Buildings In Algeria Research Articles

LRB System Performance Validation and Its New Design Approach for Conventional Buildings in Algeria

LRB System Performance Validation and Its New Design Approach for Conventional Buildings in Algeria

Parametric design of a residential building system through solar energy potential: the case of Guelma, Algeria

To evaluate the potential of retrofitting roofs of residential buildings in Algeria with building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). A case study of a family residential building in the city of Guelma, was selected to receive building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems as a retrofit to their roofs using Rhinoceros software and plugins Grasshopper, Ladybug, and Honeybee, adding photovoltaic panels on the roof taking into account the study of solar radiation analysis on the building, and meteorological data from Meteonorm Software 7.3. The method used, is based on measured data for final energy consumption (yearly average of 14600 kWh), building morphology, and photovoltaic module parameters. The results of the renovation of roofs with building-integrated photovoltaic solutions are presented for the existing residential building, it is also shown that a small photovoltaic area on the roofs can meet the demand of the buildings. The results identify the aspects that need to be improved in the development of future design tools and highlight the importance of integrating parametric design software and simulation tools for BIPV systems at the preliminary design stage, to ensure good building performance, both in terms of comfort and energy performance.

The energy efficiency diagnosis of residential buildings in Algeria

Currently, the building sector is considered as one of the most affected by the new measures to improve energy efficiency. As it is clear, worldwide buildings are the largest consumer of the final energy consumption. In Algeria, it has been reported that 33% of the overall energy consumption was attributed to buildings. This stems from the design and construction methods of residential buildings, which do not take into account the region’s specific climatic conditions. Many thermal regulations have appeared, and are regularly updated, researches and new techniques are focusing on improving the thermal comfort of buildings while optimizing energy consumption. The study is focused on analyzing the existing residential buildings in Algeria (Mila), in terms of energy efficiency.

Thermal analysis of the vernacular architecture in the Ziban, Algeria

Abstract Modern buildings in Algeria consume a huge amount of energy and deliver modest thermal comfort, due to their design which does not address the local climate conditions. In contrast, it is commonly recognized that vernacular architecture is climate-responsive and environmentally friendly architecture. This study aims to assess the thermal performance of vernacular architecture in the hot and dry climate of the Ziban region, Biskra. It was achieved by describing the main passive strategies in this architecture, later performing field hygrothermal measurements on two different houses in this region. The results revealed that the thermal effectiveness of these vernacular houses depends on the interaction of all their vernacular passive strategies from architectural to urban scale.

Importance of Infill Masonry Walls in Improving the Seismic Response of Reinforced Concrete Buildings

The treatment of masonry infill walls as non-structural elements in the design of reinforced concrete buildings has been refuted by the losses and damage recorded when these buildings were exposed to seismic loads. Between these walls, there is a type widely used in reinforced concrete buildings in Algeria. This article aims mainly to highlight the role of the infill masonry walls in improving the seismic response of reinforced concrete buildings to resist seismic loads. To demonstrate the above role, we have analyzed several models of two-dimensional frames of a multi-storey building located in a high seismic site, according to the classification of the current Algerian seismic code, with double-leaf hollow brick masonry, which is the most used infill material in Algeria. This analysis is based on the response spectrum method using the finite element software ETABS, taking into account the most important requirements of the current Algerian seismic code. We used the parameters of period, base shear, maximum displacement, and stiffness to evaluate the ability of these frames to respond to seismic loading; we analyzed several models in terms of the number of storeys. After analyzing all the models, we compared the results obtained, and then we were able to define this role and see what contribution these walls can make to the analytical aspect. Finally, we were able to know the positive role that these walls can play in improving the seismic performance of this type of building.

Energy performance diagnosis for the residential building façade in Algeria

AbstractAs it is clear, worldwide buildings are the largest consumer of the final energy consumption. In Algeria, it has been reported that 33% of the overall energy consumption was attributed to buildings. This is due to the design and constructional techniques of the residential buildings, which do not address the local climatic condition. To assess this situation, the study is focused on analyzing the existing residential buildings in Algeria, in terms of energy, thermal, daylight, and indoor air quality performance, using a dynamic simulation software. Typical building design in a hot and dry climate was selected. The results revealed that the existing residential buildings do not comply with the energy-efficient design standards. It was concluded that further strategies should be applied in this sector, in terms of building design, materials, and façade configuration.

