Concrete Room Research Articles

Thermal-material priming: The influence of building materials on thermal perception and tolerance in immersive virtual environments

The effects of color and lighting on thermal perception and comfort have been studied through a multitude of methods, including virtual reality (VR) simulations as well as in vivo studies. The potential role of surface materials, however, remains poorly understood in this regard, even though materials and surface colors are clearly related factors in the perception of building interiors. In this study, we tested two Virtual Reality (VR) office spaces, one designed with wood and one with concrete. 38 participants (N = 38) were recruited to complete a simple reading task over fifteen minutes while being seated in a controlled temperature thermal booth. During this time, the booth temperature dropped by an average of 0.3 °C (0.5 °F) per minute from 22.2 °C (72 °F) to 17.7 °C (64 °F). Participants had the perceived ability to control the room’s temperature via a virtual reality interface, an action that served as a measure of “thermal tolerance” based on how long it took participants to try and stop the constant temperature drop in the thermal booth during the experimental task. Participants were surveyed after the study to state their perceived starting and ending room temperature. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the wood room was perceived as warmer overall than the concrete room. However, the results for the “thermal tolerance” metric varied based on the current outside temperature as we predict participants expected different interior temperature regimes in warm compared to cool outdoor conditions. The perception of the concrete room as cooler than the wood room showed the greatest correllation with thermal tolerance when outdoor temperatures were warm, increasing thermal comfort in the concrete room. The results of the study validate the hue-heat hypothesis for architectural building materials and support the potential for thermal perception to induce actionable behavior and promote passive energy savings through the choice of interior building materials.

Thermal comfort in a building constructed of FOAM concrete made in Burkina Faso

Thermal comfort is a feeling of well-being in a given environment. In the context of sustainable development, new regulations on thermal insulation in the building sector are leading researchers to design new materials for energy-saving systems and ensuring comfort in the habitat. We highlight the effects induced by the use of Pr. Blanchard's foamed concrete (FC) in construction in order to reduce energy consumption and ensure hygrothermal comfort in the home. This article numerically studies the thermal comfort for buildings constructed with materials such as foamed concrete, cinder block, compressed earth brick (CEB), adobe and cut laterite block (CLB). The comparison of the hygrothermal behavior (temperature and relative humidity) of premises made of different materials was carried out with three typical climates (January: dry and cold period, April: dry and hot period and August: humid period and mild temperature) under climatic conditions of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. The results showed that for the months of January, April and August the temperatures of the foamed concrete room (FC-930, thickness: th=17.5 cm) having respectively values of 296 K, 304 K, and 298 K is always lower to other materials. The relative humidity of the foamed concrete cell (FC-930, th=17.5 cm) in the months of January, April and August has values of 19%, 31 % and 63.7 % respectively which are also higher than those of the cells built with several local materials. Thus, a building constructed with foamed concrete has better thermal comfort than those made of concrete block, CEB, adobe and CLB.

Experimental study on the preparation and physical thermal performance of coral sand-based phase change material concrete composites

To promote the application of phase change materials (PCMs) in the field of green building, this research prepared coral sand-based PCM composites by vacuum adsorption method with coral sand as the porous carrier and polyethylene glycol 1000 as phase change material. The thermal and physical properties of the material, and its leakage characteristics after cement encapsulation were investigated through scanning electron microscope (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), x-ray powder diffractometer (XRD), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The DSC results indicated that the coral sand-PCM composites had a melting point and latent heat capacity of 28.55℃ and 48.57 J/g, respectively. TGA and thermal cycling test demonstrated that coral sand-based PCM composites had good stability in terms of their chemical structure, thermal degradation, and cycling reliability in latent thermal energy capacity properties. The coral sand-based PCM composites were later prepared as coral sand-based PCM concrete composites by replacing coarse aggregates with different proportions. And the compressive strength of the PCM concrete composites was tested. In addition, the thermal insulation properties of coral sand-based PCM concrete composites were verified through model tests. The results of model test showed that the maximum indoor temperature differences between the Oridinary-0 and CS-50 concrete rooms were 7.45℃ during heating and 2.61℃ during cooling. The strength of coral sand-based concrete still could meet the requirements according to the structural design code at a mass substitution ratio of 50%. The CS-50 composite concrete exhibited acceptable mechanical properties and was able to regulate indoor temperatures and reduce energy consumption in buildings. Therefore, it is suitable for engineering applications.

