Effect Of Construction Materials Research Articles

Effect of Construction Material on Greenhouse Gases Emission and Energy Use for Residential Buildings

This research work shows how building construction material effects environment, it is based on the performance of ecofriendly (mud) and non-ecofriendly (concrete) materials on the similar residential buildings, located in the climate of Delhi, India. Comparative study of Mud and concrete has been performed. The analysis of each case study includes the calculation of annual carbon emission and energy use, was simulated by using Autodesk Revit software (version2015). As per result, it is clearly visible that by using ecofriendly material we are able to save 93% annual energy cost.

Probability-Based Seismic Performance Evaluation for Buildings

Recent developments in earthquake engineering indicate that probabilistic seismic risk analysis (PSRA) is becoming increasingly useful for the evaluation of structural per-formance in accordance with building codes. In recent years, the field of seismic resis-tance design has been undergoing a critical shift in focus from strength to performance. However, current earthquake resistant design procedures do not relate building performance to probability. A lack of sufficient empirical data has highlighted gaps in this research. This study integrated results from the analysis of structural fragility and seismic hazard in Taiwan to perform PSRA to examine the effectiveness of building code in mitigating the risks associated with earthquakes. Factors taken into account included the effect of construction materials, building height, and building age. The results of this study show that the probability of exceeding damage associated with the CP level in buildings of light steel, pre-cast concrete, and masonry, exceeds 2%. These buildings fail to meet the performance objectives outlined in FEMA-273.

Minimization of Embodied Carbon Footprint from Housing Sector of Malaysia

The reduction in embodied carbon footprint is one of the major concerns in the construction industry. Among many other adopted techniques, the use of recycled materials is one of recommended method to lower the environmental effects of construction materials. However, the potential of recycled materials to offset the embodied carbon footprint from conventional Malaysian housing construction requires to be evaluated. The main focus of study was to perform a comparative analysis for minimization of embodied carbon footprint from the conventional materials used Malaysian housing industry by using recycled materials. A typical double story semi-detached house commonly constructed in Malaysian tropical climate was selected as case study. The model of the house was generated in a virtual environment using Building Information Modelling (BIM) process. The results highlighted that with incorporation of recycled materials within a range of 0 % to 100 %, the embodied carbon footprint offset potential varied up to 18 % as compared to conventional construction.

Effect of construction materials on embodied energy and cost of buildings—A case study of residential houses in India up to 60 m2 of plinth area

Worldwide buildings consume annually about 30–40% of primary energy in construction, operation and maintenance. An enormous part of this energy is consumed in construction activities alone. Nearly two million residential buildings for economic weaker section alone, are required to be built annually in India, apart from offices, commercial, public and industrial buildings. Use of low embodied energy and cost effective building materials, in the building construction, can significantly reduce the overall energy consumption and thus eventually minimize energy footprint of buildings. In this paper, the embodied energy and construction cost have been estimated for the residential houses (up to four storied) of a chosen typology. The calculation has been done for total 122 nos of houses, having plinth area varying between 20m2 and 60m2. The embodied energy and construction cost have been compared and analyzed for various building materials (i.e. burnt clay bricks, hollow cement concrete blocks, aerated autoclaved blocks, fly ash lime gypsum blocks, solid cement concrete blocks etc.). It is estimated, that the embodied energy (EBE) is least (2.092GJ/m2) for two storied houses, constructed with hollow cement concrete block based masonry, however cost of building materials is found to be lowest (US$ 62/m2) for four storied houses constructed with AAC block based masonry.

Effect of Construction Material on Dam Type Selection of the Büyük Karaçay Dam (Hatay, Turkey)

This paper covers the investigation of construction materials and selection of the dam type for the Buyuk Karacay Dam, which was planned to be constructed on Buyuk Karacay River 20 km to the SW of Hatay (Southern Turkey). The purposes of the dam are irrigation, domestic water supply, and producing energy. Auxiliary structures locations have been determined during the study of detailed geological maps of the dam axis and reservoir area. Quality, quantity and hauling distance of natural construction materials were effective to select different dam types. For engineering geological studies exploration boreholes were drilled at the dam site; pressuremeter tests were performed in order to determine bearing capacity and elasticity properties of rocks; pressured water tests were also performed to determine permeability of the dam site. Moreover, physical and mechanical properties of rocks were determined by the laboratory test. In the feasibility stage, the dam type was chosen as the central core rock-fill dam, depending on state of natural construction materials. In design stage dam type was changed as faced symmetrical hardfill dam. Finally, the dam type was revised again during the design stage as concrete face rockfill dam.

