Construction Of Efficient Buildings Research Articles

Transport and installation of prefabricated structures

Prefabricated structure is a new form of building structure, which can achieve fast and efficient building construction by prefabricating components in factories and assembling them on site. However, due to human factors, the basic performance of the prefabricated structure such as safety and water resistance is reduced. The state encourages the construction companies to adopt prefabricated buildings, and at the same time should solve the problems encountered in real life, such as the prefabricated installation of concrete is not in place, the surface of prefabricated components and other problems. The following will start from the transportation and installation of prefabricated components, analyze the possible problems, analyze and solve the problems, so as to make people's living environment more comfortable, improve people's recognition of this new building structure form, and make the development prospects of prefabricated buildings more brilliant.

Driving the zero-carbon construction strategy: key barriers and enablers

PurposeIn the fast-changing field of zero-carbon construction there is a gap in understanding how zero-carbon construction strategies are experienced in practice. This paper aims to identify the key barriers and enablers to driving a zero-carbon construction strategy by industry, policymakers and educators.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted in two stages. The first stage used a literature review to determine thematic areas from which to develop discussion points for the second stage of the research, which gathered insights into key barriers and enablers to driving a zero-carbon construction strategy from analysing recorded discussion with industry, policymakers and educators. This study adopts a qualitative research methodological design underpinned by dialectical approach of enquiries involving 31 participants. The philosophical standpoint aligns with a constructivist participatory worldview based on multiple stakeholder perspectives. Data involving virtual and face-to-face engagement held simultaneously in Australia and India were transcribed, coded and synthesised to identify the barriers and enablers to driving zero-carbon construction strategy.FindingsThe paper identified key barriers and enablers driving zero-carbon construction strategy. Barriers included limited awareness of industry dynamics; fixed mental models of professional practice; complexities in identifying appropriate skillsets; difficulties associated with reviewing education and training models and integrating sustainable strategies at early stages of projects. Enablers included: fostering education reform and supporting frameworks and procurement strategies for developers and clients; implementing efficient building designs, construction and operationalisation of zero-carbon buildings and; utilising an industry-led integrated approach. A framework was developed to provide an illustrative view of the linkage between the research projects’ focus areas and emergent themes.Originality/valueThe paper provides zero-carbon action priorities for four significant stakeholder groups in the build environment, developers, building occupiers, educators and government. As the priorities are derived in the research from examination of current literature and analysis of stakeholder viewpoints, this paper presents a unique, realistic and timely identification of barriers and key enablers driving zero-carbon construction strategies. Methodology applied in terms of data collection involved a public discourse and a unique technology-driven collaborative approach where participants simultaneously contributed across countries and time zones in a synchronous manner across key topics related to driving the zero-carbon construction strategy.

A study investigating the integrated application of intelligent construction and assembly building based on BIM technology

The construction industry, is facing the inevitable trend of digital transformation in the new wave of technology. The general production and construction build cycle is long and on-site construction activities is associated with a number of environmental issues. Additionally, the construction progress points and management are not clear, which presents a challenge for the industry. Consequently, the objective of this article is to integrate and apply a range of technologies, including BIM (Building Information Modeling), cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, 5G, RPA (Robotic Process Automation), and others, to on-site operation control by integrating them. This integration will facilitate the analysis of the considerable advantages of intelligent construction and assembly building in its application. The conference center of the Qionglai Talent Service Exchange Center will be used as a case study to demonstrate the potential of these technologies. The paper will also propose new views and ideas for addressing the challenges currently faced by the construction industry. The research findings indicate that the integration of multiple intelligent construction systems and assembly components enhances construction progress, simplifies construction processes, and minimizes construction-related pollution. This evidence supports the viability of efficient, intelligent, and sustainable building design and construction methodologies, and provides a robust foundation for the transformation and advancement of the industry.