Botanical Resonance: Plants and Sounds in the Garden

<i>Botanical Resonance: Plants and Sounds in the Garden</i>

Volumetric-Adjustable Formwork for the Construction of Reinforced- Concrete Monolithic Buildings

Reinforced-concrete monolithic buildings offer high seismic resistance due to the lack of joints between load-bearing walls and floors. Thus, the construction of residential, public, socio-cultural reinforced concrete monolithic buildings was applied for the first time in Chisinau. A three-dimensional formwork was used as technological equipment, designed for simultaneous pouring of concrete into vertical walls and floors, forming an integral construction. The formwork is made in the form of flat panels or large U-shaped and L-shaped sections, joined by a mechanism of approach and extension to the design dimensions of the concrete room. After the concrete hardens, the structure is transferred by a crane for successive concreting of the next floors.

Determination of structural reliability of a reinforced concrete slab under fire Load

Four reinforced concrete rooms are used in this study, with varying floor areas, openings, and fuel loads. These rooms are office, Classroom, computer, and chemical laboratories of institutional buildings. The time versus Eurocode (EC) parametric fire relationship is determined and compared with ISO 834 and ASTM 119. The performance of the slab is evaluated based on the EC target reliability index of 3.8 for 50 years design period using the First Order Reliability Method (FORM). The probability of failure and structural reliability of each fire compartment at different fire duration is determined. Variables used were concrete compressive strength, a reduction factor of concrete compressive strength, steel yield strength, concrete cover, slab depth, unit width, and area of steel reinforcement provided. The reliability is determined at each 30 minutes fire duration for all fire compartments. The starting point is ambient temperature, then after every thirty minutes until the time when the maximum gas temperature is reached. The fire compartments were able to show fire resistance for two hours and then started to drop over time. Yield strength reduction factor, concrete cover, and area of reinforcement respectively were the most significant variables to determine the reliability index. The structure was able to withhold fire until two hours with a reliability of more than 3.8after that, the slab reliability was less than the target reliability and will need a repair.

EFFECT OF BUILDUP FACTORS ON INDOOR GAMMA DOSE RATE.

The effect of buildup factors on absorbed dose rate in air and the effective dose from gamma rays of primordial radionuclides in building materials, was investigated in the article. Specific absorbed dose rates were calculated for the standard concrete room, as well as, for rooms where brick and covering building materials were used. For all room models the Harima (G-P) buildup factors were applied, while for the standard room the Berger's and Taylor's buildup factors were used, too. The contribution of the radiation buildup to absorbed dose rate and effective dose was determined as large as 41%.

Examination of Experimental and Theoretical Behavior of a Reinforced Concrete Room under Internal Explosion Loads

The present study reports on an experimental investigation of the effect of a blast inside a reinforced concrete room on the behavior of the reinforced concrete structure. To this end, a blasting experiment was carried out inside a concrete room, with pressure values obtained using a piezoelectric pressure sensor. After the experiment, measurements and observations were made within the reinforced concrete room, and sketches were made of the cracksthat formed on the various concrete wall types, and on the floor and wall coverings. The gathered data, measurements and observations were then used in a theoretical study. The obtained pressure values were used to analyze the effects of the blast on the room components, making use of ABAQUS software, with bothdynamic and static analyses conducted separately. The results of the theoretical study of the behavior of the building components, which was carried out in accordance with international regulations and standards, were then compared with the experimental values.