The Impact of Commercial Mutations on Historical Buildings in Algeria: Case of Colonial Quarters in The City of Annaba

The commercial dynamics that the city of Annaba has experienced in recent decades, due to social and economic development and market liberalization, have changed its urban and architectural heritage. This city, located in northeastern Algeria and created before the tenth century, has seen many civilizations and dynasties pass by. Every civilization has left behind traces that time has sometimes taken care of protecting them, to bequeath us or erasing them completely. This heritage wealth testifying and telling the story of our ancestors' past, unfortunately, began to lose its value and originality after the transformations and modifications that took place in the old residential buildings inherited from two opposing cultures by integrating new forms of commercial activities. The objective of this communication is to analyse and measure the evolution of these mutations, with a focus on the ancient colonial areas of the city of Annaba where the phenomenon is most pronounced.

Design optimization criteria for windows providing low energy demand in office buildings in Algeria

Abstract Much of the world’s energy demand relates to the built environment. In Algeria, residential and tertiary buildings account for more than 41% of the energy consumed. In order to predict the potential of energy savings on heating and cooling by using an appropriate window in; office spaces, the study adopts the orthogonal method of Taguchi that has been rarely applied; on this sort of topics. Thus, to apply this approach, interactions between window parameters; affecting the energy efficiency design of the window in an office room were first isolated by a; building energy simulation program. Their effect was evaluated by the use of extremes, and; then the potential of heating and cooling energy savings which was assessed by using a parametric method. The study defined the most prominent factors in the process of optimization of the window. In semi arid climate, window orientation was found to be the most prominent parameter. In the Mediterranean climate, the parameters relative to glazing were found to be the most important. While shading was the prominent parameter in the cooling dominated climate. For all climates and in all directions, it was found that a lower glazing ratio is the most efficient. Expect for semi arid climate in southern direction, the most efficient glazing ratio is 40–50%. The study established guidelines that, designers and operators can make use of in three major climatic regions of Algeria, and in similar climates.

A design approach towards sustainable buildings in Algeria

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to achieve the national strategic agenda’s criteria that aim for accomplishing sustainable buildings by estimating the effects of energy efficiency measures in order to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emission.Design/methodology/approachA design approach has been developed based on simulation software and a modeled building. Therefore, a typical office building is considered for testing five efficiency measures in three climatic conditions in Algeria. This approach is conducted in two phases: first, the analysis of each measure’s effect is independently carried out in terms of cooling energy and heating energy intensities. Then, a combination of optimal measures for each climate zone is measured in terms of three sustainable indicators: final energy consumption, energy cost saving and CO2 emission.FindingsThe results reveal that a combination of optimal measures has a substantial impact on building energy saving and CO2 emission. This saving can rise to 41 and 31 percent in a hot and cold climate, respectively. Furthermore, it is concluded that obtaining higher building performance, different design alternatives should be adapted to the climate proprieties and the local construction materials must be applied.Originality/valueThis study is considered as an opportunity for achieving the national strategy, as it may contribute in improving office building performance and demonstrating a suitable tool to assist stakeholders in the decision making of most important parameters in the design stage for new or retrofit buildings.

Pathways to plus-energy buildings in Algeria: design optimization method based on GIS and multi-criteria decision-making

In recent years, net zero or plus-energy buildings (PEB) have been widely analyzed and discussed for their benefits of increasing energy savings and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A successful transition to energy-efficient buildings must, however, develop an efficient method that examines technical, economic, environmental and social criteria. In this paper, a method for design optimization based on spatial analysis combined with multi-criteria decision-making was proposed for achieving plus-energy buildings in Algeria. To apply the proposed method, a single family residential building was chosen. First, the annual energy consumption of the building at 40 locations was evaluated and the results are then interpolated for the whole country. The best energy efficiency measures and renewable energy are then chosen using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Finally, energy balance and spatial analysis were carried out based on the geographical information system. The results showed the energy plus target was achieved in large parts of the country using a high-performance envelope, more efficient appliances and solar energy (solar photovoltaic and thermal). In addition, the southern provinces, mainly Adrar, Tindouf, Bechar, Ouargla, and Illizi, have identified the most suitable areas for setting up new buildings with an energy-plus target. In addition, applying the method will reduce the overall energy demand by 43 % and reduce GHG emissions in the country by around 23 % by 2030. Therefore, the method will have a significant impact on sustainability locally and worldwide.