Performance of Thermal Insulation of Different Composite Walls and Roofs Materials Used for Energy Efficient Building Construction in Iraq

Performance of Thermal Insulation of Different Composite Walls and Roofs Materials Used for Energy Efficient Building Construction in Iraq

Enhancing Zero-Energy Building Operations for ESG: Accurate Solar Power Prediction through Automatic Machine Learning

Solar power systems, such as photovoltaic (PV) systems, have become a necessary feature of zero-energy buildings because efficient building design and construction materials alone are not sufficient to meet the building’s energy consumption needs. However, solar power generation is subject to fluctuations based on weather conditions, and these fluctuations are higher than other renewable energy sources. This phenomenon has emphasized the importance of predicting solar power generation through weather forecasting. In this paper, an Automatic Machine Learning (AML)-based method is proposed to create multiple prediction models based on solar power generation and weather data. Then, the best model to predict daily solar power generation is selected from these models. The solar power generation data used in this study was obtained from an actual solar system installed in a zero-energy building, while the weather data was obtained from open data provided by the Korea Meteorological Administration. In addition, To verify the validity of the proposed method, an ideal data model with high accuracy but difficult to apply to the actual system and a comparison model with a relatively low accuracy but suitable for application to the actual system were created. The performance was compared with the model created by the proposed method. Based on the validation process, the proposed approach shows 5–10% higher prediction accuracies compared to the comparison model.

Light Weight Plasters Containing Vermiculite and FGD Gypsum for Sustainable and Energy Efficient Building Construction Materials

Light Weight Plasters Containing Vermiculite and FGD Gypsum for Sustainable and Energy Efficient Building Construction Materials

A Case Study on Usage of Actual Soil Condition below Multi-Storied Building under Seismic Loading at Indore City

Abstract: The people try to live in high rise structures due to increase in the demands of high rise structure with architectural impact. Soil profile beneath the structure also plays an important role to make the superstructure along with the sub-structure on its location. A Structure is said to acceptable if it satisfies the design criteria and hold itself in the same location to oppose the lateral forces. To show the importance of the soil below the construction area, soil investigations were carried out at Indore city. Total 11 bore hole database has used in this research. We have analyzed about different bore holes location for efficient building construction and effectiveness of residential apartment. After observing the necessary needs and fixing the objectives, we have created 11 (G+6) models and different cases named as CaseL1 to Case L11. The input parameters of soil profile used in this research is based on a part of Indore city area. After analysis of output parameters, the main points have been noted down the project concluded that efficient location for construction will be Case L with least result parameters under seismic loads. Keywords: Transverse Direction, Soil Profile, Residential Apartment, Soil Investigation

The potential for the Passive House standard in Longyearbyen – the High Arctic

Passive building design reduces a building’s energy consumption through mainly non-mechanical design strategies. The Passive House (or Passivhaus) Standard certifies such buildings that comply with its strict energy performance criteria. Achieving the Standard is very challenging for dwellings in extreme climates. There is limited knowledge of the Standard’s potential in Arctic regions, particularly the High Arctic. Through a review of the literature and energy modelling of a hypothetical dwelling, the challenges in achieving the Standard in Longyearbyen (78°N), Norway are investigated. Very low temperatures and 112 days without daylight create a high heating demand. Whereas previous studies measured actual building performances or used simple calculations, the findings in this investigation show the limitations of individual design parameters and technical limits of the building envelope. In theory the Standard can be achieved in Longyearbyen; however, the potential in practice is low due to the very tight margins in the heating criteria. The results show the significant impact of applying contextual (climatic) adjustments to the boundary conditions of the Standard. The investigation could contribute to a discussion on modifying the Passive House Standard for dwellings in the High Arctic and improving building design for the region. Practical application: Current knowledge regarding energy efficient building performance in Arctic climates is limited, while the urgency for improved efficiencies is extremely high. The modelling in this work shows the valuable impact of contextual adjustments to the Passive House boundary conditions; the impact of individual design parameters; and the potential for significant energy savings through adopting passive house principles for dwelling design in Longyearbyen or similar climates. This investigation could encourage new policy making, additional research and the development of an optimized Passive House Standard that considers High Arctic climate conditions, thus encouraging new energy efficient building construction in cold climates.

A Novel Planning Method of Urban Building Wastes for Environment Protection and Sustainable Development

The building construction wastes seriously polluted the environment; building construction wastes and the recycling of green packaging materials are the important link of environment protection and sustainable development. The building construction wastes have complicated composition. Some of them can be recycled by simply sorting, but most urban building construction wastes require special separation or reprocessing. Therefore, building an efficient and practical building construction wastes multilevel utilization recycling system to resolve the recycling problems of building construction wastes is meaningful. By systematically analyzing the grading recycling system of building construction wastes, this article uses systems engineering, logistics theory, resources recycling science, management science, and other related methods and knowledge to establish a novel nonlinear programming (LP) intelligence planning analysis model for a complex reverse logistics transportation system composed of three-level recycling parts of the building construction wastes, and applies a practical example to propose the solving method of new models based on genetic algorithms and LINGO software. The presented new model and its detailed solving method can help us find the best recycling scheme from urban building construction wastes, and it has great significance for the sustainable development in building construction enterprises.