PENINGKATAN KUAT TEKAN BETON GEOPOLIMER DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN VARIASI ABU CANGKANG TELUR BEBEK MELALUI PROSES PENGOVENAN

The objective of this research is to know the increase of compressive strength value of geopolymer concrete using duck egg duck ash with mixture of sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide at variation 0%, 80%, 90% and 100% at 7 days with heating specimen and control concrete room temperature. Ash duck egg shell used is burnt waste with temperatures reaching 800 ° C for ± 6 hours using ceramic burning oven. This study uses cylindrical test object with diameter 10 cm and height 20 cm with the quality of plan is fc '20 MPa. Testing of compressive strength of geopolymer concrete using Crushing Test Machine tool. In this purpose, the compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete produced by the concrete test object on variations 0%; 80%; 90%; and 100% ie 0 MPa; 6,32 MPa; 8,57 MPa; and 14,01MPa, while the concrete test object No concrete compressive strength was applied on variations of 0%; 80%; 90%; and 100% ie 7,64 MPa; 4,84MPa; 5,77MPa; and 6.19MPa. It can be seen that the maximum average compressive strength value is present in the 100% variation with the tested object being tested at 83°C first.

Impact of Wooden Versus Nonwooden Interior Designs on Office Workers' Cognitive Performance.

The biophilic hypothesis states that human beings have an innate connection to nature. Accordingly, previous studies have shown that natural interior design elements may influence the occupants' cognitive performance. This study investigated the effect of wooden elements on the occupant preference and cognitive performance of 20 adults (10 females and 10 males). Participants reported increased attention and productivity in wooden rooms versus a nonwooden room and were more likely to choose one of several wooden rooms over a concrete room as their preferred work environment. Participants also performed better on neurobehavioral tests in the wooden versus nonwooden environment. Participants' average completion times decreased on average by 16 seconds, 5 seconds, 6 seconds, 16 seconds, and 7 seconds, respectively, for tests of Visual Reaction, Continuous Operation, Stroop, Calculation, and Meaningless Picture Recognition tests in the wooden versus concrete environments. On all five tests, participants gave more correct answers in the three wooden settings than in the concrete one. These results support the biophilic hypothesis; incorporating wooden elements into interior design may improve both occupant satisfaction and cognitive performance.

Simulative optimization on energy saving performance of phase change panels with different phase transition temperatures

A new type of a phase change material (PCM) room containing CaCl2·6H2O-Mg(NO3)2·6H2O/expanded graphite (EG) with different phase transition temperatures was proposed. PCM panels with a lower phase transition temperature were active in heating seasons, and PCM panels with a higher phase transition temperature were active in cooling seasons. The effects of the PCM panels and different parameters on the thermal behavior of concrete rooms used for annual energy management were investigated by using the validated numerical model. The energy demand was used as an evaluation index. The results indicated that a smaller energy demand could be obtained by placing the PCM panels inside the room. The energy demand was affected by the phase transition temperature. The PCM panels suitable for the roof and south wall were CaCl2·6H2O-2wt%Mg(NO3)2·6H2O/EG and CaCl2·6H2O-15wt%Mg(NO3)2·6H2O/EG, respectively. As the thickness of the PCM panels increased, the energy demand decreased, but the optimal types of PCM panels for the roof and south wall remained the same. Different climate regions influenced the choice of PCM panels. A climate region with large temperature differences between day and night minimized the energy demand. It is revealed that the PCM rooms exhibited better thermal behavior in both cooling and heating seasons.

Radioactive iodine (I-131) therapy isolation rooms: Introduction of lead glass window on the wall for patient comfort and better ambience.

