rolling mill, until one has more than a mere working knowledge of the plant itself, the duties it must perform, how it performs them and the snags that arise which might be overcome by correct lubrication. In view of the fact that lubrication systems are just as important in a textile mill as in a power station or a large brick works, the almost impossible‐to‐achieve‐range of knowledge that would simplify the work of a lubrication engineer is very obvious. Fortunately, lubricating principles apply to most cases and knowing how to apply one's knowledge from basic principles is the key to success in this difficult profession.