The Innovation of Interlock Bricks with A Mixture of Bagasse Ash Without Combustion

Nowadays, the wall building material is dominated by clay brick and the process requires combustion. Therefore, the need for the development of interlock brick to introduce wall material that is easy to install, strong, without combustion and environmentally friendly. The shape design of interlock brick is made with Modified Tanzanian Interlock Brick (MTIB). Interlock brick size is 25.1 × 12.6 × 7.8 cm. The method of brick making with the experiments of various variations of the mixture to know the product specifications of suction, absorption, salt content and compressive strength with a quality target of grade 50 kg/cm2 that qualified SNI 15-2094-2000. The result was an MTIB that meet the requirements of SNI in a mixture with a ratio of 2 Clay: 3 Sand: 3.5 Portland Cement: 1.5 Bagasse Ash. Specifications of MTIB product obtained results compressive strength of 63.78 kg/cm2, absorption of 19%, the salt content of 4.14%, volume weight of 1.549 g/cm3 and a specific gravity of 1.81 and water suction power of 57.34 g/dm2/minute. MTIB innovations made from the waste of bagasse ash and without combustion process could be utilized for efficient civil building construction, fast, economical, and environmentally friendly compared with other brick materials.

Temperature dependence of thermal conductivity of heat-treated rubberwood

ABSTRACT This paper aimed to investigate the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity of heat-treated rubberwood (HTR). Rubberwood specimens were thermally treated at 180°C with three different durations of 15, 25 and 35 h, respectively. Thermal conductivity values of HTR at various mean temperature ranges were then examined. That of untreated rubberwood (UTR) was also measured as a comparison. The result showed that thermal conductivity of UTR and HTR increased with increasing temperature for all durations as a linear relationship in which the values of HTR were lower at all examined temperatures. The rate of change of thermal conductivity with temperature of HTR for durations of 15 and 25 h and UTR was similar (∼0.0004 W/mK/°C). However, rubberwood heat treated for 35 h was much less sensitive to temperature compared with the UTR, showing a relatively small change of thermal conductivity with temperature (∼0.0001 W/mK/°C), which is comparable to typical insulation materials. This indicates that heat treatment could improve the thermal stability of rubberwood subjected to varying temperatures. In view of environmental and energy concerns, HTR should therefore be considered as one of the best potential raw materials for energy efficient building construction.

Efficiency of design offers on realization of ecological reconstruction in construction

In view of new construction market and National Project requirements, there is a growing demand in the construction environmental specialists in this field. The article analyses the results of scientific and practical developments in ecological restoration which are being implemented to a degree in the municipal economy and construction. This field of activity has been poorly researched in the studies yet, but it has been already used in construction of unique buildings and constructions, and ecological construction projects. The author has compared the assessment criteria of investment projects for standard (S) and energy-efficient houses (E). The life cycle analysis results provide for assessing the energy-efficient house and confirm that the rising cost at the construction stage is repaid for multiple times at the operation stage. The research has shown that the 2% investment rise for construction of the energy-efficient house would increase the return on investment by 10 times during the building life cycle. Such return is achieved due to energy cost saving. It can be noted that to construct an energy-efficient house as an option of ecological restoration design proposal implementation, various technologies which can both increase and reduce construction cost are used. The increased energy efficiency has a powerful economic and environmental effect and is of interest not only for the enterprises and creditors, but also for the public as to the positive results of the energy efficient project implementation, the increased economic and environmental safety of the country are the additional advantages of the energy efficient building construction that increase the attractiveness of such projects for the bank investment lending.