For administration of radioactive iodine for the treatment of differentiated cancer thyroid patients, activities ranging between 1.85GBq and 7.0GBq are used. The construction of concrete rooms cleared by national regulatory authorities do not recommend the presence of windows on the walls or advise same lead equivalence of wall for the lead glass if they are put on the walls. To avoid phobia of patients to give consent for I-131 treatment and to stay in isolation rooms, a necessity was felt to introduce glass window on the opposite side wall of entrance door, which had a service corridor with restricted entry, opening toward garden area. Commercially available lead glass used for X-ray computed tomography scanner was fixed on the 0.35 m thick concrete wall in two rooms. The adequacy of protection offered by the lead glass was determined. A I-131 capsule 600 MBq was moved at a distance 50 cm away from the wall inside the room, and transmitted radiation was measured outside the room. An end window pancake type, beta-gamma survey meter was used. The measured values were normalized for 3.7 GBq at 2 m bed position in μSv/h. The obtained maximum exposure rate was 1.48 μSv/h transmitted from the glass window, against 0.44 μSv/h transmitted at full concrete wall level. As the patients provide shielding to the administrated activity, also the activity is progressively decreasing fast with an effective half-life, the stray radiation levels will be decreasing outside, reducing the mean radiation level to 0.74 μSv/h, and increasing the efficacy of protection. The patient's bed position is at lower level by 0.5 m from the lower edge of the lead glass, so that during patient is in bed the stray radiation levels reduce further. As there are no reports about such facility for isolation rooms, this report may be of value in health physics literature.

Novel wall panels containing CaCl2·6H2O-Mg(NO3)2·6H2O/expanded graphite composites with different phase change temperatures for building energy savings

To explore phase change materials (PCMs) with different melting points for building energy saving in different seasons, Mg(NO3)2·6H2O was mixed with CaCl2·6H2O at different mass fractions to prepare eutectics. And the obtained two eutectics were selected as the two appropriate PCMs to combine with expanded graphite (EG), one of which is CaCl2·6H2O-8wt%Mg(NO3)2·6H2O/EG (PCM1), exhibiting a onset point and melting peak temperature of 21.17 and 27.87 °C and latent heat of 105.4 J/g, and the other one is CaCl2·6H2O-15wt%Mg(NO3)2·6H2O/EG (PCM2), having a onset point and melting peak temperatures of 14.23 and 23.17 °C and latent heat of 80.19 J/g. Then, two EG-based composites were formed into PCM panels by vacuum compression, respectively, and a kind of double-layer panel was fabricated by integrating the single-layer one together. The experimental investigation on the thermal performance of the chamber equipped with PCM panels was carried out, and the obtained results were used to validate a numerical simulation method. Finally, by employing the validated numerical model, the thermal performance of the concrete room containing PCM1, PCM2 and double-layer panels were investigated, respectively. It is shown that the better energy saving potential of the room can be achieved by placing PCM1 and PCM2 on the roof and southern wall, respectively. The wall panels fabricated from the CaCl2·6H2O-Mg(NO3)2·6H2O/EG composites with suitable phase change temperatures show potentials in practical applications.

London Contemporary Music Festival

Does intimacy have anything to do with music? Music – especially acoustic chamber music – is regularly, even unthinkingly, labelled intimate. The implications of this common-enough usage were the major preoccupation of the most recent London Contemporary Music Festival. With multiple images and varieties of intimacy foregrounded – bodily, sexual, aural, psychological, somnolent – Igor Toronyi Lalic's curation was masterful. By turns provocative, baffling, emotional and ear-averting, not without some irony, the concerts were held in a vast underground concrete room.

Gamma exposure from building materials – A dose model with expanded gamma lines from naturally occurring radionuclides applicable in non-standard rooms