Exceedance probability of extensive damage limit for general buildings in Taiwan

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of building codes in earthquake risk mitigation in Taiwan.Design/methodology/approachUsing probabilistic risk analysis tools with available data, this study assesses the exceedance probability of extensive damage limit for general buildings in their 50‐year useful lives. The buildings were classified into 15 categories according to their construction materials and building height. Then, the effects of construction materials, building height and construction years are detected.FindingsThe exceedance probabilities of extensive damage limit for all of the investigated buildings in their 50‐year useful lives are on the order of 10−2. The effect of construction materials and building height on seismic risk of buildings is decreasing with the development of a seismic design code. Significant discrepancy of seismic risk still exists among some buildings.Research limitations/implicationsSeismic risk analysis requires quite restrictive statistical idealizations for the relevant probabilistic terms in the mathematical formulation. The problem of imperfect simplification and lack of sufficient empirical data has shown the research needs for improvements of seismic risk assessment. The questions of what constitutes acceptable risk for various performance levels and how safe is safe enough remain context‐specific.Originality/valueAlthough probabilistic risk analysis provides a tool for quantifying the probability of structural failure, current earthquake‐resistant design procedures do not relate performance levels to probability. The paper explores some probability information for current earthquake‐resistant design for general buildings during their 50‐year useful lives and the information may provide some valuable information for future code calibration.

Effects of construction materials and design of lake and stream banks on climbing ability of frogs and salamanders

With the increasing development of many areas in recent years, concrete structures are often installed along water bodies in order to protect the safety of local residents. However, effects of these concrete structures on environments and mobility of amphibian species are still unknown. The construction of concrete banks along rivers associated with human development has become a serious problem in Taiwan. Most ecosystems used by amphibians are lakes and stream banks, yet no related design solutions to accommodate the needs of amphibians have been used in Taiwan. In this research, we selected eight species of amphibians and investigated their climbing abilities in an effort to improve lake and river bank designs. We evaluated their climbing abilities on five angles of bank slopes, identified relationships between an amphibian's climbing ability and different surface substrates of banks, i.e. Japanese silvergrass ( Miscanthus floridulus) mixed with moss, cobblestone, wood ( Philippine mahogany), clay, and concrete, under high humidity and different temperatures to simulate changes across the four seasons. The results showed that climbing ability of these amphibians is slightly decreased at low temperatures. For example, on a 45° slope in winter, the average climbing ability decreased 8% from results in summer. The upper limit of bank design slope suitable for Hynobius arisanensis on rock and wood surfaces is 45°. For amphibians from alpine areas in Taiwan, such as Bufo bankorensis, the maximum suitable slope is 15°. With concrete as the water bank material, slopes <30° are preferable. The results presented here can serve as a reference for technicians involved in future ecological engineering designs of banks throughout the world.

Simultaneous measurement of gamma rays and radon emission (SIMGRAE) for solid samples radioactivity assessment

A gamma/radon high-sensitivity radioactivity counter has been built in the frame of a research and development aimed at assessing the effect of construction materials on the annual radioactive dose absorbed by individuals. The counter features simultaneous gamma measurement (by high-resolution germanium spectroscopy) and radon evaluation through electrostatic collection and alpha spectroscopy of radon daughters.

Influence of the heat exchangers’ construction material on catalytic incineration

In industrial scale catalytic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) incineration it is sometimes observed that the VOC conversions are higher than expected, based on the laboratory scale experiments at the same temperatures. One reason for this is that the construction material of the industrial scale catalytic incinerator may have an effect on the total VOC conversion. In this study, the effect of construction material on VOC removal activity is studied through laboratory experiments, by thermodynamic calculations and by flow modelling. The results showed that copper and Aluzinc decreased the light-off temperature ( T 50) of n-butyl acetate compared to thermal experiments. Copper and Aluzinc did not, however, further decrease the T 50 when they were introduced into the reactor packed with the catalyst. The higher total VOC conversion observed in the industrial scale incinerator is presumably due to the higher temperatures at the outlet of the catalyst, which is maintained by the heat exchangers.

The effect of construction material, contents and room geometry on the sound field in dwellings at low frequencies

An experimentally validated finite element method is used to model the sound level in rooms at low frequencies. It is demonstrated that the dimensions of rectangular rooms strongly influence the sound pressure level difference. Additional factors were investigated which are not normally considered in the frequency range where diffuse sound field conditions can be assumed. Three effects were investigated: room damping due to wall vibrations, furniture, the effect of small deviations from simple rectangular shapes. It is confirmed by field measurements that the vibrations of masonry walls and floors introduce less damping than surfaces of lightweight construction. Assigning to the FE model a damping equivalent to a surface absorption of 0.02 reproduces the effect of walls of heavyweight construction. Damping equivalent to a surface absorption of 0.15 reproduces the effects of plastered timber-frame walls, floors and ceilings. The work was briefly extended to a room pair built with heavyweight and lightweight material of construction. The modification of the shape of the room frequency response highlights well the effect of material of construction. In-situ and laboratory measurements show that furniture has little effect on steady-state room response below 100 Hz. Modelling a wall recess smaller than 0.5 m improved the agreement between prediction and measurements but the assumption of a simple rectangular room remains appropriate.