Evaluation of physical and thermal properties of coal combustion residue blended concrete for energy efficient building application in India

ABSTRACT At the backdrop of energy conservation efforts in building sector, this research paper presents a passive approach by producing less heat conducting concrete with the inclusion of coal combustion residue (bottom ash) as a substitute to conventional sand and using low embodied energy cement in the mix. The constituent phases and other physical and chemical parameters of both sand and bottom ash were evaluated. Three different sets of concrete mixes were prepared by following IS 456 code provisions, and the compressive strength, apparent porosity, bulk density and the thermal conductivity parameters of each mix set were evaluated. The reducing trend was observed in thermal conductivity and compressive strength parameters of concrete mixes against the increasing percentage of sand replacement by coal bottom ash. Reduction to the tune of around 25% in the thermal transmittance value (U-value) was observed while comparison was made between conventional concrete roof and bottom ash blended concrete roof with identical features. Coal combustion residue blended concrete could be applied for sustainable and energy efficient building construction for lowering cooling demand without any additional capital investment and also saving sand from faster depletion than its renewal rate.

Investigation of various wall and window glass material buildings in different climatic zones of India for energy efficient building construction

The commercial and residential buildings consume about 33% of energy for cooling and day lighting in India. This paper presents the thermal performance of buildings constructed with various building and window glass materials in five different climatic zones of India such as hot and dry (Ahmedabad), moderate (Bangalore), cold (Guwahati), warm and humid (Madras) and composite (New Delhi) climatic zones. In this study, four building materials such as laterite stone, dense concrete, burnt brick and mud brick were selected and four window glass materials such as clear, bronze, green and bronze-reflective glasses were selected. The spectral optical properties of four glass materials were measured experimentally using Perkin-Elmer lambda 950 spectrophotometer from wavelengths ranging from 300 nm- 2500 nm. Total eighty building models were designed using Design builder 4.3.0.039 and thermal analysis was carried out in Energy plus 8.1 simulation tool. From the results, it is observed that mud brick with bronze-reflective glass window buildings were found to be energy efficient from the least heat gain point of view among eighty building models studied in five climatic zones of India. The results of the study help in selecting the best combination of building and window glass materials for reducing cooling loads in buildings of five different climatic zones of India.

Study of Various Glass Window and Building Wall Materials in Different Climatic Zones of India for Energy Efficient Building Construction

The commercial and residential buildings consume about 33% of energy for cooling and day lighting in India. This paper aims to present thermal performance of buildings constructed with various building and window glass materials in five different climatic zones of India. The climates considered include: hot and dry (Ahmedabad), moderate (Bangalore), cold (Guwahati), warm and humid (Madras), and composite (New Delhi). In this study, four building materials such as laterite stone, dense concrete, burnt brick, and mud brick were selected and four glasses such as clear, bronze, green, and bronze-reflective glasses were used for windows. Spectral characteristics of four glasses were measured experimentally by using Perkin-Elmer lambda 950spectrophotometer in the wavelength range of 300 -2500 nm as per ASTM standards. A mat lab code was developed to compute the solar optical properties such as transmittance and reflectance of glasses as per European standards in entire solar spectrum region. The building models were designed in Design builder 4.3.0.039 and thermal analysis was carried out in Energy plus 8.1.0.009. The solar heat gain in buildings was investigated. The results revealed that the mud brick wall building with south bronze-reflective glass window as energy saving from the least heat gain point of view among eighty building models studied. The results also showed that the mud brick wall building with bronze, green and bronze reflective window glasses reduces heat gain through wall by 2.52%, 3.83%, and 6.46% as compared to the mud brick wall building with clear glass window. The results helps in selecting energy saving combination of wall envelope and window glass materials for reducing air-conditioning loads in residential and commercial buildings of five different climatic zones of India.

21.15: Resource efficiency in the building sector: Application to steel buildings

ABSTRACTIn light of current European guidelines towards resource efficiency in the construction sector, a performance based approach is herein introduced taking into account environmental criteria, namely the sustainable use of resources. The proposed approach for sustainable design is in line with the safety assessment criteria of the European standards for structural design. Moreover, the approach, which is based on a standardised procedure for life cycle assessment, aims to harmonize the assessment of the sustainability of buildings in Europe and to enable an easier integration of sustainability and structural criteria into the design process of buildings, following the basic requirements for construction works of the Construction Products Regulation.It is considered that resource efficient building design and construction comprehends the reduction and/or minimization of the use of resources and corresponding environmental impacts, while improving the lifetime performance of buildings through technical and functional achievements. Thus, not only the reduced use of raw materials and other natural resources but also technical and functional aspects such as building adaptability, ease disassembly and deconstruction contribute towards this goal. These are all aspects from which steel structures may benefit.Hence, the first part of this paper focusses on the presentation of the general framework for sustainable assessment of buildings. Then, in the second part, the life cycle performance of steel buildings is discussed, in light of the proposed approach, and potential aspects leading to improvements are identified. Conclusions are drawn in the end of the paper.