Building materials are a significant source of gamma rays exposure due to the presence of naturally occurring radionuclides. In order to protect the public from harmful radiation, the European Basic Safety Standards (Council directive 2013/59/Euratom) (European Council, 2014) introduced a one-size-fits-all building(s) (materials) activity concentration index (ACI) based on a limited set of gamma lines. The ACI is considered “as a conservative screening tool for identifying materials that may cause the reference level (i.e. 1 mSv/y) laid down in article 75(1) to be exceeded”. Regarding calculation of dose, many factors such as density and thickness of the building material, as well as factors relating to the type of building, and the gamma emission data need to be taking into account to ensure accurate radiation protection. In this study the implementation of an expanded set of 1845 gamma lines, related to the decay series of 238U, 235U and 232Th as well as to 40K, into the calculation method of Markkanen (1995), is discussed. The expanded calculation method is called the Expanded Gamma Dose Assessment (EGDA) model. The total gamma emission intensity increased from 2.12 to 2.41 and from 2.41 to 3.04 for respectively the 238U and 232Th decay series. In case of 40K a decrease from 0.107 to 0.106 is observed. The 235U decay series is added, having a gamma emission intensity of 3.1. In a standard concrete room, the absorbed dose rates in air (DA) per unit of activity concentration of 0.849, 0.256, 1.08, 0.0767 nGy/h per Bq/kg are observed. The use of weighted average gamma lines increased the DA with 6.5% and 1% for respectively the 238U and 232Th decay series. A decrease of 4.5% is observed in the DA of 235U decay series when using the weighted average gamma lines in comparison to its non-averaged variant. The sensitivity of the EGDA model for density, wall thickness, presence of windows and doors and room size is investigated. Finally, a comparison of the index and dose calculations relevant for the dose assessment within the European legislative framework applicable towards building materials is performed. In cases where the ACI and density and thickness corrected dose calculation of Nuccetelli et al. (2015) cannot provide guidance, the EGDA allows performing more accurate dose assessment calculations leading to effective doses which can be several 100 µSv/y lower.

Sticks and Stones: Watching The Jesus Film with Muslims

Sticks and Stones: Watching The Jesus Film with Muslims S. Brent Plate It's late at night and I'm standing in a dimly lit concrete room with six other people: five black African men and one other white American like me. Blood drips down my face as this bodily semicircle engulfs me, teeth bright with large smiles. I'm not sure whether to be grateful for the smiles or concerned for their seeming lack of concern about my bleeding head. As is customary throughout Kenya, and many other parts of the world, before any business takes place one must offer salutations to everyone in the room. In spite of my bloody face, the blood on my shirt, my obvious need for some medical attention, it was necessary to greet all the people with a handshake, to talk for a few moments before getting to the business of healing my wound. They were there to help, to restore me to good health, but relationships must be established first. An hour earlier I had been standing next to a 16‐mm film projector and generator in a dirt field in Wajir, a town in northeastern Kenya, not far from the border of Somalia. “Out in the sticks,” one might say, though the trees were few and far between. I was part of a team showing a film called Jesus to a mostly Somali, and hence also Muslim, community. This was the summer of 1987, and I had volunteered along with a few dozen other college students for an Africa Field Summer Project, organized by Campus Crusade for Christ International (now known as “Cru”). The motive was to “share Christ” with the masses who had not heard the message of Christ's saving power, and thus fulfill the “Great Commission,” Jesus's command to make disciples in all nations (Matthew 28:16–20). Click for larger view View full resolution Setting up projector and screen to show Jesus film in Wajir, Kenya, 1987. Photo by author. In recent years, a number of Muslim groups have taken offense at filmic representations of Noah, Moses, and Jesus, and felt that certain films do not do justice to these great prophets. Here, in rural East Africa, the complaint was not that the prophet Jesus was disparaged, but that he was so exalted. Jesus is a great and very revered prophet in Islam. Only, he is not the Son of God, part divine himself and resurrected from the dead, as our projected film portrayed him. Young boys in Wajir, madrasa‐trained, knew who we were and what we were about, at least, I imagine, as much as they were told by their teachers. We only knew they were in need of salvation, and little else, as told to us by our teachers. By day they challenged our thinking when we visited them in town, asking us pointedly about the resurrection and what proof we had of this. To which we abashedly said something like, “Well, there are no bones, are there?!” We tried to polish up on our apologetics, but the intellectualist approach seldom moves many. By night they heckled us, whistling over parts of the movie that showed Jesus in supernatural light, and then throwing stones at the screen, projector, and ultimately, me. Which is how I ended up with a bloody head in a room filled with friendly but seemingly negligent interlocutors. The Jesus Film, as it has come to be called, was a 1979 production, originally titled Jesus, produced by John Heyman, and directed by John Krish and Peter Sykes. The film was populated with an almost entirely Yemenite Jewish cast, save the British actor who played Jesus, Brian Deacon. I mention these facts not merely from my academic compulsion to cite proper references, but because the “authorship” here is muddled, and I think there is something intentional in that. There were, and are, many people involved with the film's creation and distribution, but not in the way most films are created, produced, and distributed. The film had a short run in theaters in 1979 (distributed by Warner Brothers), but where it failed at the box office, it more than made up...