Integrated FAHP-FPROMETHEE for thermal insulation of masonry buildings

PurposeThe need for the thermal insulation of masonry buildings in Algeria is no longer debated. This paper aims to propose an integrated fuzzy multi-criteria decision aid method for the thermal insulation of masonry buildings to rank the thermal insulation solutions.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed method combines the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process with the fuzzy preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation.FindingsA case study using the proposed method is detailed in this paper. The building users’ preferences obtained by the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process had a higher level of consistency and accuracy. The case study demonstrates how in a highly uncertain field such as thermal insulation of masonry buildings, the fuzzy preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation can prevent the loss of valuable evaluation data and overcome difficulty in integrating linguistic assessments of the thermal insulation alternatives.Originality/valueThe proposed method extends current knowledge by using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process to consider uncertainties regarding the building users’ preferences, and the fuzzy preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation to get a complete ranking of the thermal insulation solutions taking into account the uncertainties related to the alternatives’ evaluations.

Study of the energy performance of an earth—Air heat exchanger for refreshing buildings in Algeria

This paper presents a study on energy performance of an earth air heat exchanger (EAHE) for buildings in Maghreb climatic context (Oran, Bechar and Adrar cities in Algeria). In order to check the influence of the material, two air conducts (one of galvanized sheet metal and the other in polyvinyl chloride–PVC) are considered under the same geometric conditions (a 20m conduct length, 120mm diameter and 2m burial depth). They are used separately for the ventilation in simple current flow of two adjoining rooms constituting a test cell located at the university campus IGCMO-USTOMB (Oran, Algeria). An experimental device has been set up to measure the temperature at different points (air inlet/outlet air duct). Measurements were run in August 2015, and the monitoring of both exchangers allowed us to evaluate their cooling performance: 35.41% for the Zinc pipe and 58.42% for the PVC pipe. Experimental results were compared to those obtained from the simulation (under the Trnsys 16) and a fair similarity is obtained. In order to optimize the energy performance of the exchanger (EAHE), numerical simulations are carried out by varying different parameters: climate, burial depth, length and diameter of the duct. Other simulations have shown that the energy supplied by the cooling exchanger (EAHE) is more significant in the south of the country (Adrar and Bechar) than in the north (Oran).

A genetic algorithm to optimize consistency ratio in AHP method for energy performance assessment of residential buildings—Application of top-down and bottom-up approaches in Algerian case study

In this paper, a methodology for assessing the energy performance of residential buildings in the Algerian context using performance-based approach is performed. This proposed methodology is based on two approaches: top-down and bottom up. The first one is descriptive down to facilitate the identification of pertinent performance indicators “PIs” related to the energy performance quality of residential buildings. The second is a bottom-up approach based on a multi-criteria aggregation using weighted sum method. A coupled method, based on Analytic Hierarchy Process “AHP” and genetic algorithms “GA” method, was used to calculate the weights of selected PIs. This approach is based on the single-objective optimization of the decision matrix (or of the consistency ratio). Application of the developed approach on real case studies of residential buildings in the Algerian context was achieved. The obtained results, based on local measurements, are very interesting and underline the reliability of this approach. The low energy efficiency of Algerian residential buildings was confirmed in the majority of studied cases. The proposed optimization of the AHP method using GA reported very satisfactory results (improvement of the weighting procedure in particular) and led to a better estimation of the energy performance level of residential buildings in Algeria.

Towards an environmental approach for the sustainability of buildings in Algeria

Sustainable architecture (HQE in France, Green Buildings in the USA, Sustainable Buildings in Northern Europe) is a profound initiative whose objective is to achieve sustainability of buildings. This concept has spread throughout the world and each country worked to develop its approach (depending upon its physical and cultural conditions) to minimize the negative impacts of buildings on the natural environment and improving the comfort and quality of life. These international initiatives are characterized by multi-criteria vision, contextuality, flexibility and scalability. What strategy should be developed for sustainable buildings in Algeria? This is the fundamental question for which we try to provide some answers. On the basis of a thorough study of the Algerian context, we aim at the presentation of the foundations of an approach to the sustainability of buildings which would be adjustable to different regions of the country and whose peculiarity lies in the consideration of the major concerns of our country and its specificities. Including, for instance seismic risk, sociocultural practices of the population, as well as the diversity that characterizes the climatic and geographical data of the entire national territory, by following the existing national legislation, regulations and standards.