Mitigating Climate Change Through Energy Efficient Practices in High Altitutes of Nepal

Climate change is a global scale crisis with drastic effects on higher altitudes. Ice melting and its corresponding impacts on mountain ecosystems are just some of the most directly visible signals of global warming. Increased rate of energy consumption, emissions along with ever growing tourist inflow in such areas has a high impact on this phenomenon. Particulate matter, Carbon Dioxide and Methane are some of the chief emissions in such areas with negative impact on the environment. Since burning of fossil fuels is one of the main root causes of cclimate change, its risk mitigation and adaptation depends greatly on energy conservation and the use of renewable energy technologies. Well insulated energy – efficient building construction method and the increased use of renewable energy sources could be the key solution. Reduction of dung-cakes and kerosene for space heating would decrease the greenhouse gas emissions as well as black carbons and particulate matters and improves the indoor living conditions. Energy efficient technologies including the building of traditional Sherpa houses could be the best practice to reduce the impact of climate change in high altitudes. This paper is primarily concerned with testing the thermal properties of insulating tiles made of locally available materials as well as to establish a correlation between energy consumption patterns in different building types with respective CO2 emissions.Subsequently, the positive attributes of such energy conserving design in relation to climate change adaptation is ascertained.

Cost-effective air flow rate estimations using blowerdoor and wind speed measurements to assess building envelope thermal performances

Thermal performance discrepancies between theory and practice in buildings is a well known issue. Reducing this gap is crucial for enhancing energy efficient building construction and renovation. To measure the actual transmission heat loss coefficient of a building from in situ testing, an evaluation of time-varying infiltration losses needs to be quantified to improve the result’s precision, especially for short dynamic methods. This study first presents a theoretical analysis to explain why this evaluation is necessary and how to perform it using different technical approaches (simplified aeraulic models and tracer gas). An experimental comparison of four of these solutions on a small shed reveals that blowerdoor and wind speed measurements can be sufficient to evaluate infiltration losses with acceptable accuracy. Results of the identified transmission losses coefficient [Formula: see text] using the In Situ Assessment of Building EnvoLope pErformances (ISABELE) method shows how much the bias is reduced by including permeability specifications and local wind speed measurements. ISABELE is a measurement method of the overall transmission heat loss coefficient of a building.

An Analysis of BIM Web Service Requirements and Design to Support Energy Efficient Building Lifecycle

Energy Efficient Building (EEB) design, construction, and operations require the development and sharing of building information among different individuals, organizations, and computer applications. The Representational State Transfer (RESTful) Building Information Modeling (BIM) web service is a solution to enable an effective exchange of data. This paper presents an investigation into the core RESTful web service requirements needed to effectively support the EEB project lifecycle. The requirements include information exchange requirements, distributed collaboration requirements, internal data storage requirements, and partial model query requirements. We also propose a RESTful web service design model on different abstraction layers to enhance the BIM lifecycle in energy efficient building design. We have implemented a RESTful Application Program Interface (API) prototype on a mock BIMserver to demonstrate our idea. We evaluate our design by conducting a user study based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results show that our design can enhance the efficiency of data exchange in EEB design scenarios.

Investigation of Building Walls Exposed to Periodic Heat Transfer Conditions for Green and Energy Efficient Building Construction

Buildings account for about 40% of total electricity use in the world for artificial cooling and artificial day lighting and they are also responsible for 40% CO2 emissions. This work reports a comprehensive investigation of thermal performance characteristics which include thermal transmittance, thermal admittance, decrement factor and the time lag for both homogeneous and composite building walls. A computer program with the cyclic admittance method was developed to study unsteady thermal performance characteristics. The Five building materials such as, cellular concrete, mud brick, concrete block, burnt brick and fly ash bricks were selected for the study. The heat transfer characteristics of five homogeneous building walls and their five composite walls were studied in detail. From the results, it is observed that fly ash brick homogeneous walls and their composite walls are energy efficient from the lowest decrement factor and the highest time lag perspective among five homogeneous and five composite walls studied. The decrement factor and time lag values of homogeneous fly ash bricks were observed to be 0.401 and 8.159h, respectively, whereas the values of composite fly ash brick walls were observed to be 0.342 and 9.199h, respectively.