Experimental Fire in a Full-Seale Reinforced Concrete Room -Characteristics of Flame Spurting from a Window with Side longer than Width-

Experimental Fire in a Full-Seale Reinforced Concrete Room -Characteristics of Flame Spurting from a Window with Side longer than Width-

Use of Ventilation-Index in the Development of Exposure Model for Indoor Air Pollution—A Review

In indoor environment, emission factor of the cooking fuel plays a vital role in determining correlation between exposure assessment and health effects. Both indoor and outdoor air pollution exposures are widely influenced by the ventilation status. An optimum control of the air change rate has also significant impact on the exposure pattern. A number of studies revealed that the indoor particulates and gaseous exposures, resulting from the combustion of various cooking fuels, are associated with significant adverse health effects on pregnant mothers and new born babies. The impacts of ventilation status on air pollution exposure in households’ kitchens or living rooms have not been explored enough. Except a few studies with concrete rooms, especially in industries, no other studies have been established on the correlation between the ventilation index and air pollution exposure. The intent of this review is to discuss reported findings focused on the ventilation and exposure to air pollution. This will obviously help better understanding to modulate exposure profile in household condition using simple tool of ventilation measurement.

Mitigation of workplace radon gas concentration using high-performance epoxy resin coating

The indoor radon gas released from concrete was measured using a 0.65 × 0.65 × 0.65 m fabricated concrete slab room, simulating a workplace. The indoor radon gas concentration was monitored, and the remediation method was examined. Radon concentrations were monitored using Radon Monitor Model 1023 from Sun Nuclear. Results show that average radon concentrations reached 111 Bq.m–3 before remediation, beyond the World Health Organization’s acceptable limit of 100 Bq.m–3. Hence, two layers of high-performance waterborne epoxy resin TRU-GLAZE-WB 4030 coating were applied, reducing the radon concentration average to an acceptable level of 14.8 Bq.m–3. Interestingly, the indoor radon concentrations were measured two months after applying the remediation and were found to be stable and within acceptable levels.

Ambient neutron dose equivalent outside concrete vault rooms for 15 and 18 MV radiotherapy accelerators

In this work, the ambient dose equivalent, H*(10), due to neutrons outside three bunkers that house a 15- and a 18-MV Varian Clinac 2100C/D and a 15-MV Elekta Inor clinical linacs, has been calculated. The Monte Carlo code MCNPX (v. 2.5) has been used to simulate the neutron production and transport. The complete geometries including linacs and full installations have been built up according to the specifications of the manufacturers and the planes provided by the corresponding medical physical services of the hospitals where the three linacs operate. Two of these installations, those lodging the Varian linacs, have an entrance door to the bunker while the other one does not, although it has a maze with two bends. Various treatment orientations were simulated in order to establish plausible annual equivalent doses. Specifically anterior-posterior, posterior-anterior, left lateral, right lateral orientations and an additional one with the gantry rotated 30° have been studied. Significant dose rates have been found only behind the walls and the door of the bunker, near the entrance and the console, with a maximum of 12 µSv h(-1). Dose rates per year have been calculated assuming a conservative workload for the three facilities. The higher dose rates in the corresponding control areas were 799 µSv y(-1), in the case of the facility which operates the 15-MV Clinac, 159 µSv y(-1), for that with the 15-MV Elekta, and 21 µSv y(-1) for the facility housing the 18-MV Varian. A comparison with measurements performed in similar installations has been carried out and a reasonable agreement has been found. The results obtained indicate that the neutron contamination does not increase the doses above the legal limits and does not produce a significant enhancement of the dose equivalent calculated. When doses are below the detection limits provided by the measuring devices available today, MCNPX simulation provides an useful method to evaluate neutron dose equivalents based on a detailed description of linac, patient and bunker.