Seismic Fragility Evaluation of Existing RC Frame and URM Buildings in Algeria

The main objective of this present work is to estimate the seismic fragility of typical existing buildings in the north part of Algeria, in which we evaluate the performance, the seismic vulnerability and the damage of reinforced concrete frame structures and URM masonry buildings, existing in dominant way in the city of Algiers (Algeria). An analytical procedure for the derivation of fragility curves is proposed. The capacity spectrum method and seismic damage potential for the city, starting from capacity and fragility curves, are then discussed. Different tools regarding the determination of capacity curves of different existing structural systems by using a non-linear structural analysis are implemented and explained. Four damage states are defined for both structural systems. The earthquake action is expressed in terms of spectral values and the seismic quality of the buildings; the probabilities of the damage states are obtained considering a lognormal probability distribution. An ADRS format has been used for the studied area where a significant damage is obtained for mid-rise and high-rise masonry buildings.

'Urban island' as an energy assessment tool: The case of Mouzaia, Algeria

Residential buildings in Algeria are responsible for 41% of total country's energy consumption. In this study, a holistic approach has been adopted to analyze the building stock of a middle-sized city (Mouzaia) in Algeria according to their energy consumption. The purpose of this paper is to test the pertinence of the urban island scale as an energy assessment tool. This study is based on a statistical approach of the islands' typologies to single out a model able to estimate the energy load of a simple dwelling or for an island according to a set of indicators. Thus, Urban islands were clustered according to their geometrical and physical attributes that considers a large panel of indicators such as island's area, built-up area, compactness, porosity, land use, areal density, built density, solar admittance and the passive volume. The conclusion of this analysis shows the classification profiles of the building stock of Mouzaia according to their energy consumption with an accuracy level of 86%. Also, this model developed can be implemented to a GIS tool in order to identify within a large scale the different scenarios which could be adopted to reduce the energy load of dwellings.

Modeling and forecasting energy consumption for residential buildings in Algeria using bottom-up approach

Buildings are the principal energy consumer and greatest fraction of greenhouse gas emissions in Algeria. Therefore, energy consumption forecasting is a critical and it helps to make good planning, long term strategies, efficient initiatives to curb emissions and controlling energy usage in the building sector. In this work, a bottom-up model has been used in modeling and forecasting of energy consumption for Algeria residential buildings until 2040. For estimating annual energy consumption, Algerian territory is divided into climatic zones according to annual cost of energy consumption needed for cooling and heating in the residential sector. The annual heating and cooling requirements of buildings in different regions of Algeria (48 stations) are evaluated using the degree-days method. Then, Geographic Information System (GIS) technique is used to create the cartography of climatic zone. In each zone, the energy consumption for heating, cooling and domestic appliances is calculated. The results showed, the final energy consumption increased from 73.23TWh in 2008 to 179.78TWh in 2040. In addition, climatic zone in Algeria is delineated in seven zones. Zone 7 consumes 73% of the final energy in Algeria. Cooking, heating and hot water are the major energy consumers in Algerian residential sector.

Seismic vulnerability of Algerian reinforced concrete houses

Many of the current buildings in Algeria were built in the past without any consideration to the requirements of the seismic code. Among these buildings, there are a large number of individual houses built in the 1980's by their owners. They are Reinforced Concrete (RC) frame structures with unreinforced hollow masonry infill walls. This buildings type experienced major damage in the 2003 (Algeria) earthquake, generated by deficiencies in the structural system. In the present study, special attention is placed upon examining the vulnerability of RC frame houses. Their situation and their general features are investigated. Observing their seismic behavior, structural deficiencies are identified. The seismic vulnerability of this type of buildings depends on several factors, such as; structural system, plan and vertical configuration, materials and workmanship. The results of the vulnerability assessment of a group of RC frame houses are presented. Using a method based on the European Macroseismic Scale EMS-98 definitions, presented in previous studies, distribution of damage is obtained.

Experimental and Numerical Study of a Usual Brick Filled with PCM to Improve the Thermal Inertia of Buildings

The integration of a PCM layer into an external building wall diminished the amplitude of the instantaneous heat flux through the wall. The types of PCM, its location in the wall and its amount, have been studied in this paper. A two-dimensional transient heat transfer model has been developed and solved numerically using the commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package Fluent. The numerical results have been verified and validated with an experimental model. The considered model consists of usual brick with square holes used as construction materials for residential buildings in Algeria, some of these square holes are filled with PCM. The results showed that the PCM introduced in square holes can improves considerably the thermal inertia of brick and a combination of the types of PCM, its location in the wall and its amount, is very important for improve reduction of heat gain before it reaches the indoor space.

Seismic Performance of Masonry Buildings in Algeria

Seismic Performance of Masonry Buildings in